The Best Baby Gear You Actually Need

Despite developing preeclampsia at 38 weeks, overall I was blessed to experience a relatively easy pregnancy, physically anyway. Mentally it was a bit more difficult at times but I survived. In any case, one of the more stressful/annoying things about pregnancy for me was trying to figure out what baby gear to buy. I don’t know about y’all but the sheer amount of options for every thing known to man was just overwhelming to me. Who knew there could be dozens of different options for something as (seemingly) simple as a bottle? Or a pacifier? Not to mention the more complex items like strollers & carseats! I’m so thankful that my husband helped me narrow down our options with those bigger purchases because if it had been left totally to me I’m not sure we’d have ever gotten them. Just kidding; I’d have eventually made a decision of course. However, since baby gear was something about which I had zero previous knowledge my normally decisive self was left floundering a bit. Thus having his support was very helpful. baby-gift-regsitry

Anyhow, I thought it might be useful/fun to share my picks for the best baby gear that you actually NEED & might want to put on your registry. I also want to give a huge thank you to one of my dearest friends who helped me set up my registries. I’d have been lost without her suggestions!

Carseat: Obviously you need a carseat. You can’t even legally leave the hospital without one! We chose the Chicco Keyfit 30 & have been very pleased with it. My husband did the installation in our cars & he said it was very easy & straightforward. Rachel apparently loves this carseat because she always falls asleep every time she’s in it for more than about 10 minutes.
Stroller: For our stroller we chose the Chicco Activ3 Jogging Stroller & again have been very pleased with it. The Chicco Keyfit 30 carseat fits into it perfectly which is a huge plus. This stroller has great suspension & can definitely be taken “off road.” Again, I think Rachel must like it because she always falls asleep in it on our walks around the neighborhood.
Burp rags: Doesn’t really matter what brand/style you buy; just be sure you have at least 4 or 5 of them. I’ve found that keeping one in every major room of the house (nursery, master bedroom, & living room) & in the diaper bag is a huge help. That way there is always one handy whenever I need it.
Baby carrier: At the recommendation of the aforementioned friend, I chose the Lille Baby 360 6-position carrier. I’ll admit I didn’t use it much in the first few weeks because Rachel was a little small for it. However, since she was about 3 weeks old this thing has been a lifesaver. When she’s having a fussy spell, quite often strapping her in this thing is an almost instant fix. (And because my hands are free I can move around & cook or do laundry or type a blog post or just about anything I need/want to do!) This carrier adjusts easily to fit both me & my husband, & it has great lumbar support which will be even more important as Rachel gets bigger & bigger. I’ve been using it to take her on walks around the neighborhood with Chaucer (our corgi). She always falls asleep on our walks & it’s good exercise for me too.
Rachel is in there, I promise.
Bouncer: My mom bought me ours & it’s something that Rachel is starting to really enjoy now that she’s moving her arms around a lot & starting to explore the world a bit more. I think she’s going to love it even more as she gets older. The vibration feature is soothing also. This isn’t the exact print we have but it’s the same seat.
Rock & Play: I am so incredibly grateful that just a few days before Rachel was born my mom told me that a coworker of hers swore by the Fisher Price Deluxe Rock & Play for helping her baby to sleep. It has been a total lifesaver since Rachel has been not so fond of her Pack & Play for sleeping. Plus with her reflux issues the rock & play is perfect for keeping her head elevated a bit. I love that it’s portable so it can easily be carried from room to room throughout the day. I’ve found that if I keep her in it right beside the bed, I can lie on my side & gently rock her to sleep.
Pacifiers: I never bought one before Rachel was born because I had this big idea that I wasn’t going to use one. As it turns out Rachel was one of those babies who was basically born with her thumb in her mouth. In fact she has her fingers in her mouth in the very first picture I have of me holding her not long after birth! At first I was afraid to try one because of the whole “nipple confusion” issue, but once my lactation consultant told me she felt Rachel (& I) would benefit from one, I decided to go for it. She recommended the Soothie brand. I had mixed results with that one so I ended up buying a bunch of different brands at WalMart & experimenting until I found one that she really seems to like. I can’t wait to get the MAM brand which I ordered on Amazon at the recommendation of several friends. (The stores around here kept being sold out of those which is perhaps a sign that they really are good.)
This was the first picture taken of me & Rachel after birth. If you look closely, you can see she already had her fingers in her mouth.
Diapers: While I was pregnant I had a vague idea that I might try cloth diapers for the sake of being more environmentally friendly. I knew it was unlikely that I’d follow through with it but it was still something I hoped I’d do. Once Rachel arrived & the reality of caring for a newborn set in, I realized this idea was nothing more than that, an idea. I’ve found that I really like the Pampers diapers with the line that changes color when they’re wet. Eventually I’d like to try to switch to biodegradable diapers but for right now I’m definitely going to use up all the Pampers & other ones we’ve been given. As a new parent I’m learning you have to give yourself a lot of grace because you just can’t do everything, & this is definitely one of those things.
Wipes: Following right along from the previous subject, obviously you will need plenty of wipes. We’ve found that the giant packs of wipes that Sam’s Club sells are a good deal & work plenty well. We don’t have a wipe warmer & while I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having one I also think it’s far from a necessity. If someone gives you one or you aren’t working on a limited budget, go for it. Otherwise I think it’s something you can safely skip.
Boppy: If you’re even just THINKING about breastfeeding, be sure to get a Boppy pillow. These things are so genius. I love mine so much that I ended up buying a second one (the first one was a gift) so I could have one for the nursery & one for the living room (or to take on trips out of the house). Even if you don’t end up breastfeeding, the Boppy is still a great tool for tummy time & helping your baby learn to sit up.
Diaper bag: I actually ended up with 2 diaper bags because I bought one myself & then received one as a gift. I purchased this Skip Hop backpack diaper bag because I liked that it was a backpack & also pretty gender neutral. It’s a little small but so far has been perfect. If/when I need more room I’ll use the larger one my sister in law gave me.
Halo sleepsack: I’m so grateful that my aforementioned friend recommended these to me because they have been a lifesaver. In the hospital Rachel was already a little ninja, breaking out of her swaddle constantly. With this zip-up version of the sleepsack, you have the option to swaddle with arms in or arms out. I’ve found that Rachel really likes to sleep with one arm in & one arm out. No wonder she was breaking out of her swaddle in the hospital; she wanted to have one arm up!
See? She really does like to sleep with one arm in & one arm out.
Clothes: All I need to say about this subject is that you will almost certainly end up with way more baby clothes than you’ll ever need. I know everyone says not to buy too many newborn outfits because babies outgrow them so fast, but I would recommend getting at least 3 or 4 newborn outfits (unless maybe your doctor/midwife has already told you to expect a very large baby) for the first few weeks/month. I think I only bought one newborn outfit before Rachel was born & because she ended up being on the smaller side (6 lbs 12 oz & 18.5″ long) everything else was way too big for her, so we ended up using the same outfit over & over until we could get to WalMart to buy some new ones.
Sound machine: I have always slept with a fan for as long as I can remember so when I was in the hospital I was thrilled to find that they had sound machines which made up for not having my fan for white noise. I fell in love with the ocean waves option & was thrilled when a friend of mine from work bought me a sound machine with an ocean waves option. I’ve found that sleeping with that & the fan makes for excellent white noise that both Rachel & I find soothing. You can get perfectly adequate but inexpensive sound machines at WalMart but if you don’t feel like buying one there are plenty of free white noise apps you can download on your phone (try White Noise Baby).
Washcloths/hooded towels: As with burp rags it doesn’t really matter what kind you get. Just be sure to have several of each.
Thermometer & bulb suction: Again, the brand/type doesn’t really matter for these items, as far as I’m concerned but they’re definitely items you’ll want to have around if/when your baby inevitably gets sick.
Breast pump: When it came to buying a breast pump, I was totally clueless so I did what any new millennial mom does & queried my Facebook friends asking for recommendations. By far the most popular choice was the Medela In Style so I went with that one. I ended up having to buy larger flanges because the standard size provided with the pump were a little small for me (thanks to my awesome lactation consultant from Emerald Doulas for recommending the larger flanges) but otherwise the pump has proved to be an excellent choice. It’s easy to use & clean & very portable. The bag is awesome too because you can carry it around without it being obvious what it is.
Changing table/pad: I don’t have a link to the exact changing pad/table we have because I bought ours off of Craig’s List so I’m not sure of the exact brand/style. In any case I love that it’s basically a chest of drawers also because it has tons of storage space underneath the changing table part. I’ve been able to store all of our diapers, baby bathing supplies, lots of blankets, etc in the cabinet areas. Also considering how much time we spend changing diapers it’s nice to have a table that’s at an ergonomic height that is good for our backs.
Diaper genie: If you’re on a strict budget this is one you can definitely skip, but I was blessed to receive one as a gift & it’s certainly a nice thing to have. Of course if you’re exclusively breastfeeding baby poop doesn’t even really stink (as I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover). It’s still very useful though & I’m sure we’ll appreciate it even more once Rachel starts eating solid foods & having more stinky poops.
Photo credit: Megan Cash Photography