The number of items in the baby industry is surreal. For every aspect of baby rearing, there is a product. As your baby grows, you’ll figure out which items work best for your little human. In the meantime, I wanted to share our ‘must haves’ from Faiz’s first year to help you think through your registry and shopping lists.
I personally created my baby registry on Amazon, and it was a great experience. After consolidating items onto your registry, your friends and family are able to conveniently order the gifts for you. If any item goes un-purchased, you have a few weeks to buy them yourself with a 10% to 15% completion discount.
I know how long it took me to read reviews and determine which items to purchase over the past year. The products in this list are based on my personal recommendations. Each product is hyperlinked to either the exact product I own or very similar to one I own. As I recently joined the Amazon Affiliate Program, the link includes my affiliate code. That being said, all the suggestions are based on my personal experience.
Sleeping
| Product | Comments |
| Crib | For the babies room; this crib can turn into a toddler bed ultimately |
| Crib Mattress | Make sure it is hypoallergenic |
| Crib Mattress Pad | |
| Crib Sheets | |
| Pack and Play | For the parents room (for the first few months); then move to living area when baby gets switched to his own room |
| Mobile for crib | Bright colors are best; ensure the music lasts longer than a few minutes. The link is not to the one we had; we had a soft one which I prefer for safety reasons in case it falls. |
| Doc-A-Tot | Perfect for naps and traveling |
| Halo Sleep Sacks | Get them in the Newborn, 0-3 months, 3-6 months, and 6-12 months size. They are amazing |
| Portable Sound Machine | Ensure there is a variety of sounds on here because your baby might prefer White Noise vs. Lullaby music. This can be placed in the nursery or in a stroller |
| Baby Monitor | We had a much more expensive monitor, initially, and regret it. This one that we purchased after arriving to London works great! It is simple, and you can easily view the baby on your phone. |
Feeding
This section is based on my experience of breastfeeding/pumping for multiple months; and supplementing formula every so often
| Product | Comments |
| Boppy Pillow | Love this for nursing, bottle feeding, and holding the baby so that your arms get a break |
| Burp Cloths | |
| Bibs | |
| Electric Pump | I had a great experience with my Spectra. It was a bit annoying to have to lug from work to home; but it helped me pump more milk and was worth it. My insurance covered this pump. |
| Manual Pump | As a back up option, when you’re stuck in the car, and the baby is screaming for milk, this is a great option to keep in the diaper bag. |
| 3 Baby Bottles | Keep with an assortment of nipple sizes, including newborn |
| Nursing Bras | Get a few for work, and a few for sleeping. |
| Hands Free Pumping Bra | I wish I had gotten this sooner. It was a GAME CHANGER. |
| Freezer Bags | |
| Small cooler | This cooler is used if you will be be pumping at the office and then transporting pumped milk from work to home. |
| Nursing Cover | This nursing cover can also be used as a car seat cover |
| Nipple Pads | I didn’t use these as much, but in emergencies, they were great to have |
| Prenatal Vitamins | You still have to take them if you are nursing, and these ones are my favorite (they taste like candy…) |
| Formula | Even if you plan to nurse, it is great to have formula on hand, in case you need to give it to the baby |
| Drying Rack for Bottles | |
| Bottle Cleaner | |
| Bottle Brush | |
| Plastic Bibs | These are helpful once the baby starts to eat! Food drops into the curve shape of the bib, and the baby gets to practice grabbing and snacking 🙂 |
| Baby Bowls | You want good suction from the baby bowl to stick to the high chair, so the babies don’t fling food everywhere (they probably will still :/) |
| Baby Utensils | |
| Booster Chair | We had this booster seat in ATL, and it was great to get Faiz to practice sitting. We could also easily move it around. |
| High Chair | We got this chair when moving to London, as Faiz got bigger. It is easy to clean with wipes. |
Transportation
In year one, we had three strollers. Initially, we had the Chico stroller, car seat, and base. Chico wasn’t the worst. I liked the practicality of it, but didn’t like that the stroller felt bulky. It was cost effective compared to alternatives and not a bad choice. My mom really didn’t like the bulkiness, and felt like the seat part got too small too fast, so she purchased her own stroller for her house. She got the Graco, which definitely rode smoother, and Faiz loved sitting in it. In London, we needed something sleeker, so we got the Babyzen YoYo, which works great for us here. It is light ,and can be folded easily; but I recommend conducting more research on how it would work with a car seat.
| Product | Comments |
| Stroller | In year 1, we had three different strollers. I like the Babyzen the best. I recommend understanding how their car seat adapter works (a perk of London is that I don’t have to worry about the car seat anymore) |
| Car seat | In Atlanta, to go with our stroller, we had the Chico car seat. It was very reliable and sturdy. If you get this, go with the newborn insert for the first few weeks |
| Car seat Base | I recommend purchasing one for every car the baby will sit in regularly (to avoid having to install/reinstall the car seat base) |
| Car seat cover | This can be used as a car seat cover and a nursing cover |
| Baby Carrier | From the early weeks, I have loved wearing my baby in the carrier. Ensure it is ergonomic. I also didn’t get the newborn insert, which I regret. |
Clothes/Accessories
| Product | Comments |
| Onesies with built in mittens and footies | Getting adorable outfits for your baby is fun. But once the baby is here, practical is ideal. Having built-in mittens means less scratching, and built-in socks means they won’t get lost. Get these in an assortment of sizes. They’re actually very difficult to find. |
| Plain white onesies | These can go underneath all the cute outfits to prevent itching and increase warmth |
| Hats | Apparently babies lose heat through their heads, so snug hats are also functional, in addition to fashionable |
| Mittens | These stop some serious scratching |
| Socks | The babies might kick the socks off, but it’s good to attempt to get them on |
| Muslin (or velcro) swaddles | Babies are swaddled, generally from 0 to 3 months. Select swaddles in your favorite colors and prints, because your babies will initially be photographed in swaddles more than their outfits |
Diapers
| Product | Comments |
| Changing table/dresser Changing Kit |
This does not need to be a dresser, but I personally loved having extra storage space with the drawers. Add the associated changing kit to this dresser |
| Changing pad foam contour | |
| Changing pad cover | |
| Changing pad linens | I didn’t know the necessity of these until my SIL gave me 10 extra linens to use on the changing table. Once you change diapers, you realize how easy it is is for things to get dirty. It is easier to keep swapping out these linens rather than the whole changing pad cover. |
| Diapers | You’re going to want to stock up |
| Wipes | And you’ll want to stock up on these too… |
| Diaper Rash Cream | |
| Changing Table Organizer | Things get cluttered really quickly; this is more helpful than it sounds |
| Diaper Genie | |
| Diaper Bag | This specific bag is a little large which can be good, because you can fit more items. The con is it can start to feel heavy. |
| Portable Changing Diaper Pad | The diaper bag might come with a portable changing pad, so check first. |
Bath Time/Grooming
| Products | Comments |
| Bath Tub | |
| Rinser | |
| Bath Kneeler and Elbow Rest | This sounds random, but saves your knees from aching when you kneel down to wash the baby in the tub |
| Wash Cloths | |
| Baby Towels | |
| Shampoo/Wash in One | Several brands are great; make sure they are tear-free! Worst thing is to see your baby’s eyes ache 🙁 |
| Baby Lotion | I like the ones for extra dry skin, since Faiz had eczema early on |
| Bath Toys | |
| Grooming Kit | A baby is high maintenance. They need hair care, nail care, skin care, etc. |
Health/Teething
| Product | Comments |
| Nose Frieda | I barely used this. But people RAVE about this snot sucker. |
| Rectal Thermometer | Apparently, the most accurate temperature for a baby is through his rectum |
| Baby Tylenol | Good to have this just in case (if you and your fam are ok with medicine) |
| Nuk Pacifier | My baby hated pacifiers, but on the rare moments he took one, it was usually a Nuk |
| Sophie the Teether | |
| Round Teether | Keep these in the freezer; the cold teethers are soothing for a baby’s gums! |
| Toothbrush | Baby toothbrush for those little teeth! |
Lounging Gear
| Product | Comments |
| Bouncer | The Babybjourn bouncer is great, because the baby gets practice kicking and bouncing the chair himself |
| Swing | This was one of Faiz’s favorite items early on. The music, spinning mobile, and different speeds of the swing were great. |
| Playpen | To be honest, Faiz only enjoyed this for a few months. Now he considers it a punishment to be placed in there, so I tend to use it as storage for his toys. I do love that it is portable, and was easy to take to my parents. |
| Walker | This type of walker that he has to push versus the kind he can sit in was drastically better for his ability to move his legs. I have the wooden version of this; but this works too! |
| Standing Center | Faiz loved to stand in this, prior to using the walker, and and it was stimulating for him to have toys and colors to play with. I didn’t have this exact product, but it was quite similar! |
| Baby Proofing | Once the baby starts to crawl and walk, life changes. Gotta baby proof everything. |
| Tummy Time Mat |
Extras
- A letter board or milestone board
- Fun outfits
- Popular books
- Personalized items
I know it is a lot of information to digest! I hope it serves as a good guide to selecting your shopping to-do list/baby registry. Coming up in future posts, I will breakdown each category 🙂