This weekend alone, three different friends asked for baby registry recommendations as they are expecting little ones this Spring. While I’ve included our favorite items in each of my monthly recaps, I wanted to compile our favorite items in one easy-to-reference and share list. While this list is in no means exhaustive, these are the items that we’ve used daily and many of them have traveled with us to Vermont, Georgia and Ohio.
While we were lucky enough to receive many of the below items during our two baby showers, a few of these items we bought on our own after she was born. Baby items are often expensive and certain ones are only enjoyed for a few months – if that! Over the past few months, we’ve discovered a few ways to save money when buying baby items.
Money Saving Tips
- Almost every item on this list is carried at BuyBuyBaby. Did you know that their amazing 20% and $10 off coupons can be stacked and can be used online or in-store? Every time you receive one in the mail or email you can add it to your app so that you can easily reference it the next time you need something! There are a few brands, like Uppababy, that aren’t always included in the discount.
- Recently we discovered that Uppababy is included in many Macys, Saks, and Bloomingdales promotions! For example, a few weeks ago many of their items were 25% off! If you have your eye on Nuna products, one reader let me know that they were 40% off in the last Nordstrom Half Yearly sale!
- Don’t forget about places like Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack and outlets for great deals on baby items especially clothing and toys! We bought most of Katie’s pajamas and outfits from the Carter’s outlets and I recently saw that our local Nordstrom Rack carries an assortment of Skiphop, Little Giraffe and Fisher-Price items!
- RueLaLa has a baby section on their site and this weekend BabyBjorn and many other brands are included for AMAZING prices!
- Surprisingly, Amazon is often not the cheapest place for many of these items. Whether you’re buying a gift for someone or shopping for yourself, search the item in Google first before buying!
- Check out your local mom’s group on Facebook to see whether people are selling lightly used items. While I’m not a fan of buying used teething items or toys, we were able to find bottles, humidifier and Bumbo on our local group. This is also a great way to sell items after you’re done using them!
Our Favorite Items
- Stroller – Uppababy Cruz
- Stroller Accessories – 7Am Enfant 212 Evolution cover, stroller organizer, 7AM Muffs
- Car Seat – Uppababy Mesa
- Newborn Playmat – Skiphop Treetop Friends Activity Gym
- Play Mat- Tiny Love
- Carrier – Ergo360
- Bouncer – BabyBjorn Bouncer Balance
- Jumperoo – Fisher-Price Roaring Rainforest Jumperoo
- Swing – Fisher Price Revolve Swing
- Travel Crib – Babybjorn Travel Crib Light
- Bottles – Dr. Browns Options
- Bottle Dryer – Boon Grass & Boon Clutch Dishwasher
- Bottle Brush – Dr Browns
- Bottle Warmer – Philips Avent Fast Bottle and Baby Food Warmer
- Baby Food Maker – Beaba
- Storage & Spoons – Beaba
- Sound Machine – Dohm Original
- Portable Sound Machine – Marpac Dohn Portable Sound Machine
- Pacifier – WubbaNub Infant Pacifier
- Diaper Bag – Skip Hop Chelsea Downtown Chic Diaper Bag
- Swaddle Blankets – Aden & Anais
- Swaddle – Halo SleepSack
- First Aid Kit – Safety 1st
- Audio Monitor – VTech
- Video Monitor – Nest Cam
- Humidifier – Crane
- Burp Cloths – Carter’s
- Bath Tub – Stokke Flexi Bath
- Diapers – Pampers Swaddlers
- Diaper Pail – Ubbi Diaper Pail
- Nursing Pump – Spectra S2
- Diaper Pad – Keekaroo Diaper Pad
- Diaper Rash Cream – Triple Paste
- Favorite Toys First 6 Months – Fisher Price Piano, Fifi the Firefly, Feel & Learn Books, Infantino Toy Cube
- Teething Toys – Comotomo Teether & Nuby Ring
- Baby Medicine Cabinet Essentials First Six Months – Baby Tylenol, Zarbees Chest Rub, Camilia Teething Medicine, Nose Frida & bulb, saline spray, Windi Gas Relief, Boogie Wipes
- Cleaning Supplies – Babyganics Wipes, hand cleanser, Dreft laundry detergent, Dapple
If you have any questions about the items below or there is a category I forgot, just let me know!
Your turn: If you’re a parent, what was on your list of baby favorites the first year, or even better, what do you think Katie will love for months 7-12?
I totally agree with using local FB groups for the items you don’t use for very long and aren’t feeding/teething items. My son loved his exersaucer for three months, but now it’s just sitting in our very small condo! We are saving it for a future sibling but would sell or donate it after. We didn’t do a jumperoo, but that’s similar, as are things like the Sit Me Up chair, Rock n Play, etc. All great before baby can sit unassisted but not very useful after 6 months!
At 10 months now, my son loves musical instruments like the Fisher-Price drum set and xylophone. They go from the toys where you push a button to play a song, to tapping out beats of their own.
She loves her jumparoo now more than ever at 7 months old but not sure how long it’ll last. Yes, I hear that musical instruments become even more fun the older they get. 🙂
Love the tips, and yes we use our local Madeira page here for a ton of goodies! Never a reason to pay full price – so many great finds out there. I mentioned this to you but baby buddy toy straps are critical if you take lots of walks or are out and about like we are. We strapped Parker’s toys to the stroller and his car seat. Also we love the Mozart cube. Instruments and music are the best.
As far saving money by making your own baby food, it can be as simple as steaming fruits and veggies and using a simple immersion blender rather than purchasing a $150 system.
wow there are a lot of links in here…I generally like your blog and have been a long time reader, but this is become a little much? I think next time it would be more helpful to indicate to readers why certain things worked or didn’t worked, rather than just linking no less than 50 products and entire stores as it feels less genuine (also my work computer blocks all shopstyle links (maybe because they look like spam?) which is becoming more and more common…)
Kate – Thank you for the feedback. I didn’t know that about ShopStyle and will definitely consider that moving forward. In regards to sharing so many items, I started this list as a response to three friends who are pregnant and thought it would be helpful to share on the blog for others to benefit from as I receive emails on a daily basis asking for recommendations. I think you’ll be happy to know that the topics I’m doing my best to blog about this week should have very few links as they are Katie’s 7 month update and a workout update.