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Baby Registry Essentials

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Are you looking for baby registry essentials?

You’ve come to the right place! In this post I’ll talk about the products that made our lives so much easier the first year of Carter’s (and now Isaiah’s) life. 

I was cleaning the basement the other day and putting things away and reminisced each time I found an item that we used during the first year of my son’s  life.

I realized that I really loved so many of the products, I thought it would be so helpful to share my love of the products with others who are expecting.

Then it hit me. 

I’ll write a post about baby registry essentials!

Baby registry must haves essentials

 

Each of these products I have purchased, tried and loved!

The first year of a baby’s life goes so fast but is also challenging. 

These items made our days (and sleepless nights) much more bearable and smooth. 

I can’t wait to share these items with you!

I found out I was pregnant in November of 2015. 

I was overjoyed!

We had been trying to have a baby for about 6 months and experienced a miscarriage along the way. 

We were so happy to be pregnant and were ready to welcome our newest addition into the world. 

Well, we were kind of ready.

My step-daughter, Lexie, was 9 when my son was born, so it had been awhile since we had been around a baby.

I met Lexie when she was almost two years old, so I wasn’t around to witness her first year of life or all that came with it. 
I was around when my niece and nephews were born, but I had never been in the thick of it myself. 

After the joy set in and I came back to earth, my first question to my husband was, “What do we have to get?”

I was obviously a first time mom and somewhat clueless. 

Some of my friends had children, but not that many, and I didn’t know what to expect or what we REALLY needed. 

The obvious items were clothes, diapers, a crib, and the like, but what else did we need?

What were the baby registry essentials for our baby?

As a new mom, I walked around Target with the little scanner registering for random things I thought we needed.

I scanned about 20 bibs, random pairs of baby socks and a diaper pail along with other things that looked “cool”. 

That sounded like we had everything covered. 

We of course would get the crib and diapers, but I thought I did a good job of scanning other things to add to our registry that I thought we would use.

Boy was I wrong.

I DIDN’T scan just about EVERYTHING we would REALLY need the first year of his life.

So, here are the awesome items that we used, and used a lot the first year of his life.

Now, baby registry essentials will vary for everyone, but these are the items we used the heck out of and were so important to us. 

Baby Registry Essentials

  1. With my first son, Carter, we used the Rock ‘N Play a LOT. It really was wonderful and we had no problems with it, but due to the recall, for this baby, I’m choosing the safe side and we are ordering one of these: the Graco Dream Glide. It auto rocks, but you can place your baby laying all the way down, or you can click the seat up like a swing. We’re excited to use it. I’ll report back on how it works. 

2.  I mentioned that Carter spent time in the NICU since he was early.  His breathing needed help, so when we brought him home I was nervous about letting him out of my sight, despite doctors telling us everything was okay. 

Enter the Owlet Smart Sock 2. Another front runner in the baby registry essentials list, this is a soft little sock like item you place on your baby’s foot. (I’m actually using this again for my second and it’s just as great the second time around. You can’t put a price on peace of mind!)

You can use this when they are sleeping to monitor their heart rate and oxygen levels just like they did at the NICU.  It really eased my anxiety and worry. 

It’s very easy to use, and if something is off with either the oxygen levels or the heart rate, a loud (and I mean loud) alarm will sound letting you know to check on your baby.  It only went off a couple of times for us and he was okay, but it was great to have to know that he was okay. 

You download an app on your phone and you can watch the numbers in real time.  It also tells you if the baby is moving which is kind of neat to see. 

The sock comes in all sizes, with the biggest size being number 3, which is up to 18 months or 25 pounds.  The sock plugs into a USB port similar to a cell phone charger to be charged. 

The best thing about this is that it comes with a 45 day no questions asked, full refund policy, so if you feel it’s not for you, you can return it and get all of your money back.  To me, it was worth every penny.3. Swaddle blankets! They are a must and made my baby feel so secure.  When he was in the NICU, he was constantly swaddled and grew accustomed to it.

One thing I can’t recommend enough is getting MANY of these.  Between blow out diapers and spit up, we went through a lot of them each week. 

Carter was born in the summer, so I prefered these Aden and Anais cotton swaddle blankets.  They kept him warm but cool at the same time and were a perfect size to swaddle him.  They are so soft and wash up so nice.  In a pinch, they also work well as a spit up rag!

4.  If you’ve had children before, you know what a pain it is to wash breast pump parts and bottles constantly.  For the longest time, I felt like I wasn’t getting them clean enough. 

Despite boiling, sanitizing and hand washing, a lot of times there was still this film on the parts.  Carter was breast fed for three months and then we switched to formula. 

He’s now drinking whole milk.  All of the above would leave a funky film that I just couldn’t get off of the bottles and parts.  One day I was at Target and I was browsing the baby aisle when I happened to notice Dapple on the shelf. 

It targets milk residue and uses baking soda to fight odors.  This stuff is amazing! It’s gentle and safe for babies as well.  We still use it to this day; whole milk gets really funky. I almost forgot to add this to the baby registry essentials list until I took a break from writing and started washing dishes! I’m so glad I remembered to add it.  You will love Dapple. 

5. Once we got Carter home, he started having issues eating.  He would scream and cry after sucking on his bottle for a few minutes. 

He would arch his back in pain.  He would have such huge burps and was miserable every time he ate.  We were using some bottles that I received at one of my showers, and it seemed like they might have been the issue. 

We switched to these Dr. Brown’s bottles, and his crying reduced drastically.  They have a special vent system that helps reduce the gas and amount of spit up and burping for the baby. 

The bottles are easy to clean (with Dapple of course) and they are high quality and wash very well.  We started out with the preemie two ounce bottles and ended with the eight ounce bottles.  Eventually he was diagnosed with acid reflux, but these bottles helped him dramatically. 6.  Speaking of reflux, the medicine that was prescribed was a liquid of course.  We tried putting it in his mouth directly but was often hard to do because he would fight it. 

We tried putting it in his bottle and that didn’t always work because sometimes he wouldn’t drink it all.  I was so frustrated one day and almost ready to cry along with him, when I remembered that we had a baby medicine bottle that I received as a shower gift. 

I didn’t register for this gift but whoever gave it to me must have known its importance.  The one we used is the Fridababy MediFrida the Accu-Dose Pacifier Baby Medicine Dispenser.  

I put the medicine in the medicine bottle and he took it like a champ, every time.  He was only getting a small amount, but as he got older we used it for ibuprofen and Tylenol as well.  It really does help! I especially like how the dosages are marked on the bottle.

7.  Another item we used frequently (every night) was the Halo SleepSack. They come in all sizes and are so nice for the baby when they are too young to put a blanket in the crib. 

Carter was at a stage where he was sick of the swaddle, but yet I felt he would get a little cold in the middle of the night. 

We bought multiples in the micro fleece and a couple of them in the cotton material.  We would put a long sleeve onesie on him and place him into the SleepSack.  It’s like a loose blanket but not loose enough to pose any risk to the baby. 

It kept him nice and toasty for many months.  The lighter cotton ones were nice in the summer months.8.  When carter started pulling himself up and walking, he was constantly falling over and bumping his head.  I hated to see it happen and tried to keep it from happening, but so many times he was quicker than I was. 

So, I checked Amazon and sure enough, they have soft helmets for babies that are learning to walk! I purchased the Simplicity No Bumps Safety Helmet.

Carter didn’t mind his helmet and it was so soft and easy to put on.  It can be washed which makes things even better! Not to mention, it’s adorable on.

9.  A baby monitor is an important part of your baby registry essentials list.  While at Target registering, I did scan one that I thought looked the best. 

I scanned the Summer Infant Monitor.  It has worked great! The battery life is long and it is easy to use and to charge. 

We still use it, even at 20 months, because he’s getting to the age I worry about him climbing out of his crib.  You can turn the sound down and watch the color bar turn colors which will tell you if there’s a loud noise like crying.  It’s been a really good monitor.  

10.  Lullabies have been a big part of Carter’s life. I started using lullabies from the day we brought him home.  It soothed him while he was fussy and has came in handy when he wouldn’t settle down for nap or bed time. 

If he is fussy in the car, I turn on the lullabies and he usually calms right down.  His favorite is Baby Lullaby.  There are no words with this music.  It’s just calming lullabies played by piano.  It almost puts me to sleep too!
11.  This shopping cart seat cover has been essential for us.  Since he was big enough to sit up, he would put his mouth all over the cart if I didn’t have this cover. 

Now with flu season in full swing, it comes in super handy.  It’s so easy to throw in the washer after use. 

It has some toys on it that will keep the baby busy while you quietly sip your Starbucks at Target and look at things you can’t afford or don’t need. 

12.  Carter has never been the best sleeper.  It seemed like no matter what we tried, he was always waking up early or at all times of the night. 

One thing we did notice was that when we put a fan in his room, he slept better. 

The fan creates a calming sound for babies and also drowns out other sounds that might wake them up.  He also loved the white noise that came on the Dream Glider.

13. Carter started teething early and it took FOREVER for his teeth to come through.  One thing that he loved to chew on and really helped ease his pain was the Baby Banana

It is the perfect size for babies to easily hold and chew on, and even better – you can throw it in the dishwasher! He loved holding on to this and chewing on it for months.  We used it as his first toothbrush too! The banana came every where with us.14.  From early on, Carter would wake up crying at night because his feet were stuck through the crib slats.  We solved this problem by purchasing this Breatheable Baby Mesh Crib Liner

It is breathable so it reduces the risk of suffocation if the baby were to get too close to it while sleeping and it kept his feet from going through the crib slats.  He slept much longer stretches once we put this on his crib.

15.  I mentioned earlier that Carter would get gassy and cry a lot during the first few months of his life.  We tried everything. 

One day while I was at the drug store looking at remedies for baby gas/colic I noticed the Windi.  It kind of scared me at first, but it was so easy to use and really helped him feel better.  It helps to instantly release gas when inserted, and it does work well.16.  Another handy baby essential that we still use to this day is the Nose Frida by Fridababy.  From the makers of the Windi, this object helps to easily remove snot and boogies from the baby’s nose. 

There is a filter that keeps the goo from getting into your mouth and it really works so well! I had to make this part of the baby registry essentials because we still use it when Carter gets sick and it has helped him to feel much better many times!
17.  When I was at work, or even at home, it was such a pain to try and sanitize my pump parts.  These Medela Quick Clean sanitizer bags made it so easy to clean the pump parts between pumping.  You pour a little water into the bag, place the pump parts inside of it, place it in the microwave and they come out sanitized.

18.  I’ve noticed the trend is to have a changing table as part of a dresser.  While this will be okay while your child is small, once they get bigger and want to squirm and roll around during changing time, it could get dangerous. 

I thought of that before we bought one, so I chose to purchase this Dream On Me changing table.  It is so nice because now that he’s a toddler, he doesn’t roll around and squirm getting his diaper changed, because he can’t.  The pad is soft and easy to clean.  It’s great for storage too.

19.  These Baby Bum Diaper Cream brushes are wonderful! You don’t have to use your hand to apply diaper cream and they are so easy to clean.  Once I use them, I just wipe it off with a baby wipe and it’s ready to go for next time.  They are great to carry in the diaper bag too and keep you from getting all messy.
20.  This Baby Einstein Jumper was Carter’s favorite thing for many months.  He loved to sit in it and jump, jump, jump.

It was nice when we had to cook or do dishes, we could just bring it into the kitchen while we were cooking or cleaning and he would stay busy jumping or playing with all the toys it comes with.  It doesn’t take up too much room and is light enough to move from room to room as needed.
There you have it. 

Twenty items that are baby registry essentials. 

Again, I have tried and used all these products myself and love them!

They made our lives so much easier during the first (and sometimes second year) of Carter’s (and now Isaiah’s) life. 

I loved all these products so much I had to share them with you!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Is there a baby registry essentials item that I have missed?

Is there something you absolutely loved?

Please share it with me!

Best Wishes!

Carissa