Children cost money. Full stop. So we have been buying a bit more online lately. We still try to get things used, but once pandemic moved us to shelter in place at my parents’, the strong network I had via mommy groups and buy nothing groups in NYC fell apart, and I’ve been buying more new items after doing my research.
Read all these kinds of lists with the knowledge that your child is unique, and that what works for me, might not work for you.
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Home and furnishings
This co-sleeper is the best and sleeps babies up to 25 pounds. I got mine as a hand me down from a friend. I used this at home with my child as my arm strength was still limited and was nursing around the clock. You can see that one of the sides fold down so it’s really easy to access your child, comfort them, you just tuck this right next to your bed.
I know this is the most expensive item on the list, but saying that the Doona Car Seat is amazing is the understatement of our first year. If you intend to fly and drive a lot with your child, or if you live in a city where you have a lot of public transportation to negotiate, this stroller is the most incredible piece of engineering I have seen for a baby to date, that I would also put my money down. Not only that, this was also the only thing my child would fall asleep in when he was colicky (after lots of pushing back and forth and back and forth). Since this car seat only lasts until 35 pounds / 31 inches (whichever comes first), you can probably find this used and in really good condition when you browse locally in a big city. If not, have your friends try to chip in for you.
For sleeping when traveling, I cannot go without the Graco Pack and Play – especially with that infant insert that creates a higher crib. I’ve tried other brands, but Graco’s pack and play is sturdy and lessens the effort in bending down to get the child. This is the pack and play I try to borrow wherever I travel. The infant insert holds a child up to 15 pounds, after which I transitioned to a crib. You’ll also see versions that include a changing area – those I don’t really use. I transitioned baby from this to a crib quite easily.
Portable white noise machine by Slaouwo, USB chargeable – This one literally fits inside the palm of my hand. However, the noise it creates is very powerful. BB sleeps very well with white noise. One time he woke up on a bus ride (the bus stalled for about half an hour), and by tucking this into his stroller and then throwing a muslin blanket on top, we were able to get him to go back to sleep and stop crying.
There’s a puppy on these pads but hear me out, this is the only changing table you will need. I can change BB anywhere with these and I carry a supply when traveling to use on planes and public restrooms. I usually put two of them on the ground for him to lie on top of, and they’re also a great way to catch diaper explosions.
Between my drooly baby and our two fur-shedding cats, I bought three of these sofa slipcovers to help protect the furniture at my parents’ place. They hold up! Be sure to measure your furniture before purchasing. Our sofas are a bit extra wide so the cover did not extend all the way to the bottom, but it does its job as our cats usually only jump on furniture and don’t scratch it, and my child mainly has a drool problem that I was solving
I try not to have my child spend a lot of time in a rocker in order to continue developing his muscle strength, but this Fisher-price infant to toddler rocker is the one I got off of one of my mommy groups. This is a rocker that I typically recommend people to buy used or off of others, because almost everyone has one and they’re super easy to keep clean.
Toys and entertainment
Many of my child’s toys are passed down or home made so I’ve found the best match on Amazon.
I focus mainly on simplicity and I love the Bright Starts activity gym (BB’s is a slight variation of this one) because it is affordable and so simple. Then what I do is tie different toys to the loops so that there is a greater variety to the gym, but I don’t think that one needs to start with a fancy gym. BB stopped playing with the activity gym around 7 months of age as he moved to crawling around the house.
This pack of ten rattles is a huge favorite for my child. I rotate his selection of rattles so that he usually only sees two at a time to keep things fresh. I love the colors, the variety that you can have.
Friends, when you are sleep deprived, and you need to put the baby somewhere and hope they entertain themselves a little bit, this Evenflo world explorer exersaucer is for you. It does take up significant space so I probably would not have purchased this if I were in NYC, but pandemic means rules go out the window. I got this used from a local mother and it is one of the best purchases. One of parts is broken likely due to drool exposure over time preventing the batteries from working properly, but this saucer has many pieces that your baby can enjoy even without batteries.
Books
In no particular order, these are some books I’ve enjoyed reading with my child. In lieu of a baby shower, my husband and I threw a co-ed party and asked guests to contribute to our child’s library.
