Laurel and I have spent way too much time (100’s of hours) researching baby gear — online and talking with our pediatrician, our friends, and meet-up groups. I hope this list of our picks is helpful to you! We’ll receive a commission for purchases made through the links below.
Pre-Birth
Start with a baby registry to keep track of all these things!
Books: What to Expect When You’re Expecting
- Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat, Orion
– You must have a car seat before you give birth! Hospitals won’t let you leave without one. You can either buy an infant seat or a convertible seat that can hold infants, babies, and toddlers. Since the infant seat can be easily removed from the car (say, with a sleeping baby still in it) and carried or put in a stroller caddy — and the convertible seat requires waking the baby up to transfer to a stroller, we chose the infant seat.
– You must have a car seat before you give birth! Hospitals won’t let you leave without one. You can either buy an infant seat or a convertible seat that can hold infants, babies, and toddlers. Since the infant seat can be easily removed from the car (say, with a sleeping baby still in it) and carried or put in a stroller caddy — and the convertible seat requires waking the baby up to transfer to a stroller, we chose the infant seat.
- Arm’s Reach Concepts Ideal Ezee 3-in-1 Bedside Bassinet – Natural
– This gives you the best of both worlds – the safety of having baby in her own bed, but easy access to nurse without mom having to get out of bed to pick her up.
– This gives you the best of both worlds – the safety of having baby in her own bed, but easy access to nurse without mom having to get out of bed to pick her up.
Glider / Nursing Chair – we picked up one from Pottery Barn Kids.
- Recommended by our doctor for mom to take during pregnancy and continuing all while breastfeeding.
Honest Baby Diapers Size N (aka size 0) — get 3 four-packs (160 diapers each, so 480 total) for the first month.
- You may want to consider cloth diapers (more environmentally friendly) at some point later, but for newborns, when you’re changing 10+ diapers every day, disposables are the way to go. Put these on your Amazon Subscribe & Save.
WaterWipes Baby Wipes – 540 will last about 5 weeks
- Most baby wipes have all kinds of stuff in them. These are just water and a drop of grapefruit seed extract and have worked great for us. Put these on your Amazon Subscribe & Save.
- Not essential, but when you generate a trashbag-full of dirty diapers every few days, it’s nice to have them not stink up your bedroom. This system is really easy to use and convenient.
- It’s miserable if any one of you (parents or baby) gets a cold. Our doctor says this is safe for mom to take while breastfeeding.
Months 1 & 2
Chicco Keyfit Caddy Stroller Frame
This works alongside the KeyFit infant car-seat above, and makes it into a stroller. This is the easiest-to-use, safest, and most compact combination for this age, since you need the car-seat anyway. The combo allows you to move baby between car and home without waking her.
Ergobaby 360 All Carry Positions Award-Winning Cool Air Mesh Ergonomic Baby Carrier, French Blue
This is best baby carrier – we like the mesh version since we have warm weather. Infants need to be strapped in facing your chest, but before you know it (month 4 for us) they’ll cry unless they can see out (forward-facing) and this does that too.
The Play Gym by Lovevery
Most of the moments when we weren’t holding our newborn were when she was on this mat. This one is thoughtfully made with not-overwhelming patterns and developmental activities you can uncover when baby is ready. Buy a cheap mobile to hang from the top!
Fisher-Price My Little Snugapuppy Cradle ‘n Swing
- If you’re lucky, your baby will nap soundly in this, but even if she doesn’t nap this is a great safe place to put a baby for a few minutes when they need something more snug than the play mat.
Nursing Bras and Lanolin Cream
- For mom. Breast-feeding is rough.
- During the first weeks, baby can sleep swaddled in a blanket, but once they start moving/escaping, a blanket is unsafe and they need a sleepsack.
- We used about 1 per week after the first month. Put these on your Amazon Subscribe & Save.
Months 3 & 4
BOB 2016 Revolution FLEX Jogging Stroller, Black
This is the best jogging stroller (only Thule comes close and it costs more). Don’t jog until baby has good head control (doctor OK’ed at month 5 for us, should occur by month six for most babies), but baby will appreciate the upright seat (compared to the infant seat + caddy which has them reclined) as soon as they can sit up.
The No-Cry Nap Solution
- Our baby would only nap while being held, meaning she truly required 24/7 care. Getting an hour or two of naps in her crib has been a game-changer!
Months 5 & 6
Top-selling Feeding spoon for starting solid foods.
Check back again for more as we complete these months!
More Resources
All of Amazon’s Baby Bestsellers
Lucies List – many more detailed lists to build on the above.
Kelly Mom – all about breastfeeding