If you’re looking for a list of suggestions for your baby registry, this is not it. These items don’t fall under the “need” category. You could raise a baby without these things, but they really do make life easier! (You could also use these items as unique gift ideas if there isn’t a registry to go off of) We’re four months in with baby number 3 (probably our last), and I STILL find myself looking for cool baby gear.
You’ll notice that one of the large trends in this list is foldable items. I like to be able to fold and stowaway as much baby stuff as possible. Especially for those times you host friends at your house and want to pretend that kid stuff doesn’t swallow your house whole.
If You’re on the Go…
It’s kind of funny that I have all these items because I honestly don’t travel that much with kids. I respect those who do, but I don’t usually have the energy. Vacations don’t exist with kids… Only trips. So these items are good for the homebody too. I’ve brought them to friends’ houses, when visiting family, or other random outings. I’ve also used them at home when other friends with babies come to visit. Another thing to note is that I found all of these originally on Zulily, and I continue to see them on there if you have time to wait. The price tends to be at least a little lower on there.
1. Go-Pod
This is just a portable activity chair. It obviously doesn’t have the bells and whistles of a normal activity chair that could entertain a baby for hours, but I’ve never been a huge fan of those chairs. They’re big and colorful and basically turn into a fixture until your kid outgrows it. Very hard to ignore when not in use.
The Go-pod doesn’t come with attachments, but there are loops that allow you to hook a couple toys onto it. Ours always had teethers attached… We can pretend that our infant is ready to learn letters and numbers at this stage, but let’s be honest, all kids want to do is chew on stuff for the first year.
2. Travel High Chair
When our first was born, travel high chairs weren’t really popular. I remember bringing it to some sort of class at the pediatrician’s office when David was about 6 months or so. It gave him a clean place to sit and play with the toys I brought, and it entertained him for almost an hour. It caught the attention of other parents and grandparents everywhere we went. It folds up to the size of a camping chair and is super easy to set up and take down. (speaking of camping, this would be PERFECT for camping with a baby)
We love our travel highchairs so much that we wore out two of them in 5 years, and I no longer have one for pictures. The above photos are the best I could find. I definitely plan on getting another for baby #3.
The one pet peeve I had with the Ciao Baby version is that the tray dips towards the baby. Other than that, it’s my absolute favorite. There seem to be more options on the market right now, but I haven’t seen one as nice as Ciao Baby yet. TBD.
3. Travel Playpen
The travel play pen is different from a travel crib, which I also highly recommend. But the travel play pen is much bigger when unfolded, and more compact when folded, since it doesn’t have a mattress.
I think I only used this a handful of times with my first because I obviously was able to focus on one kid much easier than on two and three. With baby #3, this has been a necessity. It protects the baby from being stepped on by her two older brothers who love her so much but can’t manage to be aware of their surroundings whatsoever.
If You’re a Worrier…
I, myself, am not a big worrier…. I’ll pause for a minute to let those who know me laugh at that… But if you are, you’ll understand where I’m coming from with these next few items.
4. The Snuza
As anyone with a newborn knows, sleep is VERY minimal for most of the first year. Having to wake up to feed a baby every couple of hours is something I couldn’t have prepared myself for. I think it’s the reason that my hardest transition, to date, was going from 0 to 1 kid. Going from 1 to 2 and even 2 to 3 wasn’t as big of a shock because once kids enter the picture, you never sleep anyway. Other than frequent feedings keeping you awake, there’s also the worry. Without the Snuza, I don’t think I ever would’ve slept.
This thing attaches to the baby’s diaper, and it basically tracks their breathing. If it doesn’t sense any movement after 15 seconds, it vibrates to somewhat “shake” the baby into moving. If there’s still no movement 5 seconds after that vibration, an alarm goes off to alert you.
I’ve talked to many people who have absolutely no desire in monitoring this closely. They feel that it would make them worry more, not less. I totally get it. There were a handful of “false alarms” as the boys got closer to 5 or 6 months. They were moving a lot by then, and the Snuza would fall off the diaper and cause the alarm to sound. I would SPRINT into their room, just to find them playing happily in their crib in the middle of the night. We eventually stopped putting it on them around 6 months, but the piece of mind it allowed me for the prior months was priceless.
5. Owlet Smart Sock
For baby #3, we took it up a notch. Ads started popping up for this Owlet sock on my social media sometime around kid number two. It’s pretty expensive, and I really didn’t think it was necessary. Fast forward to the next baby, and I now understand the point of it. The boys are in preschool and are walking petri dishes. I’ve read way too many scary stories about babies and RSV, and I’m terrified. This sock has 100% helped me sleep when the baby sleeps, even if she has a cold.
(For the record, the snuza is still great when the baby sleeps somewhere other than her room, or even when traveling!)
6. LifeVac
I was a lifeguard in college, and obviously am a parent, so I’ve taken multiple CPR classes. I feel relatively confident performing the heimlich on someone whose choking, and I’ve even had to test the “kid version” out a couple times on the kids. (Boys are TERRIBLE at taking small bites) When I was pregnant with my third, I heard 3 or 4 stories about kids choking and the heimlich not working. One even included a parent in the medical field who knew the heimlich well. Enter LifeVac. It claims to be a more reliable way of helping someone who is choking.
Thankfully, we haven’t had to test it out just yet, but I feel better knowing it’s around. We have one at home and a travel version that I keep in the car.
Miscellaneous…
7. Bath Ring
Honestly, I don’t know how people bathe more than one child at a time without this bath ring. Even with only one child…. they’re so slippery! In the first few months, the baths are super quick. As they get older, most babies want more time in the tub to play. It’s impossible to hold onto them the entire time. Enter the bath ring. It gives them freedom while keeping them safe. Genius!
As with many other things on this list, we wore out this bath ring in the photo. I can’t even find it online to buy it again, but I did find this one that looks even more secure. I will be getting this soon for our third, so she can eventually enjoy playing at bath time.
8. Handheld Breast Pump
This thought never even crossed my mind until my husband casually mentioned it before a day out with friends. In the past, if I ever found myself in a pinch, I would have to handle it myself. As if I were a cow. This handheld pump helped me out of pinch in a more dignified way…. Not a ton more dignified, but I’ll take what I can get.
We took the train into NYC for the day to shop and see “Wicked”. It was the first time being away from the baby for more than a few hours, and I didn’t want to lug my whole pump along with me. (Not to mention I don’t know where I would’ve plugged it in) I ended up using the pump during most of the play because it took awhile to get anything out, but at least I wasn’t in pain the whole day! I now feel more prepared having this in my diaper bag.
9. Magnetic “Hands” for Car Seat
When people see my car seat, they probably think I put pink “spirit hands” on it for decoration. These little hands are magnets that help hold the car seat straps off to the side while putting the baby in or taking the baby out. I wish they were a little stronger since the straps fall off a lot, but any amount of help is good when holding a floppy little newborn.
10. Joovy Walker
I’m pretty sure that walkers are taboo right now. Maybe they were big when I was a baby? But then there were too many accidents involving stairs, and when it was time for me to register for baby items, I was told to stay far away from walkers.
Then my second son came along. He wanted to be moving all the time, and I couldn’t keep up. This thing made him so happy. We obviously had to be on high alert that the basement door remained closed, but we were used to that anyway…. A walking toddler or crawling infant can fall down the stairs just as easily as a rolling one!
I love that the tray is huge also. I can lay out a bunch of toys to make it more of an activity chair AND it folds up:)