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When I found out I was pregnant all I did was spend hours on youtube and google researching what I really needed for a baby. As a first time mom I had no clue what I really needed but I knew that I didn’t want to waste money on unnecessary things that we would only use a short period of time or not at all. 

Now that Aiden is over a year old, I have a good grasp on what products I really need. I know what I would purchase over and over and what I wouldn’t purchase again.

Now let’s be real for a second all you really need is food a few clothes and diapers for a baby, but motherhood is already hard so why not make it easier with a few other essential items that will make your life easier.

All of these products are things I have used and they helped make our lives easier. For each category, I will link all the items or a similar item if the one I use is unavailable.

Tip: Almost all of these items can be purchased with a coupon
Target: offers a baby registry completion discount
Amazon: offers a baby registry completion discount
Bed Bath Beyond: you can use the 20% off coupon on practically every baby item.
*Check out my Top 3 Baby Registry blog post to get more details on the discounts they offer

Here is an outline of all the sections we will cover.

• Health
• Diapering
• Bathing & Grooming
• Feeding
• Breast Feeding Essentials
• Solid Food Feeding
• Sleeping
• Clothes
• Nursery Furniture
• Laundry
• Baby Proofing Gear
• Baby Seats
• Baby Toys
• Summer Gear
• Winter Gear
• Travel Gear
• Miscellaneous

HEALTH

Rectal Thermometer- There are lots of thermometer options available but I prefer the rectal ones because they are more accurate. Just make sure you get one specifically for an infant like this one or this one because it has a short tip which prevents you from hurting baby.

All purpose Balm- Most people use petroleum jelly but I did not want to use that so I preferred a more natural all purpose balms like The Honest Company all Purpose Balm we have at least 5 on hand at all time that we keep throughout the house and in the car and diaper bag. When Aiden was born he had extremely dry skin peeling everywhere, since it was in my hospital bag I started using this on him since he was a couple of hours old. This kept his skin moisturized especially his ankles where the baby monitor rubbed. I use Eli & Ali Baby Tush Swiper to easily apply it mess free.

Nasal Aspirator- My favorite has been the NoseFrida because its the easiest to use. With the other traditional ones, I was always afraid I would shove to far up his nose and hurt him.

Saline Spray- We always keep some on hand throughout the house and in the diaper bag. I honesty just grab whichever is on sale but I do prefer the mist over the drops its just easier to use with a squirming infant.

Here are a two of the brands I’ve tried:

• Little Remedies saline nasal mist
• Arm & Hammer Simple Saline Nasal Mist

Vitamins

BioGaia Probiotics Drops
I have used BioGaia probiotics drops for Aiden since was born (it was in our hospital bags). My go to for him as always been BioGaia probiotics drops. When researching probiotics for my son I knew I wanted a good quality probiotic free of junk, that is why I chose Biogaia. You can purchase it HERE.

Because most of your immune system is located in you gut probiotics are a must because they promote good digestive and immune health.

ChildLife Essentials Echinacea
We ALWAYS have a bottle or two of this Echinacea in the house. Echinacea has been shown to boost and support healthy immune system. This is something I have used for myself for the past 10 years, I don’t use it daily but whenever any of us feel like we are getting sick we take it for a couple of days and 9 times out of 10 we feel better within a day or 2.

My go to brand for Aiden is ChildLife Echinacea drops, the main reason I went with this brand is because of the clean ingredients.

*The recommended age for this is 6 months and up, be sure to speak to your pediatrician before starting any vitamins for your child.

Fever reducers

-Acetaminophen also known as Tylenol
-Ibuprofen also known as Motrin (there is a children and infant dose of this so make sure you get the correct one based on your child’s age.

I always have acetaminophen and ibuprofen on hand since Aiden was born, we haven’t had to use it often but I promise you 9 times out of 10 you will need this in the middle of the night on the weekend when nothing is open. Just always have some on hand to be safe.

I would just purchase the store brand of these two its usually a lot cheaper than the brand name Tylenol & Motrin. The cheapest store brand I have found for both acetaminophen and ibuprofen so far is Target

*Tip: Ask your pediatrician for a sheet with the correct dosing based on your baby’s weight so you don’t have to call them every time.

DIAPERING

Diapers– I actually thought about using cloth diapers, but never got around to purchasing them so ended up using disposable diapers. We started off with using only Huggies diapers, then switch to the Honest company diapers which I loved but they were getting pricey. Now we use mostly the Up&Up Target brand, which I found to be just as good as Huggies diapers.

I would say just try different brands until you find the ones you like.

Diaper cream- Earth Mama Organics Diaper Balm is our go to, I really love that this diaper balm doesn’t contain Zinc Oxide. It’s not thick cream like most diaper cream its more of an ointment that goes on smoothly. We also something use the Honest Company all purpose balm as a diaper balm. If you want to learn more about about Earth Mama Organics products check out the blog post “Best Natural Products For Newborns”.

Wipes- WaterWipes are hands down my favorite wipes of all time. They are really wet, they don’t easier rip and the ingredient list is simple (only water ad grapefruit seed extract. They are not the cheapest but I think they are worth it.

Ubbi Diaper Pail- This diaper pail is on the pricier side but you end up saving money in the long run because you don’t need any special bags for it. It really does a good job at keeping the smell trapped in. We keep it in our bedroom for now, and Ubbi sent us another one that we keep in his playroom, and it does not smell like poop! You definitely smell the poop once you open it to throw away a diaper, but once its closed no poop smell yay! I keep a roll of bags at the bottom so I don’t have to worry about going to the kitchen to get a bag every time. The cloud print I purchased is unfortunately no longer available, but it does come in lots of other color. You can purchase yours HERE.

Waterproof Liners- These waterproof changing pad liners were very helpful when changing Aiden on our bed or on the couch, because realistically we didn’t go in his room every single time he needed a diaper change.

Changing Pad- Honestly I would say whether or not you need this depends on few factors. We have a two story home and both of our changing pads where upstairs, and let’t be honest we never went upstairs just to change him. Because we spent most of our times downstairs our changing pads rarely got used on a daily basis.

If you do end up getting a changing pad, my favorite was the Hatch changing pad, because I could weigh him as well on it, which was pretty cool to get do at home. We actually purchased another simple changing pad to put on our dresser in our room, but honestly after a few weeks we ended up just changing him in our bed if we were in the bedroom.

Tush Swiper- I first came across the tush swiper from Eli & Ali Baby while I was pregnant with Aiden back in 2018, right before they first launched their brand. I originally intended on using just for diaper cream. Then once I actually started using it, my mission to find everything the swiper fits on began! I use it for many different things you can check out the post I wrote on the 5 Ways to use the Tush Swiper HERE. Here are the reasons why I love the Tush Swiper:

• Antimicrobial 
• Soft and flexible tip
• Easy to clean (here’s a tip use a q-tip to clean out thicker creams and ointment)
• Its affordable 

Diaper Caddy- There are sooo many different options for this, I went with this one because the design is simple and fits my aesthetic, and also because there’s a light on the handle that you can use for those middle of the night diaper changes. I also like that you can move the divider inside to customize it to the size you want. We keep this caddy in our bedroom, and we actually have a cart in our family with all our diaper essentials we can easily access. you can see more about it below.

Diaper Station Cart- First if you don’t own one of these carts you need one! we have about 5 of them throughout the house and use them for multiple things. Now for the diaper station, we kept all the essentials in there so we wouldn’t have to keep going upstairs every time Aiden got dirty. Here is a list of what we kept in the cart.

• Diapers
• Wipes
• Diaper cream
• Lotion
• Extra clothes
• Hand sanitizer

BATHING & GROOMING

Towel- We purchased a few baby towels but honestly we ended up just using our towels for him most of the times. If you are looking for a simple hooded towel like the one below get this one.

Washcloth– I really love these washcloths, they are great for wiping everything on baby as well, we keep one in the diaper bag.

Baby wash- My favorite is from Earth Mama Organics it’s free of junk and its a foam so you are wasting a lot less.

Baby Lotion- My favorite is from Earth Mama Organics, it’s free of junk. It comes non Scented, as well as lavender and sweet orange.

Nail clippers- I purchase fancy nail clippers but honestly my favorite ended up being these nail clippers that cost about $4 for a pack of two. It’s also available in blue and pink.

Cotton swab- Make sure you get the ones specifically made for babies like this one.

Infant Tub- This IKEA one is affordable and worked perfectly.

Bath seat/cushion- For the first couple of weeks we gave him baths in the sink using this cushion, then eventually we transferred the cushion to the infant tub.

Rinse Cup- This is something I didn’t even know I needed until I saw it at the store. This pretty much helps prevent water from going all over the babies face when giving them a bath, I still use it for my son now. We have the blue one and it is also available in grey.

Bath toys- The possibilities are endless just get one or two you think your child will like. Aiden has been loving these bath toys.

Toy Holder- I wanted something that was not colorful and would go with my bathroom decor, which is why I went with this one from Ubbi.

Bath Thermometer- This thermometer is not completely necessary but it gave me peace of mind.

FEEDING

Baby bottles- The amount will depend on whether or not you are breastfeeding, we liked these Como Tomo bottle as well as the Phillips Avent bottles , we actually have the glass ones as well but they made the diaper bag too heavy so we only used them at home.

Bottle cleaning brush- This OXO Tot bottle brush is the first one I purchased and its the same one I keep on purchasing. It comes with a stand, and once you need to replace it you can purchase just the brush.

Drying rack– I wanted something simple, functional that would also match my decor and this Boon grass drying rack is it! We have the white one but it also comes in grey and green, you can even branches to put on the “grass” to hang things like pacifier or nipple to dry.

Basket for dirty bottles- I wanted a spot to throw the dirty bottles that was not the sink since thats where all our dirty dishes went. So I purchased this basket to put by the sink where I could throw all the dirty bottles in.

Sterilizer- Lots of people would say this is not necessary that you could just boil the bottles and pacifiers and nipples, which is very true but really who has time to that?? I wanted something that I could press a button and forget about it which is why I went with the Baby Brezza One-Step Bottle Sterilizer. This thing sterilizes and dries the bottles with just the push of a button. We usually load it throughout the day and turn it on before going to bed.

Insulated cooler- This is necessary if you be going out with breastmilk in a bottle.

BREAST FEEDING ESSENTIALS

Breast pump- I own there different ones but for sure my favorite has been the baby Buddha because it is small and portable and you don’t have to be near an outlet to use it. It’s perfect on the go. You can purchase it HERE and use code STYLISH10 to get a discount.

Breast milk storage bags- I honestly just went with whatever was on sale, usually the Target brand was the cheapest.

Nipple cream- I purchased quite a few different ones to try and end up just using the Honest Company all purpose balm.

Nursing pillow- Everyone seems to love the Boppy but for me it didn’t provide enough support and my back constantly hurt. After reseraching I came across the bbhugme breast feeding pillow and I never went back to the Boppy, I ended up using the Boppy it as a pillow to prop Aiden up.

Nursing Bra– This motherhood maternity nursing bra is by far the most comfortable nursing bran I found that actually supported me.

Nursing pads- There are quite a few brands to chose from, I went with the Target brand.

SOLID FOOD FEEDING

Tiny organics- I love these because they are free of junk are delivered to your door frozen.

Once Upon a Farm- These are only natural ingredients, they sell them at multiple stores or you can get them delivered straight to your door.

High Chair- There are so many options, we went with the 4moms high chair. My favorite feature is that you can adjust the height.

Easy to wipe bib– Our absolute favorite are these bibs from Gathre

Infant spoon/bowl- There are so many options to choose from, we just went with simple ones that match our aesthetics. Love these spoons , and these bowls from Target

SLEEPING

Pacifiers- This will depend on your child, our son never cared for it, I would say get 2 to start with. Plus the hospital will most likely give you a couple.

Dockatot- This thing has been a life saver! It has become very useful if I need to put him down on the bed and not worry about him rolling over, or have him on the floor in the bathroom while I take a shower or even on the kitchen island while I’m in the kitchen, the dockatot has been my go to. You should also purchase additional covers which I definitely recommend because as I am sure you have learned by now or will learn very soon that babies are messy. Since the cover needs to be air dried its nice to have two of them. The only down side is that its only good until your little one is about 8 months, but you can open the bottom if they get too tall. You can purchase it here.

Portable Playpen- My favorite is the Guava Family travel crib its lightweight and folds into a bag so you can easily travel with it or take with you when you go visit family.

Crib- I would suggest purchasing one that can turn into a toddler bed like this crib that we have. We didn’t pay full price for this it always goes on sale, so be on the lookout for that. Here is a more affordable one that looks almost identical.

Crib Mattress- Make sure to get one that fits snuggly in the crib you purchase.

Mattress protector– I would recommend getting, so you can easily replace it in the middle of the night.

Crib Sheets- You don’t need more than 2 sets to rotate.

Warm blanket– I love love this blanket from Saranoni, its super soft and warm and washes well.

Night light- I love this light because you can easily turn it on in the dark all you have to do is gently tap, the best part is that its rechargeable so you can put it anywhere and one full charge last a couple of days. The exact one we purchased is no longer available, this one has just as great reviews.

Swaddle Blanket- Before my little one was born I purchased lots and lots of swaddle blankets from different brands, mostly muslim ones and only one that wasn’t a muslim blanket from copper pearl. It turns out that I am not a big fan of muslim blankets for swaddling but I do love them for everything else. My absolute favorite swaddle blankets are from Copper Pearl because they are huge and stretchy they have such cute prints and they are one of the only ones that my little one can’t break out of, well most of the time….. He figured out how to break out of the swaddle since he was 2 days old!

Baby Monitor- We naturally went with the Arlo baby monitor because we already had the security system and we love it.

Owlet Monitor- The Owlet is a sock sensor that monitors your babies heart rate and oxygen level while they are sleeping using the app that you download on your phone. It comes with 3 socks of different sizes, base station, smart sock sensor, charging cord, and this can be used until your little one is 18 months. Knowing how paranoid I could be I decided to purchase it, and I have not regretted it. This thing pretty much just gives me peace of mind while baby is sleeping.

CLOTHES

This is rally based on preference and how often you will go out with your baby. Since we don’t have much family close to us my son pretty much lived in zip up onesies which were also his pajamas.

*Tip: Pick a color palette so you can mix and match multiple items, this will save you money. My color palette for my son’s clothes consist of grays, blues, black, mint with a few colorful pieces here and there.

My favorite clothing brand for my son is hands down Carter’s , the clothes are really good quality and wash really well and they are affordable, I also love Target brand as well as the Children’s place.

*Tip: Shop the clearance section of the season that has already past for the following year, you will save ton of money that way.

Zip up Footie Pjs- I specified zip up because you don’t want to be fumbling in the dark trying to snap back baby’s pjs in the middle of the night after a diaper change.

Snap body suit- both long sleeve and short sleeve depending on whether or not you live somewhere where it gets cold. I usually get these plain white ones they work great as under shirt especially for cooler days.

Shirt and pant sets- My favorite place to get these are Carter’s and Target. I also love this set that doubles as loungewear and pjs.

Grip Socks- I discovered these grip socks for my son when he started walking and that’s the only one I’ve been purchasing for him ever since. They are good quality, wash well and it prevents him from fall when he is running all over the place and climbing everything.

*Tip: Get the same plain pack of socks every time so you don’t have to worry about finding the other pair.

Hat- We actually never used hats for my son, except when it was cold for a few reason, he was born with lots of hair and he was born in the summer so it was hot. Plus they never stayed on. I would say get one or two in if your baby will be born in the winter.

Hangers- Get velvet hangers so tiny clothes won’t slip off and it will also save you space.

NURSERY FURNITURE

Rocking chair or Glider- I wanted a chair that fit my decor and also comfortable but did not cost a ridiculous amount which is why I went with this one. Make sure you get a comfortable chair.

Dresser– After searching high and low the most affordable dresser we found is the Hemnes dresser from IKEA. We purchased the white one and painted it.

LAUNDRY

Laundry Detergent- Two of my favorite are ECOS and Molly’s Suds.

*Tip: Use the same laundry detergent for the entire family, this will make life easier.

Stain remover- My two go to for stain remover that even removes poop stain on white fabric, is the Ecover Stain remover as well as the Molly’s Suds Oxygen Whitener.

Hamper- If you have the space I would get two, one for your room and one for the nursery, it makes life easier. I don’t have a particular one that I love I just purchased one that matched our decor.

BABY PROOFING GEAR

We waited until Aiden was mobile to start baby proofing the house, but I would suggest doing it before baby is born, because once you give birth chances are you won’t have much time

Gate- You definitely need one if you have stairs, we are still in search of the perfect one so I will update this once we find it.

Cabinet latches- These magnetic ones are amazing! They work well and you can’t see them on the outside of the cabinet.

Drawer latches- We used these same magnetic ones that we used for the cabinets.

Outlet Covers- Babies are attracted to sticking things inside outlets so just makes sure you have them covered. You can purchase them here.

Corner Guards- Use this for any low corners, we use the for our bed as well as low tables we have around the house. I love these because they aren’t an eye sore.

Furniture Anchors- Most furniture you purchase come with anchors, if not you can buy a kit here.

Doorknob Covers- There are so many options to choose, these are the ones we went with.

BABY SEATS

Infant Seat/Bouncer/Swing- This really depends on what your baby likes, we chose to go with the Nuna Leaf Baby Bouncer, because it can be used up to 130 pounds! So it will definitely grow with him.

BABY TOYS

We ended up purchasing lots of random baby toys, but if I had to do it all over again I would only purchase the subscription Montessori toys from Lovevery, and probably a few additional toys.

Playmat- We love this playmate from Lovevery

Toy basket- I use the toy basket to put the toys he is not currently playing with. I just purchased one that fit our decor.

Toy shelves- I display the toys he plays with on the shelf so he can easily grab them on his own

SUMMER GEAR

Sunscreen- You can start using once they are 6 months old, our favorite is this one from Earth Mama Organics because it’s free from chemicals and junk.

Portable Fan- This is perfect for outdoor walks or going to the park.

Swim Diapers- We really only used this if we went out but if Aiden is home then we just put his swim trunk on without a swim diaper.

WINTER GEAR

Hat- a warm fleece beanie that covers the ears like this one is definitely a must.

Snow Suit- You only need this if you live somewhere cold or if you will be traveling in the winter. Remember your child cannot wear this before being put in the carseat it’s too bulky and they will not be safely strapped in.

Quilted one piece- This is for cooler weather you can easily put it on top of baby’s clothes. I love this one from Gap.

Hoodie- Believe it or not its hard to find a plain hoodie for babies, everything is super colorful. So when I found this one I purchased it in multiple sizes.

Warm blanket- I love love this blanket from Saranoni, its super soft and warm and washes well.

TRAVEL GEAR

Carseat-  I decided on the Uppababy because I can easily snap it on to the Uppababy Vista stroller or the Uppababy Cruz stroller. Whichever carseat you chose I would say go with one that easily snaps on to your stroller.

Stroller– Hands down my favorite stroller is the UPPAbaby Vista, you can check out my post here UPPAbaby Vista 2018 Stroller Unboxing to see what I love about and all the awesome features it has.

Diaper Bag- There are so many options and styles available. I would suggest a backpack style diaper bag, it’s the easiest to carry when your also carrying a baby.

Here are a few of my favorites:

• Freshly Picked Purchase this at Bed Bath and Beyond to get 20% off the bag.
• Shop Aria

Portable Playpen- My favorite is the Guava Family travel crib its lightweight and folds into a bag so you can easily travel with it or take with you when you go visit family.

We actually traveled with this by plane and went on the cruise and it was a life saver. You can see more about Cruising with a Toddler in this blog post HERE.

MISCELLANEOUS

Secure a Toy Strap- Babies throw everything so for your sanity get yourself a set or two of this secure a toy straps so you are not having to pick up stuff from the floor and cleaning it all day long.

Stroller bottle holder- If your little one likes to throw their bottles when you are out and about then you need one of those bottle holder strap, trust me.

Things I didn’t use

Bottle warmer- We had one but never actually used it, its still in the box…

Changing table- They take up a lot of space and you won’t be using it for very long, we opted for a changing pad on top of the dresser. This will save you space and money.

Wipe Warmer- Purchased one and never took it out of the box for over a month so we returned it.

Burp cloths- We never seem to have them around when we actually needed them so most of the time the blanket he was using turned into the burp cloth.

“Baby” shampoo and conditioner- my son has always had a lot of hair thats thick and curly so none of these baby product really helped manage his hair.

Carrier- I would say this really depends on your lifestyle, we really didn’t go out that much for us to use ours that often, because the stroller basket is pretty huge when I went shopping I just used that instead of a cart.

Some other blog post about motherhood I wrote you may find helpful

What I wish I knew my first year as a mom

Why do we constantly doubt our mother’s intuition

What no one tells you about newborns

Breast feeding is hard it’s ok not to love it

5 Tips for pumping at work

Tips for cruising with a baby

How I got the Dockatot for free

UPPAbaby Vista 2018 stroller review and unboxing

Top 3 baby registry

Best natural products for newborn

A list of my top 5 newborn must have

Monochrome mint gold black and grey nursery tour