My Complete List of Baby Must-Haves

Who knew someone so small could need so many things? Not to mention there’s so much stuff you think you need that you end up not using and visa versa.

At six months in, I can say with certainty that these are the items we’ve used and loved so far. If I could do my registry over again I would definitely have all of these on there. Of course, every baby is different so what has worked for us and Lily may not be a good fit for others.

Without further ado, here’s the big list of all the baby stuff we use and love. Helpful for whether you’re a parent-to-be and in need of ideas, or you want to know what would be a good gift for that new parent in your life.

Registering on Babylist

I chose to build my registry on Babylist because the items I wanted weren’t all from one store, and Babylist allows you to add items from anywhere and shows you all the possible places to purchase that item. It eliminates the need to make multiple registries, something I’ve seen a few of my friends do. It also makes it easy for everyone’s buying preferences whether they purchase in a store or online.

Apparel

I’ve been really fortunate to have about 98% of Lily’s clothes all gifted from other people. I’ve bought a few special things for her or essential stuff she’s needed like socks, but for the most part her wardrobe is from friends and family. When I do buy her clothes this is where I mainly shop:

• BuyBuyBaby
• Carter’s
• Old Navy
• Target

Bathing & Skin Care

Body Wash/Shampoo: The Honest Company Shampoo & Body Wash Lavender and Aleavia Lavender Enzymatic Body Cleanse

Moisturizer: Primally Pure Organic Baby Oil, The Honest Company Face & Body Lotion Lavender, Earth Mama Organic Baby Face Nose & Cheek Balm, Erbaviva Baby Butter, Among the Flowers Calming Baby Balm, and Saje Mini Mender

Towels: MiniBoo Organic Bamboo Baby Hooded Towel

Toys: Just basic rubber duckies. She loves them!

Tubs: Blooming Baby Blooming Bath Lotus (we used this from day 1 in the kitchen sink) and Angelcare Baby Bath Support (now using this in the bathtub since she is bigger)

Washcloths: No preference. We have a wide variety of muslin cloths and terrycloth ones. I mainly use the FridaBaby DermaFrida the SkinSoother Silicone Bath Brush.

Bedding & Sleeping

Baby Monitor: Nanit + Nanit Breathing Wear Band. Joshua did a lot of research and ended up with the Nanit because it was the most secure. I’ve heard horror stories from other parents about how their monitors were hacked, so we took our time researching to make sure we got one we were comfortable with. After moving her to crib we got the Breathing Band and boy does it give us peace of mind knowing we can monitor her breathing. Now I don’t go in every 5 mins and stick my fingers under her nose because that anxiety is definitely there! I also like the Breathing Band because there’s nothing electronic in the band – the monitor simply tracks the pattern on the band.

Bassinet: SNOO Smart Bassinet Sleeper. This is a smart bassinet that rocks baby to sleep and plays white noise that mimics the sounds they hear in the womb. It’ll detect if baby is getting fussy and amp up the rocking until baby is back asleep. It’s a pricey bassinet if you purchase it outright but we opted to rent ours since at most she’d be in it for six months. We transitioned her out of it at 4 months. We kept all the original packaging so when we were done we boxed it up and dropped it off at our local FedEx. I can’t recommend the SNOO enough, and I will definitely rent it again if we have more babies.

Blankets: Muslin Swaddles. Lily loves her blankets and is the happiest little baby when we swaddle her in the muslin ones. She loves the fabric up against her cheeks.

Crib: Babyletto Hudson 3-in-1 Convertible Crib

Crib Mattress: Serta Perfect Embrace Crib and Toddler Mattress

Crib Mattress Protector: Sealy Allergy Protection Crib Mattress Pad Cover with Organic Cotton Top

Crib Sheets: Organic Flannel Forest Bunny Crib Fitted Sheet, Star Wars™ Allover Sky Fitted Crib Sheet, and Cloud Island Fitted Crib Sheet Floral

Lounger: DockATot Deluxe Plus Dock – When you first bring baby home they’re gonna sleep a lot, and this makes it easy to set them down anywhere. Comes in real handy when you’re trying to have a meal and you want baby to be close by. It’s also been helpful on road trips when we have to change her in the car. We have gotten so much use out of it!

Sleepsack: Halo Sleepsack in Llama. Once we transitioned her to the crib from her SNOO we used this along with the Nanit Breathing Wear Band.

Sound Machine: Hatch Rest Sound Machine and Marpac Rohm Portable White Noise Machine (for traveling)

Diapering

Changing Pad: Hatch Baby Grow Smart Changing Pad and Scale

Changing Pad Cover: PeeKaPoo Disposable Changing Pad Liners

Diaper Bag: SKIP*HOP® Greenwich Simply Chic Backpack Diaper Bag in Caramel

Diaper Cream: Earth Mama Organic Diaper Balm + Munchkin Booty Brush Diaper Cream Applicator

Diaper Pail: Ubbi Steel Diaper Pail in White

Diaper Pail Liners: Ubbi Plastic Diaper Pail Bags

Disposable Diapers: We were big fans of Pampers Pure Diapers in the beginning, but then COVID hit and diapers became scarce. I switched to Hello Bello and got their monthly diaper bundle which included daytime and nighttime diapers plus baby wipes.

Disposable Wipes: Hello Bello wipes and Cloud Island Baby Wipes

Wipe Spray: Among the Flowers Baby Wipe Spray

Feeding

Bibs: No preference. We have a wide variety of silicon, cloth, and plastic bibs. They’ve come in handy in order to avoid multiple wardrobe changes due to spit-up and drool. Can’t have too many of these!

Bottles: Dr. Brown’s® Options+™ Newborn Wide-Neck Baby Bottle Set in Clear. Fantastic bottles especially for formula. The venting system prevents bubbles from getting in therefore reducing gas and spit-ups. We got a few different brands of bottles in the beginning from various welcome kits, so we were able to see which ones Lily liked. We had the best results with Dr. Brown’s.

Bottle Sterilizer: Dr. Brown’s® Microwave Sterilizer

Bottle Warmer: Dr. Brown’s® MilkSpa Breast Milk and Bottle Warmer in White

Burp cloths: No preference on these except the more the merrier. We seem to go through these so fast which is why you can’t have too many! Having a few rolled up in the diaper bag has saved us from bottle leaks too.

Breast Pump: Medela Starter Set. I was able to get mine for free through my insurance. Simply ask your doctor about it and go from there.

Dish & Bottle Soap: Babyganics® 32 oz. Fragrance-Free Foaming Dish & Bottle Soap

Dry Rack: Boon Lawn Countertop Drying Rack + Boon Twig Countertop Drying Rack

Formula: We started out with Plum Organics formula and then switched to Happy Baby Organic Formula. I do the Subscribe & Save through Amazon, so I get it delivered to me each month.

Formula Dispenser: babybrezza® Formula Pro Advanced Formula Dispenser. It’s like a Keurig for babies. If you’re formula feeding this makes things SO much easier! I got mine from buybuy BABY and was able to use a bunch of coupons (including Bed Bath & Beyond coupons) to get a good deal on it.

Highchair: JOOVY Nook High Chair in Charcoal

Nursing Pillow: Boppy Floral Stripe Nursing Pillow + Boppy Nursing Pillow Slipcover in Black Floral

Snacks:

Solids: Little Spoon. Every two weeks we get fresh, organic baby food delivered right to our door. Lily gets to try a wide variety of flavors and loves them all!

Gear

Bouncers/Seats:
4moms® rockaRoo® Infant Swing. I keep this in my office room and it’s great for when she wants to chill but not on her back. She loves rocking away in this thing and cuddling with her toys.

Crate & Barrel Busy Baby Activity Chair. This one also stays in our office room and lives on the desk. That way she can play and we both can see each other.

SKIP*HOP® Silver Lining Cloud 2-in-1 Activity Floor Seat. I keep this one on the kitchen counter so when I’m doing stuff in the kitchen I can keep an eye on her. She LOVES this thing! The only downside to it is that it’s a little challenging to get her in and out of it due to her chunky lil thighs.

Car Seat: Graco® 4Ever® DLX 4-in-1 Convertible Car Seat in Drew Black/Grey

Car Seat Mirror: Baby Backseat Mirror for Car

Pack-N-Play / Travel Crib: Graco Pack ‘n Play Care Suite Playard in Burch + SlumberPod (for traveling)

Sling / Carrier: Moby Classic Wrap Baby Carrier in Solid and Ergobaby Omni 360 All Carry Positions Ergonomic Baby Carrier in Pearl Gray. I found the Moby Wrap was handy from the time she was a newborn up to present whereas the ErgoBaby works best now that she is bigger and can face outwards.

Stroller: Graco Modes Travel System With SnugRide SnugLock Technology in Britton

Home / Nursery

Cart: IKEA RÅSKOG Utility cart

Clock: it’s a small world clock

Dresser + Wardrobe: DIY heirloom pieces

Glider: Delta Children Landry Nursery Glider Swivel Rocker Chair

Humidifier: LEVOIT Humidifier. Originally this was in my bedroom and I had the Crane humidifier but I switched them around. I love that you can set the ideal humidity so that it will switch off when it does, and it even has a little spot to add some essential oils doubling as a humidifier and diffuser. I use it with Saje’s Aroma Fairy blend.

Mobile: Moon Phase Mobile

Night Light: Himalayan Salt Lamp

Plants: IKEA FEJKA Artificial Fig Leaf

Prints / Posters: Kingdom of Cute Print, Star Wars Leia & Padmé Vanity print from Disneyland, and various prints made/taken by me

Shelf Unit: IKEA MOSSLANDA Picture Ledges

Side table: Martini Side Table

Health & Baby Care

Gas/Hiccups/Discomfort: Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water

Hand Sanitizer: Babyganics Fragrance-Free Alcohol-Free Foaming Hand Sanitizer

Laundry Detergent: Branch Basics

Medicine Dispenser: Fridababy MediFrida the Accu-Dose Pacifier Medicine Dispenser

Nail Clippers: NailFrida The SnipperClipper™ Nail Care Set

Nasal Aspirator: Fridababy NoseFrida® Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator

Teething Care: Maty’s Organic Teething Oil and Amber Teething Necklace

Thermometer: Kinsa Smart Ear Thermometer

Toothbrush: Baby Banana Infant Teething Toothbrush

Play

Pacifier: WubbaNub™ Unicorn Infant Pacifier. Our girl hasn’t been into pacifiers but since she is starting to teeth she’s been liking this one because she can hold it. She chews on it more than she sucks on it, so I can say with certainty she’s just not into binkies.

Play Mat: SKIP*HOP® Silver Lining Cloud Activity Gym

Teethers: Itzy Ritzy® Pineapple Teething Mitt, Itzy Ritzy® Teething Mitt Cactus, Itzy Ritzy® Pineapple Silicone Teether, chewbeads® Juniorbeads Jane Jr. Necklace in Turquoise, and Sophie la girafe Set la girafe & Chewing Rubber. We got a variety of teething toys, and the only one Lily seems to really like is the Sophie giraffe which I think is due to it being the easiest to hold.

Toys: Baby Paper and Cuddle & Kind Doll (they’re cute, soft, and for every one purchased they give 10 meals to kids in need). She gravitates towards anything crinkly that makes noise right now.

Are there any products I missed or specific baby items you’re curious about? Let me know in the comments!!