The Baby Gear I Loved as a New Parent
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There are thousands of baby products on the web that promise to solve any and every problem for new parents. It's overwhelming when you're sleep-deprived and looking to make a quick purchase but are bombarded with options. After all, the first year of your child's life is pretty much a haze of sleep deprivation, adrenaline, and baby giggles. If you're a struggling parent unsure of what's worth your time and money, I'm here to help. I've compiled the baby items I fell in love with during my child's first year of life (and a few I wish I hadn't bothered with).
Be sure to check out our other parenting guides, including the Best Baby Monitors, Best Breast Pumps, Best Strollers, and Best Baby Carriers.
Updated May 2024: We've added the Doona Car Seat & Stroller, the BabyBjörn Baby Carrier Mini, the Mockingbird High Chair, and the BabyBjörn Bouncer Balance Soft as new picks.
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- Photograph: Doona
An Infant Car Seat and Stroller
Doona Car Seat & StrollerI remember seeing the Doona's price tag, thinking it was an infant car seat and separate stroller accessory and immediately disregarded it. But months later I tried it for our guide to the best strollers when I realized it was a two-in-one device: both an infant car seat and a stroller, all in one. Even with the wheels and stroller handle, it felt just as light as the Graco SnugRide I originally used. It'll only last you until baby is 35 pounds or 32 inches tall, but it's also a great immediate solution for the early days, giving you buffer time to choose the perfect stroller for you and your forward-facing kiddo. (For me, it was the Nuna TRVL.)
- Photograph: Hatch
A Helpful Sound Machine and Night-Light
Hatch Rest (2nd Generation)The Hatch Rest was one of the first things added to my baby registry, and was the first thing we set up after baby was born. So many baby products come with several parts and steps, but not the Hatch Rest. We actually forgot to set up this smart sound machine until the baby arrived, but all it took was a quick app download (Android, iOS) plus a Bluetooth connection, and we were ready to go. The Hatch lets you save a handful of favorite combos of sound and night-light colors that you control with the app or a tap on the top ring on the device. My hack for a newborn was to have two favorite presets with the same sound, one with a night light on and one with it off, to easily switch between during those middle-of-the-night wake-ups.
- Photograph: BabyBjörn
A Super Soft Baby Carrier
BabyBjörn Baby Carrier MiniI used this baby carrier right before my son aged out of it, and immediately wished I'd gotten it sooner. The BabyBjörn Baby Carrier Mini is the updated take on the popular carrier that is designed with newborns in mind, and can only be used up to 22 pounds. I loved the X-back that you could shrug on and then connect to the carrier part at your front—no more stretching behind myself to try to click the carrier in place. It's super soft, and while you can't use it for long, by the time my kid was 22 pounds I much preferred walking with a stroller anyway.
- Photograph: NoseFrida
An Electric Snot Sucker
FridaBaby Electric NoseFridaThe various mom groups I joined online constantly tried to sell me on the cheap NoseFrida, where you suck snot out of your kid’s nose. Major ick, sorry. I splurged for the $45 Frida Baby Electric NoseFrida as soon as we sent our son to daycare, and it was a lifesaver during his first cold, which came within a week. Babies can't blow their noses, so this little sucker will suck the snot out for them. It was completely worth it, as it’s hard enough to hold your kid down while also getting the NoseFrida into the nostril, and I can't imagine doing the sucking yourself at the same time.
- Photograph: Nena Farrell
A Great High Chair
Mockingbird High ChairMy original high chair was the popular Tripp Trapp high chair, which cost me close to $400. And I just…didn't love it. It was a pain to clean, especially since I had to partially take it apart to get the cushion off to wash it. I tried Mockingbird's high chair months later and was immediately happy with how easy it is to clean, from the seat and frame to the silicone straps I can easily wipe off. The egg shape is also a little more secure for my son, and it would've been great to have this high chair when he was smaller and less sturdy while sitting up. The high chair's legs are also thin enough that a robot vacuum can navigate through them (though I get mixed results on Cheerio pickup). It's better priced than similar high chairs, too, and can turn into a chair as your kiddo grows.
Photograph: WillowTwo Great Wearable Breast Pumps
Willow Go and Legendairy Milk Imani i2I didn’t start out using a wearable breast pump while I was breastfeeding, but once I tried one, I never wanted to go back. I hated constantly changing into a pumping bra for my non-wearable pump; it was so much easier to pop a wearable pump on with the outfit I was already wearing. Here are two I really like:
The Willow Go ($350) (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is powerful, has its own app with controls and a timer, and has large parts that are easy to clean (and less likely to fall down a sink drain). It has both a stimulation and expression mode, and the Go will automatically switch from one to the other after two minutes, so you can turn it on and zone out with some work or a household task while your session is underway. It’s pricey compared to portable pumps but not as pricey as other wearables, and it's just as powerful.
The Imani i2 ($150) is more affordable than most wearable breast pumps but packs powerful results (and, just as important, the Food and Drug Administration approval you want in a medical device like a breast pump). The motor sits on top of the collection cup, making it a little top-heavy, and has only a few buttons on the top to control it—you’ll need to bring your own timer to monitor your pump session. The results are still great for the price.
- Photograph: Beis
A Fanny Pack-Style Diaper Bag
Béis The Diaper PackI remember shopping for a diaper bag and thinking to myself, “Wow, I hate all of these.” They were all massive bags that were often the size of a small planet, with way, way too many pockets. I couldn’t shake the feeling we wouldn’t need something that big most of the time, and after shopping around I stumbled upon a smaller solution: the Béis Diaper Pack. It’s got a front-zippered pocket for diapers with a connected pouch for a pack of wipes, a small, folded changing pad, and plenty of room in the main compartment for an extra outfit and a couple of small toys. Oh, plus a hook for keys and three cardholder slots. It’s been the perfect size for most outings over the course of my kiddo’s first year.
- Photograph: Eufy
A Wi-Fi-Free Baby Monitor
Eufy SpaceView Baby MonitorYou don't need all the bells and whistles for a great baby monitor— you just need one that works reliably. The Eufy SpaceView Baby Monitor (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is super simple. Plug in and place the camera where you want it, turn on the monitor, and that's it. Part of the reason it's so quick and easy is there's no Wi-Fi. That's right, no typing in your internet password, no app, and no worrying whether your connection has gone down. The SpaceView uses a frequency-hopping spread spectrum radio connection, which is stable and more secure than a Wi-Fi signal. It claims a large range, though our reviewer got only about 250 feet when she tested it. I loved never having to worry about my Wi-Fi going down in the middle of the night.
One downside is the battery life on the monitor's display. If you like to leave the screen on, as I do, you'll have to plug it in all night, lest you be woken by incessant beeping before the battery dies.
- Photograph: Moby
A Wrap Baby Carrier
Moby Wrap Baby CarrierI won't lie, it took me a little while to troubleshoot this one. I'm not sure if my Moby Wrap shrunk in the wash, but every video showed it tied in the front with lots of leftover fabric, and I could never get it all the way around my waist. I finally gave up on that and tied it in the back, and it worked perfectly. It was easy to wrap around myself, had I not let the last step hang me up for a few weeks. I loved how comfortable the wrap carrier was and that I could wrap it around myself, hop into the car, and then place my little one into the wrap I was already wearing once we arrived. I needed just one of these, but I often wished I had a couple of designs since it covered any shirt I was wearing.
- Photograph: Oogiebear
A Cute Ear Cleaner
Oogiebear Brite Infant Nose & Ear CleanerLet's keep the gross train going. This nose and ear cleaner wasn't something we asked for but has become one of our most-used baby gear. It's amazing to me how fast my baby's ear would get caked in earwax (especially since he favored his right side once he started rolling) and how much snot his little nose would have even when he wasn't sick. Enter: the Oogiebear. It has two different ends—one for sticky boogers and one for dried—that you affix to a little wand. You can turn on the little light to see what you're doing, and it's really handy for carefully cleaning ears. It also made this gizmo very appealing to my son.
- Photograph: BabyBjorn
A Baby Bouncer
BabyBjörn Bouncer Balance SoftThe BabyBjörn Bouncer Balance was a must-have for me for my baby. The ergonomic bouncer is manual, so you need to bounce baby with your hand or foot, but I loved that it folded down flat and could be put away whenever we weren't using it. It was a great place to seat my son while we had a cup of tea and bounced him, and he would laugh like crazy when we picked up speed. You can flip the soft cover around to turn it into a toddler seat, but I've chosen to store it away for my and my friends' babies to use for years to come. The only thing I wish is that I'd gotten a toy bar ($45) to add onto it.
I liked this much better than the baby swing I had. The swing had music and could swing automatically, but my son didn’t really like it, and it took up a huge amount of space. It’s another product where it’s not safe to leave him in unsupervised or for him to sleep in it, so I found the soft bouncer easier since at least I was entertained by doing the bouncing instead of just watching him swing.
- Photograph: Aqara
A Smart Temperature Sensor
Aqara Temperature and Humidity SensorTemperatures are really important for babies, especially in those early months. My stress levels spiked around my son’s six-month window when he moved into his own room—I was constantly paranoid about whether I was dressing him appropriately for the night's temperature. That's where a smart temperature sensor comes in! We placed the Aqara Temperature and Humidity Sensor under his bed, and it sent alerts when the temperature dropped out of the zones I set. I quickly learned that his room stayed cool enough to use the winter-weight sleep sack, and it was several degrees cooler than where the thermostat was. You'll need to purchase Aqara's hub for the temperature sensor to work.
We also got a baby monitor that had a built-in temperature sensor, but I was glad I added the Aqara to my son's room, because the baby monitor and temperature sensor were getting different readings. Sleep sacks have warmth weights to match how warm or cold it is in the room, known as thermal overall grade, so your child should wear a lighter weight in the summer and a heavier weight in the winter. So when the sleep sacks switch weights at 69 degrees, whether the room is 68 or 72 degrees matters!
- Photograph: Woombie
Zippered Swaddles
Woombie Air Swaddling BlanketMy husband insisted we didn’t need to buy a swaddle—we could just keep using the wrap method we learned in the hospital. But the bigger the baby got, the quicker he broke out of the swaddle and then woke himself up. I finally ignored my husband and purchased the Woombie Air swaddle. Even though we had to stop using it four weeks later when our baby learned to roll, my husband still raves about how those were the best four weeks of his life. Make sure to buy two, so when the baby spits up on one, you have another ready.
- Photograph: Kyte Baby
A Sleeping Sack
Kyte Baby Sleeping BagOnce our little guy started rolling, we switched to sleep sacks, also known as wearable sleep blankets, that also came with a zipper. We’ve used both the Halo and Kyte Baby sacks with equal success. We determined which one we wanted to use at a time based on the thermal overall grade (TOG) and the current season. Kyte Baby has a handy little chart here to see what weight is for which temperature, and a more in depth-chart here about how baby's pajamas and sleep sack should be combined based on temperature and TOG. I usually use the 2.5 winter weight at the end of fall through sometime in April, and then transition to 1.0 and 0.5 TOG when the warmer California weather arrives. I also have a pretty tall baby, so I liked how much longer the Kyte Baby options are (so they fit him for longer, and his legs have more room), but the Halo sacks are more affordable.
Photograph: Yuthongcome/Getty ImagesWhat I Wish I'd Skipped
Not Worth ItThere's a lot of uncertainty during parenthood, so you end up buying a lot of baby stuff, some of which doesn’t end up being as helpful. Here's what I didn't like as much.
An infant lounger. This isn't safe for babies to sleep in or use unsupervised, which made me paranoid to use it at all. I'm not sure why I did use it to put him next to me on the couch or floor, but my son hated being placed in it after he was more than a few weeks old, rendering it useless pretty quickly. Instead, I wish I had gotten a standing bassinet that was safe for baby to be in solo.
A cheap stroller. We bought a $100 stroller that was compatible with a long list of infant car seats, had a bassinet mode, and could be used until he was 50 pounds. Sounds pretty perfect for years to come, right? Well, cheap strollers have flimsy builds and bad wheels, so we had trouble going over any bump on the sidewalk. The stroller I bought isn't even sold anymore, which tells you everything you need to know. Instead, I wish I'd gotten a Thule Shine (9/10, WIRED Recommends) or Mockingbird 2.0 to use for that first year, or anything else in our strollers guide.
A ring sling. I never figured out the ring sling baby carriers. Every time I tried I would end up frustrated, and my son never felt secure enough. Am I the problem? Probably. But if I could do it all again, I'd get two wrap-style carriers instead of one wrap and one ring sling.
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