When I was near the end of my 2nd trimester, I was researching all the things I might need for my new baby. Do NOT worry if you are nowhere near this point - from what I gather, I was way ahead of anyone else in my birth education class and they all thought I was totally nuts - and I can confirm that indeed, I am nuts about this sort of thing. Further reassurance - I have had friends who are on totally different ends of the spectrum of ‘as prepared as possible’ to ‘completely unprepared’ (mostly the latter) and everyone ends up totally fine with beautiful babies.
For me, I approached pregnancy and having a baby like I do with anything in my life - wanting to be as prepared as possible. I wanted to be ready, but I also did not want to buy things that we really did not need. I found shopping / creating a registry for a new baby to be so daunting - navigating all the different products and gear, wondering what was really necessary and what was just a company using amazing marketing to take my money!
I am often approached by friends and people in my community for recommendations on baby products - usually because people who know me know that I have done ALL the research, read all the reviews, looked at all the ingredients, so they don’t have to! I love it because I feel confident in the decisions I make for my family and am always beyond happy to pass along ideas and tips on things that we love!
I’ve created a short list of ‘my favorite things for a baby’. It could also be named ‘my favorite random things for a baby’ as I am not sure that it’s the typical things you’d find on this type of list. While making this list, I could have gone on and on, but I tried to focus on the items that I found the most helpful to have in those first few months. For some of these things, I went through so many different brands and types and felt so happy when I finally found baby essentials that worked really well for us - so I’m excited to share in hopes that I’m making it an easier journey and experience for other new parents!
FAVORITE NAIL FILE: Baby Blue Giraffe Nail File
It may seem random but I’m starting with this one because I think I bought almost every single baby nail file available before FINALLY getting this WINNER! It was actually effective in filing my baby’s nails pretty quickly while being gentle. I found I would have to file with the other ones for so long before actually seeing any progress, which is never fun with a tiny new squirmy baby.
FAVORITE NAIL CLIPPERS/ SCISSORS: Rubis Infant Nail Scissors
This was a recommendation from a friend who had gone through a similar nail clipper / scissor journey to me. We both bought so many different nail clippers and found most to be very tricky to use on our sweet new moving babies - cue one million heart attacks about possibly cutting our babies’ skin! She found these scissors and swears by them. I tried them and found them to be sooo much easier to use than clippers. I still use them regularly with both of my babes (1 year old and 2.5 years old) and really love them. They are on the pricier side but worth it - super high quality! The elephant case is also very cute.
FAVORITE VITAMIN D SUPPLEMENT: Nordic Naturals Baby’s Vitamin D3
I’m super passionate about this one! When we were in the hospital having just delivered my first baby, the doctors recommended a vitamin D supplement and provided one on the spot that we agreed to give to our brand new baby without even thinking. After the whirlwind of bringing our babe home and settling in, I finally had a moment to look at the bottle and was so shocked to see that it had so many ingredients, many of which I’m sure were unnecessary. The long list included butterscotch flavoring, caramel color and methylparaben, along with many other things I have never heard of! I did a bit of research and found one that only had 2 ingredients - vitamin D3 and organic extra virgin olive oil - and feel so much better about giving this type of vitamin D to a brand new human.
FAVORITE HUMIDIFIER: Canopy Humidifier - this links to $10 off!
I bought a humidifier for my first baby but never used it because to me, the risk of mold was worse than having a dry room! It also had 3 million parts that I did not want to deal with, haha! Luckily, we lived in an apartment where the humidity was usually pretty good. Then we moved to the house we are currently in (had another baby in the midst of it all) and boy does it get dry here in the winter! I went on a hunt and was very excited to find the Canopy humidifier, and then loved it so much I purchased one for each baby plus one for my own bedroom! We really like it because it has an auto feature so it will adjust accordingly to the humidity of the room. It is easy to use and also has ZERO place for mold to grow so there is no worrying about that at all. It also has a filter that is super easy to replace so you don’t have to store gallons and gallons of distilled water (just me?), you just use tap water - v v v convenient. Those are the main reasons why I like it so much, but there are other things too - it’s dermatologist recommended, it has hydrated air that comes out instead of a wet mist, and you can use it as a diffuser too!
FAVORITE MULTI-PURPOSE OINTMENTS: Waxelene Multipurpose Ointment and Burt’s Bees Multipurpose Healing Ointment
Aquaphor, Aquaphor, Aquaphor! This was recommended to me by a lot of people, for any sort of skin issue my baby may have had. Not that I have anything against it, however it is not the most ‘clean’ product out there and I do not love some of the ingredients in it. I looked into some non-toxic options and Waxelene and Burt’s Bees are the ones that we have liked the most. They are nice to use and I like that they are made with safer ingredients!
FAVORITE BABY CLOTHING (rental) COMPANY: UpChoose
Cute, safe, organic baby clothes that are delivered at each phase of your babe’s growth, and you get to choose when you swap! For me - this was exactly what I was looking for, especially in a small apartment with no storage. Here’s an interview I did with UpChoose that provides a bit more information about why we chose to sign up and why love them, and if you’d like to try UpChoose out, the code FRIENDSOFCHRISTINEHANRUTLEDGE will get you $21 dollars off!
FAVORITE BABY FEEDING PILLOW: Holy Lamb Organics Nursing + Feeding Pillow
I own a few different feeding pillows and my favorite one has been this one. It is made of all organic materials (inside and out!) - this was important to me because my brand new babies were spending so much time in it! It also has a washable cover (you can purchase the covers separately too) so it’s easy to keep clean. I used it for breastfeeding, bottle feeding and it makes for the perfect nap pillow for a sleepy mama who has somehow, miraculously managed to lay down for a quick and rare rest. When my 1 year old is not using it for his bottles, my 2 year old will go get it to snuggle up in for stories or a movie - I love that it is really growing with us and not just something that is just for feeding!
FAVORITE BABY MONITOR: Bebcare Motion Digital Video Baby Monitor
This baby monitor made the favorites list because it has the lowest possible EMF radiation levels, and it’s an easy plug and play monitor (you don’t need to connect it through wifi) which makes it great for travelling! I also like that it has a parent monitor unit so you don’t have to pull up the app on your phone if you want to check on your baby. I do a comparison video which features the Bebare baby monitor if you’d like to hear more! If you are going to opt for the Bebcare baby monitor, I would definitely recommend this universal baby monitor mount. It is a great tool to position your baby monitor so you can have the perfect angle, otherwise you’ll be stacking books on top of books on top of boxes like I did before I got this mount.
FAVORITE… SNOT SUCKER (odd item to have a favorite of, I know!): Fridababy NoseFrida Snotsucker
I know, it’s not the most loveliest of thoughts, but there were a few times where I was so happy I had this in the drawer because there is sometimes just NO OTHER WAY to clear a booger from your baby’s nose! Baby boogers are VERY slimy and sticky and hard to get out, and baby noses are teeny tiny. This snot sucker does the trick every time, and I assure you there is NO possibility of baby snot getting into your mouth, NONE. I promise!! There’s a filter, and the booger usually doesn’t even get anywhere near the filter. And then you have a lovely baby who can breathe easily!
FAVORITE DIAPER (and wipe!): Coterie
Hands down, best diaper ever! It’s always the one people end up raving about in the new parent group texts I’m on, so you know it’s tried, tested and true! You get less leaks and blowouts, they help keep diaper rashes away and you don’t need to buy separate overnight diapers because they hold up amazingly throughout the night! Coterie is also very much committed to sustainability, which I love, of course. They work to fund renewable energy initiatives which in turn helps to offset the environmental impact of disposable diapers and they donate returned unused diapers to those in need. No waste! My code COTERIECHRISTINEH will get you $20 off your first order. I also made a video about our diaper change set up if you’d like to check it out.
Favorites from Friends!
As we all know (and hear all the time), it takes a village! I am always asking friends and family for their thoughts, advice, favorites, etc. so when writing this list I naturally reached out to see if others had found their must have items that they are so happy they found after searching far and wide. See below!
FAVORITE SWADDLE: Pehr Organic Swaddle Blanket
“Best swaddles, perfect size and thickness!”
FAVORITE BURP CLOTHS: Burt’s Bee Burp Cloths
“Odd thing to be picky about, but these burp cloths were the best!”
There you have it, my list of baby stuff that you might find helpful in the first few months! Becoming a parent is insane enough as it is, so as I always say, I like to try to pass on what has worked for me in hopes that it will make someone else’s experience a little easier!
Looking for weekly pregnancy updates & advice from industry experts?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christine is a mother of two with a Master’s in Early Years Education. She has always been passionate about teaching and working with the tiniest humans. Her goal is to provide her family with healthy and sustainable choices at all times, and to share those tips with you!
