Best Baby Buys for The First Few Months

Recently, I wrote an email to a friend about the products that were most helpful to me in the first few months of motherhood. I thought I'd share my picks with you in case anyone is expecting or looking for a shower gift for a friend. Certainly, there are millions of baby products out there, and I've only tried a handful, but here's what I'd buy again and what made those first crazy months a little bit easier. I will do another post on great items for new mamas, so stay tuned for that one. In the meantime, buckle up for one epically long list!

To start off, we used the book Baby Bargains to read reviews and compare products. It was an absolute lifesaver when I had no idea where to begin. I can't recommend it enough!

GETTING AROUND TOWN

Stroller: We went with the Uppa Baby Vista stroller. They are definitely on the pricey end of strollers, but I feel like it was worth it. It handles like a dream, has a nice big basket below, and comes with a bassinet for tiny babes and a nice big seat for babies and toddlers. We also bought a car seat adapter so that we could clip the car seat onto the stroller base. This is terrific if the baby falls asleep in the car, and you don't want to transfer her to the stroller seat. You will probably also need a newborn insert for the stroller seat if you plan to use it in the beginning months. I now need an umbrella stroller for travel, but the Vista has been great, and I know we will be using it for a long time. 

Car seat: We went with the Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat. I think it's very popular because when I went on my daycare tour every other person there had the exact same one! You would also want the newborn insert for the car seat, but this one comes with it! While you can use a seat belt to strap in the seat, I would advise the car seat base. We got one in CA and one in CT because the seat just feels so much more secure when it is on the base.

Carrier: We got the Beco Gemini carrier. This has been awesome while traveling this summer, and I would recommend it. I didn't realize how much babies love to chew the straps of these things, so I wish I can gotten the chew pads. I do plan to order those so I can throw them in the wash and not have to wash the whole carrier.

Wrap: I picked the Solly wrap mostly because it was so pretty, the packaging was lovely, and I liked the organic fabric. It was wonderful when N. was tiny because I could wear her around the house when trying to do dishes, laundry, my makeup, etc. and she could happily nap on me. She was too heavy for it (in my opinion) rather quickly, although apparently you can keep wearing it for a while. Once she reached a certain weight, I preferred the support of the Beco.