I am a major over researcher. If you know me personally, you know that I will spend an immense amount of time researching the tiniest things. It can be a problem sometimes – ha! So when it came time to create our baby registry, you can imagine how long it took me to craft the perfect registry with all the items I thought we HAD to have for Crosby to thrive – hahah. The stroller alone was probably 8+ hours of research, the car seat was way more, and goodness, the amount of reviews I read on baby monitors is unreal.
So now that we are 5 months in with our sweet baby Crosby, I wanted to provide you with an honest review of some of the major items on our registry. What do we actually love and what we would pass on next time, all in hopes that it will save you a little time in your own registry research!
Happy Shopping!
Nanit Plus – Smart Baby Monitor
We absolutely love this baby monitor. You can choose between a wall mount and a floor stand. We opted for the wall mount and then also bought a travel mount which has been perfect for us. The camera can move easily between the wall mount in Crosby’s room and our travel stand, which we bring to my parents house, the mountains or anytime he is napping in another room. It’s super convenient and easy to use.
Aden and Anais Muslin Swaddles and Blankets
We LOVED LOVED LOVED these the first few months with Crosby. He slept and napped with one every day. They are lightweight which is super nice but have also doubled as a burp cloth, blanket to shield the sun in the stroller, cover for his car seat and much more. I highly recommend at least one pack of 3 of these! They are so versatile.
BabyBjorn Quilted Bouncer
Another huge hit in our house that has been perfect for us. Crosby started using this at about 2 months or so and has been a great place for Crosby to hang out. It’s very portable, folds up flat, and also allows him to sit at 3-4 different angles depending on how tired he is. He’s still using it at 5 months. He loves to sit in it while I’m cooking dinner and we also use it on the highest setting now that he’s exploring solid foods. He’s not quite ready for a high chair but this allows him to sit up and eat as well. Definitely recommend it!
Dock a Tot
This was our #1 favorite baby product in Crosby’s first three months. He took a majority of his naps in this and was the best portable product for us. I don’t know what we would have done without it! I do recommend buying a second cover for it though. Those early days you never know when your baby will spit up, so it’s nice to have an extra cover ready to go at any time.
The Olie Swaddle
We didn’t start using this until the 2-3 month mark but I really wish we used it earlier. This is the simplest swaddle ever and Crosby always slept really well in it. We had the Snoo for him, so we didn’t need many other nighttime swaddles but this was perfect when he was sleeping in his crib or napping in other places.
Nuna Sena Air Playard
We love our playard. Crosby slept in this regularly in our room when he was transitioning from his bassinet in our room to his crib in his own room. We use this all the time for traveling and is incredibly easy to set up. It is a bit on the pricier side when it comes to playards so honestly I’m not sure it’s that much better than the cheaper ones but we have definitely loved it.
Nuna Pipa Car seat
I could go on and on about this car seat for days. Definitely do your research because the car seat is one of the most important decisions but I am personally obsessed with this carseat. The main thing that sets it apart for me was the arm on the car base that attaches to the floor of the car to further stabilize the baby in the event of an accident. It feels super safe and is very easy to use with our Nuna Mixx Stroller,
Nuna Mixx Stroller
We love this stroller. It’s very sleek and smooth and definitely feels like a luxury stroller. This stroller cannot be adapted for more than one baby which I was fine with. I don’t love the way some of the single to double strollers work…the idea of two kids sitting on top of each other isn’t my favorite, mainly because I want our kids to be able to see each other and interact. I decided the Mixx was good and didn’t spring for the Nuna Demi Grow which would have allowed me to fit 2 kids one day. I still agree with this, but now wish that we had just splurged for the Demi Grow so that if we have another baby with us, we at least have the option to fit 2 kids.
Happiest Baby Snoo
The Snoo is the holy grail of bassinets. It is a smart bassinet that rocks the baby to sleep and adapts the sounds and movement based on the baby’s mood. If the baby is getting fussy, it will rock him/her faster to help soothe her, etc. It’s fabulous. We love it and can’t get enough of it. A lot of people are concerned that it will be hard to wean the baby from the constant rocking motion of the Snoo to the crib. We didn’t personally have this problem as Crosby went from his Snoo to a pack and play and crib with no problem. There is a weaning function on the Snoo that assists with the transition as well. This is a pretty pricey bassinet but they do have sales on most holidays. You can also rent it from Happiest Baby on a monthly basis.
Kiinde Twist Breastfeeding System
We have this but definitely didn’t get good use out of it. I used the bags to store breastmilk in the freezer but I didn’t take advantage of the pumping system. For me, it was just as easy to pump into normal bottles and then pour the milk into the storage bags. Cool product for sure but I wouldn’t buy it again.
Boon Lawn Countertop Drying Rack
Yes. Love this. Everyone should have one!
My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow
Obsessed with this nursing pillow. I read a lot of reviews that people prefer this to the Boppy Nursing Pillow. We didn’t use the Boppy Nursing Pillow so I have nothing to compare it to, but the My Brest Friend was fantastic for me and Crosby. Very comfortable for both of us, easy to wash, overall it’s great.
Bottles
Man, this is a hard one. I thought for sure Crosby would love the Comotomo bottles because I hear everyone does. For us, the bottle process was pretty tricky and very hard to find a bottle that Crosby would take. He would not touch the Comotomo or any other bottle that I registered for but luckily we found these Dr. Brown Bottles. They are the only ones that Crosby will drink from.
Hatch Baby Rest Sound Machine
We use this daily and like it a lot. It doubles as a sound machine and a night light. The only thing we don’t like is that the one we got is not Alexa compatible. Our whole house is run by Alexa so this annoys me a bit. I understand that the Hatch Baby Rest Plus is Alexa compatible so next time we will get that one.
Boppy Lounger
This was another great place that Crosby enjoyed lounging. This was key for us from about month 2 – 4. Starting around the 5 month mark, Crosby started rolling and getting a lot more mobile so he would try and crawl out which stressed me out a lot, so we stopped using it as much. But for months 2-4 it was amazing. Another great place like the BabyBjorn bouncer for Crosby to lounge. Highly recommend.
Bottle Sterilizer and Warmer
We used this less than 5 times. I just found that when Crosby wanted a bottle, he wanted it that second, so I didn’t have enough time for it to warm. We were breastfeeding a majority of the time anyway, so bottles weren’t used as much. As for the sterilizer aspect, most of our bottles and products could go through the dishwasher and then in the early stages I would sterilize it in boiling water. This seemed a lot faster to me than what the Bottle Sterilizer could handle due to spatial constraints. Wouldn’t recommend.
Hatch Baby Grow Changing Table and Scale
This came in immensely helpful during Crosby’s first 5 months. He lost a lot of weight after he was born and has always been in a lower weight percentile, so I loved having a scale at home that I could use to monitor his weight. We found it to be pretty accurate as well and oftentimes would be within an ounce or so of what our doctor’s said. We also use this as his primary changing table. Crosby is very tall for his age so he is quickly getting too tall for the changing table aspect which is a bummer. I’m not sure what we will use once he fully outgrows it. Overall we would but this again but I am a little bummed that he’s growing out of it so early.
Lovevery
I absolutely love the idea of these monthly subscription play kits. I did not register for them but I majorly wish I had. When I was registering I wasn’t thinking as much about the toys and developmental items that Crosby would need, so as soon as he was born I started stressing out about whether he had enough colors around him and things to play with to help his little mind grow and develop. Of course, I started days of research and loaded up my Amazon cart. If I had subscribed to Lovevery, I would not have worried at all. I will definitely be buying this for Crosby going forward!
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