When I was pregnant I remember spending HOURS researching the best items. I looked at reviews online, asked friends, browsed Pinterest and Baby’s List and Amazon. I wanted the best possible products for my sweet baby, but like many people, I also had a budget! My quest was to choose the best baby gear in a sort of “middle of the road.” If you’re looking for luxury baby items, this is not the post for you!

Overall, I was pretty happy with the majority of my choices for baby gear. John and I reviewed our gear and narrowed it to 20 items that we deem our “must haves” for new parents. If you have questions about something NOT in this post, feel free to send me a message and I’ll do my best to help you. (There’s a lot of baby gear NOT on here because I didn’t want it to become too overwhelming.)

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1. We loved this car seat by Graco for the newborn stage and even past a year old. It has great safety reviews, is extremely functional, and easy to clean and maneuver.

I’d highly recommend getting a second base if more than one person will be picking the baby up or dropping the baby off from daycare/grandma’s/etc. This was great because I could leave the seat at daycare when I dropped off in the morning and John could grab it when he picked up in the afternoon. It made our routine seamless and was much cheaper than purchasing a second seat. Just be sure to double check that your base fits your seat!

2. The <a href=”http://<iframe style=”width:120px;height:240px;” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=biteswithbeth-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B07XLNFBZX&asins=B07XLNFBZX&linkId=1909a1ac46eb954636674531964eaae8&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff”> Boppy nursing pillow was an absolute godsend. I promise that the day will come you’ll be able to breastfeed and walk or multitask in various other ways, but in the newborn days babies are tiny and almost slippery!! You want a boppy – even if its just to make it easier to hold your teeny tiny babe! We had a camping themed cover and there are TONS of adorable cover options. I love this neutral grey color available on Amazon!

3. The Boppy Lounger is amazing for the newborn stage and up until baby can roll. It’s so great to keep baby comfy cozy and elevate them just a little so you can keep an eye on them. Harry used to lay in this and watch mama get ready when he was itty bitty and it was just the two of us!

It’s also great for those adorable monthly photos before baby can sit up. Get another cover or drop your favorite cozy blanket over the lounger and you’ve got your DIY baby prop!

4. I adored my Milk Snob because it was just so versatile. The Milk Snob functions as a car seat cover, nursing cover, barrier between baby and grocery cart germs, etc. There are so many uses for the Milk Snob and they’re so soft and adorable. I love that it functions as a breathable car seat cover as well as a nursing cover so it’s one less thing to tote along when you leave the house. Did I mention they drop adorable new patterns every season?? Buy one. You won’t regret it.

5. This Sealy baby mattress has been fantastic (I’ll be honest, our little one occasionally jumps on his when he wake up from naptime). It’s affordable, durable, and has a waterproof coating to protect it from overnight diaper leakage.

6. These burp cloths were the absolute best! When I was pregnant with our first, I didn’t realize that burp cloth quality was a big variant, but it totally is. These were our favorites because they’re so soft and absorbent plus they don’t stain easily.

7. The baby monitor was something I researched extensively. I weighed pros and cons and spent hours mulling over the right baby monitor for us. A little back story: the news story about baby monitors and home cameras being hacked and then used to exploit families was a big deal when I was pregnant and building my registry. I decided to go with a monitor that does not connect to Wifi for this reason. Infant optics video monitor has great range, an impressive camera with night vision and daytime that automatically adjusts. You can move the position of the camera, it has decent battery life. You can also add multiple cameras which is great for families with multiple small children or if you want to keep one in an area where the baby might play and also the nursery. We love ours.

8. We have two Regalo baby gates that we use. We love these because you can walk through the gate and don’t have to take the entire gate down or climb over it while holding a baby. They hold up well and are easily adjustable for the size of doorway or hallway you’re using it in.

9. This Pack ‘n’ play Snuggle Suite was completely worth the money. Our master bedroom was downstairs and the nursery upstairs so we used this as our crib for longer than I should admit. This pack comes with a bouncer that rests as a bassinet style seat next to a convenient changing table! The mesh storage baskets on the side are the perfect size to organize diapers and wipes. It was such a convenient setup to have downstairs. There’s a bassinet insert and when baby outgrows that, there’s a sturdy playard mattress. We more than got our money’s worth with this one! (The bouncer was a favorite and you can’t buy the same style separately!)

10. These Mam Pacifiers were the only ones that our little one liked. They come with these awesome little pacifier holders that are great for keeping pacis sterile in the diaper bag..and keeping them from being misplaced in the cabinet! (You can also use the holders to sterilize the pacifiers in the microwave, but I personally, have never tried that.)

11. Although solid foods are a little far off, it’s not a bad idea to register for some feeding basics! We loved our ezpz Mini Mat. It’s great for when baby is just learning to eat and hasn’t quite grasped the “not throwing your plate” concept.

Grab these pre-spoons while you’re at it! It’s basically baby’s first step in learning to use utensils. It can double as a teether and is the perfect size for those adorable hands.

Save yourself some sanity and grab a Bapron while you’re at it. They’re available in tons of adorable patterns and colors and they’ll save all those adorable clothes you’ve been collecting. It makes dinner cleanup a snap.

12. This Munchkin dishwasher basket will save your sanity when you’re packing six bottles a day for your breastfed baby so you can go to work or spend a day out and you’ve washed about a million bottles that week.

13. To properly dry all of the aforementioned bottles preventing the risk of bacteria growing, you need a good drying rack. You definitely want the bigger one (unless you have more of a compact kitchen, then you may want the smaller version).

14. Something I didn’t register for, but wish I had, was a baby carrier….or five! When I was a new mom I was also home alone because my husband was halfway across the world. Baby carriers were my BFF and babies usually love them because their snuggled up to their favorite person and it feels almost like the womb. The Boppy carrier is a cross between a carrier and a wrap. Super great for when baby is small – some of the more structured carriers aren’t suitable for babies under eight pounds. We kept this one in the car for grocery trips and it was fantastic!

I was a little intimidated by the Moby wrap at first because you have to wrap it yourself, but we love love loved this one. It’s great because it’s so soft and snuggly and a bit more breathable than some others. Some mamas are even talented enough to breastfeed while baby wearing in the Moby! It’s super cozy and is extremely comfortable.

This Baby Bjorn carrier was so comfy and breathable while still a little more structured which is great for older babies. I used this one when I flew solo with the baby!

15. Frida Baby products are always incredible quality and this set was a lifesaver! It includes a fridet for mama – I personally didn’t use this but I’ve heard it’s superior to the ones they provide in the hospital. The Nail Frida and the file that come with it are awesome for cutting baby nails – there’s a little viewing window so you can make sure you’re trimming only nail. The Windi Baby and Nosefrida are great for those unfortunate truths of having a little little one. I promise with this set in the nursery, you’ll feel just a little more prepared.

16. I definitely recommend getting at least one extra bouncer. It’s great to have them in multiple rooms so you can seamlessly move from one room to the next – for example showering when you’re home alone! We loved this puppy bouncer from Fisher Price!

17. If you have hard floors, this playmat will bring you peace of mind. Our entire first floor is hardwood and it can be really nerve-wracking with a baby who’s just learning to roll, sit, and play. I love that this playmat is very neutral in color because it keeps the integrity of decorations of the room in tact. We’ve had ours for more than a year now and it has held up very well for us!

18. The Haaka is so great for building up a small “stash” of breastmilk for date night or in preparation for returning to work. It also helps you not lose any of those precious ounces. Be smarter than me and buy this one with the stopper! I went cheaper and didn’t get the one with a stopper when I purchased mine and I DID lose some of those precious ounces!

19. This Graco Stroller clicks right into the car seat I mentioned at the start of the post. It’s super great for a quick transition from car to indoors especially if it’s cold! We still use ours every day for walks and it seems to be very comfy.

20. This Skip Hop play center was the most convenient way for baby to play, mama to cook dinner, and dance and sing along the way! This activity center grows with baby and converts to a play table and eventually to a toddler table.

I’m pretty sure I could write about this for days but these are sort of our “Top Twenty!” that I’d recommend you consider purchasing for your babe! If you need more suggestions or opinions on products please send me a message! I’m happy to share my experience if I’ve used the product before!

Happy shopping!