We bought 24 bibs before our son was born. I thought that was too many. Then the drool started, and suddenly all those extras made sense.
The bottle washer was another purchase I questioned. We had a sink, and I figured we could wash bottles ourselves. What I had not considered was how much less appealing that job would be when we were tired and doing it again late at night.
My wife did a lot of research before our son arrived. She would show me something she found, and I would usually say, “Yeah, that sounds good.” We wanted to be prepared, but every list seemed to have something the last one missed.
Once we became parents, we found out what suited us. Some purchases got used every day, some helped for a few months, and others barely left the cupboard. These are the things I have something to say about after using them.
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Feeding: The Cleanup Was a Bigger Job Than I Expected
The bottle washer I almost skipped
We used the Momcozy bottle washer, sterilizer, and dryer. Our original plan was to wash bottles at the sink, then use a separate sterilizer and dryer. That sounded manageable before we were doing it several times a day.
For us, the cleanup was the tiring part. Feeding already took time, and afterward there were still bottles and parts waiting. Having those steps in one machine meant less hand-washing and less moving things from one place to another.
This is the Momcozy bottle washer we used. Our usual batch fit together, and it became one of the most-used things in our kitchen. It is a bigger purchase that needs counter space, so I would think about how much bottle washing you actually do before spending the money.
Bottles our son would actually take
Our son refused the first two bottle brands we tried. He arched his back and protested, and all our research did not make him any more interested. The third brand worked for him.
These are the bottles our son accepted. Finding them was a relief because we could stop trying different ones and get on with feeding him.
I would buy a small quantity first if I were doing this again. Buying a bigger set only makes sense once you know your baby will use it.
Muslin cloths and all those bibs
We bought regular burp cloths too, but the muslin ones got used much more. We had small and large sizes, and reached for both during burping, to wipe spit-up off our shoulders, and for everyday cleanup. We also used them as washcloths at bath time.
These are the muslin cloths we used. They were soft and useful for several jobs, which meant they spent very little time sitting folded before someone grabbed another one.
The muslin bibs earned their place once the drooling picked up. Changing a damp bib was easier than changing an entire outfit, especially when we were trying to get out of the house. There was still plenty of laundry, but I stopped questioning why we had bought so many.
The Monitor We Pack for Trips
We use a VTech monitor that does not need Wi-Fi. It is easy to connect, and we make a point of bringing it when we travel.
On trips with friends who also had babies, we stayed in places where the Wi-Fi signal was poor. Their Wi-Fi monitors had trouble connecting, while ours kept working. That was when I particularly appreciated having one that did not depend on the internet connection.
This is our VTech monitor. The picture quality is average, and the range is limited. At the places we stayed, it covered the house and reached the backyard where we were sitting, but I cannot give you an exact distance or promise the same coverage in every home.
We charged it about every three or four days, but we used it intermittently rather than running it overnight. It did what we needed without much setup, which mattered more to us than having the sharpest picture.
Bath Time Took a Little Practice
Our Fisher-Price bathtub was a gift from friends. My mother-in-law was familiar with a different way of bathing babies: supporting the baby on her legs and using water from a small bucket.
She tried that with our son, but my wife and I felt more comfortable using the little tub. It was new to us too, so the first bath involved figuring things out. My wife watched videos, and we got used to the setup fairly quickly.
This is the Fisher-Price bathtub we used. We used it until our son outgrew it. It was not something we had chosen ourselves, but it ended up being a gift we used regularly.
The Changing Setup We Took Everywhere
We kept a small portable changing pad in the diaper bag. I was not comfortable putting our son directly on public changing stations, so I would open the pad on the station and put a disposable mat on top.
The pad gave him a little cushion, and the disposable layer helped with cleanup. If it got dirty, we threw that layer away, folded the pad, and put it back in the bag.
This is the portable changing pad we used, and these are the disposable mats. We used the same setup for changes in the car when there was no changing station available. Having something we could unfold and use in different places made it handy beyond public restrooms.
At home, the diaper caddy kept diapers, wipes, and cream together. That was especially useful during nighttime changes, when neither of us wanted to search through drawers. A boring purchase, but an appreciated one.
The Electric Nasal Aspirator We Still Use
The electric nasal aspirator is one of the baby purchases we still reach for. Ours has interchangeable silicone tips with different-sized openings, and I found having those options useful when dealing with congestion.
Swaddles: We Tried All Three Styles
We started with traditional wrap swaddles. A friend recommended Velcro ones, then another friend recommended zip ones, so we ended up trying all three.
Our son seemed to prefer the traditional wraps. The Velcro ones we tried came loose, and he could get out of them. He seemed to like the zip ones too, but we did not use them much.
Swaddles were part of our early setup, rather than something we used for a long time. That experience made me more cautious about stocking up on a style just because someone else liked it.
A Few Other Things We Used
The SNOO was available through my wife’s work benefits, so we decided to use it. We used it for about five months before moving our son to a crib. We would also have been comfortable starting with a regular crib, so I would not put the SNOO on a must-have list.
We used a humidifier a lot in winter, and the diaper bag came with us regularly. We had two portable white noise machines—one for home and one for travel and daycare—and my wife had a favorite nursing pillow.
A thermometer was another basic we kept available. We ended up owning several different types, although that is not a shopping list I would tell everyone to copy.
What Barely Got Used
The stroller fan did not get much use, even in summer. We generally were not staying outdoors for long on our outings, and the places we visited did not leave us reaching for it. We also had a rain cover, but never used it.
We bought three or four carriers and did not use them much either. The wipe warmer went back because we did not find it useful.
Newborn clothes were another story—we needed the changes. But around three to six months, we bought more clothes than our son got to wear. He outgrew some before we used them, and a few still have the tags on.
What I Would Do Differently
I would still get the basics ready, but buy smaller quantities where our baby’s preferences mattered. Bottles and swaddles were things we had to figure out by trying them.
The bottle washer helped with repeated cleanup. The monitor was useful at home and on trips. The changing pad went everywhere in the diaper bag. Those purchases had clear jobs, and we kept using them.
Our full baby checklist brings these supplies and other first-year items together in one place. It includes affiliate links, with the things we used separated from what got little use, stayed unused, or went back.
I still think we bought more than we needed. But I no longer question the bibs, and I am glad we bought the bottle washer. Sometimes you understand a purchase better after doing the same job for the fifth time that day.
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