ERIN KIRSTEN: Baby Must-haves, Registry Tips & Gift Giving

I have a Type A personality, so it's no surprise I had everything ready way before baby was born. Her nursery, our hospital bags, the car seat - everything was purchased and installed well before her arrival just in case she came early. I wanted to share a list of my baby must-haves and registry building tips for any new or expecting parents. For those who have friends that are expecting, this post is also for you! I listed some gift giving ideas that will hopefully be helpful to you.

I wanted to note that I frequently scour Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji and other buy and sell websites and applications for baby items. You can say it has become one of my favourite ways to pass the time when baby goes down for a nap - sad, I know. With baby items, I've found many are only used for a short period of time before baby moves on to the next item or grows out of them. Luckily, my thrifting efforts haven't been futile because I've managed to pick up a variety of baby items in mint condition (from clothing and feeding sets to shoes and furniture pieces.

At Home Must-haves for Breast/Bottle Feeding

Electric/Microwave sterilizer: We don't own a microwave so we opted for an electric sterilizer with two separate compartments. I use this multiple times each day and I will continue to as long as I'm pumping or baby is bottle feeding.
Bottle drying rack: If you are planning to pump or bottle feed your baby, a bottle drying rack will be essential. We also use ours regularly after sanitizing pump or bottle parts. A staple in our kitchen.
Lanolin nipple cream (any brand): I didn't buy any before baby came but thankfully had a friend who gave me the extra tube she didn't end up using. For the most part, breastfeeding wasn't painful for me but the nipple cream definitely helped provide relief in the first few weeks when my nipples were dry and cracked. I only needed it up until the third week but it was definitely something I reached for often. I used Medela's lanolin cream which was great because I could apply it between feeds and not have to worry about cleaning it off before her next feed. The cream is safe for babies. Side note: the lactation consultant we saw at the hospital also recommended having lanolin cream handy. She mentioned all brands work the same way and didn't recommend buying a specific brand.

At Home Must-haves for the Nursery

Crib/Bassinet, Mattress (sheets & protectors): You will more than likely be looking for a crib or bassinet (or both) depending on your desired sleeping arrangement. We scoured buy and sell sites and apps for a gently used crib. We ended up scoring one that was brand new in box as the lady ended up co-sleeping with her baby and never even took the crib out of its original packaging. We picked out a new firm mattress for her as well as a couple mattress protectors and sheets.
Change pad: Another nursery must-have would be a changing pad. We chose one with a soft cushiony material that has proven to be easy to clean. I regularly use a baby wipe for quick surface cleans but the material has proven to withstand more thorough rinses in the tub (for big poop explosions).
Swing/Bouncer: We were given and lent a few of these so we have one at the grandparents' houses as well as ours. We've tried the super fancy kind and some fairly inexpensive ones and baby isn't choosey. It keeps her content during our dinner times and if we're lucky she'll even fall asleep in it.
Baby kimonos: Soon after baby was born, we quickly realized we hated most clothing items that needed to go over baby's head. Avery hated it even more. Thankfully some of our friends and family lent and bought us baby kimonos or in Cantonese we call them "monk robes". Most look like little cardigans that are open in the front and you can simply slip baby's arms through the sleeves. There will either be ties or snap closures for the front of the robe. We use thinner ones as undershirts and thicker ones when we're at home.
Muslin swaddle blankets (at least 1-2): We've been using swaddle blankets since the day baby was born. We love the super soft material and use them while at home as well as when we're out with her.
Washcloths (at least 10-15): We love these and we use them all the time. Bottle feeding? We have a cloth for that? Baby spat up? We have a cloth for that. Bathing? We have a cloth for that too. We use washcloths for everything. We have many so we can rotate them out and wash them often.
Baby bath tub: There seem to be different bathing options for babies, but we prefer using a tub with a seat (which you can add or remove depending on how much support your baby requires). We love watching her kick around during bath time!
Thermometer: This was an important one for us. We use it at least once a week to check baby's temperature (and ours too, just for fun). We picked a touchless forehead thermometer and hope to continue to use it for many years as baby grows.
Google Home/Alexa: We set up a smart home device in baby's nursery before she was born and we think she's as happy with it as we are. We use it to play lullabies and white noise on loop during every nap and night time sleep. A great addition to any nursery.
Diaper pail: Any sort of diaper pail is essential for the nursery. We opted for a diaper genie but there are tons of diaper pails to choose from that don't require specific bags.

Baby monitor: We searched for a long time but ultimately chose one with video and sound capabilities that connected to our WiFi. The monitor even came with it's own application which could be downloaded to any Apple or Android device. We've also tried free applications that only require a phone to be set up in baby's room. Parents are able to tune in from their own device. Lots of options at may different price points.

Out and About

Diaper bag: Any mom will need a diaper bag to tote around all the essentials (plus all the other things you didn't realize you needed). We opted for a backpack with the option to carry as a shoulder bag and we appreciate its many inner and outer pockets.
Portable change pad: This is a staple for us because we frequently travel outside the home (at least we did prior to the lock down). A simple one with an easy to clean surface is ideal to pack away in your diaper bag (or your car). You can also find fancy ones with all the bells and whistles.
Travel bottle warmer: We love our portable bottle warmer and use it all the time whenever we're out of the house. Whether we're headed to the mall or a restaurant, we're always armed and ready with this for feeds on-the-go. The thermos keeps boiling water hot for many hours (5hrs+) and when you need it, you simply pour the hot water into the lid and throw the bottle in for a few minutes.
Convertible nursing/car seat cover: We love using our convertible cover for feeding sessions as well as to drape over the car seat. Most can even be used to cover a shopping cart for a clean surface for your little one. I typically alternate between two which allows me to swap them out when one needs to be washed. The best part is the material is breathable and fast drying.
Car seat protector: As a way to preserve and keep our car clean, we lined the seat with a protector before we installed our car seat. We picked a simple one with a couple pockets on the front for some additional storage.
Baby Carrier/Sling: A great way to tote around your babe. We've used several different carriers which allow baby to sit in various positions. So far we've only tried inward and front-facing positions but she has been loving it thus far.

Registry Tips

When it came to building our baby registry, we opted for one online. I appreciated the convenience of adding and removing items at any time. We used Babylist which allows parents to build their registries by selecting items from any website. If you can access the item from a website, you can add it to your registry - it's that simple.

We liked adding cash gifts to our registry such as having a book fund for baby or meal fund for mom and dad. We created our own personalized funds which our guests could contribute towards.
Diapers and wipes are always great options for practical guests but I would suggest requesting for larger sizes as opposed to newborn.

As a parent, I preferred purchasing the following items for my own baby:

Clothing: I liked having the freedom of selecting my own outfits for baby based on my taste and preference as well as need for a particular size.
Bottle sets: This is a tricky one because there's a bit of trial and error involved. It's difficult to know which brand(s) or style of bottle(s) your baby prefers without having tried a few, if not a variety. It may be best to choose a couple to try out rather than pick up an entire bottle set only to find out your little one doesn't like them.
Pacifiers: The one(s) you use may also be dependent on your baby's preference. In our case, we tried several before we found one she liked.

For Gifters

I didn't want to end this post without listing some of the best, most practical gifts we received. These are also some of our most used items. I've marked some of the items with an asterisk as those are some of our all-time favourites!

Under $50