@TwinMomDiana

Registry items, Beach & Travel Essentials

Top Baby Essentials

Hi guys!

Some of you have asked for my registry items in the past. As my babies were born just over a year ago, the registry isn’t around anymore. However, I have seen some items stand the test of time and continue to show up in baby registries for friends/family.

My One of my favorite stroller brands is Peg-Pérego. These items are high quality, made in Italy items. I have the “Book for Two”, which isn’t made anymore. I love it though. It’s a side-by-side double stroller with full canopy, mesh lining appears in the back when you recline the seat so the baby can benefit from a breeze on hot summer days. It handles like a dream and fits through most doorways. Lucky for me, I haven’t yet met a doorway it doesn’t fit through! It’s also easy to fold up and put in the car. Enough about that, let’s get to the list of top baby registry essentials!

Top Baby Registry Essentials- for those that want the nitty gritty essentials, I marked the top essentials with a ⭐️

⭐️Baby Registry Essentials – Basics (singletons & multiples)

⭐️• Ergo baby carrier – after trial and error, this is the brand I wish I would’ve gotten (*essential- I used mine so much)

⭐️• Jumperoo – we got fischer price rainforest & skip hop explore & more. (*Essential)

⭐️• High chair – the ikea high chairs are awesome! Convenient space savers, inexpensive, well made, and so so useful!! We used those and Graco. Go for simple because we also had the expensive Oribel which is at least $300 and I didn’t really like it that much. Especially since it was so pricy. (*essential)

⭐️• Fischer price sit me up (start when good neck control is present) I really like this chair. I thought it helped my babes improve their neck strength. (Maybe more of a bougie essential)

⭐️• Bjorn baby bouncer – a life saver! (*essential, especially for Twins & multiples). Honestly I can’t even tell you how much we used these. Baby Bjorn is such excellent quality too. The entire cloth seat is removable and washable. My kids, especially my son, LOVED the toy attachment too. Honestly, I don’t think I could’ve showered as many times as I did without this thing. I would bring both babies in their Bjorn bouncers in the bathroom and shower with a side eye on them when it was just me. For Twins these are ⭐️essential; honestly probably essential for singletons too.

⭐️ • Infant car seat -got Chicco (*essential)

⭐️• Convertible car seat – got Graceo (this is for when they outgrow the infant seat. (*essential)

⭐️• Stroller – we got Peg Perego, lots of people swear by BOB strollers. •City select has a baby jogger LUX double stroller that is pretty great and popular. (*essential) if you want to see strollers live and in person before you choose one, mask up and go to Buy Buy Baby. They will help you find a stroller you like.

⭐️• Portable crib – got Halo. The designer had a child die from SIDS, and so designed this amazing portable sleep spot for your baby that won’t suffocate them. It’s all breathable mesh 🌿 💆🏼‍♀️ (*essential for us -because we go away from the house overnight a lot) was great for the family lake house. Not essential if you don’t really leave the house. But very useful even if you go somewhere for the day, as infant babies sleep a lot. I would use the portable cribs at my parent’s house and such. If you see yourself leaving the house for longer periods it may be something you want to have.

⭐️• Bassinet – we like halo. We used halo bassinest. It’s a safely separated double bassinet for Twins. They also make a bassinet for singletons. Bassinets are great for parents who don’t have a crib in their bedroom. We have a separate nursery, so it was *essential for us to have a bassinet we could keep in our bedroom for the babes to sleep, especially the first few months. American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends same bedroom for the first year, our nursery is close by the bedroom and I was waking up to every little movement. Figure out what can safely work for you. Please discuss with your (future) pediatrician if you aren’t sure.

⭐️• Crib – recommend a convertible crib so it can transition to toddler bed etc… (*essential). Remember to NEVER put ANYTHING in the crib with the baby during . No bumpers, no stuffed animals, no blankets, except for the halo sleep sacks that are secured in place. No pillows no nothing. If your baby is cold, use: thicker pajamas, turn the heat up or get a warmer halo sleep sack. This is NOT NEGOTIABLE. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is not a joke. Your baby isn’t strong enough to move themselves away if they are suffocating. It can happen from ANY FOREIGN OBJECTS IN THE CRIB. Please don’t become a devastating statistic. Do the safe thing recommend by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and please make your baby sleep solo.

Sleep under one year is always alone.

The ABC’s of Sleep for Babies

A – is Alone

B- is always on the back (until the child gets strong enough to flip themselves over. It’s okay to leave them like that in the crib if they did it themselves) .

C – is always in crib

Hopefully that helps clear some of the sleep basics for babies. If you have any questions or comments on this, please let me know.

⭐️• Crib mattress, waterproof sheets, cloth sheets (*essential)

⭐️• Halo sleep sacks- the ultimate safe sleep swaddler for your infant/baby. Helps them to feel comfortable, cozy, and is safe to sleep in! (*essential- especially when the baby is freshly home from the hospital.) we didn’t really use them much after 6 months. Some parents swear by these throughout the first year and even the Merlin suits after that. If your baby has issues sleeping please look into those

⭐️• Bath – we liked the fischer price 4-in-1 sling n seat tub until the babies could sit up &/or angel care bath support. (*essential)

⭐️• Baby towels – hooded, & soft washcloths. I guess you don’t really need to buy baby towels, but they make the baby towels and washcloths much softer. Deemed *essential.

⭐️• Bath rinse cup – skip hop Moby bath rinse cup. I love my moby dick whale rinse cup! I suppose a person could use any big cup, but this one has a nice big handle, and a rubber part so you can rest the cup on your baby’s head while you pour so you don’t get water in their eyes and nose. It’s a seriously solid design. Deemed *essential.

⭐️• My fav bottle – Philips Avent (*essential, lol) Philips Avent bottles are fairly easy to clean, especially compared to Dr. Brown bottles and come with anti-colic inserts that are supposed to help the baby ingest less air while sucking/eating. My daughter had major spit-up issues so we used the anti-colic inserts for her. Did they help? Perhaps. It’s hard to say how much because she would still spit up, however, I don’t regret using them.

⭐️• Best bottle brush- Dr. Browns bottle brush (*essential) bottles should be cleaned separate from other food dishes. I even bought a collapsible tub from Amazon, and only allow my bottles to go in the tub versus the free-for-all sink

⭐️• Nursing chair -get a comfy one! Most people get a glider or rocking chair. with twins, however, you can’t tandem feed both babes, so some will use a lazy boy, I used a large over stuffed living room chair. (was *essential for me) I wanted a designated spot I could go to.

⭐️• Nose Frida (nasal suction) the best! Make sure you get saline spray to use before you try the Nose Frida. It won’t work unless you’re able to loosen up the blockages with saline spray. (*essential)

⭐️• Saline nasal spray. I like sterile saline mist by Little Remedies (*essential)

⭐️• Baby nail clippers or just use nail files- here’s some real life tips when using nail clippers on your baby… use small baby clippers, and don’t try to clip the whole nail in one shot. It’s super easy to cut their fingers. Take the clipper and do the right side, the left. Try not to go too deep. (*essential)

⭐️• Cream for butts- Aquaphor & A&D are my favs and burts bees ointment is a close second (*essential because baby skin is so so fragile)

⭐️• Children’s Tylenol (*essential)

⭐️• Thermometers- we use Braun digital, and I got a digital forehead scanner. It can be tough to get a fussy baby’s ear temperature. (*essential)

⭐️• Diaper genie- playtex – the plastic ones are easier to clean. The metal ones retain the smell despite cleaning. 🤢 (*essential)

⭐️• Humidifier (for winter in cold climates) (*essential for cold climates). Babies can get very dry and blocked up in their nasal passages. Especially in the winter, it’s good to have a humidifier. Otherwise your kids will get these super hard bolder like blockages in their nose. It can take many many sprays of saline to loosen up. I’m talking over a few hours, and can be very uncomfortable for the babe. Also, when their nose is blocked up, they can’t drink their bottles very well. Do everyone a favor a make sure you humidify in the winter with distilled water. The humidifier instructions usually specify this. I can post the one I bought off Amazon if you’re interested. Let me know.

⭐️• Burp clothes, bibs (get absorbent to save on outfit changes) , onesies, baby socks. (*essential)

⭐️• Teethers – infantino carrot, nuby banana massaging toothbrush, comotomo (*essential) and unfortunately hard to know which one your baby will like. It’s a trial and error thing

⭐️• pacifier(s) – we like wubbanub

⭐️ • sippy cup – munchkin 360

🌿Bougie Essentials – meaning, these were pretty great to have, you would probably be okay without it. More of a nice to have than a must have.

🌿• Wubbanub pacifiers (deemed *essential, but bougie) You can get by without one, but they’re just so cute!

🌿• Bottle drying rack – Boon, we got the double drying rack because twins. We still use the Boon to this day!

🌿• Bumpo – multi seat (>3mo) can use this for some years into toddlerhood. Not necessarily essential to me. It’s a nice to have, not a must have. Definitely cool though!! I don’t regret buying ours.

🌿•Tummy time water mat, tummy time activity mat- we liked the tummy time water mat & the Caterpillar tummy time pillow by Infantino the “prop-a-pillar”

🌿• Baby activity mat

🌿• Changing Pad – recommend tushie pads

🌿• Baby hangers

• Baby wrap carrier – I had the moby wrap. Some women loves these so much. I like mine, but used my baby carrier significantly more. I felt like my baby could breathe easier and we both weren’t as sweaty when our bodies weren’t burrito wrapped right up against each other; especially since this was during a hot summer.

• Oogie Bear -nasal & ear cleaner (it’s an okay item to have, but actually probably not an essential)

• Boppy – we had the newborn lounger

*Boppy loungers were recalled, I believe because people were letting their babies sleep unattended which is a huge no no. So I’m not sure these can be purchased anymore which is a shame because these were great after bottle time, especially with twins.

• Best Booties – Zutano. The fleece booties are the best!