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De-Influencing But Still Recommending: Baby and Kid Things I Use While Being Cheap
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items You don’t need most of the stuff you see, but you do need some things and some of the popular things are helpful. Here’s what I would go out and replace tonight if they were broken or lost.
Currently a single income home with a preschooler and a bab...
Sections
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Daily Baby
Baby Shower Splurges
Toddler + Preschooler Big Gifts
Daily Baby
I have used these daily with both of my babies. They are getting replaced tomorrow if anything happens to them.
Aww so cute, a baby in the bath. But also. If you end up with a baby who spits up an alarming amount, like I did twice, you can carry these around in your diaper bag instead of burp cloths until things clam down. It’s not chic, but neither is being c...
Cloud Island : Baby Towels & Washcloths
This isn’t necessary to change a diaper. Your mom and mother in law will not use it out of principle. Really, they’re right. But just because we can doesn’t mean we should. It’s inexpensive, simple to clean, and doesn’t require me to stick my hand in...
Diaper Spatula
Your bar for what is gross really changes a few weeks into that first baby. Honestly, I have used this on myself when push came to shove. I have also seen a hack where you hook it up to a breast pump to amp the suction without passing out. The blue t...
NoseFrida the SnotSucker
Got our first set of these almost 10 years before we had kids to be ready for nieces and nephews to eat at our place. They’ve held up very well to multiple times a day use and you don’t have to worry about them breaking or smelling like dish soap. Th...
IKEA Kids Tableware & Dinnerware
If your baby doesn’t have skin sensitivities, you will save money using Sam’s or Costco diapers. Sam’s is closer to my house. It’s literally money you’re throwing into the trash (or diaper genie if your kid is still pooping multiple times a day, othe...
Sam’s Club Diapers
We formula fed one baby and had expensive/trendy bottles. They were fine. These are better and more budget friendly. You can buy them anywhere and if you pump you can get some inexpensive accessories to do so right into a bottle. Lactation consultant...
Lansinoh Bottles
Use this instead of a Haaka for letdown. It tucks nicely into a nursing bra and the baby can’t easily kick it off. If you’re worried about oversupply, don’t suction it at all. I’ve even used it when baby started sleeping longer spells (🙏) and I need...
Boon Trove Milk Collector
Very budget friendly. When the baby starts sitting up, you can flip this over to keep them more contained and even caged off from older siblings. It won’t suction onto your tub and mold, either.
Angelcare : Baby Bath Tubs & Seats
Only these crossover stretchy bras if you’re nursing. They don’t work for pumping. But I don’t like dealing with clips in the middle of the night. Almost no support, which only matters if you end up lopsided, don’t ask me how I know.
Auden V Neck Bralette | Nursing & Wireless Designs
Once we moved our baby off of ready to feed, we batched 24 hours of formula in this thing. That baby would take a cold bottle, and it was so convenient to go grab a premade bottle from the fridge at 3am.
Dr. Brown's® Formula Mixing Pitcher
You can absolutely get a little tiny bedside bassinet (we had a hand me down from a friend eventually), but if the space a pack and play takes up isn’t a problem, you can use this as your baby’s first bed. Connected bassinet, then the canopy, then th...
Pack 'n Play Bassinet & Changing Table Combos
Very helpful for when my baby started sleeping on his stomach (terrifying at first!) which led to leaks out the front of his diapers, but he was growing so much we couldn’t keep him in the same size diaper for long enough to justify overnight diaper ...
Sposie Booster Pads - Stop nighttime leaks!
Keep these in your diaper bag instead of one of those fold out pads your diaper bag probably came with. You can cut them into 1/4ths to save money. They really feel more hygienic when you have to use a public bathroom changing table.
Puppy Pads
This was a gift from a mom with 🔥 advice and recommendations. The clip on belt and the little pocket seem gimmicky, but the are not. I used mine until the inside pillow broke in half, zipped it back up and used it another few months until my second ...
My Breast Friend Nursing Pillow
These are great if your newborn likes to sleep with their arms up and out of a traditional swaddle. I liked that it let my babies self soothe by finding their hands. The larger sizes with removable arms are helpful when it’s time to transition out of...
Arms Up Swaddles for Infants
Baby Shower Splurges
These things are sort of pricey, but honestly we were a DINK household when we had our oldest so I wasn’t as cheap 😂 These are things I would add as nicer gifts on a registry!
We used this multiple times a day with both kids between the ages of about 2 weeks to 6 months. I would carry it to different rooms with me. Not sure I ever used the bathroom or made food home alone with a baby without this. Are there cheaper version...
Baby Bjorn Bouncer
If you’re getting the expensive bouncer, go ahead and get the attachment. The Amazon ones don’t stay on as well. You can also find these on the secondhand market because they’re so well made that a baby can’t really mess them up.
Bjorn Bouncer Toy Bar
You’re supposed to limit time in these to like 15 minutes a day, but that’s long enough to shower or eat when the baby is too big for the bouncer. Our preschooler used this as an art table before the new baby came along.
Skip Hop Baby Activity Center
This isn’t necessary for most kids. Your dishwasher or hand washing is cleaning things totally fine. But, the dryer on this was amazing. Our formula baby went through bottles and bottle parts like crazy every day, and this gave us (me) the peace of m...
One Step™ Baby Bottle Sterilizer and Dryer Advanced
Would I spend $800 on an artipoppe if that was my tax bracket? Who knows. This is a very nice carrier that looks good and you don’t need to be an Eagle Scout to adjust or put it on alone. I love the detailed patterns they have available, but I am too...
Aerial Buckle Baby Carrier
Oof these are expensive. However, the temperature regulation is off the charts and your baby can wear the same size for ages. We had one of these and a kyte also sack as the backup for when one got destroyed in the middle of the night.
4 Season® Ultimate Baby & Toddler Sleep Sacks
We have the travel and 2 regular sizes. I love that I can adjust the standard ones from my phone or from the device. The travel is good for sleeping away from home in a crib or in the stroller/car. Whatever you do, don’t subscribe to hatch+. I cannot...
Hatch : Soothers & Sound Machines - Baby
No wifi connection, camera covers a lot of angles, and good customer service.
eufy Baby Monitor E110
Toddler + Preschooler Big Gifts
So your baby has grown up enough to play with choking hazards - now what?
I don’t think our toddler would have done independent rest time or slept in his toddler bed alone at the beginning without this. We use it for bedtime stories, quiet playtime, and even listen to stories on long car rides (which you can do from your p...
Yoto
This thing costs more than my current, 10 year old, living room couch. It was a grandparent and mom/dad combo birthday gift. Everyone in the house has slept on and played with this thing.
Nugget Play Couch
My sister-in-law, who has 6 kids, gave me the tip to put this as close to my own kitchen as possible so the kids can cook while the adults do. It works. I also store the baby/kid plastic dishes in here and use that as a way to get the toddlers involv...
IKEA Play Kitchen
This horse, with no name for our oldest but now called Flower, is cute and has fun songs. We did have to physically hide it from the oldest so that he would walk independently.
Fisher-Price Horse Ride & Bounce Baby Walker, Push & Spin Learning Toy with ...