Baby Picks

I have two babies 18 months apart, and I registered for everything when I found out I was pregnant with my first. When it comes to babies, I say if it makes you feel better, do it. If you want a minimal registry, go for it, and if you need to add the entire Amazon baby section, do it. 

The things linked below are our absolute favorites, and I hope you love them as much as we do!

1. Stretchy Wrap

I babywear a lot, so wraps and carriers top my list of absolute must-haves. (My youngest just took her first stroller ride the other day at 10 months old! Babywearing is our travel method of choice.) 

I put my oldest daughter in this Amazon Acrabros Baby Wrap for the first time when she was four days old, and I've worn a baby at least once a day ever since then. (Even when I went into the hospital to have my second!) I used the Acrabros wrap with my second daughter as well, and so far it's taken many beatings and still remains strong. It washes well and is super stretchy to help hold babies tight against your body. 

I also have a Moby wrap, which I like and use but don't necessarily recommend for mommas just learning to wrap. It's a bit less stretchy and the learning curve is a tad higher. I LOVE it once you're comfortable with wrapping, but I'd suggest starting with a stretchier stretchy wrap. 

I have a Solly wrap on my wish list for baby #3! My experience with wraps and carriers has been that the pricier ones are worth the money or the time invested to find them secondhand. I have yet to try a Solly, but I'm betting it'll be like my experiences with soft-structured carriers, where the extra money means more comfort and better quality. 

2. Soft Structured Carrier

I have several soft structured carriers (SSCs). I registered for this Infantino 4-in-1 Flip, which was in heavy rotation with my first daughter and is the current carrier of choice with my 10-month-old. I only use SSCs for back-wearing, and I like that the Infantino helps with the hip-scoot learning curve by having you thread baby's legs into special leg slots, as opposed to other carriers which are basically buckets you sit your baby in. Those are better for other methods of getting your baby to your back, but for the beginner hip-scooter, the Infantino is lovely. 

It's lightweight, washes and dries well, and is at a good price point if you aren't sure if you'll be a baby-wearer and don't want to shell out the money for a pricier option.

Con: My older daughter outgrew the width of the seat. The Infantino was perfect for a long time, but sometime after she turned a year old, her legs started to dangle in a way that wasn't good for her hips. If you don't babywear frequently that probably isn't too big of a deal, but with as much as I was carrying her I wanted something with a wider seat.

Additional con: The straps aren't as comfy as the Tula carriers I'm about to mention. They're perfectly fine until you wear a Tula, and then you realize how plush carrier straps could be! The thinness of the straps isn't a big deal for me, though, and comes in handy if I'm tandem wearing and need to layer carrier straps on my shoulders.

I scored a Tula Standard Carrier at a local consignment event. I love this carrier! I mentioned this above, but the straps on the Tula SSCs are A+, and the waistband is super comfy for momma, too. I haven't been able to break into it yet, though, because my youngest, who I'm currently wearing on my back, isn't tall enough to see over the top.

The Tula Standard washes and dries well, is comfortable, and comes in lots of cute prints. I would absolutely recommend this carrier if you want to spend a bit of extra money!

Because my baby isn't quite tall enough to transition to the Standard carrier, I have a Tula Free-to-Grow Carrier on my wish list. From what I can see, it's all the goodness of other Tula SSCs (I have two, I'll talk about the other one next!) with the adjustability of the Infantino. Sounds right up my alley!

3. Toddler Carrier

If you're looking for registry ideas, this next carrier might be jumping the gun a bit. But I'm not here to tell you what to do, so register for the Tula Toddler Carrier if it makes you happy! This was my first dip into Tula SSCs. I got a Toddler carrier off of Facebook Marketplace when I needed to upgrade my oldest from the Infantino. I waited longer than I should have to upgrade her, and by the time I got an upgrade she fit in the Toddler. 

This has every good thing the Standard does, and fits your older kids fantastically. I carry my oldest less these days, but when she's sick, mad that she has a sister, or just needs a little bit of love, this carrier is our go-to.

She's a little too tall for me to hip-scoot comfortably, so I tend to superman her onto my back. I mentioned earlier that the Infantino was good for beginner hip-scooters because of the leg slots for baby. Since they're sans leg slots, the Tula carriers are great for superman-ing or having kids climb onto your back. And if you're new to hip-scooting but it feels like the best way to get babies onto your back, the Tula SSCs will be just fine. Go slow and you'll be fine!

4. Highchair

The Summer Infant Deluxe Folding Chair fits in the dishwasher. THE WHOLE THING. FITS IN THE DISHWASHER. I have to fold the back down to make it a little flatter, but it fits, and it's fabulous.

I have two of these because my oldest wasn't done using hers as a booster seat when we needed one for our youngest. They're a good price point, easy to clean, easy to store, and when they need a deep clean you can unbuckle the whole shebang and throw it in the dishwasher. 

You'll need a sturdy kitchen chair with a back for these (a bench won't work), but if you have sturdy kitchen chairs with backs please please believe that I would buy 100 of these if I needed 100 of these. I get rid of the little cloth cover on the headrest because it just gets dirty and in the way, and after that cleanup has never been easier.

5. Wagon

My husband got the MacSports Collapsible Utility Wagon to take on work trips, but he isn't on work trips all the time and, as it turns out, the wagon is multi-purpose. It's been a lifesaver with two kiddos, particularly when it comes to bringing in groceries! 

Before the wagon, I'd strap one baby to my back, one to my front, brave the Texas summer heat, and carry load after load of groceries into the house. By the time all the groceries were in, we were all sweaty and cranky and Momma had no energy left to put the cold stuff away.

Enter the wagon. I can sit kids in it and pile groceries on top of them, which they think is funny, and make fewer trips into the house. Less sweaty, less grumpy, more energy. Everyone wins. We keep the wagon folded in our front closet for easy reach. It takes up very little space and could fit more than two kids. 

6. Purse Diaper Bag

I registered for a backpack diaper bag. Something inexpensive that everyone on Pinterest said I would need. Turns out I dislike backpack diaper bags. I do too much babywearing (backpack babies and backpack diaper bags don't mix) and I felt...unattractive. I was already feeling lumpy and weird postpartum, and the backpack that didn't match my outfit only made things worse. The backpack diaper bag was relegated to the trunk as a car diaper bag, and instead...

...I bought the Monogram Coco Tweed Handbag as a birthday present for myself. I regularly carry a smaller, average-sized tote, but on days when I need more carrying capacity I switch to this bag. If you need to carry more with you and also dislike backpack diaper bags, try a larger tote! Put a tote organizer in it (I have this one, it has an insulated pocket for drinks or bottles!) or leave it open. 

(It also comes in pink!!)

7. The Best Bath Toy

My husband bought this tea set as a gift for our oldest daughter. Her philosophy in life is that all toys are bath toys if you try hard enough, and the tea set has been a long-time favorite at this point. Our younger daughter knows how to "feed" other people, and the two girls play for a long time in the bath with this set that can go in the dishwasher when it needs to be cleaned. Nothing gets moldy or smells bad, and everyone loves pouring water all over everything. Another winner for the baby must-haves list, LOL.

Let me know your all-time favorite baby items in the comments below!

All the love,

Emily

Please feel free to contact me at admin@tulipsandbasil.com!