Hello cupcakes! I am so super-thrilled to be the newest Gussy Sews Baby Gear Guru contributor! As a Mom of 5 littles, I think the title fits. I am so excited to write for this amazing blog — I mean, come on – isn’t Gussy amazing? To be here with you friends is such an honor! I have been lucky enough to work with Gussy over the years but feel blessed to consider her a great friend — she has such a special heart! LOVE her.
I will be coming to you once a month with baby gear recommendations, mama insights and tips + tricks I’ve picked up along the way! But – you can always catch-up with me on cupcakeMAG and cupcakeMAG Littles. I write daily for Babble too! You can find a variety of nursery design inspiration, mom tips and more as well as personal essays and all things baby!
I’ve been a momma for a decade {whew, I know!} and over those last ten years, I’ve tried many baby products – strollers, car seats, swaddle blankets, cribs, etc. With each child, I usually pass things onto friends and get new things because the baby industry is constantly updating and giving an update to products. After having 4 girls and 1 boy my friends come to be with all of their baby gear questions and I am always happy to help. I love me some cute baby stuff! That said, I have my serious favorites and I am sharing them with you today!
1. little hip squeak headbands // 2. blabla knit dolls // 3. puj tub // 4. mamaRoo by 4moms // 5. stokke sleepi crib // 6. zutano booties // 7. little giraffe blanket // 8. orbit baby travel collection
Headbands! You can never have to many so if you’re a mom of a girl — stock-up now. Little Hip Squeaks has a great story and I love the designer behind the shop full of way more than just headbands. The best part besides major style? All products are made of 100% certified organic cotton with eco-friendly inks — LHS even designs the fabric too!
Blabla knit dolls are just the perfect pretties to snuggle! So cute, unique and many different styles to choose from – they quickly become your little ones can’t live without lovey.
Puj tub perfection. I can’t believe I survived motherhood without this product. It’s a dream! I’ve said it before and I will say it again — it’s pretty much revolutionary. It makes your life 110% easier and is the best baby bath invention umm, ever!
Stokke Sleepi Crib is my favorite. The sleek, modern and unique style and design is why I am just smitten over this crib. It is a piece of furniture you can use for years to come and looks great inside any nursery.
Orbit Baby Travel System is an all-in-one dream! Okay, try not to look at the price tag but, if you do remember — this is where you need to invest. The car seat and stroller is something most use every single day. Your car seat needs to be the best as it’s guarding the life of your child. It’s okay to splurge here if you can afford too. If so — this is the travel system you should invest in. The 360 degree swivel, stylish design and never-ending amazing features sold it for me.
Little Giraffe blanket — oh.emm.gee! If you follow me on instagram you have probably spotted how many times we love LG. It is one of the softest blankets you will ever touch and will quickly become a favorite! With celeb-fans like Suri Cruise and Jessica Alba toting around some Little Giraffe love – you know it is some kind of wonderful.
Zutano booties are the newest item on my must-buy list as I just found out about them this year and I am in love — so soft and they don’t fall off! Socks on an infant never seem to stay on so this is why Zutano booties are something you should buy in every color. Warm and cozy for those little toes!
While my list goes on, if you were to ask my must-haves from the last 10 years {and favorites!} — these would be it! Wouldn’t even think twice.
Meet Casi Densmore-Koon, our baby gear guru contributor. She’s the founder & Editor of cupcakeMAG & cupcakeMAG Littles and writes daily for Disney’s Babble, ringleader of her 5 littles under 10 and let’s not forget to mention her darling hubs. Casi contributes around the web on Spearmint Baby, Spearmint Decor, Rags to Stitches and The Party Dress. When she isn’t writing and interviewing celebs, and styling clients, you can find her reading the “weeklies”, wishing she had a nanny and chasing her littles. In 2012, Casi was interviewed and named Mompreneur of the Month by Tori Spelling! Check out Casi’s lifestyle blog where she gives readers a glimpse into her personal life + behind the scenes of all the chaos, cupcake + co.
Have you tried any of the items listed above? Which baby products are YOUR favorite {to give/receive}? Share with us below…
Almost $1200 for a travel system?! :-O Wowza!
@Nicole, While it is expensive, it will never have to buy another travel system if you decide to have multiple children. As I always say, you pay for what you get! And in my opinion, it’s worth every penny! Thanks for reading!
@Casi, All car seats expire, regardless of how fancy they are. The Orbit doesn’t have a life any longer than the rest. In fact, there are plenty with a longer life!
All very fun stuff – but seems like all these favorite things are destined to stay on my wish list because they’re a bit pricey! Thanks for sharing!
Any expecting mama I know gets a Mommy Necklace (www.mommynecklaces.com), its my go to gift. Other than that I have lots of other practical affordable gifts I like to give. My favorite baby gift that I have ever gotten? My aunt cooking meals for us so when we got home from the hospital all we had to do is reheat and eat. Do not underestimate the gift of food. If you want my favorite gift specific to baby, hmmmm probably our carseat.
In all seriousness we don’t use our stroller, never really have with either kid, blankets are nice but not all kids take to them (both of mine don’t have lovies), that headband is really cute but having boys I don’t get to buy frilly things and socks/booties never entered our mind until we lived in WA where its too cold for a baby to go sockless (his older brother was born in LA and its HOT there).
Those are all gorgeous and wonderful items, I hope you have opportunities to use them all and love them dearly. We learned the hard way with our oldest all the cool things are not always what the family needs/uses, our storage space proves that.
@Christina P, Oh goodness, I don’t own all of these items. They are simply items from Casi’s “favorite things” list :) I will say I’m looking forward to using the PUJ tub. I do have that item on Casi’s list :) We are in a tiny apartment and the PUB tub is super compact when not in use. OK, and I also have the Stokke crib, which will be used for all the babies we’re blessed with… however many that is.
We’ve been given lots of good advice, similar to what you shared. Not all babies use a pacifier, blankie or even socks — you’re totally right. So glad you commented! Thanks Christina! xo
I am expecting my 5th, and I was curious what would be shared here, as the more babies I have, the more I realize that the list of true essentials is not very long at all (stroller, car seat, Boppy, burp cloths/bibs/blankets (which I make), diapers, wipes, and an Ergo carrier). I was surprised to see just about everything listed was super pricey and completely out of my price range. Though, even if I could afford a travel system that is over a thousand dollars, I don’t think I ever would buy that. To each their own, absolutely- but to all the expectant moms out there, there are plenty of amazing, safe, and even stylish options that are much more affordable. My advice would be to shop with a mom whose had a baby or two or three so she can help separate the necessary from the extras, and know that whatever it is you choose to buy, all your baby really needs is cuddles, kisses and milk :)
@Shannon, …it’s fun to have a running wishlist though, right? ;)
PS. Casi has 5 kiddo’s! wowza
I definitely didn’t mean my comment in a snarky manner- I just remember being pregnant with my first and being overwhelmed at the options/prices, etc.
My wish list for this next baby includes a maid and a chef- but for some reason that’s not listed on any registry I have seen :)
@Shannon, haha!! right???
@Shannon, YES! Ergo, Becco, whatever, seriously a carrier is a MUST have item, but be warned they can be addicting. And yet another thing each kid can choose to be differently about. My oldest (only have 2 as of now) was all about the ring sling and *gasp* the Bjorn we had (don’t worry I sold that thing FAST), my youngest liked the pouch sling for a bit but LOVES our Becco. Especially needed for when baby #2 comes around and you need hands free.
@Christina P, totally agree ladies — a carrier is def. a must-have item!!!
@Shannon, Congrats on #5! I just welcomed a boy after having 4 girls. Best of luck to you!
Definitely need to check out the puj tub – it seems to be on everyone’s favorites list. :). Thanks for sharing.
Yikes! Cute but EXPENSIVE items!
@Tina, We love receiving feedback and will make a note to offer more affordable items in upcoming posts. Thank you Tina!
Man, some snarky comments here. Maybe it’s because I have several of these items (Orbit and Stokke among them), but I see nothing wrong with some people being able to afford and choosing to spend a little on the things they like. We love love love our Orbit. Each family is different. I do agree that it is important to be prudent in the decisions you make about gear and be honest with yourself about what you will actually use. We travel a lot and the Orbit has been fantastic for that. To each his own, right?
@Liesel, Thanks Liesel for your support! Everyone has their own favorites and this just happen to be mine. Thanks for reading!
I love the Orbit system! Oh man am I saving up for one!!!
While it is expensive, it will never have to buy another travel system if you decide to have multiple children. As I always say, you pay for what you get! And in my opinion, it’s worth every penny! Thanks for reading!
I have a basic $200 travel system and I’ll never have to buy another one either! LOL. I just get a little sad when I see posts like this making it seem like a baby NEEDS a bunch of expensive stuff and make other moms like myself feel like they cheaped out on things when I bought only what I thought was necessary in my price range. Like…”Oh, in order to be a COOL mom you need THIS!”. Um…no you don’t. I don’t own a single thing on that list and I have a healthy, happy, safe, and sylish child. I want to see posts on what the rest of the normal world is doing for their kids. You know? Not the glamorous internet world. Maybe I’m simply following the wrong blog.
@Nicole, Amen.
@Nicole, Hi Nicole, I wanted to take a second to say we are not — by any means — saying that owning these items makes anyone cool, or anything similar to that.
The items listed in this post are our favorite items. Many are on our wishlists — it’s fun to wish, right? It’s a “just for fun” post.
I just wanted to make sure that the air was cleared. The items listed here are one mama’s favorites and we certainly promote (and understand) that one’s favorites aren’t going to be the same as another’s favorites. And we celebrate our uniqueness! :)
Hope this makes sense! :)
xoxo
@Gussy Sews, I think what surprised me is that you usually post about being frugal and buying cute handmade things. This post was totally not what I thought would be on your blog. Of course, I understand that it was a guest post, and obviously everyone has their own budget and wish list. It just caught me a but off guard!
@Stacey, I understand. The list above does include handmade: Little Hip Squeaks + Blabla are both handmade companies. But not all items needed for baby are handmade (car seat, stroller, crib, etc.), some have to be manufactured by larger companies. I can tell this is a sensitive subject for many. Thanks for your input!
Wow, I’m pretty surprised by this list! Although one thing I have definitely learned is you can ask 20 different moms their “must have” list, and you’ll get 20 completely different lists of items. It really just depends on the mom and the baby. The only thing on that list that I agree with is the Puj tub. Completely non essential IMO but nice to have. Just for a different perspective, I would never invest in an expensive travel system ( or any travel system for that matter). I think if you have kids semi close together you’ll probably want a double stroller after the first. Or, if you’re like me the second, and all subsequent kiddos, will live in a baby carrier. It’s pretty challenging to chase after preschooler while pushing a stroller.