I've been asked a ton of times which baby items I've used the most or which were a waste. Most of the items I have were sold to me second-hand from a great friend thankfully. I didn't do a ton of research on brands etc to be honest. I reached out to a few friends that had recently had babies, and they sent me a list. That's how I put my registry together. BUT I will share which have been used most!
Boppy (We use this ALL THE TIME! It's great for resting our arms while holding her, and it was KEY while breast feeding.)
Dr. Brown's Bottles (Olive is gassy, so these were great to help with air)
Baby Brezza (This is AMAZING! It makes formula bottles SO quick at the perfect temp. It's like a Keurig for bottles. I did read it can have issues with proper measurements after being used a lot, so make sure to research that. We've considered this a complete life saver. Initially, I thought it seemed like it would be a big waste of money. I assumed I'd solely breast feed. I did for a while, but then we added formula.)
Graco Swing (We just ordered this. We have the Mamaroo too, but Olive seems to like a swing that's a bit more aggressive! haha Plus, we got the one that swings both ways and can lift out to be a bouncer!)
Spectra S1 is the pump I used, and I liked it just fine. I have nothing to compare it to.
Halo sleep swaddle fleece or the Ollie. We tried so many swaddles, but Olive is strong. She got out of the Nested Bean, and the one with the arms up had a very thin material, so she could wiggle too easily. We use the Ollie for day naps and the Halo Swaddle Fleece (has to be fleece for the thicker material to work for Olive) at night.
Pampers Swaddlers
Zipper onsies (everyone told me this, and they were right. NOBODY wants to deal with buttons or snaps in the middle of the night!
Sound Machine
Gummy Bear red light (you could also just get a red light bulb, but this was gifted to us. It gives you a little light that isn't aggressive at night to change diapers etc)
Baby Bjorn-Olive loves this. She always falls asleep in it. We have another brand we haven't tried yet for when she gets bigger. This one is for small babies.
Baby Bjorn-Olive loves this. She always falls asleep in it. We have another brand we haven't tried yet for when she gets bigger. This one is for small babies.
Frida nail clippers and file (these clippers are amazing. It reduces the chances of cutting them!)
Bibs pacifiers
Ubbi changing pad
Dock-a-Tot (Had so many people ask if this is worth it because of the price. I got mine second hand for cheaper. BUT I have definitely used it to lay her in. Early on, I'd lay her in it for naps next to me on the couch so I could watch her. I liked that I could move it around the house with me. We don't really use it a lot now that she's (sometimes) napping in her crib.
7AM car seat cover (winter) or Milk Snob (fall-doubles as a cover when nursing)
Diaper Caddy (Love this just so all of her stuff is in one place to take upstairs or downstairs)
Owlet/Miku (I hated the Owlet sock so much. It would go off in the middle of the night during the tiny sleep we were getting. It would say it wasn't on her foot right randomly. I threw it across the room one night, and I've never tried it again. The monitor seems to be fine. We also received the MIKU as a gift. It was created by a guy at St. Thomas. It's supposed to read breathing/heart like the Owlet without using a sock. Because Olive pretty much just sleeps in our room in a Bassinet, we haven't been able to truly test it. We use it for her short naps. The MIKU seems to have cooler features like different noises you can play through it, detecting humidity in the room etc!)
Ink Prints: This is just an extra item that's so cute. To get ink prints of their hands and feet. PLUS, it doesn't leave ink on them. Its hard pressing a baby's hand and feet down right FYI! haha
We obviously use a lot of other stuff like the car seat, stroller, bath stuff, burp cloths etc, but that's what we mostly use!