Having a baby can turn you into a baby product sucker. I pride myself on not having fallen for many of the sucky baby products out there. Though I will freely admit to having bought a wipes warmer.

Now, in my defense we do use re-usable cloth wipes. So there is already an inherent savings. But, this was an item we absolutely could have done without and even put away after the first few months.

We were super fortunate to be on the receiving end of a bounty of hand-me-downs. As such, our purchases were thankfully limited but I am going to say we totally nailed it with the following:

• Chewbeads - All babies love jewelry. That’s just a fact. And while exceptional, Maxine is no exception. These are fun to wear and made out of the same material as pacifiers.


• Uppababy stroller - This requires little explanation. It has its drawbacks but its just really, really nice.


• Oxo nite lites - I’ve no idea why these are so impossible to find now and/or super pricey. I somehow got them for somewhere in the $30’s. Still pricey for a nite lite but totally worth it. A no-exaggeration life saver for nursing at nite.


• SkipHop Ducks - Form and function. I set them on a shelf  when not in use to double as baby bathroom decor. These were actually a gift but still a smart item to have.

And that’s it. This is definitively all you need to raise a child. Or, this short list is what comes to me now prompted by that exceptional Chewbeads pic.

Cloth diapers get six thumbs-up from our family but those deserve a post of their own.

Oh, and I will also not so freely admit that I may or may not have strong armed my husband into a new car. For the baby.

(Images from me + Amazon)