5 Splurges and Saves for Baby Products

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There is SO. MUCH. To buy – and register for – when you’re expecting your first baby. I did hours, probably equivalent to several days, of research on research of what to buy, what’s the best, and what I thought would fit our lifestyle the best.  Below are my personal recommendations on what to splurge – and save! – on when buying for your little one.

SPLUGE: Stroller

I 100% believe the stroller is the #1 big ticket item you should be splurging on. Regardless of where you are, and what you *think* you’ll use your stroller for – you WILL use it a lot, and it will make a difference.

Consider your lifestyle when stroller shopping: will you be on rough terrains and need stellar tires? Do you plan to use it shopping a lot and could use a big basket underneath?  Do you have a small apartment and need compact space, or do you have plenty of storage?  These all come into play.  I did a lot of research – I know I wanted a travel system (more on that below) and was between Chicco’s Bravo Trio Travel System and the UppaBaby Vista V2 – we went with the UppaBaby, even with the steep price tag, and I have 0 regrets about spending the money.  It’s amazing, great on all surfaces, SO EASY to use, and has an ENORMOUS basket underneath.  We will use it for years.

SAVE: Clothes

Other than a few special outfits, DON’T BUY BABY CLOTHES! Yu will get hundreds of outfits at your showers, and trust me: your baby will only wear three.

And do yourself a favor and don’t bother with buttoned pajamas, and pajamas that zipper from the top down.  Use bottom à top zippers only. Seriously. You’ll thank me.

SPLURGE: Car Seats

Life I said before, we went with a travel system for Ana – we got the UppaBaby Vista V2, and also the Mesa Infant Car Seat.  An infant car seat is a must – you need something to put baby into while in your house, so you can easily carry the car seat out and click it into the base that is in your car.  Trust: an infant car seat that you can carry baby around IN, is a must.  Most car seats can transform from newborn à infant à toddler, but they are rooted in your car and you have to move the baby itself.  Bringing the car seat is a far better solution to disrupt baby as much as possible while you run errands.

You’ll also need a car seat for once Baby outgrows the Infant one – we use the Graco4Ever, which will grow with Ana from when she moved into it (about 7 months) all the way up through toddler and childhood! A huge relief. I registered for one for my shower, and then got a second one at Christmastime for the hubbies car.

SAVE: Baby Accessories

I know: baby shoes, headbands, etc are SO stinking cute. But trust me, other than for a few staged photos, you will never use them.  Ana has worn shoes probably 20 times in the first year, and has about 20 PAIRS.  And don’t even get me started on headbands.

SPLURGE: Dock-A-Tot

This is the holy grail of baby products.  Keep in mind it is *NOT* recommended for baby sleep, but as a spot to literally…. “dock” your baby.  However Ana slept in it for 3 months straight.  We LOVE the dock a tot. Highly recommend.

SAVE: Baby Swing

This might be a controversial take, but one of the items I was most excited to get and use was an item we barely used – and I know most moms to stay the same. I’m not saying you shouldn’t HAVE a baby swing… you should. But you definitely don’t need to splurge on the 4Moms mamaRoo.  We went with a Fisher Price Swing, got a handful of uses from it, and into the basement it went.  Maybe a future baby will enioy it?!

SPLURGE: BabyBrezza

I registered for the Brezza and received it as a gift, even though I wasn’t quite sure if I would formula feed or breastfeed. I ended up breastfeeding exclusively for 3 months, supplemented for 3 months, and then straight formula.  Trust me… if you think or know you will use formula at some point, save yourself and get the BabyBrezza. Even if you’re not sure, you can always sell it after! It is such a lifesaver, timesaver, and a miracle.  It’s basically a Keurig for formula, and is another holy grail item… between that and the dock-a-tot I’m not sure what wins, but it’s close.

SAVE: Bottle Sterilizer

Unless you don’t have a dishwasher, skip this one.  We got one, and never used it. We sterilized everything stovetop when it needed to be done.

SPLURGE: The Owlet

Possibly controversial, but we LOVED our owlet, especially when Ana got sick.  After the first few weeks I barely checked it, but just having it on was a great peace of mind.

SAVE: Tummy Time Mat

These aren’t even that expensive, but it was still a waste of money. We used a blanket for tummy time and toys.

What are your favorite baby items that were worth the cost or a total waste of money? Drop it in the comments for everyone to see!