The list author says: "Not everything gadget, accessory, and expensive contraption for babies fits the bill. Around our house I'm proud to say we've aimed for some simple, honest solutions to some of the requirements for a healthy and enriched baby.
Some themes that have arisen in our short stent as parents; we like clean, a couple toys are nice buy if we buy a lot of anything it's books, babies are sensory machines - pay attention to what they eat, touch, hear, and see (and smell I suppose). In the list are items that have been in the essential mix of our baby rearing. Hopefully this provides someone with some reinforcement, insight or surprise."
"Books! Buy Books, buy used books (they're going to get banged up a bit anyway, why not buy three instead of one)! Buy books your baby will like, Buy books you like!
We started reading on day two. Sandra Boynton has some great books, our little lady loves Barnyard Dance, I personally love Hippos Go Berserk (spoiler - a bunch of Hippos go berserk about halfway through this book)."
"Food Processor = Baby Food maker! Seriously do not spend money on some specialized "baby food maker," you are pureeing food, go with a reliable classic - Cuisinart.
This is great for big batches, which quickly will become the bulk of your work."
"Small Food Processor = Small Baby Food maker! If you are making a small mix; A. You may not want to haul out the big boy and B. The smaller blade will better puree the small quantity.
Superfluous note: this makes the perfect baby companion to the Cuisinart Pro Classic."
"Fresh made puree baby food goes here. Creating the perfect cubes of homemade fresh food doesn't get easier.
Do not buy plastic ice cube trays - you'll be prying little chunks out with a butter knife and including lots of mini plastic shards in your baby's diet."
"China Makers, or grease pencils - once the baby food is frozen we toss it in a freezer bag. When you label your bags, containers or even bottles with these it makes reusing and cleaning up easy!"
"Whether going to sleep or waking up a soft light helps make a smooth transition. To be blunt - do you want your baby to wake us and see what he/she is doing but then go back to sleep calmly - don't blast them with light.
Works with whatever lamp you use in baby's room and allows you to place the switch somewhere convenient. Take a moment to consider"
"BabyBjorn makes quality products. If we do two walks a day, one is usually in the stroller and the other in this thing. Our little lady loves to suck on the folded over lip of the carrier (front facing) and seems delighted.
We began using this as soon as it was safe too and it seems to satisfy baby's need to explore the world - puts her at ease in the early evenings too."
"We were able to get this in Red. Having something to gauge both temperature and humidity levels in the baby's room leaves our baby feeling just right.
The price is right vs. other baby specific thermometers. The only thing I change; the ability to light up, right now we duck out of the room to see it at night. (Then again it lighting up might wake the little lady)."
"Boom! A paper towel holder right in the baby's room? Brilliant and convenient. For us - it actually worked with the decor and is within reach at the diaper changing stations.
We used Viva paper towel and water as wipes early on and it's clearly handy to have paper towel on hand for cleaning up blowouts."
"There are a ton of (crap) baby monitors out there. We've been satisfied with this one. We had a plan to have a traditional audio monitor combine with a infrared webcam that we could view on our iPhones but scrapped it in the end (too complicated and not persistent)
This unit is well designed, big, but doesn't look like junk - and seems more baby than gadget (which is good)."
"Diapers - Subscribe & Save. I don't mind giving a big nod to Amazon, subscribe and save does save money, time and effort. Working out the frequency and quantity takes a bit (I finally think I have it at size 3), but luckily you can get a shipment out quick from Amazon.
"Wipes - Subscribe & Save. (See comments in diapers). These from Seventh Generation are much less juicy than some of the others out there and the material feels much more nature.
Originally we had ambitions of making our own wipes - coffee can and paper towel roll halves - but at 2cents a piece we've put our energy elsewhere."
"20 months now with this travel crib, and it's worked great, still looks new and is so easy, convenient and light. I think it will last for several children!"
"We've loved the simplicity and elegance of the design on top of what is essential functionality. When we first got it my wife insisted that we get the playtray and I resisted. We've made it 20 months and I think we appreciate tremendously having our daughter at the table with us."
"This is one of my favorite book about Ned's fortunate / unfortunate plight. My daughter enjoys this one too, but really, I find this book extremely amusing."
