When we welcomed our first baby, we aspired to be 1970s parents. As in we would just get by with the bare minimum and go with borrowed gear or hand-me-downs. We live in a small 2-bedroom condo so we were forced to limit the stuff we used. Fortunately, we were laggers and plenty of friends already had babies so they generously passed down or loaned us baby gear. Here's my list of everything we found really useful.
Friends Dina and Mike gave us Halo sleep sacks with wings and that's all we kept our daughter in for the first 2 months. The wings kept her swaddled and the sack kept her warm as we followed doctor's orders, keeping her sleeping surface free of blankets. We rotated between 2 different sleep sacks - it was easy to manage keeping at least one of them clean!
We were delighted to use a Pack N' Play that our friends Julie and Brian handed down to us. We set it up in our bedroom and kept our daughter in the newborn napper when we first brought her home. It made night-time feedings super easy because she was just an arm's reach away. As she got bigger we transitioned her to the elevated bassinet. At 5 months we transitioned her into a crib in her own room.
Our friends Hannah and Jim raved about this lounger and ordered one for us right away. It's easy to see why they loved it. We put our daughter in this for the first few months – just a great way of keeping her elevated (easy to spot) on the couch or bed. We also started tummy time on this – she would hold her head up while lying tummy-side down on this while we read to her. As baby gets bigger you can flip the lounger over or adjust a velcro strap to accommodate them. We stopped using it when she began rolling.
4. phil&ted's bassinet
Our friends Heidi and Haiwei handed down this bassinet after they had their 2 kids. We used it for the first few months when our daughter napped in the living room during the day. I read that when you put them down you should have them touching one of the walls of the bassinet (something about them used to the feeling when in the womb). She napped really well in this padded bassinet and it folded up easily for travel. You can even pack it with clothes and blankets - it comes with a carrying case with handles.
Another hand-me-down from Dina and Mike that proved to be a hit. We kept our daughter in the Rock n' Play pretty much all day in the first few months. It had a vibration setting and you could easily rock it to calm the little one down. We even brought it with us to restaurants (a little cumbersome but in the early months you'll try anything to keep them from fussing). She napped often in her Rock n' Play but we didn't keep her in it at night. Not that they sleep that long at night... She napped mostly in the phil&ted bassinet because it’s flat but after she get a little more solid she napped in the Rock n’ Play.
Our cousin Erik & Denise let us borrow this booster seat and we we used it instead of a traditional high chair. I loved it so much that I bought one for ourselves. It comes with a tray that can be snapped off for easy cleaning and the whole thing is portable so we used to bring this to restaurants and friends’ houses. It has adjustable straps so it fits almost any chair. Super easy to use.
We just got a basic padded changing pad and washable cover – we put this on a changing table and then moved the changing pad to the floor when she started rolling.
We put disposable underpads (Chux) on top of the changing pad so that we didn't have to wash the cover whenever pee or poop got on it which was pretty often when she was younger.
8. Summer Infant Bibbity Rinse and Roll Portable Bib
We only have one bib and this is it! It has this great trough (that’s what I call it) that catches everything – liquids and solids. Wipes up easily and rolls well.
Be sure to clean out the trough after it's soiled with food. After a few years, ours started peeling and cracking, probably from exposure to acidic foods like yogurt and milk being left in it for hours at a time.
We throw a few diapers and put a packet of wipes in this thing and put it in a backpack. The wipes case that comes with it is useless. I love that the changing station is slim and the changing pad zips off. When your kids are older you can change them while they stand up so you can zip off the changing pad.
10. Ubbi Steel Odor Locking Diaper Pail
A few of my girlfriends got this diaper pail so we decided to get it as well. I love that no special replacement bags are required for this diaper pail. You can just use regular 13 gallon trash bags! It's supposed to lock in odors but we found that it still smelled bad when diapers are in there too long. To help cut down on the smell we started dumping the poop from poopy diapers into the toilet first before putting the diaper into the pail. It also comes with a child safety lock but we've never used it.
Do you have any gear that you loved? Feel free to share in the comments!