Share your best (and most used!) baby items

[Forevryoung]

Hi all,
DBF gave me a "project" (as if I needed another one ). Long story short, a girl he knows is pregnant.

I have to come up with the baby gift- they have very little money (the girl is 22, been with this guy for 3 years...). He wants to spend approximately $300 (I don't question his spending if he feels this is appropriate ).

So my mom suggested a swing, I suggested needs like baby shampoo, desitin, baby tylenol, mylicon drops, and onesies in a bunch of sizes. I know diapers and bottles are parent/baby specific and a gift card can be given for their purchase.

What do you guys suggest as things that were "must haves"?? Any awesome baby swings out there?
Thanks!

 

[WildGrits]

I loved my Graco Easy Entry.

 

[WildGrits]

But my fav toy was the Evenflo Exersaucer.

But this was 9 years ago before they put all the bells and whistles on them.

My least fav thing was the Diaper Genie.

 

[applechips]

a good stroller!

 

[LJRJR]

My suggestion would be a MaClaren stroller - one of the less fancy models for the quick trips to the mall, or just for the ease of lugging it around when they get older so that is maybe around $150, and the next suggestion would be a Peg Perrego high chair I think the one I had was called "Prima Papa", my kids would of course eat in it, if they were tired and I could not calm them down, I would give them a snack and put them in front of the TV with it reclined, and they would go to sleep in it. MY kids are all out of the baby ages DD7, DS5, DS3, but I would not have done it without those items.

 

[SharkyGoddess]

My favorite was my Mei Tei baby wrap

 

[WantToGoNow]

A good carseat, a swing and a bouncy seat were my most important baby items. A lot of people are not aware (or just don't care) about the importance of a carseat - and the right carseat for the child - some infant seats on the market now will rear-face until 33 lbs. and the Cosco Scenera will rear-face a toddler to 35 lbs. and only costs around $40 at Walmart.

If it weren't for my swing and bouncy seat I wouldn't have slept for the first 4 months of my dd's life. She had some serious tummy troubles and lots of ear infections. She spent her nights in the FP Cradle swing (swings side to side instead of back and forth) at the foot of our bed. The bouncer was a lifesaver for times when she needed put down but kept in sight (i.e. shower, cooking, etc.).

 

[portia9]

A swing or a sling.

 

[WDWorBUST]

A boppy pillow - I could not have lived without it.

 

[clownchk]

I usually give altered paint cans full of "Consumable" items - mylicon, tylenol, motrin, butt paste, saline GEL, a tube of vasoline if she is having a boy circumsized, teething gel, lavendar scented lody lotion of baby bath, a few chocolate bars for mom LOL! You can add a digital thermometer, extra probe covers, a nail trimming kit complete with mini emery boards, onsies in different sizes, burb cloths, a nice sling (LOVED mine and wish I had discovered them with my first!) maybe a video on infant massage, unscented wipes (mine were allergic to anything but!), maybe a git card for a pre (or post!) natal massage.

There are plenty of very nice things you can do for that amount! My altered pain cans usually run under $35 including the supplies and are the hit of the party. I include a "key" so they can open it attached with a coordinating ribbon and print out an "ingredient" list to add as a label and then use the invitation and matching papers to cover the new clean paint cans, but you can find a nice "snap lock" box that can serve as a first aid box. Use a label maker to add the 1-800# for poinon control and add a few index cards started with things like "Peds name, address and number, allergies, emergency contact, etc (If you do not know, just add Pediatrician Name:_____________________________________),

How sweet of you to try to help them out!

 

[mom2aiden]

Here is my list of things I couldn't have lived without (They are duplicates of some above)

Swing (I recommend the FP Aquarium Cradle Swing...DS loved it!)
Bouncey chair
Boppy pillow
Pack n play
Stroller Travel System (pop out the car seat and it sits directly in the stroller)
Swaddling blankets
Baby Monitor

Hope that helps! Your DBF is very generous!

 

[lillykat]

My DD can be fussy and the best thing with her is her rainforest bouncer seat - the bar distracts her and we take it off and just put the vibrate on from time to time too. It is one of the things that really soothes her. My friend who gave it to me also said it was a lifesaver for her DS.

While DD likes her swing she spends little time in it.

I would try to get a bouncer and maybe a basket of diapers and wipes, onesies, swaddlers (or receiving blankets),baby monitor, we get a lot of use out of our snap n go (you put the infant car seat onto it as a stroller) and infant car seat (if she has a car), diaper bag to carry items in.

For $300 you should be able to get a nice gift.

 

[taximomfor4]

First Years hanging bath organizer...it zips shut. When you open it, it has compartments to put all kinds of bathing supplies. It also has a hanger-type thingy on the top, to hang it up on a towel rod. My youngest is 5 this summer, and we still use it. AND it's great for travel.

 

[momof1princess]

my DD (who will be 10 next month) HATED the baby swing and every time i put her in it, she'd howl like a banshee until i took her out. her favorite was her exersaucer. we also got LOTS of use out of the pack & play-took it on vacation when she was about 2 and used it as her crib!

 

[shelly3girls]

I would honestly go with less expensive but still high quality products so that you can get her more of the things she needs. I love my Maclaren strollers but if I was really tight on money I would have prefered a Graco (lighter weight model) especially since almost all of them hold the Graco infant carseat. We bought one for our nanny and it is great. I had the Peg Perego high chair and prefer the much less expensive Chicco I bought this time. It is awesome! For a swing, we really liked the Aquarium travel swing which is much less than a regular swing. I would stay away from clothes b/c she will get many as gifts. Formula and diapers you probalby would run into the issue of not knowing what kind but if you do then that is a great idea.

We could not have lived without...
Bouncy seat (make sure it vibrates)
Monitor
Exersaucer
sling (but again a personal choice)
high chair (that reclines)

Stroller:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/inde...aco&fbc=1&kw=graco+stroller&parentPage=search

Highchair:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/inde...kw=high+chair&kw=high+chair&parentPage=search

Swing:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/inde...55957&origkw=swing&kw=swing&parentPage=search

 

[allyphoe]

Another vote for carseat and misc baby supplies. So much of the other stuff is very baby-dependent or parenting-style dependent.

 

[applechips]

DUR! I almost forgot!! Aside from me, the best baby thing I had was my ring sling!!

 

[nikkistevej]

At my baby shower, we got a carrier with my stroller, and also 2 carseats for when the baby grows out of the carrier (which depending on the weight of the baby- could be 4-6 months- I don't remember). That was a great idea, because they are rather expensive, but we both needed them in each car (one dropped off baby to sitter, one picked up). My SIL didn't do that, and just had to go out and get them $$$$, even we suggested our idea, and she regretted that decision.

 

[CJ's Mommy]

Fisher Price has a fairly new swing that operates on electricity (just plugs into the wall) OR batteries instead of just batteries like all other models. Very good idea if you her baby is a swing addict like mine (you can go through batteries VERY quickly!) Anyway, it's called the Fisher Price Power Plus Swing ($85) I am preggo and just bought one for this baby even though I have a perfectly good swing from my almost 3 year old sitting in the garage.

Another item I can't live without is the Mighty Tite Seatbelt Tightener ($14.99) This contraption straps onto the seatbelt in your car and allows you to tighten the carseat in so that it barely moves. It is a lifesaver, because for some reason it is soooo difficult to tighten the belt once the carseat is in there!

Ok, and lastly my shopping cart cover is a must have for me!! I think it's called the Floppy seat cover (39.99) from Babies R Us. I still use it for my almost 3 year old. It covers the shopping cart seat and push bar so your baby doesn't have to touch any gross germy plastic/metal.

Good luck!!!

 

[El&Asmom]

I agree with the sling recommendation. I could not have lived w/o my pouches and mai teis.