@snazzyq As a new parent who is . . . tech interested, we wanted a baby monitor that didn't require a subscription and the V-tech one we got (surely terrible security etc. but I am not too fussed because I am not sleeping more than 5 hours a day) is that, and actually quite feature packed.

Also the Diaper Genie was worth it.

@snazzyq possibly unpopular opinion—do an audio-only V-Tech monitor. Amazing range and battery life, and it’ll combat that new parent impulse to obsess over how baby is doing in the crib, and likely give them space to get some extra downtime even after waking before they reach out for you with their voice.

I’m also very anti-breathing or pulse monitoring devices, personally. Just feels like a way to stress yourself out. Follow best practices for crib setup and trust your preparation there.

@snazzyq Seriously: Cash

Also seriously: Every baby is different, and every parent is different; there are no silver bullets.

The Doona is worth every penny.

@snazzyq Stupidly enough, we absolutely love our totally unnecessary Baby Breeza bottle maker and bottle washer appliances. Total game changer since my last kids.

For the comfort of baby, a wipes warmer is nice as well.

A Frida baby multi-tool is probably my favorite no-tech item we have. I use the heck out of it.

@snazzyq

car seat - for an infant, don’t overspend — get one that’s convertible from a car seat to a stroller

wipe warmer - no need

diaper pail - only if access to non-indoor trash is far away

toy - Sophie the giraffe is terrific

don’t waste too much on toys early on

washable diaper pads - love them

and master swaddling with simple thin blankets, swaddling rocks

angel dear blankies are THE BEST, gotta have them

@snazzyq For a baby monitor use a HomeKit compatible camera because it’s easy to access home and away. Plus you can look at recordings (to check things and also to save cute moments) and if you use some thing like the Aqara G2H, it can work out a lot cheaper than a dedicated one.

I know many people including my friend at MacStories @devondundee who swear by Mango Baby for a tracking app.

I’m sure you have them but have AirPods Pro or similar noise cancelling headphones to hand all the time. When they’re screaming and you need to comfort them, having the headphones in will make it easy to do it for long periods.

Soft toys are nice but you only need 4/5 max even up until 3 years old as they don’t care. If people want to give gifts ask for books. You can never have too many.

Try and avoid showing them TV until 2 and they’ll be far more engaged in the world around them.

@snazzyq If you are planning to give the baby breastmilk and your wife will be pumping at work - this is a great no-tech way to keep the milk cold without needing a bunch of bottles/ice packs.

https://a.co/d/6CqnBty

@snazzyq This is technically a kitchen island but we bought it to use as a changing table and bought a separate changing pad to use on top. It’s honestly excellent:
- it fits most highly rated changing pads
- it is tall enough so that you shouldn’t need to be bending over when changing them
- it has a bunch of storage underneath and on the sides
- it looks nice

https://a.co/d/aMPF8wi

@snazzyq A formula maker was life changing, you might not need it, but if you do… worth it 💪🏽

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MYW28QR

@snazzyq my biggest advice is that the advice that the baby needs to sleep in the same room as you for a year doesn’t really take into account parental sleep. I highly recommend moving the baby to a bassinet in the nursery early as feasible. You will sleep better, the baby will also sleep better. There’s even a small study on this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28759407/

Little babies make so many weird noises…

@snazzyq It's expensive, but I recommend the Snoo. We didn't have one for our first kid but did for our second and I think it made a difference in how much sleep we got. They also have great resale value, so in the end we only spent a fraction of the purchase price.

If you use formula, I also recommend the Dr Brown's mixing pitcher. It seems like you could just use stuff you have around the house but we found it to be super helpful to have a dedicated thing. https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Browns-Formula-Mixing-Pitcher/dp/B001I481LM?th=1

@snazzyq Boudreaux's Extra Strength Butt Paste. At some point you'll need it.

(My only other thought is every kid is different, so a lot of the gadgets or supplies you get may not work for whatever routines you and yours settle into, and that's okay!)

@snazzyq Diaper Genie was a game changer.

Docking car seat, get a dock for every car and the stroller dock. We used Chicco, no complaints, recommend.

Night lights from you to the baby to see where you're going in the middle of the night. Seriously.

Also, if you're using formula you don't need a bottle warmer, just mix as needed with room temp water.

@snazzyq a grand parent who can do child care duty in the second 6 months when you are both exhausted. It gets worse before it gets better.

Pre-crawling you don’t need much, then you need barriers everywhere.

After 3 months or so something baby can bounce in so they can work their legs and tire themselves out. Cheap toys they can reach and manipulate with their hands.

@snazzyq

If you are musically inclined: Harmonica and one of those racks so you can play it without your hands. Make sure you practice before baby is born! You will spending a lot of time holding baby for those first months and you will want something to do hand free. Harmonica was the best option I found. Just make sure it isn't too loud. From about 6 months to 3 years your best musical practice time will be while kid is in tub so whatever you play get one of those cheap instrument shaped objects for whatever you play so if needed you can destroy it while rescuing a drowning kid (I never had to do this, but it was always a possibility)

Those dockable car seats that go into any car or a stroller are nice for the first 6-9 months - then the baby is too heavy to carry in that thing and so you look for a car seat in each car. I'd still get one, but only get a dock for the one car you take most often - learn to buckle it without the dock for the other cars - or just get a 3 in one car seat that transforms from rear facing to front, to booster. You will have a 3 in 1 in every car with in a year anyway so start looking for sales.

We always brought every diaper out to the trash can. Maybe the diaper genie works, but we never had one and didn't want to risk the dirty diaper smell in the house.

Dumb: new clothing before 1 year old. The kid will go through so many different sizes and they will all get dirty stained so find the used market and go for cheap. Lets grandma buy new clothing if baby needs to look nice for something.

@snazzyq
Weleda Calendula diaper cream

Expensive but it’s like a creamy healing balm for baby butt rash. Way, way better than anything else we tried. We even used it when they were older and out of diapers as one of our kids had very sensitive skin

@snazzyq Snoo- literally paying for better sleep, it’s expensive but for us made a really hard season a little easier.

We had a premie who had a health emergency early on.
Owlet sleep sock - monitors O2 and heart rate.
Made worrying easier to manage, by seeing things are okay at a glance.

A video baby monitor that was NOT WiFi connected. It just needed to work stand alone, and when babysitters/grandparents helped no app installing/ training was required.