Congrats! You’re having a baby (or babies). It’s a before-and-after scenario that’s filled with joy and lots of stuff!
BabyProductsMom is here to help you gear up just enough to feel prepared for the world’s most important job.

Let’s face it: Whether you’re steering your cart through the baby aisle or shopping online, the process of getting ready for baby #1 is overwhelming.

First-timer parents need similar products to prepare for parenthood. Yet, everyone is different. Manufacturers know this, that’s why there are so many options at every price point. Some stuff you’ll truly need (like diapers, a car seat and a stroller). Some products will make life easier but aren’t essential (like a bottle warmer), and some will just pad the bill.

Which baby products do you truly need? Which can you skip? Which are worth the splurge? The answer can vary depending on your situation, lifestyle and, of course, your budget.

Babyproductsmom is here to help!

Back in the 2000s, I wrote the 8th, 9th and 10th editions of Consumer Reports Best Baby Products. CR’s Best Baby Products got me started on the baby gear beat. After that franchise went out of print with the digital revolution, I kept writing about baby gear with this blog and as a journalist, which is my day job. In 2017, I also started renting and cleaning baby gear professionally as a side gig, to help put my two big kiddos through college. Meanwhile, I also became a certified passenger safety technician (CPST).

When I’m not baby gear shopping online for my baby gear rental customers, you can catch me in stores, opening, folding and pushing strollers and asking myself: How easy is this to fold? Can a grandparent figure it out?
Fortunately, I live minutes from Target and some awesome baby boutiques. I love shopping online, BUT I’m a big fan of kicking the tires to get a good feel for products and how they operate, if possible.

If you can’t get to a baby store, don’t sweat it. I’ve done the legwork for you.

BabyProductMom’s series of comprehensive buying guides are designed to be wallet friendly. But there’s still plenty on it, and lots of options at all price points. They’re designed to help you personalize your product picks and help you make sense/cents of it all, whether you’re buying baby gear yourself or adding items to your baby registry.

But first, let’s talk best baby registry and shopping practices

Pretend you’re paying the tab

If done right, a baby registry can really help you get equipped and minimize the cost of your baby’s first year, which can total over $24,000, depending on your circumstances, according to a U.S. government report. To get the most mileage out of your registry, might I suggest:

• Take the products you list as seriously as if they were ultimately going to end up on your credit card statement. Think of your registry as a limited resource and every item you put on it as using “registry dollars.”
• When you register an item, ask yourself, “Do I really want to ‘spend’ my registry dollars on that?”
• Not sure about a product? Don’t list it. You can always get it later.
• If an item you’re considering is pricey, such as a premium car seat and stroller, do extra homework and think on it before listing it on your baby registry.

If you’re not having a baby shower, all the more reason to hunker down to select just the right products for YOU and your new-baby lifestyle.

Give yourself an AM advantage

Stocking your baby registry sounds like fun, but it’s exhausting. To avoid decision fatigue, which isn’t as obvious as physical fatigue and can lead to taking shortcuts like looking at only one product dimension, such as price, and impulsive decisions, researchers who study the science of consumer decision-making recommend shopping online or in store in the morning when you’re freshest.

• Don’t try to tackle it all in one day or even in one weekend. Break up your shopping/registry sessions and make sure you’re not hungry; the brain thives on fuel.
• Plan to spend the majority of your shopping or registering time on the biggest ticket items: the car seat, stroller and crib. Dedicate a few more shopping sessions to everything else on your list. Follow the best shopping practices for those items too, such as shopping early when you’re freshest and not starving, and call it quits after an hour or two, before picking it up again the next time.
• Keep in mind…you don’t need to be completely geared up from day one. Some products can wait until after your baby is born. And some gear may be completely optional. If you breast feed exclusively, for example, you may not need any bottles. That’s right. None.

Start with a car seat

You’ve to start somewhere, right? To reduce shopping/baby registry overwhem, BabyProductsmom recommends focusing on selecting a car seat first because it’s a key item. You’ll need a car seat to leave the hospital or birthing center if you’ll be driving home with your baby.

Start here

This post can help get you started on your baby gear shopping journey.

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