We’ll call this Part 1 (which will be true even if its the only part)

The Likes

Ubbi Diaper Pail

Uses regular bags (that we bought a ton of at Costco) and does seem to keep the smell in okay.

Cons-

• Can be a bit tricky to get the bag out for emptying, but going slow usually works good.
• Prone to dents in the steel body

Peanut Changing Mat

There’s other that are the same idea, but the key is that it doesn’t absorb the stuff that ends up on it. Just wipe and go. A cover would be good to keep it from being freezing, but babies can handle it, and as soon as you put a cover on, it will get dirty.

Its probably not ideal to put this on top of a dresser and not use the giant sticky pad on the strap, but even with the strap, you shouldn’t leave the baby along anyways.

Natalie still asks to get this changing mat out and get buckled, so it must have been a hit.

Oxo Baby Wipe Dispenser

Its great, it takes a full pack of Costco wipes (also our preffered baby wipe approach). They come out more or less in singles, keeps them wet, and doesn’t warm them so that they dry and get moldy. Who’d even think that such a thing exists, but they do and they are pretty good.

Side note about wipes. The big packs with a hard plastic closure are better than the sticky closure ones. Seems like most of the smaller packs are sticky because they aren’t supposed to last as long, so not a big issue overall.

The Diaper/Onesie/Wipes bag in the car, stroller, purse.

Take a large ziploc bag and put in an oversized onesie and a couple of diaper. Either buy some small packs of wipes, or pull out a bunch and put in a small ziploc bag. Make several of these and place in a variety of places where you might find yourself with a baby covered in something, and no diaper bag by accident. Think car, stroller, purse, camper? the more planning you do the more likely you’ll be able to save your self from a filthy baby situation.

What’s important here? Trying to remember to put new diapers and clothes in when you move up a size. The oversized onesie tries to help you out here by giving you a longer time between changes, but the diapers can betray you.

They’ve saved my bacon a few times and it turns out you can shove a pretty big toddler in a 24month onesie if the alternative is a car ride home naked.

Mountain Buggy Nano Stroller

A small folding travel stroller that lives in our car in the footwell under the car seat. Its small, light, goes everywhere and works pretty well for trips to the store, or around town when lugging the big stroller into the trunk isn’t needed. It fits in an airline overhead and can strap a car seat in place which is great for traveling with an infant car seat, or a bigger one through the airport.

What could be better:

• Needs two hands to fold which can be challenging when getting on an airplane laden with stuff and a toddler
• Sun shade isn’t huge, but not a big issue.
• Minimal storage space, but there’s always a bigger stroller

There were a couple of different versions out there, and I think I ours might be a previous model that was on sale. But I don’t think there’s much difference.

Sippee Bottle (and Sportee)

These things don’t leak and are awesome for it. The valve is complicated and takes some thinking to understand how it works, but you don’t really need to know about that for them to be used. The only real issue we had is when they started to get gnawed on which wrecked the soft plastic on the spout. Fitz cat also loved to eat the soft silicone pieces, but they sent me new ones when I asked.

Thule Urban Glide Jogging Stroller

It doesn’t get enough use, but this was a top pick for use with a car seat as we didn’t have the right adaptor for the other stroller and the cushy wheels were better at cushioning. It folds up big, but its a well made thing.

The Less Liked

Evenflo 4-in-1 Eat & Grow Convertible High Chair

Its not a bad high chair, one piece plastic for easy cleaning and decent sized tray, but it doesn’t necessarily age well as Natalie grew bigger and squirmier. I think the cheap IKEA that is often recommended falls in the same boat.

Probably the biggest issue is that it didn’t fit under the table, so we could push Natalie all the way in for eating at the table. I ended up cutting pieces off the table leg to make it shorter and help with the fit, but still only ever seemed like a half measure.

I liked the look and idea of this better than most of the other high chairs that were available, and I think we did okay with it. Its still used for a play/art table as one of it’s four functions is a table and chair set

The Tripp Trapp that it was replaced with still seems too expensive, but it can be adjusted up and down a lot, and seems to work quite well as a toddler highchair/ booster.

Chicco Lullago Portable Bassinet

This was a freebie from a friend, and worked for the couple months that Natalie slept in our room, but it always seemed a bit sketch to me. The two piece bottom sagged, and just seemed a bit off.

We did like the Uppababy bassinet atttachment with the stand (another freebie, but the whole system is probably worth the cost), but that seemed to get too small in a hurry. The sides were lower and it just seemed like she might break out of it even though she couldnt’t really move.

The Cheap Pack and Play That we got

Forget the brand, but it was about the cheapest one out there. It came with a half height bassinet shelf, but I think that is it. For the little bit that we used it, it was great, but I would consider looking for something lighter/ more travel friendly in the future and this thing is heavy, and fairly awkward. It does contain a baby though.

The Ring Sling, the mile long stretchy wrap (and all the other misc baby wearing contraptions)

With the exception of the Tula Explore? that we got a lot of use out of, the rest of the baby wearing stuff was more miss than hit. Not that any of these can’t or won’t work well for other people, but they didn’t do great for us.

The stretchy wrap was really long and complicated to put on, and then you have multiple layers on you making you hot. It did seem okay for coziness for a baby though.

The ring sling was a late addition to try to tame a wild, mobile baby, and it never really had a chance. The one should thing and trying to get the ring in a good spot never worked that great for me.

More likes that came to me last minute

The Hatch (for making noise to help baby sleep)

Yogasleep Rohm (Portable noise maker for on the go naps, and travel)

Summer Pop and Sit Portable Booster– This thing is awesome for travel, camping, whatever. Has a hard tray, and folds up small. There’s buckles to secure to a big chair to use as a booster. Not that easy to clean though. Don’t get the ones with the soft tray, they don’t look that great.

And some more less likes

The cheap, Target rocking chair. Its served its purpose, but its not that comfortable, the cushions kind of suck and it feels like its wearing out. I would consider getting a better one that will last, but also, maybe not.