Baby products have changed a lot since I had my first baby back in 2010 to my third baby in 2021! I was 24 when I had my first and 34 when I had my 3rd. I remember people telling me you “needed” so many different things that I registered for it all. Reality is, you don’t “need” that much. Wants are FAR different than needs. I also think that needs will range from person to person depending on how how lax you are on certain things that matter to you. Like if you insist that diapers must go in a diaper genie then that will be a must on your list but for me I can walk that diaper to the garage just fine later to throw it away so it’s definitely not a must for me! After having 3 kids, here is what I found I needed and used the most over 13 years. (These are items outside of the big things: a crib/bassinet, clothing, diapers and a stroller IMO are the main things all babies need)

BABY MONITOR-With my first two I only used a sound monitor. With my 3rd I got a non wifi video monitor since we lived in a 2 story home now. No wifi was very important to me after weird stories I heard from others. This one can also hook up two rooms if you want!

HAND PUMP-I used a hand me down electric pump with my first two and made it about 4 months and then my milk dried up. With my 3rd this hand pump allowed me to pump anywhere and everywhere and got me SO much milk I was able to nurse till she was 18 months old and pump ANYWHERE, plus it’s SO affordable!

BABY CARRIER- Lifesaver no matter how many kids you have but even better when you have more than 1 so you can be hands free for other children. I loved this baby carrier, find one that works for you. I like ones that you can carry on your front and back personally.

ELECTRIC THERMOMETER- no need to wake a baby if you want to take their temp while sleeping or wiggly when they are older.

CAR SEAT COVER-whether you lease or own your car having this under a car seat has saved us from many tears in our seats.

INFANT CAR SET COVER-I love this one because it’s easy to take on and off to wash or if it gets too hot for the baby.

PLAY PEN-we use this for sports events but you could use it inside as well. Keeps baby/kids contained and has 50 spf in the weather cover. Can open and close one handed as well.

UNIVERSAL STROLLER ORGANIZER-snaps on to lots of different stroller handles. A large Stanley/water bottle fits in the middle one too. Holds phone, wallet etc.

MUSLIN BLANKETS-gender neutral if you don’t know what you’re having like we didn’t for our third and great to have one stashed in lots of places, so soft and washes really well. Also great if you tend to lose things, hint hint