My Most Used Baby Items: The Best Baby Buys I Couldn’t Live Without

Best Baby Buys and Most Used Baby Items

As I’m talking about the things you need for your baby on this blog, I thought I’d share a list of my own best baby buys. We bought most, if not all, at budget-friendly prices, and some of them in promotional sales.

Virtually ALL of my most used baby items lasted well, survived two children and many were still in good enough condition to pass on to others or sell on the marketplace.

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My children are past the baby stage now, but here I’m sharing my favourite, most used, tried and tested baby items I couldn’t have lived without, from the very first month and for many months after.

1. Best Baby Buys for Bedtime and Day Time Naps

Cot Bed

Initially my babies slept in a cot bed in my bedroom at night and for daytime naps, before I moved them into their own rooms.

We bought the cot bed from Argos as part of a 3 piece nursery set, and used it for both children for around 3 years each, so 6 years of use in total.

We purchased the mattress separately, again from Argos, which remained in excellent condition throughout its use.

The advice is to always have your baby sleeping in the same room as you day and night; I didn’t strictly follow this. But I followed all cot and sleep safety precautions and it worked for us. 

Initially I tried to put my first baby in a carrycot which I could always have in the room with me. But she kept flinging her arms out and waking herself up when she hit the sides of the cot, and never managed to sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time. 

So into her big cot she went at about 3 weeks old and she slept so much better. I didn’t even bother with the carrycot with my second baby; he went straight into his big cot from day 1. I was never far away while he was sleeping.

Baby Bedding

We found Grobags, otherwise known as baby sleeping bags, much easier than covering the babies with sheets and blankets.

These were definitely pricier, but worth it and definitely a best buy as they were less of a faff. I managed to grab some on sale which helped keep costs down.

A waterproof mattress protector was a life saver in the event quick changes were needed; I kept a couple in the cupboard as spares. 

We used cotton fitted sheets instead of flat sheets to go over the mattress. We picked these up cheaply enough in supermarkets and they lasted well.

Black Out Blinds

The babies slept better when the room was as dark as possible. And it helped prevent them from waking ridiculously early in the summer months.

We bought black out blinds and black out curtains from Dunelm. Reasonably priced and easy to fit.

Video Baby Monitor

My Motorola video baby monitor was essential as I put my babies into their own rooms from early on.

You can buy sophisticated baby monitors with lots of different functionalities. Mine was a fairly basic model with a black and white display, but it did the job fine for years.

Lullaby Light

My daughter had a Winnie the Pooh Sweet Dreams lightshow projector attached to the side of the cot which she used to love.

It played music and projected images onto the ceiling, and had sleep time and wake up time modes. It was interactive, and as she got older, she used to play with it when she woke up.

Unfortunately it gave up the ghost before my son was born and you can’t buy it anymore (there are a few second hand ones on the marketplace). The VTech Lullaby Sheep Cot Light is a similar product. 

I opted for the hugely popular Summer Infant Slumber Buddies Elephant Nightlight for my son when he was born, and he absolutely loved it (probably for longer than he should have). So that turned out to be one of the best purchases ever!

This played different songs and nature sounds, and projected a starry sky in a choice of colours onto the ceiling. It is still on the market. 

2. Feeding Equipment Best Buys

Bottle Feeding Kit

The Philips Avent sterilising kit was a great bargain buy. It included a microwave steam steriliser, 6oz bottles and teats, tongs, a bottle brush, breast pump, milk storage cups, and a milk powder storage pot.

Over time I replaced the bottles and teats regularly (I always opted for Philips Avent and never had a problem), but the rest of the kit lasted for two children.

You can’t buy this particular set anymore, but the Tommee Tippee Complete Feeding Set comes with everything you need to begin bottle feeding.

Muslin Cloths

An absolutely indispensable item, I nearly always had a muslin cloth draped over my shoulder in the early weeks. 

I must have had a stash of about 30. They were nothing special, but I couldn’t have done without them!

Be in no doubt that a pile of muslin cloths at the ready is a best buy!

Insulated Bottle Bag

My insulated bottle bag was great for taking ready made feeds out with me and keeping them cool. You can make formula in advance.

High Chair

I wouldn’t have been without the high chair when it came to weaning. I had a Red Kite high chair, with different reclining and height positions.

It had a removable easy-to-clean 2-layer feeding tray with cup holder, and the chair folded easily for storage when not in use. 

I also wouldn’t have been without the coverall weaning bib to go with it, you would never believe the mess! 

3. Best Baby Buys for Travel

Travel System

Our Red Kite travel system was absolutely fantastic. It came with a pushchair, carrycot and size 0 car seat, which were all interchangeable with the pushchair chassis.

I found Red Kite to be an excellent, robust, affordable brand. My travel system lasted for both children, so about 6 years in total of virtually daily use. 

It was still in good enough condition to pass on to someone else when I had finished with it. It was definitely built to last!

Chicco Stroller

My Chicco stroller was a great lightweight stroller for throwing in the boot of the car on days out.

I used it for both children from birth, and again was able to pass it on to someone else. 

Pushchair Accessories

I also used pushchair accessories regularly. These included a rain cover, foot muff and sun parasol.

Travel Cot

Another Red Kite product, my Red Kite Sleep Tight travel cot was a great price and we used it a lot when we went away. 

Working out how to put it up for the first time took some doing (assembly is counterintuitive and instructions were needed!), but in the end it was really easy to put up and take down.

It folded away neatly in its own storage bag when not in use. 

Baby Changing Bag

My Red Kite changing bag went everywhere with me and hung nicely over the handlebars of the pushchair. 

It was nothing fancy, but it held everything I needed when I was away from home with my baby. Considering it was always rammed with baby stuff, I’m surprised it lasted for two children. 

Baby Carrier

I didn’t use the Baby Bjorn baby carrier with my first baby, but I used it a lot with my second. Sometimes it just made life simpler. 

For example, by the time my son was born I was doing the school run, and I found it much easier to carry him than use the pushchair during busy school run times.

I carried him for as long as I could until I finally had to give in and put him in the pushchair. I loved using my baby carrier. 

4. Best Baby Clothing Purchases

Both of my babies pretty much lived in vests and sleepsuits for the first few weeks. With multiple changes a day, sleepsuits and vests with poppers were so much easier than ‘proper’ clothes.

Most of these came from supermarkets. Many of them were good enough to keep from my first baby and pass to the second, and even a few of those were still good enough to pass on when they were finished with. 

I used cardigans if my baby needed an extra layer, and knitted hats and pramsuits for outdoors in cold weather. 

We were gifted lots of lovely ‘day clothes’ when the babies were born. I really didn’t need to buy many. They both had lovely wardrobes, better than mine!

5. Most Used Baby Care Items

Nappy Changing

I had every intention of being environmentally friendly and using reusable cloth nappies, but somehow I never got around to it.

I didn’t stick to a particular brand of disposable nappy. We just used whatever was on offer. Lidl Lupilu was good value for money and we never had a problem with them.

We must have gone through thousands of baby wipes and nappy sacks, again using a variety of brands. I look back and wonder sometimes if I could have found a more environmentally friendly solution. 

I had two changing mats, a foam padded one for at home and a thinner, foldable changing mat to keep in the baby changing bag. 

Bathing

We bought a plastic baby bath tub from Asda cheaply enough. Both babies were perfectly happy in that at bath time.

Toiletries included baby shampoo, baby bubble bath, baby oil and moisturiser. We didn’t stick to one particular brand. I used a soft sponge or flannel to wash the baby. 

A soft hooded towel was much nicer and cosier to dry and wrap the baby in than a regular bath towel.

I used the Tommee Tippee Baby Healthcare and Grooming Kit a lot. This contains lots of things useful at bathtime, including nail scissors and clippers, a nail file, comb and soft hair brush, along with other useful baby care items.

Treatments and Medicine

This isn’t a huge list, but included:

• Nappy cream. I tried quite a few nappy creams for the prevention and treatment of nappy rash. I settled on Bepanthen, which seemed to work best
• Infacol Colic Relief Drops, which helped relieve pain from trapped wind
• Teething gel, for later on when those little teeth started to come through
• Calpol, which I gave before and after the first vaccinations to relieve side effects

6. Baby Proofing Best Buys

We did all the usual baby proofing stuff once the baby was on the move, including:

• Child locks on cupboards, and drawer latches in drawers
• Stair gates at the top and bottom of the stairs
• Fire guard in front of the log burner
• Plug socket protectors
• Wall unit fixtures
• Blinds with safety cords
• Keeping hot drinks and hot food out of reach

7. Best Baby Buys for Play

Newborns obviously don’t ‘play’ as such, but I used a few items for sensory stimulation and for convenience, which the babies interacted with as they got older. These include:

Baby Bouncer

We loved our Fisher Price Baby Bouncer. We used it from birth. 

It had a removable, interactive toy bar for bat-at-play and sensory stimulation, and calming vibrations to soothe the baby.

The bouncer was a safe place to put the baby for awake moments, and it was fine for for short naps. 

Baby Swing Chair

We also had a Graco Baby Swing Chair, which wasn’t really a necessary purchase because we already had a baby bouncer. 

However, it turned out to be a great piece of kit. With multiple recline positions and two swing speeds, it really helped to get the baby off to sleep during grumpy moments.

Floor Play Gym

Our Fisher Price Musical Rainforest Activity Gym was a great baby playmat with toys and music. 

It was a good source of entertainment and a safe place to put the baby down for play. It was also good for tummy time. 

Jumperoo Baby Activity Center

We used our Fisher Price Jumperoo Baby Bouncer and Activity Center when the babies could hold their heads up. 

This is a free-standing, spinning baby bouncer with activities, sounds and music. They loved it and it was a safe place to keep them entertained when I had things to do around the house. 

8. The New Contented Little Baby Book by Gina Ford

For the first few weeks with my first baby, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing and half the time I was at my wits end.

I tried taking other people’s well meaning advice such as ‘sleep when the baby sleeps’, (yeah right, have you tried it?), but it didn’t work for me – that was the time when I needed to get stuff done! 

The New Contented Little Baby Book by Gina Ford was a game changer for me, and definitely one of my best baby buys. Several friends recommended this book to me, and it was honestly a life saver.

Once I started implementing the routines mentioned in the book everything changed. Everyone slept. Everyone was happier.

I implemented the routines right from day 1 with my second baby, (and with a four year old doing the school runs) and it worked like a charm. 

Routines are not for everyone, in fact my health visitor positively frowned upon it, but it worked for me and my babies thrived in their routines.

I loved the book so much I then progressed to The Contented Toddler Years by the same author, which again was massively helpful.

My List of Most Used Baby Items & Best Baby Buys

So there it is, a list of my most used baby items I couldn’t live without. To recap, my best baby buys include:

• Cot bed, grobags, mattress protectors, cotton fitted sheets
• Black out blinds and curtains
• Video baby monitor
• Lullaby light
• Bottle feeding kit, muslin cloths, insulated bottle bag, high chair, coverall weaning bib
• Travel system, stroller, pushchair accessories, travel cot, baby changing bag, baby carrier
• Vests, sleepsuits, cardigan, hat, pramsuit, day clothes
• Disposable nappies, baby wipes, nappy sacks, changing mats
• Baby bath tub, toiletries, hooded bath towel, healthcare kit, nappy cream, colic relief drops, teething gel, Calpol
• Baby proofing items
• floor play gym, baby bouncer, baby swing chair, Jumperoo baby activity center
• The New Contented Little Baby Book, The Contented Toddler Years

Obviously our collection of baby items grew as the babies did, but that’s all we started off with. We didn’t buy expensive designer stuff.

I hope this post about my best baby buys has given you a useful overview of baby items you could get the most use out of. For more information, please read:

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