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Through a combination of proactive problem-solving and “oh crap, we need to address this NOW” situations, we’ve purchased a handful of really useful baby and toddler items we wish we would have known about earlier.
From big-ticket items to small yet invaluable add-ons, here are our favorites:
The “Unnecessary Yet Super Useful” List
- Pee-Pee TeePees: Have a newborn boy? Stop wasting tissues to catch rogue pee – get a set of pee-pee teepees!
- Warm Feet Helpers (3 ideas)
- Newborn feet are tiny. Socks would randomly slip off their skinny little feet, so they were constantly going around with one sock. We were gifted Roobeez socks one Christmas, and were thrilled to find they had a small band of tighter material around the ankle — not elastic, but just enough snuggness to keep the socks from slipping off.
- Fast forward beyond the newborn stage, and now my baby’s feet are huge pudge situations. I can barely stuff them into sock and shoes supposedly his size. Enter: The Zutano Booty. It’s basically the only footwear my baby wears. We use them daily, rotating out between laundry cycles.
- My first kid would gleefully pull off his socks any chance he got. Sock ons are like little stirrups that got over baby socks and help keep them from being pried off every time you turn away. Short usage span, but great solution for an annoying problem.
- Diaper Rash Stick: If you aren’t dealing with major diaper rashes but still want some sort of moisture barrier for minor redness, we loved what we affectionately refer to as the “butt stick.” While we gratefully used the little spatula to apply actual diaper rash cream when needed, it’s still a messy process. This Grovia Magic Stick is like a tube of chapstick, but bigger…and for a baby’s bottom. Super easy to travel with, super easy to apply, works well to heal and protect when redness starts showing up.
- Snoofy Bee Changing Pad: I made it 7 months. Seven glorious months until my baby started sticking his hands down to explore what all that activity was during a diaper change. The Snoofy Bee diaper change pad has two flaps circle up around your baby to keep those tiny curious hands up and out of Operation Poop Cleanup. It works like a charm, and I am kicking myself for not having it with my first kid.
Add On/Sanity-Saver Items for the Home
- Door hinge damper/stoppers: For when you’re toddler thinks doors are SUUUUUPER fun to fling open. Of course you have those little plastic circles on your wall to stop the handle from creating a hold in your drywall, but these hinge stoppers are next level. It stops the door from flinging open past a certain point.
- Foot-pedal light switches: Is it the most glamorous nursery addition? No. Would an elbow work for a regular light switch? Probably. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth it, especially for rooms like ours with no overhead light and a plugged in lamp. This light switch pedal is by the door, it’s a treat and it’s great. Use it wherever you find yourself needing a light turned on quickly, but are far away from the light switch.
- Twin door outlet box protectors: For those places in your house which are frequented by kids but still have to have things plugged in. We use them in both kids’ rooms to plug in lamps, and one in the living room on the only outlet that’s not covered by furniture.
Big-Ticket Items
Collapsible/portable play area (*different* than a pack-n-play)
I like to keep my inside things inside and my outside things outside. So while we have a playyard we can set up for a small enclosure, I hate the idea of hauling it outside or to the park/beach.
When I was registering for baby items I only considered play yards, and the thought of a secondary portable baby containment contraption didn’t cross my mind.
With baby #2 and a house with a yard (finally!), I am so thankful this foldable little thing made it into our line-up. We dubbed it the baby pod (officially it’s a Fisher-Price Baby Dome).
This was such a handy place to hold the baby if we did anything outside our normal set up. We mainly used it in our yard as a place for him to hang while I played with the older kid, but it’s super easy to throw in our SUV for trips to the park, friend’s houses, and anywhere you may stay for a while that needs a quick, baby-proof area.
We bought it from an auction site (learn more about that here), but you can also find them on Amazon.
When baby started crawling, we switched to this larger portable playard (Regalo). It may seem excessive to have two options, but we spend a lot of time outside. The larger one was way too big and inconvenient to get a small baby in and out of, and now the smaller one isn’t safe for an 8-month-old who can pull himself up.
This is much bigger than the aforementined baby pod, but just as convenient to travel with. It completely collapses into a column that fits in a nice cloth case with a nylon handle, similar to a (giant) camping chair. There’s plenty of room for baby, a handful for toys, plus me because I inevitably end up in there at some point.
The floor is a sort of thin fabric, so unless you trust your baby not to
topple over, I’d only use it on carpet or grass. We even used an old fitted sheet over the top for full bug protection.
Both of these are easy to fold up and store for quick access, or fit in your car for trips where you need a place to contain the baby without baby wearing the whole time.
Consider either a small portable playard or a larger portable play area, depending on your outdoor living/yard/travel situation.
Learning Tower/kitchen step tool
My son loves helping make dinner, with dishes, and baking. We got this learning tower/step stool just after he turned two, and has been used almost every single day since we got it.
There are plenty of these on the market, but we ordered one from a maker in Latvia from Etsy. We loved the design and the chance to support a small business.
The ability to shift from high stool to small table has been so useful.
We ordered the plain wood version and stained it a dark brown so it would match our kitchen more than a plastic kiddie-looking item.
Looking for other life-saver items for yourself or gifts? See also: Our favorite items for potty training.
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