Here are some of our favorite products

Not sponsored - just tried, tested and loved by us!

Full transparency - We do make a small commission off your amazon purchase but it’s pennies…literally.

Newborn Necessities

Soothing:

Swings and Rockers - we have a few that we tried and liked

  • Graco swing - classic and generally a kid favorite!

  • Mamaroo - This is hit or miss. Some of our kids loved it, others hated it!

Bouncers -

Carriers - We used different ones for different ages and stages

  • Baby Björn Carrier - for first few months (have to be at least 7 lbs). Once babies got a little bigger - this was a bit hard on our backs.

  • Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier, Free 3D - this was Hadley’s holy grail - great back support and works til theyre quite big!

  • Ergo Baby Carrier - used this until our kids were toddler - they loved the back riding option when they were older.

Pacifiers -

Sound-

Feeding:

Breast Pumps and accessories-

  • Haaka - put on your opposite breast when breastfeeding - collects the natural let down from that breast. Helps build your supply!

  • Spectra - a fan favorite, rechargeable.

  • Willow- great for on the go! Wear under your shirt and go about your day. Great for moms who have to go back to work quickly. But… we won’t pretend it’s not noticable.

  • Wet bags - great for carrying pump parts, wet bathing suits, clothes that get dirty, etc

  • Steamer Sanitizer bags - helpful for cleaning pump parts at work or traveling

Breast feeding accessories -

  • My Brest Friend - we basically had this strapped to us 24/7. Most comfortable breast-feeding pillow, especially after a C-section.

  • Boppy - another good option for breast feeding support

  • Breast pads- disposable feels wasteful, but also easier.

  • Burp cloths - nothing fancy, easy to wash.

  • Breast feeding cover - for breast feeding on-the-go

Bottles-

  • Dr. Brown- the classic ones but do have lots of pieces to wash

  • Comotomo - these are only two pieces so washing is great. Would just buy the big ones from the jump so you don’t have to buy the big ones later.

Formula feeding-

  • Baby Brezza - a bit of a luxury purchase but a life saver for those middle of the night feeds so you don’t have to measure water and powder.

  • Burp cloths - nothing fancy, easy to wash.

Sleeping:

Sleep wear-

  • The halo sleep sac - this is our gold standard. The have a sleep sac for every age and stage -up through toddlers.

  • Kyte Baby Sleep sac - newer brand. Made of bamboo material. Very cozy!

  • Merlin sleepsuit - this is great for babies that hate the arm swaddle but still like to be contained. Typically geared for babies 3-6 months. Once they start rolling - it’s no longer recommended.

  • Magnetic Me - the BEST footie pajamas! They have MAGNETS. No middle of the night fumbling to button the onesie back up after a diaper change!

Sound Machines-

  • Homedics - inexpensive and does the job!

  • Yogasleep - a little pricier but good for people who can’t stand the artificial white noise sound. The sound from this is made from a real (tiny) fan inside.

  • Hatch - newer sound machine that you can control from your phone. Also good for teaching older babies when to sleep and wake based on the light.

  • Yogasleep Portable - good for on the go

Bassinets-

  • Arms Reach - easy to put right up to the bed.

  • Snoo - Lux alert! Pricey, but parents who use this loved it!

Diaper Care

Changing pad:

Overnight Diapers:

  • Goodnites - overnight diapers if you have a baby that leaks from regular diapers

Diaper cream:

Strollers and Car Seats:

Stollers and Accessories:

  • Doona - Best all in 1 car seat stroller! city must have, for the burbs likely not necessary

  • Baby Zen Yoyo - light weight and easy to fold up when traveling.

  • UppaBaby Vista - the Cadillac of strollers. Can use from newborn to toddler. Rolls so smooth on bumpy city streets.

  • City Mini Double - when two kids are in the mix, this is the one we loved. Small enough to fit through a standard door, easy to fold, light weight.

  • Stroller hand warmers - a must for cold city walks!

  • Stroller sac - another must for cold city walks. This one grows with your baby and your stroller.

  • Infant insert - turn any stroller into an infant stroller!

Car Seats-

  • Infant car seat - Maxi Cosi

  • Doona - Best all in 1 car seat - stroller! city must have, for the burbs likely not necessary

Teething

Bibs

Teethers

Bathing:

Bathtub

Hair Care-

Towels -

  • Burts Bees - super soft and organic cotton but aren’t super absorbent.

  • hooded baby towel - cute and inexpensive, which is nice since they grow out of the newborn towel quickly.

Hairbrush-

Nail Care

Toddler Trinkets

Feeding:

Water bottles -

First food accessories-

Highchairs- this is personal preference. We all used different ones.

  • Stokke - this is a very popular chair and can be used from first feed through toddler years. One of our MPF moms LOVED this, the other one hated hers and sold it. Lol

  • Lalo - sleek, easy to wipe down

  • Peg Prego - more of an old school traditional high-chair. Grandparents seem to prefer this one.

  • Inglesina - this is portable and small. Attaches to a table for an instant highchair! Great for small spaces where a clunky highchair isn’t an option.

  • Hiccapop - travel chair!

  • Leaning tower - not a highchair but this is great for the kiddo who wants to help mom or dad in the kitchen.

Bathroom:

Potty Training-

Bath time!-

Miscellaneous

Travel:

Car Seats-

  • Infant car seat - Maxi Cosi

  • Infant to Toddler car seat - Graco - bonus it swivels so you don’t have to remove it completely when you are turning kids around!

Strollers- we have a few that we tried and liked

  • Doona - Best all in 1 car seat stroller!

  • Baby Zen Yoyo - light weight and easy to fold up when traveling.

  • UppaBaby Vista - the Cadillac of strollers. Can use from newborn to toddler. Rolls so smooth on bumpy city streets.

  • City Mini Double - when two kids are in the mix, this is the one we loved. Small enough to fit through a standard door, easy to fold, light weight.

Sleeping - we have a few that we tried and liked

  • SlumberPod- great if sharing a space like a hotel room, can add a white noise machine nearby.

  • Pack and play- not the easiest to transport but nice if you want to leave at family’s house

  • Guava travel crib - bought ours second hand but it is light and easy to travel with!

Motion Sickness - unfortunately some kids get sick every time they get in a car. Here are some things you can do to help with that.

Toys and Trinkets:

Blocks-

  • Magnatiles - if we could only have one toy in our house for our toddlers, this is it!

Games-

Cars and Trucks -

  • Wall climbing cars- this one climbs up the wall and actually will go across the ceiling. I remain bewildered even as an adult.

On-the-Go -

  • Doodle Pad - bring to restaurants, doctors’ appointments, anywhere. Kids love to doodle!

School Age Supplies

Things:

Sunscreen -

Self-Care-

School supplies - Things we liked for sending to school

  • Stanley ice flow - sturdy and has as a handle and straw.

  • Reusable snack bags - great for mid-day snacks and they are washable.

  • Storage sacks - great for pens, toys, trinkets, etc.

  • Freestyle Watch - Just a good old fashion digital watch. Comes in so many colors and patterns. It has no games, no cellular service, no Wi-Fi! Also great for camp.

  • Goodr sunglasses - great sunglasses, inexpensive. Stay on when even when you are running or sweating.

  • Pit Vipers - these are pricey but a hot item for baseball and softball players!

Books that hook them in!

First readers -

Chapter books

Toys:

Games

  • Headbandz - guessing game that always ends in lots of laughs.

  • Deduckto - This is a FAMILY FAVORITE! Easy card game the whole family will love. Small and great to bring to restaurants to pass the time.

  • Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza - another fun easy card game.

  • Mancala - classic and been around for forever. Good for practicing counting

  • Mexican Train Dominos - a fun twist on dominos. Another fun game for the whole family.

  • Uno - fun card game for the whole family.

Hot items

  • Toniebox - great for bedtime. Kids have fun collecting the different Tonie characters and switching them out to hear different stories.

  • Needoh nice cube - great for stress relief. Good for on-the-go entertainment

  • Kinetic Sand - can’t make it to the beach, no worries! Bring the beach to you with this relaxing and fun to play with sand.

  • Doodle Pad - bring to restaurants, doctors’ appointments, anywhere. Kids love to doodle!

  • Foil Fun - an amazing, entertaining and low mess gift!

  • Dope Slime - if you are going to allow slime in the house, this is the one to get!

  • Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty - similar to slime, but less of a mess! Great for stress relief!

  • ZipString - who knew a moving string could provide hours of entertainment!

  • Rainbow Looms - if you have a child going to summer camp, they will be making looms allllll summer long. Not recommended if you have babies in the home! Those looms will be everywhere!

  • Tracing Pad - this provides hours of entertainment. Trace your favorite picture and color it to make it your own.

  • Air dry clay - mold into anything you can imagine. Dries and your creations are preserved forever!

Teenage Toolkit

and preteens too!

Self-care:

Acne

  • Benzoyl Peroxide Wash - Sephora stuff is cute but has too many added components and is expensive. Stick with simple max strength benzoyl peroxide wash for initial management.

  • Adapalene gel - for on-the-spot treatment. Apply a small amount at night

  • Pimple covers - great to cover and treat those big blemishes

Puberty

Braces and Teeth

  • Electric toothbrush - my kids are lazy. At least with this I know their 20 second brushing does a little more than a normal toothbrush!

  • String Floss - my kids love the different flavors.

  • Floss picks - for quick and on the go. Plus, these are biodegradable!

  • Waterpik - our kids don’t have braces (yet!) but friends with kids that have them swear by this flosser.

  • Retainer cleaner - put it in the water for 3 minutes and comes out clear and back to the way they are supposed to look.

  • Braces wax - braces can hurt!This wax is easy to bring with you. Help prevent irritation between braces and your mouth.

Self Care -

Parenting Helpers:

Books - parenting a teen is hard. Here are some books we found helpful!

Apps:

  • Life 360 - track where your kids are at and if they are in a car -how fast they are going. You can set up alerts for when they leave home or school.

First Aid:

First Aid-

Medicine Cabinet Must Haves

Medicine:

Medicine-

Stomach Bug Prep Kit:

Barf catchers-

  • Disposable vomit bags - great for your car sick prone kids. Keep a few in the car.

  • “Barf Bucket” - my kids sleep with one next to their bed whenever they are feeling sick.

  • Disposable pads - put them down on the bed whenever the stomach bug hits. Help reduce the number of sheets you will have to wash!

Rehydration-

Summer time stuff

this section is under construction

Outdoor Toys

Water:

  • Reusable water balloons - these are great for families with pets and little kids because you don’t have to run around picking up the little pieces of balloon after a water balloon fight!

  • Swimming fish - bring the fish to your pool

Sports:

Camp must-haves

Towels:

Bedding:

Shower:

Extras

Skin and Hair Care:

Sunscreen:

After Care:

  • Aloe - sometimes even though you slather on the sunscreen, kids get burned. Put this stuff in the fridge or freezer and it will feel twice a nice on those uncomfortable sun burns.

Hair Care -

  • Anti-Chlorine Shampoo- for your kids that live in the pool all summer - this will help get the chlorine (and green film) off their hair.

  • Spray conditioner - the salt water and chlorine is rough on kids hair. Use this before and after swimming to protect their fine hair.

Swim and Sun Gear

What to wear -

  • Swim Diapers -

  • Rash guard -

  • Life jacket - if you are riding on a boat this summer, make sure your child has an appropriately sized life jacket. This brand is great and has all the characters your kids love.

Swimming favorites:

  • Goggles - we have tried every pair of goggle made, and these are the ones my kids keep coming back to!

  • Goodr sunglasses - great sunglasses, inexpensive. Stay on when even when you are running or sweating.

How to stay cool

Stroller Gadgets:

  • Stroller fan

Sports:

  • Neck fan

  • Cooling towels

  • Neck ice pack

  • Spray fan

  • Battery powered fan

Have other products that you’ve tried and loved - email us! We always love to hear what our friends are using and recommending.