Baby Product Reviews

All of my favorite products that I’ve researched, discovered and tested for you!

Feeding

Philips AVENT Natural Glass Bottles
I decided to register for glass bottles for my little one. Although all baby bottles should be BPA free, I felt safer with glass. I knew we would be washing and heating her bottles many, many times and did not love the thought of her eating all of her meals out of plastic bottles. We used the Philips AVENT Natural Glass Bottle, 8 Ounce (Pack of 3), so I can only share feedback on these specifically. The bottles are surprisingly durable, but we did lose a couple to drops on our granite countertops. They were dropped on our hardwood floors many times without any issues though. One of my favorite parts of these bottles is that they only have 4 pieces: lid, nipple, cap and bottle. This is extremely helpful when it comes to cleaning the bottles! We did have issues with a few of the caps on the bottles that sometimes did not screw on tight and would leak. Please share in the comments if you found glass bottles that worked perfectly for you!

Here are some other brands in case you are interested: Dr. Brown’s Options Wide Neck Glass Bottles, 2 Pack, Glass, 9 oz, Evenflo Feeding Classic Glass Twist Bottles, 8 Ounce (Pack of 6), Born Free Breeze 9 Ounce 2 Pack Glass Bottle, and Lifefactory Glass Baby Bottles 4 Pack Starter Kit (9 oz. & 4 oz. – Gender Neu….

You will also want to make sure to include different flow nipples on your registry like these Philips Avent Natural Nipple Fast Flow – 4 Pack. The different flows equate to the number of holes in the nipple. We went from newborn to medium to fast flow to sippy. The great part about our bottles was that they transitioned easily to sippy cups with these Avent My Penguin Cup Replacement Soft Spouts – 2 ct.

aden + anais Bibs
I registered for one pack of aden + anais Zutano Snap Bib 3 Count, Fairground, 1 Pack to start and quickly learned that I needed about 4 more packs with my little drooler. The aden + anais cotton muslin bibs were a lifesaver for us because of their size and thickness. They were the only bibs that could keep up with the drool and keep her chest dry. Our daycare even commented on how amazing her bibs were because they were much larger and more absorbent than the regular cotton bibs.

phil&teds Lobster High Chair
I originally only registered for phil&teds Lobster Highchair, Black. Although we have loved having this high chair for travel, we did not like it as our everyday high chair. The Lobster secures tightly to an island or table, so we trust it to hold our little one. It also folds flat, so we have packed it in our luggage easily. My biggest pain point with it is that you have to drop the baby down into it and being 5′ 2″ makes that a challenge for me if it is attached to a taller island or table.

OXO Tot Sprout High Chair
This may sound very stupid, but I thought that we could go without a high chair and just use the travel high chair on our island. She hated going into the travel high chair until she was at least 8 months, so I really regretted not having a real high chair. I ended up doing extensive high chair research and decided on the OXO Tot Sprout High Chair, Gray/Walnut because it was easy to clean and the base is made of solid wood. Most high chairs have a fabric cushion, and I just did not see myself washing it every day. The OXO Tot Sprout High Chair has a wipeable cushion that velcros in and is easy to clean. I also love that I can put the tray on and off with one hand while holding the baby in the other.

Boon PULP Silicone Feeder
You can use a solid food feeder to introduce solid foods like banana to your baby. We tried a couple different types of solid food feeders to introduce solids and liked the Boon PULP Silicone Feeder, Pink/Purple the best. It was much easier to clean than the mesh on the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder, 2 Pack, Blue/Green. The Boon Feeder also helps to push the food out through the holes and make it easier for your little one to get the food out themselves by chewing and sucking.

Tommee Tippee Explora Bibs
We have the Tommee Tippee Explora Easi Roll Bib, Blue and Green 2 Count (Color may vary), and they are great for solid foods. I keep one at home and one at daycare, and they both have held up great. The bibs are super easy to wash after every meal and keep her as clean as possible now that she self feeds. I love that they are sturdy enough to catch foods, but soft enough that it’s still comfortable for her to wear.

BEABA Babycook Pro 2X
I decided to try making my own baby food after a friend told me how easy it was for her. I registered for the BEABA Babycook Pro 2X, Latte Mint to help make the process a little easier. The Beaba Babycook Pro 2X has 2 containers that can steam the foods simultaneously and one side that allows you to also blend the food. After her first foods, I started making 2 different foods at the same time that I would then blend together. I will post some of my favorite baby food recipes soon.

You can definitely make your own baby food with a regular pot to steam the fruits and veggies and a good blender, but this gadget just helps to simplify things. Based on the food you are cooking, it tells you how much water to add and then automatically stops steaming when it is done. I used this at first to make purees and then just used it to quickly steam foods like sweet potato, apples and green beans.

KIDDO FEEDO Food Storage Containers
If you decide to make your own baby food, you will need containers to freeze and store your baby food. Since you are making fresh food without preservatives, you will freeze a batch and take out each serving of food the day before you need it to thaw. I have KIDDO FEEDO Food Storage Containers – Multipurpose Freezer Tray to Freeze Baby Food, Herbs, Ice Cubes, Sauces etc. – BPA Free & FDA Approved – FREE eBook by Author/Dietitian – Gray to freeze a batch of food.

Wean Green Glass Cubes
I got the Wean Green Wean Cubes 4oz/120ml Baby Food Glass Containers – Multi Color (Set of 4) to store and serve her homemade baby food. The lid seals tightly, so I freeze and serve her food in these glass cubes. They are the perfect portion size for baby food. I use the Wean Green Cubes for her daycare lunches and even ended up buying another set.

oogaa Silicone Baby Bowl & Plate
Most dishes for kids are made out of plastic, so I found 100% silicone plates from oogaa that we love. They are sturdy, dishwasher safe and come in fun colors. We have the oogaa Silicone Baby Feeding Bowl Silicone – Purple and the oogaa Silicone Baby and Toddler Divided Plate – Green. You have to be careful when buying silicone dishes as many of them have fillers and aren’t actually 100% silicone. You can test this out by pulling and twisting them. If you see any white when it stretches out, your dishes are not 100% silicone.

thinkbaby Sippy Steel Bottle
We had to send sippy cups to daycare when Harper turned 1, and I found these thinkbaby Sippy Steel Bottle, Silver stainless steel sippy cups from thinkbaby. Once she started drinking milk on her own in her highchair, I was worried about her dropping her glass bottle at daycare, and I love these because they are unbreakable!

If you like the stainless steel cups, they also sell the thinkbaby Stainless Steel Baby Bottle, Silver, 9 Ounce as a regular bottle and with a straw thinkbaby Thinkster Steel Bottle, Silver. All of the thinkbaby cups are interchangeable so they grow with your child. We did not use these as our bottles, but we have the sippy cups and straw cups now.

Munchkin Miracle Stainless Steel 360 Cup
The Munchkin Miracle Stainless Steel 360 Sippy Cup, Pink, 10 Ounce is the same amazing 360 cup that normally is plastic but comes in a larger stainless steel cup. She has transitioned to using this cup instead of a sippy cup and loves it. It is insulated so her hands don’t get cold. The cup is also extremely durable along with being dishwasher safe!

Boppy Pillow & Organic Slipcover
I used the Boppy Nursing Pillow and Positioner – Bare Naked with theBoppy Pillow Slipcover, Organic Elephant Gray a lot when I was nursing, but I did not love it. I always found the angle a bit off and a little low for nursing. I really loved the Boppy when Harper was learning how to sit up though. I would sit her up with the Boppy behind her, and if she ever fell over, the Boppy would catch her. No tears, happy baby.

Dr. Brown’s Bottle Warmer
The Dr. Brown’s Bottle Warmer was definitely helpful when you are tired and need a bottle warmed up quickly. The water reservoir would hold enough water for a handful of bottles. We filled it up with filtered water sometimes, but it really should have distilled only. To clean the bottle warmer, you fill up the water reservoir with vinegar and run it until it’s empty and then run it again with water to clear it out before using it again for a bottle. You need to clean it often or it gets gross fast. This is the biggest flaw…it got to a point that the bottle warmer just looked discolored even after cleaning it, so I will not be able to use this for my next one.

OXO Tot Training Fork & Spoon
The OXO Tot Training Fork & Spoon Set- Aqua have been our favorite utensils so far. The spoon is the perfect size for her little mouth and is deep enough to hold a hearty soup or yogurt. The fork is also sharp enough that she can pick food up and dull enough that I’m not afraid that she will hurt herself.

oogaa Silicone Spoons
I bought these Oogaa 2-Pack Planes & Trains Silicone Spoons in Blue/Green because they were made of silicone and would help to make mealtime more fun for my picky eater. She didn’t seem to notice the airplane and train though. Now that she is self feeding, these are not very useful as they really are not meant for baby to hold.

Munchkin Stainless Steel Snack Cup
This Munchkin Stainless Steel Snack Catcher is a hit in our house. We use it for snack time and it allows her to hold her snack without dumping it all over the floor. The lid is removable, so most of the time we just use the top that keeps food in but allows her little hand to get food out. The actual cup is made of stainless steel, so it is dishwasher safe and unbreakable (although it does have a few dents).

aden + anais Burby Bib
The aden + anais Tea Collection and Burpy Bibs, global garden can be used as a bib and a burp cloth. When you use it as a bib, it even covers the baby’s shoulders. During heavy drool times, this bib came and handy. They are also great to have to wipe them up since the cotton muslin is super absorbent. We have a few of these and love them. We still use the regular aden + anais bibs for feeding time.

Sleep

4moms mamaRoo
I originally decided to leave the mamaRoo off of my registry because I heard from other moms that it didn’t work for their baby. Well, my baby did not like any other swing, so I really struggled to find somewhere to put her down without her screaming her head off. I finally caved around 7 weeks and bought the 4moms, mamaRoo, Baby Swing, Grey Classic. She loved it to just chill out in and take naps during the day. My only regret was not buying it sooner!

HALO SleepSack
I swear by the HALO SleepSack for a great night’s sleep until your baby can roll over. Our prenatal classes only endorsed the HALO SleepSack 100% Cotton Swaddle, Cream, Small for safe, swaddled sleep, so we purchased one to try it out. This swaddle was magic for us, but we had to tuck our little ones arms into the part that zips instead of using the arm holes to keep our little Houdini’s arms snug by her sides! We even bought 2 of them in each size to have as back up for accidents.

DaVinci Jenny Lind Crib
My baby started sleeping in her crib around 6 weeks and just loved her bed. I wanted a solid wood crib but many were $1000! I luckily found the solid wood DaVinci Jenny Lind 3-in-1 Convertible Crib, White for about $200. It is simple and sturdy. I can attest to the ease of putting it together…I built this crib when I was 8 months pregnant. The crib comes with wheels, but I did not put them on. We have adjusted the mattress height twice now and it is fairly easy to move the brackets down.

Naturepedic Organic Mattress
The mattress is the one thing that I tell every new parent to splurge on. Your baby spends so much time in their bed. You do not want them breathing in chemicals from their mattress. I did a lot of mattress research before finally picking the Naturepedic Organic Cotton Classic 150 Coil Seamless 2-Stage Crib/Toddler Mattress. I selected this mattress because it is GREENGUARD certified, made in the USA of organic cotton and could be flipped over to use as a toddler mattress. Because I knew that I would be using this mattress for more than a year, I felt better about the $300 price tag.

YourEcoFamily Organic Cotton Crib Sheet
I originally registered for a very cute organic cotton sheet to match my nursery, but found it impossible to get on my Naturepedic mattress because it is thicker than a regular crib mattress. I purchased 2 of the YourEcoFamily Certified Organic Cotton Fitted Crib Sheet, Beige, and they fit perfectly.

Crane Air Purifier – Penguin
Instead of a sound machine, we decided to get a fun air purifier for her room. We run the air purifier while she sleeps to help keep the air in her room clean along with providing white noise. We purchased the Crane Adorable Air Purifier – Penguin because it could sit on the floor and also look cute!

Burt’s Bees Baby Sleeper
Your baby will live in sleepers when they are young and then continue to use them for bedtime as they get older. I love these Burt’s Bees Baby – Rugby Stripe Sleeper, 100% Organic Cotton, Heather Grey (6-9 Months) because they are made of organic cotton, AND they have a zipper. So many of the organic cotton sleepers have buttons and that’s just not what you want to mess with during your middle of the night diaper changes.

aden + anais Organic Dream Blanket
The dream blanket is something we really didn’t get to use until she turned 1, but I was so happy that I had it when she was ready. My little one loves to cuddle up with her organic cotton blanket for naps and at night. We have the aden + anais Organic Dream Blanket, Wise Guys which is super soft and cuddly for her but doesn’t overwhelm her bed.

Cool Mist Humidifier
You will be happy you have a cool mist humidifier the first time your little one gets a cold and in the dry, winter months. We have the Crane Drop Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier – White and have found it easy to use and clean. It also has a pretty minimalist design to blend in with any nursery decor.

Toys

Olive and Pickles Giraffe
The Olives and Pickles Organic Teething Plush Toy, Luc The Giraffe, Small is super soft and made of organic cotton. The giraffe is small and light enough to be one of your baby’s first toys to hold and put in their mouth.

Organic Farm Buddies Blankie
At around 6 months, Harper started loving the Apple Park Organic Farm Buddies Blankie, Boxer the Dog. She loved their faces and would shake and hug them. These were also the perfect toy to include in the diaper bag because they fold up small. I love that they are made out of organic cotton and are washable since this toy made it into her mouth a lot.

Hape Alphabet Abacus
The Hape Alphabet Abacus Wooden Counting Toy is actually recommended for kids ages 3-5, but my little one started playing with it around a year and would have fun spinning the letters and numbers. I originally just had it displayed as a cute item in her play area, but now she always gets it out to play with it and looks at the pictures on each block. Can’t wait for many more years of fun and learning with this one!

About Hape…
Hape is a German toy company that uses wood and water-based paints for all of their toys. I like this because Germany has much stricter safety standards than the United States to protect against the use of lead and other heavy metals in toys.

Hape Puppy Pull Along Toy
Harper loves dogs and got the Hape Walk-A-Long Puppy Wooden Pull Toy for her 1st birthday. She loves watching the puppy’s ears and tail move. At first, it was hard for her to pull the puppy without it falling over, but I know she will get better at it and be able to play with it more during her second year.

Hape Shape Sorter
The Hape Shake and Match Toddler Wooden Shape Sorter Toy comes with wood blocks with beads inside that make the blocks fun to shake. At around 14 months, she had fun shaking the blocks and putting them inside through the larger hole on top. At 16 months, this toy helped her learn colors and shapes by matching the blocks with the right color side and shape. I also love that the blocks are easily stored inside, so we haven’t lost a piece yet. This is a favorite in our house!

Melissa & Doug Wooden Stacker
The Melissa & Doug Rainbow Stacker Wooden Ring Educational Toy became fun for Harper starting around 10 months. At first, she had fun taking all of the blocks off. Then, she started putting the blocks back on and stacking around 12 months. We have also been using these blocks to learn colors.

EverEarth Garden Activity Cube
The EverEarth Garden Activity Cube EE33285 has been one of Harper’s favorite toys since she could sit up and play. She loved to spin the blocks and wheels on the sides. Once she started to stand up, she began playing with the bead maze on top. She also loves taking off the magnetic wood blocks. The toy is well-made and is something I believe she will play with for years to come.

EverEarth Rocking Horse
The EverEarth Bamboo Rocking Horse EE33559 is made out of sustainable, solid bamboo. This toy does arrive in pieces and you must build it but the steps are fairly simple. Harper started using the rocking horse at about 13 months and loved it from the start. It took her about a month to learn how to get on and off by herself. She loves getting to rock back and forth on her horsey.

 

BeginAgain

The BeginAgain brand sells natural rubber bath toys that can even be washed in the dishwasher (top rack) to keep them mold free. These are different from most of our toys because they actually sink in the tub where so many bath toys only float. We have the shark tank (not pictured), shark, diver and octopus. She loves to chew on them along with playing with the characters in the tub. We have not gotten much use out of the shark tank yet.

Green Toys

Green Toys makes all of their products out of recycled milk jugs. They are made of high-density polyethylene, so you get to have a toy that is eco-friendly and safe. We have the tug boat for bath time and love it. You can push the tug boat around or fill it up with water to dump on baby. It also has plenty of vents to dry out in between baths and prevent mold.

Rich Frog

The Rich Frog Rubber Duck is actually made out of latex and not rubber like you may think, but it is BPA, PVC and phthalate free. The duck squeaks when baby squeezes it and sometimes gets water inside. I try to get it very dry by squeezing it after each bath to prevent mold. The duck is super cute but sometimes has trouble sitting up straight. Baby doesn’t seem to mind!

Green Sprouts

Our little one’s favorite bath toys right now are her stacking cups from Green Toys. You get 8 stacking cups in a variety of colors. She loves stacking and unstacking the cups along with seeing the water drip out of them from the holes in the bottom in different patterns.

Boon
We have a few bath products from Boon that my baby loves, including our bath spout cover. Their products have a more modern design and fun colors that stand out from the rest of the bath products. We have the Boon Dive Bath Tub foam characters that she loves to put on the bath tub walls and stack them up. We also have the Boon Water Bugs that comes with a net and floating bugs to catch with the net. There is a hole in the bottom of the net that allows for the water to drain out in between baths. I position it upright in our bath toy net to help the water escape.