So recently I shared my ultimate non-toxic baby registry guide which you can read here, but there were so manny other things I wanted to include! If you’re looking for eco-friendly diapers, you can check out my more in depth review here.

Now not all of these items are non-toxic baby registry items per sey, some are just great newborn essentials and finds or great baby gifts that we LOVED and I needed to share it all with you! I have so many friends pregnant with me right now building their baby registry or who just had their babies and I just need to get the rest of this information out there! So let’s dive into the rest of my ultimate baby registry list and essentials!

[This post contains affiliate links. This means I may make a small commission if you purchase through these links. I’m only going to recommend products that I have tried and love!]

Great Stroller

  • We went with the Mockingbird Single-to-Double stroller which we LOVE! It is basically the same thing as the Uppababy Vista stroller, but without the price tag. We are planning to get the bassinet attachment and stand this time, as well as the double seat attachment. The Mockingbird stroller has a car seat attachment as well that works with most major brands including Nuna which we use.

Rotary nail file from Amazon

  • This baby nail file was gifted to us and let me tell you, it works like a charm and worked for us for SO LONG until our toddler decided to “dood it herself” and we had to go to manual nail clippers. Dada is the only one who can do those right now lol. There are a bajillion versions of this rotary newborn nail file on Amazon, they all look the same so I assume they are all comparable.

A reliable Thermometer

  • We’ve gone through about 5 or 6 thermometers since Dempsey was born- they keep glitching or failing us. The Vick’s one works fast but broke, the one we had for the ear was so finicky and inaccurate – put a first aid kid on your registry and another thermometer lol. We tried the ear ones and many of the multi-use armpit/rectal/oral versions and right now we’re literally using a CVS one because all of our others are malfunctioning. The Frida baby one that can tape onto the skin and monitor overnight we had little success with as well but I am going to try it again before giving up on it completely.

Washable changing pad liners such as Summer Infant

  • These are a great addition to your changing pad/mat on your changing table or dresser or on the go. I love that these were washable, easy to swap out if any pee or poo mess got on there during a diaper change, without having to undo your whole set up situation.
  • Also great for a travel bassinet or a makeshift changing station elsewhere in the home or during travel!
  • We also used them in the car seat during potty training and I’ve used them as back up crib mattress protectors after middle of the night pee or puke situations while I wash the crib mattress protector. Yes this happened the other night – puke this time. Yes I did just purchase a second crib mattress protector to help us out!
  • The Summer Infant ones I actually can’t find anymore on Babylist – but I see these great Charlie Banana organic cotton ones but pricier, or Honest or Burt’s Bees and Naturepedic also makes some with organic cotton as well! Looks like Boppy makes affordable ones as well that look like they’ll work perfectly!

Baby swing

  • I really didn’t think I would use a swing that much, but dang those baby swings are so useful! If you have a hand-me-down, use it! If you have the opportunity to register for it, great! I think we have Graco or Fisher Price ones as hand-me-downs and honestly I didn’t even look at the materials or the certifications, just grateful to have these to borrow!
  • If you are looking for an organic and Greenguard Gold certified/GOTS organic cotton/OEKO-TEX certified one, the Nuna Leaf looks so cute and even less of a footprint than a traditional swing! Actually I kind of want this one too it looks so versatile!
Baby Registry favorites

Cotton / washable play mat

  • When registering for a play mat I was looking for one that was washable and made with little to no plastic. Go with what you’re comfortable with! There are so many options out there and I’ve seen so many different ones my friends and family have and I love all of them!
  • Lovevery playset is great and the mat washes well, great materials all wood and silicone no plastic at all and comes with a bunch of educational and learning by month guide… buuuut if you’re a dog owner dog hair will get all over it which is annoying! I was constantly lint rolling it!
  • Other brands that use cotton and wood look like Pottery Barn, Aden & Anais, even Etsy.
  • If you have cotton/wood/material toys to hang great, there are so many great mat options on there. You can also search for wood or plastic free baby play gyms.
  • Any soft mat that is washable would be my go to – if they have organic cotton that is a plus of course but they don’t spend all their time there so if I had to pick my battles, I’d go organic cotton in the crib/bassinet over a play mat.

Sound machine and nightlight

  • Hatch + baby noise machine and nightlight is what we have and love. We actually have 2 because the company sent us a replacement when we were having technical difficulties with the first one that we ended up able to fix – so now we have a second one for baby boy! We were using it primarily as our travel sound machine. We love it – app works well and you can pre-set your favorite sounds and colors and also set routines which I plan to use with Dempsey as she gets a little older.

Cool Mist Humidifier

  • Great for keeping little noses happy especially when the heat is on in the colder months – we had one brand that I don’t recommend because it was IMPOSSIBLE to clean the nooks and crannies in the chamber.
  • Look for ones with good reviews that are EASY TO CLEAN humidifiers because you do need to clean them regularly.
  • Options that come in with high ratings are the Crane cool mist humidifiers – we just upgraded to the jumbo 1.4 gallon size one so it lasts a couple days at a time when filled. It is rather large, but I love how easy it is to clean and that it actually lasts more than 8 hours with one full fill.

Baby bath time essentials

  • Bathtub knee and arm rest saver! if you plan to have your infant bathtub inside your regular bathtub, you NEED one of these sets. We have a random set from amazon that is an arm rest over the side of the tub with pockets, and a kneee rest. We registered for a new one for baby boy by Lalo since we are redoing our bathroom and want to have a new one for the brand new bathtub!
  • Infant bathtub – we have the Oxo-tot one and had to buy an additional infant bathtub insert for it from Amazon so she didn’t slip and slide around as a tiny newborn – as she got older it was totally fine but there are others out there with better newborn set ups. Our friend is lending us the Fisher Price one with the little baby seat that she no longer needs, and I plan to grab an insert like this one or the Amazon one for the Oxo-tot one as well so we have one for upstairs and downstairs!
  • Temperature reading duckie or device to test the water when they are newborns – this was gifted to us and helped us as newbie parents know if the temperature was too cold or too hot when filling the infant tub up! Gave us a little peace of mind! 

Random gifts and essentials for Mama and Dada:

  • Food gift cards!
    • Daily harvest
    • Door dash/Grub Hub/Uber Eats
    • Spoonful of Comfort
    • We loved ALL of these and usually gift Door Dash gift cards to our friends and family when a new baby arrives to help take the mental load off of what to eat!
  • Mama specific items if you’re comfortable adding or save this for yourself for later!
    • Fridamom postpartum kit
    • Disposable adult diapers (I used Always last time, will be trying Rael this time!) 
    • Nipple butter such as Erbaviva or Earth Mama for more natural brands (although my lactation consultant recommended warm salt water soaks instead!)
      • Pro tip: stay FAR AWAY from the Lanolin at the hospital that stuff stains EVERYTHING – my cute nursing dresses I bought for the hospital and postpartum were trashed from that stuff!
    • Pull aside nursing bras such as Kindred Bravely French Terry nursing bras and sleeping in these was also a DREAM
      • Bras I plan to try this go around in similar style – Our Embrace
    • Pumping bras such as Davin & Adley Ameila Cami which I LIVED in for my pumping journey and nursing last postpartum period
      • Pumping/nursing bras I want to try this time: Larken X, and Love and Fit Everyday Luxe 2.0 pumping and nursing bra
    • Silverette cups – I found these too late in my beginning nursing journey but they are a really neat protecting and healing cup that you can place on your sore nipples while in the early stages of breastfeeding and it helps 1) protect them and 2) heal them with the natural properties in silver and keeping some breast milk around for it’s healing properties. I am so happy to have them from the get go this time around.
    • Reusable washable bra liners for leak protection – love the one piece Davin & Adley ones or any washable style versus the disposables (I felt the sticker ones moved around a lot/bunched up and I didn’t love those or the fact that they were disposable) 
    • Cute AF diaper bag – obsessed with my Elkie Co Aberdeen (use code SARAHFAMASTORY for 10% off!) it looks brand new over 2 years in and still going strong! They have tons of cute styles to choose from and washable liners, I can’t wait to snag one more as a treat for baby number 2!
    • Hydration packets for mom like LMNT or LIquid IV or Nuun- if you choose to breastfeed/pump you will be THIRSTY AF – i loved having hydration tablets or packets available to make water more tasty and give me a little electrolyte boost – my current clean fav is LMNT – can’t recommend enough!

Baby monitor

  • We opted for a non-wifi version and used the Infant Optics one and have no complaints. Registered for a second one for baby 2! There are so many to choose from, but went with one that didn’t require a phone to utilize it.

Car seat mirrors

  • Ones with a soft edge like the Skip Hop one are great – it is also huge and gives you great visibility – there are a bunch of others on Amazon we went with the best reviews!

Upright lounger or baby bouncer

  • We didn’t have a bouncer/lounger thing last time, but will have a hand me down this time and looking forward to having something that I can move around the house that is not just flat on the floor to place baby in this time!

Diaper bin

  • We opted for the Ubbi one because the liner bags are supposedly more eco-friendly with being 20% recycled materials and I was looking for eco-friendly options! Honestly it kept smells at bay for the most part and I would just use the Zum room spray once in a while in the can if it got a little smelly.

Drying rack

  • This is essential for pump parts, bottles and binkies. Most of these are plastic and silicone, anything will work fine just pick what works for you and your space. Our friends actually mounted the Oxo-tot one on the wall next to the sink which was GENIUS for saving counter space!

Cozy nursing chair

  • We have one from Wayfair that has wood elements on the rocker and a nice high back – I love it, but having been in many other friends and family nurseries over the past couple years, I have learned that there are many comfortable options out there. I didn’t get to try anything during COVID last time, and will continue to use our chair which I do love, but definitely try one out it you can!
  • If you’re looking for non-toxic options, look for the GreenGuard Gold certification, OEKO-TEX certified, or GOTS certifications. As this wasn’t something baby was directly touching regularly, more so me touching, I didn’t put a lot of weight on the materials, but I would definitely think about it next time if we were to buy a second chair!

Final thoughts

Okay so I think that is a lot to pack into a part 2 – there are just so many great things we loved and are so happy to have with baby number 2! Of course you don’t need all of these things, but some of them make life a little easier and are nice to have. You really just need sleep and feeding and diapering essentials in the early days, oh and a good baby carrier!

What were you can’t live without newborn essentials or products? Let me know!

Until next time!

xo – Sarah