Rock & Play
Before my son was born we bought a really cute bassinet and had it all set up and ready to go next to the bed, but when we brought him home he refused to sleep in it, so he slept on my chest for the first two weeks. After basically getting reamed by the pediatrician at his two week check up, we tried the bassinet again with no luck. We tried his crib, the bouncer, his carseat, a swing... nothing worked. A friend recommended the rock & play and the night we got it was our first night of more than an hour of sleep at a time. It has an incline which helps for babies with reflux, it rocks, it vibrates, the fabric is really soft, and it kind of nests around them so they feel cozy. I wish we would have bought this before he was born...it was seriously a life saver.
Burp cloths
I know everyone already gets burp cloths, but I wish we would have purchased more. In my opinion you can never have too many burp cloths.
Boppy pillow
I didn't use this so much when he was a newborn, but the older he got the more I used it. I still use it when I nurse him (twice a day) now. Plus when he was younger we used it for tummy time sometimes, and propping him up before he could sit.
Reusable water bottles
This one is more for mom, particularly if you're breastfeeding. When you're breastfeeding you're constantly drinking water, and n the beginning I was going through probably 7 or 8 plastic water bottles a day. It wasn't until he was around 6 months old that I finally wised up and bought a couple of reusable water bottles.
Batteries
Lots and lots of batteries... of all sizes. All those baby toys require a lot of batteries, and they just seem to die so quickly. I swear these toy companies are in cahoots with the battery companies.
Zipadee zip
My son has always HATED being swaddled, but he would startle himself awake all night long with out it. I've tried all different kinds and sizes of swaddles, swaddle blankets, and sleep sacks. I've spent hours on the internet researching how to help him sleep, and looking for a product that could help him. Eventually someone recommended the zipadee zip sleep sack and it seriously changed all of our lives. They're whole body (except for the head) is inside this sack that's shaped like a four pointed star. It allows them to roll around safely, but has just enough resistance that they don't startle themselves awake. My son was in one from four months until just after he turned one. If you're interested you can learn more about the zipadee zip here. I am not affiliated with them in any way, just a grateful mother that wants every sleep deprived mom to know the joy of a few uninterrupted hours of sleep.
Video baby monitor
When I put my baby registry together I felt bad expecting a friend or family member to purchase such an expensive thing, so I registered for a regular sound only baby monitor, big mistake. When we moved my son into his own room at 3.5 months old I was really uncomfortable with not being able to see him. However, we didn't break down and decide to buy the video monitor one day after going in to get him in the morning, and finding him face down in the crib. He must have accidentally done it because I had never seen him roll over to his belly before, and he was completely swaddled (arms in) so he couldn't roll back over. I was horrified. I feel so much more comfortable now seeing him and knowing that he's ok. It was especially helpful when we decided to sleep train him at 9 months.Infant Seat
Sort if like a high chair, but it's made for babies that can't sit upright completely on their own yet, plus you can put it on a table. We would take it to restaurants with us and put it on the table so he could be up higher and see whats going on. As he got older we just put it on the chair or bench. I feel like the high chairs at restaurants are disgusting and, until very recently, he would try to bite everything (including the gross high chair). A lot of people like the bumbo brand, but they are so expensive. We bought the ingenuity booster seat, it works great and is less than half the price of the bumbo (plus it comes with the tray, unlike the bumbo).
Initially I used a tummy time mat that someone gave me at the baby shower, but he quickly outgrew it. Plus once they start rolling and scooting around there's no keeping them on that tiny square of fabric.Just get a big blanket that you can throw on the floor for them to roll around and play on, it's much cheaper and you'll be able to use it for a lot longer. If it has some kind of interesting pattern on it to stare at even better. I didn't think to do this at first. Then I got disgusted with the fact that my baby was rolling around on the floor where everyone's dirty feet had been. Plus you don't have to worry about the baby spitting up on your carpet.
I know there are a lot more things I need to add to this list, but this is all I can think of right now. I'll make another post when a few more things come to mind.
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