A Guide to a “Low-Tox” Baby Registry

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Congrats! If you’re here that likely means you are pregnant. Whether this is your first baby or your tenth, I hope you can find some value in the information below.

These are my favorite items to add to your registry! One thing I will never say is “must have”. Listen, nothing is a must have. Things that worked great for me and my family, might not work great or be a most used item by you! I also live a “Scrunchie” mom life. I did my best to pick items that were as non-toxic as possible while also balancing convenience and the things we needed. Some items on this list are spendy but I will talk about finding deals as well!

In the blog post below, I’m going to talk about a few different things:

• What is Greenguard Gold Certification and why does it matter?

• What items I had on my registry or that I purchased

• How you can get the best deal on these products

• Bonus: A few of my favorite brands that I just can’t gatekeep any longer!

Making a registry and prioritizing which items you want most can be SO difficult. My goal is that by the end of this post you are feeling empowered and ready to make your final choices!

What is Greenguard Gold Certification and why does it matter?

One thing I looked for when looking for low-tox items was a Greenguard Gold certification. This kept coming up in my research when looking for non-toxic baby items and after looking more into it myself, I really wanted to make sure items our baby would be in often or for longer periods of time had that.

What is Greenguard Gold certification? Without getting too nerdy, it refers to the Volatile Organic Compounds that are off-gassed in certain fabrics and paint. Exposure to VOCs can be very harmful, especially in enclosed spaces and over a prolonged period.

Items on My Registry by category:

Gear

UppaBaby Vista stroller - There are many reasons I wanted this! I really liked that there was a bassinet option for infants. I don’t like when babies are left in car seats for long periods of time and after about 6 weeks, we actually stopped using our infant seat and went to a convertible seat, so the bassinet was amazing! The ability to add to the stroller and use it for years to come when we {hopefully} add more kiddos to our family was partially how I justified the price! It’s also just a beauty and I love that! 

Now that I’ve been using it, I have a few other things I love! The basket on the bottom is HUGE! Being able to switch which way my little buddy is facing is a big plus for me as well! There are a lot of accessories to add for convenience as well.

Nuna Rava – You can start using this at 5 pounds so if you want to skip an infant seat you can! You can use it rear facing until 50 pounds and forward facing from 30-65 pounds. We started using this when my son was around 6 weeks old and loved doing so. There are foldable cup holders on both sides, and little notches to put the seatbelt for getting your kiddo in and out easily. My favorite feature is the no rethread seatbelt. This is an absolute must for me. My son grew an inch every month in the first year and if I had to take it apart and re do the seatbelt constantly, I would have been so annoyed!

UppaBaby Remi Play yard – We knew we would need a pack n play type option because of how frequently we visit my family out of town. When we were at home, we used this for changing and naps in our basement. I LOVE how easy it is to set up and take down. It comes with a sheet that attaches to the mattress part so it doesn’t move around. The mattress is breathable and lightweight, so I feel safe when my son sleeps face down – which he does frequently! We got the changing table and diaper caddy as well and would absolutely recommend! If you are planning to use a SlumberPod while traveling – you may not need the changing pad because you cannot use it with the SlumberPod over the pack n play. The bag it comes with is SO spacious and I put all diapers we travel with, a blanket or two, the sheet and the diaper caddy in that bag on roadtrips!  

Minabae diaper bag – I absolutely love this brand! We have their stroller caddy as well and love that too. I have the Kinney Full size backpack and its great. My husband prefers the shoulder strap so I love that that is an option! I will say, for one kiddo, it was almost a little big. But I knew we would want to grow our family and it will be perfect for two (or maybe more) kiddos.

Baby Bjorn carrier – I love that this can be forward facing or the baby can face you. You cannot wear this on your back which was not a big deal for me. I will say, my son was extremely tall and he grew out of this quickly which was a big bummer. I know some people can use it up to a year old but we definitely could not have.

Wildbird Carrier - If this is in your budget, I think this is amazing. You can wear your kiddo from 7 pounds to 45 pounds. This one can be worn on front with baby facing you or on your back. Unfortunately, there are no options for baby to be forward facing on your front. I have used this with my baby (under 6 months so far) and with my one year old who is about 27 pounds.

Snuggle me Organic – These are not sleep safe, however, we did use it for sleep while we were watching my son. When I needed a good place to set him for a few minutes, I would put him in this. Love that it’s machine washable and there are covers that are also machine washable. We had a spit up baby for our first so we washed the covers and the Snuggle me itself a lot!

Baby Bjorn bouncer – this was especially great as my son got a little older! I could put him in this while I ate or folded laundry and he loved it. We also got the toy bar and he really liked that as well! 

4Moms Mamaroo – I will say, we did not use this a TON with my first. Now that we are expecting our second, I think we will use it a lot more with the second one just due to needing a second pair of hands when I’m alone with both boys.

Bathing

Arbonne bath products – I have used Arbonne for over 8 years. I will not put anything else on my kiddo! We travel with these everywhere we go. It comes with hair/body wash, lotion, diaper cream and sunscreen.

Angel Care bathtub – This was the third bathtub we bought. Nothing was working well until we found this one! It was affordable and super self explanatory. There is a hook as well that we used to hang it up to dry each night.

Frida Baby snot sucker – I was not about to use the one where I had to suck it up through a tube. I just could not do it….don’t judge! We have really liked this one and my son has been great with it from the beginning. He even giggles sometimes. The colored lights are a fun feature that keep him entertained.

Feeding

Baby Brezza formula pro – If you are choosing to or end up having to use formula for an extended period of time, this would be the closest I would come to saying something is a “must”. We ended up using this everyday, several times a day for almost a year! Worth every single penny in my opinion! The temp is always the same, you don’t have to measure or spill formula every where.

Baby Brezza Sterilizer – we used this for bottles, pacifiers, pump parts, everything! I liked the size of this because we could fit everything in it each night and didn’t have to run it more than once. My only disclaimer is that if you have hard water, use distilled water! It gets gross if you use hard water. Vinegar helps with that, though!

Baby Brezza bottle warmer – We only used this for a little while as we got the formula pro, but we planned to use it for breast milk bottles. It has a thaw feature and heating features! We did really like this while we used it.

Baby’s Brew bottle warmer – amazing for on the go!! There are adapters for tons of bottles and you can use without adapters as well for many of them. We traveled about 1-2 times per month the first year and used this every time! When you add an adapter, it does take a little while longer to heat up, but usually heats in about 5-7 minutes. 

Ola Baby silicone bottles – we originally planned to to just use glass bottles but when we went to an NFL game, I didn’t think I was going to be able to bring in glass bottles so we got these. They have different size bottles, different nipples and you can even adapt it into a sippy cup.

Phillips Avent glass bottles – we absolutely loved these! They dropped on several occasions and did not break. We used the 4 oz and 8 oz bottles. Cannot recommend enough! Glass and silicone are the best options for bottles in my opinion. Even when the plastic bottles are BPA free, there are other chemicals in them. When you heat them or put hot liquids in them, it only gets worse.

Inglesina highchair – This would NOT be a primary highchair for me. It is super handy, don’t get me wrong! But I personally find it difficult to clean, you have to take the whole thing apart and then shove the bar back through. You can put the seat cover in the wash which is great! There is no footrest, which if you are wanting to do baby led weaning, you will want a footrest. I use this to entertain my son at the counter while I make dinner or make sourdough or something else. He cannot stand yet to use a helper stool so until we can switch to that, it’s a great option for him to be able to see what is going on. We did not get the tray and it’s a huge regret. It seemed silly but it would be so helpful.

Lalo Baby highchair – I really like this highchair a LOT! My husband and I spent hours and hours (yes seriously) researching highchairs and this was the only one that we both liked and could justify the price. There is a baby insert which is great, a seat cushion that comes on/off very easily and can be washed in the washing machine. You can change out the legs on this and turn it into a booster seat for a dining chair and as a toddler chair to use on their activity table. For our second, we are planning to get a booster for our toddler and use the highchair for the baby. We have limited space in our dining area and the footprint on this chair is very minimum in my opinion.

Sleep

Yoga Sleep portable sound machine – This was huge for us when on the go and traveling!

Hatch Rest Go - We got this for my second kiddo because it came out after we had our first. I REALLY like this sound machine. There are a lot more sound options than the Yoga Sleep option above. We bought a “shusher” to follow Taking Cara Babies for our first and this time we were able to use our Hatch Rest Go. This was super convenient when we were away from home as well.

Infant Optics DXR-8 PRO baby monitor – I did not want a monitor than ran on Wi-Fi, due to hacking, and I wanted the ability to easily add a second camera. We have the Infant Optics DXR-8 at my parents house for when we travel there and I like that one as well! For home use, I prefer the PRO because it has a larger screen. You can pan & tilt the camera, which not all monitors offer. There are different lenses with different zoom options and you can zoom on the monitor in addition to the lenses. With regard to EMF, this is not low EMF that I know of. We put it basically on the ceiling so that it is as far away from him as possible. You can also get add on cameras (for the PRO and regular model) as you add children.

Hatch Rest+ – We weren’t sold on using a sound machine right away but decided to give this one a try. There is an app you use to set favorites and go through different sound options. There is a light as well that can change color. We really really like this one. As my son gets older, we plan to use a “wake” plan and have it turn green when he is allowed to get up. 

Newton mattress – For me personally, this was a must. **I am not saying it is for everyone!!!** I wanted something breathable and easy to clean and this was both. As it turned out, my son sleeps completely face down sometimes and I feel totally okay with it because I have put my face in this mattress, and it is totally breathable. The outer cover comes off and goes in the wash and the inner part can be sprayed off in a shower. With a spit up baby, that was a huge plus.

Diaper changing

Ubbi Steel diaper pail – I really wanted something that did not require specific bags. I liked that this was steel, so it did not let the smell out and I didn’t want a plastic tube full of diapers in our nursery either. This truly keeps all of the smells in. We just use the normal garbage bags that we get from Costco for our regular garbage.

Hatch Grow changing pad – This was a big splurge item that we totally could have skipped, but I planned on nursing and I liked the ability to do weighed feeds. It ended up being extremely helpful for us in the first several months. My son dropped a lot of weight right away, so we used this frequently to check his weights and make sure he was gaining in between appointments with our doctor. We still check my son’s weight on it every few months just to see how he is tracking now that we are solely on solids.   

Travel

Inflatable bathtub – I really like how small this folds down to. We do a nightly bath as part of our bedtime routine, so traveling with a tub was really helpful, especially in hotels that did not have a bathtub or for when he was too little to be in a regular bathtub.

Air pump for tub – the above bathtub is inflatable, so we got this pump! I also use this when we fly to do vacuum sealed bags to make clothing smaller. I only carry on so this has been super helpful!

SlumberPod – I’ll be totally honest, we did not think this was worth it right away. They seemed so expensive for little reward. We were so wrong!!! I ended up renting one two times through BabyQuip and it actually worked very well. I was able to do things I needed or wanted to do during nap and we didn’t have to be in the dark after 7:30pm. After renting twice I realized I had paid about half the cost of buying one myself and bit the bullet. It sets up very easily (I did it myself at 8 months pregnant) and the directions are on a tag sewn into the storage bag which, in my opinion, is a total dream and all instructions should come that way! We also just got the SlumberPod with toddler bed for my older son so our baby could take the original with the pack n play.

Blackout curtains – this is what we used the first nearly year of traveling with my son. At my parents house I would just suction them right to the windows. When traveling at hotels, we had good luck with blackout curtains or put my son in the bathroom so he was in the dark anyway. If you are traveling and staying at an Airbnb, VRBO or at someone’s house I think these are really helpful to keep everything as close to home as possible.

How can you get the best deal on these products

When you are looking at baby gear for a registry, you know that some of the items will be purchased for a baby shower or as gifts - which is amazing! However, what I discovered is that (unlike my wedding registry) many gifts that I got were things that other moms really enjoyed with their kiddos, with little or no viewing of your registry. The other scenario that happened a lot for me was that people found the cute little outfits or blankies and got that instead. These gifts are so special and we were beyond grateful. But - that left us looking for deals on many items and seeing how we could get the items we wanted before our baby boy arrived.

One time that is always a great time to buy is around/on Black Friday. Baby companies have lots of deals going on at that time. Some notable brands that we purchased during that time were UppaBaby, SnuggleMe Organic, Lalo, Newton and Baby Brezza. This will obviously not work for some pregnancies. My first I was pregnant September - May so we did take advantage of some of these deals. My second pregnancy was December - September, so we completely missed the Black Friday window this time.

I did my registry on Amazon (highly recommend) and two months before your due date, you are given a 15% completion discount. This is really helpful to finish up some last minute shopping and get a great deal on your items. There is a maximum dollar amount that you can get discounted, but even after buying a few high ticket items, we still did not hit that mark.

Bonus: A few of my favorite brands that I just can’t gatekeep any longer!

Copper Pearl – Specifically their knotted gowns in the newborn days! You are changing a million (it seems) diapers a day and easy access is extremely helpful. Their sleep bags are also great! We used these until about 10 months with our son. He is very tall though, and we had to size up a few times, pretty quickly.

Lou Lou & Co – Their bibs are second to none and beyond absorbent. We had a spit up baby the first 8 months and we have about 20 of their bibs because we needed so many. Their clothes are beyond soft and so dang cute.

 Magnetic Me pajamas – I thought the magnets were weird at first so I bought a few of the “Simply Magnetic Me” ones which are the sister company of Magnetic me and are cheaper. They were okay but the fabric was thicker and my little guy ran warm so they were a little much. I would recommend finding a baby boutique local to you who sells them and wait for them to have a clothing sale or find them at a second hand store. They hold up very well so they could be a great option second hand for a fraction of the cost. I got mine about half off at a local boutique and I got to support local, so double win! 

GunaMuna sleep sacks – These are soo soft and cozy. Great option for taller kiddos as well! Again – best deal would be to find a local boutique or search baby boutiques on instagram and wait for sales.

Ryan & Rose – We have so many things from Ryan & Rose! They are a Jesus loving group of amazing humans and we could not be more proud to support them. The pacifiers are amazing and so durable. My biggest concern with pacifier use was if the bulb came off, it was a major choking hazard. These are all one piece of silicone, so it is MUCH less likely to come off which was huge for me. My son has a full mouth of teeth now and these pacifiers have stood the test of time for us!

At the end of the day, your baby doesn’t need every item on this list. It will make your life easier to have some of them, but you have to determine what those items are for you.

Bookmark this blog post to reference later as well! I can’t tell you how many times I saw something helpful and didn’t save it and then it was gone when I needed the information. We also got a sort of “bare bones” list before our baby arrived and ordered several of these items after he came and we realized how helpful these items would be.