baby registry must haves [baby gear]

1. Baby Jogger City Mini Stroller. 

I'll be honest. we haven't used this yet. the one we have (pictured) is the 2011 model, because when we registered for it, the 2012 model wasn't out yet. plus, I wanted the orange since it matched our car seat and was gender neutral. anyway. I did a lot of research and this seemed to be the best stroller for your money. 

we decided against the idea of a travel system because we'd heard that they were mostly bulky and inconvenient, so we instead chose the car seat + Snap-N-Go solution until Ronin is big enough to sit up on his own in the City Mini. once we use it, I'll give a more accurate review. 

2. Graco Pack 'n Play Playard with Newborn Napper Station LX.

because Ronin's bedroom is on a different level than ours, we knew we needed a place for him to sleep and have his diaper changed in our room for the first few months. this Pack 'n Play has been awesome. the Newborn Napper Station was perfect for him as a newborn (although, admittedly, he only slept in a handful of times, because he didn't want to sleep anywhere but on Mama) and the changer has been super convenient for us, especially with the storage pouch on the side. 

we are still bedsharing, but plan on moving Ronin to his room in the next week. we've never used the pNp as a sleep spot because we knew if Ronin was in our room but not in bed with us, he wouldn't sleep. however, we will definitely use it in the future when we travel. until then, we'll continue to use it as a changing station on the first level of the house.

3. Fisher-Price Newborn Rock n' Play Sleeper. 

this item has been a life saver. when Ronin was a newborn, he slept in it quite often. now that he's bigger, it's a great spot to sit him in when I need to get things done around the house. it's easily portable, so I bring it into the kitchen with me while I'm doing dishes. we also bring it with us when we attend family functions so Ronin can play in it when he's not being held. I'd say that it's our most used baby gear item to date. 

4. Baby Trend Snap-N-Go Stroller. 

like I mentioned above, we opted for the Snap-N-Go instead of the Chicco travel system, and it's worked out wonderfully for us. this stroller is SO easy to use with the infant car seat. it just sits right in the base, you buckle the straps over the seat and go. it collapses with the quick push of a button and is super light - I can lift it with one hand. 

I think the only con to this stroller is the lack of storage space beneath the seat area, but it's not terrible. I don't find myself ever really needing more storage, but then again, I wear him most of the time. ;)

5. Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat. 

obviously, this will be the most important piece of baby gear you purchase, as it keeps your child safe while traveling in a vehicle. like I said, I did tons of research, and the Chicco car seat has excellent safety ratings, and is extremely easy to install (which is important because installation is actually one of the most important aspect to car seats... a car seat is not effective if it's not installed properly). the car seat just clicks right into the base, which is attached to the vehicle's LATCH system. 

I wanted something that would last us a while, and I really don't see us switching to a convertible car seat anytime soon. we are able to use this until Ronin weighs 30lbs. as with the stroller, I chose the orange & grey pattern because I wanted something gender neutral that we could use for a second child.