Through the first three years of our daughter’s life, and some trial and error, we settled on these great baby products. I would be willing to bet that some of these suggestions like the swing, diapers, wipes, and cups are the best your going to find. Your mileage may vary with the others. Countless time and effort were saved once we settled on these, so hopefully I can save you some trouble by pointing you in the right direction.

Diapers

We found that Huggies were generally good, and Pampers were terrible. Pampers gave our daughter a rash and smelled perfumey. Those two things are probably related. Our favorite version of the Huggies diapers is the Pure & Naturals. I don’t actually know what is “natural” about them but they were less likely to leak than any other type of diaper we tried.

Wipes

We liked the Seventh Generation Free & Clear Wipes. They worked well, didn’t fall apart, and were conveniently packaged.

Swing

I don’t know if any of us would have survived our daughter’s infancy without this awesome swing. It was a great way to get her to sleep, it entertained her when she was awake, and it was the only way we could set her down and get anything done. If your expecting a baby you need to get this swing. If someone you love is expecting a baby you should buy them this swing. Get this swing.

Strollers

The stroller/car seat/car seat base combo was very convenient. I can’t speak to which brand is best. We had a Graco similar to this one, and we were happy with it. You will spend a lot of time moving your kid in and out of car seats and strollers. Having the base hooked into your car so you can easily move the car seat from stroller to car and back is a huge time saver.

For a jogging stroller we got this Jeep brand stroller. It was fine, but we wished we had gone with the one with the swivel front wheel instead of fixed front wheel. Better yet, if you can afford it, spring for the ubiquitous BOB jogging stroller. They’re pricey, but they really are the best.

Bumbo

Bumbo enables babies to maintain a sitting position before they are able to sit upright on their own. From our experience you can start using the Bumbo much earlier than you might think. If your kid can mostly hold its head up it can probably handle a Bumbo. We also ignored the warning about not putting the Bumbo on a table, so our kid could hang out at the dinner table with us before she was really ready for a high chair. Just be super careful and don’t try it if your kid is strong enough to tip the Bumbo over. There is a short window that Bumbo is useful: from when they can hold up their own head to when they can tip the thing over. Once they’re strong enough to tip it over they probably won’t be interested in sitting still for long anyways.

Diaper Cream

We weren’t partial to a particular brand of diaper cream. We used Desitin and Boudreaux’s Butt Paste interchangeably. They both use zinc oxide. I included diaper cream to point out the maximum strength versions of both brands. We didn’t regularly use maximum strength but occasionally the normal stuff (or Vaseline, or anything else we tried) didn’t cut it. The Maximum Strength Desitin or Maximum Strength Butt Paste took care of any diaper rash quickly.

Cups

Once your kid is ready for a “sippy cup” skip the ones with the removable gasket. These cups with a one piece lid are much easier to clean and you don’t have to worry about losing the gasket. There is a small gasket built into the lid to regulate the flow. If your smarter than us you’ll buy a bunch of them and stick with one brand to insure that the lids are interchangeable.

Teething

Your mileage will likely vary with teething remedies more than with any of the other suggestions. Our pediatrician recommended the Hyland’s Teething Tablets, and they seemed to help. I won’t get into how ridiculous I think those amber necklaces are. Our daughter handled teething relatively well and wasn’t really into any of the chew toys. She sorta liked the ones you can put in the freezer.

Amazon Prime and Subscribe & Save

Many of the suggestions above are available through Amazon’s Subscribe & Save. You get a discount on items if you schedule regular delivery. You can sign up for Amazon Mom for free to get additional discounts on many of these items. Throw in an Amazon Prime subscription and you can get 20%+ off on most of this stuff with free shipping. It’s very convenient to have diapers and wipes delivered to your door every month for less than what you would pay at the grocery store. We also use subscribe and save for kid’s body wash, kid’s hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, cat food, cat litter, tea, tooth brushes, tooth paste, shampoo, conditioner, dryer sheets, and body wash.