When friends or family are having their first baby and ask me about advice on gear, I never know where to even begin because I remember exactly how overwhelming it feels. You don’t really want to care so much about the difference between a Moby wrap or a Solly wrap but then you find yourself laying in bed at night thinking about this tiny baby you’ll be responsible for and the mothers guilt already starts creeping in before they’re even the size of a walnut! In a matter of weeks you find yourself stopping strangers on the street, desperately soliciting advice on gender neutral changing pads or eco-friendly stroller covers. Remember when you used to stop strangers to ask them where they got that amazing pair of military boots?? Okay, so I still do that too but it’s not joke: baby gear is definitely a crazy, confusing world to navigate for a first time parent.

Recently I was introduced to a baby registry site called Cricket’s Circle which makes all the stress of baby shopping easy by doing the difficult research and only giving you three options to choose from in each category so you aren’t left feeling overwhelmed.  Just like a researched, experienced best girlfriend. I’m partnering with them today to share my 20 favorite baby registry items. Keep reading for links and more about this great new site…

How do you make decisions for baby gear? With Henry I would ask a friend or a sister in law who had a lot of kids and that was about it. It wasn’t exactly the dark ages, there was facebook and mom blogs but nothing that was as simple as a concept like Cricket’s Circle. A couple great features I like of the site are: it’s personalized so the recommendations change based on your needs and lifestyle (if you choose to enter them). The simplistic choices are super brilliant! I know there are 200 strollers out there but I don’t have time to worm through all the amazon reviews (that could take weeks). Just give me 3 options to choose from. So easy, right? Also, you can shop right from the site or create a registry for family and friends. I’m a fan and would totally direct new moms to the site.

Let’s share quickly the links to my 20 must-haves via Crickets Circle:

one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten / eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen / sixteen / seventeen / eighteen / nineteen / twenty

Any must haves that you’d recommend?

Thanks to Cricket’s Circle for sponsoring this post. Collage design by Ashley Aikele. Images of one week old Edie and I by Rachel Thurston

PS And just so you’re not left hanging in the dark, the difference between the Moby and the Solly wraps are actually pretty important: the Moby is thicker fabric and stretchier, great for cold climates. While the Solly is really lightweight fabric, more portable (fits in your purse), and better for warmer climates.