Things We’ve Loved and Actually Used
🧦 Gear I Swear By: Things We’ve Loved and Actually Used
Life-tested, kid-approved, parent-sanity-saving gear. These aren’t things I grabbed off a registry list and forgot about — these are the items that got used, reused, and passed down with love (and some Goldfish crumbs).
🏖️ Outdoor Play That Actually Gets Used
Step2 Naturally Playful Sand & Water Activity Center
Our most-used backyard item after having two kids that could stand up on their own. Water + sand = 45 minutes of peace.Step 2 Unicorns Water Table
Endlessly used from ages 2–5. The unicorn magic is real. This was the first water table we owned and we used it every single day for years before it got passed on to the neighbor. Super cute and so much fun to play in. We did a lot of moving this around, from front yard to back yard, and it is easy to carry.
🚗 Gear for On-the-Go
Uppababy Cruz V2 — finally landed here after 6 strollers. Worth it.
Chicco Fit360 ClearTex Rotating Convertible Car Seat — sleek, safe, beautiful, compact. SO easy to get a squirmy toddler into without hitting their head on the side of the car frame, and easy to adjust the fit of the buckle when the seat is facing you. The thing I love the most about this car seat is that the base installs (like it would if you had an infant carseat), and the chair literally pops out of the base when your kid spills an entire juice box on himself, or dumps the snack spinner into his lap and the cover becomes crushed in blueberries. You can pop it out and carry it into your house to be washed up (the bluckes too, because I like to scrub those as usually the clips get the most grime on them, and the cupholder holes are the perfect spot for old fruit snacks to hide). Also, when you install the base to the car it has this very cool belt crunching system where it gets SUPER tight without you having to do more than shut the base back like a door to really lock it down and into place. It doesn’t move an inch and it looks like steel. The base has a lot of coverage of the seat back, which ends up working just like a rebound bar if it were to be in an accident.
Nuna Infant Car Seat — The Pipa rx and relax base were our favorite, the base also has rigid latch and a load leg, especially for longer babies (so much room). Our son stayed in this seat until over 1 year. Then he went straight into the Chicco Fit360 Rotating Seat. This car seat is easy to carry because of the shape of the handle (it is square vs. extremely curved), it is beautiful and our baby LOVED it. There was a night and day difference when we switched from the Uppababy Mesa to the Nuna Pipa. He was happier for a lot longer, it fit his body for twice as long, and I LOVED the sun shade that came down during the wintertime. The base is very easy to install and the seat washes wonderfully. We did a lighter color brown that still would not show stains easily but was light enough to not burn up in the hot summer sun. The padding feels like memory foam and if they had an adult version, I would totally lay down in it because it is THAT nice.
Uppababy Alta Booster V2 — easy install and feels sturdy and luxe. Our daughter had outgrown the Uppababy Knox (forward facing, as there was a recall with it rear facing, due to lateral movement and the manufacturer came out with a yellow strap to “secure” the seat, which IMO did not a lot). So she was growing out of the Knox quickly, while the Knox gave us the most room for her legs and seat area, the chest clips and having to buckle into a 5 point harness were a daily struggle, and with her almost maxing out the weight limit at 5 years old, we decided to switch to something she could climb into by herself. I looked at the boosters on the market, and was impressed by one of the Chicco Boosters, but what really got me was the UPPAbaby Atla. It has a crotch buckle where you thread the seatbelt through a clip, to keep them from sliding out of the seat from the bottom of the belt. This was the small difference that made me feel like we could transition her and she would still be safe. The first time I clicked this seat into the car I was like WOW! That is NICE. And the first time she climbed into it by herself, even better. The bottom of the seat is not very thick so she could actually get herself into it without needing me to lift her up into it. Then the seat belt reach behind (it’s RIGHT there! No reaching endlessly or crying because she couldn’t reach the belt). She is able to buckle herself into this seat because it is in the bucket seat of our van. When I put this into the third row bench seats, I need to use a buckle tool that erects the buckle so that she is able to click it in. I will mention though, the cupholder on this seat isn’t worth a penny. When kids climb into the seat or across it to get into the back row, they run against it *(because it sticks out from the base of the booster), and it ends up bending. The cupholder is off of our booster right now and our daughter does not use it. This is not the ideal situation, but there are cupholders in the door of our van and on top of the rear wheel well humps. We have taken the cover off of this seat many times and washed it, it comes out looking great every time (although I do lay it flat to dry, I never put it into the dryer and it would probably get ruined if I did). We have the Jake black one and I think it is gorgeous.
🧸 Play & Activities
Melissa & Doug Sticker Sheets — great for long car rides or a quiet morning.
Water Wow Books — reusable and travel-friendly.
Poke Art from Amazon — oddly satisfying for kids (and parents). First found this at age 6. Received as a birthday gift.
Cozy Coupe Carriage & Pony — feed the pony sticks, obviously. Also makes the most adorable Cinderella Halloween costume.
Cozy Coupe Gas Tank — we added sand to stabilize it from tipping over. All the neighborhood kids love coming and filling up their coups with gas. 10/10. If you have Tesla or Rivian in your family (we are in the first batch of registrants for an R2 when it comes off the lot!), there is also a cute E-Charging Station.
🧳 Cabin Trips & Car Rides
Potty-training + long car ride? Don't recommend unless you pack like a genius. Our top tool is: lots of plastic bags for dirty stuff (I have this disposable diaper bag dispenser in my diaper bag and van, it carries a lot of bags and whenever I bunched up old Target bags they took up tons of room and I would run out of them before I could throw another one into it’s spot), lots of extra outfit sets organized in clear zipper cases like this (warning:after age 6 or so, a full outfit is hard to pack into this size, our daughter’s winter extra clothing sets no longer fit into the zipper cases, so my diaper bag has been a complete mess since September), and a mini potty that you can grab out of the trunk after you pull over somewhere.
Favorite tip: bring sticker sheets, Water Wows, and set realistic snack bribes.
Cozy Coupe, again. Can’t say enough.
👟 Clothing That Works
Boden Bloomers & Spring Jackets — easy to spot at the playground. Quality holds up.
Ikiki Shoes for First Walkers
Wide toe box, squeaky one for safety (and sanity). Can turn off the sound. Actually fits real baby feet. Used for both our daughter and son. Originally a hand me down to our daughter, and they were my FAVORITE. We ended up getting the sandals for daycare as well (when they had water days outside and we would send with swim clothing as well), because they had a closed toe and back strap, and were comfy for all day wear.
💤 Sleep + Sanity Savers
Baby Shusher — Our secret weapon for travel sleep. Tiny, weird-looking, but magical in cars and hotels. Sounds like “shhhhhh…” so you don’t have to. Used for second kid. They used these in the NICU for our son, so when he was discharged and got to come home, I bought one for our own home so that he was familiar with the sound. Works like a charm.
💬 Final Thoughts
This is just the start of a much longer list. I’ll keep adding as I remember the things that earned their keep in our chaotic, beautiful home. If you’re in the thick of the baby-to-toddler-to-preschool stretch — this post is for you.