In 2018, the global revenue of the baby care products market is estimated to generate about 11.4 billion U.S. dollars. That’s a lot of money that parents, grandparents, and other caretakers are spending every year on products made specifically for such a tiny human.
As an expectant mother, I had no idea which baby products were must-haves for my registry and which were just frivolous buys. There are countless recommendations by experienced moms about which products to get, but for every positive review, there were just as many negative opinions. I knew there were certain items that I would not be able to know for sure if I needed until my baby arrived, but my nesting instinct was in high gear, and I wanted to prepare!
Survey Says
I imagined other pregnant women were probably having similar struggles, so I decided to try to quantify the information and opinions that were out there.
I created a survey in order to gather input and see what products the majority of moms loved and recommended. I omitted items that were no-brainers (diapers, bottles, onesies, etc.), and I tried include as many items as I could think of. I got responses from over 400 women!
The following graphs represent the opinions of women surveyed on each particular item listed.
Classification
Most of the women surveyed were either employed full-time or a stay at home mom. The majority of the children that these women had were between 0-2 years old.
Nursery
Top 3: Crib, Baby Monitor, Dresser
Bottom 3: Crib Bumpers, Mobile, Mini-Crib
Feeding
Top 3: Bottle Brush, High Chair, Sippy Cup
Bottom 3: Bottle Sterilizer, Bottle Warmer, Formula Dispenser
Keep in mind that most used items for this particular category can vary widely, depending on if mother is breastfeeding, pumping, formula feeding, or a combination of any of those.
Sleeping
Top 2: Sleep Sack, Swaddles
Bottom 2: Dockatot, Co-Sleeper
Bathing
Top 3: Baby Shampoo, Washcloths
Bottom 3: Faucet Cover, Water Rinser/Pourer
Diapering
Top 1: Diaper Cream
Bottom 1: Wipe Warmer
Playing
Top 2: Teether, Play Gym/Mat
Bottom 2: Sit Me Up Chair/Bumbo, Walker
This was the category that seemed to have the least consensus on various products.
Clothing
Top 1: Bibs
Bottom 1: Shoes
Toiletries
Top 3: Nail Clippers, Nose Frida, Baby Lotion
Bottom 3: Baby Powder, Windi, Laundry Detergent
Travel
Top 3: Infant Car Seat, Stroller, Diaper Bag
Bottom 3: Seat Protector, Stroller Organizer, Car Seat Cover
Other Products
Participants also had the option of writing down products they loved that were not included in the survey. The most commonly mentioned products were:
Boppy Nursing Pillow/Infant Lounger| Books | Haakaa | Lanolin | Sunscreen | Sun Hat | BabyBum Diaper Cream Brush | Snuza | Foam Floor Mat
If you are an expectant mother, overwhelmed by all the different opinions and recommendations being offered to you, I hope that this has been helpful. Of course, every baby is different, but I hope you can use this information as a guideline and check this off your long list of things to do before baby arrives.
Don’t worry, Mama. You got this!
I have a bit over 2 months for birth and I still didn’t prepare anything, apart from a couple of onesies, a car seat that my husband bought and a baby bath tub that I got second hand for free. I intend to buy only the essential things and then see what else I need when the baby arrives. After all, here you can buy anything online and receive it in 1-2 days so it’s quite convenient!
I was so antsy for my first baby that I started preparing way in advance. I made my registry after a few months of pregnancy and continually added and subtracted things from it. I also bought quite a few things secondhand, which is a huge money-saver. 2 day shipping is a very helpful tool for sure!
I’ve had my eye on a Dockatot for a while I just recently found out they go up to 36 months I wanna check it out for my 2 year old. This blog was super informative thanks a bunch 🙂
Awesome post! I wish I had read an article like this when I was expecting. Definitely did not need the wipe warmer and baby shoes – although they were so cute! 😉
This blog post would have been super helpful when I first started out. Very informative!
Great tips! This article would be extremely helpful for new moms.
Thank you for publishing this awesome article. I’m expecting a child soon, and figuring out what we need to get has been one of the hardest parts. I’m so glad I came across this useful post.