50 Must-Have Baby Registry Items of 2024

You'll want a rear-facing car seat to get your newborn home from the hospital, and we prefer an infant car seat that snaps into and out of a base so you can carry your sleeping baby inside without having to unbuckle them. Graco has long been a popular, trusted brand, but be sure to buy its newest model rather than accept a friend's hand-me-down. The seat now has an anti-rebound bar for more crash protection and a no-thread harness to make fit adjustments easily, and it's sized to fit a toddler up to 35 pounds, so you can use it all the way through your child's second birthday.

Our consumer testers found this seat extremely easy to install and secure: All you have to do is thread the seat belt through the bottom, then press the seat down until, as its name suggests, it clicks tight. This 2023 version is appropriate from infancy all the way through the big-kid years, since it can face the rear or face forward. Though we still prefer to start with an infant car seat in the early months for its portability, when you're ready to transition your kid to a bigger backseat throne, this best car seat is a great choice and a smart purchase to add to your registry now.

We know this might sound strange to first-time parents, but you aren't supposed to buckle your infant into a car seat while they're wearing a coat, as it will change how the harness straps fit your baby. To keep your baby warm in an infant car seat, use a cover like this one.

A stylish carryall that doesn't scream "diaper bag," this Skip Hop tote is spacious and practical, with comfortable straps, deep pockets, a changing mat and clips for attaching this to a stroller's handles. New parents will have no problem filling it up with bottles, wipes, snacks and clothes — with room left over for personal items. There's padding on the shoulder strap in case it gets heavy, and it's nicely neutral if pastels aren't your thing.

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An Ergobaby lets parents carry their child facing inward or outward, on the hip or on the back, and keep their hands free. With the padded shoulders and extra-wide lumbar-support band, parents can hold their baby comfortably in any position. It's easiest to tote a baby starting at about 3 months, once they have some head control, but this carrier is also newborn-appropriate and good for a baby or child from 7 to 45 pounds. We do like that this best baby carrier pick is adjustable from parent to parent, so if one caregiver is petite and the other is tall, you can easily trade it back and forth.

We know this is a premium-priced pick for best baby stroller, but the UPPAbaby VISTA is highly functional, stylish and durable. The bassinet and toddler seat make it adjustable as a baby grows. With optional add-ons like a rumble seat and ride-along board, the stroller can also extend to add another child (or two). And if you buy the extra bassinet stand, there's no need to wake your baby after a long stroller ride.

If you're looking for a more budget-friendly stroller than the UPPAbaby VISTA, Evenflo's Pivot was found by our testers to be easy to maneuver and simple to collapse and fold. The stroller seat can be turned around to face forward or it can face the caretaker. Also, this is sold as a travel system: You get both a stroller and its matching infant car seat together, as a two-for-one deal. The infant car seat is designed to ride on top of the stroller seat in the early months for seamless transitions between the car and stroller.

In our Good Housekeeping Institute Lab tests, this new travel crib from Silver Cross performed well. Our experts were able to shake it open and click the bassinet right into place. It's great as an on-the-go sleep station, since the bassinet can fold right up with it and the whole crib is lightweight and compact to travel with, earning it a spot in our 2022 Parenting Awards.

This is one of the easiest cribs our Good Housekeeping experts have ever put together. But we also love the versatility: It converts to a toddler bed, daybed or full-size bed with add-on conversion kits. It's made of strong steel and is Greenguard Gold certified, meaning there aren't harmful levels of volatile organic compounds. And, of course, it's beautiful!

RELATED: 9 Best Baby Cribs for Your Little One

This mattress may be more expensive than others, but it is fully washable (simply spray the core down in the shower and machine wash the cover), nontoxic and breathable. It's also Greenguard Gold certified, which means it doesn't give off high chemical emissions. Furthermore, you can put the core in the recycling bin when you're done, since it's made of a woven plastic.

If you're looking for an under-$100 option, the Safety 1st Heavenly Dreams Crib Mattress performed well in Good Housekeeping Institute tests.

RELATED: 10 Best Crib Mattresses

If you do have a crib mattress that requires a fitted sheet, we're big fans of this organic cotton fitted crib sheet that was a winner in our 2022 Parenting Awards. It features strong elastic all around to help it stay in place and comes in a wide range of colors and patterns. Also important: It holds up really well to repeat washings.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you keep your baby next to you at night, but in their own safe sleeping space. It's shown to lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome and makes around-the-clock feedings easier while you wait for your baby to be old enough to sleep through most of the night. This bassinet can adjust its height to match the height of your bed, and you can also swivel it to bring your baby closer or farther away as desired.

Though not marketed solely as a baby monitor, the Nest Cam is still our top pick for the best baby monitor, thanks to its impressive video and audio quality. The built-in microphone also lets parents talk and listen from another room.

Any new parent will likely spend many hours in this glider soothing and feeding their baby, making it worth the investment. The Babyletto Kiwi nursery chair rocks, swivels and reclines, and the USB port helps ensure that your device stays handy when you're tracking feeding sessions and sleeping hours.

For a soother that's tech-focused, this winner in our 2022 Parenting Awards is a sound machine, a night-light with customizable colors and an alarm clock all in one. Parents can control it via an app. When your child reaches toddlerhood and is in a toddler bed, use the Time-to-Rise feature to signal when they can get up and start asking for breakfast.

It's your baby's motion that makes this bouncer rock, so you don't have to deal with an electronic motion or batteries. When you're not using it, it folds up flat. For the toddler years, remove the harness and it's still an excellent hangout chair.

RELATED: 6 Best Baby Bouncers, Seats and Swings

This humidifier looks cute sitting up on a dresser — and if you don't like the frog, you can get it in one of the nine other designs. Once it's set up, it's quiet and easy to clean.

RELATED: 10 Best Baby Humidifiers, According to Experts

Tummy time becomes infinitely more fun for both baby and parent with this play mat. The gym includes a piano and hanging toys, each with different textures and colors. It's now designed to age up so you can use it throughout toddlerhood too.