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Parents' Best Baby Gear of 2021

Parents' Best Baby Gear of 2021

By Jessica Hartshorn

Updated January 06, 2021

Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.

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Credit: Art: Jillian Sellers.

It’s a tough time to test-drive strollers in a store or chat up fellow moms at work about baby carriers they love. Not to worry: We checked out the newest options, reviewed the classics, and polled hundreds of parents to find out which gear is worthy of a spot in your home. Consider these winners the new baby registry essentials for 2021.

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Baby-To-Toddler Seat

Credit: María Del Río

This battery-free baby rocker gently bounces with your infant’s own movements and cradles their body perfectly. The BabyBjörn Bouncer Bliss entertains a sitting baby and lasts through toddlerhood, when a kid can sit and stand on their own. $250 seat, $60 toy bar

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Best Diaper Pail

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

The Ubbi Diaper Pail is made of odor-locking steel. Parents love that they can use any 13-gallon trash bag inside and that the pail has a childproof lock. $80

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Best Baby Lounger

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

Readers didn’t just vote for the Boppy Newborn Lounger; they wrote in love notes, like “It was a lifesaver, and I buy it for all my friends with infants.” This product is a nest-like island, plush but far firmer than a pillow, where your baby can relax during awake time so you can cook, answer a text, or just Downward Dog for a sec in their sight line so they don’t flip out. $33 to $40

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Best Changing Pad

Credit: María Del Río

Most mats require fabric covers that need frequent laundering. The Keekaroo Peanut Changing Pad, on the other hand, just wipes clean, and that convenience can be worth the extra money. The impermeable shell that protects the foam is still soft for your baby. $130

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Best Baby Nose Clearer

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

Gross but loved! This modern baby nasal aspirator, the Fridababy NoseFrida The Snotsucker, gets shout-outs from readers who seriously don’t know what they’d do without it and who tip off all their new-mom friends. After all, a baby cannot blow their own nose. $16

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Best Baby Shower Gift

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

The number-one answer to “What do you give as a shower gift?” Diapers! For spectacular presentation, you can’t beat an Honest Co. Diaper Cake. Tucked inside the 70 size-1 diapers are trial amounts of shampoo–body wash, lotion, balm, wipes, and laundry detergent. $100

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Best Baby Carrier

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

The Ergobaby Omni 360, beloved for its sturdiness and the way it comfortably adjusts to grown-ups of varying sizes, just debuted a timely version with antimicrobial fabric sold with a matching adult-size face mask. Notes one veteran parent, “I loved this with our first but especially needed it once we had two!” $179

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Best Premium Stroller

Credit: María Del Río

If you live in a city where your stroller gets more use than your car, then splurging on the UPPAbaby Cruz V2 makes sense. A new zip-out expandable canopy encourages naps, the giant basket holds your shopping, and the wide, comfy seat lifts up so you can turn it to face you or the sidewalk ahead. $650.

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Best Stroller and Car-Seat Combo

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

Many readers prefer to start with an infant car seat, which lifts out of the car and secures onto a coordinating stroller for easy transitions. The winning twofer is the Chicco Corso Modular Travel System, which pairs the highly rated KeyFit 30 Zip infant rear-facing car seat with a well-designed stroller made to hold it. You’ll keep using the snazzy stroller long after your baby outgrows the companion car seat. $500

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Best Convertible Car Seat

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

The Graco Extend2Fit goes from birth to big kid. But most important, its extension panel keeps your toddler comfortably rear-facing past their second birthday, an important safety feature that buys you peace of mind. $200

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Best Baby Pajamas

Credit: María Del Río

Pajamas are really all babies need to wear—ever!—and readers say a pair of Hanna Andersson pj’s are a perfect shower gift. Made of organic cotton, they come in a zillion cute patterns, and they wash so beautifully they can be passed down to every kid in the family. $42

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Best Bassinet

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

The Snoo Smart Bassinet lives up to the hype. For the first six months, the baby bed detects fussing and then rocks and shushes to ease your baby back to sleep. “Bless the Snoo,” one reader writes. $129 per month to rent plus an $89.50 refurbishing fee and a $99 refundable deposit; $1,395 to buy

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Best Pacifier

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

Not every baby takes to a paci, but readers who use one are loyal to the Philips Avent Soothie, the BPA-free pacifer given out in many hospitals. It’s made of a single piece of safe silicone and is a cinch to sterilize. Plus, it totally blisses out many infants. $9 for four

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Best Swaddle

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

The Halo Sleepsack Swaddle slides on easily and has an inverted zipper for easy diaper changes. Adjust it three ways to fit your little one’s sleep style: a swaddle with the baby’s arms in, hands to face, or both arms out and free. Newborns often sleep best bundled, but blankets in a crib are a safety hazard and swaddle blankets can be hard to fold when you’re sleep-deprived. $22

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Best Nap Headquarters

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

Graco invented the portable play yard more than 30 years ago. The latest iteration of its best-seller is the Graco Pack ’n Play Travel Dome Playard, which serves as a second crib, a travel bed, a backup changing station, and an all-around parent hero. Many readers say their favorite feature is the lift-out bassinet you can cart from room to room. $160

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Best Sound Machine

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

Doing your registry? Multiple parents say the Hatch Rest+ is the item they were most glad they put on their list. Think of it as an app-controlled sleep helper that delivers soothing sounds like white noise and lullabies, audio monitoring, a customizable night-light for late-night feedings, and a color-changing light that you’ll use in a few years to tell your kid when it’s time to wake for preschool. $90

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Best Baby Bottle

Credit: María Del Río

The longtime bottle leader in our annual poll, Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Options+ Anti-Colic Baby Bottle, with its signature vent down the middle, promises less air in your baby’s tummy so there’s less gas, spit-up, and burping. A soft silicone nipple helps your baby latch. $8 for an 8-ounce narrow bottle

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Best Nursing Pillow

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

When we asked, “What’s your favorite baby product of all time?” the Boppy nursing pillow racked up the most votes. It cradles your infant at the right height for feedings, saving your arms and back from strain (’cause even a 10-pound baby is heavy after an hour). Fun fact: A mom invented this to help babies learn to sit up, and it’s still useful for that too! $40

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Best Breast Pump

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

Pumping is no one’s favorite part of motherhood, but the quiet, lightweight Spectra S1 Plus Electric Breast Pump gets the job done comfortably and efficiently. After you dial in the speed and suction that works best for you, it remembers your current settings for your next session. $200

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Best High Chair

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

The new Graco EveryStep 7-in-1 is the next generation of the brand’s beloved Blossom seat. Yes, it can take seven forms all told, starting as an infant high chair, then becoming a toddler booster, and ending as a step stool for your school-age kid (with more iterations in between). Useful for their entire childhood! $200

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Best Bottle Accessory

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

The Bökee helps you prepare a bottle or a sippy cup one-handed, safely pouring in stored breast milk without spilling. Nestle a bottle in the silicone cup and the Bökee grips it so you can fill and screw the cap on while holding your bambino. $20

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Best Toddler Stroller

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

When toddlerhood dawns and you need a lightweight, get-out-the-door-already stroller, check out The Luxe Tour+ by Zoe. It’s small enough to fit in most airplane overheads (so it won’t hog your foyer either), but it’s far sturdier than a cheapie umbrella stroller. Buy a tandem add-on seat for $149 and hook it right to the stroller to form an instant double! $239

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Best Teether

Credit: María Del Río

Parent-invented and made in the U.S., Poppies teethers relieve your baby’s gum pain when they gnaw on the soft silicone textures. They also stick to and peel off most surfaces. Try one in the bath to entertain or on a high-chair tray to amuse an impatient diner. $10

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Activity Gym

Credit: Jeffrey Westbrook

The sloth-themed Infantino Activity Gym and Ball Pit is ridiculously cute, and we love that it’s great fun through the toddler years. $60

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By Jessica Hartshorn