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May 26, 2023

28 Things I Want After Hanging Out With Parent Friends

We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but

We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed collects a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.

There are so many cute and useful products out there geared toward kids...and toward you, if you know what to look for.

BuzzFeed Staff

I have this! I'm loving it as I'm getting through my second trimester, but I got my own Bearaby Cuddler several months ago, before even thinking about having a baby. I specifically wanted it to prop me up in bed when I read, and because I like holding onto a pillow and having one between my knees when I sleep. I also got the cover and am so glad I did! It makes the pillow look luxe so I can keep it on my made bed. I highly recommend getting this!

Get it from Bearaby for $199+ (also available with cover).

Promising review: "This is well-made and precious. My granddaughter will be delighted! It's fabulously different!" —Martine1117

Get it from Anthropologie for $55.

Check out a TikTok of the Nurture& Glider and see how comfy it is IRL.

Promising review: "I sit/lay on my glider every day to nurse and sleep on. I exclusively breastfeed my 4-month-old baby so my back and arms are so achy. Good thing I have the world's most comfortable glider. I tried other rocking chairs from Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel; they were either too narrow (where I can't sit criss cross applesauce) or too short. Nurture& definitely tops all other products out there in the same price range." —Cat K.

Get it from Nurture& for $1,099 (available in three colors; also as a swivel).

Promising review: "This book is clever and cute and unexpectedly hilarious. The kids and I were all a little surprised at one point when one of the members of the friend group spontaneously eats another member of the group, but, well...that's nature? :D This is a great little story with beautiful illustrations." —Tripp

Get it from Amazon for $16.19.

I got this diaper bag without having a kid as an excuse to buy a diaper bag. That's how badly I wanted it. Last year my husband and I spent two weeks road tripping around Iceland. I took this bag with me (and ONLY this bag!) and I was able to fit *everything* I needed for the entire trip. I'm telling you, this bag is made with some sort of Mary Poppins magic. Get it in your life!

Promising review: "This is the bag of my dreams! It is so beautiful and the quality is great. It is so spacious inside and fits all of mine and my baby's needs. The front pouch is secure and easy to get items in and out. Love the material of both the inside and outside, easy to clean! Really, you NEED this bag! Don't hesitate to buy this or any Luli Bebé bag. You won't regret it!" —Hannah E.

Get it on sale from Luli Bebé for $229 (available in six colors).

Promising review: "This may seem like a goofy item for an adult to be excited about, but I have been eyeing this kite for a while and finally decided to go for it! I'm really excited to take this kite to the beach and see how it flies! It will definitely require strong winds to get it in the air, but until then, it also makes a nice decoration piece in our guest bedroom. BONUS, it was also fun and easy to assemble." —Sam

Get it from Uncommon Goods for $50.

Collette Bream's shop was a 2022 winner of the Etsy Design Awards, and it's one of my personal favorite Etsy shops of all time. These items are all handmade by Bream and shipped from Annapolis, Maryland. The shop offers decor, toys, and other soft goods. Believe me, you'll want them all!

Promising review: "These are absolutely gorgeous and so fun! They are such great quality, beautifully crafted, and so creative. The perfect little cultural addition to my son's market stall. Thank you!" —Alessandra Morello

Get it from Collette Bream on Etsy for $40.80+ (available in seven styles).

I'm currently five months pregnant, and having a Baby Brezza food maker has been a *genuine* lifesaver! I haven't been able to keep down most food in months, just yogurt and applesauce, so I thought to open this before the baby comes and use it myself. I can sneak in more nutritious items and hide them in the blend. I'm telling you, Baby Brezza has been feeding me for months now! And sweet potato puree? Delicious.

Promising review: "This has been my best baby purchase yet. I thought the formula Brezza was the best decision on a purchase I've ever made, but then I started our little one on purees. This allowed us to save, I'm sure, hundreds of dollars on jarred foods that are otherwise full of preservatives. I've made sweet potato, pears, apples, bananas, and a few others so far, and this magical little steaming processor works great. One medium sweet potato got us the equivalent of four jars of store-bought baby food. It works extremely well. I like that you can set it to steam for different times, and it will process the food directly after steaming it and then beeps to let you know it's done. I'm seriously impressed and very happy I decided to buy it. My baby can start a clean, nutritious lifestyle because I am making his first foods from scratch and (when the weather provides) straight from our garden. This has made the whole process extremely easy. Highly recommend, you won't be disappointed." —Angie

Get it from Amazon for $129.99+ (also available in glass).

Promising review: "Fun educational toy! My 2-year-old daughter has been obsessed with shapes and colors. She loves looking through them, then naming the color and shape. She also loves building with them. They are so beautiful which is a huge plus for me. Oh and I’m pregnant and very sensitive to smells, and did not notice a chemical smell on our set." —Amanda S.

Promising review: "Perfect gift for my 2-year-old daughter. She loves building castles for her princesses and asks to play with the blocks all the time. Very smooth edges, durable and safe." —Amazon Customer

Get a set from Amazon for $29.96.

Promising review: "This is the perfect size and NO BATTERIES REQUIRED. It does the job well. I bought it for my son. Now that the classes are virtual I needed to be able to measure the time between the classes so my son knows how long he has in the classes / break-time. In addition, it can be used for other things, such as in the kitchen. Being able to move this around with you as you need it really makes life a whole lot easier." —Rvargas

Get it from Amazon for $18.99 (available in nine colors).

Eco Baby Puzzle is owned by Riley Larcher and based out of San Diego, California.

Promising review: "Incredible craftsmanship – each piece is delicate and fits perfectly and what amazed me is that it's pretty accurate in terms of anatomy and spatial location! Very impressed and my daughter loved it. I especially liked the ability to pick skin and hair color. Lovely product! Thank you for making something so beautiful and surely an heirloom piece!" —Sue S.

Get it from Eco Baby Puzzle on Etsy for $39.32+ (originally $78.65+; available in six styles with varying accessories).

Here's why my BuzzFeed Shopping colleague loves it:

"Not only is it super hydrating for my hands (LOL @ constantly hand-washing now and forever!), but the yuzu scent is also just calming and lovely, and I'm obsessed with how light and frothy the foaming suds are from the soap." —Emma Lord

Promising review: "I will admit, I first saw this soap on TikTok and thought that it would be a nice soap to try since I do seem to be washing my hands all the time these days. I was so excited when I received it to give it a try, really just to see the pretty foam flower. I was very pleasantly surprised when I pushed down (twice) to get the foam to come out. Not only is the flower cute, but the foam is thick and luxurious and makes your hands feel totally moisturized after you wash them. The smell is very pretty and not overpowering at all. My teenager loves it too and is now finally washing her hands more like she is supposed to. I bought them for every bathroom in the house as well as the kitchen. I almost don't want to recommend it so they don't run out of stock!" —Audra Williams

Get it from Amazon for $18.

Obviously this precious ball pit is intended for actual HUMAN children, but my millennial pet parent heart couldn't help but get this for my house! I hide my cats' favorite treats in the bottom and they will dig around for ages trying to find them all. It's not designed to withstand pet nails, but it's held up really well. I can't rave about it enough!

Minnidip is a small business started by Emily Vaca that makes designer inflatables for adults and kids (and cats!) alike. The products are trendsetting and oh so fun! Be sure to check out all the ball pit colors available!

Get it from Minnidip for $199 (balls are available in seven colors).

Promising review: "These are honestly the best corner protectors we have tried! We've had a few others in our house and they are constantly falling off because they lost their sticky or our daughter pulls them off because they are huge and they catch her eye, and they are just not pretty to look at. But these are so small and clear, you don't even notice they are there (so our daughter doesn't even try to pull them off) they stick very well, and have already protected her little head from hitting a corner. I'm not sure how they will peel off, since we haven't tried yet, but so far so good!" —E3232

Get a 12-pack from Amazon for $8.98 (also available in packs of 18 and 24).

Promising review: "This is a beautiful hardcover cookbook with so many yummy Disney recipes from the parks! There is a lot of Disney foodie history in it, plus recipes that look easy to follow with high quality ingredients. There are fun maps of each of the parks inside where the food is located from, which makes it fun. As an avid Disney fan I have never seen a cookbook like this. I highly recommend this cookbook for any Disney fan, whether they cook or not! It would even make a beautiful decoration in a kitchen." —Nicole

Get it from Amazon for $11.99.

Promising review: "Now that reusable straws are becoming more and more popular, especially where we live in California, I figured it would be great to have a little fun. These are great for kids as well as adults, and they work really well! I will certainly be ordering them again." —Joshua Epstein

Get them from Amazon for $9.99.

Promising review: "Vases made of silicone? It shocked me — what a good idea! They are colorful and adorable, very good for kids' room, they have very strong suction cups and soft materials, and they are super safe for kids and pets." —Steve

Get them from Amazon for $25.99.

Promising review: "This is a great thermometer — accurate, looks great, a must have! If you have kids, forget about sticking a thermometer in their ears. I have four kids now and a thermometer is a must-have. Hold this thing close to the forehead, push the button in and you get a reading in about one second. This thing looks good, feels good, and is accurate. We’ve used multiple thermometers in the past. The head scanner that you run across the forehead...no good. In-ear thermometers...accurate, but expect a battle. Rectal thermometers...very accurate, but expect a war. This is the easiest one out of all of them. We find it especially useful when we need the quick 'I don't feel that great' check...i.e., man cold. Overall, highly recommend!."—BearDownChi1

Get it from Amazon for $19.99.

Promising review: "It looks just like the picture. My daughter loves to play with it! Nice and well made." —Juyeon Lee

Get it from Amazon for $14.99 (available in seven styles).

Promising review: "Such a TIME SAVER! OMG I’m OBSESSED with this product! Let's me cut grapes and olives for my toddler EFFORTLESSLY. Amazing product. DEFINITELY worth the purchase, especially for me since my daughter loves to eat grapes daily and most times more than once a day. This has made it so easy my husband and I almost cried hahaha." —Makeda

Get it from Amazon for $11.99.

The kit comes with the giant bubble wand, two pouches of bubble concentrate, and a booklet to help you become a skilled bubble creator!

Promising review: "Love this!! Easy for kids to use — my six-year-old son figured it out pretty quick — and fun for adults as well (my husband and I might have played with it as much as our son did...) Makes amazing bubbles. The bubble mix it comes with is fantastic." —Thomas Durant

Get it from Amazon for $13.95+ (available in six styles).

This game includes four rubber chickens, a tracking sheet, and a disc. To play, toss the disc and then see who can get their chicken closest to it. Players are also encouraged to break off from the rules and create their own!

Promising review: "Our grandkids and family have had lots of fun with this game." —Joe Mama

Get it from Amazon for $19.68.

Promising review: "I bought these to put into my bag/pocket to carry around just in case. Sometimes public restrooms do not have soap and that is extremely inconvenient. These come in super handy! One sheet is definitely enough for me and it's so cool to watch it turn from a dry sheet of paper into sudsy soap with water added. I 100% recommend." —mammothemeerkat

Get them from Amazon for $7.99+ (available in ten pack styles/sizes).

Promising review: "My 2-year-old loves it, he gets excited every time he pushes the button and sees it spin. He spins it grabs a piece of strawberry spins it again grabs a blueberry keeps him entertained. It's easy to clean and compact for easy on the go snacks. Great product!" —Noe G.

Get it from Amazon for $28.99+ (available in three colors).

Check out a TikTok of the art frames in action.

Promising review: "Wish I'd known about these with my first kid, or my second. Now I'm on my third and our kitchen was littered with art projects. These were a great solution to clear out the clutter and make my kitchen look less like a kindergarten classroom. The frames store A LOT of art in them and each kid has their own frame and can decide which picture to put on display. Magnetic case makes it easy to open but stays shut when it's supposed to." —probooks627

Get it from Amazon for $22.99+ (available in nine colors and multi-packs).

This gentle formula is made with naturally derived botanicals and essential oils and is free of all the toxic stuff: SLS, sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrances, dyes, formaldehyde donors, MEA, DEA, or TEA.

Promising review: "I will buy this forever!! It smells so good and makes our little one so relaxed and sleeps so good after her baths!! Not to mention at all of our routine checkups our peds always mentions how soft our little ones skin is and asks what we do and if we put lotion on every day and we say no only if her skin feels dry! 🤣👌🙌 Highly recommend! Also a little goes a long way! This will last a long time." —Kayla S.

Get it from Amazon for $11.99+ (available in four formulas).

Check out a TikTok of the brush set in action.

Promising review: "I love this product. I got it because of all the hype on TikTok, but I gotta say I actually find it a really nice way to display my bottle and accessories cleaner. It matches perfect with my boom grass. Makes my kitchen feel warm." —DIPC

Get it from Amazon for $14.44 (available in three styles, as well as just replacement brushes).

Promising review: "The mixed reviews scared me, but I couldn't be happier with it. My 4-year-old can push the pegs in with no help at all. The Lite-Brite came with four paper designs. I even bought a 12 pack of extra designs and fit just fine. The holes lined right up with the designs. It is battery-operated, which is nice for travel. The pegs come with a storage case that connects to either side of the Lite-Brite for righty or lefty. The light can stay on, blink, or light up randomly like Christmas lights. I'm glad I bought it, such an improvement on the old one I had as a kid." —Monica Chiarappi (Morann)

Get it from Amazon for $13.78.

Reviews in this post have been edited for length and clarity.