Best Deals on Car Seats, Bassinets, and More Baby Products

The Lotus play yard is easy to set up and fairly light at 15 pounds. It even has a backpack-style carrying case that Guava refers to as “airport-friendly” but it may be about 2 inches larger than the standard carry-on size allowed. One side of the play yard features a zipper for easy access, but clever toddlers may be able to use the zipper to escape if you’re not careful.

If you’re looking for a lower-cost play yard, this one from Graco may be a great fit. Our evaluators found that, while it’s the heaviest we tried at 19 pounds, it was also easy to move around the house thanks to its wheels. It may not be the best choice if easy assembly and disassembly matter more than cost. But it’s elevated, which can make it easier to reach down into it. That same elevation comes with a 30-pound weight restriction, though. So all things considered, if this sounds like a good fit, the sale price is definitely worth it.

The Ergobaby Omni 360 Mesh Baby Carrier is designed with mesh and offers four carrying positions: in front while facing in, in front while facing out, hip carry, and back carry. It includes a back support pad and boasts strap versatility: You can adjust its padded straps in an H position around the shoulders or in an X position so that the straps cross at the back. This model also earned high marks for size inclusivity, and it features storage compartments with a detachable pouch and a hood (ideal for privacy and sun protection for your baby).

The Yiveko nail clippers were among the sharpest our evaluators tried. They’re on the smaller side, so those with big hands may have a little trouble getting a comfortable grip. The nail kit comes with an owl-shaped case as well as nail scissors, a glass rounded nail file, and soft, nonslip tweezers.

This bottle sterilizer performed extremely well in our tests for both temperature and drying. Like other models we tested, it has an auto mode that runs both a sanitizing and drying cycle (though it doesn’t have a HEPA filter), and it also has selectable drying times. It has three possible configurations, thanks to an extra tray to hold bottle nipples and other items, but our testers found it less easy to use than other top models. It can fit up to 11 baby bottles, though there are only six prongs on the main tray to hold them in place and they’re very short, which doesn’t keep bottles quite as stable as models with taller prongs.

This Hauture sterilizer, now at the best price we’ve seen, performed the best of all the sterilizers we tested, and its design was intuitive and easy to use, too. Its auto mode runs both a sanitizing and a drying cycle, and a digital timer shows the progress. It also has selectable drying times and a storage mode that restarts the heated dry cycle periodically to keep items clean for up to 72 hours. You can fit up to 11 bottles in the sterilizer. They won’t have their own prong, but with that many bottles, they’ll be close enough together that they won’t fall over.

Baby Brezza’s Sterilizer Advanced performs well in our temperature test, though it stands out in particular for its drying performance. Unlike most of the sterilizers we’ve tested, this model has a HEPA filter on the air inlet during the drying cycle. It’s also pretty easy to use: Its auto mode runs the sanitizing and drying cycles together, and it has selectable drying times. In terms of design, it’s one of the more flexible models in our ratings.

It offers an additional accessory tray and an upper bin, and you can place both above the main bottle tray (though you may only be able to use one extra tray if you’re loading tall baby bottles). There are four possible configurations that allow it to hold up to eight bottles. The prongs on the bottle tray are a good height, ensuring they’ll stay upright throughout the sterilizer’s cycles.

This sterilizer from Babymoov performed well in our temperature test, and it’s quite easy to use. Like many other sterilizers, it has an auto mode that sterilizes and dries, and a digital timer shows the progress of the sterilizing cycle. But the device stands out for its excellent drying performance. It also has selectable drying times and a HEPA filter on the air inlet. The sterilizer has one bin with long prongs that hold up to six bottles, shorter prongs to accommodate smaller items like bottle nipples, and small hooks at the top of the bin to hold other small items, like pacifiers. It is, however, on the pricier end of sterilizers we’ve tested, so this modest discount helps.

This Delta Children bassinet has an old-school look, with a fabric overskirt. Its base has retractable wheels, so you can opt for rocking, though we found the motion so slight that it’s barely noticeable. It has a music and night-light unit, and offers vibration to help soothe baby. The Delta bassinet includes a storage basket for essentials. It’s also worth noting that our testers found it a bit tricky to put together.

This is a budget-friendly smart bassinet with movement, sound, and light features. Movement is limited to vibration and a “sway” feature that’s so gentle it’s barely noticeable at all. The Soothing Motions Bassinet even plays sounds and music that are supposed to chill out your baby. It also has a unique feature: a light show that projects stars onto the ceiling. It has a night-light, which allows for easier diaper changes and nighttime feedings. There’s a shelf for storing diapers, pacifiers, and other baby essentials below the bassinet.

This budget-friendly crib is a great buy. Its quality construction is made from New Zealand pine, and it’s easier to change the mattress-support height than with other top-rated cribs. It’s also Greenguard Gold Certified, which means the product has been tested to ensure lower emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). But it’s a bit more difficult to put together than other cribs in our ratings. At 34 inches tall, this is one of the shortest cribs we tested, making it a great choice for petite parents, especially those with sensitive cesarean section incisions. The Emery converts from a crib into a toddler bed, daybed, and proper full-sized bed with headboard, so your baby can use this bed throughout their childhood. A daybed rail is included, but to convert to a full-sized bed, you’ll need to buy a separate conversion kit.

The Chicco Fit2 is at a nice discount right now. It achieves a “Better” rating for crash protection and our highest ratings for installation when used with either the lower anchors or a vehicle’s seat belt. The Fit2 has a weight limit of 35 pounds and a 35-inch height limit. Its two-stage base provides a more upright position and greater legroom for older infants. This makes it easier for parents to keep a toddler rear-facing longer. Push-on lower anchor connectors, a no-rethread harness (meaning you can adjust the harness while your child sits in the seat), and an easy-to-read level indicator are some of the features that make this seat easy to use.

The Chicco GoFit is a lightweight backless booster that comes with a convenient carrying handle. The booster seat is equipped with double foam padding and removable, machine-washable seat pad and armrest covers. There are also two removable dishwasher-safe cupholders that you can throw into the dishwasher for easy cleanup. It has very good belt fit but—as is the nature of backless designs—lacks the better shoulder belt fit, side protection, and comfort of a high-back booster.

The City Turn performs well all-around, including our top crash protection designation (Best). The City Turn’s rotation feature is limited to rear-facing mode only and doesn’t simplify vehicle installation to one installation. The seat needs to be reinstalled when changing orientation. It allows for extended rear-facing use to 50 pounds.

The Britax Grow With You ClickTight is a top-rated seat with excellent overall performance combining ease of use, booster fit, and fit to vehicle. It scores “Better” for harnessed crash protection. The ClickTight technology is easy to use to help provide secure installations. It’s a heavy and bulky seat, however, and might not be best if you’re moving it between vehicles often.

The pricier Fit4 excels at both installing via LATCH and a vehicle’s seat belt, whether rear-facing or forward-facing. This is important because this seat is a hefty 26 pounds, and that means you’ll have to switch from lower anchors to a belt installation sooner than you might with other seats. 

This seat features Chicco’s Super Cinch technology, which makes it easier to tighten the lower anchor strap. The Fit4 scores a “Best” for crash protection and has excellent belt fit in booster mode.

The Baby Trend Snap-N-Go is a stroller frame that you can clip a car seat into, making it especially convenient if you make frequent transfers in and out of a car. The frame is lightweight at 12 pounds, easy to use, and highly maneuverable (despite the fact that its front swivel wheels don’t lock). It also scores very well for safety in our tests. It’s very easy to fold and stands on its own when folded, and meets Disney parks’ stroller size requirements. It’s compatible with a range of car-seat brands, and even at its already low price—compared with most strollers—it’s a great option until your child outgrows their infant car seat.

Like the single model above, the Baby Trend Snap-N-Go Double is a stroller frame that can accommodate two car seats. It performed excellently in our safety tests, and it’s as easy to use as the single Snap-N-Go. But it’s a bit harder to maneuver, as double strollers tend to be. It’s easy to fold and unfold, though carrying it folded can be a little awkward. It’s compatible with a number of car-seat brands, and it meets Disney parks’ stroller size requirements.

The Thule Urban Glide 2 is a sturdy, well-built jogging stroller. The adjustable handle is comfortable, and the hand brake gives you more control when running. Though it’s a little wider than most jogging strollers, it’s also, at 25 pounds, lighter than most and exceptionally easy to maneuver. It stands upright on its own when collapsed. Need room for two? Consider the Thule Urban Glide 2 Double, which scored somewhat lower than the single but still gets CR’s recommendation.

Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Milk Spa uses a warm water bath to warm bottles, but setup is a bit more involved than with other models we tested. Once that’s done, it warms bottles with no sign of overheating long after the warming program had ended. The controls on this model allow users to select the type of bottle and starting temperature of the milk or formula (frozen, refrigerated, or room temperature) and to adjust the time of the program. Even though the display is a bit crowded, according to our usability expert, it was relatively easy to use and understand. If you like to reuse settings, this model remembers any adjustments to time that are made for your next bottle warming. 

This pump is one of the highest-scoring ones CR evaluated. It has two milk containers. It doesn’t come with a carrying case, though the company sells one separately. A visible timer is found on the pump, as well as a readout of the suction and speed settings. The pump must be plugged into a wall outlet to operate.

Evaluators found it to be quick and simple to use. They also appreciated that it was amenable to nighttime pumping. “The LED light helps see the buttons at night without having to turn on a bright light and disturbing my family,” one participant said. “Also, it is very quiet.” Another parent, who said that the breast pump didn’t wake her daughter, said the noise was “more of a soothing, buzzing sound.” 

Motif instructs users not to place parts in the dishwasher that come into contact with breast milk, but participants found the pump fine to clean, with one parent calling the process “about equal in regards to difficulty” to other pumps.

The Elvie Pump is our second-highest-ranking wearable breast pump and has conveniences like two breast size shield options, in 24 and 28 millimeters. (You can purchase a 21-mm shield and 15-, 17-, and 19-mm nipple cushions through Elvie’s website if needed.) The Elvie Pump has two modes (stimulation and expression) and seven intensity settings. Some other unique features include two bra adjusters, which can help add more room in bras for an optimal fit, and a pump that connects to a mobile app that can be used to monitor milk output and control and track pumping sessions.

The Medela Pump in Style, noted for its simplicity (it has only four buttons), is the only pump of those we tested that comes with an app. This model also comes with a carrying case and a cooler bag with an ice pack and four bottles instead of two. It’s the lightest of all the evaluated pumps, and if you don’t want to plug it into a wall outlet, it comes with a battery pack that requires eight batteries. Reviewers noted that it was noisy, and there’s no adjustability for speed.

The car seat in this Chicco travel system, designed for a maximum weight of 30 pounds, scored extremely well in our tests for ease of use and its fit-to-vehicle belt and latch. It has a great balance of crash protection and maneuverability. As for the stroller, our testers found it very easy to fold up, which can be done with one hand. But they found that the handle shape was a little uncomfortable and that the front wheels don’t lock. The stroller has a good-sized basket for such a lightweight model, and there’s a seatback storage pocket. The fabric seat cover is removable so that it can be hand-washed.

This travel system features Evenflo’s Pivot stroller and Evenflo’s SafeMax car seat. The stroller scored particularly well in our tests for ease of use and maneuverability. Our testers found it easy to fold and unfold, and the restraint system was easy to adjust. That said, the stroller is fairly bulky. The car seat has a good balance of safety, ease of use, and vehicle fit, though testers found the seat-belt locking device a little tricky to operate, and it was a little tough to align the car seat to the stroller when attaching it. Overall, it’s a good travel system if you take the time and care to install everything securely, but you may find it a little more finicky than you’re willing to deal with.

Regalo’s Easy Step gate can help you set your mind at ease. It’s not only secure but also especially easy to install. Our testers found it easy to use, though you do need two hands to open the gate, which may limit its convenience when you’re carrying a child or anything else. It measures 30¼ inches in height and can span openings from 29 to 38½ inches wide, and you can use it on uneven surfaces.

There’s no easier design for a baby gate than this 30¼-inch-high Cumbor gate. With an auto-close mechanism, you can manipulate it with one hand and won’t have to worry about manually latching it correctly. It aced our tests for convenience, security, and installation, and it fits openings from 29½ to 46 inches wide.

This is the usual sale price for this baby gate, and we haven’t seen it dip any lower.

The Babysense monitor, now $10 less than the previous best price, comes with its own display and handles the video feed locally, so it doesn’t have the privacy and security issues of internet-connected models. It has a 5-inch 720p display that falls a bit short of the best models we tested, but it should still work fine for most users.

This HelloBaby model is one of the lower-priced video monitors to earn CR’s recommendation. The device has its own display and handles the video feed locally, so it doesn’t have the privacy and security issues of internet-connected models. It lacks a nightlight, but that’s hardly a deal breaker.

The TP-Link Kasa Smart Pan & Tilt KC410S 24/7 security camera offers stellar video quality and quickly sends alerts when motion is detected, CR’s tests have found. This low-priced camera also earns a strong rating for data security and a midrange rating for data privacy. It features voice and app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant, two-way audio, monitoring zones, person alerts, and alerts for loud noises.

On just about every measure, including moisture output and noise, the Crane Owl humidifier soars. It’s convenient to use, though not being able to get a hand into the tank for cleaning is a drawback. The 250-square-foot claimed coverage area is on the high end for a small-room model. Other animal figures in this Crane series are Wyatt the Fox, Puffington the Penguin, Misty the Unicorn, Sidney the Sheep, the Crane Train, Hello Kitty, Freddy the Frog, Mya the Monkey, Violet the Hippo, and Elliot the Elephant. They all perform similarly and may be on sale for similar prices. This humidifier has been at this sale price for a long time, so it’s not a rare deal, but you definitely should never pay more than this.