We Asked 1,000 Parents to Share Their Must-Have Baby Gear, and This Changing Pad Came Up Over and Over

A changing pad isn’t the most exciting item on your baby essentials list, but with all those diaper changes, it’s definitely a must-have. And when we asked over 1,000 parents to share their absolutely essential baby gear recommendations, one particular changing pad came up again and again. 

This is a best list that comes with real chops. Cubby is helmed by a small yet vibrant team of design-savvy parents who are unusually invested in finding the best products for life at home with kids, beginning with the nursery.

• Faith Durand (SVP of Content at Apartment Therapy Media, two kids, pro pinner of all the things),
• Cambria Bold (Executive Editor of Cubby, two kids, hobby designer, avid product researcher), and
• Laura Schocker (Chief Content Officer at Apartment Therapy Media, two kids, small-space/city-living expert) 

Together they have 40 years of digital editorial experience between them. They’ve already read about, researched, and purchased many of the baby products that you, as a soon-to-be parent, are wondering about right now. They’ll tell you exactly what you need to know about what to get. 

If they don’t know the answer, they know plenty of people to ask — fellow editors, parenting experts, designers, and Cubby readers — so you can be sure that these recommendations come from real-life experiences.

Most importantly, we don’t just “office test” these products (read: order a bunch and shake ‘em around in our office “lab” with a fake baby doll), because that is helpful to approximately no one. The products we recommend here are ones we or fellow parents have actually purchased ourselves for our nursery and used for at least a few months (and sometimes way longer). The rave reviews are real.

We asked readers (and parents!) of Apartment Therapy Media, which includes Cubby, Apartment Therapy, and The Kitchn, to share their nursery and baby gear recommendations with us. We received over 1,000 responses.

When we asked parents to share one product that they absolutely RAVE about to fellow parents, this changing pad came up repeatedly. Turns out, it’s a favorite of some of our editors, too!

Gone are the days where you had to buy a changing pad and multiple covers, which were just one errant pee stream or bowel movement away from yet another trip to the washing machine (IYKYK). The Keekaroo Peanut Changer changed all that. This squishy foam changing pad has a specially formulated wipeable solid shell cover that is completely impermeable to liquids. It might look a little funny, but it’s hard to top its incredible cleanability, which is why so many parents rave about it.

Love it and highly recommend it! It fits perfectly into our dresser/changing tables and cleans so easily.  My parents have a normal fabric changer and the amount of times we need to strip it down and wash the cover is so annoying; the Keekaroo is so much better. I just bought one for my sister and her new baby!

We used it with my youngest and we really appreciated how it didn’t budge nor slide all around on the surface of the changing table no matter how much Joni wiggled. It was also easy to clean. They’re a bit pricey but worth it and can likely be resold for a nice amount. When we were done with ours, my wife posted it for sale on a local parents’ group and it was snatched up immediately.

Love mine. It’s very easy to wipe clean and just generally feels much more hygienic compared to the cloth ones. It can be a little cold, but you can easily throw a blanket on the top area so baby’s back is on cloth vs. direct on the pad. It’s also never moved around once on my dresser and I don’t have it secured with anything!

Cleanability is a game-changer. [The Keekaroo is] always my go-to baby gift since it has to be one of the most used items.

It’s kind of ugly but SO nice to rinse the whole thing off if a mess happens.

My boy has peed on us more times than I can count and it’s nice to be able to just wipe it away.

Apartment Therapy’s Chief Content Officer, Laura Schocker, bought the Keekaroo Peanut Changer when she was first setting up her nursery, and said she loved that she could just place it on top of a dresser. (The changer is slip-resistant.) Also, “It’s SO easy to clean, which is, of course, a huge bonus.”

The Keekaroo Peanut Changer is definitely more expensive than other changing pads … or is it? Once you factor in the cost of multiple changing pad covers, and all the water and detergent needed to wash those covers over the years, there’s a chance you may come out ahead with the Peanut Changer after all. And no price can be attached to the gratitude that comes with making some baby tasks just a little bit easier — especially in those early months.