I recently shared some baby items that we still use with our toddler, but there were also some items during that first year that I am so glad we had.
This baby stuff would be great to add to your baby registry or to buy for someone who is expecting.
*FTC disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through my links. All opinions remain my own.
Baby Items to Help You Survive the First Year:
1 – We tried a lot of tubs. We had one of those PUJ tubs (which lasted only the first two months) and even one of those blow up duck tubs (cute for pics, not so practical for baths). This sponge was the best. I’d simply fill our tub with a couple inches of water, give our little one a bath, and then roll the water out of this sponge and wedge it behind our towel bar until the next bath.
2 – Okay, if you plan on pumping at all, this is truly the end all be all. It has great suction, is battery powered (so you can WALK around while pumping), and is a closed loop system (much more sanitary and you can even resell it if you want too). I’ve literally made dinner while using this pump.
3 – I was wary of glass bottles at first, but I ended up loving these. I admit I did drop these a couple of times and they did NOT break! They cleaned really easily in the dishwasher and heated up quickly in the bottle warmer.
4 – I clipped this sound machine on the rock n play (7), crib, and even my little ones stroller while out and about. I used it A LOT and although the charger port broke, I reached out to the company and they sent me a new one for free!
5 – Initially I scoffed at bottle warmers – who needs those? Well, because I mainly pumped, I had a lot of milk in the fridge (and freezer) that was COLD. I ended up buying this during the wee hours one night and never looked back.
6 – There are lots of swaddles and I recommend swaddles in general. This one in particular is super easy and has a two way zipper for easy middle of the night diaper changes.
7 – The benefit of a rock n play is it can easily go anywhere. Ours came with to dinners at friends, holiday family parties, and even on vacation. When our little one napped, it was often in here.
8 – THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE ITEM ON THIS LIST! Seriously, I saved the best for last. Hands down, if you are anxious at all about sleeping while your child sleeps, buy this. We got a refurbished model to save money and it worked flawlessly.
Of course baby items like this are going to be a matter of personal preference – both yours and your babies – so remember a lot of this is trial and error.
Got any other tips for the parents of newborns? What made your life with a newborn easier?