My Favorite Baby Items from Jack’s First Year
Jack is ONE today and I compiled a list of our most loved and used baby products from his first year. After my second baby, I feel like I have a better understanding of what you REALLY want during that first year. Here are a list of my must-have baby items:
But first, how cute are these Honest Happy Birthday diapers?! It’s kind of hard to see because I had zero cooperation from Jack but my girlfriend gave me this little pack of Honest Happy Birthday Diapers with his birthday gift and they are so cute! I had never seen them before. Such a fun idea! He’ll obviously be wearing these all day.
Get this pregnancy pillow. It is life changing. I didn’t have one with Joe because I didn’t think I needed it – but trust me, you do.
We slept so much more in the first 6 months of Jack’s life than we did in Joe’s and I give a lot of the credit to the SNOO. It is definitely the luxury option and an investment but it is worth it in my opinion! My only complaint is that transitioning Jack out of SNOO and more specifically swaddle, was a little bit painful and did not go as smoothly as the Snoo weaning process suggests it will.
If you have two babies I highly recommend the Double Bob Jogging Stroller. This is the only stroller I have used since having two babes (I have the rumble seat for my UPPAbaby Stroller but never put it on). It is super easy to maneuver and run with and I love being able to put them both in the stroller and get outside (although Joe usually scooters these days and only gets in for rides up hills).
The Ergo Baby Carrier is the only carrier I’ve tried that doesn’t immediately start bothering my back. All of the others seem to lack back support and hurt! I can wear this for longer periods of time and it is super simple unlike some of those crazy wraps out there that I’ve never been able to figure out!
Magnetic Me onesies and Zip Up pajamas are the only things I want my babies wearing at night. These are so much easier than snaps and buttons and it is nice not having to pull anything over their heads! I quickly learned with Joe that trying to snap pajamas in the middle of night just isn’t an option.
I think the Fisher-Price Vibrating bouncer is my most used baby item for both of my boys! They both lived in this bouncer on my counter for the first few months of their lives. It is under $30 and was used 100 times as much as the BabyBjorn Bouncer that costs $200. And if they weren’t in the Fisher-Price bouncer, they would be in this Boppy Newborn Lounger. It’s so easy to move around the house with you.
The Magic Merlin Suit worked really well for us transitioning the boys out of the Swaddle and into a Pack N’ Play or crib.
I wish I had thought of using this Mesh Crib Bumper with Joey but it never even occurred to me. This bumper is safe, breathable and solves two problems we ran into all the time with Joey: (1) pacifiers falling out of bed and having to search under the bed in the middle of the night to find them; and (2) and their little legs getting caught in the crib rails.
If you plan on traveling in your babe’s first year, I highly recommend the SlumberPod. Jack has never slept better on a trip than when he slept in this – I just wish we had known about it earlier!
And here are the few things I wish I had known:
Maybe I didn’t do enough research but I thought the Willow Wearable Breast Pump was a nightmare. It leaked milk aka liquid gold way too often, was hard to position just right to make it work, took way too long and the accessories that went with it were expensive and annoying. I ended up giving up on it and going back to the Medela Pump In Style. I used the Medela with Joe which is way more efficient but annoying to be stuck to the wall. I will say, having a portable breast pump is ideal and was just about the only thing I like about the Willow. My girlfriend highly recommends the Spectra 9 portable pump. If we have another baby, I’ll be ordering the Spectra 9.
I switched from the Dr. Brown’s Nutural Flow bottle to the Dr. Browns Wide Neck variety and they leaked constantly. I switched over and then donated all of the regular bottles because Jack was having eating issues but I shouldn’t have. The doctor we saw about Jack’s eating and who ultimately clipped his tongue, said that Wide Neck bottles that are supposed to emulate the boob actually have the opposite affect and aren’t helpful when it comes to latching and babes learning how to feed. Who knew!
The best thing Joey taught me is that none of the hard times last – they will pass – things will get better – and then something else will come up 🙂
Any moms out there have any great products they want to recommend? Leave them in the comments below!
