My Top 12 Must-Haves for Baby

Reflecting back...

Thinking back about how this time, one year ago, I was just weeks away from meeting my little boy. I remember going through my daily routine counting down the days until my next doctor’s appointment. I would show up at the appointment so hopeful that he had dropped and we were getting closer. I had hope at one point that he would even come early (ha!) and then my due date passed. Going to work when you are past your due date is no fun. So, after that week I didn't go back to work. Ryan and I went to a movie the day before I was going to be induced. This was probably the worst idea ever. I was a very pregnant girl sitting in an uncomfortable movie theater seat and having to run to the bathroom every 5 minutes. We saw What to Expect When Your Expecting – worst idea ever. I was also the very pregnant girl in the movie theater crying to my husband that I refused to have this baby out. I remember saying that I no longer wanted to go through the labor and delivery. Too scary, too painful, no thank you. And now, we are sitting here a few weeks away from celebrating my little guy’s first birthday. Holy cow that went fast!

Reflecting back on Nolan’s first year it is amazing how much we have all learned. I can recall standing in Babies R’ Us overwhelmed by the massive amounts of crap “necessities” a baby needs, googling product reviews and text messaging friends with little ones for their input. Only to go home, get online and switch back and forth hundreds of times before finally deciding. Do they really need all that stuff? Well, they definitely need the big ticket items—the basics, car seat, stroller, crib, pack and play, bottles, diapers, wipes, ok…yea it’s a lot.  One of the most important thing (if you nurse) is one thing I was scared of—the pump. I remember staring at the breast pumps at Babies R’ Us. The thought of hooking up to one of those seemed painful and well, gross. Now, it is just another part of my daily routine. I highly recommend a top of the line breast pump because you will use it more than ever and wherever . At home, in the office, in the car, everywhere!  I have the Medela Pump In Style Advanced (PISA) and it is great! I highly recommend it!

Aside from all the obvious needs, there have been some things that I would say have definitely been my top 12 must-haves for baby’s first year. Yeah, I tried to narrow it to 10, but it was too hard. As a new mommy, I would recommend all of the below products to any parents-to-be because they have all been money well spent for us.

1.       Car Seat Canopy – Ours was a J.J. Cole brand car seat canopy that was great for having an infant during the summer. The cover was lightweight and has a Velcro closure. The closure was used to protect Nolan from the sun, bad weather and of course, germs! This was not expensive, I actually bought a 2 pack on overstock.com for $29.99.

Welcome home Nolan! :)

2.       Little Remedies New Parents Survival Kit – My friend and co-worker, Nicola filled me in on (and bought us!) this little gem! It says survival kit in the name for a reason. This little kit has a small dose of everything you may need in baby’s first year. The gripe water and gas drops came to the rescue on many occasions. Having this kit on hand for whatever time of day an emergency could arise was great. The kit retails at Babies R’ Us for $21.99.

3.       Snap N’ Go – We opted for the full travel system infant carrier and stroller because we thought that is what you do. We decided on the Chicco KeyFit 30. The infant carrier car seat was great, the stroller was HUGE. My sister got us the Snap N’ Go and it was glorious. We seriously used this stroller ALL OF THE TIME. You simply just snap the carrier to it and off you go! It still had plenty of storage underneath and I personally loved using the infant carrier which is why we kept Nolan in it for the first 8 or more months before switching to a convertible seat. Why did I love lugging him around in the infant carrier, you ask? The answer is simple, Nolan fell asleep a lot in the car and so being able to keep him in the seat and not have to transfer him and risk waking him made shopping, or whatever else we were doing so much easier! And awhile I am talking about strollers, moms listen up, you will most likely be the one hauling the stroller around and I recommend lightweight! The Snap N’ Go retails for $99.99 and then once they outgrow the infant carrier (or your arm is tired of the heavy weight) then you can get another lightweight stroller such as the Baby Jogger City Mini. The comparison between my City Mini and Chicco stroller is amazing.

Nolan in Cincinatti!

4.       Hooded Bath Towel – Aside from the absolute adorableness that is a squeaky clean baby bundled up in a hooded animal towel, they really are great! Enough said. You can find hooded bath towels at Target, Babies R’ Us and the list goes on! Retail can range from $14.99-$19.99 or more. I found Nolan’s monkey towel pictured below at Target on clearance for $7!

5.       Pacifier Clip – Unless you really enjoy cleaning a pacifier 24/7 I advise you have one! Nolan is a pacifier baby and the clip is a life saver. Nolan does not fully rely on the paci, but he definitely uses it to sooth when he is tired, sleeping or just not feeling well. We came across the pacifier clip when Nolan was maybe 1 month old and it’s the best $5.99 spent! Driving in the car with an infant that would spit out his paci, start crying and you can’t reach or find the thing is awful. I remember praying for a red light so I could quick reach back find it and give it back to him. Having the clip made everything so much easier. Whenever we are out in a public place and he has it we always use the clip because sometimes he decides it is time to just throw it out of his mouth. No more hitting the floor now!    

Disney and O's Fanfest

6.       Links (or as we have been calling them, rings) – So simple, so cheap and yet this may have been the toy that most excited Nolan for months. Nolan would pull them apart, carry them around, chew them as a teether and the list goes on. Yes, they can be used to link toys to them, but we realized that Nolan didn’t care about the toy. The link was the toy. We still give him links to play with in the car and he loves them. At home, he gets more excited for other toys now, but for a good while these were definitely the front runner. Retail $4.99, we stocked up!

7.       Touch & Feel / Flip Up Books – We read books to Nolan every night before bed. The books that really grab his attention are touch and feel books or books that you flip up the tabs. It is amazing to watch your child learn and these books are great for teaching them! He understands that he can feel different textures or open up tabs! I would say Pat the Bunny may be both mine and Nolan’s favorite book because I love watching him do all of the touch and feels as we read it! Retail for Pat the Bunny is $9.99.

8.       Sleep Sacks – Nolan enjoyed being swaddled for all of a day. No, but seriously when we were in the hospital our little angel was snuggled in his blanket swaddle so contently. When we came home he acted like being swaddled was torture! We tried swaddling him in blankets and in swaddlers, but he just wanted to break free. Once he was big enough to fit in them we discovered the sleep sack. Thank goodness for them! These are basically blankets for babies and they are awesome! Halo Sleep Sacks retail for $21.99, but Marshalls sometimes sells them for $13.99!

9.        Boppy Lounger – This is different from the Boppy nursing pillow (also fantastic). I still use the nursing pillow at night with Nolan, but I have always only used it when nursing. My cousin bought us the lounger and it was amazing, especially during the first few months. Nolan was not a fan of the bouncer or swing at first but thankfully the lounger came to the rescue. Nolan loved laying in it and would be contently looking around, playing with toys or sound asleep in it. There were many evenings that Nolan laid in the lounger next to Ryan and I as we ate dinner. The lounger retails for $29.99.     

10.   Cloud B Sleep Sheep /Music – Nolan is a baby of routine and when it comes to bedtime he most definitely has one. Every night when we put him to bed we turn his sleep sheep on to the ocean waves and we have an iPod on speakers in his room that plays Baby Einstein’s Classical music mix on shuffle. To some it may just sound like a mixture of commotion, but for Nolan it works! The Cloud B Sleep Sheep retails for $28.99 and they have a travel sheep for $25.99! We love that sheep!

Once Nolan learned to roll over and move around we made sure to move the sleep sheep to the outside of the crib ;) 

11.  Fisher-Price Discover N' Grow Kick and Play Piano - This play mat was not only great for tummy time, but Nolan also spent a large amount of time swatting at the hanging toys all while kicking the piano. Another thing we liked was that it did not take up a lot of floor space. At 11 months Nolan will still crawl over to the piano and sit and play with it. Oh and he also rolled over for the first time on this play mat! These retail at Babies R' Us and Target for $54.99. Totally worth it!

12.    Exersaucer/Jumperoo - Our neighbors were kind enough to lend us their jumperoo. Until recently Nolan enjoyed jumping every evening. He still uses the jumperoo and exersaucer at daycare and Aunt Ginnie's and loves them. The attached toys provide so much entertainment. These are great for a hands-free break when you need one. Prices for these range from $69.99-$149.99 depending on how many gadgets you get attached to it. 

These are all my own opinion on the products and although others may disagree these have all proved worthy for our family. Writing about all these products a year ago would have been near impossible. I can honestly say I would have had no idea what a sleep sack is or why a baby would need a pacifier clipped to them. It's funny how in just one year a "new" mommy isn't really that new at all anymore. After all, I can now multi-task like crazy with a baby on my hip. I can't say I am an expert. I still have so much more to learn that I know Nolan will be teaching me along the way, but in this past year I think I have done pretty well. Yes, there have been many "I can't believe I did that" moments, but hey we are all human. I mean, everyone carries their baby upstairs to bed and accidentally causes them hit their head on the wall because you turned the corner to closely. Or you go to lunch with friends and awhile trying to feed the baby cereal from a spoon that you squeeze to dispense (not worth it, save your money!) you accidentally shoot it at your baby. Oh, and that one time you didn't realize your baby was eating paper but thankfully he doesn't like eating anyways and spit it out (that was the same lunch with friends, let me tell you I looked like mother of the year!). I am sure the list goes on, but hey we survived the first year and that is all that matters!

This post is long enough but I just want to add a few things I learned along the way,

1.      I never realized how much I would care about someone else’s poop. I think my first question to Ryan everyday when I drive home from work is “did he poop today” then I proceed to ask for more detail.

2.      When you become a parent your dinner conversation changes and you really aren't phased by any bodily fluids anymore. I don’t know how many times awhile eating dinner we have had Nolan throw up during it because he of course, didn't like his food.

3.      My mom used to always lick her finger and then clean my face with it. Yea, I have done that to Nolan.

4.      Not reacting when your child falls down may be the hardest thing to do. I have to resist from gasping and my want to run to him, pick him up and console him, but then he will never learn. I know that he is fine and therefore I have to stay back and let him realize he is fine.

5.      Clipping Nolan's fingernails and toenails can only be done when he is sleeping.

6.      I don’t even own a purse anymore. Sporting a diaper bag is how I roll.

7.      I have always loved shopping. Some may say I am a little addicted to it, but in all fairness I really am a bargain shopper. I still love shopping, but now when I go to a store the first place I go is the baby section because I would rather spend money on my baby over myself any day.

8.      Time revolves around bath nights and bedtimes.    

9.      Just looking at your baby can turn any bad day into the best day.

10.  Your baby really is the most amazing gift.

And now, here we are...first birthday party invitations are in the mail and we are only a few weeks away from celebrating Nolan turning 1!

I love you Nolan James. I am looking forward to my first Mother's Day tomorrow. Thank you for making me a mommy and for the most amazing first year. I look forward to watching you learn and grow. I can’t wait to see the man you grow up to be.