This post is all about baby first year essentials.
10 Surprising Baby’s First Year Essentials
Moms Swear By
Okay, we all know about baby essentials such as a car seat, diapers, or a stroller. In this post, however, let’s highlight 10 surprising must-haves for your baby’s first year that other moms swear by. You can thank us later, I’m sure you and your baby will love these as much as we do!
Don’t get me wrong, as a new mom it can be so overwhelming to think about everything you might possibly need for your baby’s first months, their first year.
So baby essentials shared by other, more experienced moms are a true life-saver.
What is more, finding out what exact brands other parents trust and love is very helpful and saves new parents a lot of time and potentially money.
For all my newborn baby, breaastfeeding and postpartum essentials (plus tips) makes sure to check out my guide to the first weeks with your newborn.
But let’s be honest, it doesn’t take any soon-to-be or new parent a lot of time to come up with a list of basics they will need for their baby such as a crib, a car seat, a stroller, diapers, and so on.
What’s not as easy is finding the hidden gems. The less obvious, not so often talked about items that moms absolutely loved using during their babys’ first year.
I’ve asked my mom-friends what surprising items they loved to use during their baby’s first year and there were several corresponding answers.
The following list includes 10 such items.
Whether you’re a mom-to-be, or you have a baby already you should definitely give those items a chance, if you haven’t already. They can also be a great (not so obvious and boring) gift for a friend or family member who’s expecting!
10 Surprising Baby’s First Year Essentials Moms Swear By
- Birthing/fitness ball
Every mama should have a fitness ball. In this case not to say fit… but rather to stay sane.
During pregnancy the ball can offer great relief for your back and provide some extra comfort.
While working from home, (in front of the computer all day) in the last weeks of my pregnancy, using a birthing ball instead of a regular chair helped me tremendously.
Obviously it’s also great to do some gentle exercises in preparation for labor and delivery.
However, more than just during pregnancy, a fitness ball will come in handly during your first weeks and months with baby. Bouncing on the ball while holding your newborn can work miracles.
I almost want to guarantee you that your crying newborn will as good as instantly stop crying, calm down and most likely even fall asleep. I’m saying that because I was actually surprised how great that method really worked and regreted not having tried sooner. This was also the one item that all my mom friends talked about.
Not only will it help comfort your baby but it will also provide support for your healing postpartum body. And once you kid gets older you can use it for exercise and they can use it for playtime.
So in case you don’t have a fitness ball at home yet, I highly recommend adding it to your baby essentials list. - Silicone baby feeder
Another item we ended up using way more than actually expected was a silicone baby feeder.
I got it before my baby even started eating solids as I’ve heard it’s great to relieve teething pain. The “mom hack” I’m refering to was about putting frozen breastmilk and later on fruit into the feeder so baby gets a 3 in 1 comforting experience. The taste, the cooling sensation and the pain relive thanks to chewing on the silicone tip.
I didn’t end up using it that way though. Instead, it came to great use during the first weeks after starting solids. I’d simply cut up pieces of soft fruit and let baby feed himself. He absolutely loved it.
Using a baby feeder is a very convinient (yet sometimes sticky), simple, easy, and safe way to introduce new foods, to let baby feed themself, freeing your hands, at least for a moment, at the same time. - Non-spill cup
A non-spill cup such as the Miracle Trainer can be super convinient. It can be great for baby while starting to drink on their own, before transitioning to an open cup. But even afterwards, whether it’s during a walk with the stroller or a car ride.
It doesn’t leak and it’s easy to clean. - Haakaa pump
This one if for all the breastfeeding mamas out there.
As soon as you’ll start having issues with clogged milk ducts and look for advice online, someone, somewhere will be talking about the haakaa pump. Take their advice and give it a try.
If you’re planning on breastfeeding and are getting various products in preparation for that journey, make sure to add a haakaa pump to your essentials list as well. You want to have it at hand as soon as you need it.
You can obviosuly use it as a breast pump. It’s also great to catch let-down. I however, most of all, recommend it to unclogg milkducts. To find out how make sure to head over to THIS post. - Hearing protection earmuffs
Sooner or later you will go out again… but this time with your baby.
Whether it’s to a wedding, to a concert, or to any other rather loud event. You want to keep your baby safe and comfortable by using hearing protectione earmuffs. - Sound level meter app
This is one that I’ve used quite a lot in the beginning and still somethines do as it helps me keep a peace of mind.
Yes, you should usually be able to simply tell whether it’s too loud for a baby or not.
But once you’re sleep deprived and occupied with taking care of a million other things, you might be, well wrong. Plus, you don’t want to worry about sound levels on top of all that’s going on.
Reading about what’s actaully considered too lound for a baby and double checking the sound level with an free app such as Decibel X will help you keep baby safe and yourslef sane. - Stroller Accessories
What exactly you’ll need the most will totally depend on you, but all moms have their favorite must-have stroller accessory. This could be a cup hoder, an extra hook (super useful for baby’s coat, your keys or a light bag), stroller mittens, a phone holder, a mini fan, and so on. There are enless items out there. - Bumbo chair
Many mamas absolutely loved using bumbo chairs (or their equivalent).
It will support your baby when they can’t sit on their own yet. That’s especially helpful if you have a baby who’s gumpy when laying down, yet unable to sit on their own.
I’ve seen moms put it on their kitchen island, giving baby the chance to see what’s happening at all times, to be close to mama while she’s cooking and to participate in family meals.
What it more, when baby’s happy, calm and at eye sight, mama has her hands free for a moment. - Breastfeeding cover
Simply use a nursing cover to feel comfortable breastfeeding your baby no matter where you are. Especially, if you don’t want to keep thinking about what to wear in order to make breastfeeding in public easy and somewhat privat. It will also provide a cozy space for baby, block out some light, wind, etc. - Nasal aspirator aka a snotsucker
For the first few months, a baby only breathes through its nose. To clean your baby’s nose in general you can use saline solution. To clear mucus from baby’s nose and acutally help them breathe comfortably again you can use a snotsucker.
Even when you have a toddler who can blow their runny nose, you might need some extra help in form of a nasal aspirator during a cold when your kids nose is really blocked.
Hope this list of not-so-obvious-baby-essentials
will help you out mama!
