Baby Stuff We Like from the First Year

It’s amazing how much trial and error is involved with finding the right baby products! While there is no guarantee the products we love now will still be loved next month, there are certain products that we definitely couldn’t have done without this first year. Here are a few of our favorites. I hope you’ll find them just as helpfull!

1. My Brest Friend Deluxe Pillow

   The wrap around design provides the perfect amount of support for Max and makes it easier to breastfeed comfortably without straining muscles or surrounding yourself with a bunch of pillows. Even after I stopped breastfeeding, I still use the pillow to comfortably give Max a bottle.

2. OXO Tot Perfect Pull Wipes Dispenser

   The design is simple and relies on a weighted piece that sits directly on the wipes, which allows wipes to be pulled out one at a time. This may seem trivial, but when you are in the midst of a diaper disaster and you are using one hand to hold your baby’s kicking legs and the other hand to grab the wipes, you really want them to dispense one at a time.

3. Ubi Diaper Pail

   You might think that all diaper pails are more or less the same, but you’d be wrong. The Ubi diaper pail not only looks sleek, it also does an amazing job of containing odors, which ultimately is the most important feature of a diaper pail. We can attest to how well it works after accidentally leaving the lid open once, we realized just how much odor our pail contains. I also love that it accepts any trash bag, no need for brand specific refills. Another nice feature is the lid lock, which we recently started using as Max as gotten much more curious about opening things.

1. Nose Freida Snotsucker

   We received the Nose Freida “Snotsucker” as a gift and I’m so glad we did because it’s super effective. When Max was really young the Nose Freida didn’t bother him. Now that he is older and more aware, he hates it. But the biggest advantage is the ability to get a much longer suction compared to the bulb syringe, so the process is much more efficient.

2. Nail clippers with light

   Cutting Max’s nail is one of my least favorite parenting tasks. But the built-in light at the tip of these nail clippers makes that task so much easier.

3. Tommee Tippee bottle adapter

   When I started pumping I used Medela bottles for collection and storage but would transfer the milk to Tommee Tippee bottles before giving it to Max. It was an annoying extra step that I was happy to avoid when I came across this adaptor that let’s you attach Tommee Tippee bottles directly to a Medela breast pump. This cut the number of bottles we had to wash in half. There are bottle adapters for most brands so I recommend googling before stocking up on the Medela storage bottles.

1. Skip Hop play mat

   We have hardwood floors in our house, which isn’t ideal when your baby is at constant risk of toppling over. I love the look and functionality of this mat. It sits in our living room, providing a comfortable, cushiony surface for Max without looking overtly like a baby mat.

2. Y Bike

   This is by far Max’s favorite toy. He started using it around 9 months when he was just learning to take steps with a walker. It is sturdy and versatile. Once your baby gets a little bit older he can sit on the bike instead of pushing it.

3. Rubber Duck Tub

   When Max grew too big for his infant tub we tried just putting him in the full bathtub, but it was a struggle. He was able to sit up on his own but was still prone to occasionally toppling over, making bath time a tense affair that required 2 parental lifeguards. It wasn’t ideal but we weren’t aware of a better solution, until we came across this post by a girl named PJ and learned about the Rubber Duck Tub. This tub makes it possible for only one of us to easily give Max a bath. It fits snug in a standard size bathtub, so your baby won’t jump overboard and the heat sensor ensures your water isn’t too hot. Plus, it’s an inflatable duck, which is just fun.

1. Happiest Baby On The Block DVD

   This DVD provides instruction on Dr. Harvey Karp’s “5 S’s” for soothing your baby. If you’re a new parent with a young infant, watching this video is frankly like watching a magic show. Time after time he picks up incredibly fussy infants and soothes them in seconds. We were skeptical but his method works and it helped Max start sleeping for longer stretches of time at a point when it was getting increasingly difficult to get him to sleep. One of the biggest takeaways was learning how to swaddle properly. Of course, the nurses at the hospital showed us how to swaddle after Max was born, but we were in such a haze that first night that we barely remembered how to do it.

2. Dr. Ferber’s Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems

   As I’ve documented in Max’s monthly posts, we went through some seriously rough patches when Max would wake up constantly throughout the night and had no interest in going back to sleep. We really struggled with the decision to sleep train or not. There are so many different methods out there and very little data concerning their efficacy or safety. Aaron and I decided we wanted to be better informed about Ferberizing, the most prominent sleep training method, so we both read Dr. Ferber’s book to better understand it. I’m so glad we did. Reading about other children’s sleep issues that sounded identical to Max’s was very comforting and Dr. Ferber’s decades of success using his approach made us feel better about trying it outserlves. It worked.

3. Graco Duet Connect LX Swing and Bouncer

   I included this product in my 2 month must haves post, but I don’t think I praised it enough. This swing was the only thing Max would sleep in during his first 5 months. Although it has 6 speeds, I wish there were more because it never seemed fast enough for Max, but it was faster than any of the other swings we tested out. We really wanted Max to love the 4moms mamaroo swing because it is gorgeous and modern, but the motion wasn’t fast enough so Max hated being in it.

What baby products do you love?