This post is all about the baby essentials for baby’s first year.
Let me just start by saying when you are putting together your baby registry or going through the motions of motherhood, there are some baby essentials in the first year that you may have NO IDEA YOU NEED!
I remember creating a baby registry and my friend sharing so many items other than a bouncer, high chair, and bath that I was so clueless about.
At your baby shower, you may or may not get some of these baby essentials for your first year, but I knew that if I was clueless, other moms want the first year baby essentials I once had no idea I needed!
This list covers tried and true first year baby essentials that moms need during their child’s first year.
At my baby shower, we were fortunate to get so many items that we loved, but some were used more than others. Of course, you know all the main items to add and some of the small, but not everyone will tell you first year baby essentials that you will use at some point with your little one.
I am convinced this list is almost more important than a baby registry list!
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First Year Baby Essentials + Baby Must Haves
Kitchen Utensils
Throughout the year, your baby will soon sit in a high chair and begin to drink from a cup, work on their fine motor skills, and make huge messes learning to eat on their own, haha.
Out of all of the bibs we tried, I still use silicone bibs on Kyla because it does not stain, is so easy to clean off, and helps make cleaning up messes move along so much faster.
You can also try pouches to make for easy clean-up when you are on the go for traveling! Pouches are still our favorite way to feed baby food early on and help them prepare for sucking out of a straw. Kyla took a little while to adjust the difference between sucking from a straw and a pouch.
Around six months, your little one will start trying solid foods. Having a plate that can suction to their high chair is such a great invention. Rather than your little one throwing their plate on the floor when they are done, the plate sticks to their high chair!!
Around 6 to 9 months, your little one will slowly learn to start drinking out of a cup. We have tried lots and lots of cups!! Silicone cups are my favorite because they are leakproof and do not spill all over the place when they are dropped!
We do everything we can to avoid messes in our home because I am always on the go, so everything can be easy to clean up. You will want non-toxic soap for all your little one’s dishes. We love using a plant-based soap called dapple baby and do not even use regular dish soap anymore.
The fewer chemicals, the better to clean up messes when you have a little one wondering the house! 🙂
Baby Health + Medicine
Caring for myself has always been a no-brainer, but caring for a fragile little one in their first year can be stressful if you are unsure what to use.
These are more first year baby essentials we used all of the time on Kyla when she was sick, had a rash, fever, and stuffy nose. Most of these we still use even now!
You will want to have Tylenol to fight fevers and colds. Kyla loves the cherry flavor. A digital thermometer makes it a lot easier to monitor fevers easily. You just swipe it over your baby’s forehead and it gives you their temperature. If it red, they have a high fever that should be monitored closely! It is something we take everywhere, even on trips, and in her diaper bag.
This baby Frida works like a champ to electrically suck all of the boogers out of your baby’s nose. All you have to do is turn it on, and it sucks everything out, then be sure to cleanse it out after! It works AMAZING for long watery boogers that are stuck in their nose. Once you suck everything out, you will want to use baby Vicks on your little one’s feet to help with congestion.
Desitin is a baby product that has been around forever, but after trying both, Aquaphor was helpful for almost everything, and we still use it often!
You can use Aquaphor for rashes on your baby’s bum. But, make sure the area is dry to let out additional moisture. We even mix it with her eczema lotion.
Baby Toys for First Year
You are probably asking yourself, “How can toys be essential,” right?
Once your little one starts crawling, they will learn to climb up on everything and scoot their way around the house. Our home was small, and we had carpet, so having a fancy little walker did not work for us, but having a walker that Kyla could push anywhere worked!! It is so entertaining for little ones because of the colors, music, and the fact your baby can hold it to walk!
An indoor slide, will be the best way for your baby to entertain themselves while you cook dinner, clean, or do laundry. Kyla’s favorite toy, even up until now, is her indoor slide and baby walker. There were so many times the weather was not good, and we were limited on things to do. Or, I was busy cooking dinner and wanted her to watch a movie and entertain herself. She learned early on by having an indoor slide!
Sleep Essentials for Baby
You probably already know you need a crib, bassinet, or foldable pack n play, but wherever your baby goes to sleep, you will want a noisemaker and sleep sack.
Kyla was such a light sleeper her first nine months, and she always wanted her mama. Having weighted comfort using a sleep sack mimics the comfort we provide, so this is one item I wish I had for Kyla!
However, every time she napped, we used a noisemaker early on to drown out the noise. She is now almost two and still uses it. We all use the noisemaker and sleep like a baby, haha. It works well so you can accomplish your tasks even when there is a lot of noise. Your baby will not be able to hear it all.
..Random Baby Must Haves..
Baby Changing Mat
When you are changing a baby’s diaper, you will definitely want a mat, and not just lay the baby on the floor when you can. A changing mat was such a must-have in our home. We felt with quite a few blowouts while I was nursing Kyla, and having a mat, made it easy to wipe off and sanitize rather than poop stuck in our carpet!
Dreft detergent
When you bring your baby home, their skin is so new to the air we breathe and the chemicals we use on our skin. Dreft is for their sensitive skin, which will also help if your baby develops eczema.
Kyla has eczema, and it is one way we try to help her itchy skin as the seasons change by avoiding those chemicals!
Burp cloths
This is such a must from newborn to 6 months! The baby may spit up often or held by close family and friends. Using burp clothes is a way to keep germs and strong scents away from the baby when they are held. And, it protects everyone’s clothes, making it easy to clean up when your baby spits up.
I was a little hesitant with my first, but we used burp clothes all the time, even when we traveled.
Haakaa
If you are nursing, I promise you will want the haakaa! Every time you have a letdown on one side, there is a letdown on the other. You can totally use this the haakaa that suctions to your breast to catch and save the breastmilk on the other side.
Teether
The first year, so many teeth will come in, and your baby will want to gnaw on everything they can get their hands on! A little handheld teether that attaches to their clothes or blanket will make it easy for them to gnaw on. We took the teether with us to daycare, and Kyla used it her whole first year!
Baby carrier
Anywhere you go with a little one is so much easier with a baby carrier that you or their dad can easily attach to you. We took our baby carrier to the beach, on walks, to the park, basically, everywhere you can think of!
These are all the tried and true first year baby essentials you will find yourself using all the time! Make sure to add these to your baby registry, they helped us so much in the first year and will help you too!
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