Luxuries for You and Your Baby in their First Year

Updated December, 2020

The first year has already flown by. I posted about the Must Haves for babies already, but I also wanted to highlight a few luxuries. These are things that made life just a little easier for us, even if we didn’t absolutely have to have it.

The Mamaroo

This swing was perfect for our Monster. We didn’t use it often, but it was exactly what we needed when we did. When Monster was first born, we were able to put them in it if we wanted to be sure they wouldn’t disturb us. This offered us the opportunity to eat as a family without holding them and for my partner and me to have some one on one time. I’ve also heard the swinging motion is one of the few things that can help sooth a fussy baby. A lot of women I know swear by it.

Click here for other swing recommendations.

Play and Activity Mat

Thankfully, Monster has always really liked tummy time, even when they were really little. All of our floors are hard though, and once we did get a little rug to put down, it was still so new that I didn’t really want Monster to be laying face first on it. That’s when we were able to use the Treetop Friends Activity Gym/Play mat. Monster was able to be on their tummy or their back. It was interactive and had fun toys for when they got older. In general, it offered a place for them to be able to play safely that wasn’t a hard floor.

Click here for other play mat suggestions.

Wipe bag

We ended up with two Wet Wipe Bags that were gifts. I hadn’t asked for them, or honestly ever even thought of them, but I am so glad we got them. We kept one bag next to our changing station at home and one in our going out bag. These ended up being awesome gifts. We happen to use cloth wipes, so having a little bag to put our wipes in was really helpful. Even if we hadn’t used cloth wipes, buying single use wipes in bulk is so much more cost effective than buying individual packs. With the wipe bags, our wipes never dried out. They were smaller, more convenient, and light weight compared to the big plastic ones I had seen before. Also, with these bags, we didn’t have to carry an entire package of disposable wipes in our carry out bag.

Second Car Seat Base

My partner and I discussed back and forth for a very long time if we would get an infant car seat or start out with a convertible car seat. I am the type of person who carries my child a lot. I don’t really use a stroller if I can avoid it so I wasn’t sure having an infant car seat would be very useful for me. I ended up being really glad that we got an infant car seat. It made loading and unloading our little one much easier, specifically when they didn’t have neck control.

We also bought a second car seat base so we could clip the car seat into both of our vehicles. This made it easy for us to take whichever of our vehicles was most convenient without having to shuffle the base around or buckle Monster in without a base. We certainly didn’t have to have it, but it made life with two cars a lot more convenient.

Bathtub

I bought this bathtub from a friend on a bit of a whim. I had the opportunity to get a free one or a pretty cheap new one with all the bells and whistles. However, the Aqua Scale relieved me of my concerns around water temperature and made bath time much easier. The best part is the built in temperature check. It turned blue when it was too cold, green when it was perfect for Monster, and red when it was too hot. Half the time we didn’t even put Monster in the bath, opting instead to have them bathe with us in the big tub. But we were able to test the temperature of the water at all times to make sure it was the perfect temperature. No guess work necessary.

Stroller

I swore I hated strollers. I said over and over again that I would never use one even if we had it. We didn’t need one, I was sure of it. How wrong I was. I am so lucky that we happened to have an extra stroller around the house. Yes, I used the Boba Wrap more, it was my preferred method for carrying Monster, but for doing things like going to the zoo and cruising around one of the many activities we did during our first year, it came in handy. A lot. We went with a traditional stroller. I have heard that the strollers that the car seat snaps into is nice though.

Extra Breast Shields

I breastfed, and thus pumped, all the way through Monster’s first year. I’m not going to lie, it was one of my least favorite parts of breastfeeding. Working outside the home though, I really had to. Additionally, it really offered me the chance to take some space from Monster without having to worry about getting home in time to feed them. As a mom who worked outside the home, I always had to be sure to have my breast pump, some bottles, and all the pieces that go with the pump everyday that I went to work. One of the items to lug back and forth were the breast funnels. I also broke one once as well. Having an extra set that I could leave at work or replace my broken one with really came in handy.

Pacifiers

Monster actually didn’t use pacifiers very often. They used them for a minute when they were really little, and every now and again they would use them for sleeping. Overall, they weren’t much use for us. However, a lot of babies do use pacifiers and are very soothed by them. We got two types. The super plain ones and the ones with a soft toy on them (Wubbanubs).

The wubbanubs were our favorite. When Monster was still struggling with hand control, they were easy to find and bring back to their mouths. Because they have a soft toy on them though, they are not permitted in cribs at licensed childcare centers. As such, if you send your child to school and want them to have a pacifier, it has to be a plain one. Honestly, they all work the same way, so it doesn’t matter.

Boba Wrap

I always wanted a Boba Wrap to carry my Monster in. It was perfect for on the go as well as just cruising and doing chores around the house. It grew with Monster, first cradling them close, then giving them the opportunity to sit up and look around. It was small, meaning it could fit easily in my backpack if desired, and easy to put on (once we got the hang of it). I took Monster everywhere in this, especially because I wasn’t much of a stroller user.

Check out all my carrier suggestions here.