First Year Must-Haves

By: Heather K. Beasley, M.S.

Ok, so for new moms, there are definitely some first year must-haves. 

Below are my recommendations:

1. Mustela No-Rinse Soothing Cleansing Water. This product is a natural ingredient formula that is soothing for your baby. Most babies get a bit of atopic dermatitis AKA “baby acne/eczema” within their first few weeks which is totally normal. My baby got it and I used this product for two days and thankfully it disappeared and never returned. Along with exclusively breastfeeding, this product worked wonders for me. The lotion was also just as good. In fact, we STILL use this product for our baby girl and she has yet to ever have any more skin issues.

CONS: The product is in French and unfortunately, I do not speak French. 

2. Mustela Foam Shampoo for infants (Cradle Cap) Our baby also had a bit of cradle cap for a couple of weeks during her first three months. This product was gentle and non-drying for her textured hair and helped to relieve the scales that came from cradle cap. Stressful!

CONS: I DO NOT like the smell.

3. 4Moms Mama-Roo. Out daughter didn’t take to this wonderous contraption until she was a few months old, but this thing is amazing. The different settings are so cool and what’s even better Is the fact that you can sync your phone via Bluetooth and turn it on.

CONS: It’s not that quiet, but babies like a little “white noise.”

4. Halo Bassinet. This is a must-have. We put it right by our bed and our baby girl used it until she could pull up.

CONS: It wasn’t as snug of a fit as she liked. We decided to add an insert, safely, of course. That brings us to number 5.

5. Snuggle Me organic Infant Lounger. I used this thing until our baby was almost 1. It was so comfy,  and secure for her. It is a dupe for the dock a tot. I love that you could take the cover off, throw it in some draft and be good.

CONS: It’s a dupe for the dock a tot so you dave some money, but not much. It is still really expensive

6. Britax Infant Carseat. I have amazing in-laws and friends that gave me a wonderful baby shower including two car seats. The Graco car seat that we used in my husband’s car was nice because it fits into the stroller as a combo set; however, I just didn’t like how loose the fit was for her as an infant. The Britax car seat, however, is snug and secure. Plus the cute red details were a plus.

CONS: It is more on the expensive side and doesn’t accommodate up to the higher weights for the baby. We used it up until she turned 18 months and then got a convertible casrseat.

7. Comotomo bottles. These are my absolute favorite. I supplemented with formula for a few weeks before I got the breastfeeding and pumping down and this was the best bottle for flow for our baby. It was a slow flow bottle that I could appreciate. I’d take two pump sessions just to produce 4 ounces of breastmilk for our baby, only for her to guzzle it down in 5 minutes using other brands of bottles. My OB at my two-week visit recommended this bottle and I’m so glad she did.

CONS: I have none except it is an expensive bottle. It’s just perfect!

My second favorite bottle was the nanobebe bottle.

8. Graco 7-in-1 high chair. We didn’t start solids until she was about 7.5 months, because she refused anything but breastmilk.

CONS: It’s not great for smaller spaces. It is a bit cumbersome. 

9. Baby Breeza Formula Maker Pro. As I said, I supplemented with formula. Still to this day, I have a breastfeeding baby, but my journey was not easy. See our previous BF posts: [https://www.themotherhoodexperiment.com/breastfeeding-baby/]. I supplemented with Similac for Supplementation [https://amzn.to/3ek2Rl3]. This Baby Breeza formula maker was the best thing ever. Instead of having to measure scoops and measure water and mix and make a mess, if you can splurge, get this. It was the best purchase ever! Add water, add the formula and it mixes the two like kool-aid. LOL. You can adjust the temperate too. It makes a perfect bottle in seconds. All you have to do is make sure the bottle is under the nozzle. I love it.

CONS: it makes you clean the spout every 5 bottles or it won’t dispense the milk. But that becomes good because otherwise, the milk powder clumps up inside the nozzle. 

10. Diapers. My favorite was Honest Diapers and Pampers Pure. 

Cons: They are more than the other brands, but they provided the best leak protection for our baby. I have some blowout horror stories of some other brands. 

11. Blooming Bath Flower. We bathed our baby girl in the kitchen sink for several months until we transitioned her to the bathtub. This was amazing. We’d pour our favorite bubble bath for her and later her up in this super cute and functional bath.

CONS: It is hard to ring out. We had to do a spin cycle every time we bathed her, but that’s not the end of the world to me. We washed it every couple of days. 

12. Infant Pictures. I regret not taking a maternity shoot, but I was not about to miss getting my baby girl her newborn photos.

CONS: Now, you have to decide how risky it is given the current pandemic. 

13. Ubbi diaperpail. I cannot say enough amazing things about this diaper pail. You absolutely don’t smell a thing (until you open it to change the bag. I love that you don’t have to buy specialized bags- although they do sell them. I also love that its stylish and goes with out daughter’s room decor.

CONS: It is expensive. I got mine on clearance however at Buybuybaby. You can always check your local store and see if they have it, or put it on your registry as a SPLURGE item 😁

What are your favorites? Let me know in the comments!