My Must-Haves for Baby's First Year
There are so many baby registry checklists out there but if you’re attempting to be on the more affordable, minimal and stylish side with your baby gear, this post is for you. I’m not sharing a comprehensive list of everything you need for the first year of your baby’s life - just a list of my favorite and most-used items (all gender-neutral!) as a mom who’s been there.
But first, remember when I shared my favorite things for baby, from birth to 3 months? I wanted to create a baby registry essentials series broken down by age/developmental stage because I wasn’t finding anything else like that online. Well, it turns out there’s a good reason for that. After those first blissful, sleepy newborn days are over, what mama has the time? I sure didn’t. But now that I’m 16 months into motherhood, I feel good about reflecting back on what we used most, what I plan to save for future babies and what I would recommend to a friend for preparing for baby’s first year.
Baby Carriers - When Sage was under 6 months and whenever we were at home, I reached for the CuddleBug Wrap Carrier the most. The fabric is strong but stretchy which makes it a lot easier to get Sage in and out than other similar wraps I tried. Tying it takes a little practice, but after watching a video and a couple tries I was a pro. As she got older, we started using our thrifted Ergobaby carrier more when we went out just because it was quicker to get on and off. We pretty much kept the Ergobaby in the car and the soft wrap carrier in the house for the full first year.
Portable Changing Station - This may just be the most used item on this list. You can change a baby’s diaper anywhere but we have loved and used this SkipHop Portable Changing Station every single day and still do. In addition to being a wipeable changing pad, it has pockets for diapers and wipes and folds up nicely so it's easy to carry or throw into the diaper bag. I use it all the time in our living room to keep our carpet clean during diaper changes and there’s been many times I used it when there was no changing station in a public restroom. I’ve even hooked a purse strap onto it to carry for short outings where I don’t need the whole diaper bag.
Canvas Diaper Backpack - Now that I’ve been a mom for over a year, I can’t imagine using anything but a backpack style diaper bag. Between this and using carriers, I was blissfully hands-free for a lot of Sage’s early months while we were out and about. I love the utilitarian and unisex style of this backpack and it’s held up amazingly well after almost a year and half of daily use. It has just the right number of pockets and side compartments that are great for stashing a water bottle and snacks for you and baby.
Sleep Sacks - From the time we brought Sage home from the hospital, we’ve been using sleep sacks. We started with a newborn size swaddle style one for the first few weeks and then transitioned to regular sleep sacks from there on out. After 12 months, babies can sleep with a blanket in their crib but we are still zipping her into a lightweight sleep sack every night at 16 months. It stays on even if she kicks the blanket off during the night and it’s just a part of her cozy bedtime routine.
Zip Pajamas - For birth to 12 months, my very favorite pajamas are these Owlivia zip footed pajamas. As cute as snaps are, zippers are just so much easier for middle of the night diaper changes. As I packed away the pajamas Sage had outgrown, I donated anything with snaps. I considered it a gift to myself for the next time around - I think we moms have earned a bit of convenience! The material of these Owlivia pajamas specifically is high quality organic cotton - thick but lightweight enough to be worn year round. They look great wash after wash too! Once Sage grew into 12 month sizes and up, my favorite are these Vaenait pajamas sets.
Manual Breast Pump - In addition to an electric pump, I had a great experience using this one-piece silicone breast pump. Once Sage started sleeping longer stretches, I found I was leaking a ton from whatever side I wasn't nursing her on in the middle of the night. I started using this pump and collected a couple ounces every night, just from the suction and completely hands-free. It would have been great to have for relieving engorgement in the early days of breastfeeding. The one piece design makes it super easy to clean too! I highly recommend it for any breastfeeding mom or mama-to-be. Next time around, I might even order a couple extra.
Lightweight Bassinet - For the first months of Sage’s life, she slept in a beautiful vintage wicker bassinet (one of my favorite thrift finds of all time) but if I hadn’t found that, I would have looked at something like this simple Moses Basket and stand. Having a lightweight bassinet that I could easily pull closer towards me to pick Sage up without getting out of bed myself made the late night feedings much easier. Bonus points that the stand has rocking legs and double bonus points that the basket is portable so you can move it wherever you need it in the house or take it with you into the bathroom to grab a quick shower.
Baby Bath Support - I didn't want an enormous baby bathtub that was bulky and hard to store, because they grow out of them so quickly! This Angelcare Bath Support is perfect. It has a simple and streamlined design, a soft mesh material that comfy for Sage, drains easily and has a built in hook for easy storage. Sage outgrew this around 7 months, but it was so useful that I am definitely keeping it to use with our next baby.
Muslin Hooded Bath Towel - These towels are so soft, dry quickly and look adorable on her! They are lightweight but very absorbent and they have little belts we can use to tie them like a robe once she gets a little bigger. We’ve been using them for over a year now and they’ve held up great!
Silicone Bibs - We are still using these roll up silicone bibs from Oxo Tot. The food catching pocket is a genius invention - for mealtime, there’s nothing better! Next time around, I might try some of these full silicone bibs from Mushie for even easier clean up. We have two and I think the most I would want for eating is 3. We used this brand of soft bandana bibs for the drooling stage!
Bowl and Spoon Set - For soup, applesauce, pasta, etc., we have this Miniware bowl and spoon set with a suction foot that keeps it on the highchair tray. It’s made from bamboo and is dishwasher safe. We’ve been using it for the last 10 months or so and it still looks brand new! I like that the spoon is made of soft silicone, so it doubles as a teething toy.
EzPz Mini Mat - This combination placemat and plate has been great for us! It helps me visualize portion sizes (compartments are 2 oz, 2oz and 4oz in this size) and suctions to the highchair tray or table so she’s less likely to flip it over. We bring it with us to restaurants too! We just have one but I’m thinking of getting a second one for when the first one is in the dishwasher.
Promptly Journal - I was having trouble finding a baby book I liked and my best friend surprised me with this one. She knows me so well! It's called A Complete Childhood History and it's a beautiful linen bound book with simple journal prompts from pregnancy to 18 years. It's really the perfect baby book! It comes in a bunch of pretty colors, ours is sage green, of course!
Door Jumper - One thing we did as first time parents that I recommend is borrowing or buying things second hand to find out if you (and your baby) like them. We borrowed an exersaucer and bought a swing secondhand, and enjoyed using them both. But items like that take up so much room and are bulky to store - I think it really depends on the layout of your house (small apartment versus two-story home, for example) whether or not you’ll use them. This adorable kangaroo jumper takes up so little space and Sage got so much enjoyment out of it that it for sure was going to make our list!
Wooden Play Gym - We borrowed this IKEA play gym but we fully intend to purchase our own for our next baby. We like the sturdy wooden base and the simple design. We got a ton of use out of this in the first year.
Lightweight Stroller - We started looking for a lightweight stroller separate from our Graco travel system once Sage could sit up on her own. We found this model by searching for “lightweight strollers for tall people” online. Most affordable umbrella strollers like this have handles that are too short for a moderately tall person to push comfortably but this one is perfect for us! It folds up easily and fits easily into the trunk of my sedan, and it has a convenient strap and carrying handle to make it easy to travel with.
My husband and I aren’t the type of people who need the best or top-of-the-line of everything, so not every item we bought and used for our daughter’s baby days were worth commenting on. But the things in this list have been our true must-haves! I hope this post has been helpful for you if you’re trying to make sense of all the baby store registry checklists and want some input from an actual mom who’s been there! Babies really don’t need that much. And of the things you do need, so much can be found in great condition secondhand because babies outgrow things so quickly! And lastly, if you are someone who values design and aesthetics don’t let anyone make you feel silly for trying to find “pretty” baby things. My daughter has plenty of bright, rainbow colored toys and things, but looking back I’m glad I kept most of our essentials neutral and simple. It’s just a little less chaos for my brain during a stage of life that can look and feel very chaotic! So you do you, mama.
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photography by Laura Metzler Photo for Zestt Organics
