10 of Our Most Used Baby Items in the First Year

I honestly still cannot get over that Sloane is now a whole year old! I look in my Timehop app and there are so many pictures from last year and I don’t even remember her being that small. So much changed in such a short period of time. They seriously grow so fast it’s unbelievable.

Believe it or not, I really think I am more of a minimalist when it comes to baby products and being a mom. Looking back on this last year, we didn’t use a lot of items for very long. It is true what they say, you really don’t need much for the newborn phase. But of course there are a few items here and there that make life easier haha. I wanted to share my most used baby items today! This is a great reference if you are pregnant or even if you need to buy a gift for a shower.

Bibs | High Chair | Snot Sucker | Mattress

Changing Pad | Play Mat

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10 of Our Most Used Baby Items

Hatch Changing Pad

I have absolutely love this changing pad. The best part about this one is it has a scale in it too so you can weigh baby. I found that to be extremely helpful especially in between doctor’s visits. I was able to know right away that she was getting enough to eat and that she was gaining weight as needed.

There is also an app that tracks the progression for you so you can see how much they have gained over a period of time. I also loved that I always had an idea of what her weight was so I could figure out what size diapers we needed. And I could plan a little better if I thought we could use the same size or if we needed to jump to the next size. We still use this for every diaper change, although these days she’s getting a little big for it!

Play Mat

This play mat has been worth every penny and more! Once Sloane started to do more tummy time and really ‘play’, I decided to order this one and have not been disappointed. It is thick and even when she takes a tumble there is a lot of padding so she doesn’t get hurt as easily. Honestly, it just works great for play time. And it helps that the colors/design are pretty so it blends in with the decor of our room! I’m not a fan of the zebra print, but I love the blue and white stripes which is the side we have it on. We use this every day for play time.

Newton Mattress

This is the mattress we ended up selecting for Sloane for her crib (see her nursery here) and I have loved everything about it. Not only is it completely breathable so I’ve never had to worry about a thing. But everything about it can be washed! Even the insides of the mattress can be hosed off. It’s something that I never thought we needed, but there have been so many times I have been thankful we have it!

Owlet Monitor

This monitor is probably up for big debate but we absolutely loved it! I bought it right when she was born. Knowing that she was early and her lungs were potentially not fully developed is what sold me on this product. We used it every night for at least four months. And then after that we kind of would use it every now and then. To be honest, the sock was making a lot of false alarms and it would conveniently go off right as she was about to fall asleep. A big con to the monitor, but that far outweighs the benefits.

So we stopped using it for a few months until she decided she was going to become a stomach sleeper. Wow, those first few nights of that were scary! We used the monitor and knew it would go off if she was in trouble. We used that for a few weeks until we were comfortable again.

As a new mom, I loved being able to look at the app on my phone and seeing that she was breathing. I know it sounds silly, but it brought me a lot of comfort. And for that reason alone this monitor is 100% worth it!

Hatch Sound Machine

The absolute best sound machine! I love this thing so much. It is so easy to work. Has a great app that you can adjust on your phone so you don’t have to go into their room and potentially wake them up. And it has a back up battery which I didn’t know we needed until our power went out one night. I sprang up in bed because it was eerily quiet, except for Sloane’s sound machine. Luckily the battery kicked in and she never knew anything happened. This is also super easy to travel with and we have taken it with us on many occasions.

High Chair

This is the absolute best high chair. I actually have been meaning to write a full review on it, but here are my short notes on it. This was the high chair I always had on my list because everyone raves about it. But I couldn’t get over the fact on how uncomfortable it looked. So I ended up getting a different high chair and every day regretted my decision. I hated the first one I choose so much. She was always slouching in it and never sat full upright which made me really nervous when she was eating. So eventually I decided to sell it on marketplace and get this one– the one that I should have gotten in the first place!

I love that it is fully adjustable and works for even young babies. If you plan on doing BLW this is a must because it pushes them to sit upright. It is easy to clean, the tray comes off easily. The straps are kind of hard to work, but we don’t use them. And the only reason why we don’t is because if she were choking I wouldn’t want to be fiddling with them to get her out. But I might be overlooking that because now she loves to stand up in it and she gives me a mini heart attack every five seconds because she looks like she is about to fall over haha.

I would personally skip the cushions. I originally bought them and used them for maybe a couple of months. But once baby starts eating and feeding themselves, things get messy! So it’s just one more thing you have to wash. And it is much easier to just wipe it all clean.

Noodle & Boo Products

Noodle & Boo make the absolute best smelling baby products ever! I can’t get over how good they smell. I have tried to use different products on Sloane and after one use I throw them away and go back to Noodle & Boo. They are just that good. I know they are a little more expensive but they really do last a long time. We love the lotion, body wash and shampoo.

Bibs

These bibs are one baby product that I never knew I needed, but we use them every single day! My girlfriend gave me a ton of her old ones. And then I found this set on Amazon that are plain colors, which makes matching their outfits a little easier haha. These are great for all ages too because they have two different sizes. So when they are really small, they still fit snug against their small necks. I used these for every feeding. And then once Sloane started to teeth she wears them all day, every day. Defiantly one of the most used baby products this past year!

Diaper Genie

This is an absolute must for diaper changes. And makes your life a lot easier too. They do tend to smell a bit, but I just tried this odor eliminator and it does such a good job! The other ones I’ve tried in the past just mask the smell. But this one actually gets rid of the smell. We have only had it for about a week now, but you don’t get hit with that gross smell now when you walk up our stairs and into Sloane’s room.

Snot Sucker

This thing is so gross yet works so well. I started using this almost every day when Sloane started daycare and was exposed to more germs. She now hates this thing and tries to bat it away haha. Can’t say that I blame her! But we still use it so much.

And one more honorable mention is the Snoo. We loved that thing! But to be fair when looking back on the last year, we didn’t use it that much. I wrote a full review on it here. We really feel that this bassinet helped her become a much more independent sleeper and she was able to learn to self soothe at a young age.

What were your most used baby items?