First Year Top Picks

Alright, I meant to do this post a little after Caycen's first birthday, but just haven't had the time to do it. I wanted to do a post of my "favorite things" that I would HIGHLY recommend for baby's first year. So here are some things that are "must haves" for me:

Babywise book:

I read this and went by the book all the way until he was 12 months old.  It was soooo helpful for me.  I really and truly believe that scheduling was the reason that Caycen was such a happy baby and has slept well since he was born.

Boppy Pillow:

This is definitely a "must have" especially if you plan to nurse your baby. But even if you don't nurse (I stopped at 3 weeks because of some MAJOR issues which you can read about here) it is so helpful with an itty bitty.  I used it when feeding or even just laying him in the bed when he slept.

Cloth Diapers used as burp cloths:

I bought the big packs from Walmart to use as my burp cloths because they are soooo much thicker and clean up a lot more than real burp cloths. My baby was a "happy spitter" so he spit up a lot until we started him on solid foods.  These were a lifesaver!

Sleep Sound Machine:

We have used the sound machine since the day we brought Caycen home from the hospital and we're still using it. I absolutely LOVE this thing!!!! We also use a box fan in his room now because it's even louder and he sleep great.

Crib:

I know this one is COMMON SENSE, but we have had Caycen sleeping in his room since he was 3 weeks old!!! Yes, when I stopped nursing him we decided to move him to his room because we just weren't getting ANY sleep. Every noise he made I was jumping up to see if he was ok, but once moving him to his room we slept like "babies".  Now, I know it's probably a lot easier to have baby in your room if you're nursing, so I most likely would have kept him in our room if I was still nursing.

Glider:

We love our glider because it is part of our OH SO SWEET bedtime routine.  We do bath, then lotion and pajamas, then read TWO books, say prayers, and it's down for bed.  (I did however, leave out the part where for a VERY long time part of our routine was to ROCK Caycen to sleep, which we just stopped doing about 2 months ago).  This is one of my favorite parts of the day and without the glider it would not be possible :)

Ducky Tub:

This tub was so great for when Caycen could sit up by himself, but still had a few bobbles and would fall over.  He LOVED this tub! Thanks to Julie for recommending it to me!

Dr. Brown's Bottles:

Even though these things can be a PAIN with all the parts and cleaning them, they are WONDERFUL bottles!!!! I know that I said that Caycen was a "spitter" but I think these bottles really helped with the gas. Will definitely be using these with the next baby.

Bouncer:

This was Caycen's FAVORITE thing to do for the longest time! And if I needed to get something done, I could stick him in there, he'd go wild for a long time, and I actually got stuff done. :)

Miracle Wrap:

I know you guys have seen the swaddlers with the velcro and all, which we used for a long time... but then one day Baby C was just too big for them. We came across the Miracle Wrap and he could not get out of it! He slept so good with it. 

Glow Worm:

When we put Baby C to bed, we give him his glow worm and he just loves it.  He loves looking at the light and listening to the sweet music.  He still uses it when he sleeps.

Children's Music CD:
I really think that any CD will work. But I got this CD from Walmart for like $5-$10, can't remember exactly. It has tons of kids songs on it like "Bingo", "Down By the Bay", etc. and any time that Caycen is getting cranky in the backseat, I turn the CD on and he is quiet right away.  He even tries to sing some of the songs.

Bumbo Seat:

This was awesome for before Baby C could sit up by himself without falling over. We used this a lot when getting ready in the mornings :) I mean look how happy he is in it!!! haha!

Wubbanub:

This little passy was awesome for when he was itty bitty and couldn't pick up the passy himself. I will be giving these to all of my friends that have newborns because I love them so much! (Unless of course you don't want your baby to take a passy).

Well, I'm sure there are TONS of other things that I used that I would recommend... but these are on the top of my list for my next baby... whenever that will be :)  

Hope you enjoyed this post!!! Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Love,

Aimes