Motherhood 8 years ago

15 Baby Essentials for Months 1-9

Luckily when I was pregnant I had a good amount of friends who already were mommies. Each of them passed down their list of baby essentials that I would need to buy for Chloe’s arrival. To be completely honest when I saw the list I wanted to cry because I felt so overwhelmed with the amount of things I needed to prepare. So what did I do? I ended up buying EVERYTHING on the lists because I wanted to make sure I was completely prepared. Although that may have seemed like the smart thing to do, I ended up having to make SO many returns because I ended up overbuying. Time is money, and money is time, and once you have a baby you lose all your time. The last thing you want to do is spend all your time returning products that you don’t need. So today I’m going to give you a compressed breakdown of the things that I found most important. These products are things I use every day, and can’t live without. Although the list can get a lot more extensive than this, I wanted to keep it simple and stick with the basics. Every mommy is different, and every baby has different needs, so don’t think that this list is the end all be all. I just wanted to share with you a comprehensive list of products that worked for me, and could possibly work for you too! So without further ado here are my 15 baby essentials for months 1-9!

1. Bassinet

I put a bassinet bedside so I could easily reach for Chloe when she was crying at night. She’s since grown out of the bassinet and has moved on to the crib but this was an essential when she was first born. I personally bought the HALO bassinet and I ended up buying 2 of them because I loved it so much. One of them we kept next to our bed and the other one we kept downstairs. There are a variety of bassinets but out of all of them this one was my favorite because it swivels 360 degrees and rocks back and forth. It also comes with a night light which is a complete life saver when I was doing middle of the night feeding. And my favorite function? It has a vibrating option along with a white noise option. This actually helped Chloe go to bed so much faster! It’s a bit pricier than the other bassinets but in my opinion completely worth it!

2. Creams

I bought so many creams before Chloe was born but the creams that I ended up using the most was the Triple Paste (I swear by this! Chloe didn’t have a single diaper rash…not even one!) and Aquaphor (which we both still use). Chloe has extremely dry skin so Aquaphor did her skin wonders and helped with the dry patches.

3. Diapers

There are a lot of different diaper brands out there, but the ones that I’ve been using are from HONEST & Pampers. They seem to hold a lot especially when she has one of those accidental explosions! I love the HONEST diapers because they are thick and sturdy and who doesn’t love the fun designs on them?

4. Burping Cloths, Pads

Oh, how I miss those days … NOT! That is definitely one thing that I don’t miss about those early months. I lost count of how many times I’ve gotten thrown up on. That’s why I had a number of burping cloths laying around the house in practically every room. Out of all the burp cloths I used, I loved the Burt Bees burp cloths the most because they were extremely soft, gentle, and easy to wash. Another thing I had in literally every room were nursing pads. I highly recommend on investing into boxes of these if you are planning to breastfeed. Breastfeeding is no joke and is a major commitment and you have to make sure you are prepared for a leakage at any time … so nursing pads are a MUST!

5. Diaper Trash

I personally used the Diaper Genie and not sure how we would’ve survived without it since babies poop ALOT the first few months.

6. Changing Station

Although I don’t use her changing station any longer I used it every day for the first 9 months. It’s just nice having a designated changing area for the baby which ensures you won’t be getting poop and pee on the rest of your furniture (trust me it happens!). I personally used this one HERE, and what I love about it is that I’ve been able to use it as part of her storage now that she’s older. I organize her shoes and her accessories and toys on it now!

7. Baby Wipes

Baby wipes are your best friend during the first 9 months (Actually…they still are!). I personally loved using the HONEST wipes along with the 7th generation wipes. I have a big box full of them around the house and a smaller pack in my diaper bag.

8. Baby Tub

One of the scariest things for me after having a baby was giving her a bath for the first time! She was so small and so fragile! I ordered this bathtub to ensure that Allen and I could give her a bath safely. It supported her head and reclined slightly which ensured that she wouldn’t slide off. She used this pretty much every day until she turned 9 months! Now she’s in the big girl tub 🙂

9. Boppy Pillow

This was a complete life saver when breastfeeding. I had this particular one called the Brest Friend pillow. It literally saved my arm and shoulders from all the long hours of feeding. When you are feeding around the clock you want to make sure you support your arm, back, and neck or you can easily get injured. I actually ended up having some shoulder problems from breastfeeding, but this pillow was able to relieve the pain in my shoulder and help me relax it a bit more.

10. Baby Books

I read a lot of books when I was pregnant to prepare myself for what to expect in their first year. It’s always great to educate yourself and have an idea what having a baby will be like before the baby comes. Of course, there’s no better experience than life experience so we learned as we went on. But these books helped me and gave me piece of mind!

11. Breast Pump

This Medela pump was my best friend. I literally carried this thing everywhere I went. I’m not sure what I would’ve done without it! Especially if you are a working mom, and you are not able to breastfeed your baby during the day. You need to make sure you pump during the day because 1. you  need to keep up your milk production and 2. you need to get that milk out of your system or else you might end up getting what’s called mastitis. I had it twice while I was breastfeeding and it was the most painful thing I’ve ever been through.

12. Sterilizer

This is key you guys, especially since I have a dog in the house it was really important for me to keep anything that goes into Chloe’s mouth super sterilized. Of course now that her immune system is stronger, we don’t have to worry about her as much but using a sterilizer was super crucial during those first few months. I used this one and I highly recommend it!

13. Baby Bottle

For obvious reasons baby bottles are important, but finding the one that works best for your baby is even more important. I found that Chloe really loved the Medela bottles and nipple. We used these for a very long time and then we moved on to the Munhkin Latch bottle.

14. Cradle and Swing

From months 1-6 Chloe lived in these swings. She played and took naps in them during the day. We had 2 swings but her favorite one was this one HERE. From the gentle music to the swinging stuffed animals … she would just lay there in awe! We loved this so much that we ended up ordering 2 of them. One for upstairs and downstairs!

15. Stroller

Amongst all of the strollers that I’ve found, the one that I love the most is the Nuna stroller because it’s so easy to take apart when traveling. I took this stroller with me when I traveled with Chloe to New York and Paris and it was the easiest thing to travel with, not to mention it was super durable! I’ve also been using the Stokke stroller recently. This one is definitely one of the more high priced ones out of the strollers but is completely worth it! Besides the chic and sleek design I love all the different function of this stroller. Chloe seems to like sitting in it longer than the other strollers as well. I’ve been alternating between the Nuna stroller and my Stokke one!

I can’t believe Chloe is already over a year old! It seems like just yesterday when I was freaking out about buying all of these items. But trust me, all of you new mommies or mommies to be- it gets easier as you go. Hopefully, this list will ease some of your worries and for all of you experienced mommies out there, be sure to leave a comment on what your essentials were!