WORDS FROM THE WISE | 11 Items You Didn’t Know You Needed in the First Year of Baby

New products are always in development to help us navigate through the first year with our new baby. It can be overwhelming not knowing what we need and what we can do without. After the birth of each of my six children, I have had next to nothing to help me through postpartum life with my babies and I have also had things that I found I didn’t really use or need. I wanted to share a few of my favorite items that I have enjoyed the last few years, during my last two pregnancies. From my favorite postpartum clothing staples to baby wearing and sleeping products, I hope you find these items as helpful as I did! 

Postpartum Clothing Staples

Maeband – Of course this is my number one choice for items needed! The Maeband is a stretchy and adjustable band, allowing your jeans to be worn throughout all stages of pregnancy, including postpartum. Bring some normalcy back to your post partum life by using your Maeband to fit back into your favorite jeans. The best part is that when you buy a Maeband  you are contributing to society. For each Maeband pregnancy belly band sold, $1 is donated to an annually selected charity or nonprofit organization. Each week, the Maeband family contribute to nonprofits or GoFundMe accounts through service or donations. Learn more about how Maeband gives back here. Maeband also is committed to helping students with their educational pursuits, and is eager to help them accomplish their goals.  Maeband is proud to offer a scholarship prize to studying moms. Learn more about the scholarship here.  AWARD WINNER: 2020 National Parenting Product Awards Winner and 2 time Bizzie Baby Awards

Nenikanopi – Hands down became my favorite breastfeeding cover during my last two pregnancies, and I have used all kinds. It is the first nursing cover to give me a handsfree view, 360 coverage, multi use options and drape-free canopy space for baby! It is quite literally a 4 in 1 nursing cover  and the only cover that holds the fabric up FOR YOU! Not having to constantly pull it away to look at my baby or give my baby more air was a game changer. You can also use as a scarf, canopy, car seat cover or poncho! Such a clever piece of material! AWARD WINNER: 2018 National Parenting Product Awards Winner

Baby Wearing

Lalabu Shirt – Babywearing made simple! No complicated wrapping or buckling, just tuck your sweet baby into the front pouch and give yourself incredible, hands-free support. I love how they make shirts for dads. They have made it so easy for my husband carry our baby around all day, with a simple change of his shirt. He gets to relax and watch tv, I get a much needed break and baby gets to snuggle with dad. WIN-WIN-WIN! My husband struggled with anything that had straps, so this was perfect for him. Simple and dummy proof! AWARD WINNER: 2018 Product of the Year Award by Baby Maternity Magazine for the first baby-wearing shirt designed for Dads

Nalakai Ring Slings – Simple and effective for carrying your baby hands-free and in style. You can keep your baby close to your heart, cuddled up to you in our super-soft and very lightweight bamboo and linen fabric.  So easy to use and great for so many ages! AWARD WINNER: 2020 Babylist Best Rings Slings, 2020 Mom Loves Best Best Ring Slings and WhatToExpect Best Ring Slings 

Ergobaby Embrace Baby Carrier – Designed for safe and easy baby wearing, simplifying day-to-day tasks, travel, and getting around for parents. I loved it because it was so simple and easy to put on. Super soft for keeping baby comfy and distributed the weight so I was comfy as well! Especially nice for unplanned outings because I can wear my own clothes (unlike the shirts) and just have this with me to use as needed. MULTIPLE AWARDS WINNER

Bath/Pool Time

Otteroobaby –  Unique design lets my baby rest their chin comfortably while water supports their weight. With your hands free it makes bath time a lot of fun! No more sitting in an uncomfortable bath chair or trying to hold a slippery baby. We loved using it in the pool as well! It gave our girls a lot more freedom to get to know the movements of their bodies in the water. MULTIPLE AWARDS WINNER 

Smart Swim Trainer Float – Such a great design to help babies remain in a natural swim position. Designed for maximum comfort, your baby will have a blast while building confidence as they learn to paddle and kick in the water. The wide sides helped keep our baby floating and reduced the possibility of accidental tipping over. Your baby will still be able to see and touch the water comfortably (The float was upgraded in 2022, I have not tested or used the new upgraded float). 

Sleeping Made Easy

Cocoon swaddles – Soft and simple, slip onto baby like a sock. Nothing to wrap or snap, no velcro, no zippers, no fasteners, 100% fabric. The best thing I have ever used to keep my baby’s swaddled! Regular blankets always come apart. Velcro ones are too loud, too tight or not tight enough. I felt like these most resembled how my baby’s would feel in my belly. It kept them wrapped just tight enough that they could still move a little to be comfortable, but couldn’t make huge sudden jerky movements that would wake them up. 10/10!Baby Shusher – So perfect for helping baby fall asleep and keeping them asleep. No more worrying about siblings being too loud and waking the baby up, and we have A LOT of siblings in our house! That was a constant problem we had before I got the sound machine. I would be upset, siblings would be upset because I was, and baby would be upset from lack of sleep. Now everyone is happy! The best part is that it has volume control, is portable and battery operated. The Baby Shusher uses a real human voice, lulling your baby to sleep with a calming shush.  AWARD WINNER: OHbaby! 2018 Gold Award Winner and BabyList’s 2019 Best Product Award

Owlet – The Smart Sock is the first baby monitor to track your baby’s oxygen level and heart rate while they sleep. If your baby’s readings leave their preset “safe” zones, you’ll receive a notification that lets you know your baby really needs you. Truly can help you sleep better at night knowing you will be made alert should your baby need you. MULTIPLE AWARDS WINNER

Snuggle Me Organic – The Snuggle Me® Lounger is a lounging pad designed to hug your baby’s full body. Being snuggled was great for keeping my baby calm and comforted. I loved using it for sleeping! It was perfect to keep in the middle of the bed for co-sleeping. I slept better, easily checked on my baby during the night and the baby was happy to be right next to mama. It’s so easy to carry and use anywhere, especially when traveling or going to grammy’s for the day. If you don’t co-sleep it also fit perfectly in a bassinet right next to the bed (DISCLAIMER: Since writing this BLOG the company has updated their website with safety precautions when using their product and they report it is not to be used for unsupervised sleeping. Please review their page and use as directed for child safety). AWARD WINNER: 2017 Family Choice Awards, and Moms Choice Awards 

From my favorite postpartum clothing staples to baby wearing, water play and sleeping products, I hope these items help you as much as they helped me! Congratulations on your new journey!