Our most-used baby products from the first year

Noah is turning one next week, which is absolutely unbelievable. I’m not okay!! It’s crazy to think we have almost made it a whole year as parents. I wrote a blog post a while ago about the baby products that got us through the newborn phase, so I thought I’d post an updated list with our most-used products from the first year! You’ll see some repeats here, because some things are so good they’re worth mentioning again 🙂

All images in collage are from the links below.

Feeding

Muslin cloths:

Used: literally at least one every day since birth

We probably have 20 of these, and truly, it isn’t too much. In the newborn days, we were going through them faster than I ever could have imagined, because we used them FOR EVERYTHING. Like, I needed to have a muslin on my person at all times. Now, I don’t reach for them as often, but they are still really handy when I need to wipe something up quickly!

Tripp Trapp high chair + newborn attachment + baby set + tray:

Used: multiple times a day, every day, since 4 months

We bought the Tripp Trapp high chair when Noah was about 4 months old and still needed the newborn attachment. We immediately loved it so much, and wished we had bought it earlier so he could have been in the high chair more! Now we use the baby set and tray when Noah eats. (We also bought the harness because at about 9 months, he started trying to climb out of the chair at every meal.) It’s super high quality and looks nice; no wonder it’s so popular! I will say, the one negative for me is that I find it really annoying to clean sometimes. We have been doing baby led weaning, meaning Noah feeds himself most of the time, and that gets messy. There are so many little ridges and angles in the high chair (since it is adjustable, which we love!) and food tends to get in them. We are still really happy with it since we know we will be able to use it for years to come, but maybe something to keep in mind if you’re high chair shopping. (Also, we bought one of the cushions to go on the baby set, but literally never use it. Skip that.)

Ezpz eating set

Used: multiple times a day, every day, since starting solids

We have kept it pretty minimal as far as Noah’s eating supplies. We basically have 2 sets of plates and cups that we use every day. We got this eating set, and then this plate, and this straw cup. That’s all we use! And they are all perfectly made for little eaters.

Smock & bibs

Used: multiple times a day, every day, since starting solids

The best bibs we have used are similar to these from Konges Sløjd. They hold their shape and the pocket stays nice and open to catch food! For messier meals, I like this smock.

Sleeping

Bibs pacifiers

Used: all day every day (and night) until about 9 months

Noah used to use the “Supreme” pacifiers from Bibs, but we switched over to the “Colour” line in the winter. He loved the Supremes, but his cheeks got very irritated in the winter, and we realized that it was partly because the pacifiers were spreading saliva onto his cheeks, and they were getting dried out in the cold. The Colour pacis curve away from the face, so they don’t spread saliva at all. He stopped taking a paci randomly at about 9 months old, but we loved the Bibs Colours when he would take them!! (Another bonus of the Colour pacis and similar ones is that it’s much easier to find paci clips that fit them, since they have the loop/handle on them.)

Sleep sacks

Used: every night and crib nap since transitioning out of the swaddle

Noah has been using sleep sacks ever since we transitioned out of the swaddle at about 10 weeks. My favorites are from Kyte Baby, which is a US brand, unfortunately not available in Denmark. I’ve been on a hunt for a good alternative here, but haven’t found one that I love. I know lots of people like Halo, which we have not tried, and I’m curious about these, which are made from cotton & bamboo, like Kyte!

White noise machine

Used: every night and crib nap since about 1 month

This is an absolute essential, in my opinion!! We use white noise whenever Noah is sleeping in his crib. We started using it when he was maybe a month old, and I definitely think it helped him sleep better afterwards. We also turn it up a bit whenever we have people over in the evenings, and Noah has never woken up during a dinner party!

We used this one for a long time, and I liked it, except for 2 things: first, it doesn’t come with a wall adapter, so you have to buy that separately if you don’t have one on hand. And second, I wish that it had a digital read for the volume. My husband and I often disagreed about how loud it should be (lol) and I think it would have been helpful if we could have said, “We’ll have it at volume 15 for naps and 10 overnight,” for example. But instead we would just go back and forth adjusting the volume until we somehow agreed on an okay level.

We switched to a Hatch sound machine after visiting my family in the US in December. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be available in Europe (we use an adapter for the plug). Hopefully it will be soon, because we love it!! You can control it from the machine or from an app, and the app has a digital read for the volume, just like we needed;)

Places to put the baby

Bugaboo Fox2 stroller

Used: at least once a day, every day since purchasing

Y’all already know that I love our Bugaboo Fox2 (read my full review here!). A good stroller is obviously an essential; we use ours every single day. I also love and recommend these accessories: cup holder, rain cover, footmuff, stroller gloves.

Ergobaby Omni Breeze baby carrier

Used: probably at least once a day until about 6 months; now once every few days

We tried out a few carriers before landing on this one. I really like that it is super supportive, and has 4 different carry positions: inward facing, outward facing, back carry, and hip carry. This model is adjustable so it can be used with newborns to toddlers, and both my husband and I can use it. (Admittedly, I prefer the look of the Omni Dream— same functionality, but I just think it looks nicer. It was not available when I bought the Breeze!)

Like most newborns, Noah loved being in the carrier when he was little, and my husband and I would both wear him a lot. He also went through a phase of hating the stroller (when he wanted to sit up but couldn’t yet), so it was essential that we always had the carrier with us when we were out! Once Noah started crawling, he started to prefer being on the ground so he could explore. But I often reach for the carrier when I need to do chores, like laundry or dishes. He’s happy to chill on my back for a bit, and I can get things done with my hands completely free and know that he isn’t getting into any trouble. We don’t use it every day anymore, but I’m always happy to have it when we need it!

Baby Björn bouncer

Used: multiple times a day, every day, from birth until about 9 months

This was absolutely one of the most useful things we bought. I used it every day until Noah was probably 9 months old and started to get mad whenever I put him in it (he could sit upright by then and didn’t like to be reclined). We loved that it was a comfortable place to put him, and it was so light and easy to move around! It also folds flat, so we would sometimes take it with us if we were going to be spending time at someone else’s house.

Baby Björn travel crib

Used: multiple times a day since about 8 months

Once Noah became mobile, we realized our apartment was really, really not babyproofed. We got this travel crib and set it up in our kitchen so that we have a safe place to put him when we need to do something else, like make food or do dishes. We would have loved to get a play pen or something bigger, but we just don’t have space for that in our apartment, so this was a perfect solution. We keep a bunch of toys in there for him so he can entertain himself for a few minutes (although ever since he started standing up, he mostly stands and watches us). The best thing about this is that I swear, he CAN NOT hurt himself in there. He falls all the time, and just smiles. (We have used it once or twice for sleeping if we were out somewhere past bedtime, but we haven’t used it overnight, so I really can’t say how it is for sleep… but hopefully we will try it out soon! I’ve only heard good things!)

There you have it! This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it definitely covers a lot of our favorite items and best purchases. Some of these were definitely splurges, but we’ve found them all to be well worth it, clearly!