Your Baby Guide to the First 6 Months
6 months in, these were our most used baby items and what to skip. Plus some words and advice to new moms like me!
“The days are long but the years are short”. Boy, it’s funny how life with a baby changes you and your perception of time. As a new mom, this quote has become my mantra and flashes through my head anytime people ask how I have been and what I have been up to. Coming up for air, here are some reflections over the last 6 months with life as Millie’s mum.
Baby’s require a lot of stuff. You DO NOT need all the crap but get your wallet ready because you are going to go through a lot of trial and error (countless swaddles, diaper rash creams, bottles, etc). I can sit here and say I will try and save you some money but realistically this is life with kids. I’m going to share what worked for us but please take it with a grain of salt because this might look different for you.
Before I get into things by category, here are some top highlights that I personally felt are musts whenever someone asks me for my top 3 newborn essentials.
This stroller for on the go! Will be incredibly sad the day she outgrows it.
These diapers ONLY.
Hire a sleep trainer. Ours was Jamie. She will get your baby sleeping through the night in 2 weeks at a reasonable price. Tell her you know me and shell give you 15% off. Trust me.
Between the first 0-3 months you are in a newborn bubble (lots of highs and lows here but don’t worry you’ll get through). Your life revolves around feeding, napping and cleaning. At this stage you are figuring out which swaddle / bottles / formula / pacifiers work best for your baby. At 4+ months, your baby starts teething which is FUN! Get ready for lots of drool and no sleep again. Here are some of my musts broken out by category:
Wear
Everyday: these plain white onesies (both short + long sleeve versions). You’ll be living in these, trust me. Plus once baby starts teething you can easily throw on a pretty bib to make it cute.
Pajamas: These are the best and easiest to put on (we loved the pointelle ones). We personally did not like anything that had a cross-over, buttons, or those weird elastic gowns. The elastic bottom gowns freaked me out, especially the days when her umbilical cord area hadn’t fully healed yet.
We liked these zipper ones (size up). This brand made the softest ones with the cutest prints. LAKE also has cute prints but you have to size up by at least 2 whole size ranges. they run TINY.
Burp Cloths: People told me to buy 100 of these and I did but we really didn’t need that many plus I found them way too thick. They were good for big clean ups and messes but I mostly liked these better because they were thin, would dry quickly and much easier to pack on the go. I tuck under her chin for feeds and always have with me to gently clean around her mouth.
Bibs: Millie started teething at around 4-5 months but didn’t get any teeth until closer to 7 months. She would go through like 5 different bibs a day. We loved these scalloped ones and these Etsy versions. These Amazon ones as back up once we ran out of the cuter more $ ones.
Carrier: I loved this one. Also love this cheetah version. I probably put Millie in it closer to the 2 month mark. Before then I felt she was too little. I tried this wrap but couldn’t ever figure it out so I never felt fully comfortable in it. Used like 2x LOL.
A common Q I got asked was when to turn her front-facing in carrier and we did this between 4.5-5 months when she had better neck control.
Diapers: These are truly the best. Trust me. I have tried Honest, Pampers, Huggies and none compare. If you are a Costco member though I did hear the Kirkland brand makes good thick ones but have not personally tried myself.
Main Stroller: This stroller for everyday. We stopped using the bassinet feature once she started turning and in tandem transitioned her to crib sleeping around 3 months. We also turned her to front-facing in stroller around this time.
Diaper Bag: This chic one clips onto stroller or you can wear as a cross-body & get this bag as your baby’s personal tote with their initials.
Play
The only thing that kept Millie entertained all day and still does to this day at 7 months! YOU NEED THIS TOY. So dam ugly, but so dam good. It’s a viral toy for a reason, even John Legend made his own rendition to one of the songs which is Millie’s absolute favorite we dressed her up as it for her first Halloween. It’s the only thing that kept her entertained so young and we played to distract her during tummy time, while she got her shots and ears pierced. Tummy time is brutal for some kids and for some not. Millie did not care for this or this tummy time toy but other moms swore by them idk.
This Bouncer - Millie started using this probably around 2 months when she was big enough and used until she was around 4 1/2 months. Even though it’s a “container” It does not put pressure on her head so no worries on flat heads here! We brought this with us everywhere since it’s easy to fold and super light even to the beach! Buy the attachment, too.
I would say around 3 months, this was Millie’s favorite toy. Now she is into anything she can put into her mouth that’s not a toy LOL.
You need allll the teething toys! Buy different kinds and try them all, trust me. We would throw any silicone ones in the freezer and give to her on the mat. Millie loved these, these and these with frozen berries in them.
Eat
We used the Nespresso formula maker and still do. Truly best invention ever just remember to clean it properly or else you’ll be feeding your baby water. We tried all sorts of formulas: Similac, Bobbie and Bobbie Gentle. Ultimately, the one solved her belly/gas sensitivities was this one which we still use to this day. Again, this is very much so dependent on how your baby reacts / how well they feed so please do what’s best for your baby. Don’t be formula shamed, at the end of the day fed is best!
These were the bottles she liked best. We tried Como Tomo, Dr. Browns and some French brand recommended by a Doula but ultimately the PA ones worked out the best. This is just like swaddles, you need to try 100 of them until you find one that works best for your baby.
Also, make sure you are going up in nipple flow sizes as your baby grows! A lot of feeding complications stem from this.
We loved this high chair. We tried the Lalo but the base is a little wide on the bottom that won’t fit tucked away n a corner so it awkwardly took up space in our NYC apt.
This post includes the baby food processor we use now that she is starting to eat and our favorite spoons, sippy cup and suction plates for her first bites.
Sleep
Swaddles: You are going to buy 100 different kinds until you find one that works best for your baby. There isn’t a “best” one for all. We tried HALO, Ollie, SwaddleMe velcro ones, the MOC flannel one, the hands up one, literally every single one. When we hired our sleep trainer Jamie, she finally showed us a technique that worked best for Millie since she kept escaping out of each swaddle.
Crib Mattress: this one! I have a code for you if you want: STEPHANIE50. We also liked their travel crib which doubles as a play pen. It is massive but we liked that since we knew she’d have plenty of space once she started moving and turning at 3 months. We borrowed my SIL’s Graco once on a family trip and found it to be way too small.
This sound machine and the portable version, get the combo. This baby monitor. Truly the best. I can’t live without being able to see Millie on my phone when I am away or Chase is. Just make sure you get the flex stand if your bundle doesn’t come with in order to use when traveling. We thought this was included in ours but was not and had to buy one last minute on a trip.
Things I would not buy again / we did not use:
Snoo - people either hate it or love it. We rented this for 3 months (once we transitioned Millie to her crib). We never really turned this on for her to sleep unless we were desperate during fussy nap situations. Once we hired Jamie we taught Millie how to self-soothe so this wasn’t needed.
Diaper rash spatulas? Save your $7, you don’t need this LOL. You also don’t need 100 diaper rash creams. You just need baby acquaphor (which helps with dry skin and cheeks, too) or if you want to get a specific diaper rash cream you need to buy one with 40% zinc in order to be effective.
Boppy Pillow- I only BF for like a week though so I am not the expert here however my friends who did BF liked this one better (Boppy is too rigid and stiff). We would use the Boppy for tummy time occasionally but really didn’t need. We were told you could also use to prop them up but she was too wiggly and would just topple. I vote skip.
Changing Pad Liner’s - skip and buy the disposable ones. There’s too much peeing and pooping going everywhere to be washing those 3x a day.
Doona attachments - you don’t need this snap on storage attachment thing. This stroller is meant to be on the go, so you’ll be unclipping that every time you get in the car / collapse the stroller. I returned mine! But do get this travel bag for gate checking to protect from wear and tear and germs.
Diaper Dispense box - if you have good wipes (these are the best), you don’t need. They come out neatly for clean ups and the lid keeps them moist and secured.
This Electric Nose Sucker - very weak, didn’t work great. Just use this manual one or get this more $$$ electric one that actually works.
Baby Booster Floor Seat - this is really only used for a tiny, tiny period of time. By the time we took this out of the closet to use, Millie was already leaping / wiggling too much to be in this. Save your money and skip.
Linen Swaddles- the amount of these that I got as gifts OMG. You cannot swaddle a baby in this because of the stretch. We used maybe max 2 when we’d travel to block the light from her face in stroller or on plane but that was it.
Know you will be getting so many baby blankets as gifts so don’t buy any yourself! If you are thinking what to get a new mom don’t buy this, get her food delivery or a pack of Coterie diapers instead.
You don’t realize how much stuff baby’s require until you’re living in a NYC apartment without infinite storage space. I definitely didn’t cover everything but these were what came to mind as I reflected on those first 6 months.
Also linking my full list of Amazon purchases organized by age and what we use for travel if helpful!
Lastly, you know how quickly your baby will outgrow things so keep the things you used / loved and donate the rest. Take your time to look into local charities near you that support low income moms or pregnant women. Places like these will take bath tubs, clothes, unused diapers and all the stuff that didn’t work for your baby but might work for someone else in need.
Two ones I found in NYC were The Bridge to Life (drop in person in Queens) and Room To Grow (based in BOS & NY where you can donate by mail so it couldn’t be easier to help).
If I missed anything you loved comment below, I would love to hear your favorites as I am sure other mamas would.
xx
Steph
