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Babies & Toddlers

Six Must-Haves For Baby’s First Six Months

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Before having a baby, I harbored idyllic visions of only a few of the most beautiful wooden toys and gorgeously illustrated books neatly stacked in the nursery. I was hoping the “less is more” philosophy could apply to my life as a new parent. After all, hadn’t my grandmother and great-grandmother and generations of women before me done just fine without a Rock N Play Sleeper?

Oh, how wrong I was! Not only is our home now overrun with toys, the gadgets and devices for merely getting through the day are too many to count. And during the first 6 months with a new baby there were just as many things that I begrudgingly put on my registry but found they prevented a lot of headaches. Here are the must-have items that made life infinitely easier with a little one.

Whitney C. Harris is a freelance writer living in Westchester, NY. She had her first child, a daughter named Rowan, last summer. Find her at whitneycharris.com.

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  • A Two-Sided Nursing Pillow

    A Two-Sided Nursing Pillow

    I don't think nursing pillows were all that common just a generation or two ago, but these days, they are considered the best way to feed your baby without breaking your back. My two-sided Boppy pillow has been my constant nursing companion, as I used the soft side for the first 6 months, and have more recently transitioned to using the firmer side. The U-shaped design was also the only way to get my daughter to do tummy time for the first four months.
  • Foot & Arm Rattles

    Foot & Arm Rattles

    After months of leaning over my baby to show her toys and books and assorted interesting things, I was relieved to discover foot and arm rattles – something she could engage with all by herself at such a young age. Soon after strapping the colorful trinkets to her wrists and ankles, she would start punching and kicking the air, breaking into a smile whenever she heard the resulting jingle.
  • Water-Resistant Changing Mat

    Water-Resistant Changing Mat

     Diaper duty takes up a big portion of your time for the first 6 months, but you shouldn't have to spend extra time washing a fabric changing mat. A good friend insisted I buy the Keekaroo Peanut Diaper Changer. It cost far more than I ever thought I would spend on such an item, but you clean it with a quick wipe of a cloth and you're done. It's faster and easier than any other diaper pad out there.
  • Big Window Fan

    Big Window Fan

     Any mom worth her salt will tell you that white noise is great for helping baby sleep. It took me two months to accept this simple fact but once we started using a window fan, our daughter slept like a pro. The noise lulls her to dreamland and the air flow is good for keeping the nursery from getting stuffy.
  • Bathtub Insert

    Bathtub Insert

     The thought of having to buy an extra device just to bathe my baby was extremely frustrating (can't I just plop her in the sink?), but I don't know how I'd do it without the Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium Bath Center. It essentially cradles your little one in a safe, tub-like chamber, and has three different stages to transition through as your baby develops. I plan on bathing my babe in this device until she'll no longer let me.
  • Take Along Tunes Musical Toy

    Take Along Tunes Musical Toy

    I would never in a million years have picked out the Take Along Tunes musical toy for my baby. It looks like a brightly colored iPod for tots. Of course, it's my daughter's absolutely favorite plaything and stops any crying in two seconds flat. I don't know if it's the classical music or colorful lights that soothe her, but it always does the trick, especially when we're in the car and she's throwing a fit.

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