12 things I couldn't have done without in Tian's first 12 months

#12 Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder

These feeders were really great in the early stages of introducing solid foods to Tian. I put frozen food ice cubes in these and was able to have 20 minutes to eat my own food while Tian worked on these. They also were great to use with frozen food cubes when Tian was teething.

#11 Around the House Plastic Tub for Bathing

We decided not to buy a typical baby bathtub to use with Tian and instead just tried a small plastic tub we had around the house. At first we bought an infant comfy bath sponge to put down in the tub when he was super little but eventually we just went to using the tub and it has worked great! And we are still using it at 1 year of age and will continue until he grows out of it.

#10 Youtube Videos

I didn't spend much money if any on baby videos to put on to amuse Tian for hours at a time. While I thought the Baby Einstein videos were cool I really couldn't bring myself to pay $20 or so per video. So instead I found pulling up short videos on www.youtube.com became a great way for Tian to spend short amounts of time occupied by himself with me able to get some stuff done i.e. get myself ready for the day. One of his all-time favorites seems to be Will I Am singing on Sesame Street. Check out the above link for that.

#9 Favorite Toys
Little Tikes Pop Tunes Big Rocker Guitar
IKEA EKORRE Toddle wagon/walker


While Tian has a lot of toys he doesn't exactly play with many of them. Out of all of them however these 2 items seem to have been great hits. One was purchased for 25cents at a yard sale and the other $19.99 at IKEA. Great deals and great hits with this picky toy player. The push cart was especially great in helping him learn how to walk.

#8 Salvation Army Thrift Store and Goodwill

I think it is pretty ridiculous to pay $20 for a pair of baby jeans so one of my favorite stores I have begun to hit more and more is the Salvation Army Family Store and Goodwill. I have found clothes for Tian that are basically brand new and in excellent condition - jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, shoes, coats, a snowsuit and toys too. My favorite day is Wednesday when all clothing and shoes is 50% off at the Salvation Army Store!!!!

#7 OXO Tot Baby Food Freezer Tray

These trays have been super helpful in making baby food for Tian. I love the lids and how easy it is to just fill them with the food, put the lid on and freeze them without worries until emptying them into freezer bags. While regular ice cube trays could definetly work the convience of these trays with lids is well worth it.

#6 Rumparooz

Cloth diapering has gone quite well with Tian but if I could do it all over again I would change one thing and get ALL Rumparooz diapers. I went ahead and purchased several types of cloth diapers to try and while several of the other types were OK the Rumparooz turned out to be the VERY BEST and we love them. The snaps are better than the velcro however as the velcro does seem to wear out but the Rumparooz rarely if ever leaked and were great quality. So for me the ideal cloth diaper experience would be all snap Rumparooz.

#5 Planet Wise Diaper Pail Liner and Diaper Dekor Plus Diaper Disposal System


My husband and I came up with this system for storing the dirty cloth diapers and it has worked beautifully. No dirty diaper smell in our bathroom and super easy to use. Just pull out the diaper pail liner when it is full and take the whole thing to the wash and wash the pail liner right with the diapers. I would say when the pail liner is in the diaper pail it holds about 15 diapers before needing to put in another pail liner so I purchased two to just go back and forth with.

#4 BabySmart Cooshee Changer

This was a wonderful purchase for a diaper changing station. No washing of sheets required just a Clorox wipe every so often to wipe it down. If an accident does happen while changing baby, once again just a quick wipe with a Clorox wipe or wipe. And it is super soft and comfy for baby to lay on even though my now almost toddler continues to fight every diaper change.

#3 Baby Bjorn Smart Potty

Since our intention was to have Tian start sitting on the potty as soon as he was able to sit by himself we wanted to make sure we got him something comfortable and his size. This potty has worked great and Tian continues to like sitting on it and reading his books while going potty very regurlarly now:)

#2 Books
Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (La Leche League International Book)

The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two by William Sears

While I am a big fan of the internet and find out a lot of information just by searching on the web I do like to have some good book sources on hand anyway. The above mentioned books were well worth their purchase and very useful in this first year of raising a baby. I found the super baby food book very helpful on how to make baby food and the amount of food to feed baby and look forward to trying a lot of the recipes for meals for my soon to be toddler. The breastfeeding book was very encouraging in making sure I was doing everything right with breastfeeding and when I had some difficulty early on it was very useful to go to and find out what exactly was the problem and how to fix it. And the baby book was great to read and make sure we were doing everything right with an infant and to make sure Tian was developing ok during his first year. All are great reads and I highly recommend them all.

#1 Troy (Husband)

And of course I couldn't have done without my #1 help Troy my husband. From help with diaper changes, to mid-night going back to sleep rockings, to playtime so mommy can give music lessons, to all the household help including changing cat litter - definetly the #1 thing I couldn't have done without in Tian's first year was Troy:) Love ya Troy!