Basic Essentials to Prepare for 3-12 Months of Baby’s Life
After around 8-12 weeks of giving birth, most new mothers and fathers start to feel a little more used to their new life with a newborn. The baby may begin sleeping a little longer during this period as well and so there is a little more opportunity for more rest and possibly some shopping/preparation for the next stage of the baby’s growth.
4-6months:
Clothes:
- Around 10 sets of clothes to wear in the day (ie. short sleeved 1-piece rompers (my faves as it is the simplest) OR short-sleeved tops + shorts). You can roughly gauge how quickly your baby is growing by then, but I’m guessing half of these can be 6-9m sized while the other another half can be 9-12m sized.
- Around 6-8 sets of clothes to wear in the night (ie. footed pajamas OR long-sleeved rompers + footed pants/long pants + socks). You can roughly gauge how quickly your baby is growing by then, but I’m guessing half of these can be 6-9m sized while the other another half can be 9-12m sized.
- Around 10 cloth bibs. I like those which have a waterproof layer behind so the baby’s drool cannot soak through the bib onto the clothes.
- Around 5-10 sets of socks/booties
Other essential items:
- Sufficient diapers of the appropriate size.
- Sufficient baby wipes, nappy rash cream, baby moisturizer, baby soap, etc
Other optional items I find super useful:
- 2 pairs of drool/suck pads if you use a carrier often
- 1-2 teethers which can be placed in the fridge too be cooled
- A playmat so they can lie/do tummy time/sit on a padded area besides their cot which may be too soft
- Any type of toy which the baby can stare at dangling over/in front of him (eg. cot mobile, activity gyms, etc)
- Any type of toy which the baby can put into his mouth safely, ie. easy to clean and not a choking hazard.
7-12months:
Clothes:
- Around 10 sets of clothes to wear in the day (ie. short sleeved 1-piece rompers (my faves as it is the simplest) OR short-sleeved tops + shorts). You can roughly gauge how quickly your baby is growing by then, but I’m guessing half of these can be 9-12m sized while the other another half can be 12-18m sized.
- Around 6-8 sets of clothes to wear in the night (ie. footed pajamas OR long-sleeved rompers + footed pants/long pants + socks). You can roughly gauge how quickly your baby is growing by then, but I’m guessing half of these can be 9-12m sized while the other another half can be 12-18m sized.
- Around 5-10 sets of socks
Other essential items:
- 1-2 waterproof bibs to use during feeding of solids.
- At least 2 plastic feeding spoons.
- If you are planning to do traditional weaning, a blender or food processor.
- Once your baby is able to walk supported or unsupported, a pair of pre-walkers.
- Sufficient variety and quantify of foods to introduce your baby to in the appropriate sequences.
- Sufficient diapers of the appropriate size.
- Sufficient baby wipes, nappy rash cream, baby moisturizer, baby soap, etc
Other optional items I find super useful:
- A large enough playpen and/or baby safety gates to keep your baby confined within a safe space.
- A walker and/or exersaucer to allow your baby to practice taking some steps or even have the freedom to roam
- If you are planning to do traditional weaning, 2-4 freezer trays with covers and soft bottoms.
- A pram to suit your lifestyle is useful by this age as they can sit well and are also getting quite heavy.
- A baby carrier to suit your lifestyle is useful if you do not yet have one or your baby has outgrown the newborn carrier as your family is likely to want to be more mobile and baby is getting too heavy to carry for long periods.
For what the essentials are before the first 3 months of baby’s life, please see this other post.