Baby Boy's Necessities: Months 0-6

Our sweet baby boy turned 6 months old this weekend (oh boy, time to start thinking about that first birthday party!). His turning 6 months old got me to thinking about all of the baby products we have bought/received and which ones were a waste, useful, or just plain essential. When I asked Josh this question, his answer of essentials was bottles...well, no shit sherlock...I was trying to get more at the products that aren't real day-to-day living necessities, but more along the lines of optional. I found it very hard to pick less than 10 items: I was aiming for 5, chose 6, and probably could have chosen a handful more. So, without further ado, here they are:

1. Bumbo baby seat. We were a little late getting on board with this product, so I don't know how young Colton could have realistically sat in it, but since purchasing it around his 4 month birthday, it has been a lifesaver in several occasions. Before having a baby, I didn't comprehend that baby boy would constantly have to be held or laying down for the first 6 months or so of his life. When laying down is not an option, this thing solves our little problem: plop baby boy in and all of a sudden, he can sit. It's lightweight as well, which makes it easy to take to places like the beach, tailgates, driveway, kitchen while I cook, etc.


2. Glider. Now, admittedly, I am not saying THIS glider has to be THE glider, but a rocking chair of some sort located in baby's room is essential. Trust me, when it is 3AM, and all you want is for baby to fall back asleep, you don't want to have to go much further than a few feet from his crib to accomplish the mission.


3. Changing top. Obviously, some sort of changing table is essential, but I am so glad we purchased a changing top to put on top of Colton's dresser (purchased from IKEA) rather than spend money on some changing table. Not only does it look nicer (in my humble opinion), but is actually way more practical in the long run, as baby boy will theoretically use his dresser for many more years.


4. Sophie the teething giraffe. We got Sophie as a shower gift, and for months she hid on the top shelf of Colton's closet, as Chipper had decided he had a love for Sophie that couldn't be denied. One day I was watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians and noticed Kourtney's baby with Sophie...hmmm. Some days later, I was watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey (really intelligent tv choices, huh!?!) and noticed Jacqueline's baby chomping on Sophie as well. Baby boy was definitely teething at the time, and we had had very little luck with teething rings, etc. because he couldn't grip them well enough, so I decided to give Sophie a try. Well, it was love at first bite. Colton hearts Sophie; she now travels everywhere with us.


5. Diaper Genie. I had friends make fun of me for being the person that registers for this thing, but let me tell you, our house does not smell like dirty diapers, and that is worth gold to me. Plus, we (Josh, actually, I refuse to do it) only has to take out diapers once a week, not daily.


6. Bouncer. Again, it doesn't have to be THIS bouncer, but much like the bumbo, this little chair is completely portable, and thus easy to insert baby boy in a variety of locations: on top of the coffee table as we watch tv, on our dining table as we eat dinner, in the bathroom while I take a shower. When Colton was itty bitty, he loved the vibrating on the seat; now that he is older, he loves trying to grab at the toys.

Like I said, it was really hard to try to narrow down our baby products to a few "couldn't have lived without," especially because there are a few more that I am really glad to have had: the Baby Bjorn for hands-free activities like walking Chipper or football games, our video monitor for watching baby boy sleep and knowing he is safe, and our Flip video camera for recording baby boy's fun moments, but in our world, the above 6 have been absolutely essential.

Anyone else have other ideas out there? Maybe there's something we need for the next 6 months?