I am NOT a proponent of the “no regrets” philosophy. (I indicate, it’s merely foolish.) There are points I regret – and on this case, I considerably regret missing out on quite a lot of the important points to do in little one’s first 12 months. (I imagine YOU may regret missing out on these must-dos in little one’s first 12 months too!)

A couple of of those regrets are minor, like “oh rats, THAT would have been issue to do…”, and some are additional important like “I’ll NEVER have the chance to do that as soon as extra”.

Fortunately, there are moreover numerous important points you want to do alongside along with your little one of their first 12 months that I did NOT miss out on.

(THIS POST PROBABLY CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. OUR FULL DISCLOSURE POLICY IS REALLY BORING, BUT YOU CAN FIND IT HERE.)

For busy moms that like stage kind, proper right here’s the brief itemizing of points to do little one’s first 12 months:

I do know not everybody appears to be throughout the “story” or why I did or did not do some points… nevertheless proper right here’s my itemizing of points that I imagine must be on every new mum or dad’s itemizing of points to do the first 12 months with a toddler:

Crazy important points to do in little one’s first 12 months:

I DID deal with to make handprint and footprint impressions, which might be really specific keepsakes I imagine. (You can merely do it with a little bit of bundle like this.)

And, though we did use largely second-hand clothes to get financial financial savings on little one’s first 12 months because of they develop out of the whole thing SO fast, we did splurge on a few cute little outfits so we’ve now sweet footage of our infants.

I had number of footage taken of me with my infants, even though I appeared like crap 75% of the time. You should have these footage of you alongside along with your itty bitty little one. You can’t take additional later.

I moreover held my children fairly a bit. I held them to sleep typically, I snuggled them late at evening time whereas I watched movies. I was working really laborious creating my enterprise whereas my children had been infants, nevertheless I knew that I needed to reap the advantages of this time to solely love them. Even if I was cautious to make sure I purchased in numerous snuggle time, it’s going to not at all be adequate. I nonetheless need there was additional time to snuggle them.

These 4 points, above, are probably essential points to me… and that’s why I did them.

If I COULD do it over as soon as extra, these are a few additional important points to do in little one’s first 12 months that must have made my itemizing.

(And I’m not talking about an insane itemizing that will protect you working and make the 12 months an exhausting blur… I’m merely talking about a few fundamental gadgets that can have taken little or no effort, nevertheless been very worth it.)

7 Points I missed doing in little one’s first 12 months:

Commemorate Milestones (- in a roundabout way, any how)

I don’t assume I had postpartum melancholy… nevertheless I undoubtedly had postpartum anxiousness and SEVERE postpartum insomniaand the two collectively did really lend themselves to some type of postpartum dysfunction.

All the first 9 months of my squishy little one’s life are a crazy blur. I didn’t THINK about taking a month-to-month milestone picture until he was 3 or 4 months earlier, and by that time I was so overwhelmed that it didn’t seem important.

I moreover felt like since I missed the first three months, there was no stage. (Which is ridiculous, nevertheless postpartum will do that.)

I would like I had commemorated each month of my little one’s first 12 months with a milestone picture.

Chances are you’ll get great cute milestone enjoying playing cards to utilize in little one month by month footage, or maybe a milestone blanket like this (that signifies their age) to place them on. I personally need I had gone for one factor like this milestone chalkboard the place you might make a mini report of points that occurred that month.

It’s insane how rather a lot little one changes throughout the first 12 months, and likewise you don’t completely understand it until you see it happening… OR how rather a lot it’s going to hurt to know that nowadays are GONE and you’ll’t get them once more.

Related: Keep in mind Mommy; “This Too, Shall Go”

Use the Queepsake App

Within the equivalent vein, I would like I had used the Queepsake App. It’s a simple app that prompts you to keep away from losing texts regarding the points your little one did that day. It appears identical to the COOLEST BABY THING EVER!

To be sincere, I didn’t ever hear about it until my son was presumably 6 months earlier, and I as soon as extra I assumed “it’s too late”… plus I had a toddler e-book and I figured I was going to fill it out.

Nonetheless the postpartum insanity (which was very precise) had set it, and I didn’t know it, and the instances had been turning into weeks and months… and I not at all did fill out the e-book.

It breaks my coronary coronary heart a little bit of that I don’t know exactly when he purchased his first tooth, took his first steps, talked about his first phrase, how rather a lot he weighed when he was 3 months earlier.

I type of assume he rolled over merely earlier 4 months earlier. Or presumably it was merely sooner than 4 months earlier. Nonetheless I’ll not at all know for constructive.

If I had been using the Queepsake app, I may need all the info now and I would swap it to the new child e-book.

Be part of (and USE) the Huggies Rewards Program

This one is simply a frequent sense issue.

We decided early on that we like Huggies Cosy and Dry larger than each different diaper we ever tried. They’ve this extra-absorbent blue layer in them they often had been the first diaper we found that lastly DID NOT leak and wake our son up at evening time.

So I’ve – besides I had no totally different decisions – not at all bought one thing nevertheless Huggies Cosy and Dry.

I heard regarding the Huggies rewards program early on, nevertheless I figured like “what variety of diapers will I REALLY buy? How rather a lot revenue can I REALLY get from a rewards program if I’m solely going to diaper 2 children?”

successfully. What variety of diapers will I REALLY buy?

Lots of.

THOUSANDS.

My sister and I BOTH have checked out our piles of empty diaper bins (that we ceaselessly save to retailer little one’s clothes as they outgrow them), and lamented the reality that we wait so prolonged to affix the rewards program.

Do you have to’re gonna be spending money on diapers every month (and besides you make the most of materials you WILL be spending money on diapers every month), you want to undoubtedly reap the advantages of the rewards!

You can redeem the elements you accumulate for reward enjoying playing cards, Melissa+Doug toys, or additional diapers.

Whichever rewards you choose, you are primarily getting free stuff in alternate for one factor you are searching for ANYWAY. You may really flip searching for diapers into on the lookout for free Christmas or Birthday presents in your little one.

I am insane to have not taken good thing about this rather a lot sooner.

Order ALL talked about diapers on Amazon Prime

This one is type of ridiculous to me because of I’ve PAID for Amazon Prime the entire time I had children, the entire time I bought diapers, and however I didn’t USE it for diapers.

Which is ridiculous because of:

Do you have to auto-ship your diapers (which you DO NEED and WILL USE) it could prevent 20%.

Plus, they current up at your door – no leaving the house.

Have you ever learnt what variety of events I’ve wanted to run to the store at 7 pm on a Saturday evening time because of we had been out of diapers?

Or how rather a lot money I may need saved if I had saved 20% of the whole thing I’ve ever spent on diapers? ( Merely over 300$. And that’s merely SO FAR. Which could have paid for the Prime membership 3 events over.)

You can be a part of a free 30 day trial of Amazon Prime proper right here, and start saving on diapers (to not level out the whole thing else you presumably can auto-ship; assume bum cream, nursing supplies, lavatory paper and plenty of others.)

Do Baby Led Weaning

For the love of all points meals, I would like I had achieved little one lead weaning with my first – of their first 12 months.

We did this with my second, correct from 6 months on, and she or he is a CHAMPION eater. I can sit her down in her extreme chair, put any meals on her plate and depart her to it. Then I can eat.

With my first, I had that rampant anxiousness, and whereas I can’t fully take note what I was afraid of, I do assume it’d want been choking.

Sooner than his first birthday, I gave him fruit and vegetable purees and cereals. You acknowledge, previous fashion little one meals solely.

My first is 2 and a half now and STILL gained’t eat most points. Feeding him is a chore like nonother.

My sister and my cousin and I all sit spherical and whine about how our first children gained’t eat, nevertheless following children, who had been merely ALLOWED TO EAT, will eat one thing.

All of us see this sample, and all of us need we had achieved little one led weaning in little one’s first 12 months with every. single. little one.

Related: Genius Baby Hacks for New Mom and father

Give them a snuggly issue to love

It’s type of humorous:

I merely assumed all children LOVE stuffies and may mechanically gravitate to them and join themselves to 1 or two.

Every my children HAVE these sweet Jelly-Cat stuffies. They’re the softest, cutest little points I’ve ever seen. (And so they’re distinctive top quality. My sister’s children DO love theirs very laborious, they often keep up for years!)

Nonetheless because of we did not diligently ship the stuffies to mattress and hand them to the infants many times n their automotive seats, and impress on the infants that these are cuddly buddiesneither little one has rather a lot use for stuffies. And that’s not at all been an precise disadvantage – until now.

We used pacifiers and slept WITH our youngsters, in order that they didn’t desire a “comfort” outside of those two points (to go to sleep, or to calm down, or to cheer up and plenty of others).

And that was always excellent… until now. Our oldest not makes use of a pacifier, and whereas I’d be comfy to nonetheless lay with him to go to sleep, it’s distracting for him. After I’m there, he needs to talk. It’s laborious to get him to place nonetheless.

It could possibly be SO EASY to solely tuck him in with a stuffed issue and inform them to snuggle until they fall asleep, or to talk to at least one one other for a few minutes. Nonetheless he doesn’t have a stuffed good buddy – because of we didn’t be sure he understood {{that a}} stuffed good buddy was a tremendous issue as a toddler, once they’re less complicated to influence of newest ideas.

Lastly, Freaking Relax About ALLTHETHINGS in little one’s first 12 months

My largest regret regarding the first 12 months with my first little one is that I couldn’t relax.

About one thing.

That first little one can really throw you for a loop!

Each factor was traumatic – feeding the new child (as I mentioned), bathing the new child, getting the new child to sleep, holding the new child asleep, realizing who’s (always differing) advice to take. Understanding when it was alright to depart the new child for the first time. Improve a foolish pumped milk stash, along with getting up and about to pump – on nights I barely slept – solely to throw the milk away two years later. (Because of we didn’t NEED it.)

I would like I had merely chilled the heck out. (I do know I’ve talked about this sooner than after I talked about simple strategies to profit from the primary week with a brand new little onenonetheless it’s true nicely past the first week.)

This may indicate varied issues for you than it does for me, nevertheless I significantly need I had co-slept with my little one and forgone all the evening time time battles.  Our first-year recollections embrace a LOT of nighttime battles. I would like I had be taught this e-book in my little one’s first 12 months.

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New Baby Necessities – What Do You REALLY Need?
Baby Bathe Objects for a New Mom
Breastfeeding Concepts + Hacks For New Moms

What are the important points to do in little one’s first 12 months as far as you’re concerned? One thing I’m missing?