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.
