Before my son was born, my husband and I made the prenatal pilgrimage to register at a big box baby store for all the baby stuff we thought we’d need. We were excited, overwhelmed, and just a little bit skeptical. Would we have room in our apartment for tricked out swings and bouncers? How could there be so many variations on the pacifier? Did our little guy really need all this baby stuff? Turns out, he was indifferent to some items, like the ubiquitous lovey blanket, and totally tickled by others.

Here, the go-to baby items that kept our baby -- and his first-time parents -- happy throughout his first year.

0-3 Months

Pacifier My reluctance to introduce the pacifier -- for fear my son would be screaming for this addictive baby item at age three -- quickly subsided when our pediatrician endorsed it as a great way to soothe a fussy baby and help him to sleep. Pacifiers may also help reduce the risk of SIDS, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. So now we keep a few in the diaper bag and by his crib.

Activity Mat Now that our son has conquered that baby development milestone of walking (or more like running) around the house, it’s hard to remember that our baby ever hung out exclusively on a round piece of fabric in the family room. For the first three to four months he happily played beneath the soft, padded arches of his activity mat, swatting at colorful, dangling toys, or strengthening his back muscles during tummy time.

Car Seat-Stroller Combo Baby items come with a lot of straps. It may seem like you’re constantly clicking and unclicking, locking, and unlocking. Enter the detachable car seat and stroller in-one, which lets you transfer your tike -- from the car to the stroller and back again -- while he’s still happily nestled in his car seat (so you’ll never have to disturb him from his nap).

4-6 Months

Swing In the early days, my son was mostly unfazed by this particular baby item. He couldn’t focus on the mobile swirling above him, and even the lowest setting was a bit too fast. But as he packed on the pounds, he found his swing sweet spot. The rocking motion and music helped soothe, entertain, and coax him to sleep whenever he refused to nap in his crib. Plus, it gave me a few precious, hands-free moments.

Toys to grasp Once your little one finds his fingers (one of the cutest baby milestones!), between four and seven months, he’ll be reaching for the remote, your earrings…you get the idea. My son was crazy for a lightweight ball we found that had plenty of large holes his fingers could grip. He also loved to hang onto colorful linked rings that doubled as teethers and pliable plastic rattles.

Floor Seat When I first put my son in his floor seat, which helps your baby into a seated position, his eyes lit up. This was a baby item he could get on board with. Propped up in this new pose, he also had a fascinating fresh perspective on life. Look for baby seats that have straps, detachable toys, and that can double as a booster seat for meals on the go.

7-12 Months

Exercise Gym In the months before he developed his walking skills, my son’s activity gym was one of the baby items at the center of his universe. He loved to pull up to a standing position and explore the keyboard, mirror, and other toys, which made pleasant clicking and clacking sounds. Our gym came with a detachable seat, which rotated around the table. My little one loved to propel himself in circles, and I loved that he could get his legs working without leaving the room.

Stuffed Animal My son’s stuffed monkey is practically a member of the family -- he dines with us on occasion, gets kisses at night, and travels with us on family vacations. While it’s important to keep stuffed toys and other objects out of the crib during the first year (to reduce the risk of SIDS), Monkey’s always been game to demonstrate how to brush one’s teeth, play peekaboo and lay perfectly still for a diaper change. He’s a comfort and constant companion -- in other words, perfect as far as baby items go.

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After my daughter, Morgan, mastered the art of sitting up by herself at five months, we knew the next baby milestone was our baby rolling over. All the signs of readiness were there: sleeping on her side, rolling onto her shoulder, crossing one leg over the other while lying down. We tried all the techniques, such as putting a toy where she would need to roll over to get it, showing her how to make it happen, and going from both back to belly and belly to back. There were many times she came close but couldn’t quite make it onto her stomach from her back.

Three days shy of her six month birthday, while watching her sleep on what my husband and I lovingly call stalkervision, aka Morgan TV, aka our video monitor, we heard a noise. Suddenly I saw her head pop up, and there was my baby rolling over right there in her crib. It was then I realized that all the action happens when she thinks we aren’t looking (which would later be confirmed even more when she started crawling in her crib). There she was, lying on her stomach in her crib, ready to sleep for the night. Baby milestone completed? Check!

I was very informed about the dangers of babies sleeping on their bellies and about SIDS, so I began to panic, even though her baby development move was quite impressive. She was sleeping for the night, and rolled over by herself, so should we just leave her there? I didn’t want to wake her or disrupt her sleep, but I also had her safety in mind. I told my husband to very gently move her back onto her back to sleep. Mission: completed.

The next day, we wanted to witness our baby rolling over in person and not on a blurry monitor screen. We put her on her back and placed her favorite rattle just out of reach. Morgan easily rolled over onto her belly to grab it, then rolled on her back and kicked her legs in joyful pride as we celebrated our baby’s development halfway through her first year of life.

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I loved breastfeeding Isabel, my firstborn, but after several months of doing it around the clock, I was ready for a change. I couldn’t wait to break out those tiny jars of baby food and was excited to see what her reaction would be to the colors, textures, and new flavors. But when it was finally time to take that big developmental step and start solids, I quickly learned that the process would have its ups -- and downs.

Here’s what we experienced along the way to this baby milestone.

Sticky Stuff
When Isabel was starting solid food, her pediatrician suggested that I serve up single-grain cereals. I trotted to the market to load up on rice, barely, and oatmeal, and then mixed a tiny bowl for her first meal. Sadly, this mush must not have tasted very good, as Isabel would have very little of it!

Color Coded
To make things a little easier, the doctor suggested going through each vegetable and fruit by color. Isabel’s next meals were all the same sunset shade -- squash, peaches, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Her diapers were mostly orange! I gave them to her one at a time and waited a few days in between serving new baby food to ensure that she didn’t have an allergy. After the orange group, we moved on to green foods, including peas, green beans, and some avocado that I had mashed up for her. It was clear that with this baby milestone, I was going to need some patience.

Nice and Slow
I learned that if I tried to spoon Isabel’s baby food too fast, she would turn her head away. She only wanted a small amount, as she was developing her tastes. So, I started serving tiny portions of solid food and added more to the dish if she was ready, letting her be the guide.

Bigger Pieces
After she’d mastered purees, we moved on to little bits of soft foods, which made feeding her super easy. I simply cut up what we were having for dinner (stewed chicken, peas, mashed potatoes), and served up a pint-sized plate.

Now that Isabel has conquered this baby milestone and developed into a healthy eater, I can look back on those days of starting solid food with a smile. They may not have always been particularly easy (or tidy), but they were the start of what I hope is a lifetime of wholesome eating habits.

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At baby superstores, you can always spot a new dad who’s there for the first time. He’s got this deer-in-the-headlights look. I know, because a little over two years ago, I was that guy!

My vision was swimming with cribs, pack, plays, and strollers when my wife gave me a simple task: Register for a daddy diaper bag. “A bag?” I thought. “I can handle picking out a bag!”

There are so many diaper bags for dads on the market -- purse-style, messenger bag, backpacks, bags with a million pockets, simple totes. I felt a bit intimidated, but after browsing the entire rack, I settled on a gray and black messenger bag. I liked its appearance and figured -- hey, a bag’s a bag.

Now that my son is fifteen months old, I realize that a diaper bag is not just a regular bag. Your very sanity depends on a well-designed diaper bag! I loved many aspects of my daddy diaper bag, but I can compare it to my wife’s tote diaper bag. Both bags had pluses and minuses.

If I could construct the perfect diaper bag for dads, it would feature:

The Right Color and Fabric: Dark colors, like gray, black, and navy, are not only manly, but they’re functional, too. Darker colors hide stains from dirt and food easily. A tough, utilitarian fabric also helps keep the bag looking brand new even though you’ve hauled it to and from a dozen playdates. My bag was so tough that I could toss it in the washing machine, which really helped when Henry squeezed a food pouch all over it!

The Right Shape: I appreciated my messenger-style diaper bag for dads, as it went well with my entire wardrobe, but a backpack-style bag would be even easier to carry.

Compartments: Lots of compartments help keep everything -- diapers, wipes, keys, and phone -- organized. Digging through a big bag with a single pocket is a nightmare, especially when the baby is trying to wiggle out of a new dad’s arms! Look for a bag with side pockets for bottles or sippy cups.

The Extras: My bag came with clips, so I could easily attach it to the stroller. It also came with a changing pad, so I could change Henry in places without changing tables. Mine was very wide and had a plastic backing, so messes were easy to clean up.

It’s the little things that can really help new dads get into the swing of things -- a well-equipped diaper bag just being one of them!

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I honestly don’t think potty training would be such a big deal if everyone didn’t treat it like some kind of Olympic event. “Carolyn was out of diapers by 18 months,” bragged one fellow mom with her sights set on a podium finish in our play group. “Have your tried using a reward chart next to the potty?” offered a well-meaning friend as she cast a definite look of pity at me and my still-in- diapers, almost three-year-old daughter.

The truth is that I tried it all: gold stars, stickers, even tasty treats. I tried everything, when I realized I was taking the wrong approach. It wasn’t lack of ability that kept my daughter, Shaina, from bonding with the potty; it was lack of interest.

Shaina was talking in complete sentences, while her underwear-clad friend struggled to string three words together. “Forget the reward system and appeal to her intellect,” I told myself, as I headed for a local store to purchase several pairs of “grown-up” undies covered with images of my daughter’s favorite cartoon characters. After washing them and carefully arranging them in her dresser drawer, I invited her in for a peek and my well-reasoned pitch.

“So,” I said, “your birthday is just two weeks away, and there’s something very special that happens when children turn three. Do you know what that is?” As she nodded her head from side to side, I continued. “When children turn three, they give up wearing baby diapers forever. To celebrate that, when you wake up on your birthday, you get to wear this beautiful underwear from now on, and the baby diapers will be gone.” All this was said with incredible enthusiasm and a big grin on my face.

On the days leading up to her birthday, I repeated the story with continued zeal with one last reminder the night before. The next morning, Shaina called me to meet her in the bathroom. “Look,” she said with obvious pride pointing to the contents of the potty. With high fives all around and ohs and ahs over her choice of undies, I was delighted to have this baby milestone behind us, even if she didn’t win a gold medal.

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