I was talking to my also pregnant friend last night and she was asking some advice on baby products that she will need since this is her first pregnancy. She was talking about how stressful it is to pick a brand or item, and how she has done hours and hours of research. I totally remember those days. I would get so stressed out about which swaddle or pacifier to order. I was trying to remind her that it won’t matter and that she is such a great mom. And then I realized that maybe I should be stressing a little bit more! I honestly hadn’t even thought about all of that again. Maybe it’s because I know so much more now that I’ve been through this newborn thing once.
But it did start me thinking about which items I wouldn’t want to live without. We didn’t have too many panics once Belle was here, but there were a few things that I had to send people out to buy or that I would run out of and be stressed about. So I thought, in case it’s helpful to anyone else, or at least so that I can remember to stock up ahead of time, I would make a quick list of what I consider to be necessities from the start.
Earth Mama Angel Baby Nipple Cream. I have sang the praises of this product on here multiple times, but I truly believe it is what allowed me to continue breastfeeding. I buy it for all new mommas and will stock up myself towards the end of this pregnancy. I hated Lanolin and so did Belle. So I always tell new moms to maybe have a couple of different things on hand like this in case your baby refuses to nurse at any trace amounts left on you.
http://www.earthmamaangelbaby.com/breastfeeding-support/natural-nipple-butter.html
A Boppy and multiple Boppy covers. I didn’t take my Boppy to the hospital last time because I thought I would just use pillows. Oh boy. As the nurse on day two told me so herself, I had no idea what I was doing when trying to nurse (Yes, I broke down and cried when she said that!). One of my struggles was that Annabelle had an IV in, but even then, I really think I was so uncomfortable trying to position twenty hospital pillows correctly at 2 am when I had no idea what to do. Once I got home, that Boppy became my best friend and I used it for the first 6 months! You definitely want lots of covers. Just take my word for it. My baby was messy.
Swaddle blankets. Soooo. No one really told me that when you are changing your baby’s diaper in the middle of the night, they will probably pee when you first open their diaper and the cold air hits them. This took me way too long to figure out what was going on. That first night, let’s just say we went through all of our swaddle blankets and I was in a panic that I didn’t have more. I l.o.v.e LOVE Aiden and Anais. This is not sponsored, but I wish it was. Aiden and Anais, you should sponsor me because I love these blankets and give them to everyone as new baby gifts. I still keep one in Annabelle’s diaper bag, in her room, and in the car. They are the best! And they are especially amazing for new babies. They are the perfect weight and so cute. I could only swaddle with these.
http://www.adenandanais.com
Once we stopped swaddling we moved right to the Aiden and Anais sleep sacks. I used these for probably way too long. But I love them! I would still have her use them if she would let me. Now I just go in her room multiple times a night to cover her back up. I hate thinking she might be cold.
A caddy. I kept things for Annabelle in one side and things for me in the other and carried this thing all over the house with me when Belle was first born. I would keep snacks, my Earth Mama cream, chapstick, and journal in one side for me. And diapers, burp cloth, pacis (even though she didn’t take one), onesie in the other for her. I loved having all of these things right with me so that when I’d get up to nurse in the night and watch Gossip Girl (woops) I could just grab Annabelle and this caddy and be ready. Did I mention that it took Annabelle 45 minutes to nurse each time for the first few months. Wow, I watched a lot of Gossip Girl.
This is the exact style I have, but of course mine is purple.
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/m/products/light-pink-gingham-diaper-caddy/?pkey=e%7Ccaddy%7C18%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C15%7C%7C3&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH
One piece footy pajamas that zip. This is total preference, but we had some gowns last time for easy diaper changes, but her socks never stayed on so I worried she was cold, and I had to completely unswaddle her anyway so she was awake. She never really did that sleepy nursing and fall right back to sleep anyway. And trying to button up a million little snaps or buttons in the night drove me crazy. I just prefer the zipper jammies and I still do. She sometimes wears some two piece, big girl jammies to bed now, and I go in and check on her a million times through the night and pull the shirt down or the legs down because I hate when he skin is exposed. She might not sleep better in one piece, zippered pajamas, but I sure do.
A box fan. I love a box fan to sleep with personally. I don’t care for sound machines as much because I like the box fan to keep the air moving in her room. I don’t point it at her, I just like it running because it makes the air seem fresher and not so stagnant. Plus I love the sound. I think the box fan drowns out sounds when a noise machine just adds background noise. Annabelle can sleep through anything with a box fan running.
A journal. I can tell you that I honestly still write in her journal a few times a week. I love it. But when she was really small, it helped keep me sane. Now of course, all of the writing is so fun to look back on, but at the time, I did it just because it felt like the only thing that gave me a little bit of control and organization. I would write down when she nursed, when she slept, when she pottied, etc. And then I would write her little notes about what she did that day. It definitely helped me because there were times that I had no idea when the last time she ate was or if she had pottied recently. I was in such a haze those first few days, that it was important for me to write that stuff down.
I will keep adding to this, but this is for sure what I would recommend to any new mom.
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