new mommy must-haves
During my pregnancy, I was constantly seeking out brand new moms to see what their must-haves were with a new baby. However, what you will find is that everyone’s opinion is different on what you absolutely need for your baby. While many moms might say you absolutely need one thing, others say not to waste your time and money.
So, what do you absolutely need? Well, I don’t have the answer to that because I know my baby are different from every other baby out there. But, I will tell you the things that we absolutely could not live without the past month…
Angelcare Deluxe Movement Monitor
As I mentioned the other day, MacKenna has been sleeping in her crib since day 1 – thanks to this monitor! There is a sensor pad that gets placed under the mattress that will detect even the slightest movement, including the rising + falling of her chest from breathing. If no movement is detected for 20 seconds, a warning beep goes off. If there is still no movement for 10 more seconds, the alarm sounds.
The first week or 2, we had quite a few false alarms (Matt hadn’t placed the sensor in the middle of the bed and MacKenna was just so small that I think the monitor had trouble picking up her movements), but since then, there’s been pretty much no false alarms (she’ll roll off of it every once in awhile, which sends me sprinting into her room, only to find her on her side). We didn’t sleep well the first week, but since then, we have been sleeping peacefully given the little sleep she gives me.
Boppy Newborn Lounger
She’s changed so much since this picture! She was 2 weeks old in this picture – it’s amazing the difference 2 weeks makes! Stop growing so dang fast, baby girl!
This was something we hadn’t registered for but received as a gift. It is the perfect seat for her when she is perfectly content just sitting or when we are trying to eat. I actually think this is a better buy than the other Boppy pillows. (They are great for just holding or bottle feeding a baby, but terrible for breastfeeding. And MacKenna tends to slip down a bit in them if I put her in it to sit. Maybe when she’s a little bit bigger.)
Newborn Disposable Diapers
Yes, I am a huge advocate for cloth diapers and will try to convince anyone to use them. I bought newborn cloth diapers so that we didn’t have to wait as long to start her in her bumGenius Elementals. But, I gave birth to a peanut baby (I keep getting asked how early she was… oh, you know, she was a week late!) so she didn’t fit in even the newborn ones.
Thank goodness for newborn disposable diapers! I hate filling the landfills with all these diapers, but am so thankful I had some on hand. (Thanks in part to my wonderful church choir and the diaper shower they gave us!) Plus, her bowel movements are so irregular right now that I would probably run out of cloth diapers on a daily basis (I have 24) since she tends to poop immediately when I put a new diaper on her. *sigh*
[I actually put her in the cloth diapers today since we will be home all day just in case of accidents. We will see how this goes and if we need to wait another week or 2 before we start using them exclusively.]
Changing Pad Liners
I don’t know why, but MacKenna also likes to wait until her diaper is off first thing in the morning before she decides to do her business. Thus, potty is EVERYWHERE. (She actually has projectile pooped twice – once with it going all over the wall. Ew.) These liners have certainly come in handy so I don’t have to wash the changing pad cover on a daily basis. I have 3 liners right now, but will probably go buy another pack since we go through them pretty quickly.
Automatic Bouncer
This thing is a lifesaver! We weren’t able to use it the first 2 weeks because she was so small, but now that we can, it is a surefire way to get her to sleep. Of course, she has to be calm in the first place, but it’s helped me get some stuff done so I’m not holding a baby all day! (Not that I mind that, but it’s hard to make yourself breakfast or lunch one-handed.)
Soothie Pacifiers
The one thing I absolutely did not want to give my baby was a pacifier. I was afraid that we would have nipple confusion. But, after she decided to nurse for over an hour while in the hospital, we decided that a pacifier was necessary. I love these because they are actually nipple shaped (I can’t believe I am talking about nipples on my blog), unlike the Nuk pacifiers. We can’t even get her to try the Nuk ones – she automatically spits them out. I also think the Soothie pacifiers helped with bottle feeding since they are similar to bottle nipples. And we have not had any issues with breastfeeding, thank goodness!
Summer Infant SwaddleMe
I wish I could swaddle like the nurses in the hospital do, but I just can’t (obviously). These have been great for putting her to bed! I put her in a onesie and swaddle her in one of these. It helps her sleep a bit longer than if she wasn’t swaddled.
Like I said, these are the things that I absolutely could not have lived without the past month. They have helped me keep my sanity and help keep a happy baby.
Not a real smile (I actually think this was a yawn), but I can pretend, right?
Moms, what are some things that you’ve absolutely needed with your newborn? There are still a ton of things on my wish list that I just haven’t gone out to get, like a baby carrier. Homegirl hates the Moby with a flaming passion, but I think it has something to do with me not being able to get her in it comfortably.