What to really get new Moms

When we got home from the hospital we were so unprepared and didn't even know we were. Here are a list of things I will buy new Moms. And no, I am not advertising for anyone, these were our must-haves, both right away and now.

Random must haves:  These items helped us soothe our baby or take care of him when illness/gas was the issue. I really recommend the Happiest Baby book, it helped us understand him and these early months and what to do to soothe him. 

Max has real issues burping, these really help for when he  has bad gas pain and he can't get it out. 

While no pedi will give you a dose typically under 3 mos without having them come in, good to have on hand in case of high fever to give right away due to shots, sickness, etc. 

Babies love being held in your arms and bouncing on the ball, reminds them of movement in the womb. Also good for pregnancy and birth!

I'm a pacifier believer after Max was born with such a strong sucking reflex. These worked well for the first  6 weeks or so, now he's found his hands and thumb. 

It's nerve wrecking to think you'll have to use this, but when he/she seems sick you'll have to do it. Rectal thermometer. We have one like this and it works quick and he doesn't even cry when we take it.

Diapering

Forget all the traditional diaper rash creams, this is good  to use when baby is first born and less harsh. Our pedi recommended it. 

Love Pampers, Hate Huggies. There is a strip on the middle of the diaper that turns blue when yet, yellow when not. LOVE. 

We tried using store brand wipes and he got such bad rash we had to go with name brand. These don't bother him if we rinse them before hand and keep them in a container that keeps them moist still. 

Useful to put over boys so they don't pee on you during diaper change. It at least deflects it. I use these in peepee teepes sometimes (Max pees a lot)

A must for moms with boys. It took my getting peed on 3 times before deciding I needed to use something EVERY diaper change!

If your boy is being circumcised (not looking to debate this here, just a tip) have these three things on hand, what they sent us home from the hospital with was NOT enough for us and we had to go buy more supplies to keep over it. (Use craft stick to put Vaseline on gauze and cover)

 Clothing: Unless she is supermom, her baby will most likely live in pjs. Getting clothes over newborns heads is scary and uncomfortable for parents and for baby. Here are the clothes we loved until he got to be a little older.

Onesies with side snaps- no over the head! Bonus if they have the fold over mitten cuffs!! The full length ones like the one at the back are best, stay down much easier in a sleep sack or with pants. 

Zip up sleep n plays that have the fabric over the zipper so it doesn't scratch baby. Max lived in these, both cotton, fleece, or terry depending upon layers/temp outside solely until about 2 weeks ago. We now finally put him in other clothes. These are easy, no socks to worry about and so great for diaper changes and NO over the head! LOVE!!

Bath time: With Max having more sensitive skin, we skipped using any soap except on his head. Skip the smelly stuff (I know, hard to do for some, but it really is better for them not to be exposed to perfume/dye/etc.) We love this one by CA Baby. We also use this lotion. Also, use the blue hard plastic tub. We got one of those and a cool seat thing, turns out he was too young right away to use the cool seat thing. Maybe in another month or two, so get the annoyingly huge blue plastic tub. And Youtube/Babycenter have a lot of videos on how to wash baby- helpful to watch during first bath which is only after cord stump falls off. 

Bedtime: Establish a routine, never to early!! We didn't until he was 5 weeks or so and I wish we would've started sooner. Max started sleeping long bouts once we used the white noise machine (this one or we bought a fan CD on amazon, love it!!) and swaddle him. Without these, 2.5 hours in a row if we were lucky. With, 6-7 hours in a row. AMAZING!! 

Sound machine we bought at Target, it's a projector for when he gets older too

We used Swaddle Me's until he could get out of it at 8 weeks (STINKER! Too strong for his own good) 

Now we use the woombie- LOVE this for older babies! It allows some movement so took a few nights to get used to it, but it is safe (he can't get out, and we tried other ones like miracle blanket and halo and he got out of both of those which was scary), and he loves it! He most nights calms at the sight of it and sleeps so well in it. He's in the big bay size right now, starts at 14 lbs. but the other was too small length wise for him and he's almost there. 

 TOYS:

Bright Stars Playmat- love this thing! The kitty above is how we get such good pics, he just loves that thing. It plays music that isn't too annoying and has bright lights. We often put his boppy pillow underneath him now that he's 2 months and he lays and plays. We add our own favorite toys on the rings. 

This space saver swing/vibrating seat is a lfesaver from fisher price. We have a small house so this fits perfect for us, is portable from kitchen/bathroom/living room/nursery/etc. He often falls asleep in here after a few minutes if he fusses in our arms and seems tired, put him in here and he'll nap for an hour or so. I only use once/day as a last resort if rocking/bouncing/etc. didn't put him to sleep. 

 And, if you don't want to buy any of these things, bring food. Dinner is the last thing on a new parents minds and it's nice to have food brought or ordered to you!!