1. Muslin Blamkets: I didn’t realize how many we would actually need. We have about 10 and it wouldn’t hurt to have a few more.
If you’re like me and want to be as minimal as you can with baby products then these are great because they have many uses. Swaddling is what we use them mostly in the beginning. But they are also used for blankets, burp cloths, car seat covers, spit rags & tummy time. I’d also suggest the large ones. We have a few of the smaller ones, they just don’t have as many uses. I’ll link some gender neutral ones here.
2. Manual breast pump: The Medea hand pump is affordable and can be used quickly. If I need some relief in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning a grab this hand pump rather than setting up my pump.
Sometimes I use this pump before a feed if my breasts are too full, again so I don’t need to set up my larger pump. I can think of a million other reasons when and how this would be useful.
3. Over-sized button ups: I have never heard anyone mention this, so it really may just be personal preference. But for about a week and a half after giving birth I was wearing diapers and it was September in the South. The last thing I wanted to do was put on pants over my bulky diaper.
I went to the thrift store in search of some oversized flannels and ultimately just stole a few casual button ups from my husband. They were easy to use the bathroom and nurse in. These were super convenient in my opinion, maybe not so much if you have a winter baby.
4. Sleep sacks: My husband and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what would work best and be most convenient for us for late night and early morning diaper changes. We tried the nightgowns which are convenient but she did not like putting clothes over her head, and will cry (as I’m sure is true for most babies). So if her diaper leaks in the middle of the night she will completely wake up and cry if we have to change her pajamas. We did purchase some kimono gowns, they button on the side and I like those significantly better, but not as much as the sleep sacks.
Because of the hours of research I did watching YouTube and reading blogs I only purchased zipper sleepers. I like zipper sleepers but it depends what kind. I’m not sure why most of the sleepers zip one one leg, it’s often difficult to get her legs back in it in the middle of the night when you’re already half awake. I do have a sleeper that zips down the middle and fits perfectly, but it was given to me and retails for about $30. I couldn’t reason spending $30 per sleeper.
The Sleep sack isn’t anything fancy. It’s just like the gown, but it zips down the middle and covers the feet. We use a long sleeve fleece one and she gets hot at night so we don’t put anything under it but you could put a onesie under it. You don’t have to worry about swaddling baby because their feet are covered. We didn’t start using one until she was about 6 weeks old and it’s really been a game changer. My husband swears by them, so I just bought a few more.
5. An infant toy or age appropriate book: It’s true that newborns don’t need much. But after a month or so she was up a little more during the day and I wanted to do something to stimulate her mind. From a quick google search I learned that talking to your baby, making faces and dancing are all good ways to stimulate them. And obviously a lot of kisses and cuddles are necessary for both mama and baby! But having a black and white book, or toy helped during tummy time.
This is just from my experience, these are items that I found helpful the day we brought her home. That first week, really the first 2, are such a blur. Baby really only needs your love, and to eat and sleep. But I think these items are also helpful.
Whether you’re a first time mama, or an experienced one drop some gems in the comments and let us know what you would considered a necessity in those first few days.
I have a lot of new mom content planned over the next few weeks, so make sure you are subscribed to my email list so that you’ll be notified of new posts!
Xo
