- The correct season of clothing! Don't be buying short sleeve onesies in January for your newborn. Or if you know in 3 months it's going to be sweltering outside. A long sleeve onesie isn't going to cut it. You would be surprised at how many people do not grasp this.
- Newborn diapers- A.M went through I think we calculated, 80 in 2 weeks. And then we had size 1s --because honestly your little one doesn't need to be in newborns for very long-- but he's probably gone through about 60 of those in 2 weeks as well.
- burp rags. TONS of them. If you think you have enough, you don't. Buy more. Burp rages in this house are just cloth diapers, and the occasional cute one that someone has made us.
- Desatin, or something similar. Once your little munchkin is born, starting putting that on his bum. They poo so much in the first few months of life that they get a pretty bad diaper rash pretty quick. So try and get a leg up on it.
- A nursing cover, with ribbing in it. They're amazing! I can actually nurse in public without the fear of exposing myself to the world and because of the ribbing, I can see my little man nurse. Also, they're lightweight so you're not going to sweat your baby out.
- A boppy. A nursing mom's best friend! Plus it becomes a nice little spot to let your little one lay propped up.
- Depending on the season- baby socks are a must. They are great for their feet as well as their hands if you don't want to buy the infant mitten things (some newborns scratch the crud out of themselves, like my son E. So we stuffed socks on his hands to stop him.).
- breast pads. Leaking is embarrassing depending on where you're at. It's a major relief to know you have a breast pad in there instead of pressing on your chest when your milk lets down so it doesn't start coming out.
- Wipes.... obviously.
- A baby carrier. I actually do my dishes now with A.M. attached to me. It's a front carrier. Not a wrap. I haven't had much success with the wraps I've tried, but I'm sure there's some out there that are great. My little man just hates not being right next to me and some times the only way to get things done is to just attach him to me and get to work.
- Breast pump! I have a pretty nice one, but it's lasted me through 3 kids so far. Mine is is a Medela double electric breast pump... or something like that. It is so nice to be able to pump when I'm extra full or want to keep my supply up to a certain level.
- Along with pumping, I love the Lansinoh breastmilk storage baggies. It's so nice to have a back up supply for when I'm not around or don't want to nurse.
- A plug-in bottle warmer! When your little one is screaming for some grub, the last thing you're going to want to do is heat up some water on the stove and stick the bottle in it and then guess as to when it will be warm enough for them. Save yourself from the stress and just buy a plug in bottle warmer.
- A bottle/binki/breast supply sterilizer. We just have one that goes in the microwave, but it really does give me some peace of mind knowing my stuff has been sanitized. It doesn't clean it for you- so you would still need to do that. Buy a separate baby scrub brush for their stuff. They actually sell them in the baby section that are designed to clean bottles and nipples.
- Portable bottle warmer. We have one by Dex that actually just requires you to snap a little metal circle and the bottle warmer instantly heats up and hardens around the bottle. Ours doesn't heat up large amounts though. 4 oz at best.
- Binki's. The one the hospital gives you is great. They also sell that brand at the store. Babies like to suck. So unless you want to be the binki.... I suggest you go buy some. All of my children have been fine using a binki.
- Baby bath tub. Ours actually had this mesh that a newborn can lay in that keeps them suspended in the bathwater that, when they get older can be taken off so the tub can be used on a bigger infant. I really love having skin to skin in the shower, but it can be pretty difficult to get anything productive done if you don't have a place to put the baby.
- A gigantic diaper bag! And maybe this is a must for me because I have 2 other kids along with a baby. Honestly though, I would rather have too much space than not enough. Here's what goes into my bag right now. 4 burp rags, 5-6 diapers, wipes. diaper cream, formula (just in case), baby bottle with hot water in it (by the time you need it while you're out, it'll probably be warm or you can just add some cold water to it.), breastmilk with a little cooler for it, portable bottle warmer, 2-3 changes of baby clothes, hand sanitizer, breastfeeding cover, a baby blanket, 2-3 binkis, tiny toys to distract with, and snacks for my older children. So.... you see why having a big bag might be nice??
- And a nice diaper bag. I've purchased the one's for $19.99 to $29.99 at Wal-mart. I ended up going through about 3 diaper bags this way. So get a good quality one or at least buy a giant purse from Target. That works too.
- A lamp on your side of the bed, plus something to watch, play or read while you nurse in the middle of the night. It is SO hard for me to stay awake some night. Having a little lamp to turn on and then the iPod to watch Netflix or play Solitaire, helps me stay awake. I also have a water bottle on my nightstand that keeps me awake as well. Doesn't always work, but for my first I had nothing and I struggled so much more to stay conscious.
- Start collecting plastic grocery bags, now, if you already don't. We use them like crazy to put dirty diapers in. For our first baby we had a Diaper Genie- it was nice to have initially, but in the end, it was a bigger hassle than it was worth.
- Baby blanket. Thick, thin, big, little, fuzzy and not. Get a bunch of them. Baby is going to spit up on them and you'll use a bunch of them.
- Buy a ton of pads. Like for your period. TONS of them. Overnight ones as well. And try to see if the nurse's will give you some extras from the hospital too.
- If your cute little one is a boy and you chose to circumcise him, buy some petroleum jelly for his little peeps. The doc should supply you with some 2x2 sterile pads. So then you just slap some jelly on the pads and cover his business with it to protect it while it heals!
I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting. But hopefully whoever reads this will have some idea of some of the stuff they might like to use for their new baby! Or if not, it'll be a great reminder to me for the next kid of what I need to make sure I have... because I'm sure when we have another, I'll have forgotten most of this stuff.
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