When my mom and I first went shopping for all the things I was told we would need for Naomi’s first three months, we were beyond overwhelmed. So many brands, so many choices, so many suggestions. Turns out, we didn’t need half of it.
The list below contains my honest assessment for practical items that worked well for me… read: you will not find unnecessary garbage like a wipe warmer or diaper genie.
POSTPARTUM VAGINA CARE
First things first, bring an extra tote / canvas bag to the hospital and load up on everything they give you. Seriously. The mesh hospital underwear is clutch, they’re disposable and you’ll live in them for the first week. Ask for extra ice packs, another can of cooling spray, all the undies, and witch hazel pads. You’ll also need to use a peri bottle in lieu of toilet paper, and this one is wonderful. Don’t bother making padiciles (I ended up throwing out the ones I made), it’s a waste and they will leak unlike the hospital icepacks. Know that peeing will become a 10 minute ordeal every.single.bathroom.trip: using your peri bottle, spraying yourself with cooling spray, changing out your hospital-grade undies, applying a new icepack, and lastly, lining it with witch-hazel pads. It sounds like a pain, and it is, but trust me, stick with that routine for a week and your vagina will be a happy camper again. Also, this balm is excellent for postpartum weeks two — five; when you finally build up the courage to touch your own vagina again. Oh and speaking of all things bathroom, make sure you buy stool softener…
THE NO. 1 ITEM FOR YOUR HOSPITAL BAG
You will most likely need to begin pumping in the hospital. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I didn’t think I would need a hands-free pumping bra. So I didn’t buy one. Big mistake. When you’re pumping 6-9 times a day in the hospital and at home, you’ll be miserable without a hands-free bra. After trying many, many brands, this one is my current favorite. It’s crazy expensive for a bra, but it’s totally worth the price.
BREASTFEEDING GOODS
For something as natural as breastfeeding, it’s kind of shocking how many products you’ll end up purchasing. I have a more comprehensive post in the works, but in the meantime these are my top four:
- Haaka. This product is the BEST investment you will ever make when it comes to breastfeeding. If you’re breastfeeding, you NEED this. Will explain in further detail in my next post. In the meantime, buy it.
- Hands-free pumping AND nursing bra. As stated above. If you don’t go with that brand, make sure you find one that’s both a nursing AND pumping bra. Because changing bras to pump is insanely cumbersome.
- Dr. Browns Bottles. Slow paced feeding, aids digestion, reduces colic, etc. etc. Dr. Browns also makes pacifiers with the same nipple as the bottle to help ‘avoid nipple confusion’ so if you’re paranoid about that, it’s a good option for a paci too.
- Quick Steam Bags. Easiest way to sanitize bottles, nipples, pacifiers, pumping parts.
KEY THINGS FOR BABY
Waterproof changing pad liners. Buy twice as many as you think you need. Between blow-outs, vomit, and pee during a diaper change, these liners are key. It’s a million times easier to throw the liners in the wash and place a new one on top vs. changing the pad cover.
You’ll need a million burp cloths. We tried really pretty ones from Burts Bees and other dainty brands. These ugly and boring white ones have turned out to be the best. And as cute and pretty as they are, don’t go crazy overbuying / registering for muslin swaddles. We hardly ever use them, and when we do, they end up becoming oversized burp cloths.
Speaking of swaddles. A lot of people like the velcro or zippered ones. We never bothered. We had the nurses in the hospital teach us (roughly) 3,804 times how to simply swaddle with a regular old blanket. This is still our favorite (we have it in navy and aqua); it’s slightly weighted, super soft, thick, and stretchy. We found the weighted ones to it to be a million times better than the muslin swaddles for sleep (only way baby girl would go down at night or for naps), and again — weren’t fans of the velcro or zippered ones.
Pacifiers are tricky. Some babies are super particular about the shape / size. Naomi doesn’t care. But these seem to be her favorite. And ours, because they’re super hard to lose. And our cats, because they’re soft and the size of their other stuffed animals. If you have cats or dogs, be careful — pacifiers make excellent chew toys.
SPRAY AND WASH. We’ve gone through two bottles in 13 weeks. Between your bloody stained underwear, bras soaked in breastmilk, milky spit up on your {fill in the blank}, and yellow seedy baby sh*t, you’re going to be doing a ton of stain removal during washes. Oh the things they don’t tell you.
My Absolute Favorite Baby Product
After the initial first few weeks, we didn’t get much life out of our Rock ‘N Play, swing, or bouncer. After week 3, we were lucky if we could get 90 seconds before Naomi would begin wailing if we tried setting her down in said baby device. All babies are different and there’s no baby contraption that works for everyone, it’s trial and error — so I’m not going to recommend any of those types of products, but I will say this. Our Naomi girl is needy AF and likes to be held constantly, so baby carriers were a must-have for us. My dear friend gifted me the Solly Wrap, and it is by far the most loved, most used, most essential item for Naomi.
If I can only recommend one product for surviving the first 3 months, it would be a baby wrap.
Baby carrying mimics womb life, and that equates to a happy newborn. There are a million other brands out there, so pick your favorite and buy one. We also have a Baby Bjorn that we love as well.
And that’s really it. Again, every baby and mama are different, so what works for me might not work for you. I’m dedicating this post to two of my girlfriends who are pregnant and expecting their first baby in 2019 — welcome to the club mamas!
***This post is not sponsored in any way and there are no affiliate links, this is my honest to god assessment on products I genuinely love and use regularly.***