I know a lot of pregnant people right now and many mommies of young children–a lot of new parents in the midst of the lockdown, who knew? I am always swapping ideas and picking friends’ brains regarding products that you may not think of when registering or (virtually) roaming the stores for baby. Here are my top 10 things you didn’t know you needed for baby #1! I am reusing these with baby #2 or have heard so many rave reviews I have started to try them this time around. Note: I’m not cool enough to be sponsored and these are not affiliate links–just want to make it easy to find the exact item I used if you’re interested in trying it 🙂
1) White noise machine. So I always thought it was kind of strange to just play ocean or vacuum noises in your kid’s room. That was until we used white noise with Julian and his 1 hour spurts of sleep at night stretched to 4 hours in the first month! We literally always have white noise on in his room even as he approaches 3 and not gonna lie, I’m kind of scared to turn it off! This is the one we use but there are many kinds out there. Definitely recommend anything that plugs in versus a battery, and one that will play continuously–the brief pause when repeating a track on a phone may startle baby awake.
2) BabyVac. Did it sound a little archaic to hook up a suction to a vacuum and use it to suck out snot from my baby’s nose? Kind of. But the NICU nurse in me cannot stand a snotty nose and this thing does the trick! It has filters and no, it does not suck out little ones brains and it is so so much more effective than the Nose Frieda. I also thought Nose Frieda was a little gross and got a headache from sucking snot. I’ve recommended this to everyone that ever said their kid has a cough or cold because it really does get out all of the phlegm that could end up causing more issues if you don’t get it all out. Love the BabyVac!
3) HALO Sleepsack. Mad swaddling skills aside, its not a safe sleep practice to swaddle your baby in a loose blanket. Cue the Halo sleepsack which comes in newborn sizes up to sizes that will fit a kindergartener (whoa). There’s different options for how to swaddle that include leaving babies arms out,good ole’ burrito style wrapping and a favorite for my two kiddos before they could roll over: one arm out. They come in cute patterns as well! We finally retired them once Julian turned two but have dug them out to reuse and purchased a few new ones for Emmy. Pure Swaddling magic. These can often be found at Target and prices vary on Amazon based on patterns and size.
4) Blackout curtains. Truth be told I thought this was overkill. Surely children should just sleep in whatever conditions you put them in, right? Yeah, no. The combo of cool room meets white noise meets complete darkness was the trick to getting Julian sleep trained at 4 to 5 months. Our bedroom could never achieve these conditions due to the type of windows we have and once he outgrew his bassinet he refused to sleep (well) in our bedroom in his pack and play. Shortly after I went back to work we blacked out his bedroom, did some sleep training and boom! He still sleeps in the same situation now for 10 to 12 hours a night and for two hour naps at two and a half–I say why mess up a good thing?
5) Aquaphor. I put this on everything and on myself prior to having kiddos because I have woefully dry skin. So with almost every diaper change, with any trace of baby acne or peeling on goes the Aquaphor. Never seen a diaper rash using this stuff and it lasts a long, long time with the big tub. I have used both the Baby Aquaphor and regular Aquaphor–havemt noticed a difference and they’re typically the same price.
6) Electric nail clipper. I use this one but of course there are many out there. There are different attachments per baby’s age which is a plus. I just can’t bring myself to cut little tiny fingernails because I don’t have steady hands and am terrified of cutting the skin and possibly inviting in a site for infection. Especially true once babies start crawling and getting into things/putting their hands in their mouth all the time. So I was overjoyed when a friend told me about electric nail clippers. Julian never seems to mind the manicures with this, and as he’s gotten older (read: less willing to sit still) I just put on one of his shows and go to work. See below.
7) Baby Tracker App. If you’re slightly nerdy like me or super strategic and data driven like my husband, you will love this app. It’s great for tracking when baby eats, pumping volume, sleep, diaper changes as well as milestones and growth for multiple children. Mega plus is that it can be shared on multiple devices so both parents can input information. The nurse part of me that likes to chart deeply appreciates this app! As we embarked on putting Julian in a routine around 4 months old it was nice to look and see what his eating and sleep patterns were-‘we quickly realized hey look there IS a pattern. This made it a lot easier to develop a schedule for him and even now he remains a pretty schedule oriented kid (pandemic and all!). Emmy is still pretty young so no scheduling or patterns yet but I have been tracking my milk output (again nerdy and curious to just know) and her feedings–Dad puts in the ones he does as well during the zombie feeding times in the middle of the night when he let’s me sleep.
8) “What to Expect in the First Year.” In the middle of the night, while feeding and/or comforting Julian, I got a lot of reading done with Julian and aside from my Bible this book became a daily read in the midst of new motherhood. Sith Baby 2 i am still skimming through because it feels like i am starting all over! The book addresses everything by month and provided reassurance for what was going on with baby and with me as the weeks rolled by. There’s a lot of asking “is this normal?” when you have a new baby and this book put me at ease a lot. An honorable mention to “Good Night, Sleep Tight” which was vital in our sleep training journey.
9) Mom friends/supportive family/someone who gets it. No one warned me about the loneliness that happens when you are a new mom. Suddenly your body goes from being a home to baby, to being a constant food source. You feel like you’re chained to a recliner, couch or bed all the time feeding. You can’t go many places (or really anywhere if it’s 2020) because you have a fragile newborn that you don’t want to expose to the world fully. Contrary to what you see on IG the whole “snapback” thing likely isn’t happening for you 2 weeks after you have your baby. The house is a wreck. Extra wreck if you have a toddler running around. Baby blues are real. You could find yourself crying, overwhelmed, frustrated and wondering if you’re going to make it. It is so essential to have someone(s) to talk to to normalize, comfort, listen, reassure and just relate to you. but I’m also quick to tell my husband if I’m getting to “that place” and need a break or text a friend in a similar situation. Or even getting on a mom group on social media where people actually keep it real. Yes you can look up #3weekspostpartum to see what people on the Gram are doing but beware…..results aren’t typical. I am glad to see an increasing trend of relatable people on socials and not just before and after scenarios that are defeating/leave you wondering what you’re doing wrong. Which leads me to….
10) Grace. For yourself. For your husband. For your other little ones.. For the mess in the kitchen. And the living room. And the bathroom. For the thank you cards you still need to write. For the unmade beds. For the constant clutter.
Raising human beings is hard work and try as I might my to do lists for the day usually end up taking a couple days. Throw in a pandemic that brings no childcare, working from home, financial challenges, recovering from labor and maybe a C section if you’re like me and you can find yourself spinning wondering if you’re going to make it. I spun into PPD with Julian and am pretty determined not to this time around because I choose to give grace to the situation. Emmy came 5 weeks early and I didn’t even have my hospital bag packed much less have her room ready or, all the clothes washed. I was panic ordering preemie clothes as I was waiting to go into the OR for my C section. The entire situation called for prayer and an I surmountable amount of grace from the Lord and giving it to myself. This second time around I keep reminding myself Emmy will never be as little as she is right this second whenever I start worrying about chores or something that isn’t loving on my children. Give yourself grace and remember that you won’t have this season again, so cherish every moment.
