My Favorite Things - Newborn Baby
Well, I’m now a mom to a beautiful little girl and life will never be the same. For any of you moms out there, you know how crazy the newborn phase is and we’re right in the thick of it. The constant feedings, endless need for diapers and wipes, and most of all the shock of extreme sleep deprivation. This first month has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life and I’m grateful for the love and support we’ve received from friends and family. If I’m being honest, I don’t know that I would have had the courage to become a parent if I truly knew how difficult these first few weeks were going to be. But, our little G is here and she makes everything worth it.
Being a first-time parent has been a wild ride to say the least–nothing can really prepare you for it. But, we’ve been lucky enough to gain some wisdom and find a few things that we felt were worth purchasing as they have helped to make the first month of caring for G a little easier.
Haakaa Ladybug Silicone Milk Collector
Our breastfeeding consultant gave these to me and I have to say they are a game changer. If you’re planning to breastfeed, I highly recommend these over the pads that you put in your bra. The ladybug isn’t a pump (Haakaa does make manual pumps and I have those as well.) but they catch any milk you might be leaking so you can save and store it instead of losing it. They are comfortable enough that you can stick them in your bra and there is a little spout at the top to make it easy to transfer the milk to storage bags/containers. They come in different sizes (mLs) so just note some are larger than others.
My Brest Friend Original Nursing Pillow
Still on the topic of breastfeeding, this pillow is a lifesaver when it comes to doing a cross cradle position. Instead of having to hold your baby while you feed, they can rest on the pillow and you can save your arms a whole lot of grief. The cover is washable but just be aware that its literally a big piece of foam underneath. I was a little surprised to find this out when I took the cover off to wash it. It felt a little cheaply constructed, then, but it still is a very worthwhile thing to have if you’re planning to breastfeed.
Hatch Rest+ 2nd Gen Light & Sound Machine
Okay, so this is really just a fancy nightlight/sound machine/clock but I’m glad someone purchased it off of our registry. I do think its helpful to have the sound machine/nightlight combo as it saves you from having 3 devices and it can be controlled via the Hatch app on your phone. You can setup multiple users, too, so my husband and I both are able to control the Hatch from our phones. To be honest, I don’t know how much the sound aspect has helped G with sleep but the nightlight feature has been really helpful for us as G sleeps in a bassinet in our room right now. The brightness and color of the light is customizable so if we need more light to check on G, we can turn it up and then back down again so that the room isn’t too bright, again all from our phones. I can also read the time from our bed, which is helpful for me as we’re tracking feed and sleep times, right now.
This version also comes with a charging base, so you can take the light with you wherever you need to. I mostly feed in our bed now but I would feed in our nursery in the beginning so I would take the light with me. Hatch also offers a subscription that gives you access to more sounds like music, lullabies, stories and more. We didn’t feel the need for anything more than the sounds that are free to use but you may like the idea of additional options or maybe your kids are older and could benefit from the stories.
Papablic Baby Bottle Steam Sterilizer and Dryer PRO
We’re not at the point of bottle feeding just yet but this sterilizer and dryer has been super helpful with cleaning the Haakaa Ladybugs, milk storage bottles, probiotic syringe, and pump parts. I’m constantly feeding G, so I’m always using the ladybugs and this to sterilize them once a day and dry them in between feeds. It takes 72 minutes for the sterilize and dry cycle and 60 minutes just to dry. It might sound like a long time but that time goes by quickly when you’re living the newborn life (for the most part). I’d say its pretty user-friendly as I didn’t read the manual and honestly just had my husband show me how to use it.
Baby Bjorn Bouncer Balance Soft
This bouncer turned out to be incredibly useful when we wanted to be able to put baby down but didn’t want to put her in a bassinet (no flat head!). I never really thought about having another place to put baby besides a bassinet/crib or 24/7 carrying them but again, I’m glad someone bought this off our registry. We liked that it was a little more upright so that baby could “see” us instead of being horizontal all the time. One unexpected benefit (or con depending on how you see it) was that it seemed to put baby in a good position to poop. There were several times that baby pooped massive diapers after (or while) spending some time in this bouncer. Our good friends have the exact same bouncer and had similar experiences with it.
Every baby is different so what you’ll need in diapers and wipes will probably be different from me. We did a diaper raffle at our baby shower (highly recommend doing this–easy way to get a ton of free diapers) and received a bunch of different brands. I thought I was going to love the super bougie diapers from Coterie but the NB size felt like it was too small, so we moved on to Millie Moon which felt too big (hello leaks…) and saggy when it got wet. Not to mention I have a suspicion that either the diaper or the wipes caused irritation which led to a pimple forming on G. I stopped using both and it went away in a day or two.
After all that I finally opened a box of Honest diapers (and wipes) and haven’t looked back since. I’ve been really happy with how these diapers are soft enough yet sturdy. It has contained even the most massive of G’s blowout diapers (poop everywhereeeeee. Front, back, sides, but not anywhere outside the diaper!) and fits her chubby little thighs well. I’ve also been using their wipes and haven’t seen a single sign of irritation.
I can’t overstate how helpful having a lactation consultant has been in this first month. While not all moms choose or are able to breastfeed, I knew I wanted to at least try. Without our amazing consultant, Natalie, I can’t say that I would have made it this far without quitting. We were very lucky in that she has 10+ of experience and has also spent time as a RN in pediatric oncology and Labor and Delivery. This meant we not only had the benefit of support for our breastfeeding journey but also for other questions we had about our newborn.
Not all lactation consultants come with that kind of extra experience but even if not, the support, guidance and reassurance they provide along the way are truly invaluable. As of right now, we see her more often than our pediatrician and she plays a huge role in the wellbeing of G but also for ourselves as parents. At some point you will need an outsider to tell you the crazy sleep deprivation, fussiness, etc. of the newborn phase won’t last forever and for us, that person was our lactation consultant.
**Breastfeeding support can be costly and if we didn’t have 6 visits covered by our insurance, I’m not sure we would have been able to afford it. Check out The Lactation Network to see if your insurance covers the cost of these kinds of services.
Family, Friends, & Free Food
I didn’t even think about the kind of help I would need as a new mom or that my husband and I would need as new parents. My mom kept asking if I wanted her to come over on the day I was discharged but I figured we could handle it. Boy, was I wrong. At 11:30pm I was calling her in a panic because my husband, who had cared for G like a champ the whole time we were in the hospital (I had an emergency surgery immediately after giving birth and couldn’t do much) was so exhausted, even the baby’s manic cry wasn’t waking him up. I couldn’t care for her yet either, because of all the recovery I still needed to do. That was the moment I realized that I’d need more help that I initially thought.
The first month was one big exhausting blur and I’ll forever be grateful for the people who brought us meals (unsolicited!) and for my parents who would come to help out every day for a few hours in the morning and again at night (and still do). Everyone’s situation is different in terms of how much help they have but my advice is to accept pretty much any and all offers, at least in the first few weeks.
Any moms out there with other recommendations for life with a newborn? I’d love to hear them!