My Mommy Must-haves.

It's been one month since Baby Sister arrived, and I thought I'd make note of the things that are my favorite go-to items as a new mama.  Many are things that we simply got out of storage that I used with Ellie, but some are new things I've learned of since Ellie was born.  As I jotted down ideas I realized that most of these things are related to nursing, but, let's be honest, the first four weeks of being a new mother, nursing is pretty much all you do! :-)

Nursing

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding -

 

I read this book cover-to-cover before Ellie was born and consulted it again when she was a few weeks old.  I am pretty confident in my ability to nurse an infant, Ellie was exclusively breastfed until she was a year-old, but it is still helpful to have something to reassure me, even though I sort-of know what I'm doing.  Just a few nights ago, I checked it again to confirm that it is completely normal (unfortunately) for a two-to-three week old to cluster feed.

The first week of nursing was made easier by applying lots of Lanolin after every nursing and before showers.  Then my good friend Ashley told me about Lily Padz - slightly more expensive nursing pads, but much for functional!  I haven't used lanolin since I started using them a few weeks ago, not even before showers!!  They are supposed to last about 2 months/pair, so we'll see if I can get them to last that long, but so far they are totally worth it.

Nighttime feedings are made SO MUCH easier with our Itzbeen.  

 

I read about this on Brittney's blog before Ellie was born and used it every day until she was a year old.  We had to get a new one for Caroline, and I started using it as soon as we got home from the hospital.  It's great to know exactly how long she's been in a diaper, how long since she's eaten, which breast she nursed from the last time, etc.  I know when we start tracking naps, I'll use the nap timer to make sure she's upstairs for at least an hour before I go get her.  I use the Itzbeen during the day as well, but at night it's really great to have all the info on my nightstand and not have to think too hard about it as I roll out of bed.

   

I also use a little battery operated candle to give us enough light for nighttime nursing but not wake up Pete, or rouse Caroline too much.

Daytime feedings out of the house are made SO easy when I'm wearing an Undercover Mama -I have only used my nursing cover once since Caroline was born, as long as I have on the right layers, I just pop Caroline on the boob, and my tummy is covered by the tank, and my top is covered by my shirt.  WAY better than those plain nursing tanks because you wear a regular nursing bra with it.  I had two with Ellie - one black, one gray.  I just ordered a third - in navy - they are my favorite.

Baby Care
No too much to write about here - we have all the typical gear and equipment that parents buy for their infants (boppy, swaddler sleep sack, bouncer, etc).  The few things I wanted to mention were little time and/or space savers that other friends were using that we got for Ellie (and I hadn't heard of them before seeing them at my friends' baby showers).  When I was pregnant with Ellie my friend Rachael mentioned that one of the best moves they made was not buying a huge baby tub that takes up a ton of space.  We give Caroline her baths in our kitchen sink with our handy bath sponge and ducky towel.

Sheet savers - little pads that tie in the crib so if baby has a leak/blowout in the middle of the night you just have to change the sheet saver and not wrestle with changing a crib sheet while not waking the baby.  Changing pad protectors - same deal as sheet savers, but for the changing pad (because infant poo is sneaky, right?!?!

Aden & Anais Muslin baby blankets - great for swaddling, burp cloths, sun shades, quick nursing covers, etc.  We didn't have these for Ellie - love them!!

I guess that's about it - my daily use/go-to items for the care of our wee-est Wee One!