I promise I’m not going to only post baby content now, but I thought it may be useful (because I would have found it useful while I was pregnant) to note all the things we’ve found have made the transition to life with a newborn easier. Cam is two and a half weeks old now, so we may find these things unnecessary or find new must-haves later on, but for now, these things have come in handy!
For Me
The list of things I’ve found useful is admittedly a lot shorter than I thought it would be - I bought a whole bunch of those FridaMom recovery products and then was lucky with my recovery to not really need any of them!
Auden Nursing Bras - these bras from Target are really comfortable and supportive, and I love that the breast pads are sewn in so they don’t get all jumbled and folded up inside the bra in the wash. I’m not breastfeeding, but I’m able to rig it to make it into a pumping bra to hold my pump flanges in place. I’m weaning off pumping now, but the lactation consultants said I would likely still leak for up to a year, so I’ll probably continue to wear these bras to catch the leaks.
Always Discreet Adult Diapers - speaking of leaks (yikes), once I got home from the hospital, I switched from wearing the mesh underwear & giant maxi pads to these. They’re actually quite comfortable (they don’t feel like a diaper) and aren’t noticeable even under yoga pants. Luckily I’m just now feeling like I don’t need them anymore and am planning on switching to just wearing period underwear to see how that goes. (Something I didn’t know when I got pregnant: you bleed for a while afterward, which makes sense when you haven’t had a period for 9 months.)
Frida Mom Upside-Down Peri Bottle - this is probably my number one for myself. The hospital gave me a bottle to spray myself off when I went to the bathroom so I wouldn’t mess up my stitches, but this one is just so much better and easier to aim and control. I bought two to keep one in each bathroom in my house.
For Baby
There are many more must-haves here - again, we may find some of these unnecessary as time goes on, but right now they’re really helping us out!
Yogasleep Portable White Noise Machine - this comes in clutch for helping Cam drift off to sleep. We have a Hatch Sound Machine in his room (which I’ll also say is a must-have, and I’m sure it will be even more so once he starts sleeping in his crib overnight), but we keep this small portable one clipped to his bassinet in our room and have an extra to keep in his Pack & Play where he usually naps during the day. The charge lasts really well on this, and we’re able to leave it going for him all night as long as we fully charge it during the day.
Fridababy 3-in-1 Nose, Ear, & Nail Picker - I’m not sure if this is a thing will all babies or just with Cam, but he has been getting some massive boogers stuck in his nose lately. This little tool has really come in handy to get them out for him when we can tell they’re making him uncomfortable or if they’re making him whistle when he breathes! We haven’t had to use the pieces for ears or nails yet, but even if this was just for the nose it would be on this list.
Fridababy NoseFrida Nasal Aspirator - before I became a mom I thought this was absolutely the most disgusting thing, but hey when your baby is snotty sometimes you just have to suck it out with your mouth. There’s a filter in this so you’re not going to actually suck boogers into your mouth, which is something I didn’t realize when I thought this was super gross. This works so much better than the bulb sucker we got from the hospital and is super quick to use. It works well in conjunction with the nose picker mentioned above.
Halo Sleepsack Swaddles - Cam loves to be swaddled when he takes a nap and it seems like these are one of his two favorites to be put into. I like these because they’re easy to get him into, and you have the option to wrap it with the baby’s hands by their face for self-soothing (I think this is why Cam likes it so much). I was too sore/busy recovering in the hospital to learn from the nurses how to wrap a swaddle blanket, and I would just be too nervous about him busting out and then sleeping with loose blankets, so I definitely recommend getting some kind of easy swaddle like this!
Love to Dream Swaddle Wrap UP - this is Cam’s other favorite swaddle, and we call it his batwing suit. This is even easier to get him into than the Halo swaddle since it just zips up and there’s no wrapping involved, and again, having his little hands by his face seems to help settle him really quickly. We got one of these as a baby shower gift, and then I bought a second one to have one available when the first one is in the wash. A few of my friends are having babies this year, and I’m probably going to get them one of these in addition to gifts from their registries.
Comfy Cubs Muslin Burp Cloths - we go through tons of burp cloths per day, so I highly recommend buying even more than you think you’ll need. These have been the best because they’re soft and absorbent, and they’re also huge compared to the other burp cloths we have. I find myself digging through our pile of burp cloths every time I need one to grab one of these.
Greensprouts Muslin Bibs - I just love anything made of this soft cotton muslin. We just started using these bibs on Cam while he’s eating because he is a spitter. There’s not much else to say, but I like these because they’re soft and they don’t bother Cam to have them on. They also close with just one snap - my mom gave me the tip to avoid bibs with velcro because if the baby falls asleep while wearing it, the sound of the velcro will startle them awake when you take it off!
Babybrezza Bottle Warmer - we don’t have too many gadgets for Cam, but this is one that we’d definitely get again if we were doing everything over. It’s just like a little water cooler that you can set to your preferred temperature (room temperature, body temperature, or warmer than body temperature) and it will keep the water at that temp all day/night. It’s perfect for middle of the night feedings when Cam wakes up hungry and crying because we don’t have to wait for anything to heat up before getting him his bottle of formula.
A Safe Sleep Space for every level/area of your living space - this isn’t a specific product (although I’ll link what we’re using), but we’ve set up places for Cam to safely nap in every area we spend time hanging out in in our house, so it’s been so easy to put him down where we can see him and never have to move anything around. He uses this bassinet when he sleeps in our room overnight (the rocking feature has been great for getting him back to sleep in the middle of the night fyi), a Graco Pack & Play in our first floor living room during the day, and then this Fisher Price Dome in our basement where we hang out in the evenings. And if you’re interested, he has this crib and this crib mattress in his nursery (he mostly only sleeps in his nursery right now if I’m in there pumping and home alone with him or if I’m doing chores around the house and want to check on him with the baby monitor).
I hope this was helpful and not too long-winded! I can also write updated posts on this as Cam gets older and the products we use for him change.
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