Newborn “Must-Haves”

The days are longggg, but the weeks are short. I can’t believe I have a 5 week old. I also can’t believe how I have managed to survive the past 5 weeks with how little sleep I’ve had. But MOST importantly…I can’t believe how in love I am with this tiny human…and that he is half of me. BEST. FEELING. EVER. I wouldn’t trade all the sleep, showers, clean houses & clothes in the world for this angel babe.

Life has changed. In the most exhausting, emotional and amazing way and I have learned more in the last 5 weeks than I think I have in the past 5 years. About myself, my husband, my friends, family, and of course my NEWBORN.

I think every first time mom must wonder “will I be a good mom? will I know what to do?” during their pregnancy. Much to my surprise…becoming a mom felt like the most natural thing I had ever done in my life. I swear it was like a switch flipped on and my sole purpose was to love, guide and protect this tiny human I had been housing for the past 9 months. (SIDE NOTE: can we talk about how the woman carries the baby for 9 whole months and 9/10 times the baby comes out looking JUST like his dad? Not complaining though…my hubby is gorg.)

That brings me to my MUST-HAVES – all the things that helped me to survive and concur the last 5 weeks. And because I have mom brain, these are in no particular order.

• Milk Savers
  • My breastfeeding mamas! You know when your milk comes in and you feel like your boobs have been filled with cement? Then you go to feed and suddenly…your shirt is soaked…yeah I do. This baby has been a lifesaver (or milk saver, literally) during feedings. You just put it on the side you aren’t nursing and collect all the precious gold you would otherwise be losing. I did not pump for the first month and started quite the freezer supply, just using this!

• My Breast Friend
  • The first few days after your baby is born, you are learning each other and frantically trying to figure out how to nurse and make you and your baby comfortable. This nursing pillow was a game changer for finding a comfortable position for me and baby while I was recovering and getting the hang of breastfeeding. It also provides good back support during those late night feedings. Definitely a must-have for me!

• ALL the burp clothes
  • Spit up, milk, pee (boys), poop – EVERYTHING! I always have one on hand and plenty of extras. My little guy loves to poop and pee on his mom during diaper changes, so for me…these are a non-nagotiable.
• Pure baby wipe
  • Unfortunately, my son got quite the chaffed booty from those first newborn poops and I found the only wipes that didn’t further irritate him were Water Wipes and Pampers Aqua Pure.
• Dockatot
  • I wouldn’t necessarily say this is a “must-have,” but it has certainly served us well! Our little guy sleeps so comfortably in his Dockatot every night, and even for some naps. He can’t roll around and he is nice and snug in there. And in case you were wondering, yes, it is machine washable.

• Boppy Lounger Pillow
  • Again, I don’t know if this is necessarily a “must-have,” but it is an excellent alternative to a sleeper that allows my baby to lounge and look around while we cook, clean, eat, etc. without taking up too much space and it is easy to move around the house. The Boppy has definitely allowed me to get things done while baby relaxes!

• Swing
  • Swaddle, swing and turned up to the highest level has been key for our little guy! It relaxes him so much, he almost ALWAYS goes to sleep in his swing.
• Swaddles
  • Ya’ll my son is a swaddle houdini! No matter the blanket or how tight, he always manages to wiggle out an arm, or two. These velcro swaddles have been amazing for keeping him from escaping and to keep him feeling snug while he sleeps. Highly recommend!

• ALL the types of diaper cream
  • Butt Paste
  • Aquaphor
  • Desitin
  • As I previously mentioned, my poor guy has had irritation since he was only a few days old so diaper creams have been our bestie! The three creams above have been wonderful and his irritation is almost gone. I prefer to load him up with Desitin when he has a big poopy diaper, it always soothes the area right away.
• Mylicon Gas Relief Drops
  • Holy gassy baby! As my milk came in and he was adjusting to digesting for the first time, my poor guy struggled with terrible gas. He would just squirm in discomfort and it broke our hearts and kept him from getting the rest he needed. After several recommendations, we tried Mylicon and it has worked great for him! He still has gas, don’t get me wrong…I mean he’s my son, but he is much more comfortable getting them out without pain. We started with the drops every feeding and with improvements we have cut down to late afternoon and nighttime feedings to help ensure he is able to sleep without discomfort.
• Baby Bicycle Kicks
  • Speaking of gas. This is not a “must-have,” it is a “must-do” if you have a gassy baby! When he struggles with gas, we go straight to bicycle kicks and leg pumps and he just starts tootin’ away like a little tugboat!
• Tubby Todd All Over Ointment
  • My sweet angel baby was born with the most beautiful, silky soft skin and then 2 weeks later he was covered in baby acne on his little face. I know it didn’t hurt or affect him, but it broke my heart to not be able to kiss that baby soft skin! A close friend recommended Tubby Todd and let me tell you…in just two days with four applications (morning and night after I washed his face) the results were amazing! I am blown away and now I get to kiss that sweet face whenever I want. Tubby Todd works for baby acne, eczema, cradle cap and more!

• Mustela Cleansing Gel
  • One thing I kept reading from new moms with babies that struggled with acne, was MUSTELA! I have the Mustela lotion and all the brands of baby wash that seems to exist but I did not have their cleansing gel. Every morning and night before we apply Tubby Todd, we gently wash his face with the cleansing gel to remove any spit up, milk, cat hair ;p, etc. The results, as you can see, have been incredible and it’s so soft and gentle on his sweet skin!

• Copper Pearl – Carseat Cover
  • I am one of those germaphobe moms, not going to lie. I don’t want random people touching my baby and I want to protect him from people sneezing, coughing, smoke in the air and harsh sunlight on his delicate skin. This cover is so incredibly soft and not only is it a carseat cover, it works as a nursing cover as well. We rocked our first public feeding with this baby and no one even noticed what I was doing and he was super comfy, it was great! They also have some gorgeous patterns.

• Baby Shusher
  • Shhhhh Shhhhh Shhhhh! If nothing else on this list, get this. Seriously. Morning, noon and night, every nap we use the shusher and it helps get him to sleep, and stay asleep every time. He could be knocked out and the shusher will turn off…I look over and I see a little eyeball looking at me. Shusher back on and he’s right back to dreamland.

• Sound Machine
  • Like the shusher, our sound machine has been wonderful as well. The first couple weeks we used the heartbeat setting while he was swaddled so he could feel like he was still in my belly.
• Diaper Caddy
  • I feel like this is table stakes to having a newborn, but just in case ya didn’t know! For easy access, I keep one of these in our room where the baby is currently sleeping and downstairs. I keep all the diaper essentials here; diapers, wipes, pee pee pad (I’ll get to that later), diaper cream, gas drops, paci and hand sanitizer.
• Night Light
  • Hubs went back to work after 5 days so I didn’t want to totally disrupt his sleep every night and this light has been a lifesaver. Ever try to breastfeed or change a diaper in complete darkness? Not fun and very messy. This handy dandy light is hand-touch and has two different settings (bright white and yellow) and a dimmer. Personally, each time I feed I want to keep the baby sleepy so I use the yellow setting and keep it dim. Now changing him is a different story…we go bright white and all the way lit up or else mom ends up covered in poop and pee and we just can’t have that. It’s super light and portable and makes it super easy to do what I gotta do!
• Zip up onesies 
  • Can we just say how cute that buddha belly is ya’ll? Anyways, Zip-Ups have been essential for those late night changes when all your little one wants to do is curl up in a ball or squirm around. No one has time for all those buttons!

• Bath Thermometer
  • I don’t know about you, but I like my baths HOT! It wasn’t before having my sweet boy that I even thought about the temperature of the bath. This cute little temperature gage has been amazing for making sure the water isn’t too hot for him. It blinks red and shows the temperature if the water is too hot and it goes green when the temperature is safe to put the baby in the bath. It has really put my husband and I’s minds at ease, especially for that first bath!

• Pee Pee Pads
  • Holy newborn hack! I can thank my awesome mother and nanny for this one. I put one of these bad boys on top of his changing pad that (thank goodness) because 8/10 times when I am changing him, he either poops or pees. It saves a serious mess! I just roll up the dirty diaper and wipes in the pad and there is no clean up to be done.

• Rock N Play Deluxe
  • Another must have to give yourself a break mama! When you’ve been rocking the baby back and forth for hours and you feel like your arm is going to fall off, have no fear, Rock N Play is here! It vibrates, rocks back and forth and plays music or nature sounds. I put the baby in here every time I need to shower or make myself some food really quick and he (usually) loves just looking around and watching lights and listening to the TV in the room.

• Wipe Holder
  • I am obviously a first-time mom because for the first month of my baby’s life I was pulling at the wipes like crazy and not able to get one single wipe out, it drove me crazy and then caused further frustration for him during our changes. It’s really the simple things in life. The very first time I used the wipe holder I almost cried tears of joy, (I know, how sad). Get you one. Thank me later.
• Baby Carrier
  • Every new mom needs a baby carrier! It makes the baby to feel nice and close and will more than likely take a nap and even better, it gives you the freedom to get things done around the house! I even used the carrier in the grocery store, it was amazing!

If you made it this far, BLESS YOU! There are probably more things I am forgetting but I would definitely say that all of the items above have helped to make the last 5 weeks easier for me and my little family! I hope this helps as you either venture into motherhood (which is unreal ya’ll, seriously best thing ever), or if you are just curious about baby stuff, enjoy!

For all my new moms or mommy’s to be: YOU GOT THIS! Sometimes it feels like you are never going to sleep, shower or have any time for yourself again…but you will, you were made for this, you are strong, and you are your baby’s world! Just do your best and that will be more than enough. Remember, they are only this little for so long. Time flies, so cherish every moment. I know I sure am.

Until Next Time on Kelsey’s Chronicles