We hear all the time from our new moms that they feel inundated with too many so-called “must-haves”. We’re here to let you in on our secret: 11 items that will actually make your life easier. (Don’t worry, you can thank us later!)
Stock the baby's medicine cabinet: acetaminophen, simethicone gas drops, nasal saline and bulb syringe, petroleum jelly, thermometer, diaper cream. Hopefully you don't need most of it, but it will save you a 2am trip to the pharmacy if you do.
In case even your best friends are too lady like to mention - Dermaplast spray to numb your nether regions (the hospital will send a can, but you may need more) following delivery along with cheap granny panties (or stock up on the mesh hospital panties, but I hated those) and heavy flow pads for the first few days. Make sure you take the bottle for cleansing after using the restroom the hospital gives you. My poor husband had to go out and get several of these items for me after our first.
I found Depends (yup, incontinence briefs) were awesome for the first day or two of pp bleeding. No worries about leaks and they could handle the super heavy flow. Either get a few sample packs or split a bag with some pregnant friends. You can even put a frozen padsicle in there and not worry about leak from it.
Katie ~wife to my beloved, Scott for 25 years mama to SEVEN +1 wonderful Waggoners K~ 22yo, C~ 20yo, J~ 18yo, N~ 13yo, G~ 11yo, M~ 7, A~5 and baby due 2/12/2016
I second nosefrida! Amazing for clearing your poor LO's snotty nose Also thanks for the reminders from the above ladies on the post birth self care... This is my third and I even have forgotten about a couple of those! PS I will try depends this time ... So convenient!!
Are you crazy? Petroleum jelly? That is so old school and filled with petroleum a mineral oil byproduct. That is proven to cause cancers. Coconut oil is a much healthier alternative with proven health benefits. Look it up.
Sorry if I seem a little abrasive about the Petro jelly, but isn't out baby at risk already by being born into a mother later in her life. We should all be looking at the ingredients of all our beauty products and cutting out anything with parabens, mineral oils and anything else that ends In a ben from our beauty regimen. For our health as well as our children.
We loved Triple Paste for diaper creme. We tried a lot of the other brands and none of them worked on our DD. And also the Miracle Blanket swaddle. We loved the Aden and Anais but when the baby gets bigger and you want them wrapped tight the Miracle Blanket worked so much better.
Take a bunch of heavy flow maxi pads, soak them in water, squeeze out the excess and then lay one on top of the other with the plastic pad wrapper between them, and freeze. Best post delivery advice EVER!!
The abdominal wrap they give you (at least most hospitals do) after a c-section. It made all the difference in my ability to move around after surgery and helps with the aches and pains too.
Magic Merlin sleep suit, wub a nub pacifiers, crib sheet savers, and Boppy makes these liners for the changing table. These were al major game changers for us!
And, Benadryl - I felt like the worst mom ever when I had to run to a drug store after finding out my son was allergic to dairy. A must have for the medicine cabinet!
The cheapie cloth diapers make the best burp cloths and i keep doggie poop bags in my diaper bag for disposing of diapers and now for wrapping anything from leftovers to wet clothes. Later of the ezpz mat is good to get and 360 cups. Diaper weight sizes are almost always wrong. When you start getting blowouts go up a size.
Stock the baby's medicine cabinet: acetaminophen, simethicone gas drops, nasal saline and bulb syringe, petroleum jelly, thermometer, diaper cream. Hopefully you don't need most of it, but it will save you a 2am trip to the pharmacy if you do.
Yes! Minus the petroleum jelly and diaper cream. I would add coconut oil ( this is the only thing I ever used on my son for all over moisture, rashes, as a diaper cream).
All of those sound good, but I will stay away from petroleum jelly. I just found out a year ago that petroleum is a #1 carcinogen made from gasoline. Once I found that out I have thrown out everything that has it in it. I was a maternal newborn RN and used to suggest it to parents. Now I regret it with the knowledge I have. Our skin is our biggest organ and whatever we put on it is absorbed. Just food for thought
Re: New-mom must-haves no one tells you about
**siggy warning**
Current Age 35, DH 33
Married 9/2011
BFP 8/2012, Miscarried 9/2012
BFP 9/2012, DS 6/2013
BFP 6/2014, Miscarried 7/2014
BFP 7/2014, DD 4/2015
mama to SEVEN +1 wonderful Waggoners
K~ 22yo, C~ 20yo, J~ 18yo, N~ 13yo, G~ 11yo, M~ 7, A~5 and baby due 2/12/2016
BFP #1 March 24, 2010; missed m/c May 26, 2010 @ 12w 4d; D&E May 28, 2010
BFP #2 Oct 20, 2010; My little boy was born on July 5, 2011
BFP #3 April 30, 2013; Chemical Pg May 5, 2013
BFP #4 Aug 22, 2013; It's a boy. Loss discovered at 24 weeks on Jan 15, 2014 (cause CMV virus)
BFP #5 April 6, 2014; missed m/c May 15, 2014 @ 9 weeks; Misoprostol May 15, 2014; D&C May June 3, 2014
Also thanks for the reminders from the above ladies on the post birth self care... This is my third and I even have forgotten about a couple of those! PS I will try depends this time ... So convenient!!
That is so old school and filled with petroleum a mineral oil byproduct. That is proven to cause cancers.
Coconut oil is a much healthier alternative with proven health benefits. Look it up.
^^padsicles. .best advice I was ever given.
Take a bunch of heavy flow maxi pads, soak them in water, squeeze out the excess and then lay one on top of the other with the plastic pad wrapper between them, and freeze.
Best post delivery advice EVER!!
Nosefrida, triple paste or any 40% zinc diaper cream and lots of the cheap Gerber cloth diapers for burping and messes.
major game changers for us!
Eta: if you are nursing nipple butter and lanolin a to alternate with!
And for that rare rare case if you get mastitis anyway, Happy Ducts homeopathic tincture clears it up faster than antibiotics.
I wish I would’ve known about these 2 products with my first two babies; it would’ve saved me a ton of pain and suffering!