Mommy Must-Haves & Products to Skip

Though I'm only fifteen days postpartum, I have definitely formed some opinions on my favorite products and have some products that I wouldn't recommend for one reason or another.

Mommy Must-Haves:

• FeedBaby App (free) - This app is available on Android and on Apple products and it ROCKS! The free version let's you track when your baby eats, poops, sleeps, when you breastfeed and more! You can pay for extended features but I found the free version to be just as helpful! 

• BabyCenter App - I used the BabyCenter website when we were trying to get pregnant and all throughout my pregnancy, so who else would I trust for getting information about my growing baby and having a place to discuss issues with other moms all over the world!? The app also gives you a helpful checklist to know what to do throughout your baby's first weeks and months.

• Tommee Tippee 5oz Bottles - If you check out my post Humble Beginnings of Uncharted Motherhood you'll understand why I was hoping to wait until at least 6 weeks old to give my son bottles, but ended up needing to give him bottles at only a few days old. I LOVE these bottles because they are great for breastfed babies and they're so easy to use and clean.

• Medela Milk Storage Bottles - These storage bottles fit on my Medela Pump In-Style breast pump but they're also good for storing formula and measuring out water to add to our powdered formula. Love Love Love them!

• Medela Pump In Style - I was able to get this pump from a medical supply store and apply it towards my deductible so that's one reason to love it, but it's a great pump overall! I leave it sitting next to the rocker in my son's room and use it every few hours. I love that it's an electric pump and that it can be single or double. I also asked for an extra set of pump accessories (2 tubes, two bottles, two flanges and filters) which makes pumping and cleaning much less hectic - I always make sure to have a clean set ready for the next time I need to pump.

• Graco Rock'n'Play - This was an item I didn't plan on needing (read why here) and this item itself was purchased by m mother-in-law from our cousin as a place for our son to nap when he visited their house. Lone behold, it's the only thing our son liked sleep in that we were comfortable letting him sleep in. We love it though! We pull it all over the house while he's napping and I love that it folds flat for easy storage or traveling. 

• Bamboobies Breast Pads - I'll be honest, at first I didn't like these because they seemed huge and since they don't have sizes, I felt like they would crinkle and show through my bras, but once I got my milk in, that problem seemed to disappear! Very comfortable and washable!

• Strapless Hands-Free Pumping Bra - I'm glad I asked for this on my registry because I'm able to pump and still do other things such as working on the computer, etc. Keep in mind, you're still connected to your pump which needs to be plugged in so it's not like you can walk all over the house and do chores and such, but at least your hands are free to do small, isolated tasks. I also like that this bra is adjustable.

• Receiving Blankets - I honestly thought I wouldn't use these very much or at least for very long since they're pretty small compared to swaddling blankets but we've used them the most! We like to wrap our son in them or cover him while in the Rock'n'Play.

• Similac Supplement Formula - This is another product I didn't plan on needing (read why here) but it's grown on me and I appreciate having it because we're able to judge exactly how much food and nutrients my son is getting.

• Regular trash can for dirty diapers - I'm very glad that we didn't waste our money on a fancy diaper genie or similar contraption because a regular step trashcan works just fine!

• All Free and Clear Detergent - We decided to try this hypoallergenic laundry detergent before running out to the store to buy special baby detergent and so far so good! We're able to wash our clothes with our son's clothes which saves us time and money!

 

• Ikea Play Mat - I loved this play mat because it's not crazy busy and overstimulating like most play mats. It's simple and effective!

• Infant Pacifiers - These pacifiers are awesome and our son loves them. They are newborn size pacifiers and although I had hoped to wait to give him pacifiers until around 6 weeks old, I would much rather let him suck on these than his fingers!

• Waterproof Changing Pad Covers - We got two packs of these and they rock! As soon as one gets dirty, we throw it in the wash and pull out a new one! We also have one folded in our Rock'n'Play in case our son leaks through his diapers, which has already happened a time or two.

• Munchkin bottle brush - I love this brush for cleaning bottles and bottle nipples and I love that the skinny nipple brush stores away in the handle of the larger brush! 

• Depends Silhouettes - Yes, I know what you're thinking, these are adult diapers. But don't knock them before you try them postpartum! They are equivalent to the mesh underwear and giant pads you get from the hospital, but better! You really can't tell you're wearing these (unless you're in like skin-tight leggings, then you'll probably notice them) but seriously, don't question this purchase, just buy them. You can thank me later.

• Antibacterial Soap - You can't go wrong having antibacterial soap in the house with a new baby, whether making sure guests don't bring in outside germs before holding your new little one or washing poop off your hands, this is definitely a must-have.

• Boppy Pillow - Since I'm not really breastfeeding like I had planned, the Boppy has turned into more of an items that we hand to guests to help them hold and visit with our son. People love it, even men, and think it's the most brilliant invention! I like the Boppy too, and know that it will come in handy as my son starts to get older - he will be able to use it in different positions to encourage his body strength. **BONUS TIP make sure to have at least two Boppy Slipcovers to change out in case baby spits up on one or just for good hygiene purposes. 

• SkipHop Diaper Bag - I LOVE my diaper bag! It's tall but not bulky! I got this diaper bag in solid heather gray and I love the material it's made out of - spills will just wipe off! I also love that it has straps to attach to the handle of our stroller for easy access.

• Black Wristlet - I made sure to switch and wean myself off of a giant purse a few months before my son was born knowing full well that my life would need to be carried in a diaper bag once he arrived. Getting my personal things into a small clutch was an awesome decision because it fits right into my diaper bag without me needing to carry a diaper bag and a giant purse, and I can quickly and easily remove my clutch if our son is visiting with grandparents and I need to run errands, etc. 

• Help from family and friends!!!! - When I read this in so many blogs and magazine articles I thought to myself, dugh! Get help, accept help, yada yada yada, but seriously. I would not have gotten through the first 2 weeks of my son's life without help from our family. My first week postpartum was rough as I went through many physical battles, none life-threatening thank goodness, and the help from my husband, meals from family and help from all of our parents was invaluable! My second week postpartum was my husband's first week back to school (he's a teacher) so it was AWESOME to have my mom stay with us his whole first week of school as I built back my energy and as we tried to find a routine again. If help is available to you, please please please utilize it! I would have been a physical, emotional and mental MESS without help!

Products to Skip:

• Boon Lawn Drying Rack - I was seriously disappointed by this product, not that there's much to it, but I was excited to use it to dry bottles and breast pump parts. I'm suggesting to skip this product because it really didn't promote drying. I could wash bottles before bed and the next morning they're still sitting on the drying rack dripping wet.

• Luvs Diapers - I did extensive research on diaper brands and which would be the best and most cost effective brand. With Amazon Prime or even just in stores, I determined that Luvs were the brand for us because they were the cheapest name brand out there and you could buy jumbo boxes of their diapers. The cheap part definitely stayed true to my thoughts. These diapers could handle a small amount of newborn poop and any more would have caused blowouts in seconds! They are super thin diapers and not very absorbent, at all! These are on my skip list for sure!

• Swaddle Blankets - We asked for swaddle blankets and I have to admit that I was super excited to swaddle my son and use them (did I mention that the patterns were super cute?). We swaddled my son a few times, but he always managed to get his arms free and that's how he likes to sleep, so swaddling blankets proved to be pretty useless in our house.

• Newborn Clothes & Diapers - Our son was 8lbs, 4oz and 20.5" long when he was born. Thank goodness I didn't just pack newborn clothes for the hospital! My son has pretty much been too long to fit in newborn clothes since birth, although some brands seem larger than others, but not many. We also only had him in newborn diapers for about 4 days and realized that they were so tiny on him that if he pooped at all, we would have serious problems! He's in size 1 diapers and 0-3 clothes, all of which are still a bit big on him, but at least we're not cramming his sweet little body into stuff that's too small! 

• Diaper Rash Cream - It's probably because I stay home with my son and am able to perform regular diaper changes, but we haven't needed diaper rash cream yet. We pretty much are able to change on demand and the only time he sits in a dirty or wet diaper is because he's sleeping.

• Johnson's Hand and Face Wipes - Perhaps I tried to use these too soon, but the packaging doesn't specify if these can or cannot be used on a newborn. These wipes made my son's skin breakout so they were quickly added to my skip list.

• Amazon Prime/Amazon Mom - Amazon Prime made my skip list for a few reasons, the first being the movie/TV show streaming is not user friendly and has very limiting movie and TV show options. Also, you pay for the full year upfront, which stinks when the service proves to be useless for your family because you no longer are buying name brand diapers but Target Up&Up brand that can't be ordered through Amazon Mom. The only feature that is worth the money is the free 2-day shipping, but we never order things on Amazon so even this feature wasn't worth the money.

• Medela Steam Clean Bags - I thought these steam clean bags would save me a ton of time from having to wash each piece from my breast pump after every use but I quickly discovered that I still have to use my bottle brush to clean the pieces, especially the flanges, so to me these were not helpful or worth my money and they are on my skip list.  

• Nursing Bras - I made sure to buy nursing bras early in my pregnancy and wear them pretty much throughout my pregnancy to get used to them and how they worked. Since I haven't nursed the way I had hoped, nursing bras have been useless to me, but also I find that wearing sports bras are much more efficient and hold my breast pads better than the nursing bras so I've stuck with sports bras.

What items made your Mommy Must-Have List and your Products to Skip List?

Happy Living & God's Blessings!

J.M.