Hellobee

It’s only been two weeks, but I’ve quickly learned what things I can’t live without! Here are my must haves for the newborn stage:

1) Hands free pumping bustier – I’ve started pumping to increase my milk supply, and I couldn’t do it without this. I’ve heard that it’s easy to tuck the pump in your regular nursing bra, but since I’m always wearing a floppy tank, this hasn’t worked for me. Instead I keep this in my pump bag and put it on when I need to pump so I can do something else with my hands (like write this post).

2) Dr. Sears – I have three of his books and often use his website to read up on everything from newborn weight gain to the benefits of co-sleeping. I liked the philosophy of attachment parenting before baby, but now I see how natural and common sense it is.

3) Bosom Baby nursing pillow – My friend gave this to me and swore it was the best nursing pillow out there, and I might agree. I use it to nurse in bed, on the couch, or in the rocking chair in the nursery. It’s much bigger than the popular Boppy, but I feel like it gives more support and can hug my body better.

4) iPhone – This is something that I was pretty attached to before baby, but now with late night feedings and such, it has to be by my side at all times. I’d go crazy without my games and apps.

5) Motherlove nipple cream – A friend gave me this and it is so much better than lanolin, in my opinion. It isn’t sticky and is really soothing, especially for the early weeks of breastfeeding when your nipples are sore.

6) Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets – We have 12 of these that were gifted to us and use them all the time. He is swaddled in them every night and for some daytime naps. We tried two different types of velcro swaddle blankets, but still prefer these as we can control how they hug his body a bit better. Here’s a tip: he is a master at getting out of a swaddle, but it really helps if he’s wearing long sleeves. For some reason, the fabric creates more tension or something, and his smooth baby arms don’t easily wiggle free.

7) Nursing tanks – This one from Target is my favorite. I wear these every single day and night and they are so much more comfortable than regular nursing bras and shirts. I have one regular nursing bra that I’ll wear only if I want to dress up a little more, but I much prefer the tanks.

8) Diapers with the pee indicator – I actually didn’t know that the diapers we had bought (or were gifted) to use during the first few weeks had this fun feature, but now I don’t want to give it up! There is a line on the front of the diaper that changes color when the baby has peed. This way we don’t have to constantly stick our finger in the diaper to find out if he needs to be changed! There’s no poop indicator, but luckily a little peek inside can solve that mystery rather quickly. We use Pampers, by the way.

9) Boppy Newborn Lounger – If he’s in the right mood (which is most of the day), baby TTT loves hanging out in this between feedings. We’ll let him nap in it (under close supervision, of course) or put his baby gym over it during his awake, but un-fussy time.

10) Pack n Play bassinet – We have this one from Graco and we use it every night. Sometimes, especially now that we’ve mastered the side lying nursing position, we cosleep, but if baby TTT isn’t being a fussypants, he sleeps in this. We also use it to change his diapers in the middle of the night so we can keep everything as dark and quiet as possible.

What are your newborn/new mom essentials?