8 Things New Moms Need (and 8 They Don’t)
If you are anything like me, the thought of buying things for a new baby can be overwhelming. It's stressful. The thought of trying to keep a tiny human alive, when you can barely even keep your houseplants alive, is demanding and intimidating. In all seriousness though, it can be the best job in the world----and the most tiring.
I remember creating my baby registry for my baby shower and thinking, "There's so much stuff out there! Where do I even begin? What do I even need? Is all of this necessary, or just nice to have?" I get it. Searching through amazon, target, babylist, etc. gives you so much power at your fingertips to just click "add to cart" or "add to registry". So much so that we get lost in trying to find the basics and what we really need.
Now, I know everyone is different. Do you formula feed or breastfeed? (either way fed is best!) Does your child have specific needs physically or intellectually?--If so, that will play a part too. And, don't forget about yourself, mama. What do YOU NEED? It's a lot. I chose to formula feed my daughter and although, I was a carrier for two genetic disorders, her father was not, so that eliminated any special needs for her. Based off of my experience, I thought I'd share a list of things that were beneficial for me and things that were, well, not-so-necessary.
Again, this list may not suit everyone, but I find that sharing your experience with these products can be very helpful to others.
1. Baby Brezza Bottle Maker
Obviously this one is for mom who choose to formula feed or are unable to breastfeed. My sister-in-law showed me this and I'm so thankful she did. It's easy to use, clean, and set up. The baby brezza allows you to set the temperature and amount in ounces to make a bottle with just the click of a button. It's extremely helpful during those drowsy feeding sessions in the middle of the night. Maybe not a necessity to survive but for me, it was.
2. Safety CarSeat Monitor
I know some will say that this is a projectile hazard, but I will explain why I chose this route over a mirror later in this post. For me, living 13 hours away from my family meant long trips either through the early morning or into the night. This camera was so nice to have as its very small can be installed on the headrest of the seat and has a night vision option so that you can see your child in the dark. We never once had issues with it and it never fell from the headrest.
3. Rocking Chair
This one sounds pretty basic and obvious; but for us, we highly considered not getting one because, well, we simply did not think we'd use it as much as we did. Riley's brother bought it for us and I'm so glad he did. When we first had Storm, we lived in a little two bedroom apartment with a couch and no recliner. And, if your baby is anything like ours was, she loved motion when trying to catch a snooze or have her midnight snack. It made those late night feedings much more comfortable for me as well. Just add a neck pillow and your golden!
4. Diaper Genie
For me, this was more of a want than a need, but boy do I miss it. It was easy to set up and the bags were very good at keeping the smell of bad diapers at bay. The bags were super simple to use and easy to replace. As Stormee got older we stopped using it, and now that we are potty training, I sort of wish we still had it.
5. Baby Swings/Rockers
This is similar to the rocking chair. However, I know some people say they never use it. After our baby shower we actually had to exchange some because we ended up with three different ones. We kept two to see which one worked better. Leave it to our little diva, she liked the larger one that swayed side to side instead of back and forth. For the longest time, this was the only way we could get her to sleep before midnight.
6. Sound on Spotify
So, this is going to sound weird, but Stormee had nights where she'd scream in pain for hours on end. I tried everything, a bath, a diaper change, a feeding, rocking her, and getting some fresh air, but to no avail. We even went to the ER in the middle of the night in the midst of a bitter North Dakota winter. We still got no answers. One night she screamed for 12 hours with no end in sight. Until I found this. I tried using different sounds on her sound machine and she'd still lose it; but, for some reason, this was the golden ticket. I even told some others about it who were experiencing the same thing and they had the same results. I don't know what it is about this particular noise but it was a godsend for me especially when Riley was travelling for work. Turns out, it's for babies who have colic and it works wonders.
7. Diaper Raffle
For any moms looking at ideas on how to fill time at their baby shower...this is a great fit! We had people bring a pack of diapers and entered their name into a drawing for an amazon gift card. We ended up having so many diapers that we didn't need to buy any diapers for the first 3 months! And our guests had fun with it!
8. Baby Card Time Capsule
Again, another game to fill time at your baby shower! This was a fun one for me. I purchased some cards off of amazon (see link below) and numbered them each 10- 21. For each guest, they had to write advice on the card for that age (i.e. if they got a card with the number 16 then they'd write advice for stormee when she turned sixteen). You can do whatever ages you want. I just thought that I'd hit some of the major milestones that require a little guidance. Guests were allowed to switch cards if they hadn't hit that age yet. Now, those cards are sitting in special envelopes in a keepsake box that she can open each year on her birthday! I cannot wait to look back on those with her. Again, not a necessity but definitely something beneficial to preserve the memories.
As for the things I DIDN'T really need/use:
1. Changing Table
This was something I was totally set on as I thought it would be perfect for her bedroom and some extra storage; in reality, it just took up space and was another item to clean. Looking back, I'd skip this and just get a dresser for the storage. After all, let's be real, 99% of the time you'll end up changing diapers on the floor.
2. Wipe Warmer
I never really had this on my registry, but we ended up with a few of them. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all that we were given, but we just simply never used it--even when we traveled.
3. Bottle Warmer
Again, we had one, but it ended up collecting dust. I'm sure there's people out there who loved theirs and found it beneficial, but most of the time we warmed it up in the microwave or used our baby brezza which had a temperature setting.
4. Bottle Sterilizer
This is totally up to your preference, but I usually ended up using the top rack of the dishwasher or hand-washing myself. I was going to be doing dishes anyways and could reach all the crevices with a special brush.
5. Baby Shoes
Two words. DON'T BOTHER.
They never use them and they never stay on. There more or so there for appearance.
6. Car Mirror
This one for me was a big NO. After my friend got into a car accident, her mirror shattered straight into the back seat and she was picking out shards of glass for a while. Luckily her baby was not in the car at the time. Oh, and the mirror fell off the seat. So, yes, this is why I choose the car monitor over the mirror.
7. Shopping Cart Covers
I'm sure these have their uses, especially in the winter time or to be proactive and try to prevent germs in a public setting, but let's be real, they are an extra item to pack around, and our kids are going to get exposed to germs whether we like it or not. Again, if you use these nothing against you, I just personally put the money towards something else.
8. Car Seat Strap Covers
Most of these do come with the carseat, so I get it. We did use ours, but they weren't a vital part to our daughter's safety in the car seat. Some people like to use them to have some added support when your newborn has no control over their neck, but honestly they just weren't necessary for us.
All in all, these choices are ultimately up to you. What worked for me, may not work for you. But, if it does...GREAT! I'm always happy to share. These may not all be things you need, but they are things that may help. As always, if you need some help, feel free to reach out to other moms. After all we are all in this together. Oh and by the way congrats mama! The overwhelming stress is so worth it in the end!
-Sincerely,
The encouraging mama
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