Can't Do Without 'em

My friend Ross came over after work yesterday to visit with me and Aki Bear and to pick up some books on having a baby because his wife is pregnant! I mentioned to him that I should prepare a list of must haves. These are the baby and mama things that I love and simply make my life easier as a new mom:

aden + anais cotton swaddle blankets. These are wonderful, lightweight 100% cotton muslin blankets. I remember researching swaddle blankets and I was flabbergasted by the price of these blankets made out of muslin, but they are worth it. They are different than the cheap cotton muslin you would find in the fabric store. They are super thin and there is a stretch to them (without spandex) which makes for a good and tight swaddle and comfortable too, even in the summer time. I also use them to toss over the car seat to diffuse any sunlight that might hit the pure and tender skinned Aki Bear while on the go. They also come in some lovely designs and they even have a bamboo/cotton line if you want to splurge.

Hooter Hiders (I love that name) or nursing covers. I bought a scarf for fourteen bucks thinking I could just use that to cover up the ol' boob while nursing in public but it was nearly impossible to see the baby and cover myself up - I just about flashed myself...so now I have a cute scarf and went ahead and bought a hooter hider from our local resale/gift boutique The Red Hen! Basically it looks like an apron and a cape had a baby and called it a hooter hider. The part at the neck is stiff so it sticks out and you (and only you) can peek in on the nursing babe while the rest of the world goes about their business and doesn't get offended by you feeding your starving child. It's really worth the thirty buckaroos or i'm sure you can make one if you're handy.

The Ergo Carrier. We also have the Baby Bjorn which is sleeker but the Ergo is more...ergonomic. I wore the Bjorn and Aki Bear seems to really like it but I noticed that my back was a bit sore the next day. So I went to The Red Hen and got a used Ergo. This is much better on my back because it spreads the weight onto your hips rather than only on your shoulders. Once the bear gets bigger we can carry him on our back as well. He can also be on the front and face forward once he can hold his head up on his own - he's still a bit floppy. I use this carrier when I go on hikes with him. He usually ends up falling asleep.

My Brest Friend has a cheesy name but man oh man was it my best friend for the first month of babyhaving. You just clip it around your waist and plop the child on there and nurse away. It holds him up and even has these little built in bumps on either side so that it raises his head a bit more when he's lying there on his side which puts his mouth at the boob in a perfect way. I can even stand up with him on it and walk into another room, although it sorta feels like I'm a cigarette girl selling one super sweet baby. Plus there's a little pocket on the front where I house little nail clippers and stuff a burp cloth there as well - so convenient.

The Munchkin Wipe Warmer, I've talked about this before in this post. Maybe this isn't a must have but it is so nice and if you use cloth wipes you don't have to purchase the disposable ones on a regular basis so it's a money saver. I think Aki Bear is spoiled now because I used a regular unwarmed wipe on his bum the other day and he clenched and was startled by the coldness of it. HA! We put cloth wipes in there with water and it works wonders. Like I said before we'd like one in the bathroom for our adult bums.

Diapers. I asked for one dozen newborn sized prefold diapers on my registry but my friend Shawnee in all her wisdom ordered 3 dozen for me. I go through that many in 1.5 days. In the first week he went through 24+ diapers a day. At one month he wet 14 diapers and dirtied 4 a day. I'm sure he's cutting down even more (thank goodness) I haven't counted lately although he still pees up a storm. I use prefolds which look like your classic cloth diaper and flats which look like a big dish towel that you fold origami-style and then a couple of flip inserts which are basically super absorbent cotton diapers. I like them all (especially the prefolds and flats). You can read more about my cloth diaper research here and here.

Prefolds from Green Mountain Diapers dot com

Speaking of dirty diapers if you're going to go the cloth diaper route you mustmustmust get a BumGenius Diaper Sprayer. Not only is it fun to use but it is very efficient and convenient. It hooks right up to your toilet bowl and the flow of water is strong enough to even spray off one day old poo (that I didn't get to right away). Plus it's tempting to use as a bidet...that plus the wipe warmer and you'd have the cleanest butt in Chapel Hill.

If I didn't have Bamboobies I would walk around looking like this all day:

I was told that your breasts would leak even at the sound of a stranger's baby crying but I had no clue what that really meant. I have gone through so many shirts and bras. Bamboobies are super soft and thick and although my leaks can get past them sometimes they at least stem the tide a little. They apparently have an overnight pad which would probably help me. I only have one pair of Bamboobies and two or three pairs of these cheapo cotton ones (that work but aren't as big nor soft) I think having at least 7 pairs of nursing pads would be ideal, especially if you don't want to wash them every single day. 

Speaking of nursing accessories, a good nursing bra is important. You want something comfortable because if you're a leaker like me you'll be wearing a bra 24/7. So I prefer a nursing bra without underwire and as thin as possible. I got a couple of thin ones at Target and then a thicker one with underwire (which is good for going out because it's more supportive and creates another barrier for leakage just in case the levees bamboobies break.) I have two of these:

Breast milk storage bags are great for two reasons. They are compact and easy to store in your fridge or freezer. They are easy to warm up simply under a hot faucet...it takes less than a minute. I think because they are in bags you can massage them around while their under the hot water exposing more surface area of the cold milk. We have used the Ameda brand as well as the Lansinoh ones. I like the Ameda ones because when you are ready to use them there is a spot where you rip it open and it creates a little spout so that it can be poured easily into the feeding bottle.

If you are using storage bags you most likely are pumping milk. We ended up getting an electric pump and I'm so glad we did. I'm impatient with it now (and I only pump for 10 minutes at a time) so imagine if I went with the hand held one, I would've been in complete misery. We purchased the Ameda Purely Yours and it is great. No complaints here. I also used the Medela pump when I was in the hospital and I liked that one too, no preference really between the two. 

Burt's Bees Diaper Ointment. I wrote about diaper ointments in the post "Diaper Rash". So far I've tried the Burt's Bees Diaper Ointment, the Burt's Bees Multipurpose Ointment and the Dermacloud Ointment, I haven't tested the All Good Goop yet. So far the BB Diaper Ointment wins out. The multi purpose stuff didn't work on his rash, the rash came back, and the Dermacloud Ointment seems to be working but what I don't like about it is that it is in a big ol' jar and I remember reading about facial moisturizers once that stuff in a jar collects more germs than stuff from a tube because you're constantly sticking your fingers in the jar. The BB Dipe Ointment comes in a tube plus it's thicker therefore creating a bigger barrier between poop/moisture and skin. I think I'll put the All Good Goop in the diaper bag as it's a really portable sized container. 

As far as I can tell, my baby likes baths. When we don't toss him in the big tub with one of us we put him in the Puj. This thing is a soft, foldable mat that can be placed in any sink. It fits in the bathroom sink as well as the kitchen sink. I also love that it doesn't take up much space when we're not using it, it folds up flat. 

When we first brought Aki Bear home I was obsessed with watching him sleep mainly to make sure he was still breathing. At night it was hard because we weren't set up with a good light that either wasn't extremely blinding or something portable. So first we bought this adorable little soft glowing night light called the Mobi Tykelight that could be lifted from it's stand and carried anywhere but it was horrible. It never stayed on and it didn't glow blue or green (you had options of red and green and blue light depending upon your mood) it only glowed red, which was creepy and not bright enough to see if his eyes were opened or closed. So I went on a search of a soft glowing white night light. I found it on the light bulb aisle at Target. It's a battery powered Energizer Camping Lantern! It has three light levels, the lowest one being an amber night light which is perfect for watching him breathe! Plus you can move it to the changing table or when he get's old enough he can carry it with him to the bathroom if he wants or use it when he camps out in his cushion fort in the living room.

Burp cloths. Duh. These are so important. My friend Tiff made me a bunch. When I go through those I use cloth diapers or the ones that I crocheted...or my shirt, or a towel, or a napkin, or his shirt, or Mike's shirt or the cat.

I am a Co-sleeper advocate. My friend Kristen GAVE me hers although I tried forcing money on her but she's a tough cookie (four kids will do that to you I guess.) She gave me the Mini Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper. It snugs up and attaches to my bedside so the baby is basically on a level about 3.5 inches lower than the top of my bed but firmly attached to the side. I fall asleep staring at his angelic little face.

And that concludes that long ol' post!