We all have the baby shower wish list, the crib, changing table, cute little clothes, lots and lots of diapers. But there are some essential baby items that don’t usually cross your mind until you are IN the moment and left wishing you had them then and there. Probably because they are the ‘boring’ things…but toilet paper is also boring and imagine life without it. (YIKES-not so boring anymore).
I’m sure there are plenty of other items not listed here that could be essential-it seems that the list for newborns and children in general is endless-but these are the main ones that I found extremely beneficial. Some of them I had to learn just how essential they are because I didn’t have them on hand when they were very much needed. So this time around I’m making sure to have them on hand BEFORE baby arrives.
COLIC CALM-I’m mentioning this first because this was the biggest saving grace from an anxiety wrenching situation. There is nothing more heart breaking than hearing the cries of your colic baby 🙁 And when I needed this it wasn’t available on Amazon Prime at the time (the shipping time was like 2 weeks!) and no CVS or Wallgreens nearby had it. I remember my sister and I finally drove (I swear it’s the biggest pet peeve when stores don’t answer their phones…so we drove!) 45 minutes with screaming Kylie in the back seat trying every single place withing 20 miles, until we finally found some.
**Note it may throw you off a bit because it’s a black liquid….yeah weird, so when they poop, they will have little black specks in their poop. But it’s herb based and holistic, so perfectly safe.
LANSINO NIPPLE CREAM- If you’re planning on breast feeding make sure to have some of this on hand. You will get slightly chapped (and that’s totally normal) this helps sooth, it’s safe to use right before nursing, and I would even put it on when I wasn’t chapped just to prevent.
INFANT MITTENS-These little mittens were amazing! They keep your baby from accidentally scratching their face, inside of their mouth or basically anywhere their little hands wonder, because newborns have the tenancy to want to pinch, grab and pull anything their hands come in contact with…which in turn results in little scratches. I stocked up on these (like 10 pairs) because Kylie liked sucking on her hand and so they would get soaked and act like a sweat shop for her hands which made them start peeling and smelling (when that does happen just run their hand under water and the dead skin rubs off just fine-this only lasted for the first few days of life, after that all it did was make her hands smell, so I would rotate them for dry ones frequently).
PROTEIN BARS-Again if you are nursing, then you will find that one moment you are fine, and then minutes later you are famished. My hunger usually came after each feeding, that included the middle of the night. But rather than get up and rifle through the fridge, I preferred to have protein packed grab and go food by my bed. The higher in protein the better. I went though so many boxes of these Pure Protein bars (Costco size) with Kylie. This brand is my favorite because they have lots of protein, with very little sugar, and an equal amount of carbs to protein. (You NEVER want the carbohydrate count to be far above or below the amount of protein, but in similar range).
OLIVE OIL-Be sure that you have some olive oil, or any cold pressed oil (ie coconut, grape seed, avocado etc) in the house for the first couple of days after birth. Rub it on your baby’s bum after each changing to ensure that the meconium (the sticky, tar black poop) doesn’t stick to their bum. That way you will avoid having to rub and chaff their sensitive newborn skin.
TYLENOL-You never know when out of nowhere your baby appears to be in pain, running a fever or what have you. (Learning to be human can be rough on a little body). So it’s just nice to have some baby Tylenol right there the second you need it.
Thanks for reading ya’ll and I hope some of this info was useful 🙂
Have a wonderful FRIDAY!!!
XOXO
“Despite the conditions of our day, we have many reasons to rejoice and be optimistic”
-Bonnie L. Oscarson