When my sister had
her baby she did a blog post about her “mommy must haves.” She and I have since talked about the different things
that do and don’t work for each us and our babies. So here is a list of my “mommy must haves” and why they have worked for us:
1. Nipple shield- This little device has
made life SO much easier for Audrey and I with breastfeeding. She had a hard time with feedings when we
were still in the hospital but when the lactation consultant gave us this it
was pretty much smooth sailing. If your
baby has a hard time breastfeeding look into getting one of these to help him
or her start out. We were lucky to get
ours free from the hospital but they are between $5 and $10 at Target in the
baby section.
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| I was thinking I wouldn’t post a picture of it but then decided that if this blog is for info and support for moms I might as well be as un-shy as possible. (don't worry though, we wont get too explicit) |
2. White noise- This has been a complete
life saver. It amazes us every time we
use it. When Audrey is having a
particularly hard time and we can’t figure out what to do (which happened a lot
while she was colicky), we turn this on and within minutes (sometimes seconds)
she is either asleep or calm enough for us to help her. It’s seriously like magic. I was able to demonstrate this magic when my
friend Kelsey was over one night and she was very surprised at how quickly it
worked. It’s especially been very
helpful when Audrey is hungry but too upset to eat. That’s such a hard situation because we know
what will make her feel better but she can’t calm down enough for it. Enter this white noise video. She slowly calms down, eats, and emerges from
her meal a very happy girl. I highly
recommend trying it.
3. Baby bath- We went without one for
awhile but life became a lot easier when we got one. We really like it because it helps us feel
more confident while bathing Audrey. She
always is SO slippery with the soap on her and it scares me think of something
bad happening. I know other moms who
don’t feel the need for it, but it’s been a must have for us.
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| about $20 at Walmart. ours is blue :) |
4. Mobile- This has been another
lifesaver- for our arms and backs. For
awhile the only way Audrey was okay with being out down was in her crib under
the mobile. I wish we had set it up
sooner than we did. We just had no idea
how much she would love it. It keeps her
entertained longer than anything else, which allows me to get stuff done around
the house. And the cuteness of her
talking and laughing at the animals is another major plus.
5. Baby seat/bed- I don’t even know what this
is really called but we refer to it as “the yellow thing.” This is also Audrey’s bed. We can drag it from room to room but at night
it’s right next to our bed. When she
starts to stir and get upset at night I can just reach over half asleep and
rock her back to sleep in it. I also
bring it in the kitchen sometimes (when the mobile is not doing it for her) and
give her some toys. She’ll sit
contentedly for a little while. And
sometimes ‘a little while’ is enough for me to get something done. It’ll be pretty sad when she gets too big for
it. (couldn't find a picture because I don't know what it's called!)
6. Swaddlers- Swaddling with a blanket is important to learn, but these make it easy to do and harder for baby to bust out of. These little things are
great. You wrap your baby up nice and
tight in it and it helps them calm down and feel cozy. I’ve heard that the tighter the better
because it helps them, especially newborns, remember being in the womb where it
was warm and compact. Not to mention how
much easier they are to carry without limbs flying and falling everywhere. There have been times where Audrey was
screaming as loud as she could and once we wrapped her up she was able to calm
down. There is a video called “The
Happiest Baby on the Block” where this and other techniques are used to trigger
what they call the “calming reflex” in babies.
It’s a good video, definitely check it out if your baby is colicky or
just having a hard time.
7. Saline drops and bulb syringe- Audrey had
some breathing issues when she was born and part of it had to do with mucus
build up, I believe. The bulb syringe is
something I think every mom knows about, but Saline drops are less well
known. What it does is help thin the
mucus so that it drips out or comes out much more easily with the bulb
syringe. So very helpful when baby is
congested.
So those are a few of the main things that have helped me in
motherhood so far. Obviously as Audrey
gets bigger this list will probably completely change (right now Audrey is 4 months old and some of them have already become obsolete), but so far these are
the things that have helped us keep our baby girl happy and healthy.
What are some of your "mommy must haves?"
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