New Mama Must-Haves

When a woman is expecting a baby, she's flooded with information about her impending mommyhood. Some of it highly pertinent (think infant CPR) while others are completely obnoxious. The biggest falacy pushed on women during pregnancy is the stuff {I would say crap but then I wouldn't be a lady} that we're told we need.
With my first pregnancy, I avoided this in two ways: being borderline broke so that we could only afford the necessities and having my friend Heather, who had a baby 10 months prior to reed's birth, help me with my baby registry.

This go-around I knew what I needed. Sure, baby 2 is a whole new gender but really until you have to make that all-important decision between Dora and Diego, there isn't much that's different about baby boys and girls. 

According to the registry builders at Target and Babies R Us, my new child is severely lacking in nearly every area of baby gear. Target's website goes so far as to give me 'warnings' about the lack of items on my registry whenever I log in. 

New moms, before you get overwhelmed over what will happen if all 1358 items on your registry aren't bought before you deliver, here's my simple list of things you actually need.

A pack-n-play

Listen, I know how sweet the teeny tiny cradles for newborns are, trust me. But if you want the most bang for your buck, you'll go with me on this one. The two biggest things your pack-n-play should have are a changing table feature and the bassinet feature. Your little one can sleep in it while she's an infant, play as an older baby and pile toys in it until you finally put it in the closet when she's a toddler.


A swing/bouncy chair/vibrating chair

This one is tricky because not all babies are created equal. Reed loved his swing nearly as much as he loved my boobs for the first 8 months of his life. We also had one of the vibrating infant chairs that he was fairly fond of, though he would rather be held. You don't always know what your baby will like {and sometimes they hate the swing as newborns but love it once they hit 3-6 months} so my advice here is to buy on consignment, or better, borrow one.

 A Car Seat & A Stroller (but not necessarily a travel system)

I'm all for holding/wearing your baby {it's not essential but especially for nursing mamas, I recommend a sling} but there are times where you need to be able to push your baby around in a stroller. I say not necessarily a travel system because sometimes the strollers in the prepackaged duos are bulky, hard to maneuver and don't necessarily add any storage space. Test them out pre-baby; if you can't collapse it one-handed and get it into your car, it's not worth your time.  

A boppy pillow (or similar nursing pillow)

Even if you're not going to breastfeed, this is worth the investment. You never know how long it will take your baby to eat and whether they're six or sixteen pounds, your arms can get tired. Plus they're great for a resting baby or for tummy time.


A bumbo seat

This may not be essential for some moms but for me, with reed, I loved this thing. When he was awake for more hours in the day and had the neck support thing down, it was a great way for me to get a few things done hands free, while still chitterchattering about his toes with him. 

Things like a $70 contraption specifically for dirty diapers and a wipe warmer {never get these, i was thankful to know from babysitting years that they dry out the wipes and run up your electricity bill} are things that you'll likely be told to by but trust me, save your money. 


Any must-have baby gear that I left off, mamas?