This one kind of goes without saying. We knew that we have a pretty good chance of having a tall baby, so we bought one that has a higher height limit than most.
2. Waterbottle & Snacks
I had no idea I could drink so much water in a day. And easy snacks are essential to have stocked in the pantry. I went through a lot of granola bars…partially because I was always hungry from breastfeeding and partially because a lot of times I didn’t have time or energy to make anything else to eat.
Wouldn’t you love to kiss the person who invented pacifiers? I would. Someone gave us a set of vanilla scented soothies…which I thought was ridiculous at first…but they ended up being quite nice!
I feel the same sentiments to the founder of gas drops as I do the inventor of pacifiers. These were a miracle for Finley. For a while we were giving her gas drops with each feeding and they did the trick to keep her happy! Word to the wise…these can be rather spendy and the Target brand works just as well as the Little Remedies brand does at a fraction of the cost.
[Note: Some prefer the natural gripe water to gas drops. Gas drops worked better for Finley for gas discomfort, but loved gripe water for hiccups! Try a free sample of gripe water HERE.]
We constantly used receiving blankets and swaddle wraps for the first few weeks. I love the Aden & Anais swaddle wraps because they are a bit bigger than receiving blankets.
Huggies Little Snugglers were my favorite (Finley blew out Pampers every time). Be sure to have a tube of butt paste on hand and once you find one that you like just go ahead and buy the big tub (preferably with a flip top). You’ll use it.
I love my Solly Wrap…especially in the first few weeks. There were times that Finley was gassy or fussy and she was able to nap on my chest this way.
Not a total necessity, but definitely handy for breastfeeding.
Snatch as many aspirators from the hospital as you can. Seriously. The cheap ones that you get at the store are crap. We got two from the hospital (we hid one when the nurses weren’t looking…shhh) and threw all of the others out. We used these daily. At first she had gunk from birth that we needed to suck out and later for her nose. Saline is great to have on hand for that first time they get stuffed up in the nose and have a hard time breathing.
The first time you wake up with a soaking wet shirt you’ll know why nursing pads are on this list. Especially if your boobies go out of control like mine did. And applying lanolin to the nipples is a must until your boobs adjust (read: toughen up) for breastfeeding. Finley’s lips were very dry and got chapped easily the first few weeks, too (I’ve heard this referred to as breastfeeding blisters??). I put lanolin on her lips when they got dry and it did the trick.
