1. Sound Machine // I had no idea how important it was to create a womb like experience for a baby until after I had Magnolia. It makes total sense now, but while I was pregnant with her it slipped my mind, it wasn't on any lists I read, and no one told me to get a sound machine. Thanks sisters, ha 😉! Magnolia slept like a baby, and by "sleeping like a baby" I mean she didn't sleep well at all. I went for weeks running on only a few hours of sleep & I was sleep deprived in a way I didn't know was possible. I did everything imaginable to help her sleep. For a little while I used an app on my phone to create a womb like experience. And then one day we were at a big box baby store & I found the Dohm All Natural Sound Machine & it changed my life! We still use it every night & honestly, I think I will continue to use it for years to come. I cannot describe the sound other than "real" & "soothing" for not only Magnolia, but us too. This is a must have!
2. Halo SleepSack Swaddle // Okay, so maybe this one is a no-brainer, and YES this was on lists & YES my sister told me to get some. In my defense, even her pediatrician said he felt the same way as me before he became a dad. I didn't think I needed them. I knew how to swaddle a baby & I wanted to use the pretty muslin swaddle blankets I had put on my registry. All the Instagram moms use the floral swaddles to get their babies to sleep, so that was my plan also! Side note: don't let Instagram staged photos fool you about infant sleep. It didn't work, she escaped my swaddling & she made me believe she hated to be swaddled. Finally her pediatrician convinced me to get some velcro sleep sacks & they helped, a lot! Now breaking the habit of the swaddle is a whole other blog post. The Halo brand was my favorite.
3. Cloth Diapers // This is an odd one if you plan on using disposable diapers like us. At the hospital they use cloth diapers as burp clothes & as changing pads. The nurse was nice enough to send a bunch home with us & we soon realized we needed more of them. To Amazon Prime we went for more. We had plenty of adorable burp clothes made by my sister, but it was the cloth diapers that we used each time we changed her poopy diapers. It felt as though she pooped 15x a day, maybe she did, I cannot remember now. Anyway, they came in handy to protect whatever surface we were using to change her & I still use them today. Under the cloth diapers I use a waterproof pad like these.
4. Probiotic Drops // I had no idea how terrible colic or acid reflux was in babies before I had Magnolia. I had heard stories about colic & I know my sister had it. My mom still talks about it to this day. There were days we could not get her to stop crying & there were so many nights I'd walk the house with a red-faced screaming baby wishing I could bring her comfort. She ended up having silent acid reflux & her doctor suggested probiotic drops. I shared about them here. I'm grateful that we didn't have to start a prescription medication & that the drops with time + patience was all she needed.
5. Zip-up Footed Pajamas // As a first time mom I wanted all the cute outfits for my baby. She has a few darling dresses she never wore because she grew out of them faster than we had places to wear them. It was the footed zip-up pajamas from The Gap, that my bestie from college sent me, that she wore on repeat for a good month or two. I didn't realize the importance of a zipper until I started changing diapers every single hour of the day. Who wants to deal with snaps at one am!?!? The Gap jammies were the best quality & definitely my favorite. If I was shopping for a new baby I'd probably get at least five pairs of them!
Before wrapping this up, I must mention the 1 Second Everyday - Video Diary because I just now started to use it. I wish I would have started sooner! Each day you add one photo or small one second video to the app & then it'll make a video diary for you. It's so cool & fun, and such a great way to document your baby's life. Even if you don't use the app, I highly suggest taking photos each day. Some nights while she is sleeping next to me I'll scroll through my camera roll & look at all the photos of her & I'll literally relive my emotions in the moment that I have saved forever. Taking lots of photos will always be my #1 piece of advice for new parents.
Well there is my list of must-haves that you may or may not find on all the new parent lists out there.
Please comment below if there is anything you'd like to add to this list, I'd love to hear.
XO
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