Top 3 Newborn Products No One Talked About
When I found out I was expecting, I of course turned to YouTube and various baby websites to find the baby supplies I would definitely need. Besides the obvious (diapers, wipes … which by the way everyone seems to have their own preference on all of these), I kept coming across the SAME PRODUCTS. People either loved them or hated them (i.e. the mamaroo, snoo, [..hey that rhymes =)] etc.). After my baby was born I found out so many things, as any new parent does, but my ride or die products were things LITERALLY NO ONE online talked about … or anyone I found at least. I bought tons of things I ended up not using, but came across three items I could not have done it without. Without further ado, here are my top 3 products I HIGHLY recommend for new moms & parents:
1. Put a Mini Fridge in Your Bedroom!
One of my friends recommended this to me and it was honestly a life saver! By far my #1 MUST HAVE for any new mom. The one I borrowed from a friend was the Cooluli Mini Fridge, and it’s a perfect size for your bedroom! It can be used for hot or cold settings and I believe it actually comes with a cord to plug it into your car as well (which now thinking about it would be awesome if you are road tripping with breast milk or formula). If you are pumping in the middle of the night, not only are you trying to pry your eyes open enough to see, but traveling to the kitchen and back to bed multiple times a night sounds miserable. Having a cool place to store milk overnight and transfer it to the kitchen fridge in the morning was GENIUS!
1A. Along with this, put some type of dish soap and a drying rack in your bathroom too. I know it sounds weird, but it is really nice to just have everything close by at night. After using a few roles of paper towels to dry pump parts (*eye roll*) I ended up picking up the smaller Boon Drying Rack and it did the job. I’m not in love with the drying rack, it can mold quickly on the tray so you have to be diligent in cleaning that part, but it’s better than using up paper towels!
1B. While we’re on the subject of pumping, when I left the hospital they sent me home with a pumping log. It looked like a spreadsheet straight out of excel and I was not motivated in any way to fill it out. I ended up making my own tracker and I actually used it! I created a breast milk freezer log too because I was over having my hands turn into icicles every time I wanted to check how much was in there. You can get a tracker on my Etsy store. I have a bunch of different colors!
2. Microwavable Bags to Sterilize Bottles
We discovered these in the hospital and I am so surprised no one talks about them! These bags make it so easy to sterilize baby bottle and pump parts! You add some water, stick the bag in the microwave and in 3 minutes you are good to go! I ended up using the Dr. Brown’s bags, actually ended up using their whole bottle system too. After sterilizing the bottles, you drain out the extra water in the sink and then I would dump the clean parts in a bin to dry out. NOTE: This is not a substitute for cleaning the bottles, you still have to do that =].
3. huggies wipes dispenser
As I mentioned I feel like diapers and wipes are such a touchy subject and everyone has their own preference. I like trying out different brands of these products, but man oh man did I get frustrated with the wipes. I decided against a wipe warmer (from my cousin’s suggestion) and would just keep a packet of wipes on the changing table. But when you are trying to change your baby and pull out a million wipes at once that are all connected and try to wiggle them out of the package to tear them apart one handed … let’s just say there was a lot of frustration and a lot of wasted wipes. Until I discovered a magical box … the Huggies Wipe Dispenser. Even if you don’t use huggies wipes, put your preferred wipe brand in this box. I personally have experienced a 99% success rate with pulling out one wipe at a time. I know this one seems so lame, but man it was a game changer for me!
