Mommy Must Haves: A Necessary Accessory

As a modern mama-to-be you are bombarded with thousands of items to make your life just a little easier.  It is so difficult to decipher what is a much-needed item and what is an item of luxury.  You want to have everything that little sweet bundle could possibly need.

There are quite a few accessories that made life just a little easier.  Okay, A LOT easier.

My mommy must haves…

Video monitor:

Above all else this has been the most useful and longest lasting item we received.  Putting your child in his/her own room is so tough (I actually slept on the floor by the crib the first few nights).  Simply being able to not just hear them but also sneak a peak at them from time to time through out the night was and continues to be my saving grace.
Baby swing:

Some babies do not respond to the swing but ours loved it and I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have survived the first several months as well as we did with out that beautiful device.  It was a place to put Aedan down and he would sleep in it when nothing else seemed to work.

Snap-and-go type of stroller for your car seat:

Aedan is 10 months old and I’m on my 3rd stroller.  The lesson I’ve learned here is that the only stroller you should have before the baby comes is one that allows you to easily pull that car seat out and snap it into a handy moving contraption.  I had a really nice but not so convenient jogging stroller, which was just not ideal for the early stages.  Wait on any other stroller until you know your baby’s and family’s “strolling style.”

Baby carrier:

This recommendation also changes with developmental stage (another thing I have 3 versions of now).  In the early days, I wanted Aedan’s little body snuggled tight against mine so the Moby wrap was my favorite carrier.  These days, Aedan prefers to look at all things besides my face and so the Bjorn or Ergo have been lovely.

Infant-to-toddler bath tub:

I don’t know about you but I opted to not try to bath my son in a kitchen sink.  This little tub was a safe way to bathe him as a newborn and it continues to be useful. I simply removed the infant insert and now he can sit up in the tub.

Yoga Pants –

Let’s be clear, I do not mean for working out. Jeans are the enemy.

For nursing moms in particular:

LANOLIN:

It hurts.  This helps. Enough said.

Nursing cover:

If you want to ever leave the house and you breastfeed, you want one of these.  Unless, you prefer to just go all boobs out, which in that case more power to you!

Nursing pads:

Let me tell you from personal experience, walking down Church Street holding a car seat in one hand and trying to casually conceal your heavily leaky breast with the other is not my definition of a good time.  Invest in a good wool nursing pad.

Nursing bras:

Try nursing a baby with a regular bra.  Just try it.  You will soon realize that little snap on the strap is one of the best inventions on earth. Invest in a good one because you will be wearing it a lot and for a long time.

Hands free pumping bra:

If you ever have to pump, you will be so very thankful to feel just a little less like a cow being milked if you have one of these babies.  Read a book, close your eyes, drink your coffee, or just have your hands free instead of accidentally slipping your grip and spilling milk.  As you will soon learn, you most certainly can cry over spilled milk.

So this is my list of necessary accessories.  I think it is important to mention that different things work for different moms at different times.  As with all things in motherhood, you figure it out as you go along.  So get the accessories that you think will help you survive because a lot of those first few weeks (and I’m sure years!) are about survival, love, and togetherness.

I leave you with a little mom humor…