WHAT I ACTUALLY USED AFTER BIRTH AS A FIRST TIME MOM

With one simple Google query you can go down a rabbit hole when researching all the gizmos and gadgets deemed “must-have’s” for after birth. Before I had Simon, this made my head spin. We were on an extremely tight budget and only wanted to purchase what we absolutely needed.

Now that I have made it through the first two months of being the mom, I have been a guinea pig and can tell you what I actually needed. I hope this helps reduce stress for at least one mom-to-be out there.

FOR MOM

This is a list of what I used for myself to help with the healing process after birth.

• Large pads- I’m talking as big as you can find. The hospital sent me home with quite a few extra, but it helped to have my own stash on hand in both of our bathrooms.
• Dermoplast- Get the blue bottle, not the red. (Unless your healthcare professional says so.) The red one BURNS.
• Sweatpants or a large t-shirt- A must for me
• Breast pads- I tried using the washable kind but they lasted for about 10 minutes before I needed to switch. I ultimately used the disposable kind.
• Large water cup- Although my appetite took a while to come back, I was always thirsty and found it difficult to keep up with my water intake.

Anything else that came up as a need, we ordered to the house (Covid-yay).

FOR BABY

This list is very basic and excludes the necessities that are obvious. (Diapers, a place to safely sleep.)

• Burp cloths and blankies- I found it helpful to have several clean cloths on hand at any time all over the house. Babies are messy.
• The diaper and wipe combo that works for your family. We loved water wipes and still use them. (Grab the bulk pack from Amazon to save some $$$.) We get our diapers in bulk from Costco. With the rate our little guy went through them, it saved us so much money.
• At least two swaddles and one sleep sack/nightgown- Two swaddles in case one is ruined at night from a bad diaper or spit up, and one nightgown in case your baby doesn’t like to be snugly swaddled. Beyond the first week or two, Simon wanted nothing to do with a swaddle.

All of these items can be found on my shop “Nursery” page.

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