When I first became pregnant, I scoured the internet and other “mom” blogs to find out exactly what I needed to get for this little baby growing inside of me.  I ended up disagreeing with pretty much all of the recommendations.

When a good friend of mine became pregnant last year, I giddily compiled a list of my favorite stuff, telling her to take it with a grain of salt, because each mommy, each newborn, and even each experience is so vastly different.  She loved it, and even shared it with another friend who was also expecting her first.

This list came up again recently when a work friend of mine found herself unexpectedly expecting after being told for 15 years that she couldn’t have children.  I was so ridiculously happy and excited for her that I dug up that list I sent my friend last year and passed it on to her, and she loved it, too!

So a blog series was born (since it is far too long of a list to have one post about).

Part One:  Things all the “lists” tell you are a waste of money and that you’ll never use that I LOVE and use every day.

• Boppy – A lot of blogs/articles I read said to just use a pillow, and that the Boppy is too expensive and you don’t want to carry it around with you.  Let me tell you…I used it every time I nursed Harlow at home.  I wasn’t big on nursing anywhere at home besides her comfy rocking chair in her nursery, so it was always convenient.  The only time I tried using a pillow to nurse her was in the hospital, and it bugged me so much I just held her instead.  Now that she’s 18 months old, I still use it for bed-time bottles, & to prop her when we’re reading bed-time books.  It is more comfortable for her to sit or lay on than my legs, and it puts her at a great height for everything.

• Diaper Genie – Every single diaper Harlow has used at home has gone in the DG. It is nice to have them in one spot and I don’t feel like the room smells like some people think.  True, the smell can linger for a while, but think about it… when you use the… erm… facilities…  your waste gets swept out of the house, but that doesn’t mean the scent  doesn’t linger for a bit, right?  (So sorry this took a gross turn, but we are talking about waste containers, so… yeah.)  Anyway…  Once the diaper is in the pail, the smell is sealed in, in my experience.  For extra assurance, I do use the Arm & Hammer Nursery Fresheners.  I just pop one in the bottom, or stick one to the top, and not only does it not stink, but it lets out a fresh little scent every time the pail is opened.

• Wipe warmer – I love this. Not only for baby, (Harlow HATES cold wipes) but also for you! I don’t like being cold when I’m groggy in the middle of the night changing a diaper, and think of how it would feel being groggy in the middle of the night and having a big, ice cold wet wipe on your tushy! <— I wrote that when H-Bean was still quite little, so we don’t do middle of the night changes anymore, mostly, but it stands that if I have to use a cold wipe for any reason, she hates it, and I do, too!

This is the one we have…

• Changing table – we have a changing pad on top of her dresser and every single diaper Harlow has had changed at home since birth has been changed on that changing station. I have a basket of diapers/Desitin/hand sanitizer next to it (also contains burp rags and lotion) and everything is right there. You don’t have diaper stations littering your house. <– Not the best photo of it, below, but you get the idea.  This was taken a few weeks after she was born.  Note the binkies that she never used… 

Oh, look!  The wipe warmer, changing station, and Boppy are all in the photo. 🙂

The best thing about this list is that at 18 months old, Harlow and I still use everything on it, so it isn’t something that only a newborn would need.

Stay tuned!  Next up in the series is Nursing/Pumping Tips.

Do you have anything you’d like to hear about?