Things That Make Being a Mom Easier

When I was pregnant, I liked to hear what were the "must haves" for moms to make their lives easier. Here are some of my/our favorite things:

1.) Bouncer seat. I am proud to say I haven't gone 1 day without a shower since we brought Charlie home and I have the bouncer to thank.

2.) Pampers diapers with the wetness indicator on them. They had them in the hospital and we fell in love. There is a yellow line that goes all the way down the diaper. When it senses moisture (pee or poo), it turns green. If he's the slightest bit fussy, we peek through his jammies to see if its green and if so we know to change him. Sometimes it will be green minutes after we changed him - if we didn't have the wetness indicator diapers, I would bet my life he didn't just pee again.

3.) Halo Swaddle Me Blanket - so much faster than swaddling the old fashioned way.
http://www.amazon.com/Halo-Newborn-Cotton-SleepSack-Swaddle/product-reviews/B000BTPTGU

4.) Ultimate Receiving Blanket - if you are going to swaddle the old fashioned way. Regular receiving blankets will work, but this blanket is a bit bigger so it makes swaddling a little easer.
http://www.swaddledesigns.com/09_UltimateReceivingBL.html

5.) Baby Carrier - We have the Jeep one and Baby Bjorn. If he is fussy, I'll strap Charlie in and walk around the house. He often falls asleep. Rob will even strap him in and just sit on the couch with him so he has his arms free. I've heard great thing about slings and wraps but I haven't tried those yet.

6.) Snap n Go Stroller - fits most carseats. You don't need to lug around a big, bulky stroller. We also have a Bob for "off roading" but haven't tried it yet.

7.) Swing. Charlie didn't love the swing but he is liking it more now. I think the key is to get him in there when he is awake/happy. He typically will fall asleep in a few minutes (he's in there right now!)

8.) Downstairs Changing Station. For those who live in a two story and the baby's room is upstairs, I recommend setting up a changing station downstairs. I change 90% of his diapers downstairs so its nice to go into the guest bedroom and change him on the pack n play. We also have a diaper genie downstairs too. I try to keep spare bibs, burp cloths, pajamas and receiving blankets in the pack n play so we don't have to go upstairs when we need something.

9.) Some sort of thing to have baby sleep in that will be in your room. We have the arms reach co sleeper but I think a pack n play would be fine as well. Its nice to be able to see Charlie without getting out of bed. A friend gave us a Snuggle Nest which is pretty good too if you want to co sleep. We used it when he got a stuff nose because there is a slight incline, we just put it in the co sleeper. We went away this past weekend and brough the snuggle nest instead of the co sleeper since its MUCH smaller, and slept with Charlie in our bed. It worked out well.
http://www.snugglenest.com/

10.) Medela Pump in Style Breast Pump

11.) The hospital's baby nasal aspirator (steal it). It works better than any kind you can get at babies r us.

12.) Pajamas with the mittons sewn on. I think they only make them in newborn size though.

13.) My Brest Friend for nursing downstairs on the couch. I love it, its very sturdy. I nurse Charlie in the glider upstairs and the brest friend won't fit in the chair but I tried the boppy and it works well.

14.) Glider or some sort of rocker for the nursery.

15.) Hospital underwear. They were very comfortable plus they were high so its didn't rub against my c-section incision. I took about 10 pairs home with me. Ask for more underwear before you leave and put them in your bag. :)

16.) Grandmothers who make dinners for you - I know this isn't an option for everyone but if they offer, take them up on it!

17.) Visitors. Enough said!

18.) The Happiest Baby on the Block (book or DVD). This has been a lifesaver for us. They teach you how to calm your baby sign using the 5 "S's" - swaddling, shushing, side holding, sucking (paciifer or your finger), shaking (wobbling their head slightly).