In a world of overhyped materialism, I find myself wanting to buck the system often and get by with the absolutely bare essentials. Most baby items really are not needed to give a baby a happy, wonderful home. I find that Jack-Evan would do just fine with a white tshirt, a clean diaper, and a lap to sit on.
There are, however, some sanity saving items that I have found very useful for myself as a new mother.
1. At least 20 pairs of pajamas in his current size. Unlike adults, babies who spend more than 3-4 hours in solid sleep will end up leaking on the bed and thus wetting his pajamas in the process. I don’t believe Jack has ever slept in the same PJ’s twice because of this leakage factor. Having multiple PJ’s saves me the trouble of having to wash and dry a tiny load of his clothes every day or so.
2. A package of diapers & wipes at my parents house. If you are a frequent visitor to another household (like I am!) you’ll find that having a pack of diapers already there saves you an extra step of worry. I know it does me! In the beginning, I would have just settled in at my parent’s house for an afternoon stay, and suddenly realize that our diaper bag contained only one diaper.
3. A diaper bag full of 10-20 diapers in the car. (See #2). Throwing 2-3 diapers in a diaper bag and running out the door just doesn’t cut it as a new mom, because you’ll inevitably forget to “restock” and end up in a messy situation at church or at the store or at the library (or all of the above). 
4. A playpen and a swing. I don’t care how saintly you are as a mother, there is just absolutely no way any human being can go 24 hours a day without putting down their child for one reason or another. Believeyoume, I tried, but the one time I thought I had burned Jack’s foot on the oven while cooking was enough to convince me that it’s just not possible (NOTE: I didn’t burn him…but it did scare me to think I had come close). These devices are MUCH needed sanity savers and they’re also safe. I entered into motherhood with the obnoxious assumption that you shouldn’t let the playpen or swing babysit your child “ever”. Consequently, I ended up making pallets on the floor at first for the few times I HAD to put Jack down (such as during cooking). After the dog pottied on the pallet one night, Jack-Evan almost swallowed a hairball, and Kevin tripped on a blankie, I realized that maybe our playpen was a better and safer bet afterall. We now keep a playpen up in our living room constantly (it provides a much softer and safer place to play than my laminate floor, and a comfy place for naps where I don’t have to worry about him “rolling off”), as well as our motorized swing for those moments when nothing else will seem to soothe him. At christmas, we plan on trading the swing for a activity bouncy center, since Jack-Evan is more into “playing” now.
5. Baby nail clippers. I always thought that I’d be one of those moms who would bite their child’s fingernails and get it over with. Afterall, I’ve always bitten mine. Well, I was wrong. Biting Jack’s fingernails before he was 2-3 months old was virtually impossible because they were so paper thin. I just couldn’t seem to get a grip on them with my teeth, and I was afraid of ripping his entire pinkie off in the whole process. What makes it worse is that his nails grow about a mile a minute. And they HURT (especially now that he’s in his grasping stage!). Baby nail clippers with their tiny edges and rubber grips helps remove those sharp buggers in no time.
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Tags: Baby Care Tips, Parenting
You will love the baby activity center! We used ours in the kitchen and James loved to be in it so he could play and also watch what everyone else was doing. It worked well until he started to crawl/walk. Then he wasn’t so interested. I see them all the time in great condition at consignment stores or Craigslist so you don’t have to spend a fortune but they’re worth every penny!
Oh and I always kept a stocked diaper bag in the back of our car complete with extra outfit, diapers, wipes, blankets, burp cloth, bib, toys etc. That way if we’re out running errands or whatever I always know that I’m covered. I guess I need to get back in that habit since my other little boy is due in 6 weeks!
Stephanie Cowarts last blog post..Things on Tuesday
I am laughing at the “obnoxious assumption” because we all have one or two (or more!) of those before we become Mommies–even if we’ve been around kids forever.
I totally believe that a Mom’s job is first and foremost caring for her kids (after loving and serving God and her hubby of course!) and that involves all aspects of care. But–I don’t think it bad at all to allow your kids to learn to entertain themseleves a little bit everyday. They learn a lot this way, and the time will come when their imagination will benefit from it! Plus, they need to know they they are not the center of our world (a healthy thing for them to learn), even though they want to be and sometimes it seems they are!
And I think Jack-Evan will love an exersaucer. We just put ours up and took the swing down. It was a bit sad to see the tiny baby stage go bye-bye but John is lovin’ the saucer and the music and colors it comes with. I love every stage!
Kelly » Hehe… there is definitely a HUGE difference from “being around kids” versus having ones of your own. Another obnoxious assumption I had was “why on earth would a parent bring a tiny baby into a restaurant?!”. LOL!!!! I learned quickly that sometimes you just have to eat, you don’t feel like cooking, and there’s no way around it. Jack-Evan has been to a restaurant every Sunday since he was born…haha.
I was just looking at the swing yesterday (it’s a Winnie the pooh one that Kevin came in with as a surprise about a week before I gave birth – a very sentimental gift for both of us…we were so proud of it) and I almost got teary eyed thinking about how we wont be needing it much longer. Just the thought of it sitting, unused, until our next child arrives makes me sad…lol. But I know jack will love the bouncy thing…we have one at church and I put him in it for the first time last Sunday, and he absolutely went wild. I was so surprised! Until that point, I thought it might not be worth the money, but he was completely fascinated with the toys and playing and everything on there. Mom has always said she wanted to get him an exersaucer, and now that’s what she plans on getting him for his first Christmas. It’s so weird to feel sad about the swing, yet excited about bouncer. It’s a very conflicting feeling..lol.
Stephanie » We now keep a stocked diaper bag in the car at all times too!
why don’t they send these tips home from the hospital on pamplets??
Wow…i had forgotten you were sooo close already!!!!! Oh how exciting!