Welcome to parenthood! Congratulations on the opportunity that you have to welcome your new baby into this world. As you read through this information, please keep in mind that every mama has a different experience and no two journeys are alike. No two babies are alike! You may find that with one baby you do things one way, and with the next baby you do things a different way. All of the products and advice are from my own personal experience and are things that I actually owned and used with my baby, and I do plan to use the same products with my next baby as well. That being said, always listen to your maternal instincts, and if you don’t agree with something in this document, that is ok! Always go with your gut!
There are so many options out there for millennial moms, so if you find that something isn’t working for you then don’t be afraid to try something else. Don’t ever feel like you are doing something wrong just because you are doing it differently. Your birth story is your own, and the way you raise your children is your own. You decide what is right for you.
Bedding
Until my daughter was nine months old, she slept in our room in her bassinet. After nine months she was too big and I moved her into a full size crib in her own room so that she could have a routine and a set bedtime. It always helps to give yourself one-on-one time with your spouse after the baby has gone to sleep!
I used this bassinet from Target, you can find it on Amazon and in other stores too. I bought mine second hand. It is the Chicco Lullago Portable Bassinet. It is lightweight but sturdy, and was plenty big enough for my daughter until she was nine months old.
Instead of buying expensive mattress sheets for this bassinet, I used baby blankets; mostly muslin swaddle blankets! My baby was a puker for four months, so I had to change her bedding 2-3 times per night. I wrapped 2-3 muslin swaddles around the mattress so that there was no way it could come loose and suffocate her. I LOVE muslin swaddles, and I will mention them many times!
Muslin swaddles were also amazing for swaddling my daughter. Some babies don’t like to be swaddled, but my daughter loved it. I swaddled her until she was five months old. Generally I would put her in pajamas, and then swaddle her and layer with another blanket during the winter time. In the spring and summer months I would just use pajamas and the swaddle.
When my daughter graduated to the crib, I used a crib and sheet set from Target. The set didn’t come with a mattress protector, so I just found one at Walmart. Make sure the protector is waterproof in case of diaper leaks or throw up! It is always handy to have extra fitted sheets for the crib to deal with nighttime messes that cannot be washed and dried right away.
I used used the above crib sheet set (Circo™ 4pc Crib Bedding Set - Floating on Air) because I love gender neutral items. That way, if in the future I have a boy instead of a girl, I am still able to use the same set. From this set, my daughter really clung to the grey “hello” blanket and she takes it with her EVERYWHERE!
For spare fitted crib sheets, I just found some cheap ones, but I do try to keep the cute grey one on her bed as much as possible. I really love buying spare bedding from Target or Walmart because it is cheap, but I have also bought crib sheets second hand.
Blankets
I’m just going to go ahead and lead this section off with muslin swaddle blankets. I cannot say enough for these things because I seriously love them. They are pretty cheap, and come in so many cute prints. I like to stick a few in the diaper bag so that they're handy. I use them for burp cloths, diaper changing pads, and swaddling at night time. I try to buy the lightest weight available, and I've discovered this is my favorite brand: Aden by Aden + Anais.
I didn’t see a point in buying a changing mat or a changing table because I was always just changing my baby’s diaper on the floor, on my bed, or on the seat of our car! Just to keep things clean, and to make sure she wasn’t lying in something yucky or germy, I always laid down the changing mat that came in my diaper bag (see Other Products) and then laid a clean muslin over it before laying my baby on top!
As I mentioned before, my baby was also a puker, so burp cloths would never soak up as much of her vomit as I needed them to. I started using these swaddles instead, and I will never go back. I don’t even have my burp cloths now, and I will never try to use burp clothes again. Muslin swaddles are so versatile and like I said before, I can't say enough good things about them.
I mentioned that my daughter has a favorite blanket earlier. I haven’t been able to find where to buy it on its own, heaven forbid we ever lose the one we have. It is a really soft blanket and it is small (30”X30”). I have seen other blankets like it that you can buy on their own, but they're not the same print. I like to get baby blankets second hand, or from Ross or TJ Maxx. You probably don’t need very many (5-6 should suffice) as you do use them more when your baby is new, and then less and less frequently as they get older.
Newborn Clothing
Keeping a baby clothed AND clean can prove to be difficult. A staple in our home is to always have plain white onesies! You can get them in a 5 or 6 pack pretty much anywhere, but I buy mine at Walmart since I’m there weekly for groceries anyway. I like to buy the Gerber brand, and I keep both long and short sleeve. They are awesome as a base layer during the winter, and can be dressed up cute for the summer. I love to always have them handy. I keep a couple in the diaper bag in case of diaper blowouts or other messes. To wash out yellow poop stains, I use Dawn dish soap and vinegar. I’ll clean the onesies in the sink to make sure I get the stains out before I throw them in the washer with the laundry.
As for other clothing, I shop around and whenever items go on sale I buy them in a larger size so that they will fit my baby the next time that the particular season rolls around. I just bought a bunch of summer clothes for next summer at $2 per item at Walmart, and some for varying prices at Target, and I bought them in the 2t-3t size so that they'll fit when my daughter is that big next summer. I also shop both the boys and girls section for clothing, and I do find a lot of cute things to dress my baby in from both sections! Don’t limit yourself to one section, and don’t be afraid of buying secondhand. We find a lot of good secondhand deals -- I just make sure to wash everything with a bit of bleach before my baby wears them.
When my baby outgrows a size I like to pack all the clothes into an empty cardboard box (I usually keep the ones from when I buy diapers and use those) and then label it with what size it is, and what gender it is. This way, in the future, I will be able to easily find what I want if I ever need to use it again.
Another absolute favorite clothing item I use is baby nightgowns. You can get them for boys or girls, and they make night-time diaper changes so much easier because you don’t have to deal with zippers or snaps! I only have 2-4 of these, so I do have to stay on top of the laundry when using them, but I can’t imagine life without these for the first few months. Paired with some socks and a swaddle, these are essential for my favorite night time outfit.
You can buy two-packs of these nightgowns at Walmart or Target, and they are usually around $10 per package.
Depending on the season, and if your baby is a hand chewer or not, when I get long sleeve onesies or nightgowns I always buy the kind that can fold into a cuff on the end to cover my baby's hands. Some babies chew on the cuffs, but I did like them so that my baby wasn’t accidentally scratching up her face with her fingernails! It was also nice that they kept her hands warm at night since I was always scared she was too cold.
Feeding
I do want to start this section off by saying that there is no right or wrong way to feed your baby. Some moms love to breastfeed and some moms hate it. Some moms have the ability to breastfeed, and some moms don't, even though they might want to. The most important thing to keep in mind is that ‘Fed is Best!’ During the first year with my daughter, I breast and bottle fed. Both experiences were great, just different. I am going to touch on nursing and formula feeding in this section, but there is also the option to buy breast milk. I do not have any experience in buying breast milk, so I have no input or opinion to give.
Nursing
Every mom has a different experience with breastfeeding, but I personally loved it. My baby and I learned fairly quickly while we were still spending time in the hospital. There will be a lactation specialist available in the maternity ward, and I do suggest taking advantage of her advice and expertise. She can show you different ways to hold your baby and guide your baby to latching properly. You will hear that you need to wake your baby up to feed every 2 or so hours, and this is where I have to put my foot down. My advice to all moms is to let your baby sleep. You are a tired mama, and your baby will wake up when they need to be fed. As soon as I was home from the hospital I would wait for my baby to wake me up before feeding her, which ended up being every 3-5 hours. As your baby gets older they will eat more in a sitting, and will eat less often. Unless instructed otherwise by your doctor, specifically every 2 hours is insane.
Important things to have while nursing are nursing pads, lanolin, a nursing cover (for out of the house excursions), and I did like to use my burp cloths for this.
Nursing pads need to be changed basically when they are wet, gross, and uncomfortable. It isn’t comfortable to wear wet ones because they do get itchy, so you will know when they need to be changed based on how you feel. I used Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads and they were great. They come individually wrapped so they stay clean, and of course you can always have some in the diaper bag to be ready for those on-the-go feedings. They also have a sticky back side so that they will stay in your bra without slipping out of place. I did try some reusable pads, but once lanolin is in them it doesn’t come out and I did not like them. The first couple of weeks will be the most uncomfortable for you as your body figures out your baby’s eating schedule and how much your baby will eat. You will leak, you will be uncomfortable, but it will get better! It also never hurts to pump if you have extra and freeze it.
Lanolin is amazing. You will want it for the first couple of weeks at least. I used Parents Choice Lanolin Balm (it is the generic Walmart brand), and I only went through about half a tube before I didn’t need it anymore. Your nips are going to get dry and cracked as they get used to the changes they go through while feeding your baby. After feeding, smother those poor things in this cream and let them heal up until the next feeding. Lanolin is a natural balm, and it is completely safe for your baby, so don’t worry about them getting sick if there is still some lanolin residue on your breast when they are eating. You still should not apply right before feeding.
I know I mentioned that I do not like burp cloths, and this is still mostly true; I do not like them for the purpose of burping my baby because they never are big enough to catch the spit up or throw up. I do however love them during feeding. To keep myself and my baby from being soaked in milk while my baby ate I would tuck the burp cloth under my breast into my bra, and then over the baby and under her chin so that the burp cloth was catching whatever was spilled or spit out.
Last but not least, I did choose to pump while breastfeeding my baby and my only regret is that I did not pump more often. Morning is the best time to get some of that extra night-milk out and help you feel less engorged and more comfortable. As long as the baby is eating as much as they need to, there is nothing wrong with pumping after feedings. A freezer supply will come in handy! I lost my milk when my baby was nine months old, and my freezer supply was not large enough to make it to her first birthday. I wish I would have pumped more, because formula is expensive and I did not plan on needing to buy any before we switched to whole cow's milk when she did reach 12 months old. Your insurance should cover a breast pump, which is a lifesaver. I also bought a hand pump to keep in the diaper bag in case I wanted to pump while out of the house. I used the Medela Pump In Style Advanced Double Breast Pump and I love it. I also used the Evenflo Feeding Occasional Use Manual Breast Pump which I purchased at Walmart for less than $20.
To store breast milk, I bought Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags, and then I wrote the date and time on each bag. I stored the bags in my freezer with the oldest milk in the front and the newest in the back so that it would be used in that order. Soda can boxes work really great for storing the bags upright, but I did also store the bags inside of gallon size ziploc bags and organized by week/month. I know you can buy a breastmilk thaw machine whatever… but I never used one and I was fine! Just stick the bag in a bowl of warm water and let it do its thing. You will need to plan in advance for when your baby is going to eat. Breastmilk should not be microwaved.
Formula
As soon as my frozen breast milk ran out, I still had about two months before my baby turned one year old. Formula is pretty expensive, but doctors don’t recommend giving your baby whole cows milk until they do reach their first birthday. Formula for me was really easy. I love the Phillips Avent Natural Baby Bottle with the Phillips Avent Natural Nipple and I found a 4-pack of the 9 oz. bottles at Walmart for around $20. I kept them washed, so I never felt like I needed more than 4, but it was nice to have the 9 oz. bottles so that as she started to drink more milk in a sitting they were able to hold all I needed.
I never used a formula reusable container for on the go, and I never bought “to-go” packs of formula. Instead I would just do the math on how long we would be gone, and put the pre-measured formula into clean and empty bottles to put in my diaper bag so that when it did come time to feed, I only had to find some warm water! Formula is also good for about 4 hours after it is mixed so if there was extra I would just put the bottle down the front of my shirt to keep it warm! Sounds weird, but it worked for us.
I also never invested in a bottle drying rack. Instead I just lay a clean kitchen towel on the counter to put the nipples, lids, and bottles on for drying. I do love having a special made bottle cleaner, and I highly recommend them for bottles and sippy cups. This one I found at Target for about $3. It is the Munchkin Bottle & Nipple Brush. The bottom of this one twists off for a little scrub brush that fits inside the bottle nipple to get it nice and clean! To clean bottles, I use regular dawn dish soap with warm water and I make sure to rinse thoroughly.
As far as the kind of formula that I used goes, I did use the Enfamil Gentlease Formula Powder and I did love it, but use whatever works best for you and your family.
Diapers
Every mom, grandma, dad, sister, brother, and cousin has their own opinion on what diaper brand is the best so just keep in mind that I am writing about my own experience and opinion and it is ok if you don’t agree with me!
Whenever someone asks me what diapers I do and do not love, the answer is always the same. I LOVE Huggies and Kirkland brands, and I will NEVER buy Pampers.
Pampers has always given my baby a rash, and I will never buy them again. I also have a close friend who used Pampers and called me in tears because her baby had a diaper rash so bad that his bum was bleeding. She switched to Huggies following our phone call and has never had a problem with diaper rash since. I’m not saying that Pampers never work, I have just never had any luck with them. Any boxes that are gifted to me, I sell so that I can buy what I like instead.
I am also particular on what Huggies I will buy. Any Huggies are good, but I do not recommend them from Walmart. I don’t know why they are different when bought at Walmart, but they are. Walmart Huggies also give my baby a rash, so I buy them only from Costco or Target.
Kirkland brand is my favorite. Because it is Costco brand, it is only found at Costco! When buying diapers at Costco, I will just grab whatever is cheapest between the Kirkland and Huggies brands because the box sizes are the same, but sometimes the prices differ.
As far as buying wipes goes, I only buy Kirkland wipes. It is worth it to get a big box and only have to buy them every few months. If I am in a pinch I will buy Huggies wipes as well, but I never buy scented wipes because they can give babies diaper rashes.
My last recommendation is to not buy diapers too far in advance. Every baby grows at a different rate, so you never know how many of one size you are going to need. I only buy mine one box at a time. By the time my little girl was 4 months old, she was in size 4 diapers, where most babies her age were in size 2 diapers. She is now 18 months and wears a size 5, so you never know if they will be going up or down a size.
If diapers look too big when they are on your baby, they probably are unless your baby has frequently blowouts (frequent being daily or every other day). A few blowouts is all I need to know that it is time to move up a size in diapers!
Diaper rashes are kind of inevitable no matter what diapers you are using. Sometimes they just happen. My favorite diaper rash cream is Desitin Maximum Strength Diaper Rash Paste. Just literally slather this stuff on, nice and thick, and the rash will clear up!
Diaper Bag
When I was looking for a diaper bag, I knew that I wanted functionality over fashion, and I looked at 20-30 bags before I found the one that I love! I was gifted an over-the-shoulder, purse-style bag. I tried it once and I knew that I would never use it because I am not the kind of girl who carries a purse, and I wasn't going to have time to wrestle with a purse when I was carrying my baby or the infant car seat! I finally found the perfect diaper bag at Target. It is the Eddie Bauer Flannel Backpack Gray. This diaper bag does cost $50 which is actually a good price for a diaper bag, but I did put it on my baby registry and I was fortunate enough to have it bought for me.
I cannot live without this bag. I take it everywhere with me still. It is versatile and has a ton of storage space. I was able to pack everything my daughter and I would need for an overnight stay in Texas flying out from Utah, and I had no issues.
It does come with a changing pad, which I did use a lot on the go. This is where those muslin swaddle blankets came in handy to use with the changing pad. I can also fit a full-size package of 100 wipes into the wipe compartment (I do not use the plastic wipe holder that came with it). I give this diaper bag 5 stars and a 10/10 rating. It is durable, easy to clean, gender neutral, and lightweight. I have used mine over a year now and it shows no serious signs of wear and tear.
Things I always pack in my diaper bag
1. Diapers (4-6 depending on how long I will be out of the house)
2. Bottles (1-3)
3. Snacks for me!
4. Muslin swaddle blankets (1-3)
5. Change of outfit for baby
6. Extra socks and white onesie for baby
7. Wipes
8. Diaper rash cream
9. Extra binky
10. Nursing cover
How to Buy Items Second Hand
This is basically my favorite section. You can never look into the future and know exactly what you will or will not need. Sometimes you have extra things you will never use, and sometimes you wish you just had something for your baby but you don’t really want to buy it brand new. ALWAYS meet at a neutral place such as in front of the police station when buying or selling items second hand. This way you know you are safe!!!!
Facebook Marketplace is one of my very favorite places to shop for new/gently used baby items! You can find brand new things that someone bought and never used, or things that were used once before the parent decided they didn’t like the particular product. The other great thing about Facebook Marketplace is buying and selling diapers. If you still have a half a box of size 3 but you really need to put your baby in size 4, try selling the box on there. I have bought a lot of diapers, and sold a lot of diapers that way. It can be a bit time consuming, but buying half boxes or boxes that only have a few diapers missing out of them can save you a lot of money.
Yard sales are also a great place to find gently used items! Every town has an area where the “rich people” live, and we all know about that area in our town. I like to yard sale in those neighborhoods because chances are the items you find will be cheap, gently used, and top of the line. It never hurt anyone to take a chance on finding a $400 stroller for $20 at a yard sale, and even if you strike out it was an opportunity to get out of the house.
My only warning on buying things second hand is to always check expiration dates on car seats! The car seat may look brand new and in great condition, but they do expire as the plastic can weaken with time. You can find the expiration date on the back of the car seat either in the plastic, or on a sticker. Also always ask if the seat has been in an accident because if it has, you do not want it because the integrity of the car seat could have been compromised in the crash.
Other Products I Loved
WubbaNub Pacifier found only at Target or on Amazon
These are the only binkys I used, and they were so nice. I never lost them, and they are easy to find in the dark in your baby's’ crib.
Cool Beans on Etsy sells these amazing Car Seat Cover Baby Car Seat Canopy and Nursing Cover
Boppy® Nursing Pillow and Positioner
This was a must have for nursing so that my arms and shoulders wouldn’t get too tired give out. I also liked it to support my baby when she started to sit up.
