I was reading an article about the 10 things that every new mom MUST have and although I have to say it is difficult to remember what I needed the most after giving birth, I managed to create my own list.
Only 2 years have passed by but it actually feels like my baby was born aaaaaaages ago (unfortunately I don’t have the same feeling for the birth experience – if I close my eyes I can still feel the pain OUCH – I actually need to invent a better , stronger word to express “all that”).
Anyway going back to our 10 – why 10? I’m going to list 9 – “must-haves” for new moms, I have to admit what was really essential for me was having at least 5 muslin cloths spread around the house. Funny enough the first time I said to my husband I was buying some, he said (I swear he said this) “Why do WE buy musliM cloths if we are not Muslim?” ehm…never mind.
So those are essential especially if you get a baby like Beatrice who used to throw up like a fountain. It was hard to believe that a baby so small could have such a powerful jet of vomit!
The second thing I found very useful having, was a little swing where to put the baby in during the few free moments when you can be “detached “from her (literally detached if you breastfeed).
Ah if you breastfeed the MUST have are breast pads. I remember I used to think “naaa I don’t need them, cannot be that bad”. Well the first time I went out without them I looked like.. you know when you go for a swim and then u don’t wait for your bikini to dry out and you decide to put a t shirt on and two huge wet marks appear? The difference with breastfeeding is that the stains don’t stop expanding on your t-shirt because the milk doesn’t stop coming out! So please don’t forget them in public places! Unless you are on a beach of course.
Number… number… 4 , you must have lots of footed pyjamas cause really babies don’t want to look like little adults but they just want to be comfortable so pleeease allow them to be. One good reason is that this period will be the only time in their lives where they will be allowed to wear PJs 24 hours, 7 days a week for at least 1 FULL YEAR! Priceless!
Number 5, forget about Sophie the giraffe (so expensive and Beatrice never even looked at her) You need to buy or ask someone to buy for you a coloured teething necklace made of soft plastic beads which have different shapes and animals, they will love it!
Next in the list is your MUM. After giving birth the best person who can understand YOU and your feelings is actually your mum because she will know what to do, what NOT to say and she will be there for you no matter what. And the best is you will discover how precious the relationship mom-daughter is.
Number 7: a nursing pillow. Again either if you breastfeed or bottle feed or you just want to hold your baby and don’t get backache after few minutes, these shaped pillows are amazing. Then when the baby grows you can sit him there and he will be falling on soft grounds.
Number 8: tummy soother. Almost all babies will experience painful colic and tummy soothers (I used to buy Infacol) are brilliant! Just give it to the baby before feeding times or/and whenever you know his tummy is sore, it works!
Number 9 a husband! When you are about to freak out you MUST have a husband, or a partner, or a close friend (pets help but they cannot really change nappies) basically a person who you can call and who can come to rescue YOU, new mamma!
