Top 5 Must haves for a new mom that you may not have of thought of…Love, Knowles Photography

So many people will chime in ideas of the must haves for a new mom. There are so many cool things these days to make your life easier with the transition of a new baby in to your home. You will always need the basics…stroller, car seat, crib, pack in play, diapers, wipes, teething toys, baby toys, books, swaddles, etc

But I am here to talk about five items that weren’t talked that much about but as a mom I fell in love with them. And one item I even use during my newborn sessions.

Here are my top 5 must haves for a new mom (that you may not have heard about):

1. Baby Susher
2.  Battery Operated Nose Sucker
3. Nursing Top/Baby Cover
4. Pack in Play Mattress
5. Aquaphor

Lets dive in to each of these items for a little more detail as to why I love them.

BABY SUSHER

This is the one that I love and I also use it during newborn sessions. It is so awesome because the volume is easily adjustable. So you can start off really loud when baby is fussy then slowly turn it to reduce the volume as baby starts to calm down. It also has a timer for 15 or 30 minutes, which is great since it is battery operated and helps to prevent the batteries from dying so quickly. The sushing sound is one of the 5 S’s I talked about in an earlier blog post “The 5 S’s to help soothe a newborn“. For both my babies and all my newborns during their sessions I will shush really loud to help calm them. The sound mimics the sounds they hear in the womb so it provides comfort for them. Plus the baby susher is so easily portable.

BATTERY OPERATED NOSE SUCKER

So when I had my first baby we started with the regular nose sucker bulb. That lasted one time before we switched to the nose freeda. Which I will be honest takes some mental adjustment as you are sucking the boogers out yourself. Then!! I learned about a batter operated nose sucker!! And let me tell you this is my new favorite especially for when they have those colds where their mucus is thick. This sucker works great and it has a clear compartment that you can see easily how much you are getting out of your little one to help them be able to breathe better. It is super easy and quick to clean.

NURSING TOP/BABY COVER

When I had my two little ones I used a more traditional nursing cover, but now they have some really cute trendy ones that I love. They are super functional where they can be used for multiple purposes….a nursing cover when you pull it down, a scarf when you keep it scrunched up around your neck, or put it over your carseat as a cover to prevent people from touching your little one if not desired as well as blocking the sun or wind.

PACK IN PLAY MATTRESS

OMG have you ever actual felt the pack in play “mattress” that comes in the pack in plays. It is so freaking hard!!! No wonder my kids never slept well on it until I learned about the pack in play mattress. It is about an inch and half thick and still pretty firm, but not HARD. It is very comparable to an infant crib mattress. It makes traveling with a little one or toddler so much better because they can sleep more comfortably. This is one item I usually buy all my friends because it is not something that you would think about but definitely something you would get a lot of use out of for traveling or even having a place for your little one to sleep downstairs or at family’s house for those visits that fall during nap times.

AQUAPHOR

I was actually introduced to this in college by one of my classmates. Since then I have found it to be more and more useful with having kids. I keep one in my purse, my car, nightstand, kids room and bathroom. It is everywhere and easily accessible. It is so great for dry skin. You can use it on your skin or chapped lips. I use it for diaper rash or preventing diaper rash when your little one might be sick because virus poops usually always result in a bad diaper rash so as soon as they show the first sign of it I would put it on each diaper change to help prevent from a diaper rash. I mean it is bad enough when they get sick then to add diaper rash on top of it….sad. It also makes a great mixing agent with essential oils. My favorite is for lavender oil and aquaphor. I learned this combo when I burnt myself and put this on it and the next day you couldn’t even tell I had a burn.

I love to learn about new gadgets and what not that comes out. So if you have a cool item, tip or trick please share it with me. Send me an email at amanda@amandaknowlesphotography.com . I can’t wait to hear from everyone on their favorites too.

Hugs,

Amanda @ Knowles Photography

Knowles Photography is your local maternity, newborn and family photographer near you. I serve the Charlotte, Monroe, Marvin and Union County surrounding areas for my clients. I would love to capture your family photos, cute baby bump photo, and newborn baby photos. Browse my current work on my website or social media.