Mommy Must Haves: For Baby-Personals

1. Side Snap Long Sleeve Shirts. In the hospital, Cole was outfitted in one of these and his diaper. It made it super easy to change him and everything exposed was covered-his arms, little hands and chest. The rest of him was swaddled up so it didn't matter that he had no pants on! The side-snap was key because pulling a shirt off a newborn baby's fragile neck is not a fun thing to do in my (and my husband's!) book.

2. GuavaMitts. We had other hand covers for Cole but none of them worked because they fell off half the time. Cole had long nails from the start and cutting them when they are soft at the beginning was a no-go so covering his tiny fingers was key to him not scratching himself all the time. Someone gifted us these and they are great. We love them and think that they are worth their hefty price tag!

3. Baby Nail Clipper+File. The "file" part is key because newborn nails are so soft that cutting them is extremely difficult because it's hard to tell the difference between nail and skin. A nurse at our babycare class gave us the "get a baby file!" tip and even though it didn't totally eliminate the scratching problem, it at least softened the problem enough to let his hands out to breathe sometimes.

4. Socks. Newborn feet are always a temp below everything else. I don't know why this is but it's so true-Cole's head can hold heat like no other, but touch his feet and they're like icicles sometimes! Get socks that fit for each stage so they don't fall off-I'd recommend solid colors because they match everything and you don't have to try and find the "pair" in the laundry either!

5. Brush. Not so much an essential for us (Cole was bald at birth) but I could see it being one for the more hair-inclined baby set. Cole has some hair now and it's soothing for him to have his head brushed after his bath.

6. Snotsucker. Weirdest contraption ever but it works! 

7. Hat. Babies lose heat through their heads and the dear Mama Lupe, who watched my own husband when he was a baby, swears by her "put a hat on a baby, he never get sick" philosophy. Bonus is that they look uber cute ;) so why not?

Obviously, there are other essentials you will need for baby too-carseat, bassinet/crib, etc. but I'm going to be detailing those out in another installment of Mommy Stuff Mondays.

Happy Thanksgiving week everyone!
Mama A