Baby Talk :: Mama Must Haves

Happy Tuesday mamas....it's time for another edition of BABY TALK!

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I've been a mom for over a year now {I am counting pregnancy as being a mom--because you totally count as a mom the second you see that plus sign} and I feel like I've done a pretty good job so far, but not without help. It takes a lot to take of a baby but you also need to take care of yourself - the happier mama is, the happier baby is.

I've complied a list of the things I deem "Must Have" for mamas and have broken them down into Pregnancy, Childbirth and New Mamahood categories:

Pregnancy

• Tums - I popped these bad boys from day one. I had crazy heartburn and tons of tummy aches so Tums were always found in my purse, at my desk and on my nightstand. 
• Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy - I love this book so much. It's a hysterical look at the craziness that is pregnancy. It's so sarcastic and funny but still helpful. Out of all the pregnancy books I read {and I read a lot of them}, this one was my favorite! 
• Tumbler - I am horrible at drinking water but I was constantly thirsty while pregnant and found that a cute tumbler helped me to drink more water throughout the day. 
• Pillows - I know mom-to-bes who swear by their body pillows, but I could just never justify the cost. I did find that a butt load of regular pillows did the trick! I'd sleep with one or two under my head, one between my legs and then I hugged one. 
• Cocoa Butter Lotion - Stretch marks are hereditary, so I don't know how much help this lotion actually is for that but I do know that stretch marks or not your belly will ITCH as it stretches and gets bigger and for that reason this stuff is amazing! Plus, I love how it smells! 

Childbirth

• Tuck's Medicated Pads - I've heard of people making "padsicles" but in my opinion ain't nobody got time for that. In the hospital and for probably two weeks after delivery I lined my pad with three medicated pads and it felt like absolutely bliss on my beat up hoo-ha. 
• Lightweight Comfy Robe - Hospital rooms are freezing! But, along with childbirth comes post-delivery night sweats (so fun), so having a comfy lightweight robe is crucial. Plus it's easy to open up for breastfeeding and great to cover up when visitors stop by. And let's be honest..it's been 7 months and I still wear mine pretty much every day. 
• Gatorade - While laboring at home and after getting my epidural I was so dang thirsty. Gatorade was perfect because it tasted yummy, hydrated me and had calories to give me some energy since I couldn't eat. 
• CHAPSTICK - Along with being so dang thirsty comes incredibly chapped lips, like brutally dry. EOS Lip Balm is my all time favorite and it definitely came in handy during labor and delivery and those first few days in the hospital and at home. 
• Movies / TV Season DVDs - I suppose this depends on your labor / delivery / hospital but I was SO glad we brought a season of Friends. We watched a bunch of episodes after I got my epidural and we were waiting for progress and we also watched it in the hospital room between visitors. There were very few TV channels so it was nice to have something we enjoyed to occupy the down time. 

New Mamahood

• Easy Expression Bustier - The precursor to this is that you need an electric breast pump! I cannot imagine using one of the hand express ones---I imagine hand cramps and carpel tunnel and a fast track to formula town. But anyways, this bra is the bomb.com. 
• Sleep Sheep - If your baby is sleeping in your room to start I HIGHLY recommend the sleep sheep {thank you Brynn for ours!} Babies make crazy noises when they sleep and when you're a new mom you will wake up to ALL of them. The sleep sheep makes white noise to help drown out babies noises as well as your noises so you don't wake baby. Plus, look how cute it is! 
• What to Expect the First Year - This is a monstrous book but I love having it on hand to read as a new month in Kenley's life comes up. It's got super helpful information and guidelines.
• A cute diaper bag - let's be honest, this bag becomes your purse the second you leave the house for the first time, so you better like it and love carrying it. Dad probably won't love carrying it no matter what it looks like...so get it for you! 
• Netflix - Whether you are able to "sleep when baby sleeps" or not, Netflix is a must have in my opinion. When I was on maternity leave I pretty much had it on non-stop. The baby sleeps a lot, but when she's awake pretty much all she does is eat, so it was nice to be entertained while nursing. Plus, Jason and I didn't get out much so we watched shows and movies together pretty much every night those first few weeks couple of months. 

Any of you mamas have anything to add?