New Mom Essentials

Let's be honest. Being a new mom is HARD. I don't care how many books you read or classes you attend. I don't think anything can truly prepare you for the lifestyle change that is having a baby. I will never forget the night we brought Cam home from the hospital. He was crying because being 2 days old is hard and I was crying because he was crying and I was in pain and I loved him so much and I hadn't slept in 48 hours and the list goes on and on. It was that exact moment that my husband was probably like "what in the world is going on and how do I make this end!?" He told me to go to bed and I'm fairly certain it's because he could only deal with 1 crying human at a time. He thought the baby would be easier to handle and he wasn't wrong. I was a hot mess. 

While I firmly believe that nothing I say can truly prepare you for the reality that is welcoming this tiny miracle into the world, the least I can do is send you on a virtual shopping trip of my MUST HAVE ITEMS. Everyone will have an opinion, but these items truly got me through the first couple of days/weeks!

1. Lansinoh TheraPearl - If you plan on breastfeeding or pumping do yourself a favor and get these immediately. Breastfeeding is no joke and chances are at some point it is going to hurt and you are going to be sore and you are going to curse the universe. These will make your boobs feel like new.  Also, these. Trust me, you will never regret having these on hand. 

2.BLANQI Everyday Highwaist Postpartum + Nursing Support Leggings -  These were the first things I changed into after giving birth and I still wear these almost every single day. They are supportive without being too tight and offer the perfect amount of compression. They made me feel comfortable and also put together (or as put together as you can be right after having a baby) when there was a constant stream of visitors in those first few weeks after having a baby.

3. MomWasher Peri Bottle There is a lot of stuff I wasn't prepared for after giving birth. Like the fact that you have to use a squirt bottle every time you go to the bathroom. The hospital will provide you with one, however, imagine the absolute smallest, cheapest, kids size water bottle you can imagine and that's basically what you will get. Do yourself a favor and splurge on the nice squirt bottle...you can thank me later.

4. Kindred Bravely French Terry Racerback Nursing Bra- I am a nursing bra connoisseur. I have bought and tried every single one on the market...and not on purpose. I just hated every single one of them. I had had multiple recommendations to get these, but I didn't want to splurge on a nursing bra. I mean come on. There are way more fun things to spend money on. However, in the end, I spent a small fortune on a million different bras and then got these anyways. Skip the others...just get these.

5. Wirarpa Womens High Waist Cotton Underwear - At first you will want to wear the gross mesh undies the hospital gives you. I was adamant I would never wear those and I did. Everyone does because they are actually pretty great. Eventually, you will want some form of normalcy and for me, that came in the form of underwear. I really just wanted to wear normal underwear as weird as that is. These are like a step up from the hospital underwear and I actually bought 2 more packs of them.

6. Botton Down Shirt- these are the "look for less" version of the ever-popular Urban Outfitter version. I highly recommend these and so do the 764 other 5 star reviews on Amazon. They are perfect for nursing and also comfortable AF. I own it in 4 colors and have no shame in my game that it's all I wore.

Also, caffeine. All the caffeine and all the googly eyes for that adorable, squishy, newborn baby that is going to have you wrapped around their finger!