My Essential Items as a New Mom!

By no means do I have this parenting/mothering thing down yet but what I can give you is advice and a  list of items that I wouldn't have been able to live without these past couple weeks!

My hospital bag:

• Toiletry items: The hospital provided shampoo and soap but I felt more like myself if I could use my own items!
• Make-up: Yes, I even attempted to do my make-up while in the hospital. That didn't last long!
• A robe-After I delivered and could move around more, I wore my robe a lot. It provided more coverage and, again, made me feel like I wasn't just wearing a hospital gown.
• Slippers-when walking around the hospital
• My going home outfit-a nursing tank, sweatpants, a jacket, and flip flops! That was it. To be honest, I packed underwear but didn't even wear what I brought because the hospital provided me with some. And trust me, you will want to use theirs!
• Lanolin Nipple Cream-It is best if you start this early if you plan on breastfeeding. 

I brought my iPad and I had my phone. We also had a camera, of course! You will also want to bring your own pillow!

When leaving the hospital, take as much stuff home with you as you can! We were able to take home:

• Two days worth of diapers!
• Travel-size baby bath items
• A tub for giving a bath
• Nasal aspirator
• A brush for washing her hair and another brush for combing her hair
• Gauze wipes
• Sanitary pads for me (I didn't even use all of the ones I took)
• A couple pairs of extra disposable underwear for me!

Surviving the first month items!

• A good water bottle! I drank a ton of water when I was pregnant but it was still important to keep my water intake up in order to keep my breast milk supply up as well!
• Granny panties! Sorry but you will want them! Regardless if you have a c-section or not, you will want underwear you don't care about. I bought a cheap pack from Target that came up higher than I normally wear. This was great since I had a c-section so they wouldn't rub against my incision. 
• If you are breastfeeding, nursing tanks and nursing sleep bras. I wore/wear these all the time! I had a couple before she was born and I am grateful for my mom buying me several more when she visited! I either wore the tank on its own if I was just hanging out at home. Sometimes I would throw a t-shirt over it. Everything I have I got from Target and they have worked great!
• Nipple Shield-This has been a lifesaver for us! I haven't needed this because of cracked nipples but I won't got into detail on why I need this either! I was given this at the hospital to aid in starting breastfeeding so I haven't had to buy any yet!