The must-haves

Oh the things I need!

(Will's now-famous "oh" face)

Yes, still avoiding the second half of the birth story...but in the meantime, I wanted to write down for the sake of expecting friends and my own future reference those things that have been indispensable to me in my first weeks of motherhood.

The Swaddle Designs Ultimate Swaddling blanket. (You can see Will's in the picture above.) I want 10 of these but right now have just the one, and use it night and day. It's the perfect size and weight and softness.

The Boppy. We received the Boppy "bare naked" pillow and a slipcover, and have since bought another Boppy (one for upstairs; one for downstairs) and 2 more slipcovers. I simply couldn't do without these pillows (and the slipcovers since breastmilk and spit-up are quite inevitable) -- they help my back and keep Will at the right height and angle for nursing. I know some women don't like them but I just LOVE them.Soothies. I was unsure about using pacifiers but then motherhood (a.k.a., reality, hits and you find yourself in need of something to comfort the baby for 5 minutes while you change a diaper or whatever) and Will just loves these. In fact, he prefers them to other pacifiers. Maybe it's because you can stick your finger in the nipple to hold it in place? I don't know the magic of Soothies, I just know they work.

My glider. My parents bought us this Dutailier glider and ottoman, and it has saved my sanity at 3 a.m. feedings because it's so comfortable and warm and cozy; it's the next best thing to actually being in bed. In other words, it takes the edge off having to be awake at 3 a.m.! Even if you don't want to spring for the Dutailier, I highly recommend having a glider of some kind. Beg, borrow, or steal one of these!

A Medela breast pump. My BF Kate told me a handful of times prior to Will's birth to just go ahead and get one, but I kept balking at the expense. Then I had a baby who wanted to be fed constantly, sometimes every hour throughout the night, and I just couldn't keep up anymore. My OB finally talked me into it, telling me I would recover much faster if I could get more sleep, and to let the Daddy take a couple of nighttime feedings with a bottle of pumped milk. Probably more than any other item, this breast pump has saved my life! And while I know you can get cheaper manual pumps, I am now getting 6 ounces of milk from my pump within about 10-15 minutes, and that's a precious amount of time to sacrifice with a newborn on-hand, so I can't imagine needing to use 30-60 minutes with a manual!

An excellent Daddy. Oh my goodness, where would I be without my Marty? Even though he must get up for work every day, he will still take one feeding at night for me so I can get more than 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

You will laugh, but...Ina Garten. Yes, it's true. She's an essential baby-care item, because she's an essential Mama-care item. I've always really liked her, but for some reason, her show gives me an inordinate amount of comfort, and I watch both airings on Food Network every day. I will even try to arrange naps and feedings around the shows so I can watch her and get a television version of a hug.