What do new moms need?

After reading this, I thought I would just write something. :)

What do new moms need? If you ask me, and I think back to when I had my first kiddo ... hmm.

Top 5 things for the mother, she'll need:

1. Electronic Breast Pump. Forget about the manual one. I was recommended the Medela one, and until now, I'm still using it. A bit noisy now and a bit creaky, and a crack on the motor part, but it's still surviving well. Heh. Of course if the mother doesn't intend to breastfeed, then don't bother with a pump.

2. Nipple cream. Putting your breastmilk on sore and crack nipples doesn't quite moisturise them, it only helps the healing.

3. Massage. Preferably hot stone massage and the therapist coming to your place. Wrap is optional. For my 2nd kiddo, it was too hot to stay wrapped. So my poor tummy is still budgling. Arrgh. The massage helped with all the tight shoulder and neck muscles from carrying the baby. And it is relaxing to have at least one hour to yourself for the massage. Mine was really good, she even massaged my blocked ducts! Better then being manhandled by those err ... lactating consultants at the hospital!

4. Bottles. Even if you are breastfeeding, you will need to express your milk and get your hubby or anyone else to do the 3am shift. I'm so fortunate that my 2nd kiddo sleeps through the night right from day 1. For the 1st kiddo, when I was a new mom, I just couldn't handle the graveyard shift. Fortunately, sometimes the hubby helped. But I still have to get up, warm the milk, prepare the bottles, express ... what a horrible memory! How did I survive!?!?!!

5. Baby clothes, baby booties, baby mittens, baby blankets, baby towels etc. Trust me on this. When it is your first born, you would want to get the softest bath towel for your kiddo, nice baby clothes, warm baby booties and mittens, and a baby blanket. Hmm, the 2nd one was sharing bath towel with us. Yikes. And she was using her brother's oh-too-big socks for booties and for a while I was searching desperately for her brother's mittens too. I remember I forgot the baby mittens for my 1st kiddo and had to desperately call my girlfriend to buy some for me. Heh heh.

:P