I remember going to baby showers as a girl who had never been pregnant or had a baby and the easy thing to do was to either look at the baby shower gift registry, if they had one, grab a gift card or a big box of diapers. It wasn’t until I became a mom that I realized that preparing to become a first or even a second, third-time mom that you really don’t know what you need. I mean you have some ideas and you search on amazon or look on blogs for ideas but it isn’t until you have that bundle of joy that you realize what you really needed. Even when you prepare for a second or third child it is like you have mom brain all over again and totally forget everything that was useful or necessary during your first.

Now that I have had this experience there are 5 must-have gifts that I buy for anyone who is having a Baby Shower regardless if they asked for it or not (tip: always include the gift receipt, just in case 😉 ).

#1 The Best $5 I’ve Ever Spent

When my daughter was a newborn, I remember the day when I saw scratch marks on her poor little face and thinking to myself “Oh my gosh, what do I do…she is going to poke her little eyes out!” I bought a nail file and started on the journey of trying to file every single nail while she slept. 5 minutes would pass and it looked like instead of filing down her nails, her nails grew longer… haha not really but I barely put a dent in filing the nails down before she woke up from the vibrations. So I searched some more and just couldn’t bring myself to buy a nail clipper. I had read all of the stories on my Mom Facebook Group about accidentally clipping the baby’s skin, I just couldn’t do it. Some said “ohh just bite them off”…nope couldn’t do that either. Then one day I came across this amazing piece of art and when I say I buy it for every single person that I know is having a baby, I seriously do.

#2 Diaper Rash No More

I didn’t discover this product until my daughter was almost 2 years old but man I wish I knew about it sooner. Originally, when my daughter was born we used the Aquaphor Baby 3 in 1 Diaper Rash Cream, and don’t get me wrong I still love this diaper cream but at some point no matter how much diaper cream we used or how often we applied it, my daughter still had a terrible rash. So I did some digging on what I could use that would bring her some relief and let me tell you, it was like magic in a bottle. After just applying it twice, the rash she had for almost a week was gone.

#3 So Many Pump and Bottles Parts to Wash

While at the hospital I was lucky that one of the things that they sent me home with was a wash basin. I had no idea what a wash basin was or even what to use it for until pumping and bottle feeding started. Having a dedicated bin to put all of my used pump and bottle parts in was a godsend. Most of the time the cleaning took place in my master bathroom and the size of that sink just was not going to hold much, plus then I couldn’t do other things like brush my teeth and wash my hands. Let’s be honest, in an ideal world I would wash every pump and bottle part as it got used but this is not an ideal world this is mom world where you don’t have time for that. You wash a tub full of pump and bottle parts when your little one is napping or when you have the time. Some hospitals do not provide these bins and honestly it is always good to have extra anyway.

#4 Hear Me Out…. Nursing Pillows (regardless if they plan to nurse)

Okay so I know that your friend who is having a baby might be confused about getting a nursing pillow if they have already decided not to nurse but let me say this… nursing pillows aren’t just for nursing. Yes, you heard that correctly… nursing pillows aren’t just for nursing. I nursed my little one until she was a little over 2 years old, that story is for another post later on but I often used the nursing pillow with bottles as well as for her to just lay on me allowing me to have my hands free to read a book or change the tv channel. Additionally, nursing pillows are great for traveling… I will write another post on that as well. I had both the My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow and the Boppy Nursing Pillow and loved them both for different reasons.

#5 So Many Diapers…

One piece of advice I was given when I was pregnant was that Diaper Genies or other specialized odor-controlled pails like the Diaper Genie were overrated. “You don’t need that, it’s just a gimmick and a waste of money!” I object! The Diaper Genie is another magical item that I could not live without. It is so convenient and easy to change. It keeps the odor locked away that when we have guests over they are shocked to know that we keep our diapers in this device until it is full.

So here is my list, what items do you recommend? What are items that you never thought you needed, that you couldn’t live without today?