12 Genius Baby Tips That’ll Save Your Sanity

Being a brand new parent doesn’t have to be so overwhelming thanks to these 12 baby tips that will totally save your sanity! Check them out!

Being a brand new parent doesn’t have to be so overwhelming thanks to these 12 baby tips that will totally save your sanity! Check them out!

 

 

Having a baby is simultaneously the best time of your life and the most trying time of your life. The rewards are immeasurable, but being a new mommy or daddy is hard work! You’ll come up with your own ways to make things easier, but in the meantime, here are a dozen hacks that made a huge difference for me.

Genius Sanity-Saving Baby Tips You Need to Know

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  1. Get a plastic medicine syringe every time you go to the pharmacy. Those droppers and cups that come with medicine aren’t always easy to use. The only way to go are the syringes you get from the pharmacy counter. You get exact measurements and have a lot more control over how quickly medicine is dispensed. Plus, you can use these puppies for years to come. Just the other day I used one to squirt wood glue into a small space (don’t worry, I threw it away afterward). 
  1. Make the crib mattress with two sets of mattress covers and sheets for late night changes. Your baby will wet through her diaper, and she will spit up. You will need to change sheets in the middle of the night. Be prepared and layer. Pull off the first set, lay your baby back down, and deal with clean-up in the morning. 
  1. Store your pump parts in the fridge in-between pumping sessions. These next few are for nursing mamas, so bear with me. If you pump, you are going to wash pump parts A LOT. Toward the end when I was only getting a few ounces each time I pumped, I would store the pump parts, attached to the bottles, in the fridge and combine milk. I am not a lactation consultant or a physician, so please speak to one if you have concerns. My understanding was that it was safe to combine new milk with previously refrigerated for roughly 1 day. I still washed the pump parts at least once a day, but it was much better than 7 or 8! 
  1. Wear a bracelet, and switch wrists to remind yourself which side to nurse on next. As a brand new mama running on very little sleep, this tip was a lifesaver for me. While my baby was nursing on the second side, I would move the bracelet to that wrist, and that way I knew which side to start on the next time. 
  1. Use cloth nursing pads with a disposable against your bra. For the first couple weeks of nursing, your nipples will be sore. Disposable nursing pads are rough, and the cotton can stick to your nipple if leaked milk dries. Cloth shields are great, but they don’t do anything to stop leakage from a letdown. So, I used both. The cloth pad went against my skin, and the disposable went against my bra. 
  1. Cloth diapers make the best burp cloths. Trust me on this one. They’re much cheaper, too. I preferred the flat fold (not prefold) Gerber diapers. They were also perfect to tuck into the bottom of my bra while nursing to catch spills before they soaked my bra and shirt. 
  1. Don’t have a white noise machine? Try a book on tape. This was my husband’s idea, and it worked great. We’d turn the CD player on low, and the mumble of words was just right. 
  1. Use Dawn dish soap to pre-treat. Dawn is used on oil-covered birds for a reason – it’s great at breaking down the oil. Rub a little bit of Dawn onto the stain, and go about your business. If the article is light in color, get the spot wet and rub the Dawn until the blue color goes away. Otherwise, the Dawn can stain the article blue. There’s no need to wash immediately either! 
  1. Keep a receiving blanket in the car for use while shopping. This only works while your baby is still in the carrier, but a receiving blanket as a cover over the carrier will keep strangers from sticking their faces in to see your baby or, Heaven forbid, touching your baby. Enough said. 
  1. Use olive oil instead of lotion to keep baby’s skin soft. Olive oil is very gentle, absorbs quickly, and is unlikely to cause any sort of reaction since it’s completely natural. And, it’s cheaper than most of the natural products on the market. It’s great for use with infant massage, too! 
  1. Put a note over your doorbell that says “Shh!! Baby sleeping.” The doorbell waking your baby one time will have you scrambling to write this note. If you have a dog, it’s even worse. 
  1. If your baby latches onto something (a lovie, a toy), run – do not walk – and buy two or three more. This preventative measure will save late night chaos (and spending quadruple the original cost on eBay three years later – not speaking from experience or anything). 

These are tips that worked for me, but I would love to hear mom/dad hacks that you’ve incorporated into your lives. We all benefit from each other!

Tell us your most genius baby tips below!

7 thoughts on “12 Genius Baby Tips That’ll Save Your Sanity”

  1. Stephanie Sherlock

    Those are such great ideas. I love the idea of using a double sheet, as they get older a waterproof sheet on the bed is the only way to go. I learned that the hard way.

  2. These are really helpful hacks every mommy should know, since we always wants the best for our babies. I am going to share these to my friends, sure they will benefit from these. Great post.

  3. Georgia Stallcop

    Great baby tips. Especially the one about doubling up on the crib sheets. Would definitely come in handy at night.

  4. I really liked your tips, especially the buy more than one comfort item if your baby gets attached to it! We had to buy four very expensive teddies for my daughter because she got attached to a steif bear and five monkeys from mothercare for my son because they were limited edition!

  5. Oh, wow. Our first baby’s arriving in January. We’re really nervous so we do need all the tips and life hacks to help us survive. But we’re also excited, first and foremost.

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