Blog Series: 20 Baby Hacks You Need Right Now
Being a new mom is hard. But as Tom Hanks says in A League of Their Own, “It’s the hard that makes it great.” Sure, he was talking about baseball but the sentiment still rings true. Every day can feel like a marathon, which is why shortcuts and quick fixes are immeasurably helpful. I’ve adopted (and perfected) a few tricks over the last four months, but it wasn’t until I tapped my network of parent friends that I hit the holy grail of baby hacks. Seriously, why don’t parents automatically receive engineering degrees? You’re going to want to bookmark this list!
My Personal Tricks of the Trade
Flynn has SUPER sensitive skin so I tend to go with products with minimal ingredients. While I’m a fan of Water Wipes (wipes doused in only water and grapefruit seed extract), I’m an even bigger fan of making my own baby wipes at home. A friend told me you can order dry wipes off Amazon in bulk, soak them in water and put them in the wipe warmer (if you’ve got one) and voila! Making sure your babe stays clean down below is the best way to ward off diaper rash, and nothing works better than water (at least for Flynn). Just make sure you don’t over soak the wipes. They should be damp – not dripping.
Since my husband and I both work fulltime, the mornings are a bit chaotic. Anything I can do to streamline our routine is a big plus. Recently, I realized that I could save a step by putting Flynn in a clean onesie after his bath at night before zipping him into his sleep sack (it’s rare that he’ll have a blowout during the night thankfully). Now, when he wakes up in the morning, we just unzip him from his sack, change his diaper, slip on a pair of pants and he’s dressed for the day. You’d be surprised at how much time you save when you’re not trying to get a wiggly infant into sleeves before you’ve had your coffee.
Did I mention my kid has sensitive skin? He’s also got a very dry scalp that I like to treat with coconut oil during bath time. I tell him he’s getting a baby spa treatment. After shampooing, I massage a little coconut oil onto his scalp and let it sit for the duration of the bath before rinsing at the very end. Some people prefer to shampoo after the oil, but that method is still too drying for him. As a friend recently pointed out, coconut oil is great for pretty much everything baby related – cradle cap, diaper rash, cracked nipples from breastfeeding… it’s something you want in your tool arsenal for sure.
Tips From My Genius Friends
Rather than wash pump parts after each and every pump (a huge time suck), stick the parts in a plastic gallon-size ziploc and store in the fridge until the end of the day. If kept refrigerated, the parts will be clean enough for use for up to 24 hours.
Place a cloth diaper over the little guy’s crotch when changing him to avoid a direct hit. The Pee-pee Teepee doesn’t work well if he’s squirming, and a decent blast shoots that thing right off.
When baby proofing, use rubber bands or hair ties to secure cupboards.
Dish soap removes newborn baby poop from clothes like a boss.
Skip buying or registering for the cute Baby Bullet and other baby food making products. Use your old school blenders, Ninjas or NutriBullets. Freeze any extra baby food in ice trays, and pop ‘em out to defrost so it’s already portioned out. This is a huge money saver!
If you don’t have or use a dishwasher, keep a large bowl in the sink for bottles and pump parts only to soak in warm soapy water during the day – then just wash everything after the baby goes down for the night.
Leave an extra set of clothes, diapers, wipes, non-perishable snacks (like pretzels), etc. in a bag in the car. Then if you are just doing a quick run to the store, you don’t need to pack your diaper bag every time. Refresh as needed.
Use lingerie bags for washing socks and tiny items so they won’t get lost. Stick the dirty item directly in the bag instead of tossing it in with the other soiled clothes in the hamper.
Keep baby powder in the car, and use it on feet after the beach. The powder gets the sand off without any hassle.
Turn the high chair at restaurants upside down to accommodate the baby carrier. Most carriers rest securely on the wooden panels.
Pack a heavy-duty garlic press in the diaper bag to purée food on the go once the baby starts solids (this is also great for home use).
Use doggy poop bags for tossing dirty diapers when changing the baby in public places.
Use clothespins to hang up tiny pants on tiny hangers.
Puppy pee pads can be used as a changing pad on the go or in another part of the house.
Place a washcloth on baby’s tummy during bath time, and continually make it wet to keep the baby warm.
Use a washable wine marker to write the time/date on a bottle of pumped milk if it’s going in the fridge.
Use white noise for nap encouragement. If you don’t have a white noise machine, you can find tons of like 12-hour videos of that, or babbling brook noises, on YouTube. As a bonus, white noise drowns out other noises in the house so you can go ahead and watch TV in the next room without worrying about waking the kid.
Jillian Gordon is the Managing Editor of Mamapedia.com. A Los Angeles-based lifestyle writer and editor, her work has appeared in Beauty Launchpad, Nailpro Magazine, Saturday Night Magazine and Westside Today. She is also the former Content Manager of Mom.me. Jillian welcomed her son Flynn in November, 2016.
