Dear (soon to be?) Mama,

Most 'best of' list articles are purely there as click-generators for the sites.  They all rehash the same handful of basic items and tend not to be very useful.  

We feel this is especially true in the New Mom / New Baby space.  Your going to get diapers, blankets, noise machines, monitors, matching outfits, bouncers, and toiletries.  Fancier lists may include wipe warmers, various baby slings, bottles, and travel packs.

And yes, we got a wipe warmer for our first thinking the nice warm wipes caressing the tushy would let our bae stay quiet and fall right back asleep...didn't work.

 There are a handful of items we rely on and never make it to your traditional list.  Therefore we present to you Mom Brained's First Annual

10 ACTUALLY Useful Gifts for New Moms in 2022

1) New Mom Gift #1: Mini-fridge

How many 100s of trips downstairs to get a bottle from the fridge did we make before we purchased a small, bottle sized mini fridge in our bedroom...

Serious.  How is this not on all the lists?  

Are you tip-toeing past your other kids rooms trying not to wake them up?

Are you stumbling around downstairs in the dark, making it to the fridge and only to be jolted awake by the 10k watt spotlight when you open the door? (serious, how is there not a dimmer setting on a night time sensor yet?) 

Or our personal favorite "OH MY GOD IS THAT A LEGO OR BEAR TRAP"

"Legos on a hardwood floor or a bear trap?  It all feels the same at 2am Mama"

Yea, good luck getting that next 45mins of sleep before next feeding after running the 'put milk in the fridge' gauntlet like the cruelest TV gameshow.

They make light and compact mini-fridges that are able to hold a 6 pack.  More than enough space for a night time's worth of bottles, but not too big that it junks up your room.

In short, having a desktop mini-fridge in your bedroom is an absolute game-changer Mama.

  

2) New Mom Gift #2: Amethyst Crystal Lamp

Sleeping conditions have a huge impact on your quality of sleep.  You want to be in a dark and cool room.  You want to avoid blue light before bed.  If you get up, you don't want to be hit with a bright light as it signals to your body to start waking up.

Proper sleeping conditions become even more important when you aren't getting a full, consistent nights sleep.  You need to maximize the benefit from the hours you get.

But how many of you have seen a crystal lamp on the must haves for new moms? 

The soft purple color of the Amethyst Druse Lamp is enough light to see without being overbearing and Amethyst is known for being meditative and to help with insomnia.

Amethyst is known for being the quintessential meditation stone.  It is recommended to help with sleep and used for people with insomnia.  It is almost like Amethyst crystal lamps were made for middle of the night nursing. 

 
3) New Mom Gift #3: Coconut Butt Roller

There is all sorts of chemical-laden slop that people gift to take care of diaper rash.  These thick pastes are a mess to use. 

How many times do you need to squeeze the tube then use a finger to rub it in, then finish your diaper change with only 8 fingers and some awkward pinkie-thumb action?  

If only there was a natural product that was in an easy to apply form?

This roll on coconut stick is a naturally anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral moisturizing stick for all sorts of baby butts 

Coconut sticks.  Coconut is naturally moisturizing, while also being anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral.  It comes in a stick that you twist to push up like lipstick leaving your hands nice and clean.  

And it works.

We tried the other stuff, but the 'coconut butt stick' worked the best despite having all of 1 ingredients: coconut oil.

 

4) New Mom Gift #4: Quality Water Bottle

You know the feel Mama, baby latches and your mouth is like a desert.   There is no thirst like it.

In general, we all could be more hydrated.  Hydration leads to more energy, improved brain function, plumper & nicer skin, better detox, etc etc the list goes on.  

A high-quality steel tumbler is crucial.  If we don't have ours with us, we will barely take a drink all day while running around.  We want something that will keep your drink ice cold, is BPA free, has a handle to make carrying easy, and is durable.  

 Perfect for keeping water cold and warm drinks warm...like the Universe's Best Coffee for instance

This is our current go to, the Stanley IceFlow.  Big enough we can stay hydrated with our filtered home water while out running around without needing to stop to fill it up, but not comically large like we are a bodybuilder.  Able to put in warm or cold liquid and your cold stuff stays cold and warm stuff stays warm. (Note - take out the straw when using hot liquid and note the top has a wide opening so your coffee is coming in hot...both literally and figuratively).

And this thing is durable, because its going to get dropped a lot by your kids. (Your water always tastes so much better than the same water in their cup, don'tcha know?)

 

5) New Mom Gift #5: 'Oh Sh*t' set

What is an 'Oh Sh*t' set?

It is a pre-packed set of necessities to keep in the car for the inevitable 'oh sh*t' moment where you are on the road and your little angel decides to unleash a poop-explosion.

We recommend:

• A quality zip-able bag to store all the items
• 2 diapers in every other size (you can always fit a size larger diaper on)
• A clean onsie for each age through 12-months (bonus points if seasonally appropriate)
• A blanket
• Socks
• Small wet wipes
• Ziploc bags or plastic trash bag (dog poop bags are cheap and work great for the disposable stuff)
• Small towel or changing mat
• Hand Sanitizer

This should be enough to get your baby into something clean and the minimum to keep them warm (tuck the blanket on them in their seat).

You put the trashed clothes in the dog poop bags or ziplocs.

In an ideal world, you wouldn't need to have sized NB, 1, 3, and 5 diapers all in the bag.  But the chance of a new Mama coming in and switching out the diaper with the next size up is slim, much easier to just pre-prepare.

Keep this in the car for the next time there is an 'oh sh*t' moment and be able to clean up on the go.  Remember, your new angel is 120% going to choose to have a massive blow out the 1 time you don't lug your full diaper bag. 

6) New Mom Gift #6: Thrive Membership

What is Thrive?  "Healthier Food at Wholesale Prices"

It is like an all organic, all online delivery, big box store (ie- BJs, Costco, Sam's Club, etc.) but with a larger selection. You can save over 30% from your local grocery store ordering through Thrive.

Yes.  You read that right.  High-quality organic food right to your door that is cheaper than the grocery store.  

 

Are you experiencing pregnancy-induced food sensitivities?  You can sort by over 70 common diet types and lifestyles (Paleo, Gluten-free, Sugar-free, non-GMO, etc).  

We order most of our snacks from Thrive.  They have dried fruits and veggies, healthy baking supplies, condiments, and alternative pastas (ie- bean, sweet potato, buckwheat, etc).  

Do you want to help out a new Mom (especially one with other kids)? Gift the $5 a month membership to Thrive for a year.  Best part, if she doesn't use it to save more than the cost of membership, you have a guarantee and will get your membership fee back.

 

7)  New Mom Gift #7: White Noise Machine

Sleep is essential....and also in very short supply for new mothers.  Help a mom not have to play 'whack-a-mole' with kids as they wake each other up.  

We LOOOOVVEEE the Hatch for being multi-purpose and useful as a white noise machine, sleep trainer, walkie-talkie, clock, alarm, and sleek looking all in one.  

 

We have a Hatch in each of the kids rooms in our house.  For the baby, we use the white noise machine placed near the door to try to drown out the sound of any rustling outside the room.

For our toddler, they like the color light as an all-night night light and the music.  Currently, his choice is the dark blue color with 'rock-a-bye' baby lullaby playing.  We have it set on a timer to automatically turn on near bed time and then a little while later the light and the music both turn down some.

Having the Hatch on a timer s wonderful, and since you can control it from your phone, you can always manually adjust it as needed.

For the older kids, it serves as an alarm and sleep trainer.  Again with the timer function, we have it set so the Hatch turns green when it is time to get out of bed and get going with the day.

8) New Mom Gift #8: Battery Organizer

"I know they are in here somewhere" *rustle rustle* " come on I just bought a whole pack"....

Yup, batteries are one of those things that you never thought about much before kids, but realize how vital they are the first couple times you run out of batteries for whatever vitally important object there is.  

Add in the fact that a bunch of loose batteries rolling around a junk drawer is a night to try to find.  

Start a Mama off right with a fully stocked battery organizer

 

 

9) Best Mom Gift #9: Meal Delivery Service (Sunbasket)

In a similar spirit as the Thrive organic grocery delivery membership, we love meal-prep services. 

How often do you have decision fatigue and just can't come up with anything to make for dinner so you order take-out, or make pasta, and call it a night.  And trying to plan a week of different dinners ahead of time to buy all the groceries at the store is a herculean task.  Even looking up different recipes to get a range of different flavors from different parts of the world takes forever.

Avoiding the same few meals and trying new food is tough before kids.

And even if you get all the groceries and cook a nice unique dinner, you likely now have loads of extra spices or ingredients you didn't need because the grocery store doesn't sell things in the exact size you want.

Meal-in-a-box subscription services solve for all of this.  Perfectly portioned ingredients, different easy to follow recipes, and a variety of choices for much less than eating out.  

We use Sunbasket as a high-quality service that offers almost entirely organic meals. 

We tried other meal-services but they either sent subpar produce or all the flavors tasted similar.  

 

 

10) Best Mom Gift #10: Subscription to Universe's Best Coffee (Decaf)

"Decaf in the moonlight, Got ya feelin' warm and bright, its such a fine and natural sight, drinkin' decaf in the mooooonlight…."

Yes, our decaf coffee is the perfect coffee for night or if you need to keep your caffeine consumption low while pregnant or nursing. 

Our Decaf is a 100% Columbian Arabica bean that we decaffeinate using the only natural method out there and the process that also retains nearly all the antioxidants that make coffee healthy (Swiss Water Method).

 

 

This coffee has all the mild and well-balanced flavor Columbian coffee is known for, with a sweet caramel note and the smooth, silky finish that leaves no lingering after-taste. You can enjoy a cup of this after dinner and brush your teeth and go to bed. Or, as the name says, put the kids to bed and sit under the stars and enjoy a nice warm cup of Decaf In The Moonlight

Worried about drinking coffee while pregnant or nursing?  We wrote about caffeine intake for Mamas - please give a read.

 

10 Actual Useful Gifts for New Moms

There you have it.  10 Actually useful gifts for Mothers. 

If you are at a loss on what you can buy a Mom this holiday season, this list hits critical needs vs. whatever trendy gadget is offering the biggest commission so all the influencers are telling you that you need it but you never use it

(Looking at you baby wipe warmer that we paid $80 for and took up a ton of space on our changing table, kept growing mold, and....shocker....babies still wake up when you change them with warm wipes just as much with room temperature wipes :eyeroll: at ourselves) 

 

 

 

 

 

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