11 Game-Changing Baby Hacks for New Moms

Baby hacks for new moms.

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I could also call this my list of things I wish I had known earlier!
Of course, we all learn as we go and no two babies are the same. Just ask twin moms! Personalities are there as soon as they are born… and before to be honest! So you will already have some hacks you have started developing just for your own new little person, even if you still feel like you have a ton to learn about how to do things for them.

But let’s face it, there are definitely some things we can learn from the wisdom of other moms who have been through it already.

Some of these things I learnt myself as I went along. Some of these are new things I found out far too late to use them – and they would have made my life so much more simple!

Can I just add a disclaimer? Some things that “all moms swear by” don’t work for all kids. The best advice anyone can give you is to try things and see if it works for you!

My classic example of this is my son. I was sure that I was going to carry him around in a sling – having grown up in Africa with women carrying their babies all the time it seemed like an obvious thing for me to do… until I couldn’t actually walk after his birth and then he absolutely hated being held in anything that meant he didn’t have the freedom to fling his arms around (before he could move them properly, he still wanted them free)! So don’t worry if you try something and it doesn’t seem to work. It isn’t that you are doing it wrong necessarily! Just find another idea to try. You can do it!

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Clothing Must Be Easy

Unless it’s a gift, always, always, always try to think about how easy a garment is to put on your baby before you buy it. Especially for someone else… dad or grandma may not think the clothing is worth the effort. I have come home to half-naked babies a few times since they didn’t like trying to put the clothes back onto baby after a change. True story! That super cute outfit will not look super cute if they don’t wear it…

Cutting Baby’s Nails

Cutting baby’s nails is easier when they are not fighting you. So that is probably once they are deeply asleep. I have heard that is about 20 mins into their sleep, but to be honest I just waited till they seemed asleep enough and went for it… my kids tended to have short naps and I needed their claw-like talons cut short before they woke.

Roll Clothing Up for Space

Rolling up baby’s clothes can make more space in your bag when you have to carry half a ton of random stuff you never knew existed let alone that it was possible to need. I heard someone say that you should also do this for your baby’s clothes in the drawers, but honestly managing to have clothes clean and in the right place was pretty impressive for me most of the time. You do you.

Keep Facecloths and Bibs At the Ready

I had 2 open baskets of facecloths and bibs right next to the table ready for use. This was one way I felt like I was winning when it came to washing since I only had to throw them back into the right basket and they were ready to be used again. But we were in a small house at the time. In a larger place it would not have worked as well, but we would still have known just where to get them from when we needed them. We still have a place for facecloths that the kids can go to when they need one. Independence for the win!

Double Layer Baby’s Bedding

I read this somewhere just the other day and I wish I had come across it sooner! Double layer your baby’s bedding. So a mattress protector and sheet, and then ANOTHER mattress protector and another sheet. That way if there is a bed that needs changing in the night when you REALLY don’t want to do it, all you have to do is strip the top layer off. Genius, right??? Ok so you still have the mess and of course still have to put a blanket or something else over the top of them, but it is still a win as far as I am concerned. I hate those little tiny mattresses and the little tiny sheets and making them… And to be honest my son is still tending to wet the bed at night, so I am going to be doing this myself right now!

Keep Bedding In Sets Folded Together

Another friend would always fold her baby’s bedding up in sets so that when she needed another set and she was half asleep, it was easy to be sure she had what she needed to remake the bed. Also a good idea which I almost managed to do… yeah, washing is not really an area of strength for me!

Simple Solids Hack for Older Babies

Obviously, this is for once your baby is eating solids, but if you pack a banana in your bag then you have a meal immediately. Banana is soft enough to pretty much hand to a baby to feed themselves besides which. Of course it can make a big mess and banana stains on clothes are not so fun, so try not to do this if you are visiting a family member with gorgeous white couches or something. It probably won’t make you very popular.

More Easy Solid Food Ideas

Buy squeezy top food packages, or get some reusable ones to fill with your own baby food. It can make the feeding much easier especially if you are out and about. I really like these ones and these ones but there are all sorts out there to try.

Travel Pack of Formula (For Formula Feeding Moms)

I travelled with a small packet of formula just in case I ever got caught short. It could be made up into either a bottle or a sippy cup and make a potential disaster evaporate. And yes I mean in addition to all the other ten tons of stuff I already had in the bag… this was my emergency back-up supply. I used it twice and was supremely thankful both times!

You could use a ready-made 2-oz pack or keep a formula dispenser topped up regularly.

Always Take a Water Bottle

I also always had a water bottle of my own which meant we were never without water and some kind of bottle… even when the kids were tiny this still saved our butts a few times.

Streamlining Your Diaper Bag

When I first went out with my son I was the mom who had absolutely everything in her diaper bag. After a while of lugging that thing around, I got savvy and streamlined it.

I saw someone suggest that carrying too much stuff was probably not going to be helpful anyway and that most of the time if things were just too bad, then you could head home to repair the damage. And I found that was true. Travelling a bit lighter made me less anxious as well. See how you go yourself.

Since I love those “what’s in your diaper bag” type of articles I thought I would share what I ended up stripping back to for my kids, even when the second one was only a few months old.

Diapers. Go figure. But yes I had these in my diaper bag! But only 2 per kid.
Wipes. Because there are so many things that need wiping…
Plastic bag. To hold wet clothes or dirty diapers… or whatever I didn’t want spreading.
Change of clothes. A basic set for each kid, rolled up real small.
Water bottle. As I said above, a life saver often.
Formula (I couldn’t breastfeed). The usual and the back-up!
Small packets of snacks – whatever was the flavour of the month.
One small back-up toy for each child that was fairly certain to entertain for a wee while if we got stuck somewhere. I kept these out of sight as much as possible so that they were fresh when emergency struck! I now carry books, but the same applies.
Lip gloss for me. Also gum. Both of these things made me feel less untidy and like I had maybe actually had a shower even when I hadn’t. It’s the little things 🙂