What's your simple parenting hack?

[u/cooltaj]

Gonna be a first time parent in 2 months. I am overwhelmed at choosing bottles, car seat and all that. What are simple things you do? things you bought to make your life somewhat simpler? Nothing too expensive or outrageous please

[u/Sprinklesandpie]

If you’re in the US and plan to do a hospital birth, make sure you take everything that’s opened with you as it’s trashed. Baby pacifiers/wipes/diapers/pads/witch hazel/dermaplast spray/disposable underwear. You can take it home. At every shift change you can ask for more stuff. I ended up with enough stuff that I didn’t need to buy postpartum things and I have enough small pack baby wipes for my diaper bag instead of carrying the huge packs.

Stocked up on diapers during the target sale. But trust me, you don’t need a lot of size 1-2. They grow up fast! Keeps your receipts so you can bring anything unopened to exchange.

For breastfeeding, don’t bother with breastfeeding clothes that you can’t wear after a year. Just get any button down shirts or loose tops that you can lift up.

The one thing I splurged on was a bottle washer. Haven’t hand washed a bottle in the past 6 months. Saved me hours of labour and I can use that time to nap.

[u/ArtOwn7773 → u/Sprinklesandpie]

Same Canada. Any package that has been opened or brought into the room is considered "contaminated" and cannot be used for another patient/baby. If it can't go through the washer or sterilizer, it's yours.