First Few Weeks Home With Your New Baby--How Did You Feel?

How did you feel during your first few weeks home with your baby? I know I felt completely overwhelmed, emotional, exhausted, scared, worried, and confused! Why was my baby crying? Why did she wake up several times at night? Was she eating enough? Was she constipated? Did she not feel well? And what in the world could I do to get into a routine and feel human again?

Luckily, I had some good friends who had been there before and they shared their survival guides. So, I'll pass on my top 10 must-haves for new Moms to you as well.

1. Swaddle blanket It might look cruel, but I promise you, the ONE thing I knew without hesitation about my daughter was that she would cry if she didn't like something. This blanket was the most soothing thing I could find and after two swift wraps, the crying always stopped.

2. Ultimate Crib sheet: Who knew changing sheets on a crib was so much work? Remove the bumpers, take out the mattress completely, change the sheets AND mattress protector, and put it all back in. Oh, and this is at 2 am when you've had about 28 minutes of sleep. No way! Get the ultimate crib sheet and save your sanity!

3. Formula travel case: How many bottles do you need if you are leaving the house for 1 hour? And you better get it right or you will pay for it, believe me. Get this formula travel case, which holds exactly how much formula you need for four separate bottles! Take four bottles with water and prepare as needed. Presto!

4. Diapee Wippee: Running to the store for 5 minutes and you don't want to carry a full diaper bag? Completely understandable! The Diapee Wippee holds plenty diapers and wipes for short trips and fits easily into your purse!

5. Bottle organizer: Where in the world do you put all this stuff!? I am extremely obsessive compulsive and I did not deal well with all the immediate clutter! This saved my life. Ahhh, organized storage for bottles.

6. Bottle Dish Washer Organizer: I spent the first two weeks of my daughter's life scrubbing bottles every waking second! Then I discovered that you could actually put them in the dishwasher? Why in the world did I spend one second hand washing?! You have to get this.

7. Activity Mat: I know I had the hardest time being able to get anything done! I was constantly holding, feeding, changing, reading, and bouncing - but what about the laundry that needs to be folded? This activity mat will totally engage your baby and give you a precious block of time to get things ready to go and she'll have so much fun you won't even feel guilty!

8. Baby Carrier: Did you ever think you could carry so many things at once? You still only have two arms after all! An easy way to grow a couple extra is this fabulous baby carrier. Sit your baby in there and go to the grocery store, cook dinner, or even head to the mall! She can see out and enjoy being close but you will have two hands to go through clothes racks or grab food from the shelves.

9. Bath- Boon Frog Pod: I thought I required a lot of items in the shower ... until I had a daughter! Now there was body wash, shampoo, detangler, toothpaste, and toys, toys, toys! The best organizer - for all of it - is this adorable wall frog. Cute and functional too!

10. Perfect pacifier: There is simply nothing like a pacifier to soothe your child when he or she is upset (especially when paired with the swaddle blanket!). So, pick a good one!