Little Bman is three weeks old. And slightly amazing :) Yes, he keeps me awake at night. And, yes, he cries sometimes and I don’t know what to do… but being a mother… is what I was made to do. It sets my heart on fire. It fills me in a way nothing ever has. Even when I’m exhausted and my hair hasn’t seen a brush in days… I love this little man more than life.

So from labor and delivery to now, there are a few items that I absolutely could not live without. And I have to share:

MUST HAVE #1 | GRANDMA NIGHTGOWN: Yes, you heard me. Trade in the cute outfits (like you could wear those at 9 months pregnant anyways) for a grandma nightgown. Perfect for nursing and very comfy – which is what its all about after a c-section.

MUST HAVE #2 | COMFORT FOOD IN THE HOSPITAL: Our friends, Annie & Travis, brought us chocolate in the hospital. Bryan’s mom’s husband, Paul, brought us diet coke. You’d have thought both equaled a lobster feast. I was in heaven. Even though I wasn’t supposed to have the diet coke immediately after delivery – I may have snuck some. I was CRAVING it after only ice-chips for 24 hours.

MUST HAVE #3 | BASSINET: Our bassinet is really special. My grandfather built it – and I slept in it when I was a baby (along with my brother and all my cousins later). Now Bman sleeps in it at night. It has wheels, so we can roll it around our house – from the bedroom at night to the living room during the day. We put a little box that holds his thermometer, diapers, pacifiers and wipes. It’s perfect. (The one pictured isnt ours – but its cute!(

MUST HAVE #4 | PEE-PEE TEE-PEE: Little boy. ’nuff said. (Thanks, Aunt Gina)

MUST HAVE #5 | CUTE NURSING TOPS: Old Navy has some really inexpensive and cute nursing tops.

MUST HAVE #6 | BIG TERVIS TUMBLR W/ LID: It’s really important to stay well-hydrated, especially if you’re nursing. My brother bought me my Tervis Tumblr for Christmas and I love it. I also have a plastic coffee travel mug that I use during the mornings (with a lid so that I dont spill hot coffee on Bman).

MUST HAVE #7 | AMAZING CAMERA: Thanks to Gina, we have an incredible (insert words that I may never be able to find – to explain how absolutely priceless and irreplacable these photos are) photos of Bman. For the days Gina wasn’t here – I have a Canon Rebel XSI. I don’t know a lot about how to use it – other than setting the white balance. I put that puppy on “P” for program, set the white balance and roll with it.

MUST HAVE #8 | ANTIBACTERIAL HAND FOAM – UNSCENTED: We have bottles of this type from Babies R Us all over our house. I got Bronchitis and Bryan got the flu when Brady was just 1 week old. This came in very handy.

MUST HAVE #9 | WIPES WARMER: I thought this was excessive at first and didn’t register for one. But the warm wipes keep Brady quiet and soothed during those 1am and 4am diaper changes. Definitely worth the $20.

It goes without saying that I’m attached to my iPhone. But for a lot of reasons – my family lives about six hours away from us. Homesickness got taken to an entirely new level when Brady was born. Lots of tears were shed by all. But FaceTime on the iPhone 4 and Skype make life so much better! My mom and I FaceTime all the time. We send photos and videos back and forth all day long and it makes the distance seem so much more insignificant. The camera on the iPhone 4 is amazing – so I’ve been able to capture those impromptu moments easily also.

Thank you so much for all the baby love over the past few weeks. Bryan and I are blessed beyond belief with this little guy and your love means so much to us! Next up… three days, the crazy talented Gina Zeidler and her camera, baby Brady Ley… pure amazingness.