I Spent $2,472 on Amazon in the First 3 Months Postpartum (Including $900 on a Lady Bidet)

This expense was pediatrician-endorsed: She recommended having both baby Tylenol and vitamin D drops on hand. (Poor, sun-deprived winter babes.)

Tylenol ($20); Carlson ($13)

We shelled out for baby-friendly all-purpose surface wipes and bottle cleaner, which, at the time, felt important for wiping down the changing pad and hand-washing my Medela pump parts. But flash forward a few weeks and time and efficiency won out. (Now, we cover the changing pad with a machine-washable swaddle and throw the bottle parts in the dishwasher.)

Dreft ($28); Babyganics ($14)

The most expensive necessity. ($350 of this got us close to 900 diapers!) Also, who knew there were so many different types of diaper rash cream?

Pampers ($27 per box); Water Wipes ($20 per 3-pack); Triple Paste ($29)

We bought so many books: The No-Cry Sleep Solution, The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Newborns, Moms on Call (friend recommendations, I swear!) and more. Hindsight, the library—or putting the word out on our Facebook mom group where everyone owns copies of the same books—would have been smarter and more cost-effective.

The No-Cry Sleep Solution ($12); The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Newborns ($11); Moms on Call ($20); The Happiest Baby on the Block ($11); Work, Pump, Repeat ($14)

We got one for keeping tabs on the nursery room temp and one for keeping tabs on fevers (rectally). Fun! Side note: Apparently, digital, forehead-zapping thermometers—what we registered for—have accuracy issues, according to our doc.

Yunxibaby ($34); Vicks ($18)

My husband will disagree (he really wanted this item), but the truth of the matter is this: By the time the wipes leave the warmer and reach your baby’s behind on the changing pad, they’re already cold. There, I said it.

Prince Lionheart ($28)

Sure, trying literally anything to make our son snooze seemed logical in our sleep-deprived state, but this is another time when we probably should have made do with what we had, or borrowed from a friend. For the record, we tried the Miracle Blanket ($30), the Swaddle Me ($27), the Swaddle Up ($30), the Halo ($25), the Sleepea ($24) and the Ollie ($65). (That said, our research did lead us to find our favorite one, which we immediately bought two of.) 

Miracle Blanket ($30); Swaddle Me ($27); Swaddle Up ($30); Halo ($25); Sleepea ($24); Ollie ($65)

Fact: You will go through these quickly in those first couple of months. Another fact: You will also fail miserably at getting these properly installed in the pail the first time around.

Dekor ($15)

Rookie mom mistake: I only registered for one set. And even though our son wasn't actually sleeping in the crib in those early weeks, we used it as a changing station in his nursery—one that he immediately peed on. (Boys!) It was then that I realized the value of having a few different sets to rotate. In the moment, we had to strip the bed and wait for the laundry cycle to finish before we could go back to using the crib as a changing station again. 

Petit Pehr ($36); Jomolly ($24)

Yes, you need a travel crib. No, you don't need to spend $300 on it. Truth: A friend swore by this particular brand and got us all excited about the tiny suitcase the portable crib folds up into. ("So airport friendly!" she said.) While the crib we got is cool, we could have scaled way back on the price point. (For the record, we did have a gift card from a family member that we applied to offset the cost.)

Baby Bjorn ($300)

Somehow we’re still finding rogue pacifiers behind the crib, changing table and all over the nursery room floor. Extras—and clips that keep them from falling in the first place—were a necessity. 

Mam ($6); Camirus ($9)

We bought everything from Mylicon drops to the FridababyWindi gas passer. All good gas-reducing tactics in theory, but bicycling his legs was still the best—and most-effective—plan.

Little Remedies ($7); FridaBaby ($16)

The number of times we needed to plug in a phone or baby monitor screen and couldn’t find an outlet were endless. We stationed these around our apartment. Problem solved.

Belkin ($19); Cable Matters ($13)

I bought a bath toy caddy, mesh bags to corral small bottle parts in the dishwasher and drawer organizers to separate my son’s onesies from his footie PJs from his newborn-sized slacks.

Munchkin ($15); Purifyou ($13); IKEA ($27)

As crazy as it sounds, post-vaginal delivery, the ability to wash with a warm jet of water activated via a remote control is a dream. So sue me: I spent $900 on my lady parts. 

Toto ($936)