Transitioning back to work after having a baby isn’t easy for most mamas. Even if you have a job you love, the winding down of maternity leave often brings bittersweet emotions. But that first week back is almost always the hardest, and it won’t be long before both you and your baby are into your new groove. Part of making the back-to-work transition a successful one is having the right products to make a busy day a bit easier.
In this post, we’ll give you our top ten best baby products for working moms. As mom ourselves who are striving to do our best to juggle it all, we’ve nailed down what’s worked best along the way.
Top 9 Products for New Moms Going Back to Work
Whether you’re trying to fit in a last minute parking lot car feed before you take your baby into daycare, are trying to master the art of work-from-home pumping or just want to have everything you need without looking like a bag lady, we have exactly what you need to rock your working mom role like a boss.
1.) Baby’s Brew Portable Bottle Warmer
Everybody’s work situation is a bit different these days. Perhaps you’re stuck in your home office from 9-5 with a baby down the hall, or you may be in a situation where you’re headed into the office while your baby is at daycare or with another trusting person. What doesn’t change is that your baby needs to eat. And that means having their bottles ready to go just the way they like them.
The Baby’s Brew Portable Bottle Warmer is perfect for on-the-go warming so a bottle can be ready when you arrive at your next destination, but it’s also a convenient way for you or your baby’s caregiver to make sure a warmed bottle is ready for your little right on time. Unlike other bottle warmers that can either make bottles too hot or not hot enough, the Baby’s Brew allows you to choose your baby’s bottle temperature at the push of a button. It’s also the world’s first batter-operated bottle warmer that holds a charge for up to 12 hours, so need to have anyone worry about plugging anything in even if you end up with a long work day.
2.) Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher
Another great bottle prep product we highly recommend to any formula-feeding moms is the the Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher. Making bottles one by one can be a pain, and it’s also nice to be able to give caregivers pre-made bottles (one less thing for them to do so they can give more attention to the babies in their care.) This pitcher allows you to make 32 ounces of formula at once.
Though you could do something similar in a regular pitcher, this one is unique in that it has a mixing blade that blends and dissolves the formula quickly without any clumping. Get those bottles ready to go and hand over with the Baby’s Brew and you know you’ll have a happy little munchkin at feeding time even when you can’t be with them. (Even if you’re someone who works from home while also caring for your baby, it’s nice to already have all those bottles prepped and ready!)
3.) Idaho Jones Lysia Milk Cooler Bag
Both formula-feeding moms and pumping moms will need a good cooler bag that can easily transport milk before and after work. (Unless you keep your baby’s powdered formula at daycare and they prep it onsite.) We especially love this one from Idaho Jones as it keeps bottles upright and holds larger bottles than many of the others.
As a formula-feeding mom, those bottles you pre-made at home can go straight into the cooler bag before you head to daycare.
For a pumping mom who works away from your baby, a cooler bag that actually keeps the milk cold through the day is absolutely essential. All pumped milk will go straight into bottles and then straight into the cooler bag until you can get home and either chill the milk or feed it to your little one right away.
RELATED: Complete List of Daycare Essentials for Infants
4.) Willow Wearable Breast Pump
If you are planning to pump when you head back to work, we cannot recommend getting a wearable breast pump enough! Yes, you can get a pumping bra that will help you pump hands-free while you work, but this is still a really cumbersome choice. The Willow Wearable Breast Pump is so discreet and can even allow you to continue to pump at your desk even if you work in an office environment (users say it’s very quiet, too!)
Though the investment for a wearable breast pump like the Willow is going to be a bit more, this is something we definitely think is worth it when it comes to multitasking your work duties with your mom ones. And not only is it great for pumping hands-free to get work done, it’s also perfect for pumping on those long drive commutes when you might as well be doing both if the timing works.
5.) Milk Snob 4-in-1 cover
There was a many a time that I nursed my baby in my car before heading inside to leave them for daycare. It was my last chance to top them off and get those last baby snuggles in before being apart for the day. And having a nursing cover came in handy many of those times. Now, of course, you should never feel like you should cover up to breastfeed and certainly not in your car if you don’t want to. But for me, there were times I just felt more comfortable covering up as people walked by my car. And we are all about doing what is the least stressful for YOU!
The Milk Snob 4-in-1 cover is perfect for this, or for any on-the-go breastfeeding you might be doing. But it’s also transitions perfectly to a carseat cover for anytime you have a sleeping baby that you may need to transition into daycare or while you run that quick after-work errand.
6.) Freshly Picked Classic Diaper Bag
Diaper bags have come a long way, amiright?!? Some of these diaper bags out there now are straight up fashion statements. And yet, they’re still functional and transition perfectly between your mom role and your professional one. Though there are many great options available, we love this one from Freshly Picked.
The vegan leather diaper bag comes in an array of colors so you can choose the one that best fits your personal style. As a large capacity diaper bag (that looks a whole lot more like a work bag), it will allow you to carry everything you need both for work AND for your little one. And with ten pockets in total everything can be tucked away in its own space. Another feature we love is that it can be worn three different ways.
7.) Crock-Pot Slow Cooker
If you haven’t yet invested in a slow cooker at this point in your life, now is the time. There is nothing better than coming home from a long day of work and wanting more than time snuggling with your baby that dinner is ready to roll. Yes, it will perhaps require getting up 10 or 15 minutes earlier in the morning so you can get everything put in the crockpot and set to cook while you’re gone, but it will be worth it when you walk in the door and cooking is off the table.
8.) Little Unicorn Muslin Burp Cloth
If you have a job that requires you to look nice (I mean, most jobs AT LEAST require you to look presentable), then you’ll want to invest in some good burp cloths. With young babies, you just never know when they might let that spit up loose. We recommend keeping these large Little Unicorn Muslin Burp Cloths at the ready in the mornings before work.
In fact, you might as well just keep it over your shoulder from the time you get dressed until you say good-bye to your little one for the day at drop-off - that’s your best line of defense against a messed up outfit before the day even starts. (And a Tide-to-Go pen in your bag won’t hurt either.)
9.) Primo Passi Car Mirror w/Light
If you are a mom who works away from home, that means you and your baby are probably going to be spending a lot of time in the car. And early mornings or late evenings means you might even be driving to or from work in the dark. This makes having a car mirror with a light an absolute must.
Whether you’re about to drop off your baby before leaving them for a full day or you’re finally back with them after hours at the office, during your drive you want to be able to see their sweet little face and allow them to see yours. And as you know, safe rear-facing carseats aren’t great for that. The Primo Passi Car Mirror with Light allows you to see every little smile and coo your baby makes until they can be back in your arms.
