Life becomes a constant string of tiny celebrations: 3 weeks old today! First bath today! First ride in the stroller today! And on it goes. These little joys add up and fulfill the promise that already-parents always make to parents-to-be: "it's the best thing you'll ever do." I admit I was a little skeptical but I'm finding that it's true - it all does make life a lot more meaningful all of a sudden, even if the milestones seem silly to anyone but yourself (and your spouse, maybe the grandparents).

One thing I've been looking forward to writing up for this blog is a sort of roundup and review of the "stuff" I've found you truly do need and which purchases we've made that so far seem totally worthwhile. So much advice was doled out going into this and some of it made sense, some did not. For the most part you need diapers, wipes, and food. Plus a dozen onesies per baby (don't need socks or hats here in SoCal!) and maybe 4 or 5 swaddling blankets.

Besides that, here's what really DOES get used around here. My top ten products:

1. Burp cloths: Wow, we use these like crazy. For burping, as bibs during feedings, to wipe spit-up off little mouths, to wipe spit-up and pee off mom, the walls, and the furniture. We have about 50 of them, some terry cloth, some flannel, and a few that are just cotton diapers. Sometimes we lay them flat under the babies' heads in the cribs while they sleep, in case they spit up (you MUST save your sheets! Changing crib sheets is one of the hardest things I've had to do this entire month - avoid it).

2. Crib sheets: Speaking of sheets, you need at least two, one to sleep on, one as backup. But really, try to avoid having the change the sheets. We have the Dwell owls and Dwell chevron ones and I love them. Very hip. 100% cotton of course.

3. Sheet savers: We got the Circo ones from Target. These tie to the crib rails and you lay the baby or at least the baby's head on it so if he/she spits up, it soils the sheet saver, not the sheet. Then you just wash the sheet saver. Easy. No one told us about this.

4. Changing table: Who says you don't need one? We have the 3-drawer Babyletto Modo one and it's awesome. We store diapers and wipes in the top drawer, extra diapers in the second drawer, and clothes in the third drawer. It's hard to imagine how people manage changing and storing all their diapering supplies otherwise. Gotta have a changing table in my opinion. The great thing about the one we have is that it becomes an attractive mod dresser afterwards that a child can use for years.

5. Avent bottle sterilizer: We're prepping bottles all day and all night so once we wash a load, we pop them into the sterilizer which goes into the microwave for 2 minutes and we feel better about the cleanliness of our feeding gear. Hard to be thorough sometimes at 3:00 a.m.

6. Belly wrap: This is for mom to wear post-delivery to help flatten the belly by shrinking the uterus faster. It's basically like a large velcro-close ace bandage that wears like a girdle. You wear it all day every day and it really seems to work. I was back in regular clothes by week 3 and lost just about all my preggie weight by then as well. If your doctor doesn't provide one, Brooke Burke has a company that sells nice-looking, tightly-fitting ones -- I have one in nude lace. Check out BabooshBaby.com (you're welcome, Brooke).

7. Boppy pillow: Everyone says you need one and I wasn't sure why but what a life-saver this has been for helping prop up one baby while I attempt to feed both at the same time by bottle. Our fussy daughter seems to be helped with her reflux problems by being propped up in the boppy for a while after eating and sometimes we have her next to us on the sofa in it while she naps. You're not supposed to let them sleep in it unattended, so avoid that.

8. Medela Freestyle breast pump: I LOVE this pump. It's as powerful as larger, more cumbersome pumps but compact and portable. You can literally pump while walking around the house carrying the pump in your pocket or via the wrist strap. It runs off an adapter or a rechargeable battery. So glad I bought this one. And it comes with its own nice-looking tote bag, bottles, and a bottle cooling bag.

9. Nursing tanks: I bought 3 of these at Target (Gillian O'Malley brand) and they are great -- perfect for wearing anytime, esp. to sleep in. No need to spend $40 - these were around $12 each; I got one of them on clearance for five bucks. I also bought 5 nursing bras at Target - the modal ones are my faves. Again, cheap. About $13 each.

10. Chicco Keyfit 30 carseats: These are top-rated for safety and easy to clip into and get out of your car. They're great for small infants and supposedly fit kids up to 30 pounds. The only drawback is that they don't fit into most snap-and-go strollers. In that case we bought the Chicco Cortina Together Double stroller in matching "fuego" red and it works great. I didn't like the bulkiness of the stroller at first but after I figured out how to fold and unfold it and used it around the neighborhood a few times it was clear that a carseat stroller was the way to go for infants. Easy breezy.

Other than this, make sure you have some stationery and stamps on hand - lots of packages arrive those first few weeks! Thank-you notes are part of the daily routine.