Before I gave birth, I felt overwhelmed at the long lists of “must haves” to buy — it was a huge research process just to nail down the basics.

A friend handed me a little note and it felt like a burden lifted when I saw what it said.

She listed 10 things that were the most useful for her and baby during the first 6 months. For all my soon-to-be Little Mother friends, I made a high-tech version of that note —