I spent my pregnancy bouncing around like a maniac: Paris in the first trimester, Bermuda and London in the second, restaurant openings, barre classes, friend-dates, date-dates, beach weekends—even a late-third-trimester Subway Series game where a drunk fan careened into my belly in the Citi Field dining concourse. (All good.)
Two days before my due date last June, I decided I should finally pump the brakes. So I spent a free afternoon just as the patriarchy intended: barefoot in the kitchen, lazily bakingFour & Twenty Blackbirds’ strawberry-balsamic pie. We hadrenovated the spaceabout a year earlier, and I loved how pretty my latticed masterpiece, an hours-long labor of love, looked in the Brooklyn summer sunlight.Better soak in this room while I can,I thought at the time.
Since my son Miles was born a year ago, though, I’ve actually spent more time in my kitchen than I ever thought possible. It’s really not to cook—that task falls to my husband, Epi’sChief Business Officer, for whom it is a lifelong hobby. Yet through the new lens of motherhood, I’ve gained a fresh appreciation for a room that is now, more than ever before, the heart of our home. Here are my top 8 picks for the best kitchen tools for new parents, presented in the chronological order in which you’ll need them.
Toddy Brewing Container with Handle
Quick coffee run across the street? Not a thing if you’re home alone with a newborn! Avert disaster by stockpiling your own supply ofcold brew, that panacea upon which survival hinges those first few weeks. Even if you’re sleep deprived, presumably you're still capable of dumping things into a bucket, which means you can successfully maneuver Toddy’s signature product. Just remember to set thecoffee grinderto “coarse”and buy the companionfiltersandrubber stoppers,as well.
BUY IT:Toddy brewing container with handle, $15 on Amazon
Up&Up Fragrance-Free Baby Wipes
The all-beige nursery with typographical wall art (“Oh, the places you’ll go!”) has been Instagrammed; the diapering supplies have been arranged just so. But unless your baby is made of magic, your need for wipes will transcend space, time, and room function. Target’s water-based, fragrance- and dye-free baby wipes, a fixture on our kitchen island, remedy everything from sticky hands to spit-up, and they’re gentle on everything from bamboo floors to engineered-marble counters.
BUY IT:Up&Up fragrance-free baby wipes, $2 for a 72-pack at Target
Boon Grass Countertop Drying Rack
奶瓶喂养父母可以证明的车辙hlessness with which the merch—bottles, nipples, caps—colonize every free inch of space. And although you could stash everything away in a drawer, there will be some occasion in the future when you’ll need to make a bottle with one hand while holding the baby with the other. Boon’s chic, minimalist, dishwasher-safe drying rack hides the supplies in plain sight. If you need more room, do as we did: buy two and place them side-by-side.
