We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share the hack or tip new parents absolutely need to know, and the results were filled with some pretty, pretty good advice:
1. "For teething babies, fill the nipple of a pacifier with water and freeze it. Then, when your baby starts crying, give them the pacifier — it will soothe their gums. I did this for all of my children and it was a lifesaver. Refill as needed and freeze!"
2. "Park by the cart return when you go grocery shopping instead of the closest spot by the door. Makes way more sense!"
3. "Get some scrubs! The extra pockets will make it easier to carry things that you or your baby need, and they're usually treated with something to keep fluids from leaking through."
4. "Avoid onesies with button snaps. Instead, get the ones with zippers."
5. If your baby can only fall asleep to your voice (of you singing or talking), record your voice onto a CD or your phone and connect to a speaker!
6. "Have a diaper genie for poopy diapers and a separate garbage can for wet ones. Babies have way more wet diapers than poopy ones, and the diaper genie will get full real quick if you're using it for both."
7. "Overnight, put your baby in a diaper that is one size up."
8. "When transitioning to a sippy cup, go for one with a straw. The act of sucking is familiar to them, so it'll be easier for them to grasp."
9. "Get one of those battery-powered push lights and a command strip for your changing table. It'll make those middle of the night changes a breeze without a lot of light to wake up your baby or partner."
10. "Don't buy patterned socks. You will spend the rest of your life trying to find matching tiny socks. Buy the same brand and same color."
11. "Use white noise to get your baby to sleep! We found a playlist on Spotify that goes for hours."
12. "Make a pacifier board so you're never stuck desperately searching your house for one."
13. "BABY WIPES ARE A GIFT FROM GOD. Use them to wipe down your kid, yourself, throw-up, dropped pacifiers, dirty hands, and to get those pesky boogers."
14. "If baby needs medication, take a nipple off of a bottle, add the medication into the nipple, and put it in the baby's mouth. The baby will suck the nipple and get the meds mess free. Way better than squirting a syringe in their mouth."
15. "Hang a musical mobile over the changing table — it will keep your baby entertained during diaper changes and minimize squirming."
16. "Make sure you buy some rubber guards for your fireplace/window sill. It will help your baby/toddler have less bruises and marks from falling."
17. "Put Aquaphor on your baby's bum after each diaper change! That way, if they have an acidy poop, there's a barrier between the skin and the poo — decreasing the likelihood that your baby gets diaper rash."
18. "Trust your instincts. You probably know a lot more than you realize."
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Some answers have been condensed for length and clarity.