My mom is coming in two weeks and we're planning to go shopping for a lot of baby stuff. Since I'm new at this whole thing and I have many friends and family who are parents, I'm looking for your advice on baby products. I know all the obvious things I will need, but I would like to know what the most surprising thing is that you couldn't live without. And also, something you thought you would used a lot, and haven't used at all.
Any other advice you have on baby products is welcome. Also, if you have any books on babies that you really like, I'd love to know that too.
As far as life goes, things are going well. Work is going along fine and its good to be productive and earning money. I have been tired, but generally feeling really good. I'm wearing only maternity pants now, but I can still wear most of my normal shirts, although that will end soon I'm sure.
Yesterday we had an enrichment activity at church, which I'm now in charge of. We had a breakfast and a speaker who spoke about depression. The last week was stressful as I was trying to get all the loose ends taken care of. I'm glad it went fairly well and its over!
Time is flying by...My mom is coming in two weeks, and then it will be only a few weeks until Thanksgiving, and then it will be Christmas time which always flies by, and then little baby girl will be coming in only a month or so. We're really enjoying fall here and enjoying all the beauty around us.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Advice Needed
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8 comments:
I know I'll think of more, but the first thing that comes to mind is BURP CLOTHES! I think we own 18 and it seems like there were never enough clean (and Charlie didn't spit up a TON).
Also, I never had an official "baby bath" and was just fine without one. A regular bath tub with 1 inch of water works just great!
You'll need a good rectal thermometer (we have one with a flexible tip--I would assume that its more comfortable :)
If I think of more, I'll be back here to tell you. But hopefully that gets your list started! We are so excited for you!! Have fun :)
Ooh! I love giving advice. :)
What you must remember is that every baby is different, and like different things.
(If you don't know what any of these are, type them into google images, and see)
Swing - Jenna and Emily have not liked the swing, but Alisa loved it.
Infantino sling / Snugli - Emily LOVES the sling and Snugli we have. We used them more with her than the other girls.
Play Saucer -- every baby I've known has loved this.
Bouncie Seat - Jenna and Alisa liked it, Emily, not as much. Although we have always used it the first few weeks for them to sleep in.
bumbo - Emily likes it, we borrowed it from a friend. It's just nice to have another place to put babies to entertain them.
Jungle Mat - Emily loves it!
We use a high chair that just straps to a kitchen chair. We have really liked it. We've never used a changing table. We never used a bassinet.
Good luck!
minerva77@gmail.com if you have any questions.
First of all we are so happy for you two and love that it is a girl! Dave and I discussed it and here is our list:
Things we love:
--A changing table, we had thought it was an unnecessary, but have loved having one. When Hailey came out she popped my tail bone out and it was hard to bend over to change her. I didn't want to do it on my bed when she would have massive blowouts (changing pads are great too!)
--Car seat. We loved having the infant carrier, but be picky with what you get. I would reccommend going to Babies R Us or some big baby store, they have samples on display and will let you take them out to your car. Make sure it will fit in your car, back to front so you don't have to scoot your seat way forward. Make sure you can buckle it tight (it shouldn't move any more than 1 inch side to side by the belt path) We liked having one with the option to buckle it without having to use the base, but having a base to leave in the car is very convienent. Also buckle a doll into it and check out the way it buckles and see if you like it. You do the buckles and snap it in and out of the car so many times it is worth the money to pay for one you like.
--If you are going to nurse, invest in a boppy, they save your back and when you are delerious in the middle of the night you can fall asleep and not drop the baby!
--Places to put the baby. We never thought of this, but when you need to clean or make dinner and they are awake you have to put them somewhere close. We loved a bouncer with toys hanging down and couldn't live without a swing. Both of my kids slept best in the swing for the first few months and they used that more than their crib!
--I wouldn't invest in a baby tub or the wedge that goes in a large tub, they are hard to store, they don't compact at all and bathing them in the kitchen sink works just fine and is less of a hassel.
Sorry for all the advice, but you asked!! Have fun with your mom! Are you coming out here for Thanksgiving or Chirstmas that we could do you a shower out here with family/friends??
It's so interesting reading what everyone else is saying...
Loved...
the swing
the boppy (and I didn't nurse)
the changing table
the play yard with the bassinet on top
the baby bouncer/vibrating seat
the Jumperoo (didn't need this until 4-6 months
Baby Trend Diaper Champ disposal system
Binky clips
A good chair for feeding time
Lot's of burp clothes
Hated
baby bath
Diaper Genie
Johnson's baby wash (Caleb is allergic to it)
Baby's first aid kit (get a good thermometer and some nail clippers and that's all you really need)
A boppy is a must. Daniel loved a swing, Laurel hated it. I would say the worst thing I bought was the stroller that went with the car seat - so big and bulky. I would go with just the collapsible stroller frame that the car seat hooks into and then switch to an umbrella or jogging stroller when she can sit up. And I use my port-a-crib all the time (Laurel and Daniel both slept in it exclusively for the first 4-5 months and if you ever travel it's great to have).
Yea for little girls!!
When I had my first I couldn't live without my baby bjorn. But I didn't use it so much with my second and third.
Michelle is totally right about the boppy, but even if you don't breast feed, it's still perfect to prop a baby in so their head is up, and it's quite mobile.
With my second, I couldn't live w/o the vibrator on the bouncy seat.
And my third, I couldn't live without the other children to love and entertain her. Ha! So I don't know what to tell you with that one.
Good luck and have fun shopping.
It's very fun to see what everyone has said. I agree with many people's thoughts.
I'm always full of advice. :} The best thing about other people's advice is that it's optional. Repeat that to yourself often.
I agree with Emilie on the burp clothes. We got so many at showers (5" thick when stacked singly) and thought we would never get through all of them. Boy were we wrong.
I'm torn on the baby bath. At first we used the small pink container they gave us at the hospital. Once her umbilical cord fell off, Sam ended up holding her in the shower which he thought he wouldn't like but actually really enjoyed. I would just stand outside the shower and hand him clean, sudsy cloths. Once she got too heavy for that, the baby bath was good because it had a part where it would help her sit up and kept the water contained in a smaller place. After that though, it is bulky and there isn't anywhere good to store it. I think you can do without as long as your kitchen sink is deep enough.
We still don't have a great thermometer and I wish we did. The one in the kit broke and it's always the first question they ask when you call in with a problem.
The special nail clippers were a waste of money. Your own will work better and at first you don't need them because her nails will be so soft you can just rip her nails off.
One thing that turned out to be great was a 3-in-one swing. She only liked the swing for a bit but it had a seat that could pull out and either be a stand or a rocking chair. For awhile Elisabeth wouldn't nap in her room so I just set her in the stand while I did homework. Now, the rocking chair is her favorite thing to drink milk in and watch "Baby Signing Time." Seriously, we are getting her milk ready and ask her where she wants to sit and she runs to her chair and climbs in it. Definitely a good buy and it can be used again as a swing and stand for baby #2.
Bouncers are awesome! Sometimes you really have to bounce them and it's a safe way to do it. We had one that had cartoon spiders moving up and down and sang the itsy bitsy spider. She liked that and thought the spiders were so cool. We never used the vibrator but they used it a lot at the daycare center.
I never got a boppy but will get one next time around. They have so many uses.
The pack-n-play didn't really work out like we thought it would. We thought we'd use it as a bassinett but no one was getting any sleep so she started sleeping in her crib her 2nd night home. We hardly used it in her infancy and now it is in storage. I was glad we got the sheet cover for the pad. It kept it cleaner.
Changing pad. We've always used it and I found these covers that are soft and fuzzy. Somehow, everything comes out of them when they get dirty.
Buying at least 2 of all bedding items from the sheet covers, changing pad covers, sheets, etc. Elisabeth spit up a lot (hence the need for so many burp cloths) so we were changing sheets frequently. I was glad to be able to quickly get the new bedding ready.
Diaper Genie. We still use ours but it seems like it used to work better, especially for bm's. The bags are pricey but we don't have the option to run out to the garbage after each diaper change so it was a good buy. I've heard the diaper champ is better but who knows.
We like having the option of two strollers. The umbrella stroller is great for quick outings where we don't have a lot of stuff with us. Any trip to the zoo or the like requires a lot of gear so it's nice to have somewhere to set it. They are bulky though. Also, the seat lays back all the way so the baby can nap and you can still walk around. I think you need both. Oh, I don't know what we were thinking but our first trip to the pediatrician, we just carried her in in her car seat. The snap in stroller is so handy and if your recovery is hard you need it to be easy to transport the baby by yourself. We also bought an extra base for the second car. This was a good buy for us.
For the "burp cloths" I highly suggest buying cloth diapers. Think about it...they're VERY absorbent! I thought my mother-in-law was crazy with that one, but they worked better than any of the real ones we were given.
We never used the changing table. I prefer to do it on our bed when they're tiny and on the floor after that. Make sure you use a pad under them or take all the extra chucks from the hospital when you have the baby. If you don't know what they are yet (I didn't) you'll find out!
I have to disagree w/ everybody on the boppy! I hated mine! I did nurse and because I have a long torso it really didn't bring the baby up to where I needed it. I got many back-aches being slumped over TRYING to get my money out of it. Bye bye boppy at the yard sale last week! It is good to prop them up on when they're little, but totally unnecessary.
The little high-chair-type boosters that hook onto regular chairs were awesome for us when we lived in our little condo b/c we just didn't need to take up any more space with a real high chair.
The play-mat/play-yards are AWESOME, as are the bouncers and swings. My boys both slept in their bouncer or swing for at least three months. It's safer for them to be propped up a little so they don't choke if they spit up.
The jumper and exersaucer were both life-savers, too. And definitely a baby gate. I also "tried" getting my money's worth from the baby bath, but it's just not comfortable for them and I've found they like to splash around, even as infants.
Even if you're going to nurse, in MY personal opinion, it's really nice to make sure they CAN take a bottle, too. It'll be nice for Suzy to have a break every once in awhile and leave the baby w/ Casey and for dates as well. I LOVE my Avent pump (I just have the single hand-held. Next baby I'm totally getting the electric, though).
I also recommend you buy a number of different binkies and bottles, not deciding beforehand which you guys like. Baby will have a mind of her own. They're SO picky! We went through five bottle nipples before we found one that was the shape and texture my first boy liked. Same situation w/ binkies and the second boy. And keep the receipts so you can return the ones you don't open!
Another OPINION of mine, but although little tiny shoes are adorable and seem irresistable...RESIST! They don't NEED them at all, they're just one more thing to frantically do as you run out of the house (just wait, you'll see!) and then you have to check every thirty seconds to make sure you haven't lost one the whole time you're gone. They fall off over and over and over and...you get it.
That's all for now! Good luck!
-Crystal
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