So, I've had a few people ask me if I've registered yet. No, not really. I can figure most things out - onesies: check; car seat: check; diapers and wipes: check and check. But there are some things I don't know about.
What's a necessity and what's a luxery? Do I really need a diaper pail? If so, which one is the best one? What about pumps? Baby monitors? Bottles? Pacifiers? Nasal aspirators? I'm sure in some categories most items are created equal (I can't imagine there's that much difference from one nasal aspirator to another). But I don't know. Sure I can read online reviews until my eyes cross, but I'd rather hear from people I know and trust.
So, help me out all of you mothers....what items/brands are on your needs list? What items are a luxery that have become a necessity?
Inquiring mind wants to know.
11 comments:
So I asked this question on my blog just before Justin was born and got lots of good info. Here is the link if you wanna read what people told me.
http://sewmakeme.blogspot.com/2009_01_04_archive.html
(You do have an invite to my blog? if not email me thatssewfabulous@gmail.com)
Now for my own experience...
Diaper Pails..we didn't need one when JJ was on breastmilk. No that he's on solid its a must!!! We have the playtex genie II elite and we like it. I probably go through a bag refil in 3 weeks?
Pumps I would say wait until you know how much you are going to need to pump. I didn't plan on pumping at all but JJ wouldn't nurse so in the beginning I pumped every 2 hours all day for about 4 months. I bought the Medela Pump InStyle and it worked great for pumping so frequently. You may have to go up or down shield sizes. This makes a big difference. When I went up from a M to L it was so much more comfortable. I liked the Lansinoh pads and cream the best.
We have Monitors are tricky I think. My sister in law went through 3 before they got one that actually worked. We have the graco iMonitor Vibe. It doesn't have great reviews but we have used it for a year and its great. Now the battery life isn't that great but we leave ours in the charger at night so we haven't had a prob. I think a monitor is a must but I don't have a loud crier.
The ONLY bottle that worked for us are the Playtex VentAire Advanced. I tried A TON!!! This was the only one Justin couldn't collapse the nipple and since I pumped and bottle fed him we needed a decent bottle. These come in a wide nipple and normal. We used the normal.
Binkys...Justin only like the MAM kind. We tried a lot of these too. But every kid is different I'm sure yours will have a preference. I'd wait and see what the hospital gives you and see if the baby likes it before you buy a bunch. I also think a binky clip is a necessity!!!
Nasal Aspirators...Don't buy one. The hospital should give you one and it will be as good or better than the one you buy. I do recommend getting little noses saline for when they get a cold. Its AWESOME! and so are boogie wipes. they are expensive but have been worth every penny to us.
One last thing I think is a luxury but saved me a ton of time and a ton of tears is a swaddle blanket. We liked the kiddopotomus with the velcro. JJ slept so much better in these. ive heard good things about the aden and anais but never tried them.
Also if you want some good reading I recommend Harvey Karpp's happiest baby on the block. great book. helped me a lot.
Sorry this is so long but I'm not too far removed from this. Justin turns 1 next week!!! Good Luck!
I love handing out this kind of advice. :) For me, the two things you mentioned that are necessities are a diaper pail and a breast pump. For me, I just like diapers in a different garbage than the ones food goes in. I also like that they're closed and contain the smell pretty well. It's too difficult to go to the outside garbage every time you get a diaper.
As for the pump, I mainly was pure nursing, but every now and then we wanted to go somewhere without Timothy and he usually needed some food in between. Eventually I started just trying to find a time of day to pump so I had some milk in stock. The nurses at the hospital were telling me that an electric pump would be $200 or so, but we found ours for about $60-70, I can't exactly remember at Babies R' US (not even the cheapest place to shop). The pump was definitely worth every penny and now we have it for the next kids too.
As far as monitors, our place is small enough that we don't really need one. We can hear him quite clearly.
Timothy has been nice that he pretty much goes with the bottles we give him. I had to supplement him with formula the first week of his life, but since we weren't going to use it often, I just got the inexpensive kind at Wal-mart that comes in a 3 pack. They've worked great.
The hospital gave us 2 pacifiers. They're green and big and they looked funny when Timothy was so small, but they are still what he prefers. I tried to avoid them the first few days to get him used to breastfeeding, which I'm glad I did, but it didn't effect him negatively with eating after that.
I would echo what Whitney said about nasal aspirators (my doctor said to only use them if their breathing is making them struggle to eat and do basic activities, but the nasal drops are great). I also loved Happiest Baby on the Block. I wish I had read it earlier. I also got a lot from Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. That's a great one as their transitioning from the sleep all the time stage to needing more scheduled naps.
Also, just so you know, we never got a crib. We just use a pack n' play and I have loved that. It makes it easy for him to sleep in other places and it fits in his room a little better. But cribs are so cute.
Since Timothy was three weeks early, we were caught a bit off guard so Michael was doing quite a bit of shopping the next day. As time went on, there were some things I found that I needed and others that I never really used. Probably just watch prices and see if you notice not having one.
Have so much fun! It's a little exhausting, but such an exciting time!
alrighty, you wanted my opinions so here they are. (I'm going to go in the order that Whitney did and then add my own comments at the end. Just keep in mind I had double, so I can't really say for one little one. :)
We NEEDED the diaper pail, I couldn't imagine not having one even with breastfeeding. (The diapers do get stinkier as you introduce solids though and probably with formula, but I don't know for sure about that). We used/are using the Diaper Champ and don't really like it too much, so go with Whitney's idea on this. The positive are that the diaper champ uses regular trash bags and is also decent at keeping the smell down, but the bags are very hard to go out once they are full.
I also used the Medella pump in style and thought it was fantastic (I agree with the larger cup sizes as well, yes small boobed Becky needed a large size, hard to imagine huh?) I would recommend a higher grade one if you're definitely planning on breast feeding, although you could wait on this to see how things are looking once you leave the hospital. My friend had a cheaper double electric breast pump that also worked pretty good (espcially for the cost), but I'll have to get back to you on the brand.
Monitors, not much to offer here. We have one that we barely used. Our house is smaller and layered so that we could here if they needed us. A LOT of people I know really like have the video monitor, especially as they get older so you can see what they are doing in their cribs (sleeping, playing, climbing) :) - at time I wish I had one of those.
Neither of my girls really used binkys, so I have no opinion here. We used Avent bottles, but they leaked from time to time if you didn't have the top just right. We rarely used bottles, so I don't have much to offer here either.
Stick with the hospital aspirator, you don't need another one.
I would recommend a diaper bag :) hee hee. Also, I used the Boppy (I didn't like it for nursing, but used it to prop them when they were learning to sit).
I personally think the wipe warmers are a waste. I never used one and my girls were ok with that.
Random things (I don't the brand matters)
Nail clippers/filers
Desitin (or the generic)
Hair brush
Swaddlers (the one Whitney recommended is good)
Bath tub (I would recommend one with a infant holder - it looks like a hammock so the baby can lay down - it left me a little more at ease about them not slipping into the water). :)
I do use my changing table all of the time, but opinions vary on that. I also loved my swing (rainforest/fisher price) and bouncy seat and floor gym (or play mat). Playpen for use in the future.
People usually go for the toys and clothes, so you don't need to register for those.
Sorry about the horrible spelling/grammer/word omition. Girls are ready to get up from nap and crying, so I'm doing this on the go. :)
Oh, I love having a Diaper Champ! (My sis Laurie Ann has one too.)We use the Hefty brand bags in it, and works great for us. And you really should get a changing table! It's SAVED my back!
Do read Happiest Baby on the Block, it's good! But the swaddle he describes didn't work for Ella... she was too big and strong for it, so we had to find another way to wrap her. I had loved my pump... got it at Target for like $60. It's by First Years and called the miPump. I would not have survived that first few weeks without it! Sad part is Ella still refuses bottles, so my frozen milk is just sitting there. Guess I pumped a little too much there at the first, because my body started producing way too much milk and now I have a problem with it spraying all over after let-down. But it's getting better and Ella is learning to drink fast! LOL
Have LOTS of burb cloths on hand. I only have about a dozen and it's not enough. I'm making a bunch more this weekend. People told me that by the first 2 weeks, baby and I would settle into a schedule... but it took us a good 6 weeks. Prolly just because of me. I'm pretty sure you'll do better than I did at first. I was sooo clueless! LOL And when she was about 4-7 weeks old, I could hardly get her to sleep at all... no more than 9 hrs. a day and then only when she was lying next to me. Was frustrating, but now she sleeps 15+ hrs. in her crib daily. What a relief!
I also found having a boppy nursing pillow was very helpful. Find out if the hospital you are delivering at has lactation consulting for free. It sure helped me since I was clueless even after reading books!
We have both a bouncer seat and a swing. Ella loves the bouncy best by far. I think every baby is different though.
If you are wanting a stroller, get a travel system. It's a stroller and carseat that fit together. I've loved mine!
Have a dim lamp for baby's room... the softer light (compared to a normal light fixture) makes it easier for baby to relax and fall asleep. And me too...LOL
That's my 2 cents! LOL You guys will be AMAZING parents! It's wonderful to have your very own little baby!
I'm in the same boat - I only want to get what I really need. The advice I've heard that I didn't think of: get a bouncer seat. You might not use it for long, but it will be super helpful in the first few months (that's what I hear, anyway).
OH... just thought of another thing... my fingers swelled just enough so my wedding ring didn't fit. I got a fake $8 one from Walmart to wear during the last trimester so I didn't have to go around looking like a pregnant single girl. :)
Me again :) Our problem with the diaper champ may be that we use cheap (dollar store) trash bags.
It's up to you, but my opinion is that the crib/nursery sets are very cute, but really a waste of money. The bumpers make it very difficult to change the sheets, (which I had to do frequently in the beginning due to poop explosions and throw ups - thanks to reflux), technically you're not suppose to put them in the crib anyway, but I'm a bad parent :). The comforters (?) just hang over the crib sides and look cute. If you want to save money, just buy crib sheets (2-3 sets).
I also got a travel swing, which was great for entertaining them (when they were younger) at other's houses. This may have been more of a convience because of having two though. I'm sure the bouncy seat could serve the same purpose.
Oh, I LOVE MY GLIDER! I have one in the nursery with a footstool and I love it. I always breastfed in it and it's nice for when I need to rock them. I would highly recommend getting one.
Diaper pail, Must! One with a spot for a nice smelling de-oderizer thingy. You may think, "Oh, I don't need one of those. Baby diapers don't smell that bad, and we can just put the diapers in one of our many garbage cans," and you would be correct for a few months. Then you would find out how bad they can smell, and you (Dan) would be tasked with taking out the garbage every night or a few times a day, which isn't bad if the garbage is right next to your front door, but you like us, live in an apartment and the garbage is a good 50-100 feet from the front door which is way to far to have to walk at 2 am.
I bought a cheap diaper pail: i.e., something with a lid. I personally think the trash should be taken out frequently no matter what. I personally find it disgusting to have it sit there, even inside a special compartment, for longer than that. This is poop we're talking about! Even if there is supposedly a deodorizing compartment, that really is just disgusting if you ask me. I've been to many a friend's house with the "diaper genie" or whatever they are called and the baby's room STINKS. I think they can't smell it because they are used to it.
Alternatively, just flush the poop down the toilet and toss the diaper. Saves lots of stink. But that doesn't really work for newborn explosions so well...
I didn't buy pumps and bottles until I needed them (babysitting, a temple visit, etc.). I got a handheld electric pump Avent brand for not too expensive. Probably $80 (Australian). But he rarely ate from a bottle because I liked breast feeding so much. Pumping was not very convenient with that so not an every day option.
Baby monitors are completely unnecessary, at least from my experience. I lived in a two-story townhome; baby upstairs, me downstairs. I thought it would be an issue, but it wasn't at all. Just left the doors open and I walked up every time he needed a night feeding no problem hearing him. I guess if you are a heavy sleeper it might be more an issue (I'm a light sleeper).
I'm a fan of pacifiers.I don't care which brand. They're all the same to me and to my son.
I don't own and never have a nasal aspirator and my son is two years old.
Essentials: a comfortable, cushioned rocking chair for night feedings. I had the perfect one in Australia. Tried to buy the same one here but ended up with a generic brand and it's not nearly as comfortable. So sad!
A comfortable level change table for changing baby's diaper.
Lots of sleep. Seriously. Make sure you're ready to be exhausted.
But really: I really loved having a newborn. I'm so excited for you!
A good swing is a lifesaver! Check poundage on the swings. We got one off craigslist for pretty cheap and it was great, but only lasted until Tyler was about 13 pounds (only a few months). Then we shelled out the big bucks to get one at Babies R Us that would hold up to 30 lbs and we still have it and will use it for Baby Girl. Even if you end up spending a lot, swings are a must! Babies love them and when your baby gets super congested and can't sleep flat on his back, he'll be able to sleep in her swing. Here's the type of swing that we got - http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2957940. Good luck!
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