Baby's basic equipment. I need some help here.

In My Humble Opinion
1

I am 5 months pregnant now, and although it seems a little early my mom is way too excited about her first grandchild and offered to buy me the basic “child equipment”. Of course my mom has already forgot what *that *is. She will be in Boston sometime this month and will be there for a a couple of weeks, since it is cheaper to buy certain things abroad it is a great opportunity to avoid all the shopping that will ensue in a couple of months.

My mom is most probably going to get carried away, but I don’t want that, even when it is free I don’t want to buy things that will never or seldomly be used and since I am by nature a very frugal person I will feel guilty if she spends way too much on our child. So… what exactly is the basic ‘stuff’ for a newborn child? We already have a crib/bassinet and I am going to buy the car seat myself since I want something with good safety ratings as opposed to pretty colours -which is what my mom will probably go for.

BTW, I plan to use all-in-one cloth nappies… and I am *not *cheap, I am frugal. :wink:

2

If it were me, I’d get a boppy, a swing, simple clothes, lots of socks, diaper bag, sling, and a first aid kit to get started.
The other stuff–high chair, exersaucer, push toys, cute clothes–can wait until baby’s old enough to use them if you don’t want them cluttering up the house now. If you have carpeting where you’ll be putting the highchair I highly recommend a “splat mat”, mine saved my carpeting a dozen times over.

3

Crib, ‘travel system’ (stroller and car-seat combination) or stroller and car seat, baby swing. Changing table. Baby carrier (like Baby Bjorn or Snugli).

Let’s see… Jimmy loves his Jolly Jumper and bouncy chair, and the mobile and play gym, but they’re not necessary for a newborn.

Sleepers, onesies, diapers, burp cloths, receiving blankets, baby powder, baby oil, baby lotion, baby towels and washcloths, pacifier and a leash for the danged thing, and little baby hats. You don’t want his little head to get cold!

If you weren’t a cloth diaper lady, I would say the Diaper Genie. My house doesn’t smell like poopy diapers because of it.

4

A boppy! Gods, yes. You gotta have a boppy.

5

*belladonna basically covered it. We also had a folding plastic bathtub that fit inside the regular bath, or even over a kitchen sink. It holds a little bit of water in the bottom, but is basically a secure place for a slippery baby to lay while you wash him/her. You could also add no-tears baby soap, hooded towels and little soft washclothes.

6

Congratulations! I still keep thinking of myself as a New Mom - and my daughter just turned one!

OK - the basics - the stuff I absolutely used:

-A boppy - especially if you’re breastfeeding, but even if you’re not. My husband found it much easier to give her a bottle with the boppy.

-A stroller - we got one of those combo deals - the car seat, base and stroller tht all went together. I also had one of those baby hammock/sling type things that I could wear over my shoulder. But, I’m not sure that’s really a necessity. YMMV

Lots of onsies - those little one-piece t-shirts that have snaps at the crotch. She lived in those and if you have a bunch, it’s easier since babies are always spitting up. Also, we loved the nightgowns that didn’t have legs. Instead, it came down to an elastic gather below the feet. Like a bag, sort of, but it didn’t close. Kept the drafts out and made those 3AM diaper changes MUCH easier.

We didn’t need more than one hooded towel. I don’t like the washcloths at all -too rough.

We had a bunch of receiving blankets and I thought we really didn’t need more than three or four - but when she started having spit-up issues at about 6 months, they really came in handy as big burp cloths.

Those little mittens that keep babies from scratching themselves.

We used a sleep-sack instead of a blanket so that we didn’t have to worry about SIDS - we still use that every night.

A bouncer - a small chair that you can buckle the little one in. Usually they’re sort of Z shaped and have a battery-operated vibrating feature. These are GREAT when you HAVE to shower, answer the phone, etc. When absolutely HAD to fold laundry, take a shower, cook, whatever, I’d put my daughter in and just carry her around and set her down near me. A life saver.

Depending on whether you’re breast or bottle feeding you might need to buy some bottles (I breast fed, but used the bottles anyway for expressed milk and when I had to supplement). I use the Playtex Nurser system and really like it - mostly because the nipples are similar in shape to a breast.

A play mat - these are a necessity too, IMHO. Usually a padded bottom and two arcing poles that have things dangling from them. My daughter loved hers. It was also a great way to get “tummy time” for her. We used the Baby Einstein activity mat. It has a star that hangs in the center and plays classical music each time the poles get touched.

Board books! We started reading to her when she was only a few days old and now at 12 months she just loves her books - especially the kind that are touch-and-feel with different textures.

Things I used and really like - but weren’t really absolutely necessary:

A bouncy seat - hung from the door jamb and let her feet touch the floor. My daughter really liked hers

An exersaucer - again, she really liked this too

A plastic bathtub. As soon as she could sit up on her own I stopped using it and instead use a foam mat in the tub (to keep her from slipping).

We started out with a Diaper Genie and really liked it, but now that she’s on solids, it doesn’t work very well anymore. Now we just use cheap zip-loc type baggies for soiled diapers and we have no smell issue at all. Had I known, I probably wouldn’t have bought one.

After a struggle, I was able to breastfeed, but if I hadn’t had a really good Medela breast pump, I would have had to give up. I recommend a good pump if you breastfeed.
I’m sure I’ll think of more…
Whoa - on preview there are now other (better) answers!

7

Gotta second the bouncer – specifically, the Fisher-Price Kick & Play Bouncer. An absolute lifesaver. That, and the Exersaucer (for a little later) are my favorites.

Cheap cloth diapers make excellent burping blankets, and you’ll also need a crapload of onesies.

8

Excellent answers, thanks. You’ve all mentioned things I had never heard of (I know little about children, just trying to catch up now). Could you also please suggest how many of everything I need to buy at the beginning? Also please take into consideration that our kid will be born in the hottest month and in the Caribbean, I doubt he/she will get cold anyways. Our first trip “to the cold” will be when she/is about a year old.

9

BTW, we already ‘inherited’ a Baby Bjorn from my sister in law, but from carrying her baby around I have to say that if my kid is going to inherit his father’s Scandinavian genes it won’t get used for many months. My husband’s niece is absolutely heavy. :slight_smile:

10

Strollerwise, you really have to consider how you get around. If you do lots of walking, you’ll want a good stroller. I’ve got the Runabout Deluxe by Valco-- a really nice 3-wheeler with large tires, folds up quite small, and has an optional bassinet for the first six months. It wouldn’t be that useful if all I was doing was throwing it in the car and walking around the mall.

I’ve got a baby bjorn, and a backpack carrier too (for later in the kid’s life).
Lessee, what else is crowding my apartment that hasn’t been mentioned–), changing table/dresser, cupboard locks…

And a fervent desire to avoid pregnancy message boards. Those ladies have gone insane :wink:

11

Baby product-buying tip: Ignore any and all claims about how such-and-such a toy will make your child smarter or learn faster or whatever. It’s all advertising bullstuff (the “Baby Einstein” videos are especially bad in this regard, IMO).

Just get stuff that gives the baby lots to do; electronic lights and sounds optional.

12

I would agree with this, but must admit that I love the Baby Einstein DVD’s and so does my daughter. We showed her Baby Mozart when she was about 5 months old and she was just captivated by it - same for Baby Bach and Baby Beethoven. Since then she’s watched Baby Noah, Baby Neptune, Baby Gallileo and a few more. I think they’re very well done videos - interesting, lots of bright colors and noises and great music, etc. I certainly wouldn’t say that Baby Einstein DVD’s are a necessity, nor do I believe that watching them will make my daughter smarter or learn faster - but they’re a heck of a lot better than some of the other baby DVD’s out there and a million times better than most cartoons - IMHO. I think they’re great.

13

snork I just cruised by this thread again, and, well, I suddenly realized that the title makes it sound like your baby’s a hermaphrodite or something.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

14

Duct tape. :smiley: