Costco is a great source for baby stuff. For example, baby wipes. They come in those packages of about 100; if you go to the pharmacies or grocery chains, they tend to sell them by the individual package. Costco sells them by the box of 12 packages at a much better price. (and yes, you will go though 12 x 100 baby wipes in no time!)
also baby clothes, particularly sleepers - they sell good lines of sleepers at a good price, in the same pattern for different ages, so as the little Neville ages, you can just buy the next one up if you thought it was particularly cute. There was one fish pattterned sleeper that we bought at three different times, as the Cub grew out of one size and into another.
Talk to the nurses/doctors. They’ll all say things like “We’re not supposed to tell you to let the baby sleep with you.” then when you say “But what if we both fall asleep while nursing?” they’ll admit that every nursing mother ever throughout history has slept with their baby, and that mothers really are aware of their children and unless you’re at a severe risk factor (e.g. on serious drugs), you’re not going to roll over on them or anything, and as long as you make sure blankets can’t get wrapped around their head, you’ll both be fine.
Moving on, I think you really should learn how to install the car seat. At some point, you’re going to have to move it to a different car (vacation, car breaks down, going somewhere with a friend who also has a baby..). It’s not brain surgery; if you can understand star formation and put on your own seat belt, you can install a baby car seat.
I second the advice to find someone with a child 3-6 months older than yours (and be ready to pass things on in turn). Baby clippers are probably good.
Finally, while I haven’t used one myself (lacking the proper glands); I understand nursing mothers have found something like this http://www.diapers.com/p/milkies-milk-saver-165453 helpful. Turns out milk tends to get let down in both breasts at once, and baby only has one mouth. Even if you’re not saving the milk, this device can keep you from completely soaking pads,bras, shirts, and everything else in range.
We havve said fuck it on the socks, and we’re pretty happy with how that’s going. Neither of our kids were/are very temperature sensitive, though. YMMV.
I agree on figuring out the carseat. It is a good idea to get it installed by the firefighters (if they know what they’re doing), but it’s also important for you to be prepared to install it on the fly if you have to.
Looking at Vorlon post, the brain sucker is key. I’m pretty cool on Mylocon, though. It made our older daughter’s gas worse when we gave it to her, and the pediatrician said we should call them before administering it next time (not that we ever did). So far, our little bird has had pretty smooth sailing in that department.
Definitely–and it MUST be a good quality one. I always got one in my hospital gift pack. Nothing I ever bought from any store was as good as these were.
If you go the pacifier route (I did), make sure you have more than one on hand. Nothing like hunting for it while Junior cries his head off. (One time, I ended up in the ER with my year and a half old son for Tylenol ingestion and didn’t have the binky. He was a big boy, and heavy–12 lbs AT BIRTH–and I was about 5 months pregnant to boot. He fussed and cried and wouldn’t go to sleep until the nurses took pity on me and sent for a pacifier from the maternity ward. A pacifier can be a good thing, but heaven help you if you lose one and don’t have a spare!)
If the hospital doesn’t give it to you, ask your pediatrician at the 3 day appointment. Ours, at least, gets huge quantities of free formula samples, and by “samples” I mean entire cans of formula.
Our son couldn’t stand those swaddling contraptions. We ended up getting these Aden and Anais brand muslin blankets that are pretty big, but yet pretty cool for summertime sleeping. They worked really well
The biggest thing though, that I’d say you need is a copy of “Happiest Baby on the Block” from Dr. Harvey Karp. The book or the DVD will work.
It’s the freakiest thing- like baby voodoo when it comes to making them quiet down when they’re agitated.
Buy a pack or two of cloth diapers; Wal-Mart has 'em. They work great as urp cloths and can also be used as a very light blanket when the baby is napping.
I wouldn’t bother with new clothes much except for special occasion outfits. Hit up yard sales; this is a great time of year to be pregnant
Personally, having brought six kids home from the hospital, I’m a minimalist. My list of must-haves:
Car seat, of course
A safe place for baby to sleep. (I’m using a pack & play for the Wee-est Matata. It’s one with the platform for newborns - handy to keep next to your bed for those first few weeks, and a changing platform and storage for diapers and wipes. It’s also portable enough to move from bedroom to den to grandma’s house, as needed. I didn’t bother with a full-size crib. Mine have been climbers, mostly, so the regular crib was just a big, heavy, expensive piece of furniture that was only useful for about 10-14 months. The portable crib works just fine.)
A couple of packs each of newborn and size one diapers, if you’re using disposables, along with some unscented baby wipes.
Bath supplies: baby soap and lotion (I like Aveeno or the generic, since two of my kids had such sensitive skin that the perfumes in J&J or Baby Magic brands gave them rashes,) and cotton pads (less linty than cotton balls, nice and soft for cleaning around eyes and umbilical stumps.) Some moms want a baby bathtub and special towels and washcloths. I use the kitchen sink and regular towels and washcloths, and a hand towel to line the bottom of the sink for extra traction.
First aid supplies: a nose suction thingy (which came from the hospital,) infant acetomenophen and Mylicon drops, and a decent thermometer (I like the digital one that can be used on forehead, ear, or has a rectal probe.)
A couple of pacifiers can be a life/sanity saver in those couple of days before your milk supply comes in. I’m of two minds about having a bottle and formula handy - that’s your call.
A diaper bag, preferably with a portable changing pad.
A couple of “going out in public” outfits, and a good handful of onesies, t-shirts, and/or nightgowns. (Nightgowns are great because they usually come in size 0-6 months, so they work for even large babies, and they usually have the fold-over flaps to cover little fingers with sharp fingernails.)
Speaking of fingernails, I have a set of tiny little nail clippers with a built-in magnifying glass. Those things are awesome! (I think the brand is Safety First.)
A dozen or so cloth diapers and some blankets, for swaddling, burp cloths, “pillow rolls” for baby in carseat, etc.
For myself: a nursing bra, heavy duty maxi pads, and a tube or two of lanolin cream for sore nipples.
It’s also good to start stockpiling groceries a bit. Having a week’s worth of extra food in the freezer and pantry is a huge help in those first days. It’s especially nice if you plan ahead enough to cook and freeze a meal or two, or at least prep some ingredients (a couple of packs of ground beef, browned and bagged in the freezer; some onions and peppers chopped; etc.)
