Relax. And don’t listen to everybody who walks up to you on the street. Someone random will yell at you for not having a sweater on your baby, because can’t you see he’s COLD, and you’ll put one on and feel guilty, and five minutes later someone else will walk up and yell at you for for having a sweater on the baby, because can’t you see he’s overheating? What is wrong with you, you horrible parent?
It seems you plan to love your baby and care whether or not he/she is well taken care of. So just nod and smile at the random people, and do what you think is best.
For what it’s worth, I rarely used bibs on either of my kids. Neither one was much of a drooler or a spitter, and I didn’t see the point of extra laundry, either.
I thought the exact same thing before my gorgeous girl came along almost 11 weeks ago.
She’s currently not wearing a bib, as she’s dribbled and thrown up on them all and they’re all in the wash, and the front of her onesie is so wet I could wring it out. I get the point of bibs now!
I actually hate onesies, because I hate having to pull clothes over my newborns’ heads, and I hate even more having to take them back off when they’re soaking or covered with poop.
I should get bibs for me. The babies manage to throw up down the front of my shirt about every other day. Bleh.
jkirkman, we’ve got slightly preemie twins, too! I wish sometimes for the manual, but I mostly wish for five extra pairs of hands, a maid, and a nanny. None of those things have appeared.
Okay, I’m feeling better about my onesies and bibs. And good advice about the hats- I’d heard that babies don’t need to be over bundled so I was wondering about all the little beanies that match summery outfits. For the sun! Of course!
I’m not a total moron- really! It just seems like there are so many little accessories! It’s hard to know which ones are necessary (hats, bibs) and which ones are just for cute (I assume that pretty little shoes for a 3-month-old are just for cute).
Actually, since I have good advice at my disposal, there’s a few things from my registry I’m considering buying that we didn’t get.
Do I need:
tiny cotton mittens to keep her safe from her own fingers
nasal aspirator
changing pad
crib bumper (some people say not to use these)
spinning bottle dryer
pack ‘n’ play
swing
Yeah, I’m 6 months pregnant and my “really I promise I’m not an idiot” moments seem to come a lot more frequently these days (witness my car seat thread). I’m glad you asked about the bibs because I’m sure I would have been wondering the same thing soon enough.
Our kid wasn’t a drooler, so we didn’t use bibs except when she was eating (once she got old enough for solids, not when she was just nursing). If your kid is a drooler, you need a million of them.
You don’t know yet whether you need the tiny cotton mittens. Some babies are scratchers. Some aren’t. If you keep her nails short (bite them. Seriously) you should be fine. We never needed the mittens.
We have the boogersucker. A couple of times, when she had a really hideous cold, it was the only thing that unstuffed her enough that she could nurse and that any of us could get any sleep. On the downside, she acted like we were torturing her.
Yeah, go for some kind of changing pad. Sometimes you start changing them and they explode shite in every direction, and you want it to be on something wipe-clean.
We have an Airwrap mesh cot bumper. http://www.tllc.com.au/airwrap/ Completely breathable, but keeps her from getting her feet stuck or dumping her soother out of the cot every ten seconds.
I don’t know what a spinning bottle dryer or a pack ‘n’ play are, but we did OK without them. We didn’t have a swing, either, but I know some people swear by them.
I don’t claim any expertise, but with six kids, I surely have lots of practice…
With my two youngest, I’ve used the pack&play instead of a crib. It’s handy throughout the house, and for travel. If you already have a crib, and no big travel plans, I wouldn’t bother.
Changing pad and aspirator are also necessities, IMHO. Mittens? Maybe, but I just used the little nightgowns with the flap that flips over scratchy little nails. I also have nail clippers with an attached magnifying glass - I think the brand is Safety First, but others may also make them. Handy as all get out! (If you can bite the baby’s nails, that’s easier. I can’t because of lousy tooth alignment.)
And my only “seems maybe unnecessary but I wouldn’t survive without it” piece of equipment: the baby swing. The one I’m using cost about $125, which seemed like too much two years ago (gift from great grandmother) but holy jeez it has been welcome! Music, white noise, battery or electric, one-hand reclining - and cheaper than therapy on days when you just need ten. Freaking. Minutes. (To cook dinner or use the bathroom or just rest your arms and shoulders.)
tiny cotton mittens to keep her safe from her own fingers: we never used them but she did scratch her face sometimes
nasal aspirator: yes, get a Nosefrida
changing pad: we use specially-allocated hand towels
crib bumper (some people say not to use these): probably not; start without, if your kid begins to get arms and legs caught between the slats get a Breathable Bumper
spinning bottle dryer: huh? we air dry ours
pack ‘n’ play: yes. playpen and travel crib.
swing: maybe or maybe not, your baby might or might not like it
Check the onesies to see if there’s a flap to fold over and cover hands - built in mittens! IME, socks can double as mittens, but mittens can’t double as socks.
Nasal aspirator can be handy.
A change pad can be useful, I wouldn’t give mine up, but a towel or similar can be used if you don’t want to buy a single purpose thing.
Crib bumpers are linked to crib death. I wouldn’t use one.
Never used the next two items on the list
A swing can be a great thing to have.
And the tiny bibs that started the thread… I hate them. We have a huge pile and they hardly got used. I’d rather use larger bibs the whole way through.
I was thinking of getting a Nosefrida, so now I will for sure. I’ll skip the mittens for now, getting a changing pad, still thinking about the swing and pack ‘n’ play. I’ll probably get a breathable bumper because the crib just looks naked without it.
iftheresaway, I’m glad I’m not the only one. Here’s another I-promise-I’m-not-a-moron things: I just recently read about packing an outfit to have the baby wear home. I was so proud of having packed my bag already but I neglected that important item. I’m really glad my mom, a neo-natal nurse, is going to be here.
ETA: I’d heard about the bumpers being linked to SIDS, but I’m pretty sure the breathable ones are ok. Hey, while we’re talking about SIDS, what about sleeping with pacifiers? Worth a try? It seems counter-intuitive to me but they’re supposed to help prevent SIDS.
Do you mean a changing pad like this? We have one, and I really like it. We don’t have a changing table: we left the guest bed in what is now the nursery and this is on the bed. It’s nice to have a dedicated changing place, and a cover that’s easy to remove and wash (get 2) and an undersurface that is easy to wipe down.
The one stuffy nose we’ve had, we found the saline drops to really help more than the nasal aspirator. Our pediatrician recommended them.
We never used the mittens. There were some scratches, but they heal just tremendously quickly–almost before your eyes. We just trimmed his nails a lot.
I am pretty anti-bumper. It’s not just the breathing/SIDS thing–I think it’s good for kids to be able to look out and see the world. They need things to think about.
I’d get a swing if it’s not a huge dent in your budget. There is a certain type of fussy that they swing is really good for: it seems to reset them.
My big advice on what to get in advance: EARPLUGS. The lack of consecutive sleep nearly drove me insane. My husband was totally game to take his turn with the baby, but every time the baby even moved I would wake up and either lay there tensely listening (will he go to sleep? Will he wake all the way up? Why isn’t husband getting up? Do I need to wake him?) or, if the baby was then silent, I would get up to check his breathing. I turned into a complete and total basketcase and had a slow, terrible meltdown of a weekend. Finally, I put in earplugs and shut the bedroom door and let my husband sleep the night in the nursery with the baby. Six hours later I woke up sane. Exhausted, but sane. We kept that system up for about three months and it made all the difference in the world.
The two big ticket items: the swing - it would be awesome to find a place that rents these - we went and bought one, then she would NOT relax in it - she was a kid that needed to be actively held at all times - thus the baby Bjorn was a lifesaver - the swing a complete waste of money.
The pack and play was awesome - we used it at home as the changing table - then when we traveled, it was her crib and changing table - so we did get our money’s worth on that one.
So much of these items have to do totally on your baby’s personality. Bouncy seat? No way Jose - Johnny Jump Up? Nope. Walker (the old kind that people say you should never use)? LOVED IT. (we don’t have any stairs that she could have fallen down, though).
You might want to wait on purchasing some of this stuff - if you have a friend or place that you could try them out first - you could save some money and hassle.
OH - and the one thing I buy for every woman whose baby shower I attend - cloth diapers. Not to use as diapers, mind you, but for burp cloths, changing table liners, any place where you may need to mop up lots of wet yucky stuff - or protect something from the wet yucky stuff. I highly recommend a package - I still use them for cleaning around the house 9 years later.
You may find your kid doesn’t take a dummy - my first did (and it was wonderful, until we had to wean her off it at around 5 months as part of teaching her to self settle). #2 wouldn’t take either of the 2 brands I offered her, so she’s being taught to self settle without. Really important to get some good swaddle cloths (big ones) as this is really helpful in getting them to get off to sleep and roll over sleeps (each sleep cycle is around 20 min for a newborn up to around 45 for a 5 month old). Look into Dr Harvey Kapp’s Happiest Baby on the Block for some great hints.
Don’t know if you have sleeping bags on your list, but they are great - no wriggling out from under blankets in the winter and waking cold. My 2 1/2 year old still wears them.
And remember EBay - for the big things you only need for a couple of months. We bought and sold things like a baby bouncer and exersaucer from there, costing us basically nothing but letting us have them when they were needed.
Neither of my bubs were droolers by the way, so we didn’t get much use out of bibs. But love the ones with the scoop for when they start eating, keeps clothing pretty much spotless (as well as the floors).
I would not have survived my children without a swing. And if my one grandson hadn’t had the bouncer thing that hangs from a doorway, he would have driven his mother mad…that boy bounces constantly! He also had pyloric stenosis so he was spitting up constantly before the surgery, and still manages to spit up several times a day, plus the drool…and he isn’t even teething yet! Bibs are his almost constant item of clothing…sometimes just a diaper and bib, sometimes on top of his onesie, which he lives in. Bibs are not just for meals!
[QUOTE=Girl From Mars]
Look into Dr Harvey Kapp’s Happiest Baby on the Block for some great hints.
Don’t know if you have sleeping bags on your list, but they are great - no wriggling out from under blankets in the winter and waking cold. My 2 1/2 year old still wears them.
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I bought that book just a few days ago! I have a couple swaddling cloths, and my mom, the nurse, is a pro swaddler, so I’m looking forward to learning how to burrito my baby. And I have count 'em 3 Halo Sleepsacks- the only clothes items that I myself have purchased. I love the idea of a wearable blanket as a rule, and they were only $9 each (curse you, Zulily!).
I was just doing laundry and realized I only have one pair of infant socks. But they do have nubby grips on the bottom, so my 0-3 month old won’t slip and fall.
I’d really urge you to do your research before deciding to use a bumper (if you have already and this is your decision, then fair enough and feel free to ignore me). Even the breathable ones are not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (cite, cite, cite).
I have one because I couldn’t get the bedding set I wanted without it, and I put it on the cot when I made it up before the baby was born (nesting). It looked gorgeous - they make the cot look “finished” - but I took it off before I ever put my baby in. When I weighed it in the balance, “looks nice” paled next to “can cause death”.
Bumpers are a danger we’re introducing to our kids for no good reason.
But you do probably want a lot more socks than that. (Tip: Clean ones double as mitts to keep baby from scratching. There’s one thing off your list.) And I bought a whole bunch of plain white ones that were exactly the same. I know they’re not as cute, but it saved time sorting. Right up there with the best baby advice that I got.
This works for grownup socks, too. Two or three years ago, I bought my husband 3 dozen black socks and 1 dozen white ones, all the same. He’s picky about his socks, and now all the older socks that aren’t one of these two batches are rolled up and stuck in the “backup clothes” drawer. So nowadays, when he does his laundry, all he has to do is pick up one sock in each hand, and if the socks are the same color, then they are a pair.
