What do I need for a new baby?

In My Humble Opinion
21

I second (third?) the boppy pillows. Great for breastfeeding and for baby to sit in. Also, nursing bras. I love these:
http://glamourmom.com, they are so comfy I live in them and sleep in them too. A little pricey but I started with 2 and now I have four and I just love them. Plus they help keep a postpartum tummy under control. I recommend them to every nursing mom.

Some babies don’t like swings but mine lived in one for a few months, that or the bouncy seat (these are cheap and well worth it). Also a white noise machine, or there are lots of toys that come with them now.

Lots of people recommended a pack and play to us but we don’t use ours much, it has become more of a toy bin than anything else. I did use the bassinet feature on ours the first few months when he stayed in our room though.

Plenty of pajamas, I like the sleep sack type ones the best with a zipper instead of snaps, makes it easy for night time diaper changes.

Congrats :slight_smile:

22

Anyone but me find this (given the context) hilariously funny?

Oh.

Ok.

Carry on then…

23

Tons and tons and tons and tons and tons of patience.

Oh, and binkies. Lots and lots of binkies. Put them everywhere - in every room, in the cars, in your pockets…

And congrats! Having kids is the best thing in life.

24

SEX!

I doubt you can have a baby without it. :smiley:

25

This has changed actually, now they iodine the stump and the only thing you have to do is make sure it stays dry (don’t freak if a few drops get on the stump, but sponge baths until it falls off)

I also second the cloths draped over the penis trick.

26

I think I’m a little beyond the point of needing that, although my husband will probably appreciate your suggestion.
Does anyone have any suggestions on brands? If I were to get a swing or a bouncer seat, any particular one that’s better? Any brands I should stay away from?

27

Don’t sweat it…in a few months you’ll be looking at either whatever is cheapest (my kid won’t die if I buy nearly expired and on sale childrens motrin - will they?) or whatever is fastest to grab from the shelf (because the baby is about to explode in a tantrum, you need to feed him, you have friends coming over for dinner, no clean underwear, and really need a nap). You’ll stop worrying about getting the “best” brand and start just worrying - but more about the basics - like how to keep an eight month old off the stairs. There is little a baby can wear out.

Seriously, find someone with all this stuff in their basement and borrow it…

But:

Good baby gates…We had these weird U shaped ones (don’t know the brand, sorry). You open and shut these so often for a few years that its worth finding ones you like.

A good humidifer for the babies room. You’ll buy one every few years (my oldest is six and the humidifer is in his room - of course, we are in Minnesota where the humidity is really intolerably low in the winter) even if you buy a good one. We currently have a Vicks with a fan and a seperate water container.

If you buy something that baby will attach to, you might want three. My daughter has three identical blankets and two identical stuffed ducks. I wish she had two interchangable dolls. But the two ducks and three blankets have come in very handy.

28

I’ll disagree with whoever said to keep formula on hand “just in case”, and here’s why:

There are virtually no emergencies in baby-feeding that mean the baby will starve to death in the time it takes to go to the C-store and get a can of formula. When breastfeeding doesn’t go well, it’s still rare that baby is getting nothing - in fact, the usual end of breastfeeding is the mother’s discomfort, unrealistic expectations, or peer- or family-pressure…and not baby’s nutritional status.

However, when it’s 3 in the morning, and baby is 2 or 3 weeks old and cluster-feeding for 3 hours at a stretch, and mom is so sleep-deprived that she can’t think straight, and some person, meaning to be helpful, insists on giving that baby a bottle “to let mom sleep”…when what she and the baby NEED are those hours of endless suckling that tell the body “I’m a growing baby, make more milk!”…one bottle of formula can spell the beginning of the end of a successful, exclusive breastfeeding relationship. Now, if you’re knowingly willing to take that risk in exchange for a couple of hours of sleep, then that’s your choice - go ahead, have ready-to-feed bottles, they’re reportedly gentler on baby’s tummy - but realise that in some mother-baby pairs, especially during a growth spurt in the early weeks, one bottle of formula can make the difference between mom “having enough milk” and mom becoming convinced she doesn’t.

I’m a firm believer that many, if not most mothers who “didn’t have enough milk” really would have, if somehow their supply had not been sabotaged, either by unnatural feeding schedules, or by supplemental bottles of formula.

One bottle of formula also changes the flora in the baby’s gut, if you care about that sort of thing.

I highly recommend misc.kids.breastfeeding for online 24/7 support for breastfeeding questions and problems. Try getting that kind of support from your doctor, midwife, lactation department at your local hospital, or the LLL.

And now I’ll change the subject, and suggest something nobody else has: cloth diapers for using as diapers.

I, personally, prefer the Mother-Ease brand - they’re adjustable, one size fits babies 8 lbs to 35 lbs (or, they fit my kids in those ranges). The setup cost is high, but the per-use cost, however, is very low by the time potty-training comes around. The nylon snaps are sturdy and do not fill up with lint the way velcro fasteners do. Mine - which outlasted my twins, and are now doing duty for my youngest at 17 months old - are finally so threadbare that I have had to sew homemade toweling doublers into them to add absorbency. And yet the snaps are as sturdy as ever they were. They’ll go into the trash when she potty-trains. These things were never meant to last for 4 years of non-stop use! I wash about once a week now…it was 2 or 3X/week when she was little. I find it no more burdensome than any other load of laundry, and no more work than carrying a heavy bag of used disposables out to the curb. And I never run out and have to make a panic run to the grocery store for diapers, either. :smiley: But, of course, there are a million gazillion other cloth diaper brands out there, from the now-commercial Fuzzi Bunz system, to all the WAHM-made diapers (some of which also have nylon snaps), to the high-quality Chinese cotton prefolds (4-8-4). Whatever you do, if you consider cloth, don’t buy the crap on the shelves at your local department store. You’ll just waste your money, and become convinced that cloth is as bad as your mom remembers. Buy quality. It’s worth it.

I loved my Snap-n-Go stroller. Mind you, I still have the darned thing (want to buy it? :p) and it’s no good once they outgrow their infant car seat. I dislike the weight and bulk of the ‘travel system’ strollers, personally.

I loved my portable swing (which I still have, want to buy it? I’ll make you a heck of a deal). I could carry it from room to room and take it in the car with me.

We sure didn’t use our playpen much. It mostly collected toys. I finally folded it up.

The best baby blanket I have, I sewed myself from two layers: polar fleece on one side, cotton knit on the other. I saw one of these in a store for a lot of money and came home and made one myself out of scraps.

Target carries microfleece pajamas in sizes up to 5T. They really are wonderful. Not too hot, as other blanket sleepers can be.

For swaddling a baby - if yours likes it, my youngest was done being swaddled by day 2 - you might buy a full-sized flat flannel sheet (thrift stores are great for this). Cut it in quarters and hem or serge the edges. These are much larger than standard ‘receiving’ blankets and are less likely to come unwrapped at the first determined wiggle.

Speaking of babies, mine’s just up from her nap. Gotta run.

29

Okay, I was just suggesting… but then I had the experience of trying to sneak into a Wal-mart on Boxing day with a newborn baby to snag a case of formula and bottles… That’s the reason I suggested :slight_smile:

(It took me a month to get to the LLL and by that time I had already talked to several nurses and tried various ways to get him to latch and pump milk with no way to get a pump…)

I can see how that was bad advice though. I do suggest bottles though, that way she can put milk in them for later if she needs a break and let hubby or some helping hand feed baby.

30

I think it was good advice. But then, my sister’s newborn spent four days in neo natal ICU after bad “only breastfeed, avoid nipple confusion, don’t disrupt the breastfeeding relationship” advice in October.
Babies may not manage to starve to death, but they can get dehydration jaundice and get liver damage between the time you recognize the signs and the time you start to get formula into them. For my sister, this was hours from the time she and the baby were released from the hospital before they were put in an ambulance and rushed to a hospital an hour away with a better neo-natal ICU. Normally dehydration jaundice isn’t serious…this time it was. By the way, both my sister and her husband are nurses, so they are somewhat better trained than average at identifing when something is wrong.

Which is the other thing to have on hand - a peditrician. If you haven’t found one yet, the hospital will send one around to you. But you’ll need your own a few days after being discharged.

31

Go ahead and invest in one of those ear thermometers.

Start with the cheapest disposable diapers first. I recommend Dri-Bottoms at Wal-Mart. With any luck you will get a kid with the skin of a rhino and won’t have to pay more for the expensive ones.

Desitin Creamy.

You’re gonna want 2 diaper bags: one for every day, and one that lives in the car. That way when you realize one day that you forgot to grab the diaper bag on the way out the door, you’re still good to go.

Forget the bouncy seat, at least for now. Most babies love swings, though, but be careful. Mine was terrified the first time we put her in it (3 weeks old). By the time she was 6 weeks old, she loved it.

Snuglis are cool. I’m a big believer in holding a baby as much as possible (not just Mom, anyone will do: Dad, granny, aunts, cousins, friends, etc.) and a Snugli can take some stress off of your arms and still keep the kid close.

32

Spongemom, that forum makes my head hurt.

33

Ear thermometers are great for older kids, but are not accurate for young babies. We bought one too but our pediatrician told us not to use it yet, so you will also need a regular or digital thermometer. Your pediatrician can tell you how to take a temp and what thermometer to use.

34

I will definitely second the nasal syringe. DO NOT go cheap on this!! Those that you can get at the store are CRAP. You couldn’t suck water out of a cup with one of those, much less clear the nose of a struggling baby.

A swing–if you can afford it, get the battery-operated kind. Nothing is nicer than having them go to sleep in the swing and having it wind down, so they wake up. And if they don’t wake all the way up when the swing stops, they will when you BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!! wind it back up! Oh and try to find the kind that is open at the top–no overhead bar to get in the way of putting them in or taking them out (and for you to bang your own head on!).

As far as brands go–I wasn’t real high on Safety First. They’re a bit on the cheapo side and my sister said their bouncy seat fell apart very easily, too.

I wish I could give advice on pre-buying diapers. But I never seemed to get it right! When I was pregnant with my oldest, I bought a couple packs of the newborn size. She weighed almost nine pounds and wore that size only in the hospital and the first week at home–then I had to get size 1. (Fortunately, a cousin had a baby three days after I did, and she was able to use the diapers!) So the next time I figured I’d get size 1–if they were too big, then I could get the newborn and use the bigger ones later. Oh no–he was just over 12 POUNDS–and only wore the size one in the hospital–and it was a tight fit even then. SOOOO I had to run out and get size 2!! The smaller ones went to my sister, who had a baby three weeks after I did. The last time, I just decided to wait and see. She was a healthy 10 pounder, so I was able to use size 1–but no way was I taking the chance THAT time!! :smiley:

35

When you first come home you do not really need a lot.

Carseat (can not leave the hospital without it)

Diapers ( You may want a case of the newborn size then a bunch of the next size up, the newborn size won’t work more than a couple weeks)

Cloth diapers (I went the diaper service route with my daughter and only used the disposable when we were out shopping or something, In our case it was because she developed an alergy to the perfumes in many of the disposable diapers.)

Diaper wipes. (You can use washclothes for this but I liked the disposeables)

Desitin You do not need it every time and two tubes should last till you are done with diapers (One for diaper bag and one for house) but I found this stuff wonderful

Nightgowns (I liked the kind with the drawstring on the bottom they sort of dont need to be any particular size and she used them up till we took the strings out and they were a regular nightgown.

Onesies: Lots

Carseat snowsuit thingy: This is just a baby bag thingy with a hole where you buckle the carseat. It doesn’t have legs. This is so much easier when the baby is sleeping than trying to put it into a regular snow suit. It won’t work for the second year but if your baby is due this time of year it is wonderful.

Snugglie.

Stroller (At first the umbrella strollers won’t work) One of the car seat stroller conversion thingys would be helpful at first

Basinet ( I kept this on the main floor and it had wheels. It came to the kitchen when i made dinner it was in my office when i drew etc etc. I also had a crib upstairs but i messed up and she wound up sleeping with me till she was about 4.

Ear thermometer.

Other than that some clothes and blankets and socks. You wont need the swing or playpen or any of that stuff till later. Half the stuff on this list isn’t essential either. Mostly you need stuff to keep them warm a car seat and diapers. Other than that they don’t do much but sleep and eat for a bit anyway. They poop too but don’t really stop the other two activities to do it.

36

Okay, so you may not NEED a bouncy, but they sure are handy. You can get a cheapy at Walmart (less than $20), or you can get a pretty spiffy one if you want to spend a little more. We have the Fisher Price Aquarium Bouncer and my little girl absolutely loves it. It was the only way I could put her down for more than like, 10 seconds in the first few months.

A baby sling (or wrap) is also a big help. I’ve never been comfortable using one before the baby can hold his/her head up, but now (about 3 months), Baby Dax loves for me to carry her around in her sling and she’s learning to like the Baby Bjorn (what daddy uses).

Oooh, the best diaper cream we’ve ever found is Dr. Smith’s. It’s pretty expensive, but it can clear up a nasty rash overnight. Our daycare teacher recommended it and it’s been a lifesaver.

Breastfed babies can be pretty picky about bottles, if you decide to buy some (I do recommend that you do). You might check out the Avent Isis breastpump/bottle system. Isis is probably the best manual pump you can buy, and you can pump right into their bottles, and most BF babies seem to tolerate the Avent bottles pretty well.

37

Exhausted, breastfeeding mother of a 12 day old baby girl here.

Do NOT buy formula “just in case”. I was up all night feeding my barracuda because she needs me to produce more milk. It only lasts a day or so and being tired is part of being a parent. I would have loved to give her formula so I could rest my achy back for five minutes but I reminded myself that I cannot be lazy anymore.

Regarding breastfeeding: it sucks (har har), but hang in there. Apparently it gets easier.

On top of what everyone else has suggested, I recommend a warm knit blanket. I like one that has large stitches so if it falls over her face I know she can breathe.

One more important thing: If guests come and don’t bring food or diapers, don’t take out your garbage or don’t do your dishes, they are a drain and send them away.

And yet another: Listen to all the advice people will give you but then decide for yourself. He’s your baby and you can do what you want!

38

I’m going to second waiting on the ear thermometer. They simply aren’t accurate on babies. I recieved one as a gift and it was hard to get a good reading on it. A rectal thermometer is much more accurate.

My favorite diaper cream was and still is Burts Bees. Pricey, but I think it works really great. It has a nice smell, too.

Here’s something that threw me for a loop: baby ecsema. I had no idea about this! A few weeks after she was born, she started getting red spots (the skin will start to flake, but these were spots). Apparently a lot of babies can get this. I used a cream by California Baby (you can find it in health stores) and it went away almost instantly.

My favorite baby shampoos and cleaners are Mustela. They can be pricey, but they last for ever! My baby is almost one and the shampoo foamer thing is only 1/2 gone.

One place I recommend is www.babycatalog.com . With a membership, you can save 10% and on some large items, free shipping!

My theory is why go out and shop if you can have it all come to you?

39

I forgot to add one thing:
the one diaper cream that really sucks is the one that is in the pump.
It is so runny! I ended up giving it away.

40

I like Weleda Diaper Care cream for actual diaper rash (red bumpy owie stuff) and Weleda Calendula Cream for redness that hasn’t erupted yet. Usually the calendula cream means the diaper cream isn’t needed - it prevents the rash from expressing. The calendula cream can also be used on excema, cradle cap, little baby-nail scratches, chapped chins and cheeks or mom’s nipples and hands.

My favorite baby sling by far (I’m a newborn nanny, so I see and carry lots of 'em!) is the Maya Wrap . It’s very, very simple and the same wrap can be used for premies up to toddlers. When they’re running around, the loop goes around their belly and it becomes a kid leash. (Yes, I know you’ll never use a leash on your kid. Just wait until you’re at the crowded mall and the kid refuses to stay in the stroller for one more minute and she’s just to heavy to carry. Holding onto a piece of fabric is infinitely better on your back than trying to hold that slippery hand in a crowd of people!)

The Maya Wrap is unpadded, which means it’s much more comfortable in the summer, it doesn’t have straps or buckles or hardware to get in the way of snowsuits in the winter (actually, I wear the wrap and baby under my own very large coat, so we don’t even need a snowsuit for the little 'un). You can use the tail end of it to cover up and breastfeed in total modesty in a public place without juggling a blanket that keeps falling off your shoulder. You can even use two to carry twins, or one toddler and one infant!

Someone here told me about the Amby baby hammock when I asked for baby stuff suggestions. I’m *so *getting it. It looks fantastic!