Okay, this is for all you moms out there. We are in the process of starting our baby registry and quite frankly it is a bit stressful for me. I'm not one for having a bunch of stuff we don't need and I'm having a hard time deciding between what Baby Cade actually needs and what just looks little and cute.
So moms out there Help!!! What baby items do you recommend? What does your baby just love? What are things you wish you had? I am drowning in all the cuteness!!
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11 comments:
I know I've told you this before, but really...every mom and every baby is different.
What some moms need, other moms never use.
What some babies love, other babies hate!
For instance...
We had a swing for Anson...he hated it.
We got it back out when Hayden was born. He hated it too.
We got it out for about a week when Ashton was born...he hated the thing...and at that point we said, "Why do we keep putting this huge, bulky thing up in our living room when we never use it?"
Our kids just love being on the floor on a quilt.
So...I think a good stroller/car seat is a must. Slings are incredible. I love a changing table, but I also love setting up mini changing baskets in several places throughout the house. It's nice to have a basket filled with diapers, wipes, burp clothes in the living room as well as the nursery or your room.
A baby bathtub that folds up is great.
We've never owned an exersaucer, but our kids have loved a walker...the simplest, least bulky walker you can find is the best.
That's all I know for now.
Just remember...spending a ton of money on things your baby will only use for a year is silly in light of where else you could spend that money. Borrow as much of the big things as possible...especially since you only use them for a very short time, and there's no guarantee your baby will like them at all.
We always recommend that parents be wise about what they buy as far as furniture, bedding and "first year" items. We have to be honest and admit that those things are for us (the parents, not the baby)...and most of us wouldn't be so wasteful and foolish about money in area areas, but when it's a new baby...we make exceptions.
Spend money on the things your child will use for years!
Heather
I totally agree with Heather about the basket stations in rooms with diapers, wipes, etc...We never really used our changing table, just laid them out on the floor or couch and took care of business.
TONS of nursing pads, if you're gonna breastfeed!
Of course my boys had lots of fun medicines (even ones I tried that had no english words on them b/c I was desperate for help....sorry I won't vent on your blog), but even for just baby tylenol and stuff we loved the medicine dropper that had the nipple attached so it was like a pacifier and they just sucked in the medicine.
I know lots of parents say they won't use a "binky", "pacee", "plug", in adult words...pacifier but it never hurts to have a few different ones on hand...you don't know how many first time moms have insisted they won't use them and then that first night the baby refuses to go to bed or wants to nurse all night long they are digging through gift bags trying to locate the precious plug! I've only known one who hasn't changed her mind at some point!
I totally agree with Heather about the bulky furniture thing and borrowing exersaucers and even swings and things like that, especially at Living Hope there's a pretty good rotation of babies and pregnant ladies so lots of things can be cycled.
The only other thing that I absolutely LOVED was baby gowns, the kind with the elastic at the bottom....YES EVEN FOR BOYS. In the middle of the night when you're changing a diaper basically thru drunk tired closed eyes, its the easiest thing to just pull up the gown and change and pull it right back down and I never had to use a blanket or worry about the getting out of their "burrito" (swaddler) b/c their legs were still covered in the gown. I promise you won't want to mess with snaps on a onsie at night...or you'll do like I did and get one snapped, usually not in the correct matching snap and leave it at that!
If people ask what you want say diapers and gift cards, then after the baby is born you'll just go to your stash of cards and be able to buy the thing that you find you need with your speical little boy.
Baby Stuff.....how fun!
We are very minimal in our approach of baby gadgets. I never wanted an entire room filled with contraptions that we may or may not use.
KK hated a swings, but Laney Rae loved them. When I discovered she loved movement after she was born, we went and bought a small swing- the kind that sit low to the ground and fold up and travel. It was awesome. I could put her in this outside while I was working and it was also just like having a bouncy seat too and we used it when we started baby foods.
The sling was nice too because its the closest thing to being in your tummy all over again to an infant, and soooo soothing to them if done right.
I also recommend swaddling babies and having a good swaddling blanket (I use the Miracle Blanket and its awesome). Its also a great soothing technique for a fussy baby. We swaddled ours from birth and up until they were 4 months old.
I think its silly to have a walker and an excersaucer. I would always go with a good walker. Its basically the same purpose except it will move when they get older. And I've read its really not that great to have them in these for a long time anyways.
I do think its nice to have a pack n play from the beginning in case you need to lay the baby down somewhere not in their room or take along to someone's house.
Wow! There is so much to think about. I let it overwhelm me the first time around because we weren't in a position to be able to buy a lot of things I thought we 'needed'. But, after making do with what we were able to get, I realized how little you actually need.
Get the basics and then wait until the baby gets here to decide what might be helpful to your daily life- bouncing seat, swing, excersaucer, play mat, walker, highchair, etc.
A lot of this stuff you have time to buy it and won't need it for a while. So, it will be great to get to know your babies personality and then buy the stuff.
Invest in a good car seat that will last for multiple children. This is always a great investment. I didn't do this with KK and had to buy a new one when Laney Rae came along.
Sorry to be so long-winded and random. I hope this helps!
Love ya!
Ok, just read Lynsey's comment and totally agree about the pack n play, get one with the basinet insert. I never owned one, I borrowed two of them, one for the living room for daytime and one for our bedroom at night. The bassinet insert in the bedroom one saved my life!!!!!!!! Because I had a c-section I couldn't bend over all the way into the bottom to pick them up so I only had to lift them out of the top....it was wonderful!!!!!!!!
I know some people love the free standing highchairs...I hated Jon Michaels, I felt like I was always moving it around to get around it in the kitchen. With Jalyn we got a highchair that attached to our regular kitchen chair and I LOVED it. Later, when he wanted to sit at the table we just took off the tray and scooted him up with us like a booster seat..we've used that thing for so much, booster for haircuts at home, booster for helping me do things at the kitchen counter...like I said loved it and it only took the room of our kitchen chair didn't add another bulky thing in our kitchen.
Hey Erin and Matt! Here is my two cents on this as a fairly new parent myself. The one thing we cannot live without is our video monitor. It is a little pricey but we LOVE this thing. You can see the baby so you can tell the difference between a "real" cry and a "i'm going right back to sleep" cry. It also allows you to see what they are up to without them being able to see you. Nice when they get a little older! I agree with what everyone else said about the pack-n-play. We only use ours on trips but you would be surprised how often you need it. Oh, and we were avid swaddlers. We used the velcro swaddle blankets and Price literally started sleeping like 5 hours a night when we started. He was swaddled until he was almost 5 months old! He LOVED it. I also agree that you should register for some baby medicines like tylenol, Motrin, Mylicon (for gas), etc. They are kind of expensive and its nice when you have them on hand when you need them! Anyway, hope this helps. You'll still get stuff you don't need but you will enjoy having it all around, it's such a special time!
Hey Erin and Matt! We are so excited for you guys! We cannot wait for little Cade to be here. We miss you guys! There have been many things that we have found extremely helpful...
1. Swing...the one that goes both ways. Its a life saver for your arms.
2. Humidifier for the first time they get a cold.
3. SwaddleMe- easy velcro swaddler
4. Avent pacifiers- she didn't like the soothie ones for some reason.
5. Mustela infant bath supplies- smells so baby fresh!
6. You can never have too many soft blankets or socks.
You two will be awesome parents! We love you guys!
Hey Erin,
Ok...baby's are definitely not "cookie cutter." As you guys know from what we have told you about Eden, she is definitely one of a kind!!
- She HATED the swing when she was a tiny baby, but now at 5 months she likes it.
- We borrowed an exersaucer and she absolutely loved it from the minute she got in it at aroud 3 1/2 months.
- She LOVES her bouncy seat. Those are pretty cheap and are great for when she wants to watch...
- Baby Einstein. She loves baby einstein videos. Of course we limit her time with them, but she gets all excited to watch those so if you just need to eat your breakfast or lunch in peace stick one of those in and see what baby Cade does. She liked those since she was like 2 or 3 months old.
- We bought a play gym for her when she was 3 months old and she liked it then, but she LOVES it now.
- Bathtub is a must. She loves the baths and for a while the only way to get her to take a nap would be to give her a bath and nurse her because she associates her baths with bedtime.
- Get one of those yellow sponge bear shaped things for when he is a tiny baby. You can't give them baths in the tub until their umbilical cord falls off so you need the sponge to lay them on the counter and give sponge baths to.
- A&D ointment. We have Desitin and butt paste and the ointment works so much better than any of those creams for her red booty!
- Huggies wipes are our favorite - even compared to HEB brand. They are just better - hand's down.
- Eden will not take a pacifier or a bottle! We have every kind of pacifier available and she doesn't like any. She is 5 months and is taking a Born Free Trainer sippy cup - she loves it.
- We got these little things that you put food into - they are like little nets with a handle. She loves Canteloupe and watermelon, so since she is a nurser and won't take a bottle or pacy we put pieces of fruit in there to give her something to suck on when in public. She loves it!!
My piece of advise to you -
* Do what works for you!! Lots of people are going to tell you what to do and not to do, but you just do what your mommy instinct tells you and what works for you and Matt. Eden still sleeps in our room in her pack and play (a MUST by the way) because she nurses throughout the night and it's the only way I can get rest is to keep her in our room. That works for us!! There are so many things you are going to find that just works for ya'll so do it and don't try to get caught up in what other moms or people tell you to do because in the end it's all about YOUR baby not theirs.
Ok that's all I can think of for now. If I think of anything else I will post more.
The Good news is half of what you need/ will try is right here in my house. Your pile of stuff is growing! yay!
jenn
Ok, time for a Daddy's perspective...
The first couple of months are strictly survival mode, you just pray REALLY hard and try and encourager each other as much as you can.
Save your gift cards that you get until after the baby is born and use them to try out the things that your normally wouldn't buy but you have heard will help sooth, comfort, give you rest etc.
Many people will offer their oppinions but in the end you need to do what is best for your family and not worry about what others will think or say or have said!!!
Eden is now 5 months and we have still not had to buy diapers!!! Praise the Lord for amazing friends that have brought over diapers and for a GREAT diaper shower!! Def. have one of those!!
Try and keep the buying to a minimum until after the baby comes, you will very quickly figure out the things that YOU absolutely need and the things that you can do without!! Plus you have Matt to run out and get you what you need!
So excited for you guys and proud of the parents you are already striving to be.
Anxiously awaiting the arrival of my future son-in-law!
Nick
I am reading this thinking you are probably just as overwhelmed as you were when you started! :-)
Micah is now 7 months so I can tell you what has been key thus far. Every baby is different and everyone will have different opinions about activity type stuff but here is a few things I think are totally necessary:
1) Big stretchy swaddling blankets (I love Petunia Pickle Bottom ones)
2) Boppy (a must... we still use ours)
3) A sling
4) A good diaper bag with lots of pockets
5) Mylicon gas drops
6) Praise Baby (it's like Baby Einstein but to worship music)
7) Space Saver high chair that attaches to a kitchen chair (I just sold my big high chair and bought this and LOVE it... it takes up no space at all but still has all the functions of a normal high chair)
Other bit of advice: test drive strollers. I know it sounds strange but you'll be glad you did. I now have 3 strollers and that is totally unnecessary but I ended up not liking stroller #1 at all (wayyy too big and bulky).
Have fun!!!! I know registering is so overwhelming but this is such a fun time! Enjoy it! I'm so happy for you guys!
Sorry I'm commenting so late on this, but for us, the bouncy seat was a must. You can move it anywhere. I always put it right by the shower so I could peek out and see him or her.
I'm all about pacifiers. Even if your nursing. Mine never had a problem with that.
With the boys, I had to go with more expensive diapers, because they seemed to have more leaks. Pampers were great for us, but others are good, too. Some of the cheap diapers feel like cardboard!
I think walkers are awesome! I only had one with Camille, I think, and it was so great! Foster parents were allowed to use walkers by the time Samuel came along and I was totally bummed.
The pack n' play with the bassinet feature is wonderful!
A jogging stroller. They are so expensive - so look at garage sales starting now! You need to get out of that house and get fresh air EVERY DAY, Erin! Every single day if possible, even for a short walk.
The nursing bras that are like sports bras are awesome for nighttime.
Date night once a week. You NEVER could have convinced me of this when we had our first few, but after that, I realized the need. It won't be easy to leave him, so don't worry if it's only for an hour or so at first. That's fine. We're open for keeping Cade during date nights sometimes! :)
Melodi
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