I research stuff. It is what I do. So, when I found out I was pregnant, I started the quest for the best. I know that no one is the perfect parent, but I wanted to be prepared. My friend is due in June and I promised I would write down all of the stuff we got and tell her what we bought and registered for and why.
You get all sorts of advice about what will be "lifesavers," but really, each little baby and the set of parents that go with him or her are very different. Here is what worked and didn't for us.
KEEPING TRACK: Let me just say that you are very tired and overwhelmed that you went into the hospital with two people and came out as three. It is a crazy idea, really. You are used to your routines and how you do things and all of this has been turned upside down. Our number one "lifesaver" was the Baby Connect App where you can keep track of feedings, sleep and diapers. This app even lets you log what color the poop was, though Jamie and I tired very quickly of this feature because we could never agree on what color was in the little darling's diaper. Bailey had to eat every hour and we had to be careful to make sure we were getting enough in her. It has a graphing feature that tells you how many diapers you went through in a day and how many ounces your baby ate that day. We took it to the doctor and she asked us how much Bailey was eating and Jamie pulled out the ipad and told her the exact amount. As he was graphing, she looked at him and said, "why don't you just give me a ballpark." I don't think she was quite as impressed. We took a break from writing everything down, but now that we are trying to get her into a sleep schedule we have gone back to writing down eating and sleeping. I will say it again...LIFESAVER!
BABY PRODUCT ADVICE: I signed up for the Baby Consumer Reports and that was the only really useful information I found there and felt like that was a waste of money.
SWADDLING: I got the Miracle Blanket (actually two of them) and took one to the hospital. The nurses sort of laugh at those things and this was especially true because Miss B was so small. This thing was so big that it was hard to get it tight enough. The nurses laugh at these because they can swaddle like no body's business and could probably do it with a cocktail napkin. WATCH THEM CLOSELY! You are very sleepy and overwhelmed, but this is a lesson to learn before you get home. If your baby is a normal size you can cheat and use the Miracle Blanket and it makes it much more idiot-proof.
MONITOR: We got the Sony Baby Call and we HATED it. We got it because our friends had one, but they live in Jersey with lots of space and in small apartments we found that the feedback is horrible and every time we would walk by there was a loud screaming noise that (not to mention the static) would send the dogs into a barking fit. We now have the Philips AVENT Basic Baby Monitor with DECT Technology and we love it. It is quite until she cries and it has these great blue lights that show when she is fussing. It also has a feature where you can talk to the baby from the monitor station, which will be nice when she is older.
SWING: Every parent I know told me that we would need a swing and they were right. A swing was my first nursery registry, even though it was a pricey item. I heard about the million dollars that people spent on batteries (that eventually end up in a landfill), so my first requirement was that it plugged in. We registered for the Fisher Price Rainforest Open-Top Cradle Swing because the reviews were decent and I liked how it looked. We got and put it together and practiced with our dog Copper. He was not thrilled, so we borrowed a friend's 6 month old. Two days later, it stopped working. We turned it on and NOTHING. We of course didn't have the box any longer, so I creatively packaged it up and sent it back to Amazon for a full refund. Bailey was to come in two weeks and we just decided we would wait and see if we needed one. Well, we needed one. Hesitant to go back to Fisher Price, but again, this had the best reviews, we went with the Fisher Price Luv U Zoo Swing (http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Luv-Zoo-Cradle-Swing/dp/B0042D69WO/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1331264221&sr=1-1) with AC adapter and it has worked like a charm for five months. I mean, we have really used this thing. Bailey has slept five hours at a time in this sucker.
BOPPY: This was great for parking her when she was small and terrific for breastfeeding to prop her up so my arm didn't fall off while feeding. I recommend getting an additional cover.
BATHING:I was big on space saving and I had looked on some Urban Moms websites and they said not to buy one of those big plastic bathtubs. I am glad I listened. I registered for one of those sponges that you put in the tub or sink and lay the baby on it but once it got here, I got freaked out that the little baby would poop on it and how could we ever use it again after that? So, back to the drawing board I went and I got this great little seat that reclines them back and looked safe and sturdy and like it wouldn't take up much room. This thing was terrific because I was terrified of bathing this little 4 and a half pound baby, so we did it in the sink at first. This allows you to do the bath too. The only thing I didn't like is that two of the little stopper feet came off and we could never get them back in, but the baby's weight keeps it from slipping.
BOUNCY CHAIR: This essential item is where Miss B spent a good bit of time these first few months. Someone gave us one as a hand-me-down and it was great at first (Fisher Price Ocean Womders), but the vibrator part stopped working and as she got more interested in stuff, there was not much to entertain her...My parents insisted that she have a new one, so we got the Tiny Love Gymini Bouncer. The thing I love about this most is that instead of an archway over the seat (which you have to slid the baby underneath to get them out or remove it) it has these two side arms that have hanging down animals for her to play with. It also has a crab with lights and music that Bailey loves. We are very tired of the song it plays, but there is a setting that makes it so she has to actually pull on the star to make the music play and she can do that now.
FORMULA: I didn't think that we would need formula since I am breast feeding, but this kid is an eater and we are having to supplement. After hours upon hours of reading, I decided on Vermont Organics because I was worried about antibiotics and growth hormones and organic seemed the way to go. I was surprised to find that Similac has an organic formula, but it is the only organic formula that is sweetened with cane sugar. There was an article in the Times that says that once they get used to that sweetness it is hard to get them to take anything else. I compared all of the organics side by side and I just felt best about this one. I think this little Munchkin Formula Dispenser is one of the best $3 purchases I have ever made.
BOTTLES: I had read that the Tommee Tippee Bottles were the best because they were closest to the nipple shape, so I invested in them. They were hard for Bailey to use because her mouth was so small. We ended up using these great glass bottles that my SIL gave us, but Bailey started have major hiccups and I switched to the MAM Anti-colic bottles. They really helped and they are really easy to clean because they come apart.
HIGH CHAIR: I also read when dealing with a small space, not to get a high-chair. Bailey is just sitting up now and eating food, so we got a chair that you can strap to a chair and feed her that way and I think we will be able to use it for a long time. This one is a five-stager and has a tray that you can remove one-handed, which is good when you and the baby are covered in sweet potatoes and bananas...Right now, since she is not much of a wiggler, we set her on the coffee table and feed her there.
I am also making my own baby food and got these ice trays from One Step Ahead that has a top, so you can just load the puree into them and then put them in Freezer bags and pull them out as you need them. We started with bananas, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, avocado pears and peas...she does not like the peas.
CLOTHES: Do not buy clothes until after your shower. People love to buy baby clothes. I had to use serious restraint not to shop, but I am glad I did. We ended up with tons of 3-6 month stuff and only a couple of new born things. Bailey needed preemie stuff at first, so I had to buy her a few things, but we have three drawers of 3-6 month stuff. Just wait to see what you need. Gowns...many people love them and we were a fan when she was tiny but once she did more than just lay there, I found them to ride up quite a bit and they seemed uncomfortable. Gowns are great until their umbilical cord falls off, though. Make sure you have some nice soft hats, they keep the little babe all snug.
Also, I was really intimidated by pulling things over her head at first, so things that snap were great because we could just lay her on them and snap her in. Jamie swears that she should only be in footie PJs because they are the easiest, but now that it is getting warmer, we are all over the onsies.
DIAPERS: We were going to do cloth and loved the idea in theory, but without a washer/dryer in the apartment, it seemed unrealistic. I checked into diaper services and they were inconvenient and expensive. For disposables, I found diapers.com to be the cheapest and I like Huggies Little Snugglers the best. Don't mix this up with Huggies Snug n' Dry. They are not as soft and do not have the wetness indicator on them. Why, when some genius invented a stripe that tells you when your baby is wet, would they ever make another diaper without it? I just wish they had a poop indicator, but we have noses for that. I am not a fan of Pampers and the reviewers agreed with me; there is some weird kind of netting in there that didn't feel so soft.
The nurses swear by the use of vaseline every time you do a diaper change, and we have followed that principle and it has kept her rather rash free. If she does get rashy, we use Sudocrem and it seems to be the best thing for clearing that up but we have Boudreaux's Buttpaste as a back up and that works great too. A cousin of my Dad's created Dr. Foster's Diaper Ointment and I have read that this is the best ointment out there, but since it is a bit pricey, we haven't tried it.
For diaper storage, I got the Dex Baby Toiletries Organizer and it was one of the only things I bought that had lukewarm results. I really like it and it has held up well so far.
We also buy disposable pads that we change her on (again, no washer and dryer) and this has saved a lot of wet changer covers, as she likes to "go" the minute we open her diaper.
SNOT SUCKING: We had a bulb sucker and this works well, but can be scary at first. We also got a Nose Frieda and it was a little harder to negotiate. Babies hate snot suckin and it was hard to keep her hands out of the way whilst sticking the hose up her nose, so the bulb was a little easier. The kind of saline solution that is a mist instead of a squeeze bottle is a must-have too - we use Little Noses...I use Q-tips for booger retrieval and that seems to work well.
CARRYING ALL OF THE STUFF: We were given a Skip Hop Diaper bag as a hand-me-down and we found the magnetic closure at the top difficult and it didn't have the room we needed. We opted for the Diaper Dude and we love it. We found that it has all the room that we need and the zippers are really sturdy. It has a cell phone pocket and a hook for your keys, which is also handy. I really like the way it drapes across your body instead of trying to carry it on one shoulder, which can be difficult to do when you are out and about. We got the one with the dragon on it.
THE PLAN: I waited until both of my showers were over and then I decided what I really thought we would need. I wanted her room decorated and finished, so I bought a hamper, registered for sheets and did the curtains and changing table myself. I also bought things like nail trimmers and baby Tylenol so we would be prepared.
OTHER THINGS NOT TO BUY UNTIL AFTER YOUR SHOWER:
Blankets - we got a million and they are all unique and beautiful, but she will never be cold.
Teddy bears - people also like to buy bears.
Hooded towels - these are great, but you will probably get some of these too.
Books - wait to buy your favorite books because you might get them as gifts.
More later, I need to try to sleep before that little baby wakes up.
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