I'm pretty clueless.
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After inputting "Baby Must Haves" into the Pinterest search engine, I found someone had pinned a Louis Vuitton bag as a "Baby Must Have." I'm not exactly certain, but I can only assume that a $1000.00 purse isn't quite an essential registry item.
Obviously, I'll need some kind of car seat contraption. And diapers of some sort. And something for my baby to sleep in. I've got my brain wrapped around these main items. Outside of this, however, my mind is swirling around, going in circles... I mean, have you seen the wall of bottles/pacifiers at Babies R Us?
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In an effort to keep from kicking myself in 2 years over my complete lack of baby registry knowledge, I'm putting myself out there... so all you moms out there, give me your opinions on these two questions:
What do you think is a must-have baby item?
What did you register for and surprisingly never use?
11 comments:
must have: bouncy seat that vibrates...all three of my girls loved it, swaddles, sleep sacks (just buy them huge...XL...they will still fit and last forever)
didn't use much: swing (my girls just weren't into it, but other babies LOVE swings), pacifiers (i think most babies will only take one kind...so it's stupid to have a bunch of different ones), baby shoes
if anything else comes to mind, i'll let you know! can i have your panini press and wine glasses?? haha!
Hmm..I did register for some useless items..
-For us we didn't use a changing table..it made more sense for us to just get a changing mat and change him wherever was most convenient...in the middle of the night, moving him to a changing table was the last thing he wanted so I just changed him where he was and use the mat for other places. Also didn't need the ten thousand socks..I'm sure it's just me but my baby goes without socks and shoes a lot..probably just me.hehe I would try one of each type of bottle before buying a lot of them...I have three different kinds and with such a gassy baby none of them worked any better than any the other, however AVENT is much easier and quicker to clean. Dr. Brown's takes ten years because of all of the parts..I mean they give you a special small brush to clean it with when you buy it so if I knew that I wouldn't have bought them.lol Also, we didn't use our bottle warmers or wipes warmer. A swing or bouncer will just depend on your little ones temperament. A boppy was great. If you have a great dish washer then you won't need the sanitizer because it has that option. Must haves for us were bibs, onsies that can easily fit over the baby's head (not the snap necks and not buttons...when they are that little the stretchy neck collars are the best), 5 second rectal thermometer..you really don't want anything that takes any longer.lol, we also love the front carrying pack (haven't tried a sling but wanted to). Go ahead and have baby tylenol, (gas drops, gripe water, or bio gaiia for tummy troubles), saline drops, etc on hand so that you aren't running out to the store in the middle of a catastrophe. I'm sure I've gone on way too long so I'll just leave it at that. :-) Hope some of this helps.
I second the bouncy seat that vibrates. A baby swing is also good to. From months 1-4 Layla slept in her swing. She wouldn't sleep anywhere else. Also a sleep sheep or something that has noise is awesome. You'll need tons of burp clothes and get a boppy if you plan to breastfeed. You'll need to support your arms.
-Boppy, I liked to use it to nurse and to prop baby on when we were on the couch.
-Swaddleme blankets and sleep sacks (just two of each, one for wearing/one for nursing)
-We use MAM pacis and usually buy about a hundred or so...thanks to losing them. When we get down to two we purchase two more and then we find all the lost ones.
-A wrap/sling/baby carrier. I like the asian baby carrier and the sling the best but a lot of people swear by the Ergo or Baby Bjorn.
-Bouncy seat that vibrates. You just need it to vibrate not make eggs. And only the most expensive bounce on their own. They are called bouncy seats because baby will bounce them...some people have other notions. If you travel, and since you have family out of town, finding a portable/travel one would be ideal.
-Baby gym-this time around our little guy loves his baby gym. We got the Infantino Twist and Fold. Again, portable and travels in a car well.
-Portable Baby Swing. My favorite is the Bright Starts or Ingenuity (all the same Kids II company). Great company and even better swing.
-Sound machine. Ah yeah, nothing like white noise to calm a child. I totally believe it.
Didn't Use
-Changing table per se. Now that we constantly have two in diapers we converted a low pretty bookshelf into a changing station with diapers, a pad and such. The pad rarely gets used but we do like having them stored.
-Expensive Crib set. With our fourth boy I finally found a cheap pretty set to use that could go with the boys' room. Besides you don't really want to put giant fluffy bumpers in a crib with an infant.
-Crib Mobile
-Expensive monitor-We have a very basic (like under $30) monitored and it works very well in our home.
-high chair-there are some great cheap portable ones that attach to the table or regular chair. Takes up way less space too. Besides, we typically start out feeding our babes in the bouncy seat.
These are just a few. That I can think of. If you have an experienced mom on hand, it's great to go with them to register so you don't register for a lot of useless items.
Sign up for Lucie's List (just google her). She emails you a master registry checklist with all the "must-haves". I started my registry off that and then used the advice from friends and family. Definitely have an experienced mom help you out; it's completely overwhelming!
Here's what we've needed in the past 2 weeks:
- sleepers with zippers, those tiny buttons kill me in the middle of the night
- swaddle blankets, I love the muslin ones from aden + anais
- Boppy or My Breast Friend nursing pillow
- gas drops
So far he hasn't liked his bouncer, swing or any pacifier. Right now we have him sleeping in our room in an Arms Reach Cosleeper next to our bed. It will travel like a PnP but is smaller so I can have him closer to me. We don't have a changing table and I'm glad because we change him all over the house. For bottles we use the Playtex Dropins ans they are super easy. I love my video monitor too.
Good luck!
I'm expecting my first & had no clue what to put on my registry! Thanks to your commenters, I now have some practical suggestions from real moms. Awesome, thanks so much!
boppy or some kind of nursing pillow.
swaddlers: I LOVE Aiden & Anais blankets because they are lightweight,breathable and multipurpose. Great for warm weather babies. But really any kind of swaddler that you prefer. I like the simpler the better.
paci's/bottles: Adoration NEVER took a paci and only took a bottle for like 3 weeks of her whole life. And it took my trying like 15 different kinds before I found one she wouldn't gag on. So I would maybe just start with the hospital pacifier and not buy whole packs of pacifier so you can figure out what works for your baby (or if they will even take one.) And I wouldn't buy a whole bunch of one kind of bottle in case your little decides that particular kind isn't working for them. Also on bottles: more expensive isn't always better. The only one Adoration would even consider was playtex drop ins. But every baby is different. Also on the bottle route I tend to think simpler is better.
a high quality breast pump. esp. if you are planning on going back to work and breastfeeding. I have a Medela pump n' go.
nursing bra's, nursing pads, nipple cream, breast milk storage bags. All that stuff.
sleepers and onesies.
some kind of baby carrier (this made my life so much easier.)Whatever kind works for you we really like the ergo or similar models, the most because you can use it for a long time and you can wear it on your back (we've used it for hiking.) This time around I'll be also registering for a maya wrap, which is a sling wrap. I like that it's quick and easy to put on and the baby can snuggle against you. I had a moby, which I used around the house, but it's annoying putting it on.
DON'T go with the whole combo carseat stroller. Just get one of those all in one babytrend snap n go things for the carseat and quick errands. (The car seat snaps right in and it's not bulky.) And esp. since you are a jogger, I would get a stroller that works for jogging but also works for other things too. That's what we did and it works for us. Later you could always get an inexpensive umbrella stroller to replace the snap n go for errands when the baby is no longer in an infant carrier carseat.
Hope that is good advice!
These are just the highlights-I'll email you my full list I've shared with other friends if you want :)
Didn't use or could have done without:
Even though I nursed for a full year, I never used the boppy or my brestfriend beyond the initial nursing sessions. It was just easier to get comfy without them.
Newborn outfits. I know everyone wants to wash everything ahead of time, but I'd jut do a little at first to see what size your baby is. We bypassed newborns all together went straight to 3 months. I was able to return the unopened newborns and get what we needed. You'll have plenty of time to wash it all anyway. Babies create more dirty laundry than adults ;)
Diaper genie thing. Honestly, I just don't like the idea of dirty diapers sitting around. We just took them straight to the curb. I know babies have to be changes a TON but for me, I just wanted them out of the house. At first we used it some, but then just did without.
Must haves for us:
Bouncy seat
Itzbeen(has a new name now). This thing was awesome and I used it until B broke it. It helped me keep track when nursing was frequent and I continued to use it. I think it's a personality thing...but it was great for me!
Swaddle me blankets. We loved these!
Video monitor-I think this is a personality thing too, but I loved being able to see him...and still do! It helped a lot in the early months. Especially when I wanted to rush in at every sound. No, that doesn't mean I just ignored him :). Just helped me know when he was just making baby noises and when he needed me.
There are so many more, but really, each baby is different and each Momma is too :)
So the number one thing I'd avoid:
* diaper genie- even if you change them often, the pail itself starts stinking. Load up on grocery bags, and take them out each time... or put them near the door, and take them out eventually.
Get:
* A travel changing pad- great for visits to friends, messes that happen in the middle of the grocery store that you want to change in the car, etc.
* Johnson & Johnson's night time lotion. It works. I swear.
* Unscented wipes. Of any brand. Work great for boogies and sticky hands... not just messy tooshies.
* Books. Books. More books.
* Skip the crib bedding set. You can't use the "comforter" part of it, anyway. It's a waste of money, in my opinion, of course.
* Pack n play... a nice one with the changing area, and the option to "raise" it for an infant. Great for the living room when you first bring sweet baby home.
One thing I might not register for is baby lotions and soaps. You will get those as gifts anyway even if you don't register for them. I ended up with many more than we could ever go through. I also heard that wipe warmers dry out the baby wipes. We don't have one, and my baby has done fine with room-temp wipes. ;)
My top three recs: Avent bottles (few parts for easy washing), Swaddle Me brand velcro blankets, and cotton gowns for the baby. I used gowns exclusively (yes, on my boy) at night until we no longer swaddled him. Like someone else mentioned, snapping or even zipping those PJs for a middle of the night diaper change is enough to put a sleep-deprived mama over the edge. :)
If you come to something and can't make a decision, just skip over it. You can always go home, research, and add it online.
You've gotten some good advice! Esp from Kristina ;)
Here is my list of 'must haves', in no really particular order. Just a warning... there are no $1,000 diaper bags. haha!
http://amzn.com/lm/R2JI0USNGX5BE1
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