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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Re: Help me prepare for parenthood
Oh, you just made me feel so much better. I was beginning to think I was the only one who hadn't cracked the baby crying code. I don't have a video monitor and I've been home with my kid since he was born, so either I'm a bad mom or that theory is kinda dumb.
1. Where did you look for/buy nursery furniture?
We bought our baby furniture at superbabymart in Broomall. Loved it there. I think if you get 3 pieces, the 3rd piece is 20% off.
2. What products (stroller? what else?) could you absolutely not live without (and where does one purchase it/them)?
Lots of these are repeats.
Fisher Price Rock n Play. Worth it's weight in gold.
We have a snap n go and the Baby Jogger City Mini. Love both of them.
For infant car seat we have the Graco Snugride 35. I wish we went for the regular snugride. That thing is 10 pounds with no baby in it. May not be as big a deal for you. Also depends on if you and J's families have big babies. But that stupid thing has messed up my back from wrangling her out of the backseat.
I would wait until baby is here and older to get your convertible carseat.
For us Dr. Browns bottles worked the best. Love the A&A blankets others have mentioned. I handed my receiving blankets down to my SIL except those puppies, we still use them everyday. Swaddlemes were great at first, sleepsacks were great later. White noise machine for the nursery is great, we still use it.
I found carters onesies to be the best quality for the price and the sizing was accurate. Definitely recommend a boppy, whether you are breast feeding or not. Emma took the best naps in those when she first came home. Maybe not what they are designed for, but you go with what works.
I definitely recommend an activity mat. They are great for tummy time and just for him to have fun things to look at. I think any one is fine. I have the FP Rainforest one, but it was a hand me down.
Speaking of hand me downs. I never knew this before I had kids, but there are these mommy consignment sales that are incredible. They are usually twice a year, held at a school or an empty storefront. People consign clothes, baby products, toys etc. Usually in the spring for spring/summer stuff and fall for fall/winter stuff. Most of this baby stuff is used for such a short amount of time, stuff is basically new. Same with clothes. I always get tons of clothes for Em there, and lots of toys...at least half her toys are from consignment sales. And one of my favorites is out your way. It's in Bryn Athyn. http://www.cozytots.org/ It's awesome.
nah dude. i have yet to meet one person who can tell you what the cries relate to. he cried when he was little it meant, diaper or food. now it can mean food/bored/tired. i just try each until i get it right.
One other thing I never knew-baby socks are the work of the devil. You will get a ton of them but most will fall off. I got some trumpette brand for my shower and they were the best. They're pricey but totes worth it.
I just wanted to claify that I am by no means 'anti video monitor'. I do not judge those who use one, nor do I think you are "stalking your child" like some other people do. To be completely honest, I am probably going to inherit one from a friend. Hey, if I don't use it, I'll sell it to a Nestie real cheap!
I just thought what my SIL said was interesting so I figured I would give the OP a different point of view. And for those who haven't cracked the code yet, perhaps my SIL can be hired out as a baby whisperer
I wouldn't say I am anti video monitor, but we never had one, nor did we ever find a need for one. I know me and I know my OCD tendencies and mr. eagles pointed out that it would most likely make me crazier, and I agree
DS 3.12.08
DD 7.11.09
DD 8.01.13
Most of what I contribute will be a repeat as you already got great advice, but I may have a couple of new pieces of advice.
We also went to Norman's for furniture (at Eagles' suggestion) and we love it. My MIL paid, though, so we were able to pick out something nice. Norman's also has strollers you can test out, but I agree that BBB in Cherry Hill had the biggest selection to try.
**TRY OUT YOUR STROLLERS!!**
The first stroller we bought was on my mom's friend's recommendation and we hadn't even tried it (my mom ordered it, convinced that because it was super expensive, it would be perfect). We couldn't figure it out. It was heavy, bulky, awkward. When we took it back to the store, the woman who worked there couldn't even get it to open and close on the first try.
We went with the City Mini Baby Jogger and it. is. awesome. I think you saw it at the Greek Festival. It's light and so easy to use. The only problem is that newborns really shouldn't ride in it. We didn't put Anabel in it until she was over 2 months old.
This is where the baby carrier came in. We carried her everywhere, and still do sometimes, and it was so easy. We have a Weego: http://www.weego.com/ and it is amazing. So for the first couple of months, we either carried her in the Weego or in our arms. Since Baby JRM is due in November, you may not even have a chance to use a stroller (outside) in winter if it's snowy, icy, cold, etc. But this is all very personal and depends on what you think you'll be doing.
Other recommendations:
**Halo sleep sacks with swaddle
**WHITE NOISE: we have the Sleep Sheep but the darned thing shuts off after 45 minutes. We started using a white noise app on our phones to run all night and it actually helped us to sleep as well.
**CLOTHES: Don't bother with newborn-sized clothing if Baby JRM is born a healthy, normal weight. Start with the 0-3 or 3-6 months sizes. They'll be big for just a couple of weeks. Footed sleepers and short and long-sleeved onesies are really all you need throughout the winter. Anabel slept in her Halo sleep sacs for 6 months.
**BOPPY if you will breast feed.
**SWING: I thought we would never use a swing but then a friend gave use their old one and it was so helpful. Anabel would sometimes sleep all night in it if we were desperate (I know, BAD mommy). I don't know what brand is best.
**MONITOR: Anabel slept in our room with us for the first 6+months but when she started sleeping in her crib on a regular basis, we bought the Angel Care monitor because I was and still am completely paranoid. It has audio and also a movement sensor so if your baby stops breathing an alarm goes off.
**BOTTLES: We started to introduce bottles at around 6 weeks so that she would get used to them when I went back to work. NUK is our favorite brand and she never had any problems transitioning from breast to bottle.
**HUMIDIFIER: might be helpful if your house gets dry in the winter
That's all I can think of for now.
I have a blog and it isn't about babies or motherhood or my life. It's just about eating, drinking, and traveling: Explore and Eat