September 2009 Weddings
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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.
BR- Baby Items?!?
We found out about 3 weeks ago that we are expecting a boy! We couldn't be happier. We went to Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us over the weekend and I started to feel completely overwhelmed. I know alot of people mentioned getting the Baby Bargins book, which we picked up.
I guess my question is what Item/s did you feel were completely worth it, besides the normal car seat and stroller, any must have's? I know awhile ago, I saw some people loved the soothe and glow seahorse.
Last questions I promise any item's that you registered for, or received that you never used and were a waste of money? Everyone I talk to say don't register for clothes because people buy them for you anyway.... TIA
Re: BR- Baby Items?!?
Must haves:
FP Rock N Play. MUST HAVE. This thing was, and still is, a life saver.
DS loves his Seahorse now, but for the first 3 months it was pretty pointless.
Fisher Price Kick and Play Piano Gym is pretty great. That keeps DS occupied for a good 45 minutes sometimes.
Stock up on burp rags and receiving blankets. We use receiving blankets on the changing pad instead of the changing pad covers. It's cheaper and does the same thing.
First Years spinning bottle drying rack. It's compact, but holds a ton of stuff.
I couldn't live without our Boppy.
This we got but could do without:
Bouncy seat. DS isn't a huge fan, but every baby is different.
Pack N Play. Unless you plan on traveling a lot or having LO spend the night places, it's not a necessary thing IMO. We used it in our room for about 2 weeks, but now it's in storage.
Bumbo. If it wasn't a gift, I wouldn't have bothered with it. We don't use it much since it's supposedly bad for babys hips.
oh and as for clothes: don't bother registering for them because people buy a ton.
I highly recommend getting some of those gown thingys without the feet and some sleep sacks. The gowns are FANTASTIC when baby is itty bitty.
Things that I couldn't have lived without:
Gripe Water (Ellie got hiccups all the time that would make her mad and these took them away)
Swaddle Me wraps (I have also heard good things about the pods - the ones that zip up the front - I couldn't get the hang of swaddling with a blanket for the life of me.)
Soothe and Glow Seahorse - Ellie STILL likes to listen to hers.
Wastes of money IMO:
Wipe warmer - we never even plugged ours in.
play mat - a blanket and a few toys works just as well for tummy time.
Don't bother with registering for clothes, you will get a ton regardless.
Congratulations on the boy, they are so great.
We use like crazy:
FP Snuggabunny Swing. He has been napping in this thing 3 times a day since he was born. Also, when nothing else works, he falls asleep for the night in there and we transfer him to his bassinet.
The Boppy, at first it didn't really work for us, but once he got bigger, we were using it constantly.
Lanolin saved my life when I started nursing. I put it on after every feeding.
'Cloth diaper' cloths for burp rags. The little things they call burp cloths these days don't cut it for us.
White noise machine, we had one already, but once we carried him into our room, it was like magic. It also helps if you are in the same room and move around in bed, every little noise won't wake him up.
We didn't use a lot of:
Newborn sized stuff- he grew out of the sleepers and diapers pretty fast, within the first two weeks. (he was born 7lbs 5oz)
Swaddlers- he doesn't like his arms covered, even still, so he didn't really like being swaddled.
PnP- we still haven't used the one we were given.
Swaddle me saved my life- sometimes I wish they made them Charlotte sized. Ever since she was unswaddled- no sleeping through the night. (that is unless she is sleeping with us).
I wish I had a RNP sleeper- we could have used it. Too bad no one told me prior that it was helpful.
We used our PNP for the changing table. If you have an ikea close they have great folding changing tables that are great for downstairs if you have a two story house. I swear I am buying one if we ever have another.
burp cloths. I had a spitter- we used like 50 a week - no joke.
gas drops. We couldn't live without them. Gripe water did okay, but nothing like the gas drops.
Adin and Anis blankets- they are still being used and she is a year old. These things are light and make for an easy swaddle.
mattress covers- since I had a spitter, we changed this vs. changing sheets all the time. Changing baby sheets are terrible.
Buy decent sheets. They shrink and are a pain to put on the crib.
breathable bumpers or bumpers- my little one loves to scoot all over and or stick limbs out the crib. These helped.
onesies- you will use them and love them. Get them in bulk and dont spend a ton on them. No need.
Each baby is different on the swing and bouncy seat- ours loved both and we hated putting them away. Same with the bumbo.
Stroller that is easy to use with one hand. I have an expensive stroller but I love it- Quinny Buzz- lots of attachments and I loved being able to clip in the car seat without the bulk. It is great for urban travel.
Good breast pump if you are breast feeding and a hands free bra. It saved my life once we had thrush and serious latching issues. Kept me pumping for 8 mos.
Things that are a waste=
baby bedding. Seriously you dont use it, just buy sheets.
bottle warmer/wipe warmer- we did lukewarm bottles so we never had to worry about temperature. It made life easier. Wipe warmers are great until you are out and start using cold wipes on their bum. They don't like change.
Bassinet. you don't need one- they are pretty but that is it.
Congratulations!
I agree with everything Michelle said except the bottle dryer. I just used our regular drying mat. I also couldn't live without the halo sleep sack/swaddle. I didn't like the swaddle me's. Nate was big and didn't fit in them well. I used lots of receiving blankets too and covered everything with them to prolong the time between washes.
We didn't need a bouncer. He didn't like it at all though he liked the kick seat. The bumbo only lasted a month or so for us bc his legs are chunky and it was hard getting him in and out. Plus he's the hulk and he'd just busy the tray off so we ended up getting a travel booster seat that works much better for us and has a longer shelf life. The RnP was our saviour and I got the toy bar that can attach to it. He still loves the toy bar though he rips all the things off- again bc he's the hulk.
I bought the ultimate crib sheet after seeing it suggested and I think it was a waste. It has come in handy when he had diarrhea the one time but other than that, it's just as much of a PITA as a regular sheet and it's not comfy.
I also recommend getting a ton of gowns and washcloths (though people always buy towels/wash clothes). You go through more than you think. We use them Now to wipe his face after he eats instead of paper towels. They're smaller, softer and dry faster than regular wash clothes.
I didn't register for clothes and I didn't receive any but that's ok. I think people tend to buy girls more clothes than boys bc let's face it- girl clothes re way cuter. Also, don't stock up too much on diapers or wipes. You never know what size thy'll be. You wont be an invalid when you come home, you'll be able to get tithe store (either you, your h or someone) to get other things you need.
Alomg with gripe water- get mylicon. That stuff was very helpful for my guy. Both were used all the time in our house!
:Blog:
I will say, we didn't use swaddlers, but he still sleeps in this basket (it used to go between us in bed, but now it sits on a couch section in our room) and instead of swaddleing him, we put a little blanket over his bottom half and tucked it under the little mattress to keep it tight so he felt the pressure but could keep his arms free.
Congrats on the little boy, Boxer!
And thanks everyone for your input, I have a feeling I would have been asking the same thing in a few weeks:)
Ditto everything that was already said. I'll add if you're breatfeeding:
- a great double pump because it will save you so much time and get the hands free bra to go with it so you can read or surf the web while pumping. I regretted not getting the bra last time and will get one this time.
- I prefered the medela nipple cream over any orher because it was way less sticky and worked awesome
- soothies nipple gels, circular gel pads that you put in the fridge to get cool and then put in your bra on your nips to soothe them after a nursing session. They were amazing the first few weeks.
If you end up needing a csection buy some granny panties - regular panties pressed right on my incision and killed. First day home we ran out to buy the biggest underwear we could find. I also asked for extra laege gauze pads to put along the waist line of my undies because it helped distribute the pressure better across my stomach instead of putting direct pressure on the incision.
Congrats on the boy!!
I pretty much agree with everyone else.
Must haves:
her swing, she loved it and napped in it for months
RnP sleeper, used this instead of bassinet
swaddles me's, so easy to use especially for DH when he did the middle of the night change.
Didn't use:
boppy, but we didn't breastfeed/pump very long
carriers like the moby, or bjorn. Teaghan didn't really enjoy being in them.
Ditto. All of this !
Also, you really do not need to use a bottle warmer. Babies can have their bottles at room temp (BF or FF).
Dx: Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism After 2 years TTC & failed IUs,we have our IVF baby born 9/24/11
LO#2 aka 'Miracle Baby' Orig. EDD= 9/28 EDD moved to 10/3/13
"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." -- Dale Carnegie
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." --Thomas A. Edison
I agree with everyone who said the Boppy...I had 2 and would recommend 2 if you can. I kept one in my room where Ash slept, and one in the living room where we spent a lot of our time. It was great to have one handy wherever I was without having to go to the other room to get one. We still use them for laying on the couch and Ash lounges on them (see siggy!).
A swing- Ash wouldn't sleep in anything else the first few weeks.
A bouncer chair- Great for getting in a shower. He would sit in the bouncer on the bathroom floor while I showered.
Carrier- I would put him in it when I had to go to the laundry room or do light chores to keep my hands free.
Humidifier- The first time he gets a cold you will be glad you already have it!
Swaddling blankets.
We didn't get any of the convenience items like bottle or wipes warmers and we never regretted that decision.
We had a ton of newborn clothes he never wore, he was too big for them form the start. I agree with PP's, don't register for clothes, people will buy you whatever THEY want. I have tons of cute outfits he never wore. We kept him in sleepers and onesies all the time (he was a June baby) and many of the overalls, jumpers, etc. people bought ended up getting packed away without him ever getting to wear them before he outgrew them.
June Bugs Blog
updated 10.03.12