Pittsburgh Nesties
chrissyrmu
member
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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.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
New Mom Questions - Help please!
What is the most useful thing you purchased or were gifted for your LO?
What is the least useful thing or could have lived without?
Re: New Mom Questions - Help please!
For Jake, a swing...for Liam, a bouncy seat. that's helpful, right?
Jake hated the bouncy, loved the swing...Liam was the exact opposite. But either way--having somewhere to put them down that they loved was a lifesaver.
The least useful thing was the full crib bedding set; in hindsight, I would have just purchased a few different sets of sheets and coordinated stuff in the room with that. The rest of the stuff was pretty much a waste.
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11
I know every baby is different, and I just can't make up my mind what to get when it comes to that kind of stuff. We know this is going to be our only child, so I'm trying to pick things that will grow with him or can be used for a few months.
I feel overwhelmed by all of the choices.
Most useful: swing for us as well. Dd slept in it until 7.5 months. Swaddleme were also useful too.
We didn't get this as a gift but bought ourselves: a sound machine (believe was homedics from Bed bath and beyond). We still use it for dd.
Leadt useful: bouncey seat (we had one that vibrated and dd hated it. I would suggest one that actually bounces instead) and bumbo. The bumbo was really probably the most useless thing. Dd hated it and would try to flip herself out every single time.
The bouncer and the pack n play both came in VERY handy. The only thing I feel we really wasted money on was the bumbo. I really wasn't needed.
His swing is my favorite. He hangs out and sleeps in it. A true godsend.
My little man!
Aside from the super obvious (like a crib and a monitor!), I'd say our white noise machine. I also love our cart cover, and our sleep positioner and infant rocker for when they were super young. And an activity mat. That's more than one thing
Could've lived without the swing. Neither of mine liked it enough to justify the space it took up. And the bottle warmer was a total waste. I couldn't even get rid of it at our yard sale!
The most useful things we received were the bath time things - bath sling, hooded towels, wash cloths. Also really useful were the velcro swaddle blankets, sound machine, and changing pad.
The bumbo seat for us has been great. He really likes to sit in it and play with his toys now. He only started using it about 2 weeks ago and it seems like he's already outgrowing it, I would borrow or buy one used if possible - if you think you'd like one.
Useless things was the bouncy seat and front/back swing - he hated both much to my dismay. I feel like I didn't put him down the first 3 months of his life. He may have liked the left/right swing more, but they were so expensive, I didn't want to take the chance.
Good luck, it's so overwhelming.
we had this bouncy seat for Liam:
It's Bright Starts automatic bouncer and I think it was such a hit with him because it bounced (instead of just vibrating, it actually bounced gently up & down when you turned it on). The one we had for Jake wasn't nearly as cushion-y and didn't bounce on its own.
You could always go with a combo, like this Graco 2-in-1 swing/bouncy combo:
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11
Oh yes! The boppy! I actually bought a 2nd to use as a spare and it doubled as a cushion to sit on (I was in so much pain).
I loved our baby bjorn.
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11
Useful:
Swing
SwaddleMe blankets
Boppy (In addition to nursing, DD and DS both used to lounge in it when they were tiny)
Pack n play with changing table. We kept it set up downstairs for a few months, and we also travel frequently to see my parents.
Babyhawk MeiTai carrier. I didnt have one with DD--and managed just fine, but it was a necessity for #2 and would have been a nice to have with DD.
Useless:
Mobile--never used with either kids
Newborn Shoes (Nolan is 9 months and has never worn shoes)
Actual changing table (we used a changing pad on top of a dresser instead)
Newborn robes/towel sacks--we got a few as gifts and by the time you get them in them you could have already had theim dried and dressed :-)
Loved our boppy! We also had 2. I had one for upstairs and down. It was so much easier than dragging that and Gabe around the house.
i didn't read all replies so sorry if this repeats
Now all my kids liked different things but based overall I would go with the following:
Useful:
bouncy
some kind of carrier/sling
swaddle blankets
bibs & regular blankets (esp. for winter babies & if you have reflux babies)
Least Useful:
Any shoes until they start walking
swings (none of my kids liked them)
mobiles
bumbo seat
How time flies! Caileigh (9), Keira (6) & Eamon (3)
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11
For 2.0, Ergo carrier. It has infant insert so the legs don't hang. Much easier to manipulate than a stroller. To be honest, 90% of the baby gear (new things were pack n play, travel system/base, high chair) in my house was bought used at a yard sale or Craigslist. I can not justify the $$$ for something used for a few months. All the fabric stuff was washed on hot, plastic stuff wiped down. Then I wouldn't feel bad if the kid didn't like something. We have 4 Boppys (love those and so does DH bc it makes holding them so much easier. We have 1 in living room, 1 in basement, 1 in our bedroom and 1 in nursery plus 1 at my parents). We love bouncy chairs and have 2 bouncy chairs, one in bathroom so I can enjoy a shower and 1 in living room and both kids like it for a bit, and I also swear by the swing as that's perfect for 20 minutes while cooking dinner. For the older stage, we loved the exersaucer and was the go to for a good 4 months.
What I would say are least favorites: I also have 2 play mats, one on each living level but for $70 (I paid $5 each at yard sales so worth it to me), so useless. I liked the Bumbo and I think paying full price for those are a waste and you definitely don't need one
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11
You ladies are all really helpful!
Thank you for all of the suggestions and pro/cons.
What is everyone's thoughts on baby bath tubs?
Most Useful- Swing, Moby Wrap, Sound Machine (but we actually just used a CD that we found and a small cd player, entertainer seat.
Least useful- Walker (we bought one but the carpets in are freaking apartment made its use impossible...the boys loved it at my moms though), Changing table...I didn't use it once I always changed them on the floor. Crib set (but my MIL bought it I didn't ask for it)
Every baby is different...
Most usefull boppy, pack n play and swing and playmat and jumperoo.
H is not a fan of his bumbo although it did come in handy a few times.
and please, for your sanity pick up any jammies, sleep n plays with zippers. Snaps are evil, especially at 3 am
Gotta agree with Emmy here. I still have 2 unopened crib sets in DD's closet because I don't know what to do with them. I also think Bumbos are completely unnecessary.
The swing was a lifesaver to us because DD had reflux and basically had to sleep propped up. I also got a lot of use out of my Boppy.
Yes to a baby bath tub. I had a pretty simple one (Fisher Price, looks like a whale) that worked from birth to 9/10 months when I stopped using it because he was safe enough in the tub without it. I put the infant tub in our big tub so he could splash and make a mess but was contained in a smaller space. Plus I think it helped him make the transition to the big tub.
I've seen those mesh seats recently but I don't know much about them.
I registered for a regular baby bath tub but no one could find it in the store, for some reason and someone bought us this one: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11198037
We really like it. The only thing is that the fabric part has to be machine washed pretty frequently to avoid mildew. We like it though. Gabe is starting to get a little big for it, but he likes to slide down and dangle his feet in the water.
Jake - 1.15.08
Liam - 5.17.11
We have a plastic baby tub with the sling in it and it was fantastic when she was itty bitty. Once she figured out how to put her feet against one side and launch herself toward the other side - we bought an inflatable tub that we still use occasionally: http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-White-Hot-Inflatable-Duck/dp/B000066665/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345484813&sr=8-1&keywords=duck+tub
Like Emmy said - it can be a little bit of a PITA because it's bulky, but it worked well.
Most useful: Nosefrida: A snotsucker. Throw that crappy blue thing out from the hospital. Rock n Play- after transitioning out of the Newborn Napper of the Pack n Play, DD slept in it for many months (she was tiny). It was so easy to move about the house. We had two bouncers but I never put the second one together. I agree on the two boppy pillows although I ended up liking the "My Brest Friend" pillow better for actual BFing. Baby bath tubs: we had two. First was the basic Fisher Price plastic blue one and then as she got bigger we got the Munchkin Inflatable duck that Gwen linked (we loved that one!).
Least useful: bedding set (glad I got a great deal and will use for toddler bedding), sound machine, sleep sheep, mobile
Good luck and Congrats!