Category: Parent Talk
well the subject says it all.. what are some of the things that someone that has had a baby thinks a new mom should have. I saw the thread about that sling thing and that sounds great and that sit and strole what are some other things?
i think this has to be my favorite topic. i wish i still had my list. it was insane. i went a little crazy when i found out i was going to be a mom. i listed everything i thought i needed and wanted. there were over 200 items on it. needless to say, i didn't get everything, but it was a great starting off point. I suggest you google baby check lists. necessities for a new baby. things like that. that is how i got started.
as for absolute must haves, a carseat, burp rags, diapers, wipes, onesies, for a newborn i wouldn't waste a lot of money on cute little outfits with tons of pieces. i'd go for cute little one piece outfits. when they are newborn, most of the outfits look like pajamas. if you are blind, i would suggest getting a talking thermometer and have it from day one. you'll need blankets. most use receiving blankets, but personally i didn't like them. i opted for normal baby blankets. my daughter was born in november and i wanted warm blankets for her. don't get me wrong, the recieving blankets come in handy.
depending on if you are going to breast feed or not, you'll need bottles, formula, and a bottle brush, if not breast feeding. i got a play gym at my baby shower and used it from about the time my daughter was a month old. music was a must have for me. books also. socks, hats. sorry this is all a bit of a messy list, but i'm trying to remember the necessities.
i'll write again if i think of more.
carseat/carrier. can't think of anything else this early in the morning.
I just did this for my grand baby. Here goes. These are in no particular order except that in which my poor caffeine deprived brain thinks of them.
if you are breastfeeding and planning to return to work a good breast pump. not one of those hand operated things. they take too long.
diapers, diaper covers, wipes wash cloths spit up rags clothes like onesies or jammies powder car seat, baby carrier, infant seat, crib, crib sheets, blankets, medicine dropper, a good baby book that can answer your many questions, a sling, snuggly, good rocking chair, changing table, that's it for new borns.
My wife had one of the $300 hospital breast pumps, for our first baby and switched to the manual mudulla pump with our subsequent 3. She said it was soo much faster and she could pump in 15 minutes and be done.
Clothes are important lots of changing! one can never have enough whipes.s
you can never have enough birp rags, i find that it's quite handy to use receving blankets for birp rags also. lol.
you can never ever have enough onezies, but don't by them all one size, they grow way too fast.
this is great there is so many pregger people at my job and you no buying them all stuff I want to make sure I'm buying good stuff.. I heard not to buy newborn clothes and buy 0 to 3 months or 3 to 6 months cuz you never no if they will fit newborn clothes
when i buy for someone else, i tend to buy 6 to 9 months. people tend to buy the little clothes. so i try to get something they can use a little down the line when all the baby gifts run out.
Ok, first of all, you need to know a few things. Will you be breastfeeding, formula feeding or a combination of both? Will you be co-sleeping, and if so, will you be bed sharing? Will you be cloth or disposable diapering? Will you be using jar baby-food or making it from scratch? Are you having a girl or a boy? If you are breastfeeding you will need nursing bras, get them when you are pregnant as they are often more supportive than ordinary bras, and your breasts will be changing size as you get closer to delivery, bra pads, you will also need these ahead of time as you will probably leak, almost all of us do, at least a little bit, good organic loose-leaf tea that supports milk production, a good pump, electric, but it doesn't have to be terribly expensive, I have the single swing electric breastpump by Midella, a storage system for the milk that is comprised of either specialized bags or bottles, a bottle brush. You will not need formula, a formula mixer, a bottle staralizer, they make great microwave starilization bags for breastpump parts and bottles, no bottle warmer, as a large coffee-mug filled with boiling water is a lot easier and cheeper, and never ever microwave breastmilk, as it destroys the nutriants. You need to either make sure that you have glass bottles or plastic bottles that spacifically say BPA free on the labels. Regular nipples are also no good, as a good pack of slow-flow nipples will help your breastfed baby avoid nipple confusion. You should always go for cilicone nipples also, as your baby or anyone fpor that matter can develop a laytex alergy over time, with multiple exposures, even if they are not born with a laytex alergy. Earth Mama Angel Baby makes a great deal of breastfeeding support supplies, such as special herbal compresses to help if you get mastitus or generalized soarness, a great all organic nipple butter, with no animal products, these nice bra inserts that you warm up and insert to help with slow let downs, and a wonderful tea to support milk productionn as well as another tea to help you stop milk production, when your baby has weened him or her self. You will also need a good nursing pillow and at least one nice comfortable rocking chair or glider chair in your home to sit and nurse your baby. You won't want any pasifiers, because they can cause nipple confusion. A good nursing cover is also a great investment. Bebe Ole makes some very nice, durable, stylish nursing covers, but some nice large, single layer recieving blankets, they will say over-sized on the package also make great nursing covers. There is nowhere near enough space here, and I am quickly running out of what space there is. So, I will leave it at that and just keep coming back at a later time and adding more things for the different areas.
this is so informativfe
Ok, so that was pretty much it for breast feeding. What's next? Diapers, ok, I'm ready for this one. Disposables aren't complicated, get at least one pack of premi, newborn and size one, in case you have an unusually large or unusually small infant. Get at least two packs of wipes, and one plastic tub, that you can refill with the packs when it runs out, one of the soft sided packs is for your diaper bag, those little thin wipe holders that come with the diaper bags are useless, as it only holds a few and it is not a one handed afair, which is a real disadvantage when holding a squirming newborn in place with the other hand. Wipe warmers are a pain in the ass, and they are not neccessary. They can cause bacterial growth, dry out your wipes, draw electricity constantly and are generally not worth five bucks, and they usually cost fifteen to forty depending on the type. A good diaper pail with a locking lid is essential, preferably one that has a built in carbon filter, and fits standard sized garbage bags. If you are going to cloth diaper you will want to use cloth wipes and you will need a slightly different type of diaper pail. I personally don't agree with disposable diapering, and I would be more than willing to talk anyone who is interested through the whys and hows of cloth diapering. It's a synch and it can actually be fun picking out cute diapers and diaper covers. Satasfying too, when you put in a load of stinky, yucky wads of cloth and extract from the dryer these clean, beautiful, soft diapers that smell nice and look very cuddly on your baby. It's like magic. However, if you are cloth diapering, keep at least one back-up pack of disposables, in case your washing machine breaks, for travel, if you are going a long distance, or for others to use if you become sick and your mother-in-law or teenage babysitter is petrified of your cloth diapers. You really should go for alcohol free wipes, organic if you can. Read the ingreedents list, and if there are more than three or four ingreedents you don't understand and or cannot recognize, then you don't want them. I use Seventh Generation and Earth's Best for diapers and wipes when I do use disposable. You want a little bottle with olive oil or jojoba oil, not almund oil, because you won't know about nut allergies yet, to keep by the changing table. It is excellent for getting off the dark, sticky muconium that all babies have for a day or three or four after birth, and for nasty sticky toddler poo. A good diaper cream is also a must, you want organic, period. Between sixty and seventy percent of what you put onto your skin is obsorbed into your body, and this is higher for mucus membrains, such as in the eyes, nose, mouth and vagina, etc, and on babies skin, because it is so much newer and thinner, much more sensative. Even the shampoo you use gets obsorbed through your scalp. Therefore, your diaper cream and other baby body care should be organic. This is true for baby boys, but especially for baby girls, because of the mucus membraine factor. The top brands that I would reccomend, in order of preference are Earth Mama Angel Baby, Badger, Aubrey Organics, Healing Scents, Earth Tribe Kids, California Baby, and then you get into the teratory of companies who claim to be organic, but who only pay lip service to it. They are better than Johnson and Johnson's, but they are not really as organic as they want you to think. These are brands like Burt's Bees, Wilita Baby, etc. If you find Earth Mama Angel Baby's diaper balm expensive, remember two things, A. it lasts forever, because only a tiny bit does a whole diaper change, and B. you can use a more inexpensive brand like Healing Scents or Badger and then use the Earth Mama Angel Baby for when diaper rashes are eminant. I would be more than willing to help anyone out that has questions about organic baby body care as well, just QN me. I don't want to sound like a know it all, but I did do a great deal of research and have tried and reviewed a lot of products and brands. What I don't know or can't tell you I will admit to and then try to find you answers, but if you're pregnant now, you may be exausted, depressed, overwhelmed or just not feel like troling through hundreds of conflicting internet sites to get the answers you need to plan your baby care items. So, anything else for diapers, a changing table, a contoured pad for it, at least two or thre covers for the pad, some easily washable small toys that you can leave near the changing station that can distract your older baby and keep their little hands out of their poopy diaper, but that can be washed and staralized, if you get any not-so-pleasant matter on them. A nice sun catcher, mobile, dream catcher too hang in the window above your changing table, or if you don't have it under a window, a nice colorful poster or picture that you can put on the wall or cealing over the table. A diaper stacker, the bigger the better, these work great with cloth or disposable diapers. I will write up the details of cloth diapers later, as it is a lot to explain, but it is not complicated to do. As always, I hope this helps.
The things that are necessary for a new born baby are as follows.
close new born
3-6 months
baby power
baby lotsion
crib
toys
bottle scrubber
recieving blankets
regular blankets
bottles
wipies lots of them
mobil
books to read to child
desition a oitment for rashes
baby sampow
wash cloths
now clippers
bouncer
play pin
strollar
swing
and thats all that I can think of