Which items were most useful to have on hand before bringing home your first baby?

[Anonymous]

I read the responses and agree with most of this, but not all. Read Baby Bargains and keep your receipts. What is essential to one person is a waste of money for another. Good luck and congratulations.

[Anonymous]

Wow! OP here. Thank you so much. These repliles are as hilarious as they are extremely helpful. To answer some questions: we are in the city -- Capitol Hill(ish) so a swiven wheel stroller will probably be a good idea. I'm also planning to get a baby sling / baby bjorn type thing so that might tide us over until we decide on a stroller system. Deciding in advance, however, might result in a helpful grandparent to be buying said stroller for us. I am due in July, which affords plenty of time both for me to scare other beachgoers with my very pregnant belly AND to put baby in that cute swimsuit a helpful poster mentioned.

On the "help" (or "HELP!") front, my husband has a higher mess tolerance than I have so we will probably call in a hired gun once a week when baby is a newborn just so we don't accidentally, say, misplace baby among the ruins. We're also not sure how much family help we want to have. It may be crazy to turn down any help, but I don't want DH and I to have to battle for bonding time with our little one, which is a very likely scenario with both sides of the family. Baby will be the first neice / nephew / grandchild on both sides, so we're going to have to tread carefully but still make sure we get the space we might need. (Then again I may easily be calling and begging my mom to come and mother me--who knows?) Either way, thankfully, my husband and I will both get lots of leave to be with baby so neither of us will be worrying about outside work for the first few months.

This thread has inspired me to go out and buy some stuff. (Think aquarium bouncer and pac n play, not so much the colace and depends just yet!). By the way, anyone actually buy these two products together? I would think that might really confuse a cashier.

Have a great day everyone and thanks a million. This thread made my morning.

[Anonymous]

OP here -- adding "a good editor" to list of things I need. Typos in my last post might make it hard to read. Sorry!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read the responses and agree with most of this, but not all. Read Baby Bargains and keep your receipts. What is essential to one person is a waste of money for another. Good luck and congratulations.

True. There have been a lot of great suggestions.

OP, I think it's great to start early thinking of these things, and having the internet is a godsend. I researched things for months, thought hard about my lifestyle, and ended up making very few mistakes in purchases. So research the heck out of it. It "is" fun.

Here's what I found helpful/unhelpful. I tried very hard to go minimalist because I just don't want tons of things for a baby.


Things I wanted and ended up using a lot:

1) A combination diaper changing table and chest of drawers. Again, we had minimal space. This worked really well.
2) While a lot of folks don't seem to like the travel systems, I loved mine and still use the stroller after two years. I walk daily with my son. It's been wonderful.
3) Baby Einstein Lullaby CD, Baby Mozart, Baby Beethoven, and now Baby Einstein Play Date CDs. My son adores music.
4) A swing, especially when my son had a touch of colic for several weeks.
5) Boudreaux's Butt Paste diaper cream
6) Cetaphil wash for baby skin (if anything is needed at all)
7) Cloth diapers to use as burp cloths.


Things I didn't want and ended up not needing:

1) No pack and play. I did buy a much more durable portable crib (similar to pack and play but stronger) because we travel internationally a lot and I wanted to take his own crib with me. But I never used it around the house.
2) No baby monitor. Our house is small and he was in our room for four months, and we coslept off and on for a few months after that. But I could hear almost every breath he took from the other room without a monitor. So no need for us.
3) No rocker/glider for me/baby. We had no space for it, but I didn't miss it.
4) No bottle warmer.
5) No wipes warmer.


Things I didn't want, but needed:

1) Dreft. Try regular detergent if you want at first and see how your child does. My child ended up with eczema, so we switched to Dreft pretty quickly.


Things I wanted, but didn't need:

1) Infant carrier or sling. I tried really hard, but my son wouldn't go for them.

[Anonymous]

First off...congratulations!

For religious reasons, we did not have a baby shower so we bought a few items that we thought we would need day one. We also borrowed from friends a bunch. Here are a few things I'd recommend:

1. A few (but only a few) outfits. You will be inundated with gifts after the baby arrives. Look for items that do not go over the baby's head but instead snap/zip in front.

2. Car seat

3. Diaper Pail

4. A few of the following: swaddling blankets, burp cloths, and receiving blankets. Don't buy all that you need -- again, you'll get these as gifts.

5. Order your furniture..it can take 12 weeks to deliver

6. Borrow or buy a bassinet or some other smaller than a crib baby stasher for those night feedings the first few weeks. You'll also need sheets for this item...again, you'll get them as a gift so just get a few.

7. Pacifier

8. Newborn diapers

9. Newborn toiletries (like diaper creme)

It is my impression that you really do not need much at the beginning. Also, for what it's worth, I found the staff at Buy Buy Baby to be incredibly helpful. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Lots of great suggestions here. The one lifesaver for me were a pack of Soothies for sore nipples. Lanisoh is fine, but if you get a crack or really sore nipples these things are GREAT. I can't remember the exact name but I know they sell them at the Care Pharmacy on Massachusetts Ave in Spring Valley--they can be put on burns too and they work better than anything I have found. If I see them (since I am expecting again) I'll post with more brand info.

[Anonymous]

PP here: Found the name Second Skin Moist Burn Pads--awesome, and cheap.

[Anonymous]

Eucerin Aquafor to prevent diaper rash and a Baby Bjorn for those long colicky nights. Best pre-birth advice: READ READ READ parenting books now and decide what your approach to sleeping, feeding, routines, etc. will be. After the baby comes you won't have time.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP here. A PP also mentioned The Happiest Baby on the Block. Are there other books you'd highly recommend? Besides baby bargains, or course; I've ordered that one already. I think Baby Bargains is written by the same folks who wrote Wedding Bargains, which was a lifesaver when I was planning our wedding.

[Anonymous]

The Weissbluth book is amazing.

[Anonymous]

OP -
congratulations. there are lots of really good suggestions on this thread. one thing i didn't see was make sure you have 2-3 changing pad covers. we had lots of accidents on the changing pad and it was a life saver to be able to rip off one cover and throw on another clean one right away and not worry about having to do laundry immediately. we also LOVED the papmpers swaddlers. our daughter (who is little!) stayed in them until she was 1!
you really need less than you think, and whatever you don't end up having on hand you can get pretty easily. our baby lived in the Gerber "sleep n plays" for a long time (with a onesie under them). the ones that zip up the front are easier/faster than the ones that snap. the cute outfits are pretty much a waste of time in my opinion for the first 3-6 mo!
also, a sleep sack (Halo, Carters, etc.) is great for when weather gets colder in the fall b/f baby is old enough to sleep with a blanket. but this is not necessary b/f bringing baby home.
good luck!

[Anonymous]

Don't want to scare the new mom to be, but sometimes we focus so much on the new baby we forget we are going to need to take care of ourselves:

A couple of new mommy items I wish I hadn't had to send DH to get for me--sometimes your OB will send you home with them but not always: Colace, or other stool softener, hemorrhoid cream, Fleet enema. If you don't have a C-section, you may be glad you have these on hand.

[Anonymous]

congrats to you and your husband! As the new mom of a seven week old, I can offer the following things I love (certainly not all-inclusive, just some things I really like):

-yes to the Boppy (or My Brest Friend) suggestion. I brought mine to the hospital and was glad I did. Also, be sure to have an extra cover or two for the pillow. It will get milk on it and you'll be glad to have the extra cover.

-big yes for the multiple changing pad covers. I also have found disposable changing pad liners (http://www.target.com/Munchkin-Changing-Pads-10-pk/dp/B001J24OOG) to be great, especially at night. My DD always seems to pee just as I am switching out dirty for clean diaper.

-Dreft stain remover. This stuff gets out EVERYTHING, especially breastmilk poop. It is made for getting out bodily fluids. Enough said.

-Disposable breastfeeding pads to put in your bra. Wear them all the time, even if you don't think you need them. Breastmilk coming out of your sweater at a dinner at your husband's boss's house=good times.

-Soothies. PP mentioned these. There is a brand actually called "soothies" that I used. They had them at CVS (one at 14th and P anyway).

-Pampers Swaddlers. I liked the newborn ones with the wetness indicator that they had at Sibley. I found them at Target in Columbia Heights. There is a line on the diaper that turns blue when it's wet. This was great with a newborn with jaundice, as we had to keep track of wet diapers and it's not always obvious. Now, we just use the regular Swaddlers and they are cheapest at diapers.com.

-a bjorn, sling, wrap etc. It's so nice to have your hands free even for 10 minutes! Different things work for different moms/babies, so experiment.

-Try to borrow/test things from friends. I am lucky to have lots of thing I could borrow...swing, papasan, etc. so I am learning what works for us.

-Take help if offered and if not, ask.

-Call a lactation consultant sooner rather than later. Breastfeeding should not be horrible. It does get easier!

-Take some time for yourself every now and then. A pedicure during week three was the best thing ever.

Have fun--it really is great.

[Anonymous]

Holy cow - if you buy everything on this post that "we needed", you will be broke. Remember, all of this "Stuff" wasn't available 30 years ago and we are all fine. So - you need very very little...you don't need special furniture. Giant waste of money. Borrow as much as you can. Then pass it on to someone else with a newborn. lactation consultant is an absolute must. it is amazing what we really struggle with. Take help in whatever form it comes in. You will have the rest of your life to bond with your child. If a family member comes over, hand them the baby so you can sleep. You will need sleep and you will not get enough. There are lots of good suggestions through here - keep all receipts because what works for someone else will not necessarily be what you need...

[Anonymous]

I believe the video monitor is the greatest invention ever. I could not survive without it. I can always relax when I can watch the baby sleeping and know she is ok. It is definitely the best baby purchase I have made. I had an audio only monitor and I could not relax. I use it for naps and let the baby sleep with me at night