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

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to put in another vote for the Miracle Blanket. That thing kept my daughter swaddled when she was able to kick her way out of every other blanket/swaddler. It gave us hours and hours of sleep that we would not have had otherwise.

Another good sleep aid is a white noise machine or just a cd that plays nature sounds. We had something from Brooks Brothers that made rain sounds and if we turned it all the way up and put it next to my daughter's head it would soothe her when nothing else would. We used that thing until it died.

And the Breast Friend pillow - totally saved my back for breastfeeding.

That said, we had very little when we brought the baby home. We didn't even have a stroller, just a car seat and bassinet. Then the gifts poured in. We only bought things when we really needed them, as it's hard to know what kind of baby you're going to have and what you're going to need.

[Anonymous]

One word on baby monitors--save the original packing and the receipt. My husband researched and bought a high end monitor. He set it up and threw out the box. Fast forward a month-- baby arrived, and it turned out the monitor did not work because of interference with our wireless modem(!) We couldn't return it because he had thrown out all the original packaging. We ended up buying a different monitor (that works) and now have a very expensive useless one in our closet!

[Anonymous]

I'm due in a few weeks and am loving this thread. I had enough risk to wait, wait and wait some more, and not buy anything early. So I find it reassuring to read about the people who didn't have much, but also great to have a shopping list for now.

OP - I know you didn't ask, but one thing that helped me: try not to buy too many maternity clothes until you have a belly. Someone told me to just buy a few things in a bigger sizes, and that worked well for me. The maternity stuff I bought too early ended up either too big or too small or just awkward.

Best of luck to you!!

[Anonymous]

Beg, borrow or steal the bulky infant items. Most of them are only useful for a few months. When I say bulky items, I am referring to the swing, bouncy seat, exersaucer, etc.

I had a lot of these items given to me..new. I felt so awful for all the money spent when she was 8 months old and had outgrown all of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm due in a few weeks and am loving this thread. I had enough risk to wait, wait and wait some more, and not buy anything early. So I find it reassuring to read about the people who didn't have much, but also great to have a shopping list for now.

OP - I know you didn't ask, but one thing that helped me: try not to buy too many maternity clothes until you have a belly. Someone told me to just buy a few things in a bigger sizes, and that worked well for me. The maternity stuff I bought too early ended up either too big or too small or just awkward.

Best of luck to you!!

OP here, I'm glad this thread reassuring. It seems like so many people waited to buy what they needed and felt that was the right move. Good luck with your delivery. It must have been very hard to wait to buy things alongside the stress of knowing you had some risks. You say you're due in a few weeks though, so I hope that means everything is going / has gone / will go well. It's too bad that everything is anonymous on this board, I'd love to check in and see how your delivery went.

With respect to the maternity clothing, that's good advice I plan on following. I'm not really showing officially, as my uterus is still hanging out mostly below the belt, but my waistline has disappeared and I've gained 6 lbs, which is a lot on a small frame. All the weight is sitting around my belly, waist, hips and thighs, so just unbuttoning pre-pregnancy pants isn't that comfortable. (I look like a pear, whaaaaa!)

Given the pants situation, I went to TJ Maxx a few weeks ago and found a few nice, inexpensive pairs of jeans 2 sizes up from my pre-pregnancy size. Those were baggy for about 2 weeks and now they fit. I suspect within a few weeks I'll need a bella band for them, too, but at least they are looser in the legs and rear than my prepregnancy pants. I haven't quite figured out what to do about suits -- right now most of my skirt suits still fit (no way on the pants suits, they technically can be pulled over my butt but the result is obscene). Anyway, with the skrits, I have to wear them higher on my waist than they were designed to be worn, so some of them are starting to look like mini-skirts (That won't do in my line of work!). So I'm going to have to figure something out. I normally buy nicer suits, but don't want to blow hundreds of dollars on something I'm only going to wear a month or so now and then again after baby (which will also be the middle of summer, which means I can't just buy any heavy suit right now). I did find a few knit skirts at target that I can wear with a normal jacket. It looks a bit "Elaine from Seinfeld / nineties," but I'm trying to own it as though I'm making some sort of fashion statement.

Thanks again for the tips!

[Anonymous]

5:38 here - thanks OP. Things have been stressful but I'm almost there! And now I just ordered some stuff off of your post (mostly diaper creme, breast feeding supplies), so I'm feeling better about being prepared.

A good place to shop, if it is close to you - Wiggle Room in Bethesda - http://www.wiggleroom.biz/ It's not that close to me but I checked it out once and have been back a few times. I got 2 gap shirts there for $5 each, some good transition pieces, and a stroller for practically nothing! The maternity clothes are in the back - cute baby clothes and gear up front. There's another consignment shop in Lake Anne plaza that's good also - not sure of the name.

A neighbor gave me two huge boxes of clothes, from 0 - 18 months over the holiday. My mom and I washed and organized all of them, so I am feeling set there. Definitely second the beg & borrow suggestion. I bought some other stuff - pack-n-play, swing, etc from craigslist for 1/4 of the price, and it all seemed to be unused.

You are right on track going to TJMaxx - no need to spend a lot on transition pieces. I did the same thing w/Target, too, bought some skirts that worked with a blazer and were stretchy! Does your work know yet?

Your enthusiasm is contagious, I must say. : Thanks.

[Anonymous]

swaddling blankets that have a little stretch,
blankets,
side snap t-shirts and pants (we didn't use onesies until ds's cord fell off),
bouncy chair (couldn't live without it - we didn't use the pack-n-play until ds started crawling)
a night light for whatever room baby will sleep and be fed in,
changing pad and diaper supplies,
burp cloths.
baby wash cloths,
car seat,
crib,
stroller,
diaper bag

[Anonymous]

"The Happiest Baby on the Block" book was a godsend for us. But read it before the baby arrives (no time afterwards)!

My son loved his bouncy seat (We had the Aquarium one that another poster mentioned).

I would recommend staying away from Baby Einstein videos and the like, if you can, until your baby is two years old. They will not make your baby smarter; they are just babysitting devices that Disney markets as "educational."

Swaddling blankets were essential for us.

Congratulations!

[Anonymous]

Buy as much used as you can. Do NOT pay full price for stuff like Exersaucers and swings.

[Anonymous]

We now have a three week old, so I can speak firsthand about what we've used and what we haven't used. My biggest piece of advice is to hold off on a lot of extras until you know what your baby likes and prefers. I was so excited for our DD that I went hog wild and bought all kinds of accessories, toys, in advance...much of which she either doesn't like, or the accessories don't fit, or we got duplicates as gifts. Now, of course, it's too late to return them.

My second major piece of advice is re: breastfeeding. If you're planning to breast feed, make sure you have a lot of the mommy comfort items purchased, sterilized, and ready to use BEFORE your milk comes in, e.g., breast pump, booby tube heating pads, breastmilk storage bags, Lansinoh cream, and breast shells. BE PREPARED because this is a very painful time, and you want to have everything ready to encourage you, without having to run out to get this stuff at the last minute when your breasts are smarting and engorged. These were the only things I am SO GLAD I bought in advance...

Must haves:

(1) Pack N Play *with built in changing table*. Soooooo convenient for those multiple late night changes, and you can set it up anywhere. It's been our most used item, contrary to what we expected. We haven't used the bassinette feature for sleeping, but instead have used it for storing clothes, blankets, toys, carriers etc.

(2) Car seat (no brainer).

(3) Hands free breast pump, if you're breast feeding. Great for DH to help feed on occasion if you're just exhausted. Also helps build up your milk supply. I got the Easy Expressions bustier, and just put the pump on and fall asleep.

(4) Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive diapers. Make sure to get the ones with the wetness indicator strip (changes from yellow to green if wet). This minimizes unnecessary diaper changes in the middle of the night. Make sure you have a lot of these...we have gone through TONS of diapers...like 10+ a day! Also, lots of diaper wipes...we've gone through so darn many!

(5) Lots of long sleeved onesies and footie sleepers with MITTENS built in. It's not as easy to find the clothes with the mittens built right in. We have sooooooo many clothes we got as gifts, all adorable, but none with mittens to keep DD from scratching her precious face! We actually had to run out and buy more of these despite our plethora of adorable clothes. Until then DD wore her special hospital shirt for the first several days (along with the second one we stole!).

(6) Swaddle Me velcro swaddle blankets from Kiddapotomus (sp?). These are life savers and are SO EASY to get the baby quickly swaddled. If your little one likes to be hands free, you can still use them with the velcro without confining their arms. Buy at least two, in case one gets dirty. The plain cotton are nicer than the fleece, which gets too hot.

(7) Baby carrier / sling. Our DD will only settle down if held/carried. The Ergo carrier and Baby Bjorn are her favorites, since she isn't a fan of swaddling and didn't like the sling/wraps (too confining). THis will help you and your partner out tremendously, so you can walk around and get things done while soothing baby. Another life saver for us. We didn't think we would use the Bjorn so soon, but it's the only thing that will settle our DD down instead of being held. In fact, DD is in it right now as I am typing this...sleeping happily!

(8) Snap N Go stroller to go with carseat. We don't have a normal stroller yet, and won't need it until DD is older. The Universal Snap N Go fits our carseat, is a breeze to fold, and has a HUGE basket, which is great for a short trip to the store.

(9) Pacifiers. Our baby is a suck-a-holic, and my poor breasts needed a break. I wasn't planning to use pacifiers with her at all, but now that she is breastfeeding just fine, she needs that extra sucking for soothing. Also, helps my chest, since she isn't using me as much for a pacifier.

(10) Breastfeeding comforts. When your milk comes in, it hurts like hell! I had NO IDEA how painful it would be that first week. I sobbed! It's enough to make you want to stop BF, so make sure you have lots of Lansinoh lanolin cream to soothe the nipples, Booby Tubes for heat therapy, ice packs to help with engorgement, and I also am a big fan of the Almeda breast shells, which help give your nipples a break from rubbing against your clothes/bra. THese are the things that kept me from giving up on BF. Buy them in advance. Sterlized them. Learn to use them, so you can hit the ground running and avoid the discomfort right away.

Wastes of Money:

(1) White noise toys (e.g., sleep sheep, womb bear, CDs with white noise, etc.). Have made no difference for us.

(2) Fancy bassinette...we got this bassinette with all the bells and whistles (plays music, white noise, moves, etc.). DD prefers to just sleep quietly being held or next to us. I would go with a simple Co-Sleeper next time.

(3) Moby Wrap and Hot Sling. Our DD doesn't like to be confined and has rejected the swaddle-type slings. She likes her arms free. I would recommend seeing what your baby prefers before wasting money on expensive slings that he/she may reject.

(4) JJ Cole Bundle Me covers for carseat. If you get these, make sure they fit your carseat. We have the Britax infant seat and two Bundle Mes that don't fit at all! (again $100+ down the drain!).


Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Congrats, OP!

I like the Medela-brand nipple cream much better than the Lansinoh brand. The Medala brand is less sticky and is more comfortable when applying.
Velcro swaddle blankets are a must.
A ton of cloth diapers is a must - you will use them for just about everything!

Btw, you didn't ask, but when you go to the hospital, bring your own towels (hosptial ones are crappy), pillow, toiletry items, ipod w/docking station or radio/cd player (nice to use in L&D room as well as postpartum room), cell phone charger, outfit for baby including extra pair of baby socks for when the first pair you packed gets lost, and robe to throw on when you have visitors and don't want to be seen/photographed in those flimsy hospital nightgowns. (But leave your own nightgowns at home so they don't get soiled.)

Someone gave me a wipes warmer, which I initially mocked as yet one more silly, unnecessary baby item. But I had my baby in winter, and I had to admit that the baby cried much less during diaper changes after I plugged in that wipes warmer and started using it!

[Anonymous]

OP again. Yes, I am planning to breastfeed. PP 13:14, I feel nervous hearing you say it hurts but I'm encouraged at the same time. Sounds like you were able to deal and it sounds like you're doing well, despite the discomfort (so congrats, good luck with sticking with it, and a huge thank you for taking the time to help me when you're busy with a 3 week old!)

RE Breastfeeding, it's good to know you're sticking with it and, while I'm not psyched to hear people say how much it hurts, I think it's realistic for me to prepare for some pain. Especially b/c I am a certified nipple wimp to begin with. I don't even like a stiff breeze touching them -- ha ha. Anyway, people have told me different things about breastfeeding. I have a cousin who says if you get the right latch it shouldn't hurt at all (and she's had 4 kids) but a friend of mine from college who breastfeed three said it hurt her at first every time, and that some of it depends on how sensitive your breasts are (yikes - see above nipple wimp assessment..)
Anyway, it is heartening to know other people have stuck with it despite discomfort and even pain. I'm planning to meet with a good lactation consultant early on so that my early attempts to breastfeed are perhaps marginally less clumsy than they might be otherwise, give myself as much of a leg up on the process as possible.

Thanks to each of you for giving me those additional insights. I'm the first in my close in family to have a child and my friends with babies are scattered across the country so I don't really have a go-to team of helpful women friends in town. (besides you all!) Of course, that means I'm also not likely to get any hand-me-downs or loans of either maternity clothing or baby stuff, as so many have suggested. I am definitely going to do some craigs list trawling--reducing the carbon footprint and all, not to mention impact on our wallet.

I am going to pick up the happiest baby on the block and some of those other books recommended. I'm reading everything I can get my hands on about pregnancy itself, birth options, breastfeeding, and babycare. My parents had additional children later in life so I had a big hand in raising newborns as a high schooler. Still, it's been a while and this will be my VERY OWN LIVE BABY. (holy crap). So anyway, I will be burning the midnight oil with "baby night school" but I know it will be worth it. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

The breastfeeding thing is really person to person, but I have yet to hear a person tell you it does not HURT when your milk comes in!!! It is QUITE painful. And I agree, the right latch stops hurting. But I had breast infections and bloody nipples, the whole nine yards.

Just have a good breastfeeding consultant. Pat Shelley at the BF center.

[Anonymous]

I'm one of those people who felt like I had to have the whole house stocked and ready to go before my first baby came, only to find out that half the stuff I bought I didn't actually use for quite a while or at all. Here are some of those things:

Boppy-- lots of conflicting opinions on this. I found it awkward (my baby would slip down between me and the pillow) and I just ended up using a smooshy bed pillow instead.

Pump-- I ended up needing a pump right off the bat in order to increase my supply, however I ended up renting a hospital grade one, which truly is much better than the ones you can buy in the store. Unless you end up receiving one as a gift, this purchase can be made later.

More than one nursing bra or tank-- I only bought one ahead of time from Target, which I think has a great selection of nursing bras. Once your milk comes in, you can decide which style fits you, and that you like, best.

Monitor-- if you are like most new Moms, your baby will not be out of earshot for the first weeks, even months. And, especially since you live in D.C., my bet is that you will hear your baby cry from anywhere in your home. Shit, I swear I could hear my daughter cry three blocks away. You will develop dog-like hearing that is specifically tuned in to your baby's cry (and then once he/she gets older and you meet Mr. Ferber, you will spend lots of time trying to tune it out). That said, we have one, but the only time we use it is when she is sleeping on the second floor and one of us is in the basement.

Fancy crib bedding-- some say that bumpers aren't safe, even for newborns. I had bumpers-- thin, flat-- but she didn't even see the inside of her crib until she was about 2 months old. 2 months after that I found myself taking them off since she began to roll around and I didn't want her to end up with her face pressed against it in the middle of the night. I am still patting myself on the back for NOT getting the tailor-made nursery decor that I almost got sucked into when browsing baby boutique stores. In fact, I'd suggest staying out of those or you will end up buying cute but expensive clothes that your baby will wear for 5 minutes before throwing up on.

Expensive nursery rug or one that needs to be professionally cleaned-- I thought I was being smart by buying an inexpensive chenille rug since it was nice and soft, until I found out how hard it is to clean a cotton rug.

Bottle warmer-- we ended up buying one later when my daughter decided she didn't like cold breastmilk, however she didn't realize that until around three months. If you're lucky, your baby will never develop a preference. If he/she does, get a cheap/simple one.

Bottle sterilizer-- I never bought one and I never needed it. When I wanted to sterilize her bottles, I put them in boiling water for 10 minutes. Our pediatrician said it wasn't necessary after the first time anyway.

Angel monitor-- I can only imagine how crazy this would have made me. Which is not to say that I wasn't already a little crazy... I've heard that it causes a lot of false alarms, which is probably just terrifying.

Nose bulb-- that's probably not the right word for it, but one of those bulb's that you are supposed to use to suck snot from your baby's nose. I took the one from the hospital, which was much more pliable (better) than the ones that come in the kits sold at the store. That said, I used it once just to see if it worked, and it didn't.

Medicine dropper-- if your baby needs medicine, including Tylenol, it will come with it's own dropper. In fact, I wouldn't buy one of those baby first aid kits-- I'd just get some small emery boards for when you are too scared to clip his/her nails, small baby nail clippers for when you lose the fear because of the length of time it takes to file their nails, a baby hairbrush to massage away the cradle cap, and a rectal thermometer.

A note on thermometers-- this might come as an off-the-wall suggestion, but I always have too. The reason is this: The first time my baby had a fever (due to a virus), I went to check on her in the middle of the night. I took her temperature while she slept and the thermometer said 105! I called the on-call nurse who told me to give her Tylenol and a luke warm bath. I did those things, which did nothing but piss her off like you wouln't believe. Would you like to be awaken in the middle of the night with a luke warm bath? I took her temperature again, and it was 106! Forget calling the on-call nurse, my husband and I rushed her to the ER. What was her temperature? 99.5. When I got home and tried to turn on the thermometer, it had died. NOW, I am probably more logical (and considerably less sleep deprived) to pay attention to how she feels, but when she was only four months, I didn't let anything like logic get in the way of things. That said, I still have two thermometers just in case.

Congrats on the pregnancy and good luck!

[Anonymous]

Just two cents on the breastfeeding thing: it didn't hurt me at all when my milk came in. And I, too, am a complete nipple wimp (to my husband's sorrow). Before my baby was born, even thinking about nursing would make me cringe and cross my hands over my chest. Breastfeeding doesn't have to hurt; as others have said, the right latch is key and Pat Shelly is a lifesaver. If you wind up having problems, don't wait and call her right away. But, if all else fails, I have two words for you: nipple shield. Lets you breastfeed while protecting your nipples (there are some downsides to it, but if that's the only way you can wind up breastfeeding, then it's worth it). Congrats on the pregnancy!