What did you use? What sat in the corner?

[Andrea M. Houghtaling]

I'm pregnant with my first child and I'd like to know from those of you who have been there and done that what you would reccomend as must haves? I am not interested in acquiring a ton of stuff, my husband and I really do not believe in acquiring a lot of things just to have things. So with that in mind, what could you not have lived without? What did you get but never use? What did you have but could have gone without? Thanks.

[Anne]

We were the same way. We have a small house so space is a premium.

Here's the things I found most useful:

* Cosleeper (we used a Snuggle Nest). If you're like most new parents, you'll be terrified of SIDS. Having the baby sleeping close enough to you that you can rest your hand on his/her chest and feel them breathing helps you sleep at night.

* Swing. I wasn't sure we'd ever use one, but a family friend bought us this one and it's the best thing ever. We can simply pivot the seat with our son in it so we don't have to move the swing at all. He loves babbling to the fishes and this swing is the only thing that gives our tired arms a rest for about 20 minutes before he loses his patience with it.

* Some sort of rocking chair or glider. We have a rocker/recliner and it's a godsend in the middle of the night to be able to sit and rock while feeding our son. We often take naps together in it as well.

* Bouncer. This is great for so many reasons. The first time I needed to take a shower when I was home alone with my son, I couldn't bear to put him in his crib and let him cry. So, I brought the bouncer into the bathroom and turned the music on (ours has music and vibrations). I was able to talk to him so he knew he wasn't abandoned and he didn't cry at all.

* Travel system. We bought one of the Graco travel systems (stroller & car seat combo) and it's wonderful. We have an extra car seat base for my husband's car and I can't tell you how much we use these. I bought their Metrolite model stroller. It's light enough and easy to fold but it still allows me to attach the car seat so I don't have to unbuckle my son when he's sleeping to take him in and out of the car.

* Changing table. Initially, I tried to get away with just having a Pack N Play with a built-in changing area. Unfortunately, my son has grown very quickly and has almost outgrown the weight limit for it within two months. Thankfully, a friend was trying to find a home for her daughter's old changing table, so we took down the Pack N Play and just have the table now.

* Medela Advanced Breast Pump. Best. Thing. Ever. You hear about "cracked nipples" but no one tells you about "nipple erosion". By the end of the first week, my nipples were so destroyed, I pumped exclusively. I also had a case of mastitis and pumping made it all better. I also have a friend whose second daughter bites her so hard, that she switches on and off breastfeeding and pumping.

Depending on your baby, you might want to get some kind of sling/carrier as well. My son hates being put down, but I have back problems so slings were out. I've tried the Moby wrap, which I really like, but the baby gets really hot (he's a little furnace) so he can only stand being in it for about a half hour. I've also tried the Infantino Front2Back carrier. He hates it unless he's facing forward.

Good luck and welcome to the new mommy club!

[Kathy]

Have you considered cloth diapering? I sell cloth diapers, slings, lullaby CD, etc at www.balterbaby.com. If you are interested in natural parenting, please take a look!!

Thanks!
Kathy
www.balterbaby.com

[Tami]

After 3 kids (including a set of twins) there are a ton of things I used a bunch and a lot that just sat.
Boppy - good for breast feeding, or holding baby when you can't
Angel care monitor - pad goes under mattress and buzzes if baby stops breathing.
Exersaucer
Fisher Price Highchair - PLASTIC seat cover - cloth gets too messy too fast.
Stroller, car seat.

Didn't need/ use/ worthless
Diaper Genie - pain in my ass - used regular garbage and threw it out every night.
Bottle warmer - just make formula when you need it or use microwave (yes I did and my kids are fine)
Swing - 3 kids- used total of 3 hours.
bouncy seat they never used it.
Baby bjorn - never used
Baby grooming set - waste, get booger sucker from hospital and use nail file on their nails.


Remember every kid is different, so kids LOVE the swing, others hate it; some love the carrier others hate it. Stock up on diapers, unisex clothing - especially pjs (if you are having more than 1 kid), bibs.

If you aren't breast feeding start with the CHEAPER bottles - gerber is FINE! Avent is not necessary about 2x the price. If baby has problem try a different type, don't buy 153 bottles only to figure out baby doesn't like them.
Good Luck!

[Marousya Rasskovskaya]

we said the same thing while pg but if you're like us, you will end up acquiring a bunch of stuff regardless LOL it just happens! plus people will give you things. i think it's a good approach to borrow things from people to see if it works for you. every baby is different, so hard to say once you have him/her what he/she will like. my advice would be to buy the bare minimum and then wait until you have the baby to see if and what you need. you can always order online if you're not ready to venture out. the baby needs very little clothes at the beginning and don't buy a lot of 0-3 mo. size as they will grow out of them so fast. i looked for 0-6 mo. size that my 3.5 mo. is still wearing, and buy the next size up so that they will be big in the beginning, but will grow into them. other than that, i would say, a changing table, or changing pad on top of dresser, diapers, wipes, baby soap/shampoo, nail clippers, diaper cream, and a bouncy chair to set the baby in to give you free hands sometimes, and a bassinet. obv. a car seat to bring home from hospital, or if you have a car. also handy might be a sling or carrier, but it took us a while to find one our baby liked - so this would be a case where you would borrow some to try out first before purchasing. that's really all we needed for a while, but then gradually started buying or acquiring more stuff as we needed it. we only bought a stroller at 3 mos. after much research and b/c she is now older and the options are wider for her now that she can hold her head up. if breastfeeding, i cannot go w/out my boppy. i also am so glad i bought a double electric pump right away. bottles - you might have to try out a bunch before finding one that works. good luck!

[kaisanan]

Would have gone crazy without:
-Swing
-Exersaucer
-If you are breastfeeding and will be working, a really good electric pump. A manual pump is a joke if you have to pump every single day. I exclusively pumped with both kids and with #2 I decided to make life easier and purchased a second pump to leave at work. Even if you cant afford to do that I recommend getting lots of extra sheilds.. makes life better! to not have to be constantly washing sheilds.
-Stroller: My advice: dont waste money on the "travel systems" Instead, spend that money on a really nice lightweight umbrella stroller like maclaren or peg perego that will accept an infant seat. Totally worth spending the money now for a stroller you can use long term rather than doing what we did: we spent a bunch on a travel system that was really just a way to push the car seat around - once she was out of the car seat we wanted a lightweight compact full featured umbrella stroller and got rid of the travel system one. If we would have just spent the money on the umbrella type that accepted a carseat we would have saved money in the long run. IMO, the travel systems are aimed at first time parents that dont know any better.
-If you travel get a babybjorn travel crib, it is only 11lbs and sets up in 4 secs.. (I found mine on craigslist for $75!!!) Packnplays are really not convenient for travelling, they weigh too much to lug around.
-baby monitor if your house has multi levels. Don't put the monitor in your bedroom if the baby's room is on the same level.... I promise you will be able to hear him/her if they wake up and need you. (most babies will wake up several times and tossnturn / moan / cry a bit in their sleep. If left alone most will be back to sleep in 5-10 mins)

Worthless:
Diaper genie
bottle warmer (have you ever felt the temp of breastmilk? - it's lukewarm at best.. and frozen takes only a few minutes in warm water to thaw). For formula we just put powered formula in a few bottles and took one bottle of pre-measured water with to dump into the bottle with the formula, yes it was room temperature (cold-ish) and she didnt know the difference).
Wipe warmer - seriously?
Baby bathtub- we just handed the baby off tag team style in the shower, way faster/easier.
Pack'nplay - TOO heavy. spend the $$ for a babybjorn travel crib (see above)

[katie]

Hi, I found you should buy 9oz bottles straight away, because i bought 4oz ones and they lasted maybe a month and then i had to go off and buy a set of bottles, a waste of money. here is a list of things i could not live without
1. changing bag
2. Bibs
3. soother
4. soother Chain
5. Gripe Water (brings up wind)
6. burping bibs

Dont go mad with toys.. as small babys dont have much interest! em I found alot of clothes went to waste because there was so much bought for her!! stick with basics. baby gros and vests and something like a cardigan

[amanda]

Mine is 10 weeks old so I am still in the newborn-ish phase. Not sure about what will be must haves from here on out but I can tell you the things that have been major must-haves and the nice-to-haves for us.

The absolutes:
*DIAPERS (lots of them!) -- make sure you buy the next size up in case your little one is bigger than you expect. We got a TON of newborn size diapers that my baby's bottom never even touched as he was 9.5 pounds at birth. I was so thankful we had plenty of 1's and even size 2's to back us up.
*WIPES -- one of my favorite gifts was a box of 500+ wipes
*ONESIES and SLEEPERS -- the little newborn outfits made quite the precious gifts but really my newborn ended up wearing sleepers almost all of the time (January baby, very cold) and now that the weather is warming up, he is onesies most of the time. Plus, there is almost nothing cuter than a baby's little onesie
*BOTTLES -- for formula if you are formula-feeding and also plenty that will go with your pump if you are breastfeeding (tip: I have the Medela Pump in Style and while I bought so many of the Medela bottles to go with it, I soon realized that I could use any standard-sized bottle -- Dr. Brown's, Munchkin glass -- which are very cost-effective -- ... but I really ended up loving Avent and Born Free wide-neck bottles so I bought Avent's pump adapter -- $3.99 on sale -- which makes the Medela pump compatible with the Avent and Born Free bottles.) But my point is... I don't think you can ever have enoug bottles, ESPECIALLY in the first few weeks. The absolute last thing I wanted to do was wash bottles... my best advice is to make things easier for yourself, you will thank yourself for it.
*CARSEAT/TRAVEL SYSTEM -- even though the travel systems are more bulky, I will claim they are totally worth it when that baby is sleeping soundly... the last thing you want to do is wake a sleeping newborn -- just let them be.
*SWADDLING BLANKET -- Can't praise swaddling blankets enough. The smaller flannel receiving blankets are great for the very small newborn but my favorites are the big receiving blanket by Swaddle Designs which are huuge and allow for a really great, snug swaddle and then The Miracle Blanket now that he is a little older and stronger and can get out of the swaddle more easily. Our little one was sleeping a consistent 6-7 hours per night at 7 weeks -- a real life saver!


The nice-to-haves:
*BOPPY or other nursing pillow. Not a necessary item but a good one to have for many reasons. Wonderful for breastfeeding or formula feeding (I BF and supplement with formula). Also a great way to make tummy time a little easier when they're holding their head up more and they can kind of recline/prop up in it which is great. Not to mention the times I've used it as my own pillow for naptime.
*Some sort of bouncer, chair, swing that you can put the baby in when you need to take a shower or get things done. We got a papasan seat (vibrates) and then a swing where the chair actually detaches and reclines for infants and then switches to a small rocker when they are toddlers... the papasan and the reclining seat (not swinging) have been his favorite so far but every baby is different. Lots of babies love the actual swinging motion.
*SLING/BABY BJORN -- can't plug these enough... I love them.
*CHANGING TABLE -- or some other higher surface to change the baby on. even if it is just a pad to put on your bed to change the baby, it will help. It sounds whiny, but even just bending over a little bit was a real pain (literally) when we got home. Plus, I love the organization that the shelves provide.
*And my favorite "entertainer"... a tummy time mat/play "gym" ... my babe LOVES this... he coos and giggles at the toys hanging from the gym and it's a great place other than a seat/papsan to put him when I would like to get a few things done... I would actually even go so far as to say this has been more indispensable than the chair/swing/papasan.
*... I can't believe I made it this far in the list without mentioning a GLIDER (or rocking chair). (More for you than for the baby, though some babies just love to be rocked to sleep.) There have been a few nights where we needed to rock him to sleep but mostly I just love rocking him in it and sitting in it with him and a toy or a book... very relaxing and good for your peace of mind.
*BOTTLE WARMER -- great for gently heating expressed breastmilk and for sterilizing small items like pacifiers and bottle nipple collars.
*We love the Diaper Genie but a lidded trash can and a grocery bag would do just as well.

I could go one about things we love and hate but, of course, THE essential is a happy mom! Trust yourself, know your baby and do what is right for your family. What works for me might not (and likely won't) work for you. You'll figure it all out. Congrats and many blessings! They are SO worth the process.

[icoobaby2]

Hello friends.I think you guys are discussing about the strollers and their reviews.I have Disney Baby Products include Stroller, car seat,and other baby stuff. These baby products make my baby feel comfort all the time.

[fhaye]

what could you not have lived without?
- basic needs of my child (diaper, clothing, toys and milk)
- alcohol and hand sanitizers
- bed and crib
- hands free breast pumping bra (very useful for me being a busy mom my companion of taking care of my daughter)

What did you get but never use?
- can't think of any

What did you have but could have gone without?
- support of my family coz I'm a single mom ( emotional, spiritual and physical)