Friday, January 2, 2015
Need your advice.. -Mom/Baby Necessities
We did not have a baby shower, because I cannot handle being around 100's of people asking questions. Nor fawning over my barely existent belly. We will have something like a get to know baby shower, to appease the grandma's after baby is born -somewhere after 8 weeks. When the weather is nicer.
We are also "older" than the average parents and in my opinion, should be able to afford what we want for our child. We also were handed down a few of the big things. ( crib, stroller/car seat combo, bouncer, changing table ). I also do not believe that for the one child we have, he needs everything new. Yes, I've made my husband go to moms-to-moms sales & resale shops with me. To show him the difference in price on things. ( he's a big brand-name -gotta be new type of person ). Also didn't get into having to have a "themed" room with overpriced bedding, etc. I splurged when we went outlet shopping this past week & got a crib skirt at PB kids, but something very simple.
Since we are on third base now & nearing home plate. Can I get your opinion on a few things that some people have said " oh you gotta have this" or don't waste your money, for the first couple of months of his life. We have a few "wish" things for baby shower time, when he'll also be a little older, and would use more towards that time.
Gotta Have / Don't waste the money.
Newborn diapers ( how many weeks did you use them ) we have enough for 1-2 weeks.
What size have you used the least of ? Newborn / 1 / 2 / 3
Swaddle"Me" / Sleep Sacks/ Swaddle type blankets..
Bath soap /bathing starter set ? with soap, body soap, lotion, etc or purchase individually.
Swing ( we have 2 different kind of vibrating bouncers )
Video monitor/ Sound Monitor / Angel Care Monitor
How many changes of clothes did you have for the different sizes? We got a bunch for Christmas as gifts, but a lot in 3 months sizes & many multiples of the same outfit in the same size ( how strange )
So for newborn size I have about 12/15- sleepers 5- "outfits" and 12 onsies.
How many nursing bras ?
Disposable or reusable nursing pads.
Bumbo or not to Bumbo. ( my husband thinks it's the coolest looking chair ) we won't purchase now, but will wait as a shower gift, if not should we spend the $$
I want to hold off to see what the people at work get me, but I'm really starting to feel the crunch now..
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My babies were big so newborn diapers for 1 week with my first and 3 with my second. If you want to stock up ahead of time you can't go wrong with 3s. Kids are in 3s for a LONG time.
ReplyDeleteSwaddle"Me" not necessary but handy. My husband does a better job than I do with tight blanket swaddles so I like the velcro but you can swaddle with anything.
We purchased toiletries separately, Johnson and Johnson all in one baby wash and lotion. That's all we've used for 2.5 years now.
Swing is a nice to have, not a need to have. Bouncy seats will work just fine.
I am a huge fan of the video monitor. Still using it with my 2.5 year old. It gave me peace of mind when he was an infant, helped me determine if I needed to go in or not as he grew and now if he is staying put in his big boy bed.
Clothes. We have a TON of 3 month clothes and hardly any in other sizes sadly. Think 3-4 outfits a day (including pajamas) to account for spit ups/blowouts/etc. Some days you will use less, some more. What you'll need will depend on how often you do laundry.
2 or 3 nursing bras. I am cheap so I have reusable nursing pads. We've never had a bumbo so no help there.
Never had much success with swaddling but having a swaddle me might have helped?
ReplyDeleteWe started cloth diapers at 6 weeks but I want to say the nb diapers lasted 2-3 weeks? I know we used nb and 1 interchangeably for a bit too, so maybe just get one pack of nb and more 1s. You can always send your husband out for more nb if absolutely necessary!
We got a starter set with a Burt's bees soap and still haven't used it up!
The swing was great and Maria really liked it but I don't know if I would spend much on one - we borrowed it.
We just have a sound monitor and it's fine.
Outfits... I don't know, maybe 7-10 outfits and 5-10 onesies? I only sin for 3-4 sleepers per size but I know some people put a new one on every night- I only change it out if she poops/spits up/zones on it.
2-3 nursing bras, and be aware your size will change! I just had to get new ones a few weeks ago because mine were too big. I bought bravada from amazon (look at the sizing chart on the bravada website though!) and they are well worth it! I tried and tried cloth nursing pads but I'm one of those oh so lucky women who leak and leak a lot and cloth just doesn't help me- i have to get disposable.
We got a used bimbo for cheap and Maria didn't like it so maybe look on craigslist or somewhere similar but don't pay full price!
Wow... I shouldn't type comments on my ipad in the middle of the night lol... I *aim* for 3-4 sleepers... I think I meant to say pees on it, not zones (?!), and bumbo seat not bimbo haha!
DeleteWe have a 3mo old and I had many similar questions before he arrived. We were shocked when he was 9lb 8oz, I didn't have much of a belly and hardly gained any weight. Fortunately I hadn't removed the tags from many clothes, he never fit in newborn! He was in 3 mo for about 8 weeks and now is in 6 mo, mostly due to his length. We found we needed very few clothes, 2 nice "outfits" and 6 or 8 zip up sleepers in the beginning. Breastfeeding was all consuming and we weren't going anywhere other than church so it was all about the easiest thing to get on and off. Also, everyone gifted us with clothes and it was all newborn or 3months, we spent a lot of time exchanging for bigger sizes.
ReplyDeleteWe love the halo swaddle sleepsacks, they keep him warm and are easy to swaddle. We use johnson's baby wash and regular unscented lotion per our peds recommendation.
He loves his bouncy chair and absolutely hates the swing, I'd go with hand me downs or second hand as much as possible, every baby has different preferences.
We have an audio monitor and like it, I've never felt like I needed video, but I am a very laid back parent.
I bought 2 sleep style nursing bra's and waited to invest in good nursing bra's until just a few weeks ago. I was changing sizes and didn't find I needed them before then. I've been using disposable pads, but am considering reusable now.
We don't have a bumbo.
Other must have's for us have been the pack n play with bassinet, we kept the baby in our room until 8 weeks. A breastfeeding pillow and a nose frieda (disgusting, but a lifesaver with the first cold).
The swaddle blankets can be tricky, but the Halo sleep sack ones with the velcro swaddler were total must-haves for all of my babies. And the Angel care monitor. It's stupid expensive, but the peace of mind is awesome!
ReplyDeleteThe swing saved us the first couple weeks of his life as he cried all the time and wouldn't sleep in his bassinet til he was bigger.
ReplyDeleteWe have halo sleep sacks and the Aden and anais swaddle blankets... He got his arms out of both no matter how tight we made it so we started using one called the miracle blanket and it works great. Swaddling has saved us.. Some moms go on and on and claim their baby hates being swaddled because he puts his hand by his face or whatever but he sleeps so much better when he's swaddled and even though he cries a little at first when we put him in it he calms down quickly. I am a firm believer in swaddles and I truly believe most babies benefit from them and don't hate them as much as some mothers imagine.
We didn't get a video monitor and I regret it deeply now.
Our babe was in newborn diapers for the first 6 weeks of his life but he got down to 5 lbs for a while so he was Itty bitty. Same story on newborn clothes.. We needed way more than I anticipated cuz everyone told us he'd only be in them for a week or 2 tops but our experience was different. The clothes I've used the most of from birth to 3 months so far has been onesies and sleepers but mostly onesies. My little guy sweats super easy so he only wears a onesie while being swaddled.. As a newborn they spend most of their time sleeping so most days all he had a chance to wear were onesies and a sleeper for awake time and/or feeding time while not swaddled. I wasn't prepared for how many bibs and burp cloths I actually needed so if I could do it again I would stock up on those items more.
I had 3 nursing bras.. 1 to wear while 1 was in the wash with 1 in my drawer as backup cuz the leaking is nasty. I used disposable pads but only cuz i didnt have anything else. I'm sure the reusable are fine.
No opinion on the bumbo cuz we don't have one but are considering getting one.
Good luck and congratulations