Baby Items

Question: What baby items did you need that nobody told you about?

(Posted by: on 2010-01-11 03:34:59)

I have obvious stuff like cot and change table, pram, car seat etc but what were some of the smaller things you bought for your baby that were really handy that were not on all those & quot;to get for baby& quot; lists??

Posted by: missmel on 2010-01-11, 03:43:31

Cloth diapers.....not for diapering! They are just great general purpose cloths for everything baby! Little and BIG messes...and the great thing is that they just keep getting better the more you wash them....I think I ended up with about 3 dozen and it wasn 't enough!

Posted by: Erika (Nina and Brady's Mom) on 2010-01-11, 03:39:55

Wipes...never can have enough of those. And also onsies, some long sleeve, some short

Posted by: Brenda Star on 2010-01-11, 04:01:25

Petroleum jelly. To be used with each change of diaper for prevention of diaper rash... learnt this trick with my first and since then never had to deal with diaper rash. :)

Posted by: Hayley France on 2010-01-11, 04:05:06

A bumbo...you can use them from when baby can support his/ her own neck and back. They 're really good for teaching baby to sit up and to let baby sit and watch the world from a different angle before s/ he can sit unsupported. And toys, my daughters play mat and baby gym were a God send for the first few months...she 's 6 months now and still loves her baby gym. Also get a wide variety of soft toys, rattles, drums, blocks etc...it helps baby learn and keeps them amused for hours. My daughters favourites are her xylophone and peek-a-blocks right now. A bath seat...I didn 't even think of getting one of these whilst pregnant as I bought my daughter a baby bath but she hates using her little bath and prefers to sit in the big tub with me...but it 's hard to hold onto a slippery infant in the bath with no support so I found a reclining bath seat really helped me. Mobiles/ stickers/ posters to go round the cot...I find these keep my little one amused for a while when she first wakes up so I have time to get myself ready before getting her up. Blankets with ribbon on...not at all essential or even for every baby but thought I 'd mention it because I think my little girl would be lost without her "Num-num " blanket! - She can 't sleep unless she 's rubbing the ribbon on her nose and making a "num-num-num " noise...very cute! :) Stain remover! Nobody told me how many leaky nappies a baby could generate and nobody also told me that that stuff stains...BIG time! Lol. That 's all I can think of for now! Congratulations and good luck! :o) x EDIT: Just thought of one more thing...a medicine dispenser dummy...brilliant for administering Calpol when baby 's teething! :)

Posted by: Anon on 2010-01-11, 04:12:02

Nasal Aspirator. Babies always get colds so it 's really handy to have one of these to suck the mucus out of his nose (it sounds gross but it 's not as bad as you think). I found it was handy setting myself a medicine cupboard (consisted of nappy rash cream, Infacol, Vaseline etc) so I didn 't have to go out with him if he had a cold, wind etc. I bought Infacol which I used every day to prevent him having colic in the early days and it is harmless to use before every feed. I also bought a baby care kit with a thermometer, baby nail clippers etc. This is the link for it summerinfant.com/ categories_products_view/ 44/ Complete-Nursery-Care-Kit.html I also bought the nasal aspirator from the same company. The other 2 things that I found so useful (but not essential) were a video monitor so you can actually see them, and a swing to put them in. This is the video monitor I bought which is more expensive than the others but definitely worth the extra money as a lot of video monitors can be interrupted by the microwave etc, and they aren 't very clear. toysrus.co.uk/ Babies-R-Us/ Nursery/ Monitors-and-Nightlights/ Lindam-Clarity-Digital-Video-Monitor(0020833) This is the swing I have got which was brilliant for soothing the baby in the early days: toysrus.co.uk/ Babies-R-Us/ Collections/ Ziggy-Zebra-Loving-Hug-Swing(0068327) I haven 't got this but some people say it 's brilliant, others say it makes you too paranoid. It 's a back plate that you lie underneath the baby whilst they are sleeping. If their heart or breathing stops, it sounds an alarm on your end of the monitor to let you know. Some people say they can be too sensitive though and sound the alarm over the smallest things. I would also say to buy lots of sanitary towels, frozen meals, lots of clean clothes and underwear so you don 't have to go out much in the first week. I had to have an emergency c section so if you have to have one then you won 't be able to go out or drive for a couple of weeks. Last thing, get the faster flow teats as well. I bought Avent Newborn teats and also Avent number 2 sized teats as my baby was only on the newborn flow for a week (he was born at 9lb 6.5oz) and moved onto number 2 after that. Also have lots of 0-3 month vests and baby grows ready as you never know how heavy your baby will be! Good luck.

Posted by: mama on 2010-01-11, 04:29:02

A spare laundry basket, a laundry airing rack and more clothes pegs. those tiny little people really fill the hamper! i did two loads of laundry a day until baby turned 1. cloth diapers. we still use them every day (baby is 15mths) and they 've never been used as diapers. they are the best for cleaning, shading, emergency bibs etc etc etc. my mum still uses the cloth diapers from when i was a baby 29years ago! well worth the expense, especially if you get them second hand. classical music cds. my son sleeps through the night if we play a cd on repeat. it soothes him back to sleep when he semi-wakes in the night. if the music is off, he 'll wake to sounds like the phone ringing or the neighbours drinking in their yard.

Posted by: Diane (PFLAG) on 2010-01-11, 04:53:16

Burp clothes... You can never have too many on hand.. Baby 's often seem to manufacture more milk than you fed them to expel back at you,... Baby nail clippers... Baby 's nails will grow seemingly over night and need clipping.. You can also use a fine grain nail file to file them... The fine grain will file the nail without damaging baby 's delicate skin... A flashlight with colored filter... It allows you to take a peek in at baby without turning on a lamp/ overhead light which may wake baby.. It also comes in handy if the power goes out and you have to navigate the house for a night feeding.. Kleenex... especially if you are having a boy.. You can place one over his penis while changing him to avoid being hosed down.. When a breeze hits a little penis it turns into an out of control fire hose... Kleenex are much cheaper than baby wipes for this purpose.. Bottle brush if bottle feeding.. Baby laundry soap.

Posted by: *Dana* on 2010-01-11, 07:23:02

One word. Swaddler!!! I could never get a regular blanket to swaddle right so my mom bought me two kidopotamus swaddlers (they are fleece and have velcro so you can wrap them up snug). My daughter sleeps all night now that we have figured out a good way to swaddle her. They were a life saver = )

Posted by: steve m on 2010-01-13, 02:52:31

Check out this useful baby list newbabylist.com/ newbornchecklist/ Plus - I would fill your freezer with easy meals as you might not have time to make meals depending on how much your baby cries.