Baby Items

Question: What baby items do you wish you had and what ones did you never use?

(Posted by: Expecting! on 2010-05-20 14:53:57)

I am going to start shopping for my upcoming little one ( Due in october ) and I want to spend my money wisely but at the same time i do not want to leave anything out.

Posted by: Courtney on 2010-05-20, 15:00:15

I 'm due in October also. I 've asked many people who have children, and they always tell me the same thing, "it really depends on the baby. " Somethings they said they loved; pacifers soft blankets smaller diaper bags baby swings/ jumperoos. Somethings they said they didn 't need; Bottle warmers Wipe warmers my youngest nephew did not like the bassinet.

Posted by: 1 at home, 1 in the oven! on 2010-05-20, 15:05:03

I wish that I had a swing with a rotating seat (swings like a cradle and like a swing.) I never really used my Snugglie, as I am short and found it VERY uncomfortable. However, I do LOVE my Moby Wrap (similar idea) as it is very versatile. I 'm 5 months pregnant and still use it to side carry my 15 month old. I barely ever used my baby monitor, but I think lots of other parents use them a lot. I highly recommend a travel system (carseat and stroller in one) and when you get to a bigger carseat buy a convertable one that has a high rear-facing weight. The longer they face backward the safer they are!

Posted by: ☆**•¸Love my lil Girl!¸•**☆ on 2010-05-20, 15:05:06

Things that were a MUST have for our baby was.. - Nighties with a zip up Not a button up.. it is so hard to button each button with a fussy baby! - Gas drops like mylicon or gripe water - A gym that you lay on the floor and it has a bunch of hanging toys.. it keeps her nice and calm for me to get a few things done around the house. - Buy lots of baby wipes in bulk (at a place like Sam 's club or Costco) we had 2 large boxes of them and they were gone within the first few weeks so stock up! - Baby lotion is a MUST - A baby monitor.. we use it Everyday.. we didn 't buy one until she was 2 months old and oh I wish I would have gotten it sooner! One thing we bought and have never even touched (shes 4 months old now) EDIT: OH! And no need for a wipe or bottle warmer.. they are more trouble than they are worth. A baby swing.. we never ever used it.. we tried it once and she had no interest.

Posted by: Getting Closer...... on 2010-05-20, 15:10:18

I wish we didn 't get a cradle. She 's been in her crib since she was 3 months, and now we 're stuck trying to find somewhere to store the darn thing! I wish we just had her in the crib and didn 't bother with a cradle. For larger items, try try to get ones that fold up quite small. (Like swings, bouncer chairs, floor gyms, etc.) I found a good investment was the doorway Jolly Jumper, I have not met a kid yet who doesn 't love it. A sleep sack is great, too.

Posted by: Amanda on 2010-05-20, 15:12:37

I never had a wipe warmer but everyone I know who did have one said it just dries the wipes out. I couldnt have lived without a baby swing for my first and the Jolly Jumper for my second. My first also LOVED her paci whereas my second doesnt take them. So it really does depend on the baby in some cases. Also, my first would sleep in a bassinet, my second would not except for really REALLY small amounts of time. You will need a crib. A changing table is not necessary. I had one that had a dresser attached and while I still use the dresser I never used the changing table. It was just easier changing her on the floor in the room I was in at the time. Smaller diaper bags are nice for those short trips to the supermarket. Also, a travel case for wipes so you wont have to bring the whole container with you wherever you go. You 'll need a bottle/ nipple scrubber but thats minor. Car seat toys are a lifesaver as well. Especially ones that make noise or light up. Other than that, theres really not anything else that I can think of that you positively need except for the obvious (car seat, clothes, diapers, etc). You might want to get some Dreft though (laundry detergent for babys clothes). Although my children were fine with just regular detergent, my cousins baby has a horrible rash all over because he is sensitive to the regular detergent they use.

Posted by: leo@askbiblitz.com on 2010-05-20, 15:38:02

We drilled holes in a doorway to hook up interchangeable jolly jumper / swing - a stroke of genius the mothers club membership also enjoyed whenever it was our turn to host play group. This worked for about two years - about as long it was needed. It gave all of us so much freedom. Kid jumped to music and got strong legs and a cheerful disposition. Then at night, swing to sleep. Dads came from miles around to examine the rigging. The other two best things were wooden blocks and a great big ugly lazy boy chair with a massage feature - great for breastfeeding and reading stories together for years and years. Blocks allowed toddler some independent, creative play.

Posted by: MommaYoga on 2010-05-20, 16:11:31

I think the Bumbo seat is a must and you can get a tray for it and use it as a high chair. I feed my son in it on the floor in the living room. Some people will say that the receiving blankets are useless, but I actually used them as swaddling blankets. He 's eight months and occasionally still needs to be swaddled and I just use two or three to keep him nice and tight. Some people use them as burp rags too. I absolutely hate those "What to Expect.. " books, they do nothing to ease my fears during pregnancy, nor after. I prefer "Your baby 's first year week by week. " You need a sling, it 's the best thing in the world. My favorite is the tube sling. I got mine from starslings.com and I have another one it 's a Munchkin sling and it has a pocket and a padded side for when you use it with baby on your hip. I don 't recommend using it until baby is a little bit larger if you are nervous about SIDS with the sling. If you feel you can be attentive and you need it to get things done, don 't worry about it. I had my son in mine from day one. I found the front carrier (like a backpack on the front for carrying the baby) to be a waste. It pulled on my shoulders and was difficult to get him in and out of. Pacifiers are a personal thing for each baby, ask people to give you their old ones so baby can try out lots of different shapes, if you 're allowing pacies. Personally I didn 't want my son to suck his thumb, so as soon as he started to put his thumb in his mouth, I started reinforcing the pacifier. Once I found a brand he liked, I bought tons of them. They keep disappearing like all the left socks, who knows where they go! For you, I think you should get a yoga mat and a yoga DVD. Start with the prenatal versions and then at about three or four months post partum, do regular yoga, any variety. It will totally help you get your body back. Or, really, whatever you like, I just really liked yoga. It helps to have a plan for post partum baby body. If you plan on breastfeeding, you can exercize, but you can 't diet, so pick the best exercise you like and will stick with. The things I think are a waste of money are the cutesy crib blankets and bumpers, such a huge waste of money. My son slept in the bassinette of the Evenflo Baby Go travel crib till he was six months old and now we just took the bassinette out and he sleeps in the playpen in our room. So technically, the crib in his room was a waste of money. I 've heard wipe warmers and bottle warmers are a waste. The monitor could have been a waste since we never left our baby out of earshot anyway, but we used the monitor as a white noise maker to soothe our son when he was fussy. Anything with the heartbeat thing like this bear that makes a heartbeat noise I saw at the store, that 's a waste. Contrary to popular belief babies don 't hear your heartbeat, they hear the whooshing of your blood which it the same as when you put a shell up to your ear which is a "shhhh " noise, not "bum-bum, bum-bum. " Also the loudest thing your baby hears in the womb is actually your digestive system which is a gurgling noise, so playing the radio pretty loud can really calm a baby down. I use cloth diapers, I find them to be far more convenient than disposables since all I have to do is wash some when we 're out. If you 'd like to go this route, I would not invest in the all-in-ones or fitted, but regular prefolds and a few covers. I think the bumgenius duo is good or any cover is pretty good. The prefolds should be in newborn size and in regular/ toddler size, about thirty of each and you 'd do laundry about every other day. I would also recommend the Imse Vimse disposable liners. If it 's a pee diaper, I just wash it with the diapers and reuse, if it 's a poo diaper, I toss it. I also discovered that if I wash the wipes with the diapers, I reuse them as liners too and just use them to clean the dust from the TV when they are full of holes from washing. The corner protectors for your furniture are a waste, but the outlet covers are not, you should get those. I like the Safety 1st ones they are super tight and have a button you press to get them out of the outlet. The sippy cups that don 't spill with all the little gadgets that you have to wash are a waste. My kid and my cousins all used a bottle with the nipple that has the largest holes and regular cups and only drank water on their own. I never just handed them a bottle of milk or a sippy with juice in it. Giving your kid juice even if it 's 100% juice still leads to diabetes and we never allowed them to drink milk from anything except their bottle. They learned to use the cup with water, and once they got it, they could have milk in a cup at the table. Even if you only have one kid, I find the double stroller to be so useful. If I only have my son with me, then the other seat holds all kinds of stuff. A lot of the time, I am toting around him and my niece, or my neighbor 's kid and we plan on having another kid so I think it 's

Posted by: Natalie on 2010-05-21, 12:33:48

Things I contantly use for my baby: -soft blankets -fisher-price cradle swing -a baby bathtub along with a safety first bath cradle (if your not skilled at giving a baby a bath they sit ALOT better in the cradle then jus the bathtub) -pacifier -bottles (you 'll need a few even if you do decide to breast feed make sure they 're compatible with a breast pump) -a big diaper bag (newborns need alot of stuff as they get older your bag will have less stuff in it) -swaddle blanket made especially for swaddling -boppy pillow (dnt have one but I could sure use one) things I rarely use: -recieving blankets - uh.. That 's the only thing I don 't use lol