1st time mommy!

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  • jennmodugno
    jennmodugno Posts: 363 Member
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    I heartily endorse the Boppy. My daughter breastfed on it, and when she began to sit up we placed it around her so when she fell she wouldn't hit her head. And honestly, I wound up getting two, because I was VERY sore for a month after giving birth, and could only manage to sit up if I sat on it. :blush:: That is the number one thing I wish I'd brought to the hospital, as a side note.

    The other thing I encourage is a swing, and/or a bouncy seat. My daughter refused to sleep anywhere but the swing for a while, and I sat her in the little bouncy seat in the bathroom while I showered and she was content long enough for me to scrub up and get out. VERY important, since my husband was deployed for the first six months and I was doing it alone. :)
  • Ivey05131980
    Ivey05131980 Posts: 1,118 Member
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    Honestly, most of it you don't need. I will get you wine....you will need that!

    This. SO MUCH OF THIS. :wink:
  • atb0821
    atb0821 Posts: 458 Member
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    Agree big time with boppy, swing, and Pack N Play. Those were all life savers. I nursed so I don't know much about bottles, but you'll definitely want some lanolin cream if you plan on breastfeeding! I didn't have a diaper genie, I had basically a little trash can you stepped on to open (yay for no hands!). It had odor neutralizer in it and you could use regular small trash bags (even scented) in it. It cost $14 at Kmart I think and worked great for covering stinkies!

    Oh and those little footie pajamas that zip up, thank God for them. Nobody got time to be buttoning up 25 buttons on a squirmy baby!

    I also found these small little "blankets" that were waterproof, and I would put them under my daughter anywhere I laid her....during changing, at nap, etc. She spit up a lot and it was so much easier just to wash a little pad than an entire sheet.
  • leopardjunkie
    leopardjunkie Posts: 149
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    hmmm Ok I am a little biased I had twins so we had alot of stuff. I kinda love stuff.

    -register and get your car seat right away, You don"t want to be the mom in the wheel chair at the hospital entrance holding your baby while you and the nurse wait for your husband to take the car seat he picked up that day out of the package and install it hoping it did it right which most do not and carefully transport your little one home. Buy it in your 3rd trimester and when you buy it set up an appointment that day to have it installed and inspected by someone certified in your state. Some of them only do it on certain times and day or once per month. So do it that day so you are not stuck wondering if you have done it correctly. Also buying early gives you time to return it, many of them no matter how cute or how great the reviews are just will not fit in your car like they are supposed to!!

    -Register for a video camera or camera if you do not have one, it will be so nice to have to capture those memories, and in the long run a better bang for your buck than some of the useless crap we end up buying.

    -Register for a steam cleaner or carpet spot cleaner...you will need that more than 8 different infant baby entertainment centers!

    -go buy 1 infant tylenol and or acetametiphin, 1 infant gas drops, 2 container pedialyte, and 1 infant saline drops. babies tend to get sick int he middle of the night when you are tired and you have to make a trip to walgreen or what not and it is a pain. just go by it now and when that moment strikes you will have them in your pantry and you can keep your comfy jammies on and go back to bed!! you will thank me later. And maybe a bottle of nyquil becuase you will probably all be sick at the same time!

    - a big ole container of coconut oil (unrefined) this is great stuff, if you plan on nursing 3 tbs a day will increase and help your milk supply, it is great on sore or cracked nipples and it has properties to help with combating yeast if your baby gets thrush. It also makes a great butt cream for babies and again helps with yeast on the skin, diaper rash etc. and is a great lotion for all over baby. its also good for getting rid of craddle cap and smells much better than the otc treatments!

    some form of baby entertainment swing glider, bouncer etc. I personally prefered the glider :) both my kids and my nephews and neices loved it, some kids hate the bouncers and swings I am sure some kids hate the gliders, but I have had great luck with them. It didn"t take up as much space the music was OPTIONAL :):) and it allowed me to get a shower and some lunch.

    If you plan on leaving the home to visit far away relatives or camp or etc etc, a pack and play is very handy or if gandma will be watching them :) If you get them I reccoment the padded pack n play sheets. they are much more comfy and easyier to clean that then flooring in the pack and plays.

    -don"t go crazy with registering for bottles, babies are picky get a few to be ready and send your husband to run out a get more if they are a hit! LOL I went through most brands to find the ones my babies liked 1 baby was Dr browns and the other baby was this one that looked just like a boob. call your local babies r us and find out what their return policy is on bottles. We tried them all and were able to return the ones they didn"t like and get new ones to try. not sure if they still have that policy but it was a lifesaver financially for us.

    I alternated between a babiy carrier mei tai and a stroller. make sure to get a stroller that is comfy for you and the baby and easy to fricken clean! nothing worse than a crappy stroller that does not hold all your crap, is hard to turn hard to fold or is not the right height! or does not have a nice cup holder!
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    . Also- wait to buy a breast pump! You won't want to pump for a few weeks anyways, and if your baby requires supplemental formula you may not have a need for the cadillac of pumps.

    I had to pump while still in the hospital, little man didn't latch on correctly until my milk came in fully, and I had to pump to help my body produce milk. We used what I pumped at the hospital to supplement him until he got the hang of bf. I had my husband bring me my pump so the hospital wouldn't charge me for using theirs.

    Bloody hell,this makes me glad to live in England with free health care. I can't imagine being charged to use a breast pump! My son refused to feed at first and I had to pump, plus they put him on iv antibiotics.

    I used the Medela swing pump which was good.

    I agree with buying lots of muslin squares. Also, I found that I got given loads of newborn and 0-3 clothes as gifts. My nephew is now wearing my son's old clothes, and some were unworn and brand new.
  • GinE73
    GinE73 Posts: 68
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    Congrats! My LO is 5 months so here are some things that I LOVE that haven't been mentioned yet:
    *Aden & Anais burp cloths and bibs- they can hold a lot of liquid! LOL
    *Baby Bjorn/Moby wrap- love both
    *NoseFreida- more effective than the bulb syringe they give at the hospital IMO
    *Gerber wrap t-shirt- great for when the umbilical cord stub hasn't fallen off yet. It doesn't rub against it like a onesie will.

    Lots of ONESIES- you can just throw them away after your LO has a poo explosion.
  • Micahroni84
    Micahroni84 Posts: 452 Member
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    For me personally I didn't use the changing table for anything but holding items like diapers, wipes and toys. I changed him wherever there was a clean diaper and wipes the nearest. The bumbo was pretty useless for us too.

    The boppy is a MUST, especially if you are breast feeding.

    Dr. Browns bottles were a must for us because my son had horrible reflux.

    I wish I had been prepared with a swadler but I wasn't and I ended up ordering one after he was born. We used it a lot.

    we also used massive amounts of burp rags and onesies. I don't think you can really have too many burp rags.

    In preparation for having a child that could have colic or reflux i recommend going in getting gripe water before he/she is born because when your baby is screaming bloody hell in the middle of the night and you can't get to a grocery store with gripe water it's a bit of a nightmare.

    Also, if you plan on or end having to do use formula I found that it took less time to use warm water straight from the tap mixed with the formula than it did to keep bottles prepped and then having to warm them. Also, I often used room temp water with his formula when on the go and he didn't mind that either.

    I think I've editted 5 times now to add on. LOL! One more thing... Making your own wipes can be much less expensive and it's so easy! When i worked at a day care we made them and they lasted a long time. Here is a link to a great recipe. Basically, baby soap, baby oil, paper towels and a bucket and tupper ware. http://www.homemademamas.net/2010/07/homemade-baby-wipes.html
  • Momf3boys
    Momf3boys Posts: 1,637 Member
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    All 3 of my kids were completely different in what they liked and what they didn't like...my new baby probably spent a whopping 45 minutes in the swing TOTAL...and I gotta tell ya, it is one of the fancy ones too so I'm still kind of mad about it...lol...however, we got a TON of use out of is Fisher Price Rock and Play...he would nap in that FOREVER. It was totally worth getting. Also, when he got to be about 2-3 months he fit in his stationary bouncer and he LOVES it. He gets bouncing so much I swear he's gonna bounce right out of it. The last "must have" for me is the video monitor...absolutely LOVE it...It tells me the temperature in his room, it plays music, I can talk to him through it...BEST thing EVER!!! Of course, the essentials of diapers, sleepers, gas drops, etc. Good luck!!!
  • jnichel
    jnichel Posts: 4,553 Member
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    Three kids, three different babies. Oldest loved the swing, middle child was indifferent, youngest hated it. Youngest spent most of his first six months in the car seat (cried whenever we took him out); would sleep in it, in the bed between mom and I. Oldest hated to be swaddled, middle child had to be wrapped up like a mummy. Oldest liked the bounce seat that you hang from a door frame, youngest two were indifferent. Middle child loved the activity bouncy thing that had a seat in the middle, youngest cried whenever we tried to put him in it. Had a changing table and I think we might have changed the oldest on it once or twice, after that, it's was just the place we kept the diapers.

    Stock up on diapers, wipes (hypo-allergenic/fragrance free...perfumes on diaper rash == screaming baby). Have some q-tips and rubbing alcohol for keeping the umbilical cord area clean until it falls off. Some kind of ointment for the butt; we used a hypo-allergenic cream (can't remember the name now), but if you ask 50 different people, you'll probably get 50 different recommendations.
  • Momf3boys
    Momf3boys Posts: 1,637 Member
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    Almost forgot...if you have a boy...petroleum jelly (preferably in a squeeze tube) for his privates while it heals after a circumcision so it doesn't sick to the diaper :)
  • LauraMacNCheese
    LauraMacNCheese Posts: 7,198 Member
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    A baby swing. My daughter was practically raised by her baby swing.

    This...and those vibrating chairs. My son lived in that chair for the first month or so.
  • wolverine66
    wolverine66 Posts: 3,779 Member
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    steer clear of new born diapers, new born clothes!

    I used newborn sized stuff until DD was about 3 months old or so... everything else was super big... so newborn sizes just depends on how big the baby ends up being when born.

    we stayed away from new born stuff, and had a son who weighed just under 6 lbs. so all the stuff we had was enormous. thankfully, a new mommy down the hall had NB clothes and a 10lb baby. we swapped outfits for their respective rides home.
  • Micahroni84
    Micahroni84 Posts: 452 Member
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    Almost forgot...if you have a boy...petroleum jelly (preferably in a squeeze tube) for his privates while it heals after a circumcision so it doesn't sick to the diaper :)

    we tried petroleum and it was a night mare. Some one suggested KY original jelly and he didn't even notice when we put it on. Great stuff!
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
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    Honestly, most of it you don't need. I will get you wine....you will need that!

    yes wine is important

    Yes!!! And you will need that for approximately 21 yrs!!!!! LOL!!! :drinker:
  • Liatush
    Liatush Posts: 627 Member
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    First, congrats!!! So exciting for you!!!

    Swing - a must!!
    the chair that hangs from the door frame - my son LOVED it - it was the only way I could have a minute to myself!
    A bouncer - good for the first month or two. They are not exp, so go for it.
    Stock up on plenty of diapers - they are exp and they go by FAST!
    bath tub for the baby - it really helps to have them in there so they don't slip out of your hands during bath time.
    A comfortable stroller (make sure it's adjustable to your/hubby's height)
  • pawnstarNate
    pawnstarNate Posts: 1,728 Member
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    60" led TV and a good surround sound. Hey now...baby has to watch baby einstein...might as well do it in style
  • Momf3boys
    Momf3boys Posts: 1,637 Member
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    Almost forgot...if you have a boy...petroleum jelly (preferably in a squeeze tube) for his privates while it heals after a circumcision so it doesn't sick to the diaper :)

    we tried petroleum and it was a night mare. Some one suggested KY original jelly and he didn't even notice when we put it on. Great stuff!

    Hmmmm...never thought of that...all 3 of my boys had petroleum and it worked well...I would say that I will remember that for next time but this kitchen is closed...no more for me :)
  • SerenaFisher
    SerenaFisher Posts: 2,170 Member
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    Congratulations! :)


    I have a suggestion on your baby shower. I have two kids, my son is ten and my daughter is going to be 6 weeks at the end of the month. With my son we had the usual run of the mill baby shower and I got tons of good stuff. However, with my daughter they suggested a "Jack and Jill" party. I'd never heard of it until it was mentioned, in this party you have your usual baby shower, and the men have a "pamper party" and all of your guys friends bring diapers of all sizes, and wipes for the father-to-be. I am saving a small fortune in diapers, I haven't bought one yet!
  • Linli_Anne
    Linli_Anne Posts: 1,360 Member
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    Nasal Aspirator
    Thermometer
    Baby nail clippers (it's a wonder we aren't designed to claw our way out at birth!)
    Baby brush and comb (really good for cradle cap)
    Vaseline - no need for medicated creams, vaseline protects the butt/balls just as well - and really helps with the first few poops
    Change table wtih a contoured pad
    Diaper Shirts that snap up the front/side and can undo just the bum for changing - much gentler in the early days when the umbilical cord is coming off/raw
    You may not use them right away - but a good supply of little spoons etc. are great - I love the Nuby brand stuff, especially bowls with suction cups on the bottom
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
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    i'm not a mommy. i am a daddy.

    we never used a changing table. we used a spot on the floor, or the top shelf of the pack n' play.

    newborns don't seem to need a ton of extras. i mean, you feed them, you "play" and they sleep. one thing we did like was the car seat/stoller "travel system" where the car seat hooks into the stoller until they are old enough to sit in it without it.

    Ditto on the changing table. I got a changing pad and strapped it to a coffee table.

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