2nd Trimester
skauppila
member
Baby "stuff" must haves
skauppila
member
Making my list (and checking it twice!) to start buying for this little one. What are your "must haves" and what was a total waste of money/never used?
I'll take any and all recommendations! TIA
I'll take any and all recommendations! TIA
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Re: Baby "stuff" must haves
Must haves:
Swaddling blankets
Long sleeved onsies with mittens attached
Gas drops/Colic Calm
Swing
Good socks - ie: "new baby" brand, Gap or Old Navy brand. The other brands do not stay on, so spend the extra money on good socks.
Waste of Money:
shoes (until they're walking)
Bumbo
Mittens (they never stayed on my lo - I liked the onesies with them built in better)
Have fun!
This is our first baby, but I have heard wonderful things about the Diaper Genie. Anyone have one and love it? Think it's not worth the money?
Must haves:
Gas drops
lots of burps cloths
swing/bouncy chair
extra receiving blankets
wipes warmer (I LOVED mine!)
Not so must haves:
mittens (DD never needed them at all....)
if you're FF... those pre-measured storage containers with dividers in them...didn't work and formula takes as much room in a diaper bag as the container does...
It's hard to think of them all...yikes!
I have heard great things about it, but it requires special trash bags, which get expensive. We got the diaper champ, and love it. You can use any type of trash bag, and is easy to change the bags... Not so easy with diaper genie... Or so I've heard.
I highly rec the book Baby Bargains. It will tell you what to buy and what not to buy. GL!
We're going with LOTS of sleepers, esp the ones mentioned above (long onesie gowns with mittens built in) for the first few weeks.
swaddling blankets from aden+anais - my first baby purchase
infant car seat + car seat stroller frame (no bulky travel system here)
bf'ing supplies (nursing tanks, etc).
Not getting a poop sausage maker (Diaper genie) - Plan on emptying daily or throwing the poopy ones in the outdoor trash.
Twin boys born too early at 17w4d and 18w2d in February 2010
Transabdominal cerclage placed September 2010
DS born at 35w1d in February 2011
Twin girls born at exactly 36w in February 2013
We have the diaper genie, and love it. Yes, it does get expensive with the refills - $6-$7/each refill. That said, if I hadn't gotten a Genie at my shower, I'd probably have gone with the Diaper Champ instead.
My thoughts on wipes warmer. (This is my first so please correct me if I'm wrong)
If the baby gets used to warm wipes do they freak out when you are out in about and have to use the wipes that aren't warmed? I was thinking that if I always use the cold wipes they will be used to them and I won't have a crazy baby on my hand when I don't have warm ones around.
hmmmmm....... Is this thinking right or am I just going to be a mean mom and torcher my kid with cold wipes?
We never used a wipe warmer with DD. Totally not necessary. It's not like we keep the wipes in the fridge.
I think there are A LOT of people who don't use wipes warmers... And that doesn't make any parent less loving! I just felt sooooo bad making my little baby jump at the coldness! I'm probably being too fussy.... LOL!
i loved our jj. cole "bundle me" for our stroller. it let me take our son out in the winter and kept him way more toasty than a winter coat. I also put a blanket on top on very cold days. then if he fell asleep in the stroller i just unzipped the bundle me when we got home and i didn't have to wake him by taking off his jacket. it was great.
other must haves were lots of swaddles (loved the ones with the velcro), about 6 newborn onsies (the 0-3 months were huge for the first two weeks and he couldn't keep his arms in the sleeves), saline spray for when their little nose gets stuffed, a swing and a bouncy seat.
we didn't really love the bumbo (probably used it twice), all the gazillion blankets people made us (but you can't control that it they are very thoughtful even if we didn't use them) and baby mittens (they never stayed on...we used long baby socks instead and they worked much better).
Moby carrier for the infant stage, Ergo for beyond
Swaddling blankets
Arms-Reach Co-sleeper
Breast pump
Lots of birdseye flatfold cloth diapers to be used as burp cloths, they were like magic. (Not the prefolds, but FLAT folds...they are the kind of diaper that was around pre-prefold...the kind my mom used on me)
Waste of $$:
Bumbo (there is a reason these are at every single garage sale on the planet!)
Bottle warmer
Baby cubes (they are for DIY baby food. A regular ice cube tray was much more convenient not to mention cheaper!)
You are going to find that moms have different opinions on what are "must haves" and what you can forget about getting. Here is post from earlier on the May board. Ex: we never used baby mittens or onesies with the mittens on them, but loved our bumbo for feeding and play time.
https://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/45970228.aspx
A mesh lengerie bag to wash the babies socks in. They won't get lost in the machine that way.
I totally agree with this. I personally can disagree with the wipes warmer and diaper genie recommendations, but did in fact find the formula dispenser really handy! Totally depends on your own budget, style, and honestly, your baby - that will determine a lot of what's useful and what's not... (e.g. does your baby like the swing? My first hated it. Does he/she spit up a lot? Mine never did...)
We loved :
Newborn gowns, full sized swing (that rocks side to side), Miracle Blanket, Chicco infant seat, Ergo, FP Rainforest crib soother.
The Mouse ~ 06.12.08 | The Froggy ~ 02.23.11
Our must have's with DD were:
Sleepers, LOTS of burp cloths, onsies, receiving blankets and a cradle swing and bouncy seat (I liked that because I could stick it in the bathroom with me to take a quick shower). Also if you plan on BFing..a boppy, nursing pads, nursing tanks and lansinoh (or any other brand) cream for your nips. This is also something I like and never thought about but arm and hammer makes scented bags to keep in the diaper bag and I LOVE those..still use them. They are good to have if LO spits up and you need to do something with the clothes, or when they crap and you aren't in a place to just throw them in the trash.
Thins I think are a total waste:
Swaddling blanket (expensive and regular ones worked just fine for us)..plus we didn't swaddle long as DD hated it and I would have been mad if I spent the money on those special blankets.
Wipe warmer..so not necessary, IMO..what happens when you are out and about and don't have a warm wipe to clean your baby with..? Nothing, your baby will be just fine with a room temp wipe.
This is later on but a walker was a total waste for us. DD never liked moving in it and only played with the toys..plus she learned to walk just fine without one.
I forgot about the gowns...those were definitely a life saver! Target has the cutest ones!
Eh. I did this when I first washed my son's clothes. Then it became a hassle. I've never lost socks in the machine when I wash with the rest of the load.
Oh, and the sleep gowns are wonderful - especially for middle of the night diaper changes.
Every baby is different. For DD#1, here's our list:
Must-Haves:
Baby crack machine
Swing
Breast pump
Gerber cloth diapers (for spit-up - we seriously had about 40)
Play mat
Car seat w/ Snap-N-Go stroller
Long-sleeve white Carter's onesies
SwaddleMe
Receiving Blankets (her legs were out of control and the SwaddleMe's didn't hold her legs in)
Waste:
Bumbo seat
Wipe warmer
Gripe water
Shoes
Bumper (the whole crib set/package)
Blankets (we have no less than 2 dozen)
Pacifiers (wanted nothing to do with them)
Gowns
Sleep-in-Plays (one-piece outfits/pajamas - hated them)
We have never used a diaper genie or a wipes warmer. Why would you want to keep a pail with stinky diapers sitting in your babies room? We take our diapers, in a bag, to the garage and put them in the garbage. It takes 2 seconds and works for us. My son has never had an issue with cold wipes. Same with a bottle warmer, his bottles were always at room temp, so if we were out it wasn't a hassle to heat up.
The point of the diaper genie/diaper champ is so that you can have quick acess to a diaper pail that doesn't stink up your kid's room. It would be a hassle for us to take every diaper out to the garage at each changing. Especially with a newborn going through so many diapers a day. My diaper genie doesn't stink unless it's left open.
Doesn't the baby have to have hep B for it to be transmitted through their poop?
Woah. Why does your baby have Hep B?????
The Mouse ~ 06.12.08 | The Froggy ~ 02.23.11
This is my first, but they do have an infant adaptor for the Ergo carrier... I think it's around 20-30 dollars and then you don't have to buy two carriers. We are registering for the Ergo with the infant adaptor.
Yes, they do, but its a PITA to use and it doesn't feel as snug and secure to me as a Moby or other sling type carrier would with a newborn.
The Mouse ~ 06.12.08 | The Froggy ~ 02.23.11
We have this but probably won't use it much. The Moby makes the infant much more secure in the carrier and is easier to breastfeed a tiny baby in. A Moby is the same price as the Ergo insert and is much better IMO. You can also make a Moby style wrap for about $10. It wins by far for me. The only carrier I would use for both a newborn and a big child would be the Beco Butterfly. It has an attached infant insert that I like a lot more than the Ergo one.
I actually hated the wipe warmer I had. But when I did use them (first couple of weeks) and then switched to just using them right out of the container, she didn't get upset really. I can say I will definitely not be using the wipe warmer this time around. I kind of feel like it was a pointless waste of time, energy and money.
That sounds like a great idea! I have a "Lil Dipper" Crock Pot that would be perfect!
Is an infant carrier (the travel style) a must have if you have a convertible car seat and plan on baby wearing? I hate the idea of lugging that thing around around, but maybe I'm overlooking a time when it's just crucial?
I'm skipping the wipe warmer because I'm in Texas and the baby is going to be born in April, I might feel differently if he was a November baby in Wisconsin.
Eh, to each his own. Every diaper genie/champ I have seen has a smell to it. We only take poopie diapers to the garage, and fortunately for us our son only poops 2 times a day, so it isn't a big deal.
Must haves:
Boppy Pillow
Breast Pump
Playtex bottles (for pumped milk were the only ones she would take)
Onesies/Socks/Sleep'n'Plays
Burp Cloths
Towels/washclothes
Baby tub
Swaddle Me Blanket (DD would always kick out of a regular swaddle and this was a life saver)
Diaper Champ -uses regular trash bags so less expense in long run
Breathable Bumper - keeps arms and legs from sticking out but no risk
Swing
High chair
Bouncer
Bumbo- we liked ours for play and feedings early on
Travel System Stroller
Pacifiers -DD loves them
White noise machine
Video Monitor- so necessary so you don't run in there for every sound!
Wastes:
Wipe Warmer
Regular BUmper, Crib Blanket
Baby Einstein DVDs -didn't care about TV till 15 mos or so
Mittens