June 2013 Moms
Emeraldeyed315
member
What to have ready at home?
Emeraldeyed315
member
I'm popping over from Aug 13. Congrats on the adorable babies:)
I was curious what you were glad/wished you had ready at home when you got home from the hospital. Things like certain medicines, thermometers, types of clothing, wipes, certain toys, etc....
Any other advice? 
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Re: What to have ready at home?
I was more prepared for baby than I was for myself. Have Motrin, lots of sanitary pads in different sizes, stool softeners and fiber, breast pads, lanolin and medela softshells [if BFing] and extra tuck's pads ready for yourself.
Most of the things I was glad to have on hand were for me. The LO pretty much just needed onesies and socks. Some people like to have those mittens, but my guy wanted nothing to do with owe, so I was glad to have baby nail clippers.
For me, I was grateful to have a stock pile of pads, witch hazel wipes, lanolin, and these gel things for my nipples. I am breast feeding, and my nipples hurt badly when we came home, so anything to soothe them was great. Also, it was nice to have one handed snacks and freezer meals. Oh and it was nice to have tops that were easy to nurse in. I didn't love a lot of my clothes that were specifically made for nursing and preferred loose tanks or vnecks. I waited to buy actually nursing bras until about a week after he was born, but I had some sports bra style nursing bras that came in really handy. Hope that helps! Good luck to you!
I had everything for baby except nail clippers. She was born with really long nails and the nurse helped me shorten them in the hospital.
In each bathroom I stocked nursing pads, maxi pads, dermoplast and a clean shirt.
I put together a decorative basket that hides diapers,wipes, burp cloths and spare clothes for LO.
CJ 05/29/2013
I'm not new. I just hate The Bump.
This too! For two days solid I was in SO much pain! I actually stuck the ice packs they give you in the hospital in my bra:
1. More newborn clothes: 0 to 3 months drowned my son, and we only had a few newborn items.
2. Gas drops: We have a gassy baby, and these help a lot! We had to run out and buy some.
3. Saline nasal solution: We didn't have these either, but got them on the recommendation of my pediatrician when I mentioned he sometimes sounds congested, but nothing comes out with the nasal aspirator. Apparently, sometimes babies sound congested when they really just have dry nasal passages, if I remember what she said correctly. The saline drops help.
4. Swaddle pods: We had some of the bigger Swaddle Mes, but I like the swaddle pods so much better for newborns! We didn't have any originally, so my husband went out and bought several.
5. Basin for sponge baths: I didn't have one, but luckily my mother had one that she gave me.
Glad I had:
1. Rock and Play: Seriously great for naps, putting the baby down to use the bathroom, etc. One of my favorite gifts, and I will be sad when he outgrows it.
2. Pack and Play: I thought we would put him in his crib early on, but I ended up wanting to keep him in our bedroom much longer than anticipated.
3. Bottles: I had wanted to solely breastfeed, but we ended up having to supplement. I was glad we already had bottles on hand to do that.
4. Burp cloths made out of diapers: These are the best kind of burp cloths. They are so absorbent. Don't get cheapie cloths.
5. Plenty of diapers and wipes: I think this goes without saying. I had stocked up, and I was glad because we didn't have to constantly run out to the store for them.
I'm sure I forgot something, but this is all I can think of for now.
I had a bathroom station setup (for me) and a pumping station setup. These were invaluable in my opinion. In the bathroom station I had pads, toilet paper, peri bottles, baby wipes, and extra underwear. This was all setup on a little table next to the toilet so that I didn't have to do any bending or reaching while recovering from my c/s. At the pumping station I have my rocker and on the table I have my pump, spare pump parts, pump wipes, breast pads, a cloth, lanolin, and DH had a TV series lined up for me on our bedroom DVR. This really made pumping sessions go by quickly. I also have a little plastic bin now to put dirty parts to take out for washing twice per day. This saves time and keeps me at the sink less often.
Anything you can do to make your life easier when you come home will make it easier to care for your LO. Good luck and I hope you have a wonderful birth experience!
All the nursing stuff, swaddles, onesies, rock n play, nose frida I'm obsessed, my Brest friend and boppy, comfy sleep clothes, depends silohuite for you in conjunction with always Infiniti pads with wings and the witch hazel wipes. Have bottles and pump ready just in case you gave trouble bf'ing.
I had a basket in the bedroom and livingroom with wipes, diapers, burp rags, pacis, swaddle blankets, etc. I didn't want to have to run to the nursery every time I needed something.
Oh and breastpads and lanolin if you're nursing.
Evelyn (3.24.10), Graham (5.30.13) & Miles (8.28.16)
Tuks pads, lots of overnight pads, water bottles, no prep snack.
Nipple pads
Burp cloths, lots of them!
Light swaddling blankets
Nursing bras
Nursing tops, or dress
Diapers, wipes
A few washable diaper pads for our changing pad, LO likes to poop a lot, and not always in the diaper! And this way we don't have to pull off the whole cover that's on our changing pad every time... It's just a waterproof cloth that lays on top of the pad and is easy to wash.
My sling
And lastly the PnP, it's nice to have him nap out in the house with me instead of in our room where his crib is.
Pads
Nipple cream
An app on your phone to track feeding and pee/poop.
That's all I can think of for now!
Diapers and wipes, obviously.
Burp clothes are a necessity this time (my DD wasn't a big puker/spitter but DS certainly is). I use pre-fold CDs and our house is over flowing with them.
Lots of plain white onesies, several of the sleep gowns, socks (Faded glory ones from Walmart are my favs), I LOVE our a+a blankets, my wraps and RS, our sleep sheep, soother and glow seahorse, tons of baby washcloths (my favs are the Circo brand ones from Target, they come in a 6 pack I believe) and the little no-scratch hand mitts (DS has REALLY long nails).
For BFing, I swear by (and will recommend over and over again) the Medela Soft Shells for sore nipples, and I would bring them to the hospital and start using them there. Also my Medela Harmony single-manual pump, I LOVE it. A ton of nursing tanks (I love the Motherhood ones) and a couple of nursing sleep bras.
We had a ton of stuff that we never even used when DD came home so we aired on the minimalistic side of things this time. Basically everything I just listed (plus the car seat), except for the sleep gowns (I forgot those, and they are a must for us so I sent DH out to get some on day 2), was all we had at home for him.
ETA: Swing and bouncer are a must too IMO! DD was a total swing baby, we would have died without (I swear... we would have!) but DS does not like it, he much prefers his bouncer and is in it a ton! So I stand by them both being super important and necessities.
Me: stool softeners and tucks pads
BFP #2: due 6/30/2017, MMC found 12/7/2016
BFP #3: due 10/21/2018
DH: 37
Married: May 24, 2008
TTC #2 since: June 2020
I wouldn't wash everything. You likely wont need everything and there might be a few surprises. My friend found out her DD was really a DS in the delivery room. My DD can't wear most of what people gave her because she has hip dysplasia and wears a harness 24/7.
My advice is to have help planned for a week. You can always cancel them if you're feeling better, but they can clean, wash clothes, make meals, etc while you're bonding and taking care of LO. And have some booze handy because you deserve it after 9 months.
Proud Mama to Mickey (12.03.09) and Nemo (06.06.13)