Wish I knew that: Registry/Baby Products

Firemanswife11

Target diapers are my jam. They've always worked best for us. Although early days we used Pampers Swaddlers. Hated Huggies. DS peed right out of them. Luvs smell too strong. Walmart brand run small and gave DS a rash. I also really liked the Sam's Club diapers but I don't have a membership there anymore. 

jsnakehole

So my plan is to register for an Avent set that has 3 4 oz bottles and 3 8 oz bottles, and then one set of 3 5 oz Medela bottles and one set of 3 9 oz Medela bottles and go from there. Then I only have six of each until I figure out which he likes better, since he'll have to figure out how to like a bottle once I go back to work. 

elsieisamoocow

Agreed on diapers and bottles working differently for every baby. It's so much trial and error. I would suggest getting a few (2-4) bottles of a bunch of different brands and seeing what works best. DS was a tiny preemie, and had a hard time with some of them - we ended up loving the Avent Natural and Comotomo bottles the most. If you're nursing as well as pumping/bottle feeding, you'll want something as close to the boob (slow flow, and a similar shape) as possible. Babies tend to like faster flows, so if they're on a fast flowing bottle, they could potentially start preferring the bottle over the boob. Obviously if you plan to formula feed or exclusively pump, it's not an issue though. 

On diapers, the NICU had him in Huggies little snugglers, and we liked those until he got bigger and they started leaking even after sizing up. Switched to Pampers swaddlers and loved those for a while, but then the same thing, so I tried Honest and have been using those up until he potty trained. Their bundles are soooo convenient and I love their wipes because they're thick, textured, and don't feel slimy like Pampers and Huggies do now. +1 on Luvs smelling like chemicals too - someone gave us a pack of them and I couldn't even tolerate them on the other side of my living room because they were so strong.  

neeraja_k

Ermagerd, love the diaper recommendations. I've been working on baby registries and thought, "I'll just put diapers of various sizes in there as fill-in items, as I'm sure I'll need them....but what BRAND?!"

ecwk

jsnakehole said:

So my plan is to register for an Avent set that has 3 4 oz bottles and 3 8 oz bottles, and then one set of 3 5 oz Medela bottles and one set of 3 9 oz Medela bottles and go from there. Then I only have six of each until I figure out which he likes better, since he'll have to figure out how to like a bottle once I go back to work. 

If you want, you could probably get away for now without the 9oz medela until you know if baby likes them. DS never drank more than 4 oz at a time for a long time once I went back to work and gave him pumped milk. 

lalala2004

ecwk said:

jsnakehole said:

So my plan is to register for an Avent set that has 3 4 oz bottles and 3 8 oz bottles, and then one set of 3 5 oz Medela bottles and one set of 3 9 oz Medela bottles and go from there. Then I only have six of each until I figure out which he likes better, since he'll have to figure out how to like a bottle once I go back to work. 

If you want, you could probably get away for now without the 9oz medela until you know if baby likes them. DS never drank more than 4 oz at a time for a long time once I went back to work and gave him pumped milk. 

Yeah, I think the 9 ounce bottles are for formula or exclusive pumpers. Or I guess someone with crazy oversupply.

ecwk

lalala2004 said:

ecwk said:

jsnakehole said:

So my plan is to register for an Avent set that has 3 4 oz bottles and 3 8 oz bottles, and then one set of 3 5 oz Medela bottles and one set of 3 9 oz Medela bottles and go from there. Then I only have six of each until I figure out which he likes better, since he'll have to figure out how to like a bottle once I go back to work. 

If you want, you could probably get away for now without the 9oz medela until you know if baby likes them. DS never drank more than 4 oz at a time for a long time once I went back to work and gave him pumped milk. 

Yeah, I think the 9 ounce bottles are for formula or exclusive pumpers. Or I guess someone with crazy oversupply.

So true. I should have added @jsnakehole if you’re planing to EBF then you should be good without them! I EBF and pumped when I went back to work and never used bigger than the 5oz ones. I should say, and you probably already know this, if you get a medela pump the medela bottles are awesome as they fit perfectly!!

redheadbride15

I had a Medela pump but did not use the bottles for feeding. I always aliquoted the milk into milk storage bags based on whatever volume DS was drinking at the time and then dumped those into other bottles. My DS preferred Playtex bottles. I tried Avent and Medela as well. I’d only use Dr. Brown as a last resort - I see a lot of people jumping to them just “in case” their kid is colicky, but I hate them with a burning passion. I also agree with slow flow nipples if you’re breastfeeding and starting with small volume only bottles (4oz) then upsizing only when you know what baby prefers.

For diapers, we were team Pampers. I have heard babies with generous thighs fit Huggies better, but that they can leak for skinnier babies, and my DS was tiny, so that made sense. We did swaddlers sensitive initially, then cruisers starting around size 3.

delujm0

lalala2004 said:

ecwk said:

jsnakehole said:

So my plan is to register for an Avent set that has 3 4 oz bottles and 3 8 oz bottles, and then one set of 3 5 oz Medela bottles and one set of 3 9 oz Medela bottles and go from there. Then I only have six of each until I figure out which he likes better, since he'll have to figure out how to like a bottle once I go back to work. 

If you want, you could probably get away for now without the 9oz medela until you know if baby likes them. DS never drank more than 4 oz at a time for a long time once I went back to work and gave him pumped milk. 

Yeah, I think the 9 ounce bottles are for formula or exclusive pumpers. Or I guess someone with crazy oversupply.

I actually love the 9oz medela bottles for pumping at work.  First thing in the morning I'd always get more than 5oz out of each side, and then i could combine my sessions from the office into bigger bottles instead of having a bunch of 5oz ones.

On that note, skip the medela bottle cooler.  Get just their ice pack from amazon and use literally any soft sided cooler bag instead.  That way the 9oz bottles fit.  I only had the medela cooler bag with DD1 and very very often I pumped more than 4 5oz bottles while at work and was having to figure out how to jam them into the stupid thing.  For DD2 I just used the ice pack and put the bottles in my lunch cooler with my lunch for the day.  Way easier, and fewer bags to carry.

calimom2524

Yeah I loved the 9oz bottles when pumping but as said before I had a crazy supply so I needed the bigger sizes. I didn’t buy them until I knew I needed them though. 

rocknrrollmom

I second whoever mentioned the less parts a bottle has, the better! We had a few different brands and I kept going back to the Avent ones because they are so easy to clean and DD didn't prefer one over the other. Most of the ones we have come in 4-5 parts and I vowed to replace them this time around because they were such a pita to clean. After working all day and then feeding baby and putting her down for the night, washing pumping parts and bottles was overwhelming. 

Oh oh and the Kiinde storage system works great to pump right into storage bags so you have less to clean and less milk transfer waste. The set comes with a variety of different attachments so it'll likely work with any brand pump you have. 

Edit- finished my thought

coffeecocktailsandcake

On the topic of coolers the Packit cooler is awesome for pumping and keeping cold to and from work.  Or just keeping a coke cold.  Or if you pump motn in bed and don't want to walk to the fridge to chill your milk

melprop

We bought Huggies preemie diapers when we left the hospital with DS on Christmas Eve.  Stuck with those until he outgrew the preemie size because they worked. I had several NB brands from my shower, and they all worked ok. The only one I didn’t like was Luvs, they gave DS a horrible rash. By the time he was in Size 1, he could fit into cloth so we used those. I usually bought the cheap Aldi brand if we needed disposables for a trip, and they worked fine. 

I had an Avent pump and pumped into those bottles, then transferred to an Evenflo angled bottle because they helped a lot with DS’s reflux. 

delujm0

coffeecocktailsandcake said:

On the topic of coolers the Packit cooler is awesome for pumping and keeping cold to and from work.  Or just keeping a coke cold.  Or if you pump motn in bed and don't want to walk to the fridge to chill your milk

Haha I'm totally that person who pumped MOTN while on maternity leave to establish a freezer stash, and I always just set up my cooler in the bathroom before I went to bed because I didn't feel like going all the way to the kitchen afterwards.

juliebird6

Just wanted to add my experience as a formula feeding mom - DD is 13 months and we've never needed a bottle with more than 6 oz.  I can't even imagine needing 9 oz at a time, but DD is also a terrible eater.

dirtanddiamonds

I’ve always used pampers swaddlers. They are just so soft. 

And I love using Playtex bottles because you can just put the bag of breastmilk right in there. Like I warm the bag up in warm water water. Then just pop it on the bottle, twist on the lid. Easy as pie. 

ecwk

dirtanddiamonds said:

I’ve always used pampers swaddlers. They are just so soft. 

And I love using Playtex bottles because you can just put the bag of breastmilk right in there. Like I warm the bag up in warm water water. Then just pop it on the bottle, twist on the lid. Easy as pie. 

You can put the actual bag in the bottle? Whhhhat? I never knew that!! That would be ridiculously convenient, especially for EPing mamas! I wonder if #2 will like those bottles...DS only ever liked the Medela! 

elsieisamoocow

coffeecocktailsandcake said:

On the topic of coolers the Packit cooler is awesome for pumping and keeping cold to and from work.  Or just keeping a coke cold.  Or if you pump motn in bed and don't want to walk to the fridge to chill your milk

Yes! I was just going to suggest those. DS was in the NICU for 6.5 weeks, but trying to get my supply up, I would have to wake up at least 2x in the middle of the night to pump for him. I'd take the Packit cooler out when I went to bed with my pump parts and bottles, then when I woke up they were ready for me to stick the milk in, and everything was still very cold in the morning and ready for freezing or taking to the NICU. 

DH has since stolen the bag for his lunch because he agrees it's awesome

melprop

@ecwk The kiinde system I got a trial of has bags you pump directly into, then a bottle insert you put the bags directly into.

kburg15

Agree with the other Medela pumpers that I had a ton of those bottles, by only to pump into. We never used those for DS. I left any refrigerator milk in those and transferred them to a bag for freezing. He was picky at the beginning and eventually took Avent and Tommy Tippee and got less picky as he grew. He never took more than 4 oz at a time, even at 1 yr. I’d get one or two of each kind and try them out when you’re ready to offer a bottle. You can always get more quickly later. 

neeraja_k

So, I traded my vintage 1979 drop-side crib into Babies R Us today. I'm not sure if they took pity on me, or were just feeling extra generous, but they gave me two coupons. The bad thing is that I have to use them before March 16th, and here I was hoping I could save them till I was ready.

Any recommendations for stroller/car seats? I literally have no idea how to know what I'm even looking for. I want something that can maybe grow with the kid as it gets older? If that even exists? 

livinthesunnylife

@neeraja_k I think we did product recommendations on both.  Maybe search?  

princesslockness

@neeraja_k I had a graco stroller, and loved it. It was super easy to set up/take down, and it easily fit in our small trunk.  You could always get a convertible carseat. Most that I have seen can do infants up-to about 4 years old. 

ecwk

We had this but it got broken on an airplane and I gave my car seat to a friend but it was good while it lasted. Very versatile! Definitely search for the old threads or you could even go search other BMBs too for their threads. 

ETA 
https://www.gracobaby.com/en-US/modes%3Csup%3E-trade%3B%3C-sup%3E-3-lite-click-connect%3Csup%3E-trade%3B%3C-sup%3E-travel-system

coffeecocktailsandcake

I keep coming back here and adding my two cents....I hope they end up useful to someone...with my first I didn't know where to start or what I needed.  I bought the Baby Bargains book.  It was helpful I thought.  I think they do one annually.  You can buy them used on Amazon.

elsieisamoocow

+1 on Baby Bargains! I was intense with mine, going through with a highlighter, pen, and post it tabs It helped a lot though!

redheadbride15

Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet, but I loved Lucies’s List (Google it) as a reference when I was an expecting FTM. She has tons of very practical advice for building a registry.

Baby Gear Lab is also nice for directly comparing products (for big purchases like car seats and strollers).

ecwk

I am severely lusting after an Uppababy Vista. The factory store is not too far from me and you can email everyday and they will let you know if they have inventory - they stock refurbished and store floor models. So you can get huge savings! I'll have to start saving Someone mentioned before that they have one, was it you @calimom2524 ?

calimom2524

@ecwk we had an Uppababy Vista for DS1 and rarely used it. I got the add on seat for DS1 and we used it once with DS2. I ended up wearing DS2 all the time instead of using a stroller and DS1 preferred to walk so it was a total waste of money for us. I know there's someone here that loves it but that's definitely not me lol. I thought it was too big, it wasn't easy to fold down, it was heavy, and it was bulky. It's definitely high quality but for me it wasn't worth the price tag. 

elsieisamoocow

@ecwk it was me! I adore our Vista. DS still adores it even though he's 3, so I don't think we'll have a problem with him wanting to sit in it when the baby comes. I'm excited to attach the connectors for the 2nd seat and make it a true double soon That's awesome that you could get a floor model for a good price!!

brzvice

For those going the disposable diaper route as I was standing in line at the store with two boxes of size 4 diapers I realized I've bought more size 4 than probably triple the other sizes. I didn't know anything about how many of which sizes to buy with my first. The babies growth and weight gain slow substantially after the first year so if you see a great diaper sale and are wondering which size to stock up on I personally recommend size 4. 

princesslockness

@brzvice We went through probably 100k size 3s. Both kids wore 3s for 5-6 months each.

derbysquirrel

I'm really weary of buying anything "newborn" size or even 0-3 just because I was a big baby, and I'm guessing I will also have a giant baby. I'm afraid my kid will never even fit into those smallest sizes.

ecwk

derbysquirrel said:

I'm really weary of buying anything "newborn" size or even 0-3 just because I was a big baby, and I'm guessing I will also have a giant baby. I'm afraid my kid will never even fit into those smallest sizes.

DS was not a small baby at 8lb12oz and he still fit into NB for a while. 0-3 were big on him but I could have gotten away without the NB. But I can’t imagine you’d put a newborn in 3-6m because that size is typically for 12+ lbs. 

delujm0

brzvice said:

For those going the disposable diaper route as I was standing in line at the store with two boxes of size 4 diapers I realized I've bought more size 4 than probably triple the other sizes. I didn't know anything about how many of which sizes to buy with my first. The babies growth and weight gain slow substantially after the first year so if you see a great diaper sale and are wondering which size to stock up on I personally recommend size 4. 

We like to size up early to avoid poop blow outs, and DD1 was in size 4 for over a year, as compared to size 3 for like 3 months.  NB didn't even make it a month (she was 7.5lbs at birth) and size 1 and 2 were maybe 6 weeks each.  She was in 4s by 7 months because of all of the poopsplosions.  Also she has healthy thighs so she outgrew smaller sizes fast in the thigh area.

We moved DD2 to 4s at about the same age bc we finished a box of 3s and figured we may as well.  If you're stocking up I also suggest 4s.

juliebird6

+1 for size 4 diapers! We've been in 4s for months now, and they still seem to fit just fine during the day.  

redheadbride15

Just my two cents on diaper sizes - I don’t think it’s worthwhile “stocking up” at all. If you keep your eyes open after baby is born then diaper sales happen ALL the time, and just stock up then on what your baby is wearing currently. Also, I get my diapers via Amazon subscribe and save which gives 20% off always and find that that is consistently cheaper than any sales I see in big box stores. Diaper “sales” don’t end up saving you that much (same with formula, by the way, though the $5 coupons you’ll get in the mail are worth saving). Also, your baby’s growth patterns will be unpredictable. My DS1 essentially skipped size 2 altogether - we didn’t even make it through a full case before they started leaking everywhere and we had to go to 3s. He wasn’t in 3s for long either. Now he’s been in 4s forever, and there is no sign of him outgrowing them anytime in the near future.

jsnakehole

A girl I work with had a baby boy last August and offered me a bunch of clothes and two unopened boxes of size 1 diapers. I don't know what brand, but at least if I don't like them I won't have spent any money on them, and I'll just have to register for newborn diapers. 

coffeecocktailsandcake

Yeah, predicting how many of which size you'll need is hard.  My son was average size but a slow grower.  We were in NB diapers for a solid two months.  He was in NB clothes for two to three months and 0-3 until I started to cloth diaper at four months!

calimom2524

coffeecocktailsandcake said:

Yeah, predicting how many of which size you'll need is hard.  My son was average size but a slow grower.  We were in NB diapers for a solid two months.  He was in NB clothes for two to three months and 0-3 until I started to cloth diaper at four months!

So true. DS2 is tiny, always has been. He's 3.5 and still wearing 2t but a size 11 shoe. Kids are weird.