I'm a little late to the party here but my one essential is the 4moms Mamaroo!!! I remember the days when she'd swing around in there, so content, and I'd have free hands for a few minutes. Especially at night when DH and I wanted to hang out and watch some TV together. Now? Forget it! Crazy toddler running around from dawn 'til dusk unless Frozen is on!! We will definitely be dusting off our Mamaroo when Baby #2 shows up.
FTM and I am questioning almost every purchase I'll be making. 🤣 Right now I am most overwhelmed by baby carriers. A friend of mine swears by the Tula brand. I like the idea of the ring slings but I'm terrified I wouldn't secure it correctly. Cloth diapering is also something we are looking into. From what I hear, it's a lot of money upfront, but in the end it's more economical.
@whatabout2ndbreakfast called my other fav, white noise. We used it from day 1 with my son and it makes a huge difference to his sleep. We have a hatch baby rest (original, not the new one with wifi and battery) and really love it EXCEPT for the lack of battery back up. Being able to turn up the sound from our phones if we need to and turn on the light before going into his room for night feeds made it a really good investment, plus it can be a time to wake clock as he gets older.
Second white noise suggestion: get a small portable one that can clip onto your stroller or tuck into a swing or throw in the back seat of the car. They're like $10 and mean you don't have to lose your phone any time you're out and want white noise to help the babe sleep.
@emeraldduchess it is definitely overwhelming at first!! I had a few friends and family members with kids who were a great sounding board for brand comparisons and weeding out stuff you don't actually need, plus a lot of bloggers and vloggers have lists of "essentials" and things to pass on. Plus this forum!
I love the idea of having one big questions thread, I think it's going to be super useful to refer back to, but I'm also wondering if we want to have a weekly "product spotlight" thread in the future when there's going to be more ladies setting up registries or buying new gear?
@emeraldduchess I cloth diaper and plan to have 2 in cloth diapers come September. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask! My best advice it to go to a cloth diaper store (often baby boutiques). With my first we did a newborn rental program where we paid $250 for a complete stash of newborn size diapers (came with various different brands/types) we were allowed to keep the stash for 3 months and then returned and got a $200 credit to the store. It was great because we were able to try a bunch of different diapers with no commitment and we didn't have to buy any newborn size diapers.
with baby 2 and 3 the carriers were the best item. I love love Sakura bloom, slings, onbuhimo, and scout. It is nice to wear something pretty when you feel like you are in newborn haze. I would suggest checking out the manufactures website for tips on how to keep them secure. Sakura bloom has so much education material.
With the first I didn’t feel the urgency to figure out the carriers, we felt our rock n play was essential then but I think they are no longer on the market. Basically an easy to move small item that the baby can sleep in any room is what is valuable for number 1. So if the baby falls asleep on you, you can easily move the bed close to you and lay them down without waking them up. Maybe a bouncer or mamaroo is a good alternative.
@emeraldduchess@chewie5990 we cloth diaper too! I didn’t start right away with DS2 and actually used disposables for DS1 so interested in what people preferred for newborns. DS2 we use best bottoms which is a shell and insert. I use pockets with him too but only have three that were gifted to us.
@chewie5990@whatabout2ndbreakfast thanks! A friend of mine was posting on Facebook about all the baby gear she was giving away and I really wanted to ask about her cloth diaper stash, but at the time I wasn't pregnant yet and I didn't want to jinx myself.
@whatabout2ndbreakfast I'm a huge fan of prefolds and covers - but I have scrawny babies and so a lot of AIO or one size fits all diapers are just too big around the legs. My favorite AIO brand is Thirsties though because I think they are slim and sim to fit my lanky babies the best around their thighs. I do use disposables for like the first 2 weeks until all the meconium (?) has passed and until baby is up to about 7.5-8 pounds. I have a used set of best bottoms from my SIL that I'm borrowing - I like them but feel like they can only hold 1 pee and then they leak, so we only use them occasionally as backup diapers.
@chewie5990 I was thinking about prefolds this time around or the green mountain workhorses for when the baby is little. My boys were 8lbs15oz and 9lbs3oz at birth with chunky legs. We have a few thirsties but I got them second hand so the elastic around the legs isn’t great, those are our night time ones. I am hoping DS2 will be potty trained by September 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
@whatabout2ndbreakfast yeah you don't have the tiny baby leg issue I have! Mine were 7lbs1oz and 7lbs and they both came at 41W! This baby will be coming out at 39 weeks, so I'm sure he will be even smaller!
For me, I LOVED our rocker/swing thing. We have the fisher price Rock N Play which has been recalled in the States (sorry Americans ) but I'm comfortable using it as long as I'm in the room. For my second it was killer to have a place she could sleep where her sister wouldn't bug her. The vibration/motion/music helped to soothe her to sleep with a toddler playing & making noise in the room.
Without it, she would only sleep on me during the day which doesn't work that well.
Another cloth mama here, too! I loved GMD prefolds and workhorses! In fact, later, when my son was 1 and pockets were easiest for changing, I got rid of all of the microfiber inserts, and just used tri-folded prefolds as the inserts. They are so easy to clean and take care of, and don't easily lose their absorbancy. I'm so glad I kept my stash, I'll be using them again with this one, just might add a couple new ones to try. I'm interested in trying Esembly, and might get a few more workhorses (I loved those best for overnights)
@muggsd we still have our rock n play from DD..... and I probably will bust it out again as long as it’s supervised!!! That thing was amazing. I remember it got recalled JUST as we all finally started actually sleeping. I sobbed.
Re: GTKY 1.12
Second white noise suggestion: get a small portable one that can clip onto your stroller or tuck into a swing or throw in the back seat of the car. They're like $10 and mean you don't have to lose your phone any time you're out and want white noise to help the babe sleep.
@emeraldduchess it is definitely overwhelming at first!! I had a few friends and family members with kids who were a great sounding board for brand comparisons and weeding out stuff you don't actually need, plus a lot of bloggers and vloggers have lists of "essentials" and things to pass on. Plus this forum!
I love the idea of having one big questions thread, I think it's going to be super useful to refer back to, but I'm also wondering if we want to have a weekly "product spotlight" thread in the future when there's going to be more ladies setting up registries or buying new gear?
with baby 2 and 3 the carriers were the best item. I love love Sakura bloom, slings, onbuhimo, and scout. It is nice to wear something pretty when you feel like you are in newborn haze. I would suggest checking out the manufactures website for tips on how to keep them secure. Sakura bloom has so much education material.
Without it, she would only sleep on me during the day which doesn't work that well.
Another cloth mama here, too! I loved GMD prefolds and workhorses! In fact, later, when my son was 1 and pockets were easiest for changing, I got rid of all of the microfiber inserts, and just used tri-folded prefolds as the inserts. They are so easy to clean and take care of, and don't easily lose their absorbancy. I'm so glad I kept my stash, I'll be using them again with this one, just might add a couple new ones to try. I'm interested in trying Esembly, and might get a few more workhorses (I loved those best for overnights)