- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Houston Babies
starlettedir
member
How much of this stuff do I *really* need?
starlettedir
member
Every time I start looking at baby stuff I get so freaking overwhelmed. I told DH yesterday that I'm leaving it all up to him. ;-) He's the person in our relationship that stresses out and researches anything that needs to be purchased to being with.
I can't imagine that something that little needs this much stuff.
Current moms what do you consider a:
Must Have
Could Do Without
Total Luxury Item
Also, what are your thought on buying gently used? There is a new baby consignment store in Pearland that has gently used items.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: How much of this stuff do I *really* need?
I'm trying to think of things off the top of my head. Anything in particular you're not sure about?
Must have:
Bouncer (wish we would have gotten the newborn-to-toddler rocker instead of bouncer since he's going to outgrow it before he's done using it)
Swing (get one that plugs in)
Activity Mat
PNP or bassinet
Nice glider + ottoman
Bottle warmer
Lots of Bibs
Lots of Burp cloths
Lots of Wash cloths
Few blankets
Couple swaddle me blankets
Couple sleep sacks
Soothie pacifiers
Infant tub with a sling (would get Ocean Wonders probably if doing again)
Noise maker (block out dog barking)
Could do without:
Boppy (but breastfeeding was a fail for us)
Boppy Newborn Lounger
Bumbo
Wipes warmer
Receiving blankets
Luxury item:
Jumperoo - Dylan LOVES his, but not used until 5 or so months and he'd be okay without it
Video monitor - love ours and consider it a "must-have" but plenty do just fine with an audio monitor
Angelcare monitor - same as above
BFP with no treatment!
Everything LOL!
All these sleep things really baffle me.
I can email you a great registry list that some friends made up for me when I was pregnant. It helped me so much! I'll PM you my email address.
Also, I don't see anything wrong with buying gently used items. Just make sure your car seat is new. I'd also really want my crib and mattress to be new as well.
BFP with no treatment!
Are you talking big items or little stuff that you could maybe do without?
For us must haves were a swing and a bouncer until about 6 months. Both were really soothing to C. After that a "jumper" and a walker were a big help.
We could have done without a bottle sterlizer, bottle warmer and the huge diaper bag we registered for. We ended up carrying a much smaller one most of the time. We also could have skipped activity mats and tummy time mats, which we had 2 of. A blanket on the floor with some toys would have worked just as well. We didn't get much use out of the Bumbo seat either.
What type of sleep things do you mean? You could go straight to the crib and skip the bassinet or PnP but most people like having the baby in their room at night and near them during the day. We ended up putting him in his crib at night at around 10 days old and he napped either on someone, in swing, or in bouncer until around 4 months old and then started napping in his crib.
BFP with no treatment!
MUST HAVE:
Boppy- while it doesn't seem to be useful to PP, mine has been a total must. in fact, i bought a 2nd one lightly used so that i have one in the baby's bedroom and one in the living room.
Large (read: more $) swaddle blankets: the muslin ones have so many uses. a small blanket will not swaddle as well as a large one and are useless for things like covering the stroller
Bottle warmer
Play mat
Infant tub with sling
Video monitor- I survived without one the 1st time but ignorance is bliss. it makes a HUGE difference
Burp cloths
Bumpkins Super Bibs- super is right!
CD player w/ white noise CDs
LIVE WITHOUT:
Wipe warmer- useless and dangerous
Diaper bag- I prefer a large purse
Fabric/terry cloth drool bibs- never used for either kid
PNP- have one still in the box that was a shower gift for T
White noise machine. I think a CD player is so much better b/c you can play other music in the baby's room when not sleeping
Bumbo- has a useful period of about 2 months at the very most
SPLURGE:
a nice jogging stroller
a really good car seat
video monitor
Respisense SIDS monitor!!!
My MUST HAVES:
Boppy (I BF for 12 mo)
PNP
AngelCare Monitor
Medela Steam Bags
Playtex DropIns
Breast Pump (PISA)
Lots of jammies in the beginning
babytub
bottle warmer
swing
bouncy seat
exersaucer
jumperoo
Could Have Lived without
Bumbo
Diaper caddy- a basket works much better
Travel system - I would have bought a separate car seat, a nice all-terrian stroller (my Bumbleride can fit our infant seat), and a small umbrella stroller
Honestly, everyone is different. What you really need will depend on your personality (some people like to have every base covered) and your baby's temperament. The good news is you need very little when they arrive - everything else you can evaluate and get as needed. Personally, I'm stuff phobic and I didn't stay home much so I went light.
Must haves:
Large muslin swaddle cloths were awesome (for swaddling of course but also used for burp cloths, light blanket, instant travel activity mat, nursing cover, sun shade in car seat or stroller, emergency bib, even used as a baby toga a few times from blowouts).
Car seat
Someplace for them to sleep
I never used a boppy or pnp. And I used secondhand stuff from my SIL - tub(it didn't have an infant sling but I just stuck a towel in it), swing, bumbo.
Splurge was a video monitor. I love that thing
I agree that Baby Bargains is worth its weight in gold. I am a big fan of borrowing stuff or getting gently used items. I agree with a PP - the only things I don't think I would get used are car seat, crib, and mattress.
My must haves:
Boppy
Pack n play (for the bassinet feature and the diaper changing station)
Activity mat
Bouncer
Swing (plug in)
About a zillion bibs for my spitter-upper
CD with white noise (used the hair dryer sound for months)
Could do without:
Bumbo
Wipe warmer (didn't have, didn't miss it)
Bottle sterilizer (exclusively BF, so on the occasions he used a bottle, I just washed it myself - never took the sterilizer out of the box)
Total luxury item:
Agree with the breathing monitor for the crib - it's amazing peace of mind
Nice stroller - we have an OK stroller, but I wish we had something better (higher quality, more maneuverable)
Must haves:
Pack-n-play (we used it as a bassinet and now use it on trips)
Boppy--I bf and supplement and I use the boppy so much, it makes bottle feeding easier and just tonight I had him sitting on it on my lap watching TV
Exersaucer, and we're getting a jumperoo in the next week because I know he'll love it too
Bouncy chair
Lots of sleepers, burp cloths and bibs
Aden and Anais swaddle wraps--they were wonderful when he was tiny and still was ok with swaddling
Travel system--I am in the minority though, I tried out other strollers at the store and they didn't seem less bulky or heavy than the one that came with my system. I also wanted a stroller that the infant seat could snap in to so the travel system worked best for us
An entertainer for the crib--sorry I'm tired and can't think of the correct name but one of those things that straps to the crib with lights and music. He LOVES his, it mesmerizes him and calms him down in his crib.
White noise machine--he sleeps so well with the ocean sound
Swing--for a while he only wanted to sleep in his swing so it was very helpful to us, but I don't put him in it much at all anymore because he's in it quite a bit at daycare :-(
Didn't need
Wipe warmer--I didn't buy one but was given a second hand one and it dried out the wipes and we just didn't care for it
Bottle sterilizer--we got a microwave one and it didn't fit in our microwave but I still wouldn't have used it. I either hand wash or run them through the dishwasher
Bottle warmer--it might have been the one we got but I read the reviews and they said that it heated inconsistently and I was scared to use it. I just heat bottles in a warm water bath---honestly now I don't even heat them and he likes them just fine
Soothie pacifiers--my friend told me that I absolutely needed these so I bought 4 of them. G hated them and never used them at all--he prefers pretty much any other kind.
Bumbo--I just had to have one of these and he's sat in it a few times and gets tired of it quickly
A ton of recieving blankets, I have sooooo many and haven't used most of them. One pack of 4 would have been fine for me.
Splurge
Video monitor--I don't know how we would live without it, it's wonderful!
A changing mat thing that has a compartment for diapers and wipes---it was expensive to me ($30) but I love that I don't have to take the entire diaper bag to change him, I just take the pad that folds up to look like a wallet and I'm good.
This is why I think I'm freaking out! I don't have a bunch of stuff around the house so it's baffling to me that I need all this stuff. I know I need some of it but all of it?!
I have Baby Bargains and that's what is throwing me into a tizzy! LOL
Thanks everyone and keep the suggestions coming!
We had a lot of stuff handed down to us. Also, as I went along took some stuff back and bought other stuff. I would recommend getting some stuff to have on hand but if you don't use it the first week or so, take it back and get the stuff you think will be helpful to you. Keep all the packaging so if you want to take it back you can.
Definite Must Haves for us:
Swing, bouncer (easy to move from room to room - bathroom, office, dining room, etc.), bottle warmer, baby bathtub, ear thermometer, crib, bottle brush, video monitor, receiving blanket from hospital (much larger than ones you buy at store), small diaper bag (after using the big one for a couple of weeks, I went out and bought a small $10 one), Snap and Go stroller
Good to have
Boppy, activity mat, bumbo (works great for taking pictures when they can't sit up), changing table, cradle, cd player, humidifier (especially if a winter baby)
Star, Someone posted this link to a consumer reports baby basics list. I went ahead & bookmarked it for when we need it someday very long down the road.
https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kids/news/new-baby-basics-1105/overview/index.htm
Hopefully it won't confuse you more
Also love our travel system (Chicco). Stroller is really easy to open and close, isn't too heavy for me, steers great, and has a snack tray which was important for us. Also didn't feel the need for an all-terrain stoller since we don't really go jogging or anywhere that a regular stroller would be hard to steer.
These posts always prove that what works best for some people aren't necessarily the same for others. If you're stressed about having too much stuff, just get the bare essentials that were listed in a PP and make sure you keep packaging and receipts for things so you can return them if you find out you aren't going to use them. There's no telling what you're going to find to be a "must have" unfortunately.
BFP with no treatment!
Dude, you totally just added to it!
This job is so being passed off to DH. He obsesses for hours over CR.
This is so true. We made several big purchases based on the fact that they were "must haves" for the majority of people we know but never worked for us.
PNP- like I said before, registered for a delux one and it's still in the box
Swing- bought one for T and he hated it. i thought he was an exception so i bought another one for mathis and he hated it too. luckily i bought them both used but still $ is $
and i HATE to tell you this, but just b/c your baby loves something one day at a friends' house DOES NOT mean they will love it after you buy, assemble and find room for it in your own house!
what I did with Marion was we had a crib, dresser/changing table, an assortment of bottles, pack n play, car seat, stroller, boppy, medela PISA and a bouncy seat, diapers and clothes.
Pretty much everything else toy or accessory wise, we just waited to buy until she was here. Things like a jumperoo, exersaucer, those things are for bigger babies, so if you don't have a lot of storage space, don't worry about getting them before the baby gets here.
j+k+m+e | running with needles
May have been suggested but get a Baby Bargains book. I borrowed one, but if not I would have paid money for it. Well worth it.
Things I could have not lived without:
Boppy plus an extra cover for it.
Bouncer We got the bouncer/swing combo from Wal-Mart. It's a Graco brand. Pro: only 1 item to take up space. Con: the bouncer only holds up to 18lbs (more for the swing) and DS outgrew it already. He loved both items and I still use the swing daily. The bouncer was used every.single.day.
LOVE my video monitor. It's a splurge, but I'm ok with that.
Could do without:
Pack N Play. I'm torn here - I would have actually gotten a less expensive one with no bells & whistles because both of our parents have one. DS slept in his room right away and it hasn't gotten used very often. However I think you need one if you ever plan to travel and no co-sleep.
Got used:
Bumbo - DS has fat legs and I wasn't going to spend $30 on something he'd grow out of quickly.
Exersaucer & jumperoo - they grow out of them quickly. I actually got all three of these from a friend. We sanitized the crap out of them because DS puts his mouth on everything.
You could get a Snap N Go type stroller used. I love having ours, but we'll be out of the infant car seat pretty soon so it won't get used too much. We're hanging on to it for another kid though.
Don't get a travel system. Everyone complains about them. The Baby Jogger City Mini is what we decided on. It's a splurge, but I love it.
Luxury item: glider/rocker. We got my mom's old rocking chair. It's not comfortable but I haven't really needed. Somedays I wish we had a big comfy glider and other days it would have been a total waste of money. It's hard to tell how much you'll use it because I think it depends on your kid overall.
I agree that this is all relative so perhaps borrowing as much as you - especially the temporary stuff like PNP or Bumbo. We love our PNP since DD room is clear across the house so having her in the bassinet part of the PNP has been a great help. Plus is has a changing table on it too so we use it if we're in the living room instead of going to her nursery.
I love our travel system (Chicco) and don't find it bulky or hard to use at all. So to each their own.
I also love love love the Nap Nanny but at $130, it's a splurge. I think it's worth every penny though. L hates daytime naps unless you're holding her but put her in the Nap Nanny and she's out and peaceful and momma has full use of both arms.
Each baby is different with their needs, temperment, likes, etc. so your baby may hate the swing while some love them and live in them.
Baby posts/reviews/etc. I take with a grain of salt. For every two people that love it there may be two that hate it. It's all relative.
Yeah, Baby Bargains and the whole baby industry really overwhelmed me too at first. There's a post by me somewhere on the Houston Babies board called "Overwhelmed by the 'stuff' part of this." I just decided to take Baby Bargains section by section and make decisions over a period of a few weeks. First, I chose the crib. Then decided dresser vs. changing table and picked that out. Then the breast pump. Then the mattress. Then I started slowly building the registries online because I knew if I went to the store with a scanner I would either clam up and scan nothing or go crazy and scan everything. So, I just took my time, read reviews, consulted this board & my mommy friends, changed my mind a million times, and finally got the registries situated how I want them.
I used Baby Bargains section by section as a reference as I made each decision rather than looking at it as one ginormous collection of overwhelming info.
Good luck to you! It's fun but yes, it's overwhelming!