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Hawaii Babies
so what do I NEED?
I am trying to get prepared for baby's arrival and I don't know what I NEED to have immediately after bringing a newborn home. I had my shower last weekend & I received 100 washcloths...does baby really need that many? I just really don't know. or hooded towels? they are super cute, but is there a need for them?
how many onesies? what about receiving blankets? If they can't sleep with them, it seems like they wouldn't need very many. Just something to put on them maybe when they are just in the stroller or car seat?
I know this is a pretty open ended question, but just what could you have not lived without those first few weeks? (I plan on trying to nurse and using disposable diapers) TIA!!!!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: so what do I NEED?
I'll give you an open ended answer - they don't need much! hah.
I like the hooded towels - but only the "nice" quality ones (ones that are as thick as a normal adult towel). I got one that is so thin it can't possibly be meant to really be a towel? I would say 2-3 might be nice in case one is in the laundry? We reuse his towels (and our own) so maybe if you don't do that you will need a couple more?
washclothes - I think 6 or so is plenty - in a pinch I would have no problem using "non" baby ones. I kind of liked the thin ones when he was a tiny baby but use the normal thick ones that came with the towels now (and use the thin ones for wipes or to clean his face and hands after eating).
blankets - a few to drape over s/he when out and about, a few that are good for swaddling (I like the muslin swaddles or the thermal ones because they stretch). I liked having one or two thick blankets to put on the floor for play time b/c at newborn age he wasn't ready for the activity mat type play things.
onesies - I have no idea. we had WAY too many b/c we had some gender neutral but then once he was born we got soooooooooo much clothes AND he was big. There was a ton of newborn stuff he never wore and lots of GN 3mo stuff I never touched either. In the beginning I only did baby laundry (outside of diapers) about every 2 weeks and could have probably went longer ... Also Jack didn't spit up or have blowouts so I rarely changed his outfit more than once a day (one daytime outfit and one sleeper).
I agree, they don't need much! You can always send someone to the store if you need anything. Resist the urge to buy!
Washcloths -- I actually use a lot of these, both thick and thin. When Alexa was very small and took her bath in the infant tub, I put one washcloth on her tummy to keep her warm, then used the other one to bathe her with. Now that she sits up (and crawls, and pulls up) in the big tub, we use just 1 washcloth per bath. However, I use the think washcloths to tuck into her collars under the bibs so that any dribbles of food won't stain her clothes.
Hooded Towels -- We have 7. Two are thin and I used to like them but now I don't because she wets through them too easily. So for baths, I like the thicker ones better. We use them for baths and also when we go to the pool. We reuse them, same like our towels. I'd say 4-5 is enough but with 7 we never are without a clean towel!
Onesies -- Depends on the time of year. Alexa was born in Sept and so we only used about 5-6 regular onesies and then it got cold and we used footies and longsleeve onesies. Now she sleeps in them so we have about 8 white short sleeve onesies and pretty much use one per day. In the winter she had 4 long sleeve onesies, 4 colored ones, 4-6 printed ones and wore them all constantly.
Receiving blankets -- 1-2 tops. I assume you mean blankets that are not swaddle blankets? I used receiving blankets to put on the floor for her to lay on, keep her warm in car seat or stroller, wrap her in when I held her, to show off since they matched her outfit... Now we use them for her to play peek-a-boo with! But I have a ton that were never used. Oh well....
HTH!
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog
Ditto. Also, don't forget to keep a receiving blanket in the diaper bag for dr visits - they make you undress them and then weigh them, but then want them to stay undressed until the dr comes in, which can be awhile. So yuo want to have something it cover him/her.
10 is plenty for washcloths - 2 towels - onesies - a total of about 15-20 is probably sufficient to cover you for awhile. I rarely used any of the clothes beyond this in the beginning, except for the sleepers. 5 sleepers should get you started too. I liked having more, b/c these were his uniform for the first 3 months since we didn't go anywhere.
You need diapers/wipes (or whatever form of these you choose). I'd also have some A&D or some kind of cream for their bottoms.
You need some place for them to sleep and some change of sheets for it (PnP, cosleeper, crib, etc).
I would also have some formula and bottles on hand, just in case.
This is a good point. I didn't have anyone to send to the store (MH only has his permit so he can't drive w/o me), so I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed. You can get by with less if you have someone to run out to the store for you whenever you need something.
I say stock up on supplies for yourself now - no sense running out of shampoo or something when you can get it now and have enough to get you through your maternity leave.
good point - if you will have someone that can do this!
DH randomly saw a list of things I needed (I was making it for my mom to take care of) - he assumed it was for him and he went out and bought everything including breast pads, heavy duty feminine pads, herbal sitz baths (from the herb shop), and more mama bottom spray. What a guy.
Here's what I plan to have, for our late nov baby:
- 2-4 side-snap long-sleeve shirts
- 4-6 long-sleeve onesies (will probably have a few short sleeve ones, just b/c they're cute, but don't think we'll need them)
- 3-4 long-sleeve footed things (are these the sleepers?)
- 2-3 long-sleeve sleeping gowns (open with elastic on the bottom)
- 1-2 fleece sleep sacks
- 2-3 varieties of swaddling blankets
- 2-3 hooded towels (thin ones for now, but will probably get thicker ones later)
- some largish number of washcloths (but we'll use most as cloth wipes)
- however many receiving blankets we end up with - i bought 2 at JBF b/c they were cute and cheap, but not going to get anymore. i think the hospital gives you some too
any critiques on missing items or quantity?
on a related note, a few friends recommended side-snap (kimono style) shirts instead of onesies, to not have to deal with pulling shirts over the baby's head in the beginning. but I'm wondering - what does baby wear on the bottom? pants seem really annoying for a newborn who is constantly getting diapers changed. I was thinking just diaper and a cover, but since it will be winter, it will be cold...
eta: i guess this is an issue for onesies too! or is the baby wrapped up in blankets all day anyway, so it doesn't matter?
what a guy!
I think it's nice to have bottles on hand but even in my super crunchy, pro BF area it would have been no problem to get formula - enough for the first few days - from the hospital. They send me home with 8 bottles those little pre mixed up ones. I didn't want them but they practically required me to take them because my milk wasn't in yet. I donated to the food bank through church - everyone wins
Something tells me I easily could have left with lots more.
It sounds like you have plenty for the baby, I was going to suggest what MauiWedding posted as well...don't forget about mama's needs too! Granny panties & breast pads were my best friends!
Your hospital was better than mine then. I could only take what was left of my 6-pack or whatever it was. Glad you got it to someone who could use it though
And these were things I stocked up on from the hospital b/c they were pushing me to take them. See if you can find someone on a local board who delivered at your hospital - might give you a better sense of what you can take from there and what you'll need to get ahead of time.
We have four hooded towels, we could make do with two. Washcloths you can use as wipes, if you plan not to go with sposies.
Onesies? Libby was never a fan so we wore out her tap tees...but you should have onesies or tees...maybe 6 (3 long sleeved and 3 short sleeved?)...
Receiving blankets...unfortunately most of the ones sold are not big enough to effectively swaddle...so maybe 3-4 to use as lap pads, light blankets over the infant carrier (if you plan to use one), on the floor at grandma's house, etc. The big ones? Awesome for swaddling, but again, you have to seek them out...they're usually not the ones you receive as gifts. We have a few bigger blankets (fleece and knit) that we use too, but we got SO many and don't really use them at all. We shall see what happens this winter though...when she was little she did spit up a lot so we went through blankets more than we do now. It's nice to have one on the rocker, one in the stroller or carseat and one in the diaper bag (can be used for a variety of things...on the changing station in public, as a nursing cover, on the floor when visiting friends/relatives, etc.).
First few weeks...for me? My Brest Friend, Boppy, Gel soothies and nursing tanks. For her...footed sleepers (sleep and plays), socks, burp clothes, swaddling blankets, cloth diapers/wipes, diaper covers and changing station pad w/cover. Oh and later on...tummy tub, hooded towels and soft wash cloths.
TTC/PG Blog | Mommy Blog
The other girls posts pretty much have it covered. I just wanted to let you know what I did. We recieved tons of clothes, mostly in NB & 3mo size. I returned everything that I could figure out where it came from for bigger sizes, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months. It seems when they are so tiny they are always swaddled or covered with a blanket. With that and the fact that they will quickly outgrow the small size clothing, it's better to exchange that cute outfit for a bigger aize that s/he can parade around when s/he is bigger. I'm sooo glad I did that because now he's five months and he gets to wear to new outfit all the time. It's so sad to pack away cute clothes that only got used a few times.
Fun times ahead for you!!!
very good advice here
totally agree. plus you always get some clothes that you can't return. though i have to say that we've gotten A LOT of use out of all our clothes b/c she is still wears Carter's size 0-3 for onesies and 3-6 months for dresses/pants/etc 
but she is tiny and i know that isn't the norm!
for swaddling, we had 1 miracle blanket and 1 of these sleepsacks that are also swaddles and i liked both.
we only have 2 hooded towels and really you don't even need them, you can use regular towels. the hood is convenient for when it's colder and you want to keep them warm, though. we wouldn't even have any except i got 1 as a gift and then 1 was a hand me down from my cousin.
i know lisa in oz asked this question before the pirates were born, wonder if she (or someone else on this board) bookmarked that post? there really are only a few essentials that baby actually NEEDS right away. as for a layette, if you have baby bargains, it has a good breakdown of what you should have on hand. but in general i think everyone else has already hit upon what you'll need.
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
We just use regular ole adult towels. It's cold here right now, so we dry them off and dress them right away - a hood would be pointless since they're not hanging around in the towel.
Maybe that's just ours? Anyway, we have 6 and that's been plenty.
We do use baby washcloths because they were given to us, but I don't see how they're different from adult ones except that they have rounded corners and embroidered cartoon starfish.
Receiving blankets are useful for a quick swaddle (if they're big enough, although many aren't), and for putting on the floor when you go someplace. But yeah, people give you waaaay too many of them lol.
Onesies...we had tons, but that was mostly because we had two babies. I do one load of laundry every 2-3 days (I could wait longer but this way it's not such a massive task - 2-3 days is probably the equivalent of once a week if you have one baby). You could get away with having as few as 4 onesies, but obviously having more is nice, and I'd recommend more like 8, plus some footed sleepers, etc. I wouldn't bother with newborn sizes, unless you're fairly sure you're having a pretty small baby - my dudes were only in theirs for 2 weeks.
Jaime was right that I asked this same question, but unfortunately I don't have it bookmarked.
Anyway, what are real "needs"? A crib (or co-sleeper, or whatever you're using), diapers, a few clothes and breastmilk/formula. That's pretty much all that's actually a need. Everything else is just gravy. 
As far as towels/washcloths go.....I've only used 2 of the 4 hooded towels we have so far (we use them twice before washing), and about 5 of the baby washcloths (I think we have like 18!).
You may not need these, but for me, the things I didn't anticipate needed, and had to have someone run out for were:
*More breast gel soothies....a lifesaver for me! I had only bought one pair, and have now used several.
*Newborn sized socks/cotton terry booties.....we were given TONS of socks as gifts, but all but 2 pairs were way too big. I didn't think he's need socks, since many of his sleepers have feet (and it's summer!), but we keep the house air conditioned, and the feet in those sleepers are so thin. His feet were always freezing, so I always made sure he had socks on underneath. He's better at regulating his temp now, though, and I don't really need them anymore.
*Swaddle Me blankets with velcro.....I had practiced swaddling with my a+a swaddling blankets before he was born, but a squiring live baby is very hard to swaddle tightly, I found! I love the ones with velcro.
*A diaper pail for downstairs. I have the foresight to create a changing station (on the pack and play) downstairs so that I wouldn't have to always go up to the nursery to change him. I had thought of diapers, wipes, gauze pads and vaseline (for his circ wound), and even pee-pee- tee-pees! But neglected to have something to put dirty dipes in!
I got lots of formula from the hospital, too. Not sure if it's because they knew I was a nurse, though. Our pediatrician also gave us two cans. I still have most of it sitting in the pantry, trying to figure out who to give it to.
I'd suggest not having any formula at home because it can be too tempting to give up on breastfeeding if you're not super adamant about doing it. It's also hard to break the cycle of supplementing once you start - you don't stimulate your milk enough, you don't produce enough so you have to supplement, etc. I decided to just quit cold turkey after about a week and just nursed all.the.time.
I would say do NOT bother BUYING a can of formula. I did. And you know what, that stinkin' can expired in ONE MONTH. So later, when I did need the can because my supply was falling and I needed to supplement, I couldn't use it. Waste of money!
What I DID have was 4 FREE cans of formula that various formula companies had sent us or the hospital had given us. Luckily Alexa is not picky, so we just used one at a time. Since I'm still pumping, we only use a few oz of formula a day to top off her bottles, so they last a while.
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog
THIS is a great idea. I stocked up and it was super helpful. Soap, shampoo, razers, face soap, extra lipstick and makeup, lotion, dishwashing soap, laundry detergent, paper towels, ziploc bags, kleenex, toilet paper, cans of food too!
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog
I think the kimono is good for not having to pull over the baby's head... Wish I had thought of that! LOL! They are also good b/c until the baby's cord falls off, a onesie might be uncomfortable for them with the stump sticking out?
What to wear on their legs with the onesie??? HELLO!!! BABY LEGS!!!!
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog
good point about the cord stump too! and lol - how could i forget baby legs! hahaha - good thing we have 3 pairs already
yall are the best....thanks so much for the good advise!!
It is all just so expensive & I was hoping to be able to save the GCs we got at the shower to spend on diapers down the road & not buying tons of other things now that maybe I won't need once baby arrives!
yes, it is expensive! but it doesn't have to be - baby really doesn't need that much, and you can find second hand newborn and 3-6 mo stuff in great, like-new condition, since they grow out of it so quickly! at the jbf sale, i didn't pay more than $3 for any outfit - and more of the ones I got were between $1.50-$2.25. it doesn't look like there is a jbf if NOLA, but check thift stores, consignment stores (if there's a baby consignment store near you, even better), and outlets. there's a carters outlet, a children's place outlet, and an osh kosh outlet near me - they have great sales off already discounted prices. so yeah - we're really trying not to spend too much $$ on clothing and other things he'll grow out of quickly, and instead are saving our money for all the gear and other things we'll get more use out of for much longer
I love these. I remember reading on another board (or maybe this one) that some ladies hate them. I'm sad they don't come in Jack's current size!!
On top of just being great for lounging around in I found that I used them for layering a lot too - lots of outfits come with a short sleeve onesie so I made them winter/spring useable by just putting a side snap shirt under it all.
On a side note about formula, if you register for Similac's StrongMoms mailing list, they send you free cans of formula. I registered about two weeks before my due date and when I came home from the hospital, I had two cans of formula waiting for me at on my doorstep...I haven't had any need to buy any more since then. We only used formula when we had to supplement and the pediatrician also gave us some too, and by the time we stopped having to supplement, we still have one can of formula left.
I sometimes use regular towels when our hooded towels are all in the laundry, so I don't see why it's necessary to have hooded towels other than the cuteness factor.
Before I got nursing pads, I used washcloths a lot for catching milk on one side while I nursed on the other. So I actually went out and bought more because I'd need two washcloths per nursing session. And we use two for each bath. I think we have about a dozen washcloths now.
I recommend kimino-style shirts too. Babies hate having something pulled over their heads. It's always a struggle when we dress him. I wish they made everything (onesies, sleepsacks, etc) all button up in the front or something...
i forgot to touch upon this too. i really agree w/christine and i am pretty sure that in a pinch you could get free samples from the hospital or the pedi so there is no need to buy it now. having it around makes it really hard not to use it....not that formula is bad, but if you want to EBF then having it around just makes it harder. one of the hard things about BFing is that you never truly feel 100% confident that your baby is getting enough (i don't worry about it so much anymore, but in the beginning i worried a lot). i think even when your baby is growing fast enough and gaining weight appropriately, you still wonder if you are producing enough for them b/c you aren't able to quantify it.... so being able to supplement w/formula eases the minds of a lot of new moms. if you don't have it around you're less likely to use it. worst case scenario you can send DH out to get it for you!
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
agreed and you guys said it really well. I never even thought of it as an option. But I didn't want to step on anyone's toes by saying something.