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Parenting after a Loss
vsackett1
member
Popping in from PgAL with a few questions for you lovely mommies!
vsackett1
member
Hi ladies,
Since I have had all my baby showers, I am now in the process of returning/exchanging and supplementing with what we didn't get. My question is: Was there an item (or items) that either you really didn't think you would need and now can't live without or an item that you thought would be really useful but is now collecting dust? I wanted to get some feedback from you experienced mamas before I made my final returns, exchanges and purchases. Thanks so much ladies, looking SO forward to joining you all in just a few short weeks! 
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Re: Popping in from PgAL with a few questions for you lovely mommies!
Something that was USELESS was a dishwasher basket set for the bottles. All the bottles and tops flip upside down and fill with water, which grosses me out. So I wish we hadn't gotten that.
Also, we have yet to use a crib mattress pad. Our mattress will wipe right off if there's a mess.
I'm really glad we have a swing AND a bouncy seat AND an activity mat with a bar with hanging toys. We use them to get things done like work, cook, fold laundry, etc.
Hope that helps! Looking forward to seeing you over here!
Let's see - I can list a couple of items that we've definitely needed and used the most: Some sort of carrier (sling or bjorn), PNP, boppy pillow (both for bf and then it helped when LO was learning to sit), bouncy seat, swing, and an exersaucer or jumerpoo.
One thing that is collecting dust is the bumbo seat. I could have just put LO in the high chair and LO was always trying to squirm out of it.
Oh no! I just bought one of these at Target yesterday! Oh well, at least it was only like $6. Everything else you mentioned we have, so glad to hear that the other stuff is coming in handy. Looking forward to being here finally, YAY! Thanks loves!
Okay will do on the jumperoo, I have heard great things about those so will def grab one. I did receive a bumbo and heard great things about it so we shall see...my friends DS loved it but then my cousins DS hated it so it may depend on the babe. Thanks for the feedback! See you all soon here! I can't wait!
if you don't have one i would recommend getting a swaddle me or miracle blanket- LO used to sleep about 2 hours unswaddled and 8 hours swaddled! of course you could use a regular blanket but the velcro is so much easier and i was to nervous to use a regular blanket in case he broke out of the swaddle.
i didn't think we really needed a mobile but we got the fisher price ocean waves one and LO loves it! he also likes his bumbo. and we couldn't live without the boppy, breast pump, and our set of good monitors. i'm with loves, i have never liked the dishwasher basket thing.
good luck!
We have a bumbo which we just started using and I like it... more for playing with LO and getting him to learn to sit up than anything.
Absolutely want to have:
1. Breast pump. I have the Medela Freestyle. I found an LC on Ebay who sold it to me (new in the box) for about $100 less than retail. If you haven't gotten a pump yet, and want her info, please page me here and I'll PM you the info. I had to start pumping early on because Addison needed a supplement, and I didn't want to give her formula unless I wasn't producing milk.
2. My Brest Friend pillow - I tried on the Boppy, but wasn't impressed. This is the alternative pillow, and for me, it's great. I'm still looking for retailers for the replacement covers (we've already accumulated a lot of hours on it, and with that, some spit up on the pillow cover). I recommend the "deluxe" version, as it has a buckle clip which opens quietly to remove the pillow versus only a velcro opening (which can be loud and awaken baby).
3. Swing/portable swing/bouncer - I have the Bright Starts version of all three of these. The bouncer seems like it WILL be great, but Addison is such a peanut, she doesn't quite fit right into it yet. But the swing (downstairs) and portable swing (upstairs) have been fabulous for us.
4. Pack n Play (with a changer). Her regular changing table is upstairs, and it's a pain to have to go back and forth. I love the PNP changer, which makes diaper changes convenient for downstairs. I don't like the "newborn napper" and opted to NOT get a model with it. I just lay her swaddled into the bassinet portion of the PNP.
Things I haven't used:
1. Boppy Newborn Lounger - still in the package, probably will use it, but haven't yet.
2. Steam sterilizer for bottles - still in the package, probably will use it, but haven't yet -- since I've only been using 1 bottle at a time, I've been washing in hot soapy water, rinsing, and drying on a clean dish towel.
3. Excessive number of disposable bra pads. I have 2 boxes unopened, and 1 barely opened box. I thought for sure that was something I'd use every day, but I haven't had much leaking at all, so no need.
4. TenderCare hydrogel pads. Saw that it was a good thing to have, but haven't had sore nips, so I have two unopened packages.
Hope that helps....see you here soon!
Can't live without:
Carriers (wrap at first, then sling, now Ergo)
Breast pump & bottles (I use Medela)
Pacifier - nipple confusion is a myth so use one if you want to!!
Swaddling blankets - as many as you can possibly get, since they get peed/pooped/spit up on a lot at first. Find nice big ones if you can.
Jumper - some babies don't like, but ours LOVES
Swing - totally addicted
Collecting dust:
P&P - useful for a few months but once he topped 15 lbs he couldn't sleep in the bassinet anymore so now we don't use it
Crib - we bed share! But most people use their cribs
Boppy - useful for like 3 weeks when learning to nurse, after that meh
Exersaucer - never bought one because our daycare provider said he never liked it
Bouncer - we used it as somewhere to "park" DS for a second but pretty useless other than that. I would get a nice used one if you don't have one, just don't spend a lot of $ on this
Must haves:
Mei Tai (Babyhawk) baby carrier. I would die without it, I swear.
The big, comfy rocker/recliner in the baby's room. I can't TELL you how many hours I spend in it, and it was the best $300 spent EVER,
Sophie la Giraffe is a must these days, but we didn't need it till 2 months
The Sleep Sheep rules.
Burp cloths. Lots of burp cloths.
A king sized bed. Yeah, not a baby purchase exactly, but we ended up doing WAY more co-sleeping than I ever planned and it's so nice to have space.
Waste of Space
My breast pump.
I was ultimately unable to BF, so that was $350 I'd like back.
Bouncy seat, bumbo and swing, he outgrew them too fast
Ditto to the infant carseat/travel system. I didn't know it had a height limit of 29 inches, which he reached at his 4 month appointment. I would have done a convertible carseat instead.
Baby towels - we find regular towels work better, mostly because he's such a big baby
0-3 month clothes...but again, that's cause I have a freakishly large child. He went straight from NB to 3-6 in about 2 weeks.
All the swaddle stuff... he hated being swaddled from day 1.
It really, really depends. As you can see, some of the baby stuff that are on one person's "waste' list are on the "must have" for others.
Use most
Burp cloths & bibs (DD spit up a lot...it's subsided pretty much now)
Boppy
Udder Cover (or other nursing cover)
Breast pump
Breast pads
Swing, bouncy seat, bumbo, activity mat, jumperoo...DD loves them all and it's great to give her a variety of places to sit (We got the swing, bouncy seat and bumbo as hand-me-downs, which helps!)
Fan/white noise machine
Use least
Mobile
PNP (we thought DD would sleep in our room for the first few weeks but she slept in her crib from day 1. We've only used the PNP while traveling, which definitely comes in handy)
For ME
Must haves: Diaper Genie, Bouncy Chair (we got the one that bounces by its self, amazinggg), My Pump, Lansinoh Cream, Receiving Blankets (lots of them), Milicon Gas Drops
Didn't/Havent used: Boppy (DS hates it)
That's all I can think of right at the moment...
I love mine!! I never use the heat dry on the dishwasher, so everything is wet when it comes out. When the cycle is done, I take out the basket and rinse it with hot water and shake it out and put the pieces on the drying rack. We have 2!
1st pregnancy: m/c began 1/12/09 d&c 1/13/09 8wks. Baby stopped growing at about 6wks.
Delaney: Born 10/15/09
Gavin: Born 4/8/11
Baby #3: due July 10, 2014
1st pregnancy: m/c began 1/12/09 d&c 1/13/09 8wks. Baby stopped growing at about 6wks.
Delaney: Born 10/15/09
Gavin: Born 4/8/11
Baby #3: due July 10, 2014