what I wish I'd known...
hailey1312
member
Hi girls, I am a FTM of a 3 month old, so I used to visit this board when I was pregnant. I was thinking about some of the things I wish I had known, or gotten or not gotten for my LO. Here a few things...
My LO was born in September and I wish I had gotten alot more long sleeve onesies, NOT short sleeve. I have a TON short sleeved onesies that I will never use because it is winter. Unless I put a sweater or jacket over them which I do sometimes but for around the house it's so much easier to use long sleeve onesies and a soft pare of pants than be doubling up a bunch of bulky layers.
Don't go overboard on baby shoes or footwear. You WILL use socks but not so much the shoes. One or two cute pairs will suffice as they will only wear them out to look cute a few times. Don't get "newborn" sized shoes, you never know how big their feet are going to be!
Also, no matter what anyone tells you or what size they say your LO will be, get a few newborn sleepers. They kept telling me my LO would be BIG and I was over 9lbs when I was born. So I didn't buy any newborn clothes at all. My LO came out weighing 6lbs 13 oz and all her 0-3 mo clothes were huge. She could have worn newborn for several weeks.
The swing is not for playing , no matter what you might think, most mom's will use it for sleep. I never thought I would use it for sleep but when nothing else works the swing is magic, so definitely get some sort of cradle swing. A bouncer is great for putting baby in for a few minutes when you need to shower, dress or use the bathroom.
Hats, some babies like them some don't so don't go overboard.
Those flannel receiving blankets aren't big enough to be much good for anything, get some stretchy swaddling blankets by Carters, they are great.
Outfits with buttons on the back or snaps on the back are a pain. Sleepers with snaps are easier than zipper. Zippers seem like a great idea but you have to stuff their legs into the sleeper and then zip and it's just a lot harder, try it once and you'll be using the snaps after that. (that is why all the zipper sleepers at yard sales look new!)
You won't need a big coat or snowsuit really unless you plan to carry your baby around outside in the winter. A warm outfit, and blanket, and a car seat cover is all you'll need, they will get plenty warm and as long as you cover their carseat up with a blanket or car seat cover, you don't need a snow suit. Snow suits are not safe in the car seat anyway, because the belts won't tighten down like they should.
Don't waste time buying/registering for a bunch of bottles, it may turn out your LO will hate the ones you got anyway. Alot of people end up having to try a bunch of different ones before they find one their baby likes. Or like my baby they won't take one at ALL! (same deal with pacifiers! She won't take one, never has and I had to return some I got at my shower).
You WILL use all those bibs, as soon as they start drooling around 3 months (going through several a day now!)
Don't buy TOO many clothes at first, I know it's fun but no matter, what people will buy you clothes and you'll either have too many or have to return a bunch for different sizes or both.
Save some of the gift cards for when you run out of clothes around 6-9 months!
I think that's all for now 
If anyone has anything to add go ahead ! Good luck to you all!
Re: what I wish I'd known...
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I like the Aden & Anais blankets.
I disagree with the snaps/zippers comment. When you are changing a diaper in the middle of the night, one zipper is so much easier than 11 snaps.
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This! Also snaps can suck even with an older child. Try dressing a squirming kid in her jammies with snaps. There will be plenty of times where you'll finally get through it and realize you were off by one or two snaps and have to start all over again! Zippers are fool-proof.
It totally depends on your baby though...
- I love short sleeved onesies. Easy to put on. DD hates long sleeved.
- We used bibs starting at a week old. They're great for catching spit up and drooled formula.
- DS was 9 lbs 2 oz and wears NB clothing.
- I like snaps WAY MORE than zippers. With snaps you can open just enough to change a diaper, whereas I find the zippered ones make DS cry more (colder??)
But in general, a good list!
https://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/kids/baby/carterslayettenewborns/PRD~657627/Carters+2pk+Dog+Swaddle+Blankets.jsp
https://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/landingpages/carters/newborngirls/PRD~657615/Carters+2pk+Floral+Swaddle+Blankets.jsp
These are the swaddle blankets that I have . They are stretchy and super soft.
I guess the snaps and zippers are something of individual preference but I like the snaps you can unsnap just their legs to change a diaper instead of unzipping the WHOLE sleeper.
Snaps are definitely nicer than zippers. My DS wouldn't bend his leg, and I'd spend more time trying to get his leg back in to zip than I would spend just snapping them back up. When DS was first born, the faster I was at changing that diaper in the middle of the night the better - he would be screaming for his bottle and it was cold taking his jammies off to change his diaper. When they're quite a bit older, I've been told that zippers are the way to go because they'll be able to unsnap their jammies but not necessarily unzip them.
We've used bibs almost his entire life, he spits up a lot, and if all i have to do is change a bib instead of an entire outfit, it makes it a lot easier.
I, too, had a September baby, and most of the 3-6 month onesies I got at my shower were short sleeved. I bought some white long sleeved onesies to put on underneath to keep him warm. I don't really like putting the little sweatshirts on him because they mess with the way the bib sits on his chest and my little man doesn't go anywhere without a bib.