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anangelbug
member
RP: Help, new mom to be in about 8 weeks & feeling clueless!
anangelbug
member
I'm going to post this on a few boards....because I need all the help I can get!
Hi, we are expecting to bring home our lil' one in about 8 weeks and we have to register this weekend and haven't a clue! So can you all recommend good stuff?!?
Can you educate me on car seats? 1. Do I register for a full pkg with the Car seat, base, stroller and then just get a second base for DH's car or do we need another full second car seat for his car? We recently bought a new 2011 Toyota Sienna and of course I did the research AFTER the fact and it loses points for no longer having the sought after latch for car seats so we have to use the seatbelt so that means a lot more difficult to get in and out.
How long on average is the baby in the car seat that you just lift out of the base and attach to the stroller? Do you register for a bigger car seat now (yes, I know... I'm clueless...I feel like such an idiot but I guess I never thought this day would come for us and it was always too hard to research or "window shop" before).
Now on to swaddleme's. I've heard and read amazing things about them but I had a friend who's pediatrician told her NO to the kind with velcro, that they are dangerous can get the velcro part over their heads and suffocate. So I was thinking the sleep sacks, but one of those has velcro, is it safe? Or the Wombie? They look safer with no Velcro....thoughts?
Other than that, what else can you recommend to register for, your most favorite, can't live withouts?
I'm excited but getting nervous as I start to realize I don't know what I'm doing registering much less when I bring the baby home! I babysat growing up and have two nieces who I spend a lot of time with but not much new born round the clock experience and I guess I worry since I didn't have the 9 month pregnancy expereince or the labor/birthing to prepare me that my natural instincts won't kick in or something.
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Re: RP: Help, new mom to be in about 8 weeks & feeling clueless!
Congratulations on your adoption! I'm by no means an expert, but I'll try to answer your questions.
We went with a travel system. It came with the Graco Snugride 22 and stroller. They do have travel systems that come with the Snugride 35. In retrospect, I wish we would have went with the carseat with the higher weight limit so we could use it longer. It obviously depends on how big your baby is and what carseat you go with, but on average babies will be in the infant seat about a year. We did not register for the bigger (convertible) carseat but we did add it to our registry after our shower so that we could purchase it with the 10% off completion coupon.
I have never heard anything about there being a problem with velcro on sleepsacks. My LO really likes the Halo ones. I would just register for a few different ones and see what works best. Target and BRU have very comprehensive lists of this to register for. My advice would be to not put any clothes on your registry unless there is something you really want. People will get you tons of clothes regardless.
My DS loves this. We couldn't make it through the night without it. Good luck and congratluations again on your LO!
1) car seat: I registered for the package deal (car seat with stroller & 1 base) & bought a 2nd base for my husband's car. You don't need 2 car seats.
Depending on the car seat, babies are in the bucket car seats until they reach the weight limit (we have the Chicco Cortina travel system & the car seat is good for 4lbs - 22 lbs)
2) swaddlemes: I bought a velcro sleep sack & it worked for a while but my son hates to be swaddled & always got out of it so we quit using it around week 3
3) favorite can't live withouts:
My Brest Friend pillow - that's what I use & I love it! It helps with positioning the baby & keeps your arms from getting too sore from holding a heavy baby while trying to feed.
Zip down the front pjs - makes changing diapers in the middle of the night easy
Gel nursing pads - put these in the fridge to help soothe sore nipples, they are great!
Congrats!
It's really up to you on if you want to register for a travel system or just a carseat. We got a travel system, since I plan on using the stroller often. We got the Graco Stylus Travel System Stroller in Ben Pattern and it comes with the Graco SnugRide 35 Infant Car Seat with is one of the top rated car seats (this is mainly why we went with this one). The travel system came with a base and most car seats when purchased not in a travel system package comes with a base. We only have one base currently (the one that came with the car seat), but we plan on getting another base soon for our other vehicle and that will allow us to easily put her car seat in and out of both vehicles without having to use the seat belt which is a pain.
Our car seat that we purchased (Graco SnugRide 35) is supposed to hold our daughter until she is 35 lbs.
As for the swaddleme's, we have a few that were given to us, but I haven't used them. I tried using one on our daughter when she was first brought home, but it didn't really work for us so we have been swaddling with swaddling blankets ever since.
We couldn't have gone without a swing in our house. When we brought our daughter home, she wouldn't sleep in anything that we had there so we purchased a swing and up until recently she had been sleeping in that every night since she was 4 days old. We also use a boppy for pretty much everything (I use it when I am bottle feeding LO to help support her and my arm, for letting her just lay back in and relax, helping to support her when she sits, etc.).
I think your natural instincts will kick in no matter if you carry the baby or not for 9 months. I think it's the sudden love for the child that makes ones "motherly instincts" kick in.
Congrats again.
DD - Juliana Joan - Born October 27, 2010 - My Little Princess
BFP 1/14/13 - M/C 1/22/13 @ 5 weeks
BFP 3/20/13 - EDD 11/11/13
Oh yeah... zipper sleepers instead of button ones.
DD - Juliana Joan - Born October 27, 2010 - My Little Princess
BFP 1/14/13 - M/C 1/22/13 @ 5 weeks
BFP 3/20/13 - EDD 11/11/13
We registered for an infant seat (that clicks in and out of the base) that you would take the whole seat out of the car instead of leaving the seat in and taking the baby out. I couldn't live without our infant seat. Especially with a fussier baby, when he's asleep, I wouldn't ever want to risk waking him up when he's asleep after a car ride. It's also much easier when you go out - shopping, to restaurants, etc. You can get a second base for the other car so that it also just clicks in and out. We will move to a convertible seat that stays in the car and you take the baby in and out of after he outgrows his infant seat.
We didn't want a travel system stroller. We use the Baby Jogger City Mini stroller with the infant seat attachment so that we can click our infant seat into our stroller, making it somewhat of a travel system, but once we are done using the infant seat, we're left with a much smaller and lighter stroller than most of the travel systems.
I use swaddle me's. My child won't sleep without one. I think they're lifesavers. We've never had a problem with them.
We couldn't live without:
-Gerber cloth diapers for burp cloths
-Sleep sheep (our LO loves this so much that we have two - one for the crib and the travel size for his car seat)
-video monitor - this is a freaking lifesaver. Babies are loud when they sleep, this makes life SO MUCH EASIER because you don't have to run into the room every time you hear a noise on the monitor.
-activity mat - it keeps our LO occupied for a good 15 mins so we can get stuff done
-mobile with moving parts - also keeps LO occupied for 15-20 mins
-zip front sleepers
-Mylicon! No one told us this and we didn't have any of it - it really helps with gassy babies.
11-15-08
12-1-10
11-15-08
12-1-10
IMO a travel system with a second base is the way to go... so much easier! I have the chicco keyfit and i'm quite happy with it. My sister got one rated up to 30lbs (like the key fit 30) and said that by the time LO was 30lbs, he was too heavy to carry around in the carseat anyway. You don't need the front-facing carset until LO is 30lbs or 1 year. The keyfit can use either the latch or a seatbelt and only the base needs to attach so it shouldn't be more difficult to get in and out.
I love my swaddlemes and love the velcro swaddle part. They actually have fasteners to keep them down so they can't scrunch up and cover LO's face. The fasteners do make it hard to change the diaper without undoing the velcro piece. Now that I think about it... one of my swaddleme's might have the fasteners and the other might not... i guess look for the ones that have it!
I don't think there are a lot of things I "can't live without". Of course other than the essentials like the carseat, changing table, and something to sleep in. My LO doesn't use her swing, bouncer, rock n play, or moses basket. I don't use a wipes warmer, or a bottle warmer (just a small pot of water on the stove). Even my diaper genie is more of a hassle than it's worth. Oh--I love my microwave bottle sterilizer! Also, the cloth diapers make amazing burp cloths, and Vaseline does wonders to prevent diaper rash.
You'll do great! Congratulations!!!
Like CrazyStace, we have the City Mini for our stroller with the infant seat adapter. We have a Graco SnugRide 35 and two extra bases (one for my DH and one for my parents who watch LO). We will get a bigger convertable seat when LO gets too tall or heavy for the infant seat. Some people reigister for them, we chose not to because we had other high priced things on our registry and thought another was too much.
As far as your car not having the LATCH system - the seat beat works just fine, but you might need a clip (Graco sells one) the help keep the belt tight.
We use SwaddleMes and Sleepsacks - both a great alternative to a loose blanket, which is a no-no. There was a post a little while back about someone whose LO was in a Woombie and got their hands (and fabric) up over their head, so I can't see how that would be safer. My LO tends to bust out of the velcro rather than pull it over his face.
Ditto the suggestion for Baby Bargains - it really helped me narrow down my choices. I love my video monitor and the play mat is currently a huge hit. The swing is hit or miss. I got a vibrating seat instead of a bouncy, and wish I had gotten the bouncy instead. Oh - and a Moby wrap. Perfect when LO wants to be held and you have stuff to do.
Our LO hates the swing too. We have the Graco Sweetpeace soothing center. I know that it's so customary to register for a swing, but I wish I would have listened to the advice to wait on buying the swing because they're so hit or miss. If you have a friend who has a swing that you can put LO in after they're born to kind of test it out, do it before buying it!
11-15-08
12-1-10
Congratulations!! My husband and I adopted our LO early last month.... Trust me when I say in a few weeks you'll change diapers, etc. like a pro! And attachment *does* happen, although I also spent a bit of time feeling melancholy about the birthmother... Please feel free to contact me if you'd ever like to talk.
DH and I had to fly to another city in order to pick up LO, and then stay in a hotel room for several days before we were legally cleared to leave. We bought a Graco travel system (carseat + stroller) and gate-checked all components for free. Since the stroller reclines into a sort of bassinet, LO was able to sleep in it while at the hotel. Also, at the airport it was so helpful in moving swiftly between gates!
Now, at nearly 2 months, LO loves her SwaddleMe, and I continue to find the Boppy very useful. (Definitely get the Boppy!)
Oh yes, and for formula feeding I couldn't live without dishwasher baskets (for the bottles, rings, and caps) as well as a drying rack designed to hold bottles and their accessories above the counter so that they dry easily.
Best wishes!!
We love our Tuetonia travel system. It has the infant seat that goes in car and stroller until lo is 25 lbs and a toddler stroller seat for after that. I would wait on registering for that second car seat - it could be more than a year before you need it and you may want something totally different by then. The sales staff at Buy Buy Baby were fantastic - way better than BRU - and they spent tons of time explaining the strollers/car seats, showing us how they worked, etc. I can't rave enough about how helpful that was.
LOVE the SwaddleMe swaddlers. LO won't sleep unless swaddled and in her Fisher Price Rock 'N Play Sleeper or unless she's being worn in her sling. That's another can't-live-without, a sling, whichever one seems like one you will like. Totally personal preference - I like that mine is basically a piece of fabric that goes over my shoulder because she was breech and it's just like she's still sleeping as she was inside me.
Ditto on the zip-up clothing, although we just use a side snap tee when we swaddle because we live in AZ and it's not cold.
Wipe warmer - thought this was a joke too but in the hospital LO would wail every time the cold wipe went on. VV happy my aunt gave us one.
I think the Boppy sucks because it's not high enough unless I put a pillow under it. Maybe it'll be good as LO gets bigger. I just use pillows when I'm in bed at night.
White noise machine - if you have an iPhone or iPod touch, you can download a free White Noise app and use that with an iPod dock. Some swings (like our Mamaroo) have that feature built in.
Good luck MTB (mommy to be)!
If you have the space in your home I would register for higher priced items that baby will use later. We registered for the infant carrier carseat (Chicco), the extra base for DH's car, and the convertable car seat in case someone wanted to go ahead and flip the bill for it
I didn't want a travel system, too bulky with the stroller seat and the infant seat over it. The one thing I wanted in a stroller was the option for parent facing stroller seat. There are not that many. I got the I'Coo Targo. It comes with a bassinet and universal car seat attachment that snaps in without the stroller seat so it's like a snap n' go. I suggest going to a few baby stores and test driving the stroller before registering.
We use the SwaddleMe and Aden + Anais blankets for swaddling. I love the A+A but DH can't swaddle so he has to use the SwaddleMe. We have sleep sacks but don't use them much now. Will switch to the sleepsacks with LO starts rolling over.
Must haves for me:
Travel Swing - inexpensive and can put it in my bathroom when I need a shower. LO slept in it the first few weeks.
Boppy - great for bottle feeding and for LO to hang out in next to me on the couch.
Get 2 or 3 different brands of bottles and pacis to see what works best for your LO
Baby Bath
I don't have one, but a lot of people rave about the Fisher Price Rock N Play.
Congrats! I think we all were a little clueless. I sometimes still feel clueless, and I just had my second.
So to answer your questions:
Carseat - I didn't go with the package deal. Everyone talks about how bulky the travel systems are and so I went with a recommendation to just get the carseat/base and a stroller frame. I got the graco carseat. you can go on gracobaby.com and find one you like in a pattern you like, or you can just go to the store you are registering at and pick from there. The carseat comes with a base. Even if you don't have latch, you can seatbelt the carseat base into your car and then not have to worry about re-belting it. The carseat will just click into the base. You can get another base for DH's car if you think you'll be in there often. We never bothered with the other base because whenever we would go out, we would just take my car. And the stroller frame I got was the Graco SnapNGo. I didn't register for other carseats, but plenty of people do so you can as well.
SwaddleMe - I am currently using it. I haven't heard anything bad about them, but I'm sure there is stuff out there. I use the Halo Brand one and actually we got another one as a gift from the hospital I delivered at. I also have a bunch of receiving blankets that I use in case the swaddlemes get dirty
For other things to register for, you can go on the BRU website and they have a whole list of things to register for. It'll also help if you read the book Baby Bargains. It's a great resource to narrow down what you want and to get opinions on items that you couldn't really test out on your own. But things to definitely regsiter for: swing, bouncer, playmat, pack N play, crib mattress (and crib if you're doing high end stuff), towels/wash cloths, receiving blankets, changing pad/covers, glider/ottoman, grooming kit, first aid kit.
hmm, ok, that's all that's coming to mind, but definitely check out the BRU website for that list.