Detroit Babies
Absolute Essentials - Newborns
After having our 2nd shower this weekend, DH and I are going to stock up on what we are going to need for when we bring LO home. We are very lucky in that we have most of our big items like PNP, stroller, car seat, base, monitor, swing, bouncer, etc. It is just the little things mostly I am trying to prioritize and make sure I am prepared.
What items did you absolutely have to have when you got home from the hospital?
What were some of the things you didn't need right away, but thought you might?
Thanks for the help!
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Re: Absolute Essentials - Newborns
Every baby is different of course but some things for us-
I went into it thinking I would BF, but it just wasn't for me so I ended up needing bottles right away. I obviously did not need the pump I thought I would need so I returned it. I also didn't think I would need the Boppy because I wasn't BF but it turns out that P slept in it in her crib for the first 3 months.
Also, because we used bottles right away, the basket thing that goes in the dishwasher was a must. We still use it every night to wash nipples. You can put pacifiers in it too, but P never took one.
P was only in newborn diapers/clothes for like two weeks. We had diapers that we had to exchange and lots of clothes that she never even got to use.
That's really all I can think of right now... I'm sure I'll think of more. Good luck though, it's all trial and error but you guys will be great at it I'm sure!
-receiving blankets,
burping cloths
pacifiar and pacifiar clips and covers (if you are choosing to use a pacifiar),
bibs
nipple cream, breast pads, comfy bra's (sports bra's) Nursing Tanks (if breast feeding).
Baby wrap (Swaddle wraps).
Lots of onezies, mittens for the hands. Visitors love to touch babies hands for some reason.
- If you are using powder formula, get the little traveling formula containers, so that you don't have to take the formula cans with you everywhere you go.
A waste: Wipes warmer - they dry out your wipes, unless you are okay having to constantly keep water in it.
HTH!
You are having a June baby. Last June when Gabe was born it was extremely hot. He lived in onesies and those gerber snap undershirts. The blowouts caused like 5 outfit changes a day, so have plenty of those on hand.
Wipes (since you are CD you won't need disposible diapers I'm assuming)
If you are BF, Lanolin, breast pads (boxes of them, you will leak a ton)
Lightweight swaddlers/blankets
Plenty of bottles & nipples if needed
Diaper rash cream
ETA: I personally never used the mittens for Gabriel. He hated having his hands covered. It just depends on the baby. You may or may not need them.
Also, those nightgowns are fantastic for nighttime. They are so easy for diaper changes.
BFP#2: 8/14/11 M/C 8/30/11 6w1d
BFP #3: 10/26/11
Beta #1 @11dpo: 22 Beta #2 @13dpo: 90 Beta #3 @17dpo: 480
Missed m/c 12w3d 12/28/11, d&c 12/30/11
dx Homozygous C677T MTHFR
There really isn't much you need right away. Just make sure to have a place for the baby to be during the day, especially if you have a 2-story house. Going up-and-down stairs for diaper changes is annoying, so we have a little diaper changing area set-up in our family room. Also, we made the mistake of assuming the baby would sleep in the crib from day 1. Yeah- didn't happen for us with either boy. So consider some type of bassinet. We have the FP rock and play and that, by far, has been my favorite baby item. Nathan slept so well in that thing. Plus it's pretty portable and doesn't take up a ton of space.
I forget- do you know what you're having? If you're having a boy and plan to have him circ'ed, pick up some small guaze pads and a tube of petrolium jelly. The hospital sent us home with some, but it wasn't enough.
Ditto this. We set up the PNP in the family room. Even though I had a vaginal delivery, with the episodomy I could only do stairs 1x a day like with a c/s.
BFP#2: 8/14/11 M/C 8/30/11 6w1d
BFP #3: 10/26/11
Beta #1 @11dpo: 22 Beta #2 @13dpo: 90 Beta #3 @17dpo: 480
Missed m/c 12w3d 12/28/11, d&c 12/30/11
dx Homozygous C677T MTHFR
You don't need a whole bunch at the beginning.
Diapers and wipes.
If you are planning to breast feed you don't need the pump or bottles right away either. The baby is going to need to nurse for the first few weeks to really get your supply up and running and then you can start pumping and doing the bottle thing. Definitely makes sense to wait on the pump in case for whatever reason nursing doesn't work out. It is a big expense and obviously cannot be returned.
We had burp clothes and swaddle blankets that we helpful.
Pacifiers if you are going to use them.
Next time I will have the white noise machine ready to go. It really helped to calm DS down when he was upset. Since we didn't have it, we spent a fair amount of time in the bathroom with the shower running until we went out and got a machine.
Ditto this, especially on the bf/pump advice.
We didn't have a white noise machine and I regret not getting one. We will be getting one for the next baby.
We didn't have to buy a pacifier for a few weeks. We had some from the hospital we used.
BFP#2: 8/14/11 M/C 8/30/11 6w1d
BFP #3: 10/26/11
Beta #1 @11dpo: 22 Beta #2 @13dpo: 90 Beta #3 @17dpo: 480
Missed m/c 12w3d 12/28/11, d&c 12/30/11
dx Homozygous C677T MTHFR
Well, youre lucky you've got all those big items already! I guess the other things would be diapers/wipes, clothes (basic onesies, snap side shirts, sleep n plays) and receiving blankets, plus maybe one or two heavier (fleece) blankets or sleep sacks.
You might want to have a couple pacis on hand. You could also have a Boppy...like a PP said I not only used it for BFing but it was a cozy spot to rest/sleep for DD. (Ditto on the PP who said she didn't put baby to sleep in the crib for a while!) Other than that, I don't remember using a lot of "stuff." I had a Bjorn but didn't use it that much.
When I had DD, I had no plans for future babies, so I gave almost everything away. I am literally starting off with not much at all--just the Boppy, the Bjorn, a few (maybe 5-8) clothing items, crib sheets, a few receiving blankets, and a floppy seat cover for high chairs/shopping carts (for when LO gets bigger obviously). We bought ourselves a car seat and a stroller, and MIL/Mom bought the crib/mattress and diaper bag so far. I'm not worried though! You will be fine!
If you are registered and/or still have an upcoming shower(s), find a way to tactfully have the hostess ask for giftcards on your behalf, that was you can fill in what you need once LO is here and you figure that out!
HTH!
That is what I was thinking about the pump as well. I am hoping I can get my doctor to write a script so my insurance will cover it first before I go buy one. It is a big investment and I am trying to hold off as much as I can!
Thanks for all the other tips...this is so helpful! Keep 'em coming!!
For me personally it wasn't covered by my insurance. But I did get to use my FSA to pay for it, so it was still a deal. My doctor also had no problem whatsoever with writing a script for it.
I just skimmed the above, so sorry if these are repeats
Onesies- lots of them. The gerber ones run really small. We also liked the shirt/kimono style ones that snapped on the side.
Burp clothes
Boppy Pillow
We had a ton of powder/bath wash johnson and johnson, it really dried out ds. I'd suggest aveeno instead. I threw out all of the johnson and johnson stuff.
The sleepsuits with the bunching at the bottom (around the feet). They work best when changing baby in the middle of the night.
Baby socks kinda suck. They never stay on. The ones I found to stay on the best were from Target they are the ones that gather around the ankle. The ones that fold over are useless.
A whitenoise maker. Maybe a humidifier (we use one now, but when ds was a baby he was so snorty it sounded like a little warthog was in the room idk if you can use one for a newborn though)
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Everyone is different as PP have said but one thing I really wish I had done prior was to not open all my bottles I registered for. I went with Avent - which has a ton of recommendations and is great - but I found out Dayne prefers the Nuk bottles and pacifiers.
Maybe buy one of each brand and see which one your LO prefers - Dayne will feed off the Avent no problem but gets a LOT less gas with the Nuks. I have so many Avent bottles and nipples that it seems so wasteful to replace them all with the Nuk but I'm seriously considering it.
Swaddles - the receiving blankets are too short for Dayne now - he's long! So we LOVE the Aden + Anais swaddlers - they're perfect and light weight too for the summer.
Burp cloths! The cloth diapers work great for this - they cover more of you than the cutesy ones which allow the baby to spit up all over you if you're not careful.
A drying rack for bottles and a bottle/nipple brush to clean them.
The best advice someone gave to me was to buy a mesh laundry bag - like you use for your delicate laundry - and put LO's socks in there when you do the wash. I prevents them from getting lost and keeps them together.
ETA: Gerber clothing runs super small...so beware. And I have found that newborn Huggies are horrible for boys - Pampers work better. Dayne leaks through Huggies every single time!
Ditto Beewitched on the Aveeno. J&J sucked big time. It flares up Gabriel's eczema like no other and we threw it all away.
Definitely get an assortment of bottles. Only open up small packages and test them out as Tarah said. We didn't use any bottles in the beginning b/c I was nursing, but when we introduced a bottle we started with Medela. They sucked for feeding, but I used them for pumping. We went on to Dr. Brown's next and those luckily were great for Gabe, so we didn't have to buy a ton to try.
And yes, Gerber runs really small. Gabriel was in 3-6mo size right at birth. He's in 18mo size stuff right now in Gerber (pj's) and by summer he'll be in 24 mo no problem.
BFP#2: 8/14/11 M/C 8/30/11 6w1d
BFP #3: 10/26/11
Beta #1 @11dpo: 22 Beta #2 @13dpo: 90 Beta #3 @17dpo: 480
Missed m/c 12w3d 12/28/11, d&c 12/30/11
dx Homozygous C677T MTHFR
What items did you absolutely have to have when you got home from the hospital?
For me: hospital diapers, maxi pads, dermoplast, tucks pads, the spray bottle they give you at the hospital...take more of everything!
Diapers, wipes, vasoline, gauze (for his circ and belly button), my fisher price rock and play sleeper, itzbeen timer, burp cloths, boppy, and DS is hates being cold, so the wipe warmer was a must for us.
What were some of the things you didn't need right away, but thought you might?
I thought I would need the pump right away, but I didn't end up buying it until 3 weeks, once I knew my supply was in and good. (I still waited a bit to pump though). My friend just got screwed on the pump because her supply didn't come in and she was out $300, since she couldn't return it.
So pump, pacifiers, white noise maker, rattles (soft ones), swing, bouncer are the items I didn't need right away, but thought I would.
If you are going to BF or pump, make sure to have lots of milk storage bags and booby padds for leaks, nursing bras, tanks and sports bras.
Oh, this is just an FYI: Lansinoh storage bags are much better and cheaper than the Medela ones. You can get them on Amazon and do the Subscribe & Save and get them super cheap.
BFP#2: 8/14/11 M/C 8/30/11 6w1d
BFP #3: 10/26/11
Beta #1 @11dpo: 22 Beta #2 @13dpo: 90 Beta #3 @17dpo: 480
Missed m/c 12w3d 12/28/11, d&c 12/30/11
dx Homozygous C677T MTHFR
those are the ones I buy...I'm off to check out amazon now! Thanks for the tip.
Ditto PP's on:
burp cloths, receiving blankets, boppy, diapers & wipes. If you plan to BF I would also suggest that you buy some bottles ahead of time just in case BF doesnt work out. If that's the case then I also would suggest a bottle brush and drying rack.
I would also recommend a bottle warmer. I never registered for it because I thought it was dumb. However, it did save me in the middle of the night when I was BF'ing. I also live in a 2 story house and when I started pumping and storing, it was a pain to have to run down stairs and warm the milk up in warm water. To me, it seemed like it took forever. I just kept the bottle warmer upstairs with a bottle of water and it was much less time consuming and much easier.
I had trouble getting DD to latch and breastfeed at first and ended up pumping and feeding her a bottle for about a week after she was born. I was glad to have rented a pump from the hospital for a couple weeks, it wasn't expensive and definitely worth it.
I put DD in her bouncy seat at first too, she would take naps during the day in it.
We loved the Gerber side snap shirts, we were nervous about putting onesies over DD's umbilical stump.
Instead of a white noise machine, DH downloaded a white noise CD from iTunes and we moved our iPod radio into the nursery and plugged in my iPod every night. The CD was only $7.
Great suggestion!
Ultimate Crib Sheet: https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3763008 saved us many times from having to change the bedding during the middle of the night....either from spit up, diaper overflow or sickness (when they are a bit older but still in the crib)....we have 3 or 4 of them
Diaper sack Dispenser: https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2738030&prodFindSrc=search Mine is actually a duck, but they don't make that one anymore. I had no clue what it was when I got it at my shower, but boy do i use it all the time, 3+ yrs now. Great for either type of diapers, but esp. poopy ones when you're in public & you want to throw them in the garbarge, it really does take the smell away.
Formula dispenser if you bottle feed, you always want to take a bottle w/you, even if you don't plan to feed while you're out, amazing how many times you actually will.
Formula mixer if you bottle feed: https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3754175 I've had mine since DD was born & love it. I've gotten comments from friends that say i'm "lazy", but it's not that, when I shake the bottle (which i still have to do when we're out) it doesn't always mix it, plus some of the formula gets up in the nipple area. This really does a better job then shaking it.
Not sure if anyone said this, but a wrap/sling/carrier. You will want your hands free at some point.
I have a Ergo and a Moby. Used both daily.
Things we had to run out and get once she arrived:
nail clippers
extra thermometer
extra boppy cover
swaddle me's
lots of hand soap
Lanolin (if you plan to BF)
Aquaphor
more burp cloths than you think you would ever need
side snap onesies and sleepers
The only thing i don't see listed are mittens and a baby nail file. My dd's nails were so sharp and she would scratch herself. Someone told me to use baby a nail file the first couple weeks before using nail clippers.
A bouncer was essential-i could move it room to room or when i needed to shower.