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Nurseries and Baby Gear
Jessfulller
member
Novelty or useful?
Jessfulller
member
I just had both of my baby showers, we were very fortuante and had a wonderful turnout. We purchased all the things we thought we would need oursleves and got lots of clothes, diapers , and some cute sentimental items that mean a lot to us as first time parents. We are trying to finish up some shopping with giftcards and I wanted to know what are the important things that you ended up needing or things that you wished you would have registered for that could have come in handy? Or for FTM's things you definetely will purchase no matter what. For example I hear things from friends like bottle sanitizers, wipe warmers, boppy's, bumbo seats etc...are these novelty or useful? Maybe it depends on the mother but any opinions would be great! THX
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Re: Novelty or useful?
I think sanitizers and wipe warmers are a total waste. Clean the bottles in the dishwasher or even just soak in really hot water. A wipes warmer just seems crazy. I could have done without the Boppy and Bumbo but for the time I used them they were nice to have.
I also think receiving blankets were kind of pointless. I would maybe just have a couple on hand and that's it. You're better off with a soft little stroller blanket.
We went very minimalist for our baby, I didn't want all that stuff cluttering up my house! Things I'm glad I have though, are the Boppy (I use this all the time for a multitude of purposes), Aden & Anais boutique swaddling blankets, and a white noise machine.
We don't have sterilizers or warmers and we don't miss them. DD hates the bouncy seat and swing we borrowed from my brother, as well as the pack and play (though that might get use when she is older). Really all you need is diapers, food for the baby, and a place for baby to sleep. Oh, and a car seat. The rest is just novelty.
The bumbo was only good for a tiny tiny window..if you really want one, get one secondhand. Our boppy was used more for tummy time and propping him up than nursing (I just couldn't get comfy) but my SIL nursed with hers for A LONG time. Wipes warmers and sanitizers are useless IMO. We lived and died by our swing and bouncey seat---helped him sleep a lot. But, that's all about the baby.
This time around, there are a few things that I am getting that I really wished I had before. A&A swaddling blankets, a video monitor (total change of heart from when DS was born and I thought they were useless) and a better playmat (ours was a hand me down that was kind of faded and didn't really have many places to attach toys.
Agree!
Agreed. Like another pp said, you only need the basics right now and as you trudge along you'll start to figure out what you really need. Plus, try to get a of things secondhand. We bought our Bumbo on CL for $15, the jumperoo for under $100, etc. A lot of these things kids only use for maybe 3-6 months so you can find used ones in excellent condition.
All f this exactly.
This. I have a 5 week old and still have a ton in gift cards. I have gone out once a week to BRU with my gift cards to buy something new that I needed or wanted.
This totally. The other advice I can give you is not to wash all of the clothes before the baby comes home. I thought this was a good idea, and she barely wore anything except for onsies last summer. I wish I didn't take the tags off everything or take everything out of packaging. As it was, we returned a TON of stuff. I got GCs for most of the stuff we returned and it's nice to able to use them NOW, for things other than newborn stuff. Which I totally got overloaded on.
I am stocking up on the small stuff. We are going to get lotions, baby wash, diaper rash creams (because it's honestly useful for several things), and I really think that's it. I suggest getting a bottle cleaner if you don't have a dishwasher. Not the whole sanitizing kit, just the little scrubber that you can fit in the bottle but I only suggest that if you are you going to use formula.
I have a wipe warmer with a nightlight on it. My mom got it for free off of a point site. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have thought to even get one myself.