Dads & Dads-to-be
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Must haves from Dads perspective
Any baby gear "must haves" from dads out there , or gear you think isn't worth it ?
My wife is about to send off our Amazon wish list for her baby showers next week.
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Re: Must haves from Dads perspective
For me, most of the "must haves" were the mostly the essentials... Crib, stroller, car seat. A few optional items that worked well for us were his swing. He LOVED his swing and would sit in it for a couple hours and would often fall asleep in it. Eventually his bouncer and his stationary seat were nice to have as well. We got him a Fisher Price seahorse and he still goes to bed with the music now at almost 21 months.
Main things you'll need aside from the furniture are:
-diapers (LO will go through at least 10 a day for a while, but don't stock up all on one size or brand because you may find they don't stay in newborn size for more than a week or two and one brand may wind up working better for you)
-wipes
-swaddlers/sleep sacks
-clothes (variety of sizes would be great... but kids grow at such different rates, it is hard to guess right. Our son was in 18 months by his first birthday and at 21 months is pushing 3T in shirts and 2T in pants)
-feeding gear (bottles, nipples, burp cloths, formula if you are doing that, pump gear if you are doing that... this one isn't as big if your wife is a SAHM and will be breastfeeding the whole time, but there will be feedings she'll be gone for, or will want you to help with)
-water proof mattress pad
-pacifiers (your kid may or may not use them, but a couple wouldn't hurt to have in case)
The main thing I would say is a complete and total unnecessary expense was a wipe warmer. We did not get one, but kids have had room temperature wipes since wipes were invented, not sure why you'd need to warm them. Unfortunately also, crib sets seem to have about half the set that you technically should not use. The blanket/cover and crib bumpers are all pretty much not recommended in the crib.
That being said, expect to get a great deal of things NOT on your registry. We came back from our 1 shower (I went to the gift portion. I wanted to see the stuff as it was opened, and I knew I was going to need to help load the car) with a TON of blankets (we registered for maybe 2, got 15), you'll get clothes whether you register for them or not. We also got some stuffed animals and the like. I'd say of all the stuff we got, maybe 50-60% was actually off the registry.
Swaddles....get these or be prepared for sleep time battles!
Gerber 3 snap long sleeve tees with mitts...makes life very easy for changing diapers
Receiving blankets....you will need this all the time, especially when you swaddle the baby up...tight, like a mummy. Seriously!
Pacifier's....a parents best friend during changings and when you are putting them down. If mommy is nursing makes sure that is goig well before you introduce these though.
We have a wipes warmer. pretty nice actually because it does not starttle the boy when we are changing him.
Diapers are odd in that you will not know which brand you like until you actually try them out. Get them, but get them with the intent that you will be trying them out, so do not get too many. We personally like Pamper's Swaddlers NB, but that is us, and we didn't know that until Jacob was born and we were changing him at the hospital and that is what they gave us to use there.
Plenty of hats as well to keep baby warm. The hospital was really big on that for newborns because they lose all their body heat through their head.
Other than those things, we have his room full of clothes and toys that he is not ready to use yet. The majority of those items we got at the baby showers.
That Ball-One site is AWESOME. I wonder if I could find a football type thing related to that.
But in any case, thanks for the share. That is amazing!
Thanks for all the info everyone.
Lurker here, but just wanted to say thanks for this rec!
2012 Reading Challenge
Dirty lurker here, but this SN only posts about Ball One.
https://www.thebump.com/profiles/Mommy165/community/forumposts/Index
Obviously this is a vendor who is violating the bump TOS.
And....reported
I've seen her on the baby showers board and the tri boards before.