Brand new to the contemplation of baby/kid stuff. The choices and options are fairly mind boggling! And...well of course people have had babies for millenia without most of what we have now. So, I would love to hear a sound off of the stuff that you bought, or was given to you, that you loved and couldn't have lived without and what was complete silliness. I know some things are a"wait and see what your baby ends up liking" but, curious what your experiences were. Also, how much did you budget/spend when buying things for your first?
Re: Raves and Rants?
Couldn't live without:
a car seat base in each car
bassinet
halo sleepsack sswaddles
some sort of chair to sit LO into the bathroom while showering
love:
pack n play w change table attached sowe don't have to run up and down sstairs sleep sheep.
Uppababy vista
mammaroo
boppy
Babies don't need much!
We have spent very little money on things. We were super lucky to have many things given to us, and even more lucky to be able to borrow from some good friends of ours (which has the added bonus of not having to store anything in our tiny house!). I feel like we have a lot of "stuff" but not an overwhelming amount, though we do have more than I planned to get in the beginning. I don't feel like babies need something for everything and if you be sure to keep a more minimalistic mindset, you'll probably end up with only a little more things that you "need"
Things I love:
Swaddle blankets - we have the A&A Bamboo and some hand-me-down Dwell flannel ones that work really well
A heavy carseat blanket - ours is Little Giraffe
Pacifiers - DD took the Soothies right away, so we really the Wubbanub. I also recommend the BooginHead ribbons to attach to the regular Soothers so they don't drop on the floor
White LS onesies - essential for layering under outfits for our winter baby
Carriers - this is where we have excess, but I love all of ours. We have the Moby, Ergo and two ring slings (both made by my mom). Choosing one is up to you, but I definitely suggest having at least one!
Sleeper for in your room - be it a co-sleeper (which is what we have), PNP or snuggle nest, I love having DD right next to me at night and though I'm still getting up very frequently, I feel quite rested most days
Earth Mama Angel Baby Mama Bottom Balm - the most soothing thing I put on my PP lady bits. I contribute my healing to this product!
Burp rags - the more the merrier!
Things I love that I thought were silly in the beginning:
Boppy Newborn Lounger - DD loves this and she will often sleep in/on it when she will sleep no where else
Bouncer chair - I keep ours in the bathroom and LO is happy as a clam as I shower or get ready in the morning
Infant carseat - I was of the variety that a convertible carseat would be fine for us, but we got the infant one free with our BOB purchase and I love it! It is so convenient to bundle baby up before going to the car, and I love that we've been able to use our stroller right away instead of waiting until she was bigger
Breast pads - either disposable or enough reusable to change them like 10 times a day in the beginning. I thought my 5 cloth ones would be enough, but no...they were not!
Things we haven't needed:
Swing - it was only a hit in the very beginning when she didn't care where she was and would sleep anywhere
Receiving blankets - I've used them as a huge burp rag
Nail clippers - for some reason I had a pregnant freak out and I needed to get baby clippers stat! I used them once, cut her poor finger and that was the end of that! I now bite her tiny nails and it's way easier!
Baby bath - we still use ours, and DD really loves her baths, but it is easier to just clean her in the shower. It takes more planning (especially in the beginning, having your partner there to hand off the baby to is very helpful) but it's really easy. I also will take a bath with DD in the big bath. So, though we do like our baby tub (the Boon Naked), it's not essential
Loves:
SwaddleMe's (instead of trying to swaddle with a blanket, SO much easier!)
Sleep Sheep (white noise machine)
Fisher Price Rock N Play (perfect for naps and traveling, so easy to move around the house)
Gerber cloth diapers for burp cloths
Jumparoo & Exercauser (yes, both)
Halo Sleep Sacks
Angel Care monitor AND a video monitor (yes, both)
footed, zip-up PJs
Worthless:
the ten million receiving blankets people love to give you (see SwaddleMe above)
bottle sanitizer (it take 3 seconds to hand wash them, or just put them in the dishwasher)
crib bumpers/bedding set (just get a few fitted sheets and have a crib skirt made if you really want)
any sort of cutesie, multiple-piece outfits for at least the first 6 months
baby bathtub: we ended up using the kitchen sink until she was over a year old, and now she showers with one of us or goes in the big bathtub