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hvtang
member
STM's: how many of each?
hvtang
member
Hoping this is a good spot to post this. I just had my baby shower this weekend and got so many great things! However, I'm trying to decide if I should return some things since we got multiples. So...
How many receiving and/or swaddle blankets do I need? Are they semi-interchangeable? I know I can't swaddle with a receiving blanket (at least the ones I got don't look big enough anyways). I guess I'm not 100% sure what receiving blankets are for? Just snuggling? Doubling as a burp cloth?
How many washcloths and hooded towels do I need?
How many bottles? My goal is to breastfeed but I want to have bottles on hand for occasional pumping/letting my DH do feedings.
Do I need a manual AND an electric breast pump? I received both, and feel like that may be overkill...
Any suggestions are appreciated!
12 weeks 1 day - FIST PUMP!
Baby Boy born 4/8/13 9lbs
BFP #1 EDD 12.18.12 - Missed M/C at 9w3d D&C 5.22.12
BFP #1 EDD 12.18.12 - Missed M/C at 9w3d D&C 5.22.12
This discussion has been closed.
Re: STM's: how many of each?
We used the receiving blankets mostly as a place to lay her in case she spit up, so if she was on the couch, our bed, etc, we used them for that. I think we had 4 or so, and that was plenty? We also had a set of 4 A&A blankets that I used everywhere, for swaddling, for carseat blankets, for nursing covers, we still use them constantly and she's 20 months.
I had probably 10ish washcloths and 5ish hooded towels, and that was plenty. We used two washcloths per bath (one to wet and put over her so she wasn't freezing, one to wash with). Her laundry is so tiny it's easy to wash all that stuff with her clothes in one load!
We had 10 bottles, which was great, but DD is a daycare baby so she had 3 bottles/day of pumped milk, and the 10 allowed me to send an extra and only wash bottles every 3 days. You probably only need 2-3 if it will just be for occasional use.
I had an electric pump, never had a manual and never missed it!
Not sure which pump you got, but...If you got the Medela double electric that insurance provides, then that one actually comes with a small manual pump. It actually worked great when I was just going somewhere for a little too long and only would need to pump one bottle. Double check your electric first. But definitely don't need both. Although i would keep both, unopened. You never know if you end up having to exclusively pump and then you would hate to manually do that!
That kind of goes hand-in-hand with bottles too... not every bottle works for every baby. I had to try 3 different ones to find what worked for us.
I hated every receiving blanket I got (ha). They were too small to do anything. I cut them into 4s and turned them into cloth wipes. But you never know if you love them or not!
How many receiving and/or swaddle blankets do I need? Are they semi-interchangeable? I know I can't swaddle with a receiving blanket (at least the ones I got don't look big enough anyways). I guess I'm not 100% sure what receiving blankets are for? Just snuggling? Doubling as a burp cloth? I had a 4-pack of receiving blankets and 3 swaddle blankets (we used The Miracle Blanket and also the Swaddle Mes). I used the receiving blankets as burp cloths or as a changing pad protector in a pinch.
How many washcloths and hooded towels do I need? I had A LOT of washcloths. But I also cloth-diapered and used wash cloths for wipes. And everything else. I bought most of them in 4 packs at the dollar store. Nothing fancy! We never used hooded towels, just regular towels.
How many bottles? My goal is to breastfeed but I want to have bottles on hand for occasional pumping/letting my DH do feedings. Both of my kids were picky about what bottle they liked. With DD I tried 3 before we found one that worked. With DS, it was five. So I say buy 1 each of 3 different bottles. If you're lucky, your kiddo won't care.
Do I need a manual AND an electric breast pump? I received both, and feel like that may be overkill... With DD I was a SAHM and I did fine with a manual. As a WOHM with DS I obviously needed an electric. I found I responded better to a manual pump anyway.
BFP #1 EDD 12.18.12 - Missed M/C at 9w3d D&C 5.22.12
-We used swaddle-me wraps for actual swaddling and had about 2-3 per size. We had 4 Aden and Anais swaddling blankets that we used for everything. I think 2-3 traditional receiving blankets are ok for use as burp cloths, etc., but we didn't use them very much.
- We have 3-4 hooded towels and about 15 wash cloths...we use a fresh one for face and one for body each night, and change towels every 2-3 days.
- For occasional use, I would have 2-3 5oz bottles and maybe get another 2-3 8 or 10oz. ones later.
- Hard to say on the pump- I pumped while at work everyday and the double-electric was a godsend because it saved so much time. If you are only going to pump rarely, maybe an inexpensive electric? Not sure on this one....
Swaddle Me-type blankets didn't work for us; DS broke out of them all. The only things that worked for us were, early on, the blanket the hospital gave us because it was very tightly knit and had very little give, and then, later on, the A&A blankets because they were big and I could wrap them around and around DS to lock him in tightly. As everyone else has said, we still use the A&A blankets for all kinds of things and DS is 22 months. I highly recommend them.
I would get a set of 4 A&A blankets, have one or two large, soft blankets on hand for tummy time, and maybe a few other medium blankets for random things - keeping them in the car, having on hand when everything else gets thrown up on etc. Return the cheap, scratchy, small ones.
Washcloths & towels:
We had two hooded towels that we alternated and about 12 wash clothes. That has been plenty. I kept the best of the washcloths we received and returned the rest.
Bottles:
As the others said, having a small assortment is a good idea. Once we found the kinds we liked, we had maybe 6-8 of each on hand (DS was babysat at home part-time).
Pump:
In my opinion, you should hold onto both. I have an electric and plan to get a manual this time around. They serve different purposes depending on your needs.
We had 2 receiving blankets, and that was plenty...we used them as an extra layer for warmth in the stroller or to protect the bed or couch from spitup.
We had 8 Aden & Anais swaddle blankets, but I think that 4 would have been enough. We also had 3 flannel swaddle blankets, and used them often too.
We had 3 hooded towels but 2 was plenty--rarely used the third one at all.
I don't think you can ever have enough washcloths or bibs! We used the washcloths in the tub, as burp cloths to clean up spitup, we kept some next to the changing pad/table in case of blowouts and pee showers (DS painted the walls a couple of times!). I also like the Aden & Anais Burpy Bibs--I always had one next to our bed, one on the rocking chair where I nursed him, and one on the living room couch where we would sit and snuggle.
I had both a manual and electric pump, but never used the manual one--the electric was much more convenient and efficient.