Must haves

AmandaAug506 · November 2013

I was looking through all the threads and I was just wondering from all the current moms, new moms, moms to be, etc. What are your pregnancy/baby must haves? I have seen countless list on what to put on the "perfect baby registry" and all that, but I want to know from real parents that have gone through it, do really need a wipe warmer? do I REALLY need all the "bells and whistles" ?

FmrAFBrat · November 2013

I've never used a wipe warmer. For either of my boys.

Must haves:

Snap and Go Stroller: I would rec the Chicco Keyfit or Safety 1st Clic It. I have 2 LOs now but the SnG comes in handy for getting in and out of the daycare (with supplies) or pharmacy with a toddler and an infant. Plus getting a SnG buys you time to figure out what stroller you'd like.

Car Seat: Get one that fits your car. carseatblog.com & the car seat lady will tell you the pros and cons of what's recommended out there.

Bassinet or Cradle: somewhere in your room for the baby the first few months. Get extra sheets.

Bouncer: great for getting a shower in the early days.

Swaddle Blankets: I like the A&A ones

Clothes

Diapers

Wipes

Burp Clothes

Lap Pads (Carter's makes them): keeps you from changing sheets constantly

Diaper Bag

The rest is lifestyle and nursery oriented. Playards are great if you have a second level in your home or travel, but they aren't for everyone. I like lightweight strollers but you may need a jogger.

CLLDLL · November 2013

This is an interesting question. The answer is probably different for every family. Maybe even every baby within a family. With DS1 I was a bit naive as a FTM. I thought I needed a lot of stuff, that I really didn't. With DS2 we went more minimalistic at first, but as it turned out I "needed" a few of the more luxury type items.

My minimal list:

Pregnancy - prenatals, maternity cloths

Some way to feed baby - either 8-10 bottles & formula or if BF'ing a hand-pump (or double electric if working full-time) and some lanolin. Nursing bras or tanks.

Diapers & wipes - (cloth or diaposable)

Baby clothes - I like the sleepers/sleep - n- plays for the NB days. Plan on 2-3 outfits a day for how ever many days you want to go between washing.

Crib or PnP or RnP for baby to sleep in. We like to keep baby in our room for the first few months to promote BF'ing. Then we use a crib in the nursery.

Carseat - Don't skimp on this. You can go with a convertible right away and save the $ for an infant one if you don't mind having to move a sleeping baby. I find it worth the $ for an infant. I like Graco Snugride 30/35 or the Chicco Keyfit infant and the Chicco Nextfit or the Britax Marathon for convertibles.

Blankets - I like a mixture of flannel (the big ones from the hospital), terry/knit, and muslin like the A&A. These aren't just for swaddling/keeping baby warm. They also work for burp cloths, changing pads in a pinch, a place to lay baby, etc.

Diaper bag - doesn't have to be an actual bag marketed for babies. Just needs to be lined with a material that can be wiped up. Should have lots of pockets to keep things organized.

Stroller or baby carrier - This will really depend on where you live/lifestyle. We our carrier, but also had a snap-n-go for the infant carseat days and we have a cheap umbrella stroller for quick shopping trips that we dont' want to use the carrier.

Everything else is more of a luxury and will depend on baby's preferences. DS2 loved his Snugabunny swing, but DS1 hated all swings. DS1 played with his baby gym a lot. DS2 preferred to be upright in a jumperoo. You'll learn your baby's preferences and can buy (even used) once you know what will work best.

rencontrezmoi · November 2013

I'll include some of my favorite brands in case you were looking for specific items.

Pregnancy essentials for me were- Target Up & Up gummy prenatals, BeBand from Target, Old Navy maternity tanks and leggings, Snoogle, a heating pad (I had awful back pain)

In case you plan on breasfeeding, my must have items for this are- Medela pump-in-style advanced breast pump, Simple Wishes hands-free pumping bra, Gilligan & O'Malley nursing sleep bras, Lansinoh soothies gel pads, Lansinoh disposable nursing pads, Lansinoh lanolin, Nuk/Gerber breastmilk storage bags

Bottles- Tommee Tippee closer to nature 9 oz bottles, Medela 5 oz bottles

Burp cloths- and lots of them! Get cotton ones. They are the most absorbent.

Clothes- Lots of onesies and sleep and plays (I like Carter's the best), also no-scratch mittens and socks

Swaddles/sleepsacks- Summer Infant swaddleme (for the first 3 months), Halo sleepsacks (after 3 months)

Fisher Price Rock n' Play (our daughter slept in this for the first 3 months next to our bed, then moved to her crib in the nursery)

A crib with a firm mattress, a waterproof cover, and at least 2 sets of sheets (I like the jersey knit ones from Babies R Us)

Changing pad with at least two covers

Diapers, wipes, lots of diaper rash cream, shampoo, body wash, lotion (I use Pampers diapers, Seventh Genereation wipes, max strength Desitin, Johnson's shampoo and wash, Aveeno eczema lotion and Aquaphor)

Stroller- We have (and love) a Britax B-Agile

Carseats- Britax B-Safe infant seat, Graco Size4Me 70 convertible

Graco Simple-Switch high chair

Sophie the giraffe (If you buy only one teether, this one has to be it!)

MAM pacifiers

White noise machine

Angelcare sound monitor

Diaper bag

Other items that I used a lot but didn't necessarily need- Fisher Price Snugabunny swing, Graco Pack n' Play, Tiny Love playmat, Fisher Price Rainforest bouncy seat, Fisher Price rainforest jumperoo, Bumbo seat, cart cover, Medela microwave steam bags, Bebe au Lait nursing cover, hooded towels and baby washcloths, Arm & Hammer diaper pail, Aden & Anais swaddle blankets (we didn't use these to swaddle, they're nice for a carseat cover or a light summer blanket, but not essential)

headgear03 · November 2013

It really is dependent on each baby and your personal life style. I have four kids and with each child I have found that things that worked great for one child didn't work at all for another which has really just made me smarter on what I'm buying .
Some things however like maternity haven't changed like my musts are tummy sleeves by motherhood and my Boppy total body pillow .
With my first my musts were her pack and play with the bassinet ( we traveled allot )the Boppy, her play mat and her bright starts bouncer . What didn't work were the diaper pail , the travel system ( bulky and the car seat is out grown early) swaddle blankets ,bouncer seat ( the child hated that thing with a passion)
With my second my musts were her swaddle blankets there were times she wouldn't eat or sleep without being swaddled . Her swing was a big one she slept in it till she was four months old ( horrible reflux issues ) the boppy of course, her bouncer seat ( she loved it ) receiving blankets ( the child puked all the time) and the moby wrap she hated to be out down.
With our second we also got an amazing double stroller which was a must for us .
With our third our musts were his Jumparoo ( he had to have it to put himself to sleep for a good three month period ) the changer well it has been a must for all the kids I hate changing them on the floor or bed it just kills my back so the changer has been a must . His swing ( reflux issue agian) of course boppy ( hell be two in jan and still sleeps with his boppy pillow )
Now on our fourth so far its been my Becco Soleil carrier ( god send honestly I just love my carrier ) boppy agian, her tiny love 3-1 bouncer and rocker and pacifiers. She is our only child out of four to take one and its awesome right now .

olga1311 · November 2013

I agree with pp that the must haves are different for each family/baby - here are mine and why. A little about us so our must haves make more sense and you figure out if it's applicable to your situation - DD was our first; we have a 1 story house with fairly large living room but smallish bedrooms. We live in urban area with lots of paved roads. DD is a good sleeper.

Must haves :
PNP - LO sleeps in our room at night in pnp

Swaddleme- swaddle blankets with velcros. Never bought A+A muslin swaddle blankets as we prefer using Velcro ones. So much easier IMO.
Pacifier - does wonders to calm lo to sleep

Medela pump- double electric. I really recommend getting the hands free bra for it.

MyBreastFriend - like it more then nippy because you can securely attach it to yourself and I think it's more comfy for LO. I thought I could get by with just using reg pillow- big mistake esp when baby is newborn still.

bouncy chair that vibrates - LO LOVES sitting in it and gazing around. That's the only way (almost) I can get anything done around the house. It's very portable too and I lug it all over our house with me.

swing - a lifesaver esp now when LO is more alert at 8 weeks. The mobile and sounds keep her entertained for a while. We usually rotate this and bouncy chair. We don't use it for her to sleep in though so we could have gotten by without it for the first 4 weeks.

Travel system - most ppl will tell you travel system strollers are crap and will advise against. I love mine. It's the new Graco click connect 3 in 1 system. The stroller is incredibly easy to collapse and set up with one hand and is very light. Easily maneuverable. Probably not good for trails/ non paved roads as much but as I mentioned I live in very urban area with paved roads so that's fine with me. I don't plan on jogging with it or going off paved roads. The stroller has 10 diff modes including sitting modes for older child. Can't beat the convenience of being able to snap in the car seat into the frame.

Desitin - DD got horrible diaper rash from pre moistened wipes so this was an absolute must.

Video monitor - I love beig able to see her to make sure she is ok and see if she is actually awake or just makes noises in her sleep

A lot of people on here swear by RNP but I decided to wait on getting it. I was right since DD is great sleeper and we really don't need it. I would recommend waiting on purchasing it until you know if you need it. Your LO might turn out to be good sleeper.

AmandaAug506 · November 2013

All wonderful suggestion ladies! Thanks!

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