I thought this would be fun since a lot of us have had our LO. What are some of the items that you can't live without for your LO ? Also what did you buy and wish you didn't waste your money on?
My can't live without item is the baby brezza. Yes I broke down and bought the keriug for babies once my twins needed to supplement. Let me tell you, that thing is AWESOME! It brews the ounces you want and to the perfect temperature in a snap. If anyone is contemplating buying one it is worth the money!
I feel like I wasted my money on our twin bassinet. Our twins slept in it for 2 nights until they drove us bonkers in our room and we moved them to their cribs!
Re: Love/Hate Items...For Fun
I have not been using my co sleeper because LO has been happy in the bassinet which I prefer she use anyway!
IKEA poang chair - so comfortable for breastfeeding
Boppy pillow - again for feeding
Cloth nappies - I've got some oversupply issues, so I'm using these as burp cloths and to catch leaks and dribbles during feeding. They're absorbent and conveniently sized. I seem to get through piles of them daily
Bassinet - we didn't have this initially but LO seemed so lost in his cot, and we noticed he was settling better in his pram. So he's now sleeping in a cheap bassinet we bought - he seems to like it better, it takes up less space in our room and because it's on castors we can wheel him into the living room without waking him.
Shouldn't have bothered with
Swaddling cloths - LO doesn't seem to like it that much, and he always wriggles out halfway through the night. He seems to be more comfortable in his sleeping bag, and it's less complicated to deal with in the middle of the night.
Bouncer - I don't think LOs neck control is good enough for me to use this just yet. If I need to put him down I just wheel out his bassinet from the bedroom.
It's so hard to predict in advance what will work for you and for baby. I tried to buy as little possible in advance and I'm glad I did. But I've decided that sometimes it's worth spending a little extra out if it makes your life easier. At least that's my justification for the $200 diaper bag I treated myself to the other day!
ETA I looked it up, it looks pretty cool. Almost like a keurig machine for formula
Don't need: mittens, swaddlers
Didn't need/like: soothie pacifiers, Avent bottles, pack n play
Oy, I don't blame you after seeing that! My little boy has claws, too, but he loves touching me while eating and I've read how important that is. But in your shoes, I'd do the same!!
Meanwhile, he's already too tall for a lot of newborn size clothes and he's only two weeks old! So sad that some cute things we were given can't be used longer. So I'm adding Neeborn Sizes to my not needed category. 0-3 months things are working better. Makes me want to cry!
Not needed - baby socks (ha), changing pad, diaper genie, so many clothes - LO is still in newborn at 6 weeks (born at 36wk) but she still hasn't worn all of her newborn clothes. I didn't buy a single newborn outfit. We also have enough 0-3 mo clothes to clothe a baby army.
Not needed: I wish I had waited to buy all the breastfeeding supplies, not knowing it wasn't going to work out for me. Some stuff I can return, but some I had already opened.
I don't love the wider bottles (Avent, Dr Brown: I feel like it's hard to get the last ounce out of them and I'm wasting formula and dude it's not cheap!) I prefer the Medela bottles right now.
The only thing I can think of that we don't use (so far) is the mittens. And the white noise player - I use it but don't really think it matters. Yet...his fussy phase could still be coming. LO doesn't really like his swing much yet and isn't much into pacifiers, but there is still time
I second the newborn clothing, we were in 0-3 basically from day one due to length. We also had a ton of swaddles from DS1 and this one hates to be swaddled.
Could do without: Tommee Tippy and Avent bottles - just not compatible with our LO. Boon Collapsible Tub - love that it's collapsible/hangable but hard to get it to stay in the angled position. I feel like I'm holding LO awkwardly the whole time.
The mamaroo is pretty pointless, DD doesn't cry in it but it's nothing special for us either.
Snuggabunny
K'tan baby carrier
Nuroo- Perfect for kangaroo care! I used it while LO was in the NICU and it's great as a hands free carrier at home. I got it on sale so even though it's only going to be used for a short period of time, it's worth it.
Imagine and Softbum diaper covers-Sizing works well for my preemie and I like that it's adjustable.
Halo Sleepsack
Muslin blankets
Kissaluv flannel/velour wipes
Burpy bib
Could do without:
Preemie clothes- These lasted only a week or two. I could've just used newborn.
Glider- I don't use it much. I'm glad it was a hand me down so at least we saved money.
Love/Hate: Spectra S2 pump. It's a really great pump but I hate pumping sometimes.
Love: Rock n Play, Dr Browns bottles, Medela Nipple Shield ( saved our EBF relationship), Chicco pack n play (awesome sturdy changing pad and we hope to get LO sleeping in there soon), Dr Smiths diaper rash ointment, cloth diaper burp cloths (was a great nesting project), Muslin blankets, everything Earth Mama Angel Baby for postpartum
Could do without: Socks, mittens, breast pads (I bought tons and am not leaking at all, at least now), baby nail clippers (don't do it! My hubby tried to be helpful...)
Love/Hate: Boppy, Pump
The mommaroo is hit or miss with our LO, overall since my sis bought it for us used and just replaced the cover, I think it is definitely worth it.
I wish I wouldn't have bothered with the baby breeza. I love the concept, but it did not work properly for us. One bottle would be nearly all water with no formula and the next would be way too much formula with half the amount of water. We lost confidence and returned it really quick.
Could do without baby mittens and socks. Neither stay on them... Ever.
Have to have:
Mittens.. Not recommended for EBF but LO has made himself bleed within seconds of hands free, and pretty sure would be without eyes if not for hand covers
Wipe warmer..really? I said this was such a waste, however it makes the difference between a screaming fit at changing time for my little guy. DH brought one home and it's lovely
Muslin blankets.. LOVE THEM
Boppy for BFing.. Can't feed without it
Changing station (on top of dresser) nice to have all the supplies at hand.. And saves my back
Breast pump.. For when LO likes to sleep 4 hours straight I can empty boobs
Glider/recliner...we live in it
Extra nipples for bottles! (Our huskie likes to jack bottles and chew on the nipples)
Can do without:
Socks (only have used them on his hands before stocking up on mittens), crib (although I know in future will be used), pacifiers (I wish), swing (he hates it-withmy daughter it was a lifesaver), breast pads (of course I bought stock in prep), monitor (he's always in my arms or next to me in bed-will use later I'm sure), milk storage bags
Cleaning bag, honest diapers, LO loves her car seat and car rides too lol.
Love not so much: bassinet, rock a roo, socks, honest wipes.
Keekaroo peanut changing pad, I debated for a long time whether or not this changing pad was worth the extra money. I ended up getting it and I'm so glad I did, as many times as DD has pooped and peed in the middle of a diaper change, I'm glad I can just wipe it up and avoid the extra laundry
Mittens, I've filed down her nails many times now but for some reason they're still razor sharp. I've been able to avoid many scratches to the face because of them
Blooming bath flower, makes bath time super easy and she's actually starting to enjoy it!
Dislikes:
Wipe warmer, 2 weeks old and never been used, DD doesn't scream that much during diaper changes and I'm afraid of spoiling her with warm wipes at home if it doesn't bother her that much
Nursing cover, wish I would have waited to buy this since it will never be used, breastfeeding didn't go as planned and I'm exclusively pumping and supplementing when needed
Mamaroo, I wanted to love this item but so far it hasn't been any help when DD is fussy. She only likes it if she's already calm and half asleep. There's always time for her to grow to love it but as expensive as this item was I kind of wish I went with the swing instead
Rock n play - we have the one that self rocks for 6 hours and plays sounds and she loves it. Definitely a life saver.
Baby ktan- another lifesaver, not schlepping around my car seat carrier.
Pack n play - she sleeps in it every night
Medline wipes - our hospital uses these and we bought a huge box on Amazon..after I smelled the chemicals in the baby wipes I couldn't use them on her bottom. We just keep theses wet and in a regular wipe box and they're awesome.
Diaper genie- most people hate this but I love it. Makes it compact and easy to take out the diapers.
4moms tub: it's definitely challenging with her as a slippery newborn, but the fact that it reads the temperature (I would've scalded her without a doubt) and that you can drain dirty water and refill without moving her is AWESOME!
Could do without:
Mamaroo- doesn't calm her down, only good if she's already calm.
Boppy- hate this thing with a firey passion. Doesn't stay around me and sucks at supporting her. Wish I would've gone with the my breast friend.
Mittens: never wore them, returned. Most of her onesies came with hand covers
He is my third so by this time around, I basically figured out what was a waste of money. We were very minimal this time around so I don't think there is anything that we have thought a waste of money this time around.
Oooh I just figured out LO loves vibration. I thought he liked the elevation of the rock n play but its the vibrating feature. When he was fussy I put him down in the pack n play and turned on the vibrator (there's no way to not make that sound sexual!) but he loved it. So, after a quick google search I found this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Munchkin-Lulla-Vibe-Vibrating-Mattress-Pad/23258645
We have been trying to get LO acclimated to the crib at night and this did the trick!! Im going to cross post this on two other threads. I hope it helps others.