@kelseyh62 I can't imagine needing tons of layers in AZ even in winter. We live in northern Utah and I'm pretty much planning on just using long sleeved cotton sleep and plays. Layering a short sleeve onesie when it's really cold, but yeah changing with layers in a PITA. Especially with pants.
@kelseyh62 I'm in FL, so our winters aren't very cold either. I feel like this baby will spend a lot of time in footie pajamas. Otherwise I'll probably go with a long sleeve onsie and pants with the closed feet, a hat, and if he's in the car seat a blanket over him.
@cjs260, if washed then put it in with the smaller clothes. I ran into this with my first and had several things that didn't fit by the time I pulled them out for baby. Sometimes it happens. Sizes are so off with some brands.
@mommywesley, I don't even know how you keep track with 4 boys. I only have 2 boys, soon to be 3, and have to look at every label when folding clothes to check size and put in the right kids drawers. And socks and underwear! I am always guessing.
I also would like to get more info on what exactly is appropriate for newborn winter clothing. Unlike PP, I live in CO and it could be really cold for a while. What are some staple cold weather clothing items that are actually practical for a newborn? Pants? Leg warmers? Jackets? Snow pants? Sounds ridiculous but I am entirely clueless here. We do a lot of outdoor things during the winter so I don't want to be freaking out the whole time that baby is too cold. Advice?
@kelseyh62 I lived in Phoenix when my son was born. We never needed more than long sleeved cotton onesies and pants with him, maybe the occasional flannel sleeper. He had a ton of beautiful hand-knit sweaters that he never got to wear. He was a December baby so clothing-wise he was on the same schedule as this one will be.
@asnowsurfer like I said, we live in a cold climate and growing up in CO I'd say our climates are similar. You shouldn't need snow pants for a newborn. And as far as layers and pants go, baby needs one more layer than you are comfortable in no matter what the temperature is. So if you're good in jeans and a sweater I'd put baby in a short sleeve onesie and socks then put long sleeve footie jammies over it. Unless you plan on being outside a lot with baby out of a car seat or carrier you don't need snow gear- it isn't safe in their car seat anyway because it won't allow them to be buckled tightly enough
Thanks, @katesmama0706 I was thinking more about what I'd do with the LO in the carrier when its snowing outside, but I guess I'd probably half zip them up in my coat or something to keep them warm so it probably wouldn't be an issue to just use light layers. I've definitely read about not using thick layers in car seats and would be sure not to do that. I just didn't know if it was worth it to look into more "heavy-duty" stuff or if that was all silly nonsense (which it is now sounding like it is)!
@asnowsurfer they do make baby-wearing coats but I don't know if they're worth it? I did a lot of wearing in the winter and would just throw a fleece or flannel blanket over the baby in the cover and zip my jacket up as far as I could and made sure baby had a hat. She seemed plenty warm.
@asnowsurfer fleece sleepers at night, and I dressed my daughter normally in her carrier, with a hat, and a blanket on top of her, and then a cover on top of the carrier. The carrier is a sweat box for babies. They stay very very warm. I would pass on the snow gear. They are too little for it.
@asnowsurfer, if you are referring to using a carrier, like an Ergo while outside in winter, then put the baby in a bunting outfit. Just google baby bunting and you will see what I mean. That is what I use in winter when using a carrier. We have really cold winters and the bunting is like a full body sweatsuit with a hood. Keeps them nice and warm if you are going to be out walking for awhile.
Kansas here and winters can get crazy. Rule of thumb is baby in 1 more layer than you. If you're inside and comfy in shorts and a t-shirt have baby in a onesie, pants, then a shirt on top and/or a receiving blanket. When we would be heading out I did the same, if I was in jeans and a sweater plus coat then I would put baby in pants (sometimes 2 pairs if we were going to be outside for any prolonged period) onesie, shirt and/or a jacket. Once buckled in the car seat I would put a thick blanket over their lap and toss another over the car seat when outside. I hope that made sense. Just dress them like you plus 1 layer.
How long is it ok to do baby wearing? I have back issues, so I probably will stop once baby is too heavy to wear, but generally speaking, using a wrap how long can you wear baby? 6 months? 8 months? 3 months?
@sweetyjenj If you wanted to you could baby/toddler wear past the age of 3 depending on the wrap/carrier you have. The good wraps/carriers are designed to distribute the weight to your hips instead of your back. I personally stopped using wraps by 1 year and switched to a Boba carrier that I used until age 3.
How long is it ok to do baby wearing? I have back issues, so I probably will stop once baby is too heavy to wear, but generally speaking, using a wrap how long can you wear baby? 6 months? 8 months? 3 months?
ETA: clarity
I have friends who are big into the babywearing community (yes, it is a thing. There are FB groups, meetups, and everything) and some of them wear their 4 year olds. Basically, as long as your back and the child will put up with it.
@sweetyjenj One of my close friends comfortably wears her 3 year old in a toddler tula and he loves it. At 21 months, my daughter can't be bothered to be stuck in a carrier and wants to be let down to run around after just a few minutes.
@kelseyh62 When we were picking out our stroller with my son, we had the stroller down and could not for the life of us figure out how to open the stroller. We too were at BRU where the people are awesome and don't treat you badly for not being able to figure it out.
@JLJ2012 Thank you for the advice. We are still very outdoorsy during the winter (we particularly love to snow shoe) and it's that kind of circumstance that I was wondering about. We also go to the mountains a lot to ski and hike with the dogs and we're honestly just outdoors a lot when it's cold out! I recently purchased an all seasons lillebaby carrier and will definitely look into a baby bunting for the particularly cold outings. I agree that light layers for the shorter outings will probably be just fine! You ladies rock!
I also would like to get more info on what exactly is appropriate for newborn winter clothing. Unlike PP, I live in CO and it could be really cold for a while. What are some staple cold weather clothing items that are actually practical for a newborn? Pants? Leg warmers? Jackets? Snow pants? Sounds ridiculous but I am entirely clueless here. We do a lot of outdoor things during the winter so I don't want to be freaking out the whole time that baby is too cold. Advice?
newborns shouldn't have puffy coats or snow pants. They are dangerous with the car seat. I live in Chicago so I can relate. You want fleece things. Long sleeves, sleepers etc. When you go outside put them in the car seat w/out a coat, wrap blankets around after doing the buckels and get a car seat cover for the process of getting them into the car. They have some warm fleecey ones for that. Inside the baby should be fine in regular clothes, although I seem to recall that it should be something like take what you're wearing and add a layer. If you're in jeans and a Tshirt, baby is in pants, a onesie and a long sleeve, or something like that.
I also would like to get more info on what exactly is appropriate for newborn winter clothing. Unlike PP, I live in CO and it could be really cold for a while. What are some staple cold weather clothing items that are actually practical for a newborn? Pants? Leg warmers? Jackets? Snow pants? Sounds ridiculous but I am entirely clueless here. We do a lot of outdoor things during the winter so I don't want to be freaking out the whole time that baby is too cold. Advice?
newborns shouldn't have puffy coats or snow pants. They are dangerous with the car seat. I live in Chicago so I can relate. You want fleece things. Long sleeves, sleepers etc. When you go outside put them in the car seat w/out a coat, wrap blankets around after doing the buckels and get a car seat cover for the process of getting them into the car. They have some warm fleecey ones for that. Inside the baby should be fine in regular clothes, although I seem to recall that it should be something like take what you're wearing and add a layer. If you're in jeans and a Tshirt, baby is in pants, a onesie and a long sleeve, or something like that.
Another trick for the car seat is to put the coat/jacket on backwards once baby is strapped in; then they're warm but there isn't a gap between the baby and the harness. Also, fleece car seat covers are amazing!
Some kids love being carried. When my son is emotional, like teething or just tired, he finds the carrier and finds me in the house with a big tearful, "carry you."
he thinks it's "carry you" because I ask, "do you want me to carry you or do you want to sit in the shopping cart?"
hes 2.5 now. I have a bad back and love the Toddler Tula. I wouldn't be able to carry him long without the carrier because of my bad back. The carrier distributes the weight differently.
Are any other STM+ that don't need to buy anything new feeling like you should be doing something? We need very little. We need a few things to get our son's new room ready but we are so busy right now that it's on hold for another week before we can seriously start looking (Mattress, dresser, bedding). I just feel like I need to be researching some sort of gear or out looking for deals on things but at this point there isn't much to do (unless I'm missing something). We will find out if this baby is a boy or girl at the end of August and if it's a girl I think it will be a little better because I will need to pick up some clothes and such but still nothing big and nothing until September. Not sure what to do with this instinct to prepare when we are actually fairly ready. Once my son moves to his new room we can start bringing out the baby stuff again so that may help. I just feel like I should be doing something now.
@Carly79 I still need a lot for baby #2, but I haven't even started yet- waiting for the anatomy scan to determine just how much we need. But yeah, I feel like I should be doing something, but I just have no idea what that something is.
@Carly79. I feel the same way! We found out we're having our second boy, so now I really feel like I have nothing to do. Eventually I'll get all of DSs infant clothes out of storage to wash and reuse, but it feels to early for that. With my first I stocked up on diapers and wipes, but we eventually switched to cloth diaper so we won't be needing many diapers besides a few newborns this time. I feel almost useless lol.
@Carly79@katesmama0706 & @nolemomma14 I'm jealous you guys feel that way! As a FTM I feel the exact opposite. I feel like there is SOOO much to research, learn, buy and prep. It is a bit daunting and has been stressing me out lately. We have 3 out of state weddings this fall and all the holidays too. So I just know the second half of this pregnancy is going to fly! Eek!
@kelseyh62 k was exactly the same way with my first! Constantly looking for deals on cribs, strollers, etc. researching breastfeeding, baby led weaning, baby wearing. I miss that this time around. It is nice to feel more prepared this time, but all of the research and learning was all ostt of the fun of being a FTM! I know there will be plenty to learn and do once number 2 arrives so I'm trying to enjoy this "quiet" time to spend time with DS before he is no longer an only child!
@kelseyh62 I was that way with my first. I made lists, was always reading reviews, and reading anything I could get my hands on about pregnancy and delivery. I got stressed out over all the choices in baby gear and don't get me started on trying to pick out a monitor. 2 things I learned...mama instinct starts early so when it comes down to it, trust your gut...the 2nd is you don't need to have everything the first few weeks and if you realized that you didn't get something you needed you can always get it later. Amazon is awesome My mom ended up going to our home medical equipment provider for me the day I came home from the hospital because I wanted a nursing pillow that they carried (I hated my boppy) and they were the only place close by that carried preemie size nipples for the dr. brown bottles (we were having sleeping nursing issues mixed with jaundice). I wish I had something to research about baby stuff instead of trying to figure out how to get my toddler to sleep
I've heard Rock 'n Play's are a MUST HAVE, but just today someone said that they make transitioning to a crib much harder. STM's help a sister out here!
@Carly79, I feel the same. Third boy, we don't need anything. Has not stopped me from nesting though. I have cleaned out and organized every closet in our house. And 100% completed Christmas shopping for both my boys. I need more projects. lol
@ThePax89@Carly79 Yep. I sit here. Nesting is going to be interesting in this household. All of our baby gear is from DD who is 19mo so there's nothing I can really justify buying. We have all the clothes, crib, linens, nursing supplies, etc. So...now what do I do??
Our RainbowBaby H arrived at 37 weeks on 12/20/16!
Baby E arrived at 37 weeks on 01/31/15!
Married my Marine 05.23.14
*TW* TWIN LOSS 7.2.15 BFP 9.7.15 CP BFP 12.31.15 MC 2.28.16 BFP 10.14.17 CP BFP 3.10.18 D&C 4.13.18
@shlecka meh. We didn't have a RNP but I do hear people sing praises to them. I don't think they really in and of themselves make the switch hard. I think it's just "your personal brand of baby" some babies take to their cribs and some hate them at first and some hate them forever haha. If a RNP is in your budget is say get one but keep in mind some babies love bouncers/swings/carriers/rnps and other babies despise them so go for variety and trial and error in your baby gear
@Carly79 I feel the same way. I have a little bit to do as we are having a baby of the opposite sex as our first, so there are clothes to buy and such, but I basically have a tiny little list of things to get that I could knock out in an afternoon if I wanted to. I guess it's better than being completely overwhelmed!
@shlecka We never had a RnP with our first and never felt we needed one. It really depends on the kid. Maybe get a gift card with the exact amount you would need for one, and then if baby is a bad sleeper, go out and buy one, if not, use the GC for something else?
@Carly79 Yas! It's crazy different from the research-obsessed FTM I was. I think it's part of the reason this pregnancy feels like it's going so slowly. I have nothing to do! I made the saddest little registry online yesterday because I literally couldn't think of anything that we needed. We are team green but at least if I knew the sex I'd be able to either wash all of DD's old clothes or go buy new ones!
@katesmama0706@sagoon Thanks for the advice. I guess I'm just trying to decide if I want to register for that or a regular bassinet. I would hate to get a rock n play and then they hate it or end up wishing I had one.
@katesmama0706@sagoon Thanks for the advice. I guess I'm just trying to decide if I want to register for that or a regular bassinet. I would hate to get a rock n play and then they hate it or end up wishing I had one.
If you go the regular bassinet route, it's a lot more cost efficient to get a pack n play with the bassinet insert. You'll use it for way longer than you'd use the bassinet and you probably will want a pack n play anyway, so you'd be saving both money and space.
@shlecka I'm a big believer in doing whatever you have to in order to make it through the first few months. I've never been blessed with naturally good sleepers so in a lot of cases it was either RnP/swing or sleeping in my arms or the carrier.
Cat naps are so, so common for infants. I had totally unrealistic expectations and thought that babies napped hours at a time from birth..and they do for about 2 or 3 weeks, then your newborn becomes an infant and all hell breaks loose. At least in my cases It's harder to get longer naps from a 2 month old in a crib than in a carrier/swing etc. just due to the fact that they are still in the fourth trimester. They like being bundled up like in the womb, they like movement like in the womb and noise similar to the noises they heard while still inside as well. Bad habits don't come into play during that time. IMO in the majority of cases you'll end up dealing with some sort of transition into a crib at some point I just prefer to do it when my LO is a little more likely to be able to transition between sleep cycles on his own and more adjusted to the outside world.
@karaelaine1991 Yeah I thought about that too. Our bedroom just isn't very big so I'm worried about space.
Understandable! We were in an apartment when DD was born so space was a major concern for us, too (which is why we chose a pack n play over a bassinet, since we would've needed to store the bassinet somewhere after we were done with it). The pack n play we ended up getting is, I think, on the smaller side, at least compared to the one my parents have at their house. We got this one if that's helpful to you:
Re: Ask a STM+ Week of 8/8
@cjs260, if washed then put it in with the smaller clothes. I ran into this with my first and had several things that didn't fit by the time I pulled them out for baby. Sometimes it happens. Sizes are so off with some brands.
@mommywesley, I don't even know how you keep track with 4 boys. I only have 2 boys, soon to be 3, and have to look at every label when folding clothes to check size and put in the right kids drawers. And socks and underwear! I am always guessing.
DS2: 11/5/14
Jan17 Sept Sig: Pumpkin Spice gone too far
DS2: 11/5/14
DS1 - 03/31/2006
DS2 - 12/31/2008
DS3 - 06/26/2012
DS4 - 08/07/2014
ETA: clarity
Married: 8/11/2007
DD: Born 2/3/17
BFP#2: 5/3, EDD 1/10/19
Jan17 Sept Sig: Pumpkin Spice gone too far
@kelseyh62 When we were picking out our stroller with my son, we had the stroller down and could not for the life of us figure out how to open the stroller. We too were at BRU where the people are awesome and don't treat you badly for not being able to figure it out.
LFAF April Siggy Challenge - TV/Movie BFFS - Romy & Michele
he thinks it's "carry you" because I ask, "do you want me to carry you or do you want to sit in the shopping cart?"
hes 2.5 now. I have a bad back and love the Toddler Tula. I wouldn't be able to carry him long without the carrier because of my bad back. The carrier distributes the weight differently.
ostt of the fun of being a FTM! I know there will be plenty to learn and do once number 2 arrives so I'm trying to enjoy this "quiet" time to spend time with DS before he is no longer an only child!
DS2: 11/5/14
*TW*
TWIN LOSS 7.2.15
BFP 9.7.15 CP
BFP 12.31.15 MC 2.28.16
BFP 10.14.17 CP
BFP 3.10.18 D&C 4.13.18
@shlecka We never had a RnP with our first and never felt we needed one. It really depends on the kid. Maybe get a gift card with the exact amount you would need for one, and then if baby is a bad sleeper, go out and buy one, if not, use the GC for something else?
Jan17 Sept Sig: Pumpkin Spice gone too far
Oh well, at least I feel prepared this time.
Cat naps are so, so common for infants. I had totally unrealistic expectations and thought that babies napped hours at a time from birth..and they do for about 2 or 3 weeks, then your newborn becomes an infant and all hell breaks loose. At least in my cases
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