So your new bundle of joy is about to arrive any day and you wonder, do I have all the necessities? There are hundreds of baby products on the market today. Some you will most definitely need and some you shouldn't waste your money on. I am the mother of two young children and I have some wisdom to share when it comes to buying baby products. The obvious necessities when preparing for the arrival of baby are as follows:
Diapers- I would suggest at least two large packs of newborn diapers to start with. You can always buy more later and it's better not to have too many packs of diapers in one size because after they are born, some babies outgrow the newborn diapers very quickly.
Wipes- You cannot ever have too many wipes. My children are ages 5 and 2 and I am still buying wipes by the case. You can start off with a couple packs if you like or buy in bulk if there's a good sale. In other words, you'll be using them for quite some time, so stock up.
Clothing- This one is hard to give suggestions on. The simple reason is that baby clothes are just so darn cute that it's hard not to go overboard and buy 20 newborn outfits. With my first child, I went crazy buying lots of adorable clothes only to find that he maybe wore a handful of them. My suggestion would be to buy a few cute outfits for those times when you venture out of the house, but really stock up on onesies, and button up one-piece footed sleepers. Good luck with the clothing department! If you can stick to buying mostly onesies and sleepers- you are much stronger than me!
Blankets- It's always good to buy a couple packs of receiving blankets. Newborn babies love to be swaddled and with babies spitting up, you will need several to rotate between. My favorite receiving blankets are the ones that are a light cotton but have a little stretch to them. The fuzzy thick blankets are nice to have a couple of for laying over the swaddled baby or for snuggling in when the baby is not being swaddled.
Nursing gear- I only nursed one of my children for a couple days, so by no means am I a nursing gear expert. I can tell you what I do know. It is good to have a box of nursing pads, even if you don't plan on nursing. You will probably have some leakage so they are nice to have. Breast pumps- I rented a breast pump from a local Lactation Center. You may want to try renting a pump after the baby is born. Breast pumps are very expensive and it would be a shame to invest in one if nursing doesn’t work out for the long haul. I have used the manual breast pumps that you can buy from the stores that have the handle that you pump. From my personal experience I would say don't waste your money on those. The reason I believe they are not a good choice is because the shell or cup that you put your breast into to pump is a one size fits all. And as we all know, we do not all have the same sized breasts or areolas. When you go to a Lactation Center you will be fitted with the correct sized shell so that your time spent pumping will be worthwhile. Also, a nursing bra is a necessity. As far as any other nursing gear such as slings, cover ups and creams, I'm sorry to say that I do not have much experience with those to give you my opinion. My best suggestion would be to find a Lactation Center in your area and try out products before you buy them. If you are thinking about or have decided to try nursing you might want to consider finding a Lactation Specialist. The best way to find one would be to ask at your OB’s office or at the hospital where you plan to deliver. Lactation Specialists are a wonderful source of information and encouragement. There will most certainly be ups and downs when nursing, and there's no better person suitable to help you when those problems arise.
Bottle Feeding gear- This is my expertise. I have bottle-fed two children and have used many different types and brands of bottles. My personal choice of bottles is the Playtex brand. There are two reasons I settled on them after two children and lots of bottle experimentation. The first reason is that they have soft latex nipples that are easy for baby to feed from. Other brands I have used in the past have very hard latex nipples that my children did not seem to like. The second reason is that they have disposable liners that you can push the air out of before the baby feeds. This is a wonderful feature because unlike the traditional bottle that is filled with formula and air, the Playtex bottles allow you to push all the air out. This greatly reduces the amount of air the baby swallows. I found that my daughter did much better and had a lot less gas and colic issues because of Playtex bottles. The disposable liners make it much easier for bottle washing. I would simply rinse off the liner holder and hand wash or clean the nipples in the dishwasher. This saves a lot of clean-up time compared to other bottles that have many parts. As far as how many bottles you will need to start with, I would say 6-8 should be fine. You may want to buy some 4oz. and some 8oz. bottles. I personally would suggest buying all 8oz. bottles, because although the 4oz. ones are nice to have, you will only be able to use them for a couple of months.
Formula- As far as formula goes, I would wait to see what formula the hospital gives your baby. If that formula seems to agree with your baby, you can buy some of that brand once you are home. You shouldn't feel like you have to run right out and buy formula because typically the hospital will send you home with a few small ready to feed jars of formula. In the beginning, I would strongly suggest you buy one or two small cans at a time. The reason for doing this is because many babies in the early months will have gas issues or colic issues and may need to be switched to a different type of formula. If you go out and buy a Sam's club-sized can of formula and two weeks later you find out that your baby is lactose intolerant, you are not going to be a happy camper. Also, if your doctor recommends that you change formula types, ask if they have any samples that you can try before you run out and spend more money on formula. Pediatrician's offices usually have lots of samples. Every time I took my daughter for a check-up during the first year I would ask for and usually get free samples of formula. One time they gave me a whole case! It's worth a try; the worst they can say is they don't have any. Once you find a formula that agrees with your baby, by all means go to the Sam's Club or Price club and buy a big can. It will save you lots of money in the first year!
Furniture- You will most likely be filling your nursery with a crib, changing table, dresser and a rocker. I think those are all things you will most definitely need and use. Another great thing to have would be a pack-n-play portable crib and a bassinet. For the first few months of life my babies slept next to my bed in a bassinet. When I was downstairs I had a pack-n-play that had the bassinet on the top. Those are both wonderful things to have. Baby Swings have a special place in my heart. I cannot tell you how much my children loved the swing. My son slept in his until his feet hung over the edge. My daughter was also very fond of it. I would most definitely suggest buying a swing. They are a wonderful place to put your baby when you want to do some housework (yeah right!) or maybe even take a shower. As for all the other little chairs and super saucers, I could do with or without them. They are nice to have, but not a necessity. My suggestion is that when your baby gets a little older, check out the second-hand baby stores for those items. I have purchased many of those items that were in very good condition for a fraction of the normal retail price.
Things that need no explanation- You will need some bibs, socks, pacifiers (if you choose to use them), baby shampoo, diaper rash cream, Infant Tylenol/Motrin, nail clippers, hair brush, thermometer, nose bulb and an infant car seat and stroller. There may be more, but those are the major ones that you will need in the beginning.
Things that you think you may need but really aren't worth the money- There are many but here are the first ones that come to mind...
- Baby wipe warmer- They do make the top half of the stack warm, but the bottom half get dried out and or burned.
- Bottle warmer- So not worth the money!!! With my son we warmed his bottles at home and when we went out somewhere he expected his bottles to be warm there too. I found that it is much easier to give them a bottle at room temperature. It saves time and frustration.
- Diaper genie- All of the diaper trash cans are a waste of money. I have purchased several different kinds and they are all a big disappointment. Don't believe any ad that tells you that you can put poo poo diapers into a trash can and it won't stink! I don’t care what kind of trashcan it is, a dirty diaper is going to stink! My suggestion for disposing dirty diapers is simple. Plastic grocery bags. Any kind of plastic bag that you get from the store is great for disposing of dirty diapers. Throw them in, tie a knot and there you go. It's easy and costs you nothing. I've been doing that for years and haven’t had a problem. If you think about it, have you ever gone to a person's house who has a toddler and still has one of those trash cans? The answer is most likely NO. Toddlers still have stinky diapers, but the parents have realized that those trashcans are not worth the aggravation. There are many baby items that are useless and gimmicky. My suggestion is to ask those you know who have had small children recently and see what things they think are nice to have and which ones aren’t worth the money.
There's my list along with my opinions and suggestions. Going shopping for baby items is fun and exciting. Have fun with it and try not to be overwhelmed.
Best of luck and happy shopping!
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