Question from all the mommas

I made a registry and I want to get some opinions of what things I really do need...

What could you have lived without from your registry?

 

Oh my, it's been awhile for me... I never registered, but a shower was thrown for me anyway

Things I could have lived without were:
a crib
the heavyweight stroller (the umbrella stroller was SO much more convenient for 9+mos!)
all those cute little outfits - both kids lived in onesies with pants or a jumper
all those cute socks - they never kept them on anyway
and the baby bathtub... they bathed in my arms much easier

Things I could NOT have lived without were:
rompers, onesies and still more onesies - in every possible size
an ear thermometer
a baby-food grinder & the The Super Baby Food Book
and a baby sling.

I know I'm missing a ton - but these are the things that still come to mind nearly 9 years later. Good luck!!!
love,
mom

 

Things I never used:
My $200 crib that my grandmother insisted I would thank her for. (I thanked her, after I sold it and used the money for a trip.)

The totally huge "travel system" combo stroller and carseat. I used a carseat, but I preferred the one that converted to forward facing.

cute socks. Like mom said, they never stayed on anyway! But the cheapo utilitarian socks had better elastic and stayed on pretty well.

too many cutesy outfits in 0-3. They don't stay 0-3 long enough to use them up. I'd rather people have bought me tons of onesies, pants, and seperate tops in the larger sizes.

THE ESSENTIALS:

A sling/carrier: Get a couple, try them out, return the one that doesn't rock your world. I had a Mayawrap classic unpadded sling, and I don't think I will ever part with that thing, I loved it so much!

The carseat: Get a great quality combination seat. One of the evenflo trimuph series or a Britax (which has metal reinforcements!).

Onesies, sleepers, fleece rompers, pants with seperate tops, cheap socks (target circo brand is good) in every size, focussing on 3-6 months and higher!

I did love one big contraption toy: Our jumperoo got a lot of use once she could hold herself erect.

The perfect layette would include the above, as well as:

some great books on tape for momma, good paperbacks, one of those logic puzzle books

a gigantic water bottle so you dont have to refill your glass a million times

some comfy and cute pajamas for momma. You'll live in pajamas for 6 weeks, so why not feel cute and comfy too? Old navy has a good PJ sale right now.

A really delicious bubble bath, shower gel, shampoo, loofa, etc. You will literally be forgetting to bathe in all of the hectic confusion. Baths are celebrated among new moms for the rarity. And should be given a special smell.

Friends and family with economic woes: Give some homemade meals that can be heated and reheated, in containers that you can wash and refill to save time later! Casseroles of different varieties, meatballs. Heck, you can even freeze a ziploc back of cooked spaghetti, so all you have to do is microwave it a couple minutes or throw it in a pot of boiling water for a couple seconds.

Giftcards to different restaurants that do take out/delivery: Red Robin, Applebees, the local teriyaki joint, pizza places, etc.

the promise of visits to do laundry, clean the kitchen, or just give you another adult voice to talk to!


Seriously, we heap SOOOOO much onto infants, things that they don't need, and ignore momma in her struggle to learn mommahood. If your family and friends are receptive, give them some of these suggestions. these are straight from a momma that remembers that post-partum period VERY WELL! Having some of those things at my disposal would have made those first weeks a lot easier!

 

you need plenty of baby towels and sheets, you'll be changing her bed sheets ALOT. lots of pajama sleepers, you can never have too much.

 

We have a change table that we've NEVER used. Not once. Although it does come in handy for storing nappies and toys so the room doesn't look so much like a tornado hit it. (My son's five months old - does the house EVER stop looking like a tornado hit it?!)

My son hates his pram, but it still is very handy on the odd occasion that he settles in it.

Um, older style cloth nappies are pretty useless. They just leak, but you can get washable ones that are the shape of disposables. I haven't got any but they look good, and my friend raves about them.

Hmm, I think everything else I got came in pretty handy.

 

all i used was:

the onesies

the blankets

i used the travel system stroller thingie a LOT. pop in and out? fuck yeah.

diapers upon diapers. have people buy cases of the things in various sizes.
baby jammies. all those cute outfits are adorable, but they're most comfortable in their jammies. they're not a fashion show, they're tiny people.

washcloths

i used the baby bathtub. those little guys are slick when they're wet, it was terrified of dropping them. a couple times my daughter got a nasty nasty fever (105) and got febrile siezures. i had to put her in a lukewarm bath to cool her down FAST. it was 4AM and her doc stayed on the phone with me the entire time. bless her.

boppy pillow.

neither of my children would tolerate the slings and wraps.

baby shampoo and soap, lotion and baby thermometer.

hand covers. socks work, too, and stay on better. the little angels scratch the HELL out of themselves.

 

one thing I couldn't of lived without was the baby swing, it saved me from insanity many days and my son loved it!!

i agree on all the little cute outfits, you can do without them, they just waste space imo.

 

eeeeeeeek I don't agree with some of these posts tbh. first of all, every baby is different so I'd just get the basics (car seat onesies etc) and then buy around your baby. what I mean is you will grow with your baby so buy around his/her needs. there is soo much useless crap being shoved in our faces that we apparantly 'need'. all a baby realli needs is to be loved, clothed and kept warm. you definitely don't need baby shampoo or any of that crap. A baby should be bathed in water alone for the first year of it's life. A baby's skin is soo thin and soaks up 90% of what it comes in contact with when wet. You don't want your baby to soak up nasty chemicals when it's not needded. I got a load of green parenting books from the library and they taught me soo much, saved me a load of money and saved me from wasted products (the worst thing is having a tonne of unused baby crap clogging up your house)

 

Well this is helpful...

I did put a travel system on their... but not a baby bath tub. I got one of those foamie things....

She has about 10 onesies in each stage of life... but not enough sleep/plays. She has 10 blanket sleepers and tons of receiving blankets and regular blankets.

Lots of socks...

I am kinda worried about bottle cleaning stuff, I will be breastfeeding but want to pump.

Unfortunately we have lots of little outfits but over the course of two years. She has a pram for going outside...since she will be born in the dead of winter...

What's the opinions on burp cloths?

 

For burp clothes, I used the old fashioned cloth diapers. They are also handy if you leak from the other side when you nurse.

I loved my Boppy and actually just got my third one for this new baby, since I keep thinking I'm done and give everything away. It helped me so much with nursing with both kids.

Diapers!! I like using pocket diapers, but they can be so expensive (so are quality prefolds and covers). The store bought ones are useless, but it's worth telling people what you are using to help with the cost of diapers...if you are using cloth.

I never had a changing table but I like those waterproof covers to lay down when I change my baby's diaper. I would do it on the couch when she was little, now on the floor, and it's nice to just be able to throw one of those down. They usually come in two packs.

I also liked gowns for the beginning to be able to change the baby's diaper at night without having to fuss with snaps.

 

Got a boppy with two removable covers.


Our dresser has a removable changing pad on it.

We are using disposable diapers. I know they aren't very eco friendly but my MIL has bought several boxes already and we got them at the first shower... along with a million wipes.

When did you mommies start washing everything for the baby? Like the pre-washing.... I want to do it now but feel I am being too crazy. We are moving to a house by the end of next month and I have no way of nesting still!

 

I used a changing pad on top of the dresser (and the sofa, bed & floor) too... the changing tables are nice for extra storage & all, but they take up space I didn't have.

Burp cloths are okay if you don't mind a bit of extra laundry... old fashioned diapers or spare receiving blankets work just as well though. All you need is a bit of fabric & ANYTHING can (and will when you're desperate) work in a pinch. One mama I know uses baby washcloths from the dollar store since they're 5 for $1!

Since I knew I was likely to go into labor early, I had everything washed up & ready to go at 7 months - then again at 8 months with my daughter. Washing things an extra time or two won't hurt them any & you'll be able to breathe easy knowing that things are ready!
love,
mom

 

Why did you go into early labor?

I think I want to do it just because I can't do anything else... but secretly I am nervous about doing it because what if something goes wrong?

 

Oh, that's a long story... the REALLY short version would be that genetics forced my hips to dislocate too soon. Not terribly typical & NOT the type of things most mamas need to worry about. ((((((hugs!!!))))))
love,
mom

 

go ahead and wash them with the baby laundry detergent, and then put them in a closed tote. if you have alot like i did, it was really nice to already have that done.

 

I say don't invest in that baby laundry detergent. It's expensive and so full of chemicals. We used plain old baking soda and vinegar for all of Moire's laundry, or just a smidge of regular detergent for the poo blow-outs. Her skin was so sensitive that most detergents just rashed her out. And the expense was incredible!

as far as a pram for a dead of winter baby, I used my sling and just bundled myself up very well. Moire stayed so much toastier next to my warm body rather than trying to use her own body heat to do all the work. Babies don't regulate temperature very well. It's a learned body function. So in the cold, her body will try to react like a cold-blooded animal and cool down. But if she's near your body, which knows to be warm, her body will respond accordingly. And I cannot sing the praises of wearing your baby enough, man! At least for the first 20 pounds, babies seriously are easier carried in slings, than trying to set up a pram or carry a carseat. Especially if you are BFing, no buckles to unbuckle, nothing to keep baby from your boobs longer than a few seconds.

We used a changing pad on the floor, couch, and dresser (we installed snaps to hold it in place up there!). I can't imagine the amount of room a changing table would take up!

We used cloth part time, disposables part time (mostly for going out and nighttime). I'd buy some good quality cloth diapers for emergencies (like when you use the last sposie and just cannot go out for more!) and as backup burp cloths. As momma said, any bit of cloth works when you and baby are covered in spit up, or worse.

I'd invest in a good calendula cream for diaper rashes. Nothing touched Moire's diaper rashes like calendula cream. And it's all natural, so even better!

And then those other things I mentioned for you, momma. Don't forget those!

 

Thanks guys

I have the front2back infantino carrier and the side sling by infantino...

I get more and more nervous everyday. I am all signed up to take my birthing class next month and a breastfeeding class. I have tried calling a few doulas but no one has gotten back to me.

My mom recommended cow balm for diaper rashes. I think I will start washing...

I am so excited!

 

one thing I couldn't have survived without was nipple cream. Breastfeeding makes the nipples sore when starting out.

Something else I learnt is to try out the nipple cream before you start breastfeeding to make sure you aren't allergic or sensitive to it. For example, if you have a wool allergy or sensitivity you will really need to read the labels.

 

disposable changing pads for when you go out.

 

can someone tell me what is so great about the boppy? everyone tells me i need one, can't live without it, etc. but i just don't get it. They say it's great for BFing, but won't i jut be holding him?
My mom just got me one at TJ Maxx for $15 so I guess i will find out eventually. But she got it on the advice of her grandma friends--she doesn't get it either.

TIA!