- types of bottles
- babywearing slings/backpacks
- pacifiers
- diapers for newborns and infants
- detergent for baby clothes
- cheap motorized breast pumps
- And anything else that you find important!
The only thing I've really started to form an opinon on are Dr. Browns Bottles. It sounds like they're a pain to clean, but really good at reducing gas and colic. If you have information that suggests otherwise, let me know!
Thanks guys!
12 comments:
Bottles- Get the kind with the liners. Less bubbles, little cleaning.
Slings-Its really personal prefrence.
Passies-Soothies. More like a real nipple. Or so im told... Not that I would know... Oh.. Wait...
Detergent- We use the same kind we have always used.
Motorized breast pump- Moo!
Anything else- Have lots of blankets. Kids soil them alot!
I use Avent bottles and pacifiers -less expensive than Dr. Brown and Ty's never had a problem with it.
We use the same detergent (cheap Kirkland) unless I'm doing a load of stained clothes (which is pretty much always) then I soak it in oxyclean which has never let me down.
From what I've heard if you're going to spend the money on a motorized pump then do it right and get a good one. It's a great investment and totally worth it. I got mine for a shower - the hostess just asked if people were interested in putting money towards that for a gift. It was fantastic.
Andrea has the worlds best list of baby stuff suggestions - if you're interested email me or her
Oh, Michelle, do I have opinions for you!
FIRST, books that were especially helpful to me: #1 - The Happiest Baby on the Block. Admittedly his writing style got on my nerves a bit, and it is fairly repetitive, but I swear by the 5 S's. "The Baby Whisperer" is a good read, take what you like from it. Also, "Great Expectations, guide to pregnancy and newborn" has a fabulous appendix of baby gear - what it all is, what you definitely need, what you can borrow, and what you can wait on. And a great section on caring for your newborn, as well as plenty of pregnancy stuff.
LOVED my Baby Bjorn as a baby carrier. But I think you have to wait til the baby is a few weeks old before you can use it.
Advent bottles worked great for us, loved that there were different nipples for different stages. Brooke had no problem with using them. Although I have heard that Dr. Brown bottles are fabulous, I couldn't choke down the price.
Pacifiers - used the clear nuk brand. I forget the brand we tried first, but she wouldn't have anything to do with it.
I used Dreft at first, then discovered Baby All - much cheaper, didn't notice a difference between the two.
We got a swing, Brooke hated it for the first several months of life, but LOVED the bouncy/buzzy chair. So see if you can borrow either of those til you find out what your baby likes, then buy.
Just read what Becca wrote - if you want my (even longer than my comment) detailed version, let me know and I'll email it to you. I got the idea from Pam, she's so smart.
Bottles-Avents definitely. I used the Dr. Brown and they pieces were more annoying than effective.
Binkies-Soothie for the newborns. After 1-3 months the Nuk with the silicone nipples. But not the slanted nipple! My kids refused those. However, all babies have their own opinion on this!
Diapers-I liked Pampers or Huggies when they are brand new. Once they get into size 3 Luvs are fine and generic are even better if they don't get rashes.
Detergent-use whatever you already use and soak stained clothes in Oxiclean.
Pumps-DON'T BUY A CHEAP ONE!!!! They don't work for long and they don't at all stimulate supply increase. You are better off with a good manual than a cheap electric.
Baby sling-we have the Jeep brand one and it was fine. Personally I think they are a waste of money because we didn't use them for that long. Some may beg to differ.
Anything else-GET A BOUNCY seat! Don't bother with swings and bassinets and all that. The bouncy is a lifesaver! Don't pack 10 suitcases for the hospital...you don't use any of it! Refuse the nipple shield. Sometimes Madison pushes them, but hopefully not anymore.
I know some of this is repeat info, but there's my two cents:)
OK I will try to address all of your questions:
BOTTLES - get the kind that your baby likes... too bad that you won't know about that until the baby is born. I suggest you buy one of each and try them out. BETTER YET - ask for them for your shower. The square nipple, and the avent bottle are popular ones - less bubbles and a disposable bag.
BABY SLINGS - There is one that is like a long cotton shirt. the way you wrap it (5 different ways) is how the baby lays or sits leaving your hands free to do other things. It basiclaly looks like you have a shirt on with a baby in it but you can get stuff done!
PACIFIERS - I learned that there are different sized pacifiers, so I got NUK brand in a three stage pack. That way the nipple is the right size for their mouths.
DIAPERS - Costco has the cheapest but best for your money diapers. MONEY SAVER! I think you get some start out ones at the hospital to take home. Also are you thinking of doing cloth? Air cannot get to baby's bum in the plastic ones which makes diaper rash more of a problem, so if you can let the lil one go streaking from time to time on a well protected blanket.
DETERGENT - DREFT. It's the best
BREAST PUMPS - Dunno. Internet research is the best or go to a momy and me shop and ask there.
I hope that this helps you out in your search. Also we need an address for your baby gift! Email it to me at bextsa95@yahoo.com
Ok, you asked for it!
Bottles: If you're going to switch between breastfeeding and bottles (like, we're in Wal Mart, so a bottle will have to do, buckaroo) go with a wide nipple. I love my Vent Aire by Playtex, but they make them narrow now. You can still score them on clearance though. They reduce gas and colic by letting air bubbles enter through the bottom of the bottle instead of the nipple. If you have a dishwasher, buy a munchkin thingy for the dishwasher and you can clean the bottles that way. Saves my life.
Slings: We have a snugli. It works. If I were to do it over, I'd score one for front and back positions. The slingy kind is a trend, I think. Not very secure if your wranging suitcases in an airport, but maybe not a concern if you're just grocery shopping. Marshall is WAY to active for a sling.
Pacifiers: Ditto. Go Nuk.
Detergent: Marshall's skin is a little sensitive, so we just use a hypoallergenic fragrance free one. Cheap brand, Tide, All, it seems to work good.
Diapers: Pampers Swaddlers for your newborn and Desitin on that bum every change until they're about a month old. Seriously. Marshall's only had one diaper rash and it wasn't bad. I'll get you those diapers for your shower. After the first month or two, you can start using desitin less often. We use swaddlers at night and whatever during the day. I get coupons in the mail for papmers, luvs, and huggies, making them as cheap as store brands and not leaky. Marshall now just gets super desitin at night and as needed during the day. Usually not needed during the day.
Breast Pump: I have an awesome one, but it's my sister-in-law's. You can borrow it if you feel comfortable with that. Marshall HATED the breast pump, "It's stealing my food!", so when he takles a bottle it's formula. We did use breast milk at first so he'd get used to it, but not until he was 6 weeks old. Also, Marshall would take a bottle from anyone but me until recently, so make Trevor feed him.
We have a swing and a bouncy seat. Atticus is welcome to give them a spin before you buy. We wish we would have had the bouncy seat when he was new. It saved me.
Get a motorized mobile. You can get dressed and go pee if he's watching that thing. And an Elmo movie.
On the pacifiers, like a lot of other people said, soothies, at least as a newborn, if you're breastfeeding. They may even give you a soothie at the hospital. I've read that the most important thing, safetywise, is to use one-piece silicone pacifiers.
For bottles, I just bought a box of the small ones that were made by Medela and bought some cheap silicone nipples to go with them. We didn't use bottles that often, though (like once a week), so it wasn't a big issue. Like everyone else said, be aware that there are different sizes of holes in the nipples, depending on the age of the baby.
Medela is supposed to be the best brand for breastpumps.
After trying different kinds of baby carriers and slings, I would recommend getting the Ergo Carrier with an infant sling insert. It works as a sling for an infant, a front carrier for a sitting up baby, and a backpack for an even bigger baby. It's also comfortable and easy to use and has a little pocket for diapers and wipees.
Dreft is awesome, but it is pricey. Someone gave us some, and we loved it. Then we ran out and used All Free and Clear (we prefer no perfumes in our detergents anyway).
As for diapers, everyone has different preferences, but my advice is don't buy too many newborn-sized diapers. You'll probably get some at a baby shower, and a lot of babies outgrow them in the first week anyway. I'd recommend having one or two packs of newborns on hand and a box of 1's. But wait to buy any until after the baby shower.
We also didn't buy any diper cream, because we got so many samples in the mail, and he didn't get diaper rash that often. Of what we tried, though, we liked Desitin best.
My number one book recommendation, if you are planning to breastfeed, is "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" from La Leche League. I got it when I was pregnant and would read through it when I was bored, and I learned a lot that was very helpful. I also had "The Nursing Mother's Companion" which is also good, but I like the LLL one better.
Oh, and also if you're nursing, you'll probably want nursing pads. A lot of people like the disposable ones, but I didn't care for them. It's just as easy to just have several pairs of washable ones, since you're doing a lot of laundry anyway (but helpful to keep them in a lingerie bag so they don't get lost in the wash). It seems like I used the lansinoh washable ones and really liked them. I also made some of my own. They are asy to make. Just sew several layers of fabric (I used flannel) circles together - zig-zag or serge around the edges. You can put in a dart for contour, but I found that didn't make much of a different.
Like someone else said, lots of blankets. We got tons from people, and I thought, we don't need all of these. But we did. We used them all.
Thank you everyone! I really appreciate this!!
Shell -
I am with Becca and the advent bottles - they are great...unless you are planning on only bottle feeding - then mayb eyou would want something else? I don't know.
Sling vs. baby bjorn? well, if you decide to go with the carrier I say get the real brand baby bjorn - I have heard the other's aren't even worth the 30 bucks you pay for them...I have one that I liked...however, I got a sling with lucy when she was about 5 months and could sit on my hip in it...and I love love love that thing - it was way more comfy than the baby bjorn (consider also that my kids are abnormally large for their age so maybe its all that weight - but my shoulders hurt with the baby bjorn, not the sling)(plus you could totally make a sling by copying someones...mine is a "hotmama" brand and I love it.
Pacifiers - whatever makes you baby happy - and you can't know that till he gets here, but I Lucy and Grant both have loved the MAM kind and not really the other kinds.
Detergent - I wouldn't worry about it unless you think you baby is irritated by his clothes (dry skin or rashes) I use dreft for the first couple months - but they both were fine with the regular kind.
Breast pump - a cheap one will last you about as much as you pay for it...they just die after a little bit - buy a nice one and you can use it for all your kids instead of going through two per kid!
Swings/ bouncy seats - grant and lucy liked both but at different times....I say see if you can borrow them - then then buy...also- the bumbo chair is supposedly the best thing for when they get old enough to hold their heads up...and I have never heard of any kid not liking it - except lucy...(I think her legs were to fat for it and they got pinched when I put her in)
Blankets - ask mom to make you a bunch of extra lange reciving blankets - the ones you buy at the store are just way too tiny.
As I already told you - stock up on 5 or 6 little sqeeze bottles of vaseline for that first week after his circumcision.
As far as nursing - I used the lansinoh cream and the little pads they have (but don't buy this because they will give it to you at the hospital if you ask for it and it is darn expensive)
I swear by A&D diaper rash cream.
Don't buy an expensive thermometer - my 2 dollar one works better than the 15 dollar "30 second" one that I have
PS - The pamper swaddlers are the softest ones for you babes - Grant leaked out a lot - of everything else, esp. huggies - but every kid is different. I would say stick with pampers or huggies till they are a bit older - once my kids wear a 1 or 2 (which isn't really long) we get the costco cheap brand.
bottles- i've used avent and then when they are older just gerber brand.
Detergent- same as ours (oxiclean is a life saver)
breast pump- I had an advent one with kid #1 and it didn't work very well so next kid I gulped down the price and bought the medela swing and I love it!!
Diapers- Huggies has never let me down, my kids have leaked through the luvs and generic.
misc..- plety of blankets..thermal ones stretch so you can wrap your baby up nice and tight!. I Love the book "what to expect the first year" same people that wrote what to expect when you're expecting. it has valuable information!!
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