*Baby Corner*

[chnst 6]

@Anya: haha I just want to faint if I'd add up all the money we've spent before he was even BORN. It is insane all the things you need for such a tiny little person. And this is nothing compard to how much you have to invest in a child as they get older. I think you need another baby just to justify the costs for the first one.

I have to travel every week to go to school 4 hours away from out house and it is really amazing how much I have to pack for Ben compared to my tiny little bag of clothes, laptop and bookbag. Just the amount of clothes/diapers/shoes/toys/babyfood/stroller/wipe-warmer/blankies/pacifiers/coats/sippy cups etc every single week, it is exhausting. Welcome to parenthood.

[Susita 175]

I had a lot of stuff for the boys, but to be honest a lot of the stuff people say they 'need' they don't. Babies in Peru don't have half the stuff babies here have and they get along just fine.

We have a swing for the baby and a bouncy seat (both were the boys), but to be honest you don't 'need' either one of these things.

A baby bathtub? My grandma used to wash me in the sink .

A changing table? We had one but it was so inconvenient & uncomfortable that we always used the bed/couch/etc.

Playpen? Turns into a dumping ground for toys.

A baby gym? a jolly jumper?

People will tell you that you need these things but, sure they might make your life easier but they are in no way necessary. I say if you don't have the money don't sweat it. It's not like a car seat or a stroller, which you need to mobilize yourselves.

On another note, the one thing I would most definitely have with a baby in the house is a vaporizer/humidifier. That was one thing I had never owned and it sure helped a lot when the boys got sick. I started using it myself when I got a cold so that I could sleep better at night too. It's good to have before hand instead of running out to the store at the last min like I did.

[Nizzy 1]

they like to drink coffee with me and Luis sometimes so I make them hot chocolate and they call it chocolate coffee

whatever works!

lol...I do the same thing when I make my starbucks trip. I get him a kids hot chocolate and he is none the wiser...

[Staashi 371]

I had a lot of stuff for the boys, but to be honest a lot of the stuff people say they 'need' they don't. Babies in Peru don't have half the stuff babies here have and they get along just fine.

We have a swing for the baby and a bouncy seat (both were the boys), but to be honest you don't 'need' either one of these things.

A baby bathtub? My grandma used to wash me in the sink .

A changing table? We had one but it was so inconvenient & uncomfortable that we always used the bed/couch/etc.

Playpen? Turns into a dumping ground for toys.

A baby gym? a jolly jumper?

People will tell you that you need these things but, sure they might make your life easier but they are in no way necessary. I say if you don't have the money don't sweat it. It's not like a car seat or a stroller, which you need to mobilize yourselves.

On another note, the one thing I would most definitely have with a baby in the house is a vaporizer/humidifier. That was one thing I had never owned and it sure helped a lot when the boys got sick. I started using it myself when I got a cold so that I could sleep better at night too. It's good to have before hand instead of running out to the store at the last min like I did.

So, so true - but I will say that you can buy a baby tub for about 7 bucks at Ikea - that's not a bad investment. I will also say - don't buy so many things for breastfeeding. The hospital will give you tons of stuff. Furthermore, speaking from personal experience, you might plan to bf but your body might not cooperate or baby might not, thus you're stuck with all this stuff that you cannot even use. I say wait and see what happens when baby is born and then move on from there.

One more thing that I love is a Thermos - if you feed your baby formula, a thermos is handy for keeping hot water in - add it to cool water and formula in the bottle and you have a perfectly heated bottle. No bottle warmer necessary!

Edited January 21, 2010 by Staashi

[Nessa 23]

little tummies is a medicine that you use when the baby has colic

wearable blankets is a blanket they wear, like this:

babies until 1 year old at least shouldn't be using a regular blanket to sleep

[anya-D 8]

That's true that a lot of stuff, the baby dont need, it's just a convenient actually. Most of my 'big' stuff, we got it for free from my SIL, and I know half of the stuff she gave me I might not even use them. Amazingly I got a crib, bassinet and play pen for free.. I'd problably just have a crib if it were up to me to get. I can change the baby any where but since I want a dresser for the baby then a changing pad on the dresser is what i'll have. When I was an aupair they have the baby bath tub thing for me to use, I've never used it thouhgt.. it's very uncomfortable so I dont think i'll get one by myself (but I got one anyway from my SIL) I might have to use it for our baby though, since our tub is quite big it'll be a waste of water if i just want to bath my baby (a few inches of water, still) and my kitchen sink always full he he (and bathroom sink way too small)

I will deffinately wait until the baby is here until I buy all those nursing stuff, just in case, like you said, I might not be able to use it.

For now I think the things i'll invest in would be onsies, cloths, some diapers, little towel and bib, baby monitor, butt cream, wipes, and pasifiers. Oh and the detergent.

I'll know the sex of my baby on Monday.. I CANT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!

little tummies is a medicine that you use when the baby has colic

wearable blankets is a blanket they wear, like this:

babies until 1 year old at least shouldn't be using a regular blanket to sleep

The wearable blanket is so cute!! isnt it similar to sleeping gown?

[Nessa 23]

yeah, it's pretty much the same thing

[Autumnchik 6]

I totally agree with Staashi ... don't invest in the breastfeeding stuff until after the baby and you see how breastfeeding goes. Medela pumps ROCK, but they are expensive and you cannot return them, even unopened, due to safety reasons.

The baby gowns were a lifesaver in the first months, when you change diapers every 3 minutes it seems like! And I loved the wearable gowns too.

One thing I found was that my son did not like being worn in a carrier (of course, I had already bought the carrier). When I returned it, I tried on a sling in the store (just because I didn't want to have to return another item), and he hated that too. Many babies do love being in a sling or carrier, but if you can, it is nice to try it out before making that purchase.

Also, you don't need to buy an exersaucer or things like that until they are a bit older ... so if you get lucky and have a friend with an older baby, you might be able to try out items like that to see how your baby likes them before buying.

Well, Declan is sick. Hubby just called and said he puked 4 or 5 times. I hate when my baby is sick

[Jenn! 918]

Here are the sleep gowns I had for Adam:

http://www.macys.com/catalog/product/index...-9-_-53-_-MP953

They're different from the blanket sleepers because you don't have to unzip or unsnap to change the diaper, you just pull it up.

[Jenn! 918]

At the risk of being controversial, I would suggest buying the BFing stuff in advance, maybe with the exception of the pump, just because it is so expensive. If my insurance had covered it, I might have rented a hospital pump for the first month or two to make sure everything was going ok before actually buying one.

The reason I say to go ahead and buy the other stuff is for psychological reasons. The same reason that they tell you not to buy a can of formula "just in case". When things get rough with BFing, as they often are in the first weeks, it might be tempting to give up. I was really dead-set on BFing, maybe too much so, but I wanted to give myself the best chance possible at succeeding. So I bought the bras, and the creams, and the Boppy, and anything else that was recommended to make my BFing experience a good one.

[Nizzy 1]

At the risk of being controversial, I would suggest buying the BFing stuff in advance, maybe with the exception of the pump, just because it is so expensive. If my insurance had covered it, I might have rented a hospital pump for the first month or two to make sure everything was going ok before actually buying one.

The reason I say to go ahead and buy the other stuff is for psychological reasons. The same reason that they tell you not to buy a can of formula "just in case". When things get rough with BFing, as they often are in the first weeks, it might be tempting to give up. I was really dead-set on BFing, maybe too much so, but I wanted to give myself the best chance possible at succeeding. So I bought the bras, and the creams, and the Boppy, and anything else that was recommended to make my BFing experience a good one.

How dare you!! lol...j/k it makes sense...

[chnst 6]

haha. yeah how dare you! I agree, you should definitely get some nursing bra's in advance. I had 1 and it wasn't tight enough, and I broke my pelvis during the birthing process. So the first thing we did after I was discharged - we went to the store to try on nursing bra's. In the wheelchair. And I was engorged and soooo uncomfortable and in pain. The are not too expensive, so I really recommend you wear em on your way to the hospital. I'd get 1 size bigger then your 9 month pregnant size. Oh yeah, another thing we never regretted- a car mirror! I used to make fun of people who use these and the first thing we bought after we brought Ben home- a fisher price mirror. The biggest one in the store. haha, they are great. I couldn't imagine driving without being able to have an eye on the baby.

[Nessa 23]

i don't understand all the fuss about a used pump. the pump device doesn't touch your body in any way or the milk, just the little cone thingy that is plugged to a cable. and if you use one of those sterilizers, it kills whatever bacteria was in it. i would understand buying new bottles and those cone thingies that touches the boobs, but buy the entire device new makes no sense.

[Nessa 23]

i bought the pump in advance. babiesrus return policy doesnb't mention in any way it cannot be returned. I'm really glad i bought in advance because when i went home it was absolutely necessary that i pumped because i was terribly engorged.

[Autumnchik 6]

Nessa, here is an article that explains the reasons for not using a used breastpump. Basically, as I understand it, most personal use pumps have this internal diaphragm thingymajob that cannot be removed and steralized. So theoretically, germs can get in there and then be passed on to another user, even if you buy new tubing and shields. The hospital pumps are made for multiple users and have a different system.

http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/pumps.shtml

BTW, I messed up on what I wrote about returning breastpumps. What I mean to write was that you cannot return a breastpump even if it is unused (sorry I wrote unopened in my previous post) ... if the box has been opened. Did I explain that so it makes sense? I think I got myself confused in my previous post

So, Declan just puked all over me. Fun.