Baby Necessities
At lunch with friends over the weekend, talk turned to strollers. I had nothing to contribute since I’ve used slings since my son was 3 months old (and still am more than three years later). Stokke, Maclaren
Thinking back, the only newborn baby items I found truly necessary were:
- Slings
- Nursing pads
- Nursing shirts and bras
- Baby bathtub
- Diapers
- Baby clothes
- CD’s
- Books for both baby
What couldn’t you live without as a new parent?
The New York Times has more on the overzealous spending habits of new parents.
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POSTED IN: Baby Things
7 opinions for Baby Necessities
Deb
Jan 11, 2006 at 2:30 pm
I’d take the baby bathtub off your list, since they never worked well for me; and I’d add lotion and diaper rash ointment, since my two youngest have eczema and lotion is a necessity in our house.
The nursing shirts for me were something I never got around to buying, because most of my shirts are fairly nursing-friendly already.
A baby swing is the only spendy item I couldn’t have lived without. The battery powered one. And rechargeable batteries. It soothed my colicky baby, and was the favorite nap location for my gentle-natured baby. The baby swing is the reason I didn’t look and smell like a Swamp Thing those first few months.
A non-optional item is a carseat. Our hospital has a policy that they don’t discharge babies unless they go home in a functional safe carseat. We’d have used one anyway.. heh.
Lei
Jan 11, 2006 at 9:27 pm
Deb: One thing I don’t think the NY Times took into consideration is that people’s needs vary according to where they live. Carseats are not yet mandatory in Asia and most Asians would shudder at washing their kids in the kitchen sick. hehe
Lei
Jan 11, 2006 at 9:28 pm
Oh, and I forgot to add the S HATED the swing and still does! Too weird. :P
Mom2Chaos
Jan 12, 2006 at 10:39 pm
–Swing
–Cetaphil Lotion (my daughter was allergic to anything with fragrance)
–Diaper pail
–carseat
–cloth diapers (for burp cloths, to put under babies head while nursing on the bed or under their bottom when sleeping, or drying the diaper area when diapering to avoid diaper rash, or to line the changing table…)
–spray bottle with water (you can’t use diaper wipes on a newborn)
–cd player
–ultimate crib sheet (prevented us from having to change the sheets in the middle of the night. This sits on top of the sheets and snaps on and off).
–foam mattress (parents have no idea how hard it is to change the sheets on a heavy, coil mattress at 3 am and then again at 5am).
–extra large round cotton pads for wiping her bottom the first month.
–spray and wash
Later on:
–Healthy Care Booster Seat (don’t bother with the hook-on seats). This is the perfect seat to take to the park on playdates and feed your child lunch)
Didn’t need:
–nursing pillow (she nursed on her side on the bed)
–never bought the wipes warmer. Just filled the spray bottle with warm water.
–bottle warmer (my daughter doesn’t care if the bottle’s warm. She’s never had one.)
–bouncy seat
– hook-on booster seat
–pack and play (daughter won’t go near it and certainly won’t sleep in it)
–All the stuffed animals everyone sent.
–Bumper (they potentially increase SIDS, and they’re a pain to store)
–”official” waterproof burp cloths. Cloth diapers worked better
–walker (having a walking, teetering toddler is not fun. Enjoy their immobility as long as it lasts. Also, they’re illegal in Canada and other countries for safety reasons).
–Safety gear. We hired someone to install everything and it was far more efficient.
–Onesies. Kids don’t like things over their heads so we tried to make the changing the clothes thing as fast as possible. There was no need to layer these under pajamas. We needed maybe 3 of these, not the 15 we thought we needed.
–Dreft. Fragrance free detergent was fine.
–sterilizer (not needed or recommended anymore)
–changing table (dresser top was fine)
–huge bulky travel system.
Lei
Jan 13, 2006 at 4:51 am
Mom2Chaos: Oh my goodness! Thanks for taking the time to share your list. It’ll be a nice reference for new parents to consider.
cheeky.mommy
Jan 18, 2006 at 4:36 am
is it too late for me to add on?
anyways, i’d say the Baby Bjorn.. and MacLaren Strollers :)
they’re both very hip & modern in design and yet very practical.
Damon Bell
Feb 15, 2006 at 8:12 pm
When a baby comes into your world
there are so many new safety issues
to consider like what causes SIDS,
what products you should use to
help prevent SIDS, what toys are
safe,what household items are
poison to your baby, what plants
are also harmful to your baby,
what baby car seat is safe for
your baby, where do I find safe
child care for my baby while
I work. How do I childproof
my home. If you need answers
please visit my site where
I provide helpful articles
related to these issues. I
am a grandfather of 12 and
have gone through these issues
a number of times with my
own children and I realise
the stress this can place
on new parents who haven’t
gone through these experiences
yet.
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