Your New Baby List
My Top Fifteen Must-Haves
My Top Fifteen New Baby List is for you if you're a first time mom or mom to be. You're probably feeling a little overwhelmed by all those
"great baby products" out there.
You can't buy everything, but you don't want to miss anything important either. So what do you do?
Don't be taken in by all the "sales talk" at the stores. What you need is the advice of a mom who's been there, done that, and is now sitting with boxes of unused baby stuff!
"It happens sometimes, even in the best of families, that a baby is born. This is not necessarily cause for alarm. The important thing is to keep your wits about you and borrow some money."
- Elinor Goulding Smith
Over the course of four babies, I've bought pretty much everything in the baby goodies department. I admit, I am an absolute sucker when it comes to baby stuff!
Much to the distress of my husband, much of it is still sitting in the cupboards virtually untouched. On the other hand, I have other items that are literally fraying at the edges from eight years of solid use.
Baby goodies are expensive, so before you go on your shopping spree, take a look at my "top fifteen" new baby list to find out which products will give you the most value for money.
New Baby List - Stuff You Need
This was supposed to be my "top ten" new baby list of baby goody hits, but I have blown the budget by five! - I just couldn't leave any of these out!
1. An Infant Car Seat
My absolute number one item on the new baby list- don't put baby in a car without it!
2. A Nursery Rocking Chair or Glider
Essential for maximizing mom and baby bonding time. Your
nursery rocking chair is the place where you will spend countless hours of snuggle time. Not to be missed!
3. A Baby Changing Table
Number three on my new baby list is a bit controversial. Some people will tell you to go without a
baby changing table and to change your baby in the crib, on the floor or on the bed. However, you'll soon see that this is really not such a good idea...
Do you know that over the course of your baby's diaper wearing years, you will change around 7000 diapers? In addition, you will dress and undress your baby between 3 and 5 times a day on average.
I bought a simple changer dresser combo eight years ago and I still use it everyday. It's a back-saver!
4. An Infant Health Book
There's nothing worse than having a sick baby and not knowing what to do. You don't want to call the doctor in the middle of the night, but you're not sure if you should wait until morning.
A good baby health book will help you to calm down and determine the best course of action - put baby back to bed, or rush her off to the emergency room.
Don't know which book to buy? Try Baby and Child Healthcare by Dr. Miriam Stoppard. I keep this book on my shelf as a permanent reference.
5. A Sound And Movement Monitor
Number five on the new baby list, a sound monitor, enables you to move around the home while still being able to monitor baby wherever he is. No need to worry that you won't hear him when he wakes.
The movement monitor is designed to monitor your baby's breathing in case of sleep apnea. This is when a baby stops breathing for extended periods, usually 20 seconds. If and when this occurs, an alarm goes off. Sometimes the alarm is enough to bring baby back to consciousness, if not you can tickle her feet. When baby starts breathing again the alarm stops.
Having lost a four month old baby to SIDS this monitor was a great comfort to me with my subsequent babies.
Movement or apnea monitors do not necessarily prevent SIDS, but they do provide peace of mind. If all is quiet, you know baby's OK.
There are many of these monitors on the market. Look for one with a reasonably large movement pad. Baby can easily roll or wiggle off of the smaller mats giving false alarms and heart attacks!
I use the Angelcare 201AC Sound and Movement Monitor.
6. An Infant Bathtub
Another controversial item on the new baby list is the infant bathtub. Many people will tell you not to buy this item because you can use the kitchen sink - I hate to disagree, but what a hassle.
What if you have had friends for tea, baby's crying for his bath and you haven't cleaned the kitchen yet? What if your three year old is busy "helping you" with the dishes?
Having a separate infant tub is so much more convenient and they aren't that expensive. Set the tub up in a nice cozy spot somewhere with a basket of bath goodies and towels nearby and you will save yourself at least half the stress of infant bath time!
I have bathed all of my cuddly bundles in the nursery room. I found that following this immediately with their evening feed also in the baby nursery, and then putting them straight down to sleep, helped them to associate bath time with sleep time. All four of my babies were sleeping through by eight weeks!
7. Infant Sleeping Bags
Lots of blankets can be dangerous for baby. They can lead to overheating and suffocation. Besides that, from around five months, babies have an annoying habit of kicking them off in the middle of the night, and waking up freezing cold. Guess who else gets woken up?
Sleeping bags are the perfect solution in winter when your baby's jammies may not be enough to keep her warm.
8. A Baby Swing
A
baby swing is a must-have item on the new baby list. It works wonders for soothing fussy babies. They just love the to and fro rocking motion. Swings also make great baby sitters while you indulge in the luxury of a shower or a meal without a baby on your hip.
One of the big advantages of the baby swing is that it is portable. I set mine up in the kitchen while I was cooking in the evenings.
Baby swings are available in many brand names. I have a Graco - I've used it for eight years on and off and it's still good as new.
New on the block in this department is the Amby Baby Hammock.
Take a look...
9. A Baby Moses Basket
If you're buying a
baby crib, this item is probably a low priority on your new baby list. However, if you plan to get your baby to sleep through the night in his own room, I would suggest you think again.
Your precious little miracle has spent nine months safely cocooned in the comfort of your womb. A crib is going to seem pretty big and scary to the little guy! A
baby moses basket is much more cozy.
back to top
Smart Tip
If you want your baby to sleep in his own room in the baby crib, follow these steps to achieve this with the minimum of fuss:
- For the first week or two let baby spend the night in your room in a moses basket.
- Daytime sleeps should be in the moses basket too. Move the basket around the house and have baby sleep near you during the day.
- Be quick to comfort and attend to your baby when he wakes both at night and during the day. This will build a sense of security in your baby that he will associate with the moses basket.
- After a few weeks place the moses basket in the crib in the nursery room. Start leaving your baby to sleep there during the day and a few days later at night too. Be sure to use a sound monitor and be quick to attend to your baby's needs. He will gradually begin to associate the environment of his crib with the same security provided by the moses basket.
- By the time your baby outgrows the basket, he will be ready to sleep in the crib without any anxiety.
Security is the basis of a good sleep pattern. A good sleep pattern results in a happy and healthy baby, and a
much more lively mommy!
10. A Nursing Pillow
This is a wonderful invention, whether you are breast or bottle-feeding. Even dad can use item number nine on the new baby list! The nursing pillow elevates baby to the correct feeding position, thereby eliminating back and neck ache and preventing sore nipples.
Look for one that straps around you so that it will not keep shifting, and one that has a machine washable cover - try My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow recommended by lactation experts.
A nursing pillow is also a lifesaver if you have had an episiotomy. Try sitting on it and you'll know what I mean. And later on you can use it to prop baby up when she is learning to sit.
11. Burping Cloths
Cloth diapers are less expensive than burp cloths and work just as well.
Take a couple of these with you everywhere you go with baby. Indispensable for keeping your shoulders clean and wiping up spills and spills and spills...
12. A Baby Sling Or Pouch
This is useful for keeping your young baby close to you while you are getting a few things done around the house. Does folding the laundry sound familiar?
Young babies don't sleep for very long at a time in the beginning and when they're not sleeping they like to be held. To have any hope of keeping your home in a livable state - you have to have a pouch on your new baby list!
Baby pouches are also a wonderful help if you have a colicky baby. The warmth of your body against that little tummy is very soothing and calming. I use the kango pouch - all four of my babies have loved it.
13. A Wheat Bag
Item number thirteen on the new baby list has multiple uses. A wheat bag is soothing on your aching back during pregnancy, a welcome, if inadequate aid during labor, and a relief to an aching post-partum mid-section.
But I found another unexpected use for this little goody with Sarah, my newest addition. The warmth of a wheat bag on a sore little tummy beats every colic remedy on the market hands down. It soothes, relaxes and comforts.
Try to find one like this teddy. Sarah formed such a fond bond with this unlikely savior during her colicky months, that she still coos and cuddles it every time she sees it - warm or not. She is now fourteen months old.
14. A Swaddling Blanket
Another brilliant invention. These weren't around during the early months of my first three babies, so I used the traditional receiving blanket for swaddling.
Receiving blankets work well enough when you finally get the whole wrapping and tucking thing just right. If you don't mind reswaddling your baby every 30 minutes or so they're great.
With Sarah I discovered the swaddling blanket. No more feet poking out, fingers wiggling out and arms breaking loose. No more getting unwrapped and rewrapped five times a night.
With the swaddling blanket I wrapped her once at bedtime and that was it until the morning. I picked her up, fed her, burped her and put her down again without ever having to adjust the blanket.
Too good to be true? Try it yourself...
And the final item on the new baby list of must-haves...
15. Wet Wipes
I know that in current times disposable diapers and wet wipes are not an environmentally correct choice - but hey - I'm only human, and wet wipes are just too good to give up!
Look for scent-free wipes to prevent irritation to your baby's sensitive skin.
I use these little goodies for everything-
Mouth, nose, fingers and toes, not to mention the nether regions - they all get the wet wipe treatment. Even my eight year old still gets wet wiped from time to time. They are just so unbelievably convenient - I don't know how my mother managed without them!
Well, that's my new baby list. I hope it helps you to navigate the plethora of new baby products out there. Add these new baby list items to your baby shower registry and let your friends buy you something you will really use.
Back to Top
Back to Creative Baby Nursery Rooms Home Page
Blink
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Google
Simpy
Spurl
Technorati
Y! MyWeb