“You're gonna do great! A friend told me no matter what you read... nothing brings you the knowledge that just naturally comes after your baby is born! I didn't believe it until it happened! You just know! You know what they need and why they're crying.”
A few months ago, once I started feeling actually pregnant, and this whole thing emerged as a stunning and wild reality, I began to realize that we will need to buy/borrow/steal 'things' for the baby. That babies require things, special things, objects and tools and items designed to help everyone involved. I also realized that the Baby Things Market is insane, and that there are like 10,000 different organic hemp baby slings and 10,000 kinds of strollers and diaper options and omg. I knew we wanted to remain low on things, and not get cluttered with tons of plastic crap, and an object for every single moment and occurrence (Organic Baby Face Wiper Stick, for when your baby has food on her face and you can't wipe it off with your own spit-soaked finger). BUT! I also knew that there were many good, helpful, legitimate things we would appreciate, and so I send out a call to the mamas and papas that I know on ye old Facebook. And wouldn't you know it, those mamas replied with a wealth of great advice, info, tips, and suggestions (the dads mostly wrote back and said "Get lots of sleep"— thanks dudes).
Yesterday I finally compiled all the info from all the messages into a word doc so I could send it to my preg friends. I organized it into categories, and since it's a lot of info, I'll post it as a series. We begin with General Tips and Baby Care Items!
*And of course, this list is no where near complete (I don't think that's possible). So if you have anything to add, leave a comment, and I'll just keep expanding the list until we all collapse from Advice Exhaustion. That'll be ok, because when we recover from said collapse, we will have tons of epic advice.*
(And thanks to Julianna, Jenny, Jenn, Jen (!!!), Taryn, Bonnie, Laura, Lisa, Shefa, Vicky, Candace, Rachel, Phil, Mark, and Angela for all your awesome advice!)
GENERAL!
• Make sure you have a lot of certain things and always keep the supply stocked and clean. Those things are bibs, burp clothes, diapers, wipes, onesies, bottles, pacifiers, and patience. You never want to go to grab something have it not be there, so that is why having a lot is important. Everything else is less important.
• Have friends volunteer ahead of time to make meals during the first few weeks. Some people made freezable things ahead of time. Others cooked and dropped off food after she was born. Sooo helpful.
• I found doing the dishes completely overwhelming for the first month or so. Ask friends to volunteer. Or eat off of recycled paper plates for a couple weeks.
• I can't say enough about craigslist. So much of this stuff is indispensable, but only for a couple months. We cycled through a bouncy chair, doorway jumper and walker this way.
• Try to find a good resale store in your town. This is such a great way to shop for clothes and gear.
• A rocking chair with a FOOTSTOOL is very, very nice to have
• Screw the rocking chair, get a yoga ball! This was completely critical to our operation for the first year. I can't even guess the miles we must have logged in bouncing her on that thing.
• Yoga ball!
• We couldn't live without the cloth diapers as burp rags (Bradley spit up a TON, so these were priceless). You can never have too many.
• Lots of soft, absorbent burp cloths.
• Check out the comment section on the Babiesrus registry It's mainly commented by moms and the items are rated.
• Happiest Baby on the Block! Get the DVD. It's all in the swaddling!
• A journal to record random things about baby’s birth and first year.
• A belly cast kit
• Make sure to take lots of random newborn photos. You’ll be surprised how fast they change.
• The one thing that's come in handy for us a surprising number of times is a passport. We had them made for the girls when Natalie was only about 3 months old. It all seemed crazy at the time, but the passports have come in handy more than once, especially with all the inane, ever-changing security rules at airports. We once had to prove Natalie was actually under 2 because she was so big and talking so well (kids under 2 fly free, so we didn't have a ticket for her -- luckily we were able to produce a passport to prove it).
BABY CARE ITEMS
• baby bathtub
• chemical free bath products (I love all the Burts Bees or California Baby)--bubbles, shampoo, lotion
• little nail clipper
• a good digital thermometer
• that booger sucky-thing and some saline nose drops for stuffy nose mornings (I think called "little noses")
• Gripe water--he only needed it maybe three times, but the three times he needed it (when I ate something that did not agree with him when it passed into my breastmilk) it was like MAGIC: red-faced screaming baby one second, silent cooing sleeping baby the next second.
• infant Tylenol, infant Motrin
• little comb! little hairbrush!
• butt products: I like A & D and Burts Bees diaper cream; the sensitive wipes from Target are the best and cheapest
• babyproofing: cheap and wonderful babyproofing at IKEA, don't bother with the other stuff!
Stay tuned for BOOBS n BOTTLES, BOOKS, CARRIERS, CAR SEATS and more!
A few months ago, once I started feeling actually pregnant, and this whole thing emerged as a stunning and wild reality, I began to realize that we will need to buy/borrow/steal 'things' for the baby. That babies require things, special things, objects and tools and items designed to help everyone involved. I also realized that the Baby Things Market is insane, and that there are like 10,000 different organic hemp baby slings and 10,000 kinds of strollers and diaper options and omg. I knew we wanted to remain low on things, and not get cluttered with tons of plastic crap, and an object for every single moment and occurrence (Organic Baby Face Wiper Stick, for when your baby has food on her face and you can't wipe it off with your own spit-soaked finger). BUT! I also knew that there were many good, helpful, legitimate things we would appreciate, and so I send out a call to the mamas and papas that I know on ye old Facebook. And wouldn't you know it, those mamas replied with a wealth of great advice, info, tips, and suggestions (the dads mostly wrote back and said "Get lots of sleep"— thanks dudes).
Yesterday I finally compiled all the info from all the messages into a word doc so I could send it to my preg friends. I organized it into categories, and since it's a lot of info, I'll post it as a series. We begin with General Tips and Baby Care Items!
*And of course, this list is no where near complete (I don't think that's possible). So if you have anything to add, leave a comment, and I'll just keep expanding the list until we all collapse from Advice Exhaustion. That'll be ok, because when we recover from said collapse, we will have tons of epic advice.*
(And thanks to Julianna, Jenny, Jenn, Jen (!!!), Taryn, Bonnie, Laura, Lisa, Shefa, Vicky, Candace, Rachel, Phil, Mark, and Angela for all your awesome advice!)
GENERAL!
• Make sure you have a lot of certain things and always keep the supply stocked and clean. Those things are bibs, burp clothes, diapers, wipes, onesies, bottles, pacifiers, and patience. You never want to go to grab something have it not be there, so that is why having a lot is important. Everything else is less important.
• Have friends volunteer ahead of time to make meals during the first few weeks. Some people made freezable things ahead of time. Others cooked and dropped off food after she was born. Sooo helpful.
• I found doing the dishes completely overwhelming for the first month or so. Ask friends to volunteer. Or eat off of recycled paper plates for a couple weeks.
• I can't say enough about craigslist. So much of this stuff is indispensable, but only for a couple months. We cycled through a bouncy chair, doorway jumper and walker this way.
• Try to find a good resale store in your town. This is such a great way to shop for clothes and gear.
• A rocking chair with a FOOTSTOOL is very, very nice to have
• Screw the rocking chair, get a yoga ball! This was completely critical to our operation for the first year. I can't even guess the miles we must have logged in bouncing her on that thing.
• Yoga ball!
• We couldn't live without the cloth diapers as burp rags (Bradley spit up a TON, so these were priceless). You can never have too many.
• Lots of soft, absorbent burp cloths.
• Check out the comment section on the Babiesrus registry It's mainly commented by moms and the items are rated.
• Happiest Baby on the Block! Get the DVD. It's all in the swaddling!
• A journal to record random things about baby’s birth and first year.
• A belly cast kit
• Make sure to take lots of random newborn photos. You’ll be surprised how fast they change.
• The one thing that's come in handy for us a surprising number of times is a passport. We had them made for the girls when Natalie was only about 3 months old. It all seemed crazy at the time, but the passports have come in handy more than once, especially with all the inane, ever-changing security rules at airports. We once had to prove Natalie was actually under 2 because she was so big and talking so well (kids under 2 fly free, so we didn't have a ticket for her -- luckily we were able to produce a passport to prove it).
BABY CARE ITEMS
• baby bathtub
• chemical free bath products (I love all the Burts Bees or California Baby)--bubbles, shampoo, lotion
• little nail clipper
• a good digital thermometer
• that booger sucky-thing and some saline nose drops for stuffy nose mornings (I think called "little noses")
• Gripe water--he only needed it maybe three times, but the three times he needed it (when I ate something that did not agree with him when it passed into my breastmilk) it was like MAGIC: red-faced screaming baby one second, silent cooing sleeping baby the next second.
• infant Tylenol, infant Motrin
• little comb! little hairbrush!
• butt products: I like A & D and Burts Bees diaper cream; the sensitive wipes from Target are the best and cheapest
• babyproofing: cheap and wonderful babyproofing at IKEA, don't bother with the other stuff!
Stay tuned for BOOBS n BOTTLES, BOOKS, CARRIERS, CAR SEATS and more!
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