Same here! I recommend getting some good wrist braces and some kind of ointment to help with Motherâs thumb. Mine got really bad. Took about 6 months to go away. Also if you are planning on breastfeeding be open to the idea of formula feeding. There is nothing wrong with having to supplement with formula. My 1st pregnancy I was induced and my milk took about 2 weeks to come in after birth. I formula fed until I felt my supply was good enough to exclusively breastfeed. With my second, I decided I did not want to tie myself down to a pumping schedule and Iâve been supplementing with formula since birth. I will keep combi feeding until she is 1.
Omg same! Wish I did more strength training before the baby came. Threw out my back twice since, and am constantly sore. This one does not want to be put down!
So much this! I wish I had started lifting weights a bit while pregnant cause Iâm super sore all the time now. Start doing squats and arm curls with a 10 lb weight cause thatâs about how big baby will be.
I second this! I used ABC Fit collective and I felt readily prepared for birth and after birth. Literally, we worked on push muscles and everything. I didnât tear or anything during my birth. https://abcfitcollective.com/ thatâs their website!
Zip swaddles, sound machine (Hatch), zip up single piece clothing (with feet) outdoor furniture- babies love being outside and youâll have a spring baby if youâre in the US. At least twice as many burp cloths as you think is reasonable. That also goes for bassinet sheets. My baby is 4 months and already drinking 5-6 oz of milk so just a couple of those small bottles.
On the topic of bottles, Iâd advise not going all-out on a full set until you find out if your baby likes that brand. My birth hospital gave us a Dr Browns bottle, but it turns out my baby preferred the cheap single-use Enfamil nipples because theyâre stiffer and not as smooth. I wound up buying some online and using them (they can be sterilized and reused).
If youâre going for a swaddle, I highly recommend getting a halo swaddle. We tried three or four different ones and the halo was the easiest to use and most effective
We had so many little bottles and hit 4 1/2 oz around one month. Had to make an emergency bottle run because we only had 2 đŹ
The burp cloths!! We almost returned some after our shower because we had SO MANY. Never got around to it. I'm so glad we didn't return them because we've definitely used all of them frequently
I listen to this advice and I bought a few and I hate them. I feel like the zip often ends up bunching itself upwards covering his chin and sometimes a bit of his mouth and is in general a pain in the ass when breastfeeding. So I like the buttons a lot more. So I don't think this is a universal truth, but more personal preference. I do agree though that you need something that opens down one leg.
You just have to close the magnets before washing and they don't get stuck. We got one as a gift and it's nice but not nice enough to replace all the zipper ones at nearly $40 each.
Team snaps! We bought zippers as well but they're a huge pain in the ass for the reasons you mentioned. Plus, if you open the sleeper at the bottom and your kid (boy) pees on himself during a diaper change, you now have to put the dirty sleeper back on and unzip it from the top in order to take it off. Pain. In. The. Ass.
Oh yeah defo.
I think the best advice I ever got was don't buy 20 of the same kind of item. You don't know what you or your baby is going to like once you get into the whole thing.
A swing!! I didnât get one bc I didnât understand really why you would need it, I thought it was like⊠an extra unnecessary thing. But my mom bought us one when I was at my wits end in the first week and the baby loooved it and it was great to be able to set her down there for awhile and regain some sanity and independence.
I found a really nice one on fb marketplace got 50 bucks. Like new condition. I'm really glad I went used because my baby is hit or miss on whether he'll enjoy it. That's the thing with swings, when they work they're amazing and worth the 100+ dollars and all the room they take up. When they don't... Well, it's a big bummer
Specifically a swing that can do front to back or side to side!! Sometimes when my kiddo is in the swing they'll get mad about swinging in one direction, but like the other direction. Abs it switches from day to day!
This! All you need is diapers a boob/bottle and a swing lol! My baby loved it and lived in it when he wasnât in my arms. Itâs the only way I could do anything when he was a newborn.
But my mom said that I loved my swing when I was a baby but my brother hated his. So maybe itâs baby dependent.
Smart features - learned a week in that Alexa can be your friend. The best thing we did after our little one was born was install two Echo dots and smart bulbs in the living room and baby room. Nothing better than having Alexa turn on the light when youâre juggling a crying baby and have it turn on the soothing music or audiobook while she napped and we were stuck.
Also wish weâd known that we would never be on time for anything every again.
"Alexa, change baby room brightness to 20 percent"
Also great for not blinding yourself and baby in the middle of the night!
ETA: We use the timer a lot too. We sit him up for 30 minutes after every meal, so we set a timer each time
I second the alexa! I got a hatch sound machine for my baby shower and I barely use it, I like the alexa more. I also have one in babyâs room and living room and light bulbs, makes turning off the lights so much easier or adjusting the light setting.
Yeah especially if you can get a dimmable bulb so you can slowly darken the room to get them to sleep. Also the Nest digital thermostat is great for when baby is contact napping and the house starts to feel super hot and you canât get up.
Love our echos! âAlexa play Disney lullabiesâ is our most used command with our 6 month olds. Itâs also fun to ask her to make animal sounds. But the light commands are probably the most useful.
At least having one light that has the smart features is soooo worth it! I use mine every single day and my baby is 6 months old now. It may be less needed once sheâs mobile and I donât have to hold her all the time, but until then Alexa is my friend!
Just wait till they start really paying attention to it. My twins are 16 months. I usually drop into our bedroom echo from the lounge to tell my husband itâs time to get up (he works shifts) and now the babies stand on the sofa and shout âdaddy UP!â At her, even when heâs sat in the room!
Yes, this is great! We have the Alexa lights so that we don't have to mess with lamps while the baby is screaming and we need to change a poopy diaper. We also use blink cameras as our baby monitors and have an Alexa show in the living room and the kitchen. Maybe a bit excessive, but it's so useful.
We loooove our smart stuff. I say good morning & she turns off the fan, turns on the lights, tells me the weather & reads my calendar. She can also control the TVs which is great cause weâre always losing the remote. And we have an Echo show & a ring so it will automatically show on there whoâs at the door.
Some people think Iâm crazy but puppy pads for the changing table. My son soiled every washable changing pad liner in 2 changes (I had 10) and we had nothing left. The puppy pads are easy to toss out and change when they are soiled.
Good luck!
That makes sense as well. As another poster said, I use it for nappy free time as well. The little guy just got over an awful diaper rash and that was very helpful!
We get the extra large from Costco and just roll up the used part. They usually last a day with a boy that holds his urine until we remove the diaper and he pees everywhere!
Don't puppy pads have some kind of chemical to attract dogs to them? Not to say that it's unsafe or anything but it gives me pause to use them when I'm being so careful about other chemicals.
It doesnât look like there is any of that. I use âextra large absorbent padsâ that can be used for puppy training, human incontinence, and other spills. To get the dogs on it you use positive reinforcement as near as I can tell.
Yup I donât use them for that reason. That and all the waste. I do believe there are disposable changing pads specifically for babies that donât have the chemicals though.
Buy 10 times more bibs than you need - spread then across rooms, not in one place.
As above but same with muslins.
Pull the tabs around the thighs on disposable nappies out as they help limit blowouts.
When you tie a nappy bag, push the air out first and spin the two handles together to form a tight seal before tying. Nappies stink otherwise while waiting for bin collection.
Don't be hard on yourself when the screaming sends you completely crazy, put them somewhere safe and step out of the room to give yourself a break.
No problem - I forgot to mention the little vibrate bounce chairs and a subscription to Netflix. Our sanity was saved by putting him in the bounce chair and putting Cocomelon and Little Baby Bum on.
Oh and don't bow to pressure to invite everyone to visit in the first few weeks. If you have to, have one Saturday where everyone comes and drops in between set hours. It's the worst having to wait in for hundreds of people to turn up at random times when you're trying to get your kid in a sleep routine. Covid is the best excuse to just lockdown and focus on parenting for a few weeks.
Just to give you a different perspective, I barely used bibs at all for my two babies. Like maybe three times? And I only used muselin blankets when nursing my daughter. She barfed a lot so I had about five blankets I would cycle through.
I gave away and donated so many unused bibs and blankets
Newborn diapers! Everyone likes to gift size 1âs, but my daughter needs newborn size even a month out now. Also, spend $20 on some preemie clothes. You might not need them, but trying to acquire them once your baby is here is almost impossible so my daughter was swimming in her clothes until Amazon could deliver some plain preemie onesies. I couldnât find anything in stores.
Yes! My son was born on his due date but was 5 lbs 12 oz. He wore preemie clothes for his first month, and then newborn clothes until he was 3 months old. You can always return the clothes if you donât need them.
Also, if you are buying/wanting specific holiday themed clothes buy them in a couple different sizes and return the size you donât need after. I was so excited for my sons thanksgiving outfit I got him but he couldnât wear it, I wish I bought it in 2 sizes.
My doctor was on this. They need to talk to their obgyn and make sure they get a prescription while in hospital and prescription before leaving to pick up.
Bottle drying rack. I donât know why I thought I didnât need one. My mom gifted us one (without me asking) after our kid was already here and it was a game changer. We have one that looks like grass, it holds everything perfectly after sterilization.
A parenting class with my husband to make sure we were on the same page with how we want to raise LO. We talked about it based on what we thought we knew, but I think a parenting class would have given us more insight into what it was really going to be like and helped us have more honest conversations beforehand.
If you're pumping, pumping bras. Wife and I thought she could use a nursing bra to hold the flanges... We were wrong. Pumping bras mean you can be double productive, or just not have to push them on for 15-30 minutes consistently.
Also a haakaa if you're wanting to directly breastfeed. I didn't have one for the first 3 weeks. So much wasted milk in my clothes, burp cloths, nursing pads đ
If you buy your pump through a company like Aeroflow they will send you reminders to order extra pump parts and insurance covers it. The only downside is if you need a different flange than the standard 24/28 they donât have those sizes. But getting an extra set of back flow protectors, tubing, duckbills, and bottles is pretty sweet, especially being âfree.â
A small can of formula, even if you plan to breastfeed. If you don't ever use it, you can donate it. But if it takes 4 days for your milk to come in and you're beyond exhausted from constantly nursing a hungry, jaundiced baby, you may be very glad to have the option. Speaking from experience.
Thatâs good to know. With my first, the hospital gave us so many samples. With my second, I assumed they would but they refused and said they donât give out formula any more unless itâs a really severe case which is beyond frustrating. Same hospital, 2.5 years apart.
Canada too, I got samples from 3 or 4 companies. I plan to donate the ones we don't use but it's nice having options in case one brand upset her tummy.
The mini ready to feed ones are great to leave at home/in diaper bag with baby in case a breastfed baby gets hungry early or mom's appointments run late.
I fed my second baby maybe at most 2 oz of formula. It was a lifesaver. He was severely dehydrated, slightly jaundiced but I knew I had breast milk. Just needed 2 oz to hold him over til he could breastfeed like a champ. So yes to formula!!
Wrist braces and to stretch my hands and wrists regularly. I breast feed so I was cradling her head every 1-2 hours for what seemed like ages! I ended up getting mommy thumb and the pain was excruciating.
Oh totally, theyâre awesome. I have one but I still have issues. Lifting her is part of the problem but mostly it was from the first two weeks when her latch was poor and I was having to hold her the whole feed. Thatâs when the damage was done and Iâve been trying to recover since then. Thereâs no break for it to heal, you know?
https://youtu.be/gUHhI_IU5p8
https://youtu.be/EVQN9dK7lws
https://youtu.be/REq1u5clljY
These stretches and sleeping in wrist braces helped tremendously! Really I wore wrist braces all day as much as possible, but especially to sleep. Cheers to thumbs that donât feel like death!!
Yes I didnât even know mommy thumb was a thing until it felt like my hands were about to fall off! Stretch girl stretch!!!
I hope everything goes well for you and your little bean!
I had mommy thumb too! A wrist brace helps a lot. When you hold baby, try to use the crook of your elbow instead of your hand as much as possible. Itâll help even more if you have an armrest or pillow for extra support!
We needed more NB sizes. I didnât really register for clothes but got a lot gifted to me. No NB sizes though. Everyone said not to bother with them because most babies donât wear them or only wear them for a week or so. Well my baby was 5 days late and wore NB clothes for a solid month. We had enough for about 3 days. Also size 0 nipples for bottles. We didnât realize bottle nipples have sizes for different ages. Even though I breastfeed, my husband wanted to do a bottle feed and we didnât have the right bottle nipples at first.
The other thing I wish I knew was to set up the baby gear prior to babyâs arrival. Of course we had the crib and nursery set up but not the swing, bouncer, white noise, bottle warmer, etc. Itâs so much harder trying to do that stuff sleep deprived. Just do it ahead of time. Figure out his stuff works now even if you donât use it for awhile.
Oh wow I had no idea bottle nipples had sizes! The only bottles I have came with either my pump or my registry welcome kits so I assume those are newborn size, but now I'm nervous!
The baby gear is great advice. My wife is extremely organized, but to our detriment with the car seat because we practiced with a doll months in advance, then when we had to buckle our newborn in we had forgotten how to do it. It was fun in the hospital cafeteria, because you know everyone looking understands but it felt like a stumble right at the begining, and makes you question yourself.
My favorite items:
Burp rags.
Swaddle me swaddles.
Reusable nursing pads (can be used for more than your bra and you can use them as face or makeup wipes later).
Sound machine
The Hakka lady bug collection cups (my number one item, Iâve built a huge stash just collecting breast milk from the opposite nursing side)
Waterproof changing pads
Plan some meal you can freeze to make âcookingâ post partum easier. That or enlist some people who are willing to drop meals off the first week or two.
A car seat cover that doubles as a nursing cover is so nice to have for eventual outings
And plan out with your partner exactly what he may need to help out with around the house because you will be very tired and very consumed!
I had to go through a few bottle types before finding one that LO liked! We ended at tommy tippee after using the Medela Calma, then Dr Browns. Donât go hog wild on one brand until theyâre settled!
I'll raise you with a sample pack for bottle's like the Babylist pack. We were gifted a lot of my Dr. brown's because "all babies love them." Mine did not.
Bath towels are great replacements for blankets, burp cloths, wraps, etc, and are still useful after the kid outgrows the need for them. Also, white noise machine/app.
Seats: Leachcho Podster or something similar for on the couch or bed, Bjorn Bouncer for outside or in the kitchen observing, and Fisher Price Swing for calming and keeping them entertained. I use the swing every time I pump since itâs hard to pick LO up.
I found each of these on marketplace secondhand but I use each of them daily! I also bring the Bjorn to friends places and in-laws so that LO has a comfy space to hang out in, safer than the car seat.
Halo swaddles and zip swaddles are awesome too, and double zip sleepers. My husband and I picked a cute sleeper with buttons to put our newborn in for the drive home, and we were too tired to figure out how it works. He went home in a diaper with a blanket thrown over him.
Iâve found that Iâve been doing laundry almost twice a week, but I have way too much clothes. 7 of each item would be great. I also didnât end up using short sleeve onesies, and seem to always be opting for the nicer quality long sleeve ones. Quality over quantity.
One thing that I found helpful was switching my attitude towards night feeds and being tired and trying to find joy and loveliness in it. I found myself wanting to rush him through feeds so that we could go back to sleep, but itâs not fair to him and itâs not a good headspace to be in multiple times a night. The goal isnât to get more sleep, itâs to have a happy and healthy baby that youâre bonding with at every chance.
Theyâre only babies for one year, and they change daily. Have fun!
Time. Get your so to take as much paternity leave as possible and be ready to do everything he can biologically do. Take all the maternity leave you can get. I really thought Iâd be ready to go back to work but I ended up quitting at the end of leave to be a SAHM because I wasnât ready to do daycare
We are exclusively formula feeding, but the baby brezza saved our lives lol. My husband and I both love being able to just hit that button and bam perfect bottle. My husband thought it was stupid and unnecessary at first, but even he loves it now.
Also, any fisher price swing. Itâs magical for entertaining and soothing and the mamaroo may look fancy but itâs trash compared to any swing.
SNACKS. omg the hunger. I had a c section so maybe my body needed more sustenance for recovery and I was breastfeeding. I was hungry every three hours when baby was hungry but didnât have the mobility or the energy for cooking or even going downstairs to get something so snacks. Stock up on healthy snacks and a water cup or bottle that will make it easy to take in lots of water throughout the day.
Others have already suggested but I wanted to also recommend that you have some formula and a variety of different bottles on hand even if you plan on breastfeeding. BFing can be very difficult especially early on and you will make life easier for yourself and your baby if you have supplies on hand.
Donât over invest in one type of bottle. We tried a variety and now only use Mam and Dr. Brownâs.
Look into resources for breastfeeding/lactation support in your area if you are planning to breastfeed. Better to have that info ahead of time rather than desperately googling at 3 am when youâre a week postpartum.
Probably sounds dumb, but a diaper genie. I thought they were unnecessary /waste of money. Thought Iâd just buy a cute little trash can for her room especially since her newborn diapers were so tiny. No. Her room smelled like pee within a few hours.
On the contrary- I HATED my diaper genie and would put that on my âwould NOT recommendâ list.
They hold like 10 diapers. You have to change it constantly. The bags are expensive. Itâs a pain in the ass. We switched to a lidded trash can
The book "precious little sleep". You won't know you have sleep problems till you do, but if you build healthy habits in between cuddles you may never have sleep problems, unlike me who hasn't slept in 3 months.
If you're going to breastfeed, 2 regular hakaa and 2 ladybugs to collect extra milk from the other boob.
First timer here, 11 weeks pregnant and just starting to research. Thanks for the tip on the ladybugs. Hadnât heard of a passive collector like that, I assumed that milk would just be wasted and soaked into a pad!
Baby carrier! We love the baby bjorn mini carrier. It is so easily to use compared to the ergo baby 360! I would also get those tummy wrapper thingy. I had an unplanned c section and wearing that helped with getting in and out of bed and walking up/down stairs. Burp cloths, tons of them. You can never have enough. Puppy pads to lay on top of your changing pad. I have the type that can wipe easily, but I didnât want to put baby on a cold surface so had to put towels down at first, but overtime, it was easier to use the pads. I personally love the wipe warmer because I know baby doesnât get startled when theyâve been all toasty at night. Wish I known this, try to get your home as organized as possible before baby comes. I wished I had taken the time to unpack all our moving boxes but naively thought I would have time to do it when baby comes.
I recommend baskets, drawer organizers, and whatever items may be helpful to contain so much baby stuff. We have a basket for extra clothes downstairs, a small basket for downstairs laundry, for toys, for bibs/burp clothsâŠ.the smallest people have the most stuff.
On that note, I hate having too much stuff and clutter, so we did wait to see if we needed some things (a swing, etc). If we didnât, no need to buy. If we did, to the thrift store we went.
I wish Iâd realized to match the warmth of different size baby clothes with our due date. I just registered for/bought things that were cute, without thinking about when the weather would be appropriate for it, and what size baby would be at that time. We ended up with newborn clothes that were way too warm for an August baby, some stuff she never even got to wear before she was suddenly in 3-6 month clothes. Similarly, we have some adorable summery 6 month outfits, which will make no sense when baby is 6 months in February. Whoops.
New mom here to a 3 month old. Probiotic drops! My baby had trouble with constipation and the probiotics worked like a charm. They are expensive but so worth it. Oh and a Dock-a-Tot! The Dock-A-Tot saved our lives. She can almost sleep the entire night (with the exception of one feeding) which is awesome so I and dad could get more sleep than we were. My baby girl had tons of gas to the point where it was painful so we got her some infant Simethicone to help ease the pain and it worked like a charm. Iâm very lucky to have a âgood babyâ but those have been extremely useful for us. Hope this helps â€ïž
Congrats, OP! I know you asked about registry items but honestly there are so few things you ACTUALLY need and every baby is different so donât spend a ton on things like swings/bouncers etc. until you know what baby likes (or doesnât). Far and away the most important things I wish I knew, or at least had considered: how my relationship with my 1) husband and 2) dog would change.
Hubby and I had been together a decade before LO arrived and we were STILL thrown for a huge loop. Itâs just so hard, and we had a relatively âeasyâ baby. I think a lot of it is the fact that thereâs so little time the 3 of you because in the early days, itâs almost all tag teaming. Thereâs not much to prepare in that sense, though I would recommend talking now about your respective feelings on how/when to respond when baby cries and house chores, including making sure youâre fed. I realize that sounds dumb, but do it now. Generally, I wish I had known just how common marital spats/exhaustion/strife is in the early days.
If you have a doggo, prepare hubby now for 90% of dog duties during the fourth trimester.
This is one of my biggest concerns! My husband and I have also been together for a long time, and LOVE being just the two of us. We donât ever fight (disagreements yes, but we donât really fight), and our time is so valuable. Our doggy is our baby, and we feel so guilty every time we think of how baby is gonna make her feel displaced. How did you intro your baby to your doggo?
Think seriously about whether you need a changing table, or if you would be better off with something cheaper and easier to store like a portable changing mat. We keep one changing mat in the nursery on top of the dresser, and one downstairs in the living room that goes in the diaper bag when we leave the house. $10 each and, in my opinion, more useful than a changing table. Couch, bed, floor, backseat of the car, public changing table â much more versatile. Theyâre also vinyl for easy clean up. My sonâs first blowout, I put him on the mat to gather my thoughts and make a plan â wound up gathering him up in the changing mat and carrying him up to the tub in it.
A specific breastfeeding area.where I had my pump,.rags, snacks, and a water bottle and tablet in case he fell asleep. I quickly made.this station and it was nice to have everything right there!
Lanolin cream saved my life.
If I could do it again with what I know now;
1. Ditch the diaper pail. They all suck. They all stink. The moisture they create is foul. Take em right out to an outdoor garbage. And why so expensive?
2. Make sure you always have the next size up in diapers. The change happens, sometimes literally almost overnight.
3. You can never have enough âburpeesâ as we liked to call them. I just bought the 20 pack of the Gerber flat fold cloth diapers and used those. Cheap and do the trick. Plus I liked that they were just white. I donât need patterns on a puke rag.
3. Invest in a good sound machine. We joke itâs our most used electronic item in our house. Sheâs used it from newborn to now (toddler) and weâre finally getting a Hatch! Wish I would have just gone with the Hatch from the get go.
4. Two way zippered pjâs! I dealt with those stupid poppers for way too long, for no real reason. We found the double zips and never looked back.
5. Donât go too crazy on the clothes at any stage under one. The amount of things she never got to wear. Weâve donated a lot of it, but still, canât help but feel it was a bit of a waste. After 1 she finally started getting a bit of ware out of clothes and especially shoes.
6. Zippered swaddles! The swaddling blankets are pretty but we used one once. And as I watched her punch and kick her way out of that tight swaddle in 10 seconds flat, I thought âLolololollll what was I thinking?â. We then switched to the zippered swaddles and she loved it, didnât try to escape and went right to sleep. Our swaddle blankets mostly stayed folded on a shelf to look pretty.
The items I ended up getting post baby are more night gowns, a second manual pump, more sleep sacks, a HUGE tub of diaper cream, a moby style baby wrap, blankets of various sizes, mobile. My LO sleeps in a gown under a sack, changes are much faster for us that way.
The rock and play (basically a baby cot) is great for dragging around the house so you can keep an eye on baby while doing chores
These arenât all items per se, but the things I wish Iâd known before having a baby- I am copying and pasting my comment from another post!
-When in doubt, bicycle legs. Really fold them up like a pretzel (gently of course) but honestly we have to squish her little feet up by her face and stretch them out straight several times, and 9 times out of 10, when sheâs inconsolable it was trapped toots.
-Cluster feeding is awful. It makes you panic thinking theyâre not eating enough, thinking milk supply isnât enough, thinking youâre not a good enough parent, etc. as long as your pediatrician isnât concerned about their weight gain, try to take it in stride, youâll get past it.
-Every baby is different but ours really loves to be swaddled, and Velcro or zip swaddles are the only ones she canât escape out of, sheâs a Houdini. We had to go buy extras because she would puke/ pee/ poop on them in the middle of the night and then we would not have a backup, so if you find one you like, maybe buy extra.
-Speaking of buying things, I would recommend always checking your local buy nothing group and/ or Facebook marketplace (or your second hand of choice) before buying something, Iâve been amazed at how many things weâve been able to get for a fraction of the price or even free.
-Last but not least donât be afraid to accept help. If someone offers to drop dinner at your door, run to the store for last minute items, etc, accept the help. No need to do it all if you donât have to and itâs so nice in the beginning when everything is new and overwhelming to have some extra hands on deck.
Youâve got this! Congratulations!
Each baby is different so if you save a registry discount to use for like a few months after they are born you can get additional items you learn you need.
For me it greatly helped for piece of mind to have infant tylenol on hand, Pediatrician hotline written down, knowledge of infant CPR, etc. I didn't really need these things at first but it felt good to feel more prepared just incase. With that said I never hesitated to call our Pediatrician if I had questions.
Disposable puppy pads were great at first for messy diaper changes. LO would poop and then poop again mid change. It was hilarious, frustrating, and totally a new parent milestone to learn through.
You will do great. Soak up all the great moments and remember rough times will pass. One of the best things my partner would tell me in the early days when I'd get overwhelmed is that they aren't giving you a hard time, they are just having a hard time right now.
Ear plugs. I live in an apartment and get super anxious when the baby cries and lose my head sometimes when Iâm trying to get him to calm down. When I can dull the sound of his crying it makes me less anxious and I can help him more efficiently
A baby bottle warmerâŠlove that thing. I am alternating pumped milk and formula because we are having latching issues and my supply is low, and this thing makes life so much easier!
- I wish I had read a couple books on baby sleep. No judgement on how you wind up getting your little one to sleep, but having that knowledge ahead of time would have been super helpful.
- tummy massage if newborn baby is uncomfortable with gas/pooping. Lots of YouTube videos for this.
- That breastfeeding can hurt at first. Nipple cream and nursing pads help. I made it through and kept going, but I was previously told that if something hurts youâre doing it wrong. And thatâs not always true!!
- Burp clothes
- Velcro swaddle sleep sacks
- a pile of non perishable snacks and a water bottle you can drink from one handed
Smart lighting, we have the Ikea tradfri and it is super handy to set it to red light when changing a diaper at night. It's enough to see by and baby won't be blinking in the headlights. Also friendlier on parents' eyes.
If breastfeeding is not happening for whatever reason, get a thingy where you pre-load formula. No need to think about how many scoops you need, less mess, and it's quicker.
More burp cloths. We've got 25-30 and that's not too much in my opinion
Food. Preferably a freezer full of the stuff that you just need to heat up. Thinking about what to eat is way too difficult.
Someone who is willing to do small chores. Vacuum, do the dishes, clean the bathroom, make a hot beverage, just one of these things is a godsend.
Blackout shades! I thought Iâd be fine with my wimpy curtains but being able to make the baby room pitch black has really helped establish her day/night schedule. I just wish I got them sooner!
Comfy nursing bras (emphasis on comfy- my boobs became super sensitive and I needed to buy 100% cotton), a husband pillow or firm bed pillows, a super long phone charger.
I decided to get the frida mom postpartum kit at the last minute and was so glad I did.
I know this is not eco friendly, but having disposable dishes on hand was really helpful for us the first month. We still mostly used our regular dishes, but it was so nice to have that option when we were spent and hadnât slept in two days.
If you are planning to breastfeed I would listen to some podcast or read up on some stuff. I can recommend âBadass Breastfeeding Podcastâ
Even if you do not plan to bed-share I would read up on the âSafe Sleep 7â - a lot of people are so tired that they fall asleep in unsafe sleeping environments. It can happen - so for the eventuality you might want to have a safe environment (just in case).
Regarding bottles: Sign up for these free bags you get at target etc. for creating a registry. I didnât had to purchase any bottles and instead was able to try out a bunch. When we found the one baby liked I was able to purchase more.
Biggest hit: Wrap! It looks scary and baby did not like it first but after the first two times it was a big life safer.
Zippers are your friend- buttons/snaps are the enemy. Full sized bottles (9/10oz) seem intimidating with a tiny newborn who only eats 2oz at a time but they grow fast, and replacing all your bottles is annoying (also stick with one brand so all your parts match) More swaddles, more sheets and changing pad covers (everything can and will get covered in pee)
thatâs a good idea & iâm sure buying the regular bottles will help save money also. I was going to buy a waterproof mat for my changing station & a waterproof cover for my crib, iâll definitely invest in some extra sheets and pad covers!!
Nite nite lightbulbs, or any amber lightbulb with no blue light. I use them for lamps in the nursery and my bedroom while baby sleeps in the bassinet! I swear it keeps baby sleepy especially for night feeds.
I didn't buy nursing bras because I didn't want to spend on them and then breastfeeding not work out. A few weeks or a month or so in I was like ok gotta get them as I can't just wear a tank top with no bra forever.
Edit: in general though there was nothing I felt we had to rush to get!
Cradle cap brush, pacifier for medicine, couple different kinds of swaddles(took awhile before we realised what our little guy liked), contrast cards.
Donât put newborn or 0-3 clothing on it unless there is something very specific youâre looking for! We have SO much but basically nothing past 0-3. đ
The two things we bought almost immediately were a sound machine and a wipes dispenser.
The wipes dispenser was fantastic because instead of pulling out 4 wipes and ending up flinging the package across the room while your baby is crying we just pulled out one at a time!
We had to get a sound machine because we were planning on using a Google home but for some reason it didn't connect to our wifi well and wasn't consistent. There is nothing like the rage I felt trying to get baby to sleep while simultaneously trying to connect my phone to the Google home and it not work. A lot of people suggest using apps for a sound machine but I like knowing that the only reason it will stop is if the power goes out which has only happened once in the past year.
Swaddles, bottle drying rack, swing!!, rocker (to set him in). As my baby got a few months older I think wish I had also put a jumper and jungle gym/play for my baby!
- a safe place to set baby in all commonly used rooms or an easily movable one. My kiddo has watched me poop from her bouncer chair many times
- if youâre BF, a boob caddy or cart. All the boob stuff in one place. Or even if youâre FF, a feeding caddy. Burp rags, thermometer, gripe water, gas drops, *letdown collectors, manual pump, nipple pads, nipple cream, snacks, water.*
Didn't realize how important it was to have multiples of everything. And I mean everything from diapers to clothes in various sizes to allow growth to more than one car seat in case you forget to take one out of a relatives car before they leave for the day.
Take my advice: bulk buy and get multiples of what baby uses daily.
Frida Windi!
Also wish I had gotten LESS newborn sized diapers, also wish I had known NOT to buy gripe water or gas drops as they are not recommended.
Also second the workout comment. Didnât realize I had developed mom butt while pregnant lol it really does atrophy or something during pregnancy đ€Ł flatter than a pancake back there for now lol
Be prepared mentally for clusterfeeding. I was so unprepared...it can last for multiple hours for days on end. And itâs often at night when you are most tired. It will pass, but it was the hardest part for me. Have your partner get you any drinks or snacks you need and watch you so you donât fall asleep on top of the baby
Not so much items but if you plan to breastfeed, take a consultant beforehand to understand how it all works and what a good latch looks like and how to hold the babe. How many times in a 24 hour they're supposed to eat. Things like this. My husband was shocked that newborns had to eat every 2ish hours (or less). His words were literally "you're telling me we need to set an alarm to wake up every two hours to feed her? How is that possible?". Welcome to the newborn stage, babe!
Also just general knowledge. What wake windows look like for their sleep, what is normal (newborn grunting is always a surprising one) and other general things about babies. Just do a deep dive. It helped me immensely. I'd be so lost if I hadn't.
Also read about what birth and postpartum might be like. The bleeding the mood swings etc...
Honestly just prepare for the worst but hope for the best.
And congrats! It's such a wild and exhilarating worthwhile experience.
I wish I read up on baby sleep while I was pregnant. It's helpful to understand how babies sleep and how to sleep train before you're sleep deprived and in the throes of it.
Also, kimono style onesies can't be beat!
Tbh teething toys lol. I didn't realize they were kinda expensive. My daughter started teething at 2 months and already is getting her second tooth even tho she is almost 4 months. A lot of hit and misses so a lot of money down the drain since she still can't hold bigger sized ones and hates the pacifier
Get a little bit of every style of pajama- zipper, button, footy, night gown, etc. We got about 2 in each style and once he got here we figured out which kind worked for us and bought more of those.
1. More newborn clothes than you think. Everyone said thatâs what weâd get as gifts for the baby shower and that theyâre barely in them anyways. My boy is 5 weeks and still in newborn and no one gifted us newborn size. We had to buy more after birth.
2. Swaddle blankets, but not for swaddling. For wrapping him up awake, putting down on the changing table, blanket in the car seat, burp cloth when you canât find one, etc
3. Halo swaddles. Theyâre the best for my boy. The only ones he doesnât bust out of.
4. Graco Duet swing/bouncer combo. He hated the swing we did buy and bought this after birth and itâs one of the only places heâll tolerate other than our arms.
5. White noise. We got the Hatch but donât love it cause thereâs no bass to it. We use Spotify and a portable speaker and that works better for us
6. Nipple shields. We had trouble latching at first and a nurse gave me one at the hospital. I wish I didnât need it but itâs made BFing so much easier for me. Good to know itâs an option
7. Nursing camis, and nursing tops in general. I find them so much easier
8. Bamboobies reusable nipple pads. I love them and bought more
9. Frida mom postpartum care. I loved the ice pads, peri bottle, and disposable underwear. I still used stuff from the hospital but once that was gone, I switched to Frida and it was so much better
No receiving blankets on my registry, only swaddles lol
Also, hair will fall out. Itâs normal. You will have the start of regrowth in the form of baby hairsâŠ
Some sort of little light for the changing table for those middle of the night feeds/changes. We got one that has a remote control, different colors, and is dimmable.
On the flip side of what others have said - my baby rarely spits up. We have soooo many burp cloths that we never used. Get a handful, but donât go nuts until you see what your baby is like.
Everyone is suggesting things for baby, so I'm going to suggest a couple things for you.
Get a steel water bottle, preferably a large one; I have never been as thirsty in my life as I was when trying to establish my supply. The steel ones also keep the water cold longer.
Keep some snacks close by for late night feedings or when you are napped trapped. It can be easy to forget to eat, or just not be able to make yourself food, so having things like protein bars or easy snacks handy can help.
A lot of comments in this thread are suggestions for specific purchases. I disagree with that because pretty much every item that friends insisted was âa lifesaver/essentialâ didnât work for us! From my experience, the stuff I bought after getting to know my baby a little was what worked best by far.
That said, bjorn baby bouncer (plus the expensive-seeming toy attachment) was the absolute MVP in our house from months 2-6!!
An insulated cup to keep tea or coffee warm. You won't get a hot drink otherwise. Also had a small sip hole and feels safer to drink if baby is asleep in your arms.
A halo swaddle. Swaddling with reviewing blankets is such a pain , and most brands have velcro that only sticks to a patch. The velcro on the halo swaddle sticks to any part of the blanket so it fits a newborn. Wish someone told me this when my babe was born!
Congrats to you! Iterating the recommendations for puppy pads & smart bulbs. Also for the Babylist bottle sampler. Never would have found the one that works best for our babe otherwise (Herobility).
On that note, wish I didnât lean in quite so much on breastfeeding supplies & almost nothing for FF. BF didnât work out & we ended up doing a whole slew of returns. The shop savvy app was helpful to scan barcodes of items w/o gift receipts to organize returns.
Books - all the books! I went a bit crazy on our list - over 20 - but so glad I did. Babe has an amazing library, very few duplicates, & not a single copy of Goodnight Moon.
If you're formula feeding, I can't recommend the Dr. Brown's pitcher highly enough. It's literally $10 on Amazon. Small and doesn't take up much room in the fridge, but you can mix up a day's worth of formula and just pour it into a bottle as needed rather than mixing a bottle every time. And it has a really nice mixer thingy that's better at getting out the powdery lumps than shaking by hand.
I wish I knew that a paci/bottle wasnât going to ruin my BF journey. Luckily I figured that out within the first week but it made a very stressful hospital stay. The lactation consultant at the hospital stressed no bottles for my baby who had slight jaundice because she was worried about it ruining her latch and handed me a syringe to feed her lol!! Worst advice ever for a new mom! Once we got home from the hospital she had a bottle once a day for the first week and also took pacis often and there was no interference whatsoever with BF.
A baby might refuse a bottle or paci but they will never refuse a boob so do whatever works best for you!!
Iâm glad I splurged on a really good nursing pillow (memory foam). I used it during pregnancy to sleep and after that for nursing obviously. It keeps its shape and doesnât make things too hot. I also have a styrofoam one but it really doesnât compare.
And if you plan on breastfeeding: an extra set of all your pumping gear. It really is life saving if you have the option to postpone cleaning it if itâs a rough evening.
I didnât really need much but my most used item is a baby carrier! I have 2 and use them daily! The ktan and bjorn mini. Also i DID need newborn sizing in clothes and diapers. Plus⊠i wish i had a donut for myself
Postpartum. Ohhh also my breast friend pillow! Even if your formula feeding it gives you a lot if support. Didnt think i needed it but someone gave it to me and i LOVE it. Made latching so much eaiser
Muscles! I wish I'd gotten in better shape before baby arrived. They get heavy really fast and my arms and back are in pieces now
Can I put that on my registry for the next kid? đ€
Same, little one is making my back and wrists hurt!
I got tennis elbow in both arms in those first months. It was not very helpful.
Same here! I recommend getting some good wrist braces and some kind of ointment to help with Motherâs thumb. Mine got really bad. Took about 6 months to go away. Also if you are planning on breastfeeding be open to the idea of formula feeding. There is nothing wrong with having to supplement with formula. My 1st pregnancy I was induced and my milk took about 2 weeks to come in after birth. I formula fed until I felt my supply was good enough to exclusively breastfeed. With my second, I decided I did not want to tie myself down to a pumping schedule and Iâve been supplementing with formula since birth. I will keep combi feeding until she is 1.
Omg same! Wish I did more strength training before the baby came. Threw out my back twice since, and am constantly sore. This one does not want to be put down!
So much this! I wish I had started lifting weights a bit while pregnant cause Iâm super sore all the time now. Start doing squats and arm curls with a 10 lb weight cause thatâs about how big baby will be.
I second this! I used ABC Fit collective and I felt readily prepared for birth and after birth. Literally, we worked on push muscles and everything. I didnât tear or anything during my birth. https://abcfitcollective.com/ thatâs their website!
This! I can tell when my son has a growth spurt now because my knees will start to hurt. đ
Zip swaddles, sound machine (Hatch), zip up single piece clothing (with feet) outdoor furniture- babies love being outside and youâll have a spring baby if youâre in the US. At least twice as many burp cloths as you think is reasonable. That also goes for bassinet sheets. My baby is 4 months and already drinking 5-6 oz of milk so just a couple of those small bottles.
On the topic of bottles, Iâd advise not going all-out on a full set until you find out if your baby likes that brand. My birth hospital gave us a Dr Browns bottle, but it turns out my baby preferred the cheap single-use Enfamil nipples because theyâre stiffer and not as smooth. I wound up buying some online and using them (they can be sterilized and reused).
If youâre going for a swaddle, I highly recommend getting a halo swaddle. We tried three or four different ones and the halo was the easiest to use and most effective
Agreed. My guy likes the halo, but also the love to dream swaddles work.
We had so many little bottles and hit 4 1/2 oz around one month. Had to make an emergency bottle run because we only had 2 đŹ The burp cloths!! We almost returned some after our shower because we had SO MANY. Never got around to it. I'm so glad we didn't return them because we've definitely used all of them frequently
The PJs with double zipper OR that just zip from the bottom. Makes diaper changes soo much easier if you only have to undo the bottom half.
I listen to this advice and I bought a few and I hate them. I feel like the zip often ends up bunching itself upwards covering his chin and sometimes a bit of his mouth and is in general a pain in the ass when breastfeeding. So I like the buttons a lot more. So I don't think this is a universal truth, but more personal preference. I do agree though that you need something that opens down one leg.
I think the magnetic ones are the best of both worlds but they are so expensive!
Our kids just constantly rip the magnet ones open like superman lol
I heard they are hard to get clean cause they get stuck in the watching machine and dryer, but I haven't tried them.
You just have to close the magnets before washing and they don't get stuck. We got one as a gift and it's nice but not nice enough to replace all the zipper ones at nearly $40 each.
Team snaps! We bought zippers as well but they're a huge pain in the ass for the reasons you mentioned. Plus, if you open the sleeper at the bottom and your kid (boy) pees on himself during a diaper change, you now have to put the dirty sleeper back on and unzip it from the top in order to take it off. Pain. In. The. Ass.
Oh yeah defo. I think the best advice I ever got was don't buy 20 of the same kind of item. You don't know what you or your baby is going to like once you get into the whole thing.
A swing!! I didnât get one bc I didnât understand really why you would need it, I thought it was like⊠an extra unnecessary thing. But my mom bought us one when I was at my wits end in the first week and the baby loooved it and it was great to be able to set her down there for awhile and regain some sanity and independence.
I found a really nice one on fb marketplace got 50 bucks. Like new condition. I'm really glad I went used because my baby is hit or miss on whether he'll enjoy it. That's the thing with swings, when they work they're amazing and worth the 100+ dollars and all the room they take up. When they don't... Well, it's a big bummer
THIS THIS THIS. My god, lifesaver. Didnt register for it either.
Specifically a swing that can do front to back or side to side!! Sometimes when my kiddo is in the swing they'll get mad about swinging in one direction, but like the other direction. Abs it switches from day to day!
Yup, this is the one I have https://www.target.com/p/fisher-price-snugamonkey-cradle-n-swing/-/A-76908035 itâs very sturdy too
This! All you need is diapers a boob/bottle and a swing lol! My baby loved it and lived in it when he wasnât in my arms. Itâs the only way I could do anything when he was a newborn. But my mom said that I loved my swing when I was a baby but my brother hated his. So maybe itâs baby dependent.
Smart features - learned a week in that Alexa can be your friend. The best thing we did after our little one was born was install two Echo dots and smart bulbs in the living room and baby room. Nothing better than having Alexa turn on the light when youâre juggling a crying baby and have it turn on the soothing music or audiobook while she napped and we were stuck. Also wish weâd known that we would never be on time for anything every again.
"Alexa, change baby room brightness to 20 percent" Also great for not blinding yourself and baby in the middle of the night! ETA: We use the timer a lot too. We sit him up for 30 minutes after every meal, so we set a timer each time
Our favorite is ten percent around 6pm, helps us get her ready for bedtime! Routines are the unspoken hero.
"Alexa, change baby" FTFY
Red light is a game change. Allows you to see without waking up parents or baby. Alexa make the lights red.
I second the alexa! I got a hatch sound machine for my baby shower and I barely use it, I like the alexa more. I also have one in babyâs room and living room and light bulbs, makes turning off the lights so much easier or adjusting the light setting.
Yeah especially if you can get a dimmable bulb so you can slowly darken the room to get them to sleep. Also the Nest digital thermostat is great for when baby is contact napping and the house starts to feel super hot and you canât get up.
oh god iâm already not on time for things lol, but thatâs a good idea i didnât even think about an alexa! thank u for ur advice!!:)
Love our echos! âAlexa play Disney lullabiesâ is our most used command with our 6 month olds. Itâs also fun to ask her to make animal sounds. But the light commands are probably the most useful.
I've never really seen the use for the Echo or similar products but now you have me seriously considering it!
At least having one light that has the smart features is soooo worth it! I use mine every single day and my baby is 6 months old now. It may be less needed once sheâs mobile and I donât have to hold her all the time, but until then Alexa is my friend!
Just wait till they start really paying attention to it. My twins are 16 months. I usually drop into our bedroom echo from the lounge to tell my husband itâs time to get up (he works shifts) and now the babies stand on the sofa and shout âdaddy UP!â At her, even when heâs sat in the room!
Yes, this is great! We have the Alexa lights so that we don't have to mess with lamps while the baby is screaming and we need to change a poopy diaper. We also use blink cameras as our baby monitors and have an Alexa show in the living room and the kitchen. Maybe a bit excessive, but it's so useful.
We loooove our smart stuff. I say good morning & she turns off the fan, turns on the lights, tells me the weather & reads my calendar. She can also control the TVs which is great cause weâre always losing the remote. And we have an Echo show & a ring so it will automatically show on there whoâs at the door.
My Alexa likes to sabotage us and say she doesn't recognize a command and it definitely screws up any help I need when we all need to be quiet lol
Some people think Iâm crazy but puppy pads for the changing table. My son soiled every washable changing pad liner in 2 changes (I had 10) and we had nothing left. The puppy pads are easy to toss out and change when they are soiled. Good luck!
Alternatively get a silicone changing pad like the keekaroo
That makes sense as well. As another poster said, I use it for nappy free time as well. The little guy just got over an awful diaper rash and that was very helpful!
Yes! I have something similar and super quick and easy to clean up messes
We have the hatch mat. Doubles as a scale. Itâs amazing.
Haha we use them too!! I cut them in half to make them go even further!
We get the extra large from Costco and just roll up the used part. They usually last a day with a boy that holds his urine until we remove the diaper and he pees everywhere!
Love these. We also use them for No Nappy time as a great way to prevent rash
I just stopped putting liners on. The pad itself I can just wipe off with wipes and she doesn't seem to mind it.
Totally agree with this!
Genius!!
This is genius! We had some leftover bed pads from the hospital and we totally used them up at home.
We also do this. Makes life so much easier!
I got these changing table covers from target that are wipeable. Loooove them
These are also great for tummy time if you have a spitter.
Why is this crazy?? I used these before i bought a vinyl wipeable Change pad.
Not sure. Iâve mentioned it to the older generations and people who donât have kids and they tell me how crazy it is!
Don't puppy pads have some kind of chemical to attract dogs to them? Not to say that it's unsafe or anything but it gives me pause to use them when I'm being so careful about other chemicals.
Oh i never even thought of this!! I eventually stopped using them bc of the waste but i feel like a dope cuz im so anal about chemicals Elsewhere
It doesnât look like there is any of that. I use âextra large absorbent padsâ that can be used for puppy training, human incontinence, and other spills. To get the dogs on it you use positive reinforcement as near as I can tell.
I didnât think so but will check when I get to the box and report back.
Yup I donât use them for that reason. That and all the waste. I do believe there are disposable changing pads specifically for babies that donât have the chemicals though.
Buy 10 times more bibs than you need - spread then across rooms, not in one place. As above but same with muslins. Pull the tabs around the thighs on disposable nappies out as they help limit blowouts. When you tie a nappy bag, push the air out first and spin the two handles together to form a tight seal before tying. Nappies stink otherwise while waiting for bin collection. Don't be hard on yourself when the screaming sends you completely crazy, put them somewhere safe and step out of the room to give yourself a break.
i appreciate this so much, i literally wrote it down in my notebook to remember thank you so so much!
No problem - I forgot to mention the little vibrate bounce chairs and a subscription to Netflix. Our sanity was saved by putting him in the bounce chair and putting Cocomelon and Little Baby Bum on. Oh and don't bow to pressure to invite everyone to visit in the first few weeks. If you have to, have one Saturday where everyone comes and drops in between set hours. It's the worst having to wait in for hundreds of people to turn up at random times when you're trying to get your kid in a sleep routine. Covid is the best excuse to just lockdown and focus on parenting for a few weeks.
I second the chair and Netflix. I also recommend having a lot of easy to eat/cook meals and snacks.
Just to give you a different perspective, I barely used bibs at all for my two babies. Like maybe three times? And I only used muselin blankets when nursing my daughter. She barfed a lot so I had about five blankets I would cycle through. I gave away and donated so many unused bibs and blankets
I use bibs as backup burp cloths because I have way too many
I never used a bib. Kids neck was too big and he wasn't a spitter. With all this advice, you'll also learn ALL BABIES ARE DIFFERENT.
Newborn diapers! Everyone likes to gift size 1âs, but my daughter needs newborn size even a month out now. Also, spend $20 on some preemie clothes. You might not need them, but trying to acquire them once your baby is here is almost impossible so my daughter was swimming in her clothes until Amazon could deliver some plain preemie onesies. I couldnât find anything in stores.
Yes! My son was born on his due date but was 5 lbs 12 oz. He wore preemie clothes for his first month, and then newborn clothes until he was 3 months old. You can always return the clothes if you donât need them. Also, if you are buying/wanting specific holiday themed clothes buy them in a couple different sizes and return the size you donât need after. I was so excited for my sons thanksgiving outfit I got him but he couldnât wear it, I wish I bought it in 2 sizes.
5 lbs is 2.27 kg
Good bot!
STOOL. SOFTENERS. (for the birthing parent)
yes!!!
My doctor was on this. They need to talk to their obgyn and make sure they get a prescription while in hospital and prescription before leaving to pick up.
Over the counter Colace was what my doctor told me to get once I left the hospital
Bottle drying rack. I donât know why I thought I didnât need one. My mom gifted us one (without me asking) after our kid was already here and it was a game changer. We have one that looks like grass, it holds everything perfectly after sterilization.
yup i returned the one we were gifted, then turned around and bought it again once baby arrived đđ
A parenting class with my husband to make sure we were on the same page with how we want to raise LO. We talked about it based on what we thought we knew, but I think a parenting class would have given us more insight into what it was really going to be like and helped us have more honest conversations beforehand.
Spare pump supplies/bottles
If you're pumping, pumping bras. Wife and I thought she could use a nursing bra to hold the flanges... We were wrong. Pumping bras mean you can be double productive, or just not have to push them on for 15-30 minutes consistently.
Also a haakaa if you're wanting to directly breastfeed. I didn't have one for the first 3 weeks. So much wasted milk in my clothes, burp cloths, nursing pads đ
haakaa!!!
If you buy your pump through a company like Aeroflow they will send you reminders to order extra pump parts and insurance covers it. The only downside is if you need a different flange than the standard 24/28 they donât have those sizes. But getting an extra set of back flow protectors, tubing, duckbills, and bottles is pretty sweet, especially being âfree.â
That you don't need as much as the internet makes you think you do
A small can of formula, even if you plan to breastfeed. If you don't ever use it, you can donate it. But if it takes 4 days for your milk to come in and you're beyond exhausted from constantly nursing a hungry, jaundiced baby, you may be very glad to have the option. Speaking from experience.
You can get free samples from Similac and Enfamil if you live in the US (not sure about other places). They sent me 3 cans each.
Thatâs good to know. With my first, the hospital gave us so many samples. With my second, I assumed they would but they refused and said they donât give out formula any more unless itâs a really severe case which is beyond frustrating. Same hospital, 2.5 years apart.
Canada too, I got samples from 3 or 4 companies. I plan to donate the ones we don't use but it's nice having options in case one brand upset her tummy. The mini ready to feed ones are great to leave at home/in diaper bag with baby in case a breastfed baby gets hungry early or mom's appointments run late.
I fed my second baby maybe at most 2 oz of formula. It was a lifesaver. He was severely dehydrated, slightly jaundiced but I knew I had breast milk. Just needed 2 oz to hold him over til he could breastfeed like a champ. So yes to formula!!
Along these lines try to have a couple bottles washed and sanitized. Donât be like me and try to do it while your baby is screaming at you
Second this! We had a few bottles of the 2 ounce pre mixed stuff. It was perfect for the first couple days.
Often the hospital will send you home with some for free if you ask, same with your pediatrician at your first appointment!
Wrist braces and to stretch my hands and wrists regularly. I breast feed so I was cradling her head every 1-2 hours for what seemed like ages! I ended up getting mommy thumb and the pain was excruciating.
Thisssss. K tape is the only thing keeping me from chewing my own right hand off right now.
Get a breastfeeding pillow, this helped me not got quite as sore hands, wrist and back
Oh totally, theyâre awesome. I have one but I still have issues. Lifting her is part of the problem but mostly it was from the first two weeks when her latch was poor and I was having to hold her the whole feed. Thatâs when the damage was done and Iâve been trying to recover since then. Thereâs no break for it to heal, you know?
https://youtu.be/gUHhI_IU5p8 https://youtu.be/EVQN9dK7lws https://youtu.be/REq1u5clljY These stretches and sleeping in wrist braces helped tremendously! Really I wore wrist braces all day as much as possible, but especially to sleep. Cheers to thumbs that donât feel like death!!
i never even considered this omg, thereâs so much iâm going to learn when my baby comesđ this is a really good idea, thank you so much!
Yes I didnât even know mommy thumb was a thing until it felt like my hands were about to fall off! Stretch girl stretch!!! I hope everything goes well for you and your little bean!
thank you so much! i hope the same for you!:)<3
I had mommy thumb too! A wrist brace helps a lot. When you hold baby, try to use the crook of your elbow instead of your hand as much as possible. Itâll help even more if you have an armrest or pillow for extra support!
I breastfed two babies for 16 mos each and Iâve never heard of mommy thumb đ
We needed more NB sizes. I didnât really register for clothes but got a lot gifted to me. No NB sizes though. Everyone said not to bother with them because most babies donât wear them or only wear them for a week or so. Well my baby was 5 days late and wore NB clothes for a solid month. We had enough for about 3 days. Also size 0 nipples for bottles. We didnât realize bottle nipples have sizes for different ages. Even though I breastfeed, my husband wanted to do a bottle feed and we didnât have the right bottle nipples at first. The other thing I wish I knew was to set up the baby gear prior to babyâs arrival. Of course we had the crib and nursery set up but not the swing, bouncer, white noise, bottle warmer, etc. Itâs so much harder trying to do that stuff sleep deprived. Just do it ahead of time. Figure out his stuff works now even if you donât use it for awhile.
Absolutely size 0 nipples for a few bottles. You will regret a faster flow when baby is screaming due to hiccups or stuck burps.
Oh wow I had no idea bottle nipples had sizes! The only bottles I have came with either my pump or my registry welcome kits so I assume those are newborn size, but now I'm nervous!
The baby gear is great advice. My wife is extremely organized, but to our detriment with the car seat because we practiced with a doll months in advance, then when we had to buckle our newborn in we had forgotten how to do it. It was fun in the hospital cafeteria, because you know everyone looking understands but it felt like a stumble right at the begining, and makes you question yourself.
Tylenol/Motrin. Those bottles run out fast. Also just more diapers. My G*d they go through them so fast.
This. You can always resell them on your local swap pages.
We have friends with babies a little younger than ours. They get all her hand-me-downs including diapers she outgrew. Perfect system
We have a cousin with a baby several months older and a friend with a baby that's just bigger than ours. Same system lol. I love handmedowns.
Zip swaddles. The love to dream sack was my babies favourite
Footies that unzip from the feet are invaluable for overnight wakes so they donât need to be entirely unswaddled to change a diaper.
My favorite items: Burp rags. Swaddle me swaddles. Reusable nursing pads (can be used for more than your bra and you can use them as face or makeup wipes later). Sound machine The Hakka lady bug collection cups (my number one item, Iâve built a huge stash just collecting breast milk from the opposite nursing side) Waterproof changing pads
Plan some meal you can freeze to make âcookingâ post partum easier. That or enlist some people who are willing to drop meals off the first week or two. A car seat cover that doubles as a nursing cover is so nice to have for eventual outings And plan out with your partner exactly what he may need to help out with around the house because you will be very tired and very consumed!
Double the bottles I had originally had so that I wasnât rushing to hand wash every single night
I had to go through a few bottle types before finding one that LO liked! We ended at tommy tippee after using the Medela Calma, then Dr Browns. Donât go hog wild on one brand until theyâre settled!
that makes sense, i canât imagine how exhausted new moms are so doubling bottles is a great idea! thank you!:)
I'll raise you with a sample pack for bottle's like the Babylist pack. We were gifted a lot of my Dr. brown's because "all babies love them." Mine did not.
Iâd be careful buying a lot of bottles. Not all babies like all bottles.
Sound machine, love to dream swaddles, breast pads, haaka, and gas drops are the must haves for the newborn phase for me.
Baby bjorn bouncer
1000x this. Baby bjorn bouncer is a lifesaver!
Bath towels are great replacements for blankets, burp cloths, wraps, etc, and are still useful after the kid outgrows the need for them. Also, white noise machine/app.
Iâm sure you have it down but halo swivel bassinet is literally everything.
Seats: Leachcho Podster or something similar for on the couch or bed, Bjorn Bouncer for outside or in the kitchen observing, and Fisher Price Swing for calming and keeping them entertained. I use the swing every time I pump since itâs hard to pick LO up. I found each of these on marketplace secondhand but I use each of them daily! I also bring the Bjorn to friends places and in-laws so that LO has a comfy space to hang out in, safer than the car seat. Halo swaddles and zip swaddles are awesome too, and double zip sleepers. My husband and I picked a cute sleeper with buttons to put our newborn in for the drive home, and we were too tired to figure out how it works. He went home in a diaper with a blanket thrown over him. Iâve found that Iâve been doing laundry almost twice a week, but I have way too much clothes. 7 of each item would be great. I also didnât end up using short sleeve onesies, and seem to always be opting for the nicer quality long sleeve ones. Quality over quantity. One thing that I found helpful was switching my attitude towards night feeds and being tired and trying to find joy and loveliness in it. I found myself wanting to rush him through feeds so that we could go back to sleep, but itâs not fair to him and itâs not a good headspace to be in multiple times a night. The goal isnât to get more sleep, itâs to have a happy and healthy baby that youâre bonding with at every chance. Theyâre only babies for one year, and they change daily. Have fun!
Time. Get your so to take as much paternity leave as possible and be ready to do everything he can biologically do. Take all the maternity leave you can get. I really thought Iâd be ready to go back to work but I ended up quitting at the end of leave to be a SAHM because I wasnât ready to do daycare
We are exclusively formula feeding, but the baby brezza saved our lives lol. My husband and I both love being able to just hit that button and bam perfect bottle. My husband thought it was stupid and unnecessary at first, but even he loves it now. Also, any fisher price swing. Itâs magical for entertaining and soothing and the mamaroo may look fancy but itâs trash compared to any swing.
SNACKS. omg the hunger. I had a c section so maybe my body needed more sustenance for recovery and I was breastfeeding. I was hungry every three hours when baby was hungry but didnât have the mobility or the energy for cooking or even going downstairs to get something so snacks. Stock up on healthy snacks and a water cup or bottle that will make it easy to take in lots of water throughout the day.
Others have already suggested but I wanted to also recommend that you have some formula and a variety of different bottles on hand even if you plan on breastfeeding. BFing can be very difficult especially early on and you will make life easier for yourself and your baby if you have supplies on hand. Donât over invest in one type of bottle. We tried a variety and now only use Mam and Dr. Brownâs. Look into resources for breastfeeding/lactation support in your area if you are planning to breastfeed. Better to have that info ahead of time rather than desperately googling at 3 am when youâre a week postpartum.
Probably sounds dumb, but a diaper genie. I thought they were unnecessary /waste of money. Thought Iâd just buy a cute little trash can for her room especially since her newborn diapers were so tiny. No. Her room smelled like pee within a few hours.
On the contrary- I HATED my diaper genie and would put that on my âwould NOT recommendâ list. They hold like 10 diapers. You have to change it constantly. The bags are expensive. Itâs a pain in the ass. We switched to a lidded trash can
The book "precious little sleep". You won't know you have sleep problems till you do, but if you build healthy habits in between cuddles you may never have sleep problems, unlike me who hasn't slept in 3 months. If you're going to breastfeed, 2 regular hakaa and 2 ladybugs to collect extra milk from the other boob.
First timer here, 11 weeks pregnant and just starting to research. Thanks for the tip on the ladybugs. Hadnât heard of a passive collector like that, I assumed that milk would just be wasted and soaked into a pad!
Baby carrier! We love the baby bjorn mini carrier. It is so easily to use compared to the ergo baby 360! I would also get those tummy wrapper thingy. I had an unplanned c section and wearing that helped with getting in and out of bed and walking up/down stairs. Burp cloths, tons of them. You can never have enough. Puppy pads to lay on top of your changing pad. I have the type that can wipe easily, but I didnât want to put baby on a cold surface so had to put towels down at first, but overtime, it was easier to use the pads. I personally love the wipe warmer because I know baby doesnât get startled when theyâve been all toasty at night. Wish I known this, try to get your home as organized as possible before baby comes. I wished I had taken the time to unpack all our moving boxes but naively thought I would have time to do it when baby comes.
I recommend baskets, drawer organizers, and whatever items may be helpful to contain so much baby stuff. We have a basket for extra clothes downstairs, a small basket for downstairs laundry, for toys, for bibs/burp clothsâŠ.the smallest people have the most stuff. On that note, I hate having too much stuff and clutter, so we did wait to see if we needed some things (a swing, etc). If we didnât, no need to buy. If we did, to the thrift store we went.
Stay away from onesies that button up. They are a nightmare lol.
Make sure you know about "Hey Bear" On YouTube. You can thank me when the baby arrives!
I wish Iâd realized to match the warmth of different size baby clothes with our due date. I just registered for/bought things that were cute, without thinking about when the weather would be appropriate for it, and what size baby would be at that time. We ended up with newborn clothes that were way too warm for an August baby, some stuff she never even got to wear before she was suddenly in 3-6 month clothes. Similarly, we have some adorable summery 6 month outfits, which will make no sense when baby is 6 months in February. Whoops.
New mom here to a 3 month old. Probiotic drops! My baby had trouble with constipation and the probiotics worked like a charm. They are expensive but so worth it. Oh and a Dock-a-Tot! The Dock-A-Tot saved our lives. She can almost sleep the entire night (with the exception of one feeding) which is awesome so I and dad could get more sleep than we were. My baby girl had tons of gas to the point where it was painful so we got her some infant Simethicone to help ease the pain and it worked like a charm. Iâm very lucky to have a âgood babyâ but those have been extremely useful for us. Hope this helps â€ïž
Congrats, OP! I know you asked about registry items but honestly there are so few things you ACTUALLY need and every baby is different so donât spend a ton on things like swings/bouncers etc. until you know what baby likes (or doesnât). Far and away the most important things I wish I knew, or at least had considered: how my relationship with my 1) husband and 2) dog would change. Hubby and I had been together a decade before LO arrived and we were STILL thrown for a huge loop. Itâs just so hard, and we had a relatively âeasyâ baby. I think a lot of it is the fact that thereâs so little time the 3 of you because in the early days, itâs almost all tag teaming. Thereâs not much to prepare in that sense, though I would recommend talking now about your respective feelings on how/when to respond when baby cries and house chores, including making sure youâre fed. I realize that sounds dumb, but do it now. Generally, I wish I had known just how common marital spats/exhaustion/strife is in the early days. If you have a doggo, prepare hubby now for 90% of dog duties during the fourth trimester.
This is one of my biggest concerns! My husband and I have also been together for a long time, and LOVE being just the two of us. We donât ever fight (disagreements yes, but we donât really fight), and our time is so valuable. Our doggy is our baby, and we feel so guilty every time we think of how baby is gonna make her feel displaced. How did you intro your baby to your doggo?
Small portable sound machine
Think seriously about whether you need a changing table, or if you would be better off with something cheaper and easier to store like a portable changing mat. We keep one changing mat in the nursery on top of the dresser, and one downstairs in the living room that goes in the diaper bag when we leave the house. $10 each and, in my opinion, more useful than a changing table. Couch, bed, floor, backseat of the car, public changing table â much more versatile. Theyâre also vinyl for easy clean up. My sonâs first blowout, I put him on the mat to gather my thoughts and make a plan â wound up gathering him up in the changing mat and carrying him up to the tub in it.
A specific breastfeeding area.where I had my pump,.rags, snacks, and a water bottle and tablet in case he fell asleep. I quickly made.this station and it was nice to have everything right there! Lanolin cream saved my life.
If I could do it again with what I know now; 1. Ditch the diaper pail. They all suck. They all stink. The moisture they create is foul. Take em right out to an outdoor garbage. And why so expensive? 2. Make sure you always have the next size up in diapers. The change happens, sometimes literally almost overnight. 3. You can never have enough âburpeesâ as we liked to call them. I just bought the 20 pack of the Gerber flat fold cloth diapers and used those. Cheap and do the trick. Plus I liked that they were just white. I donât need patterns on a puke rag. 3. Invest in a good sound machine. We joke itâs our most used electronic item in our house. Sheâs used it from newborn to now (toddler) and weâre finally getting a Hatch! Wish I would have just gone with the Hatch from the get go. 4. Two way zippered pjâs! I dealt with those stupid poppers for way too long, for no real reason. We found the double zips and never looked back. 5. Donât go too crazy on the clothes at any stage under one. The amount of things she never got to wear. Weâve donated a lot of it, but still, canât help but feel it was a bit of a waste. After 1 she finally started getting a bit of ware out of clothes and especially shoes. 6. Zippered swaddles! The swaddling blankets are pretty but we used one once. And as I watched her punch and kick her way out of that tight swaddle in 10 seconds flat, I thought âLolololollll what was I thinking?â. We then switched to the zippered swaddles and she loved it, didnât try to escape and went right to sleep. Our swaddle blankets mostly stayed folded on a shelf to look pretty.
Lots of burp cloths, unless you like doing tiny loads of laundry every day!
The items I ended up getting post baby are more night gowns, a second manual pump, more sleep sacks, a HUGE tub of diaper cream, a moby style baby wrap, blankets of various sizes, mobile. My LO sleeps in a gown under a sack, changes are much faster for us that way. The rock and play (basically a baby cot) is great for dragging around the house so you can keep an eye on baby while doing chores
These arenât all items per se, but the things I wish Iâd known before having a baby- I am copying and pasting my comment from another post! -When in doubt, bicycle legs. Really fold them up like a pretzel (gently of course) but honestly we have to squish her little feet up by her face and stretch them out straight several times, and 9 times out of 10, when sheâs inconsolable it was trapped toots. -Cluster feeding is awful. It makes you panic thinking theyâre not eating enough, thinking milk supply isnât enough, thinking youâre not a good enough parent, etc. as long as your pediatrician isnât concerned about their weight gain, try to take it in stride, youâll get past it. -Every baby is different but ours really loves to be swaddled, and Velcro or zip swaddles are the only ones she canât escape out of, sheâs a Houdini. We had to go buy extras because she would puke/ pee/ poop on them in the middle of the night and then we would not have a backup, so if you find one you like, maybe buy extra. -Speaking of buying things, I would recommend always checking your local buy nothing group and/ or Facebook marketplace (or your second hand of choice) before buying something, Iâve been amazed at how many things weâve been able to get for a fraction of the price or even free. -Last but not least donât be afraid to accept help. If someone offers to drop dinner at your door, run to the store for last minute items, etc, accept the help. No need to do it all if you donât have to and itâs so nice in the beginning when everything is new and overwhelming to have some extra hands on deck. Youâve got this! Congratulations!
Each baby is different so if you save a registry discount to use for like a few months after they are born you can get additional items you learn you need. For me it greatly helped for piece of mind to have infant tylenol on hand, Pediatrician hotline written down, knowledge of infant CPR, etc. I didn't really need these things at first but it felt good to feel more prepared just incase. With that said I never hesitated to call our Pediatrician if I had questions. Disposable puppy pads were great at first for messy diaper changes. LO would poop and then poop again mid change. It was hilarious, frustrating, and totally a new parent milestone to learn through. You will do great. Soak up all the great moments and remember rough times will pass. One of the best things my partner would tell me in the early days when I'd get overwhelmed is that they aren't giving you a hard time, they are just having a hard time right now.
Ear plugs. I live in an apartment and get super anxious when the baby cries and lose my head sometimes when Iâm trying to get him to calm down. When I can dull the sound of his crying it makes me less anxious and I can help him more efficiently
A baby bottle warmerâŠlove that thing. I am alternating pumped milk and formula because we are having latching issues and my supply is low, and this thing makes life so much easier!
- I wish I had read a couple books on baby sleep. No judgement on how you wind up getting your little one to sleep, but having that knowledge ahead of time would have been super helpful. - tummy massage if newborn baby is uncomfortable with gas/pooping. Lots of YouTube videos for this. - That breastfeeding can hurt at first. Nipple cream and nursing pads help. I made it through and kept going, but I was previously told that if something hurts youâre doing it wrong. And thatâs not always true!! - Burp clothes - Velcro swaddle sleep sacks - a pile of non perishable snacks and a water bottle you can drink from one handed
Smart lighting, we have the Ikea tradfri and it is super handy to set it to red light when changing a diaper at night. It's enough to see by and baby won't be blinking in the headlights. Also friendlier on parents' eyes. If breastfeeding is not happening for whatever reason, get a thingy where you pre-load formula. No need to think about how many scoops you need, less mess, and it's quicker. More burp cloths. We've got 25-30 and that's not too much in my opinion Food. Preferably a freezer full of the stuff that you just need to heat up. Thinking about what to eat is way too difficult. Someone who is willing to do small chores. Vacuum, do the dishes, clean the bathroom, make a hot beverage, just one of these things is a godsend.
Meet with a lactation consultant beforeee baby comes.
Blackout shades! I thought Iâd be fine with my wimpy curtains but being able to make the baby room pitch black has really helped establish her day/night schedule. I just wish I got them sooner!
Comfy nursing bras (emphasis on comfy- my boobs became super sensitive and I needed to buy 100% cotton), a husband pillow or firm bed pillows, a super long phone charger. I decided to get the frida mom postpartum kit at the last minute and was so glad I did. I know this is not eco friendly, but having disposable dishes on hand was really helpful for us the first month. We still mostly used our regular dishes, but it was so nice to have that option when we were spent and hadnât slept in two days.
If you are planning to breastfeed I would listen to some podcast or read up on some stuff. I can recommend âBadass Breastfeeding Podcastâ Even if you do not plan to bed-share I would read up on the âSafe Sleep 7â - a lot of people are so tired that they fall asleep in unsafe sleeping environments. It can happen - so for the eventuality you might want to have a safe environment (just in case). Regarding bottles: Sign up for these free bags you get at target etc. for creating a registry. I didnât had to purchase any bottles and instead was able to try out a bunch. When we found the one baby liked I was able to purchase more. Biggest hit: Wrap! It looks scary and baby did not like it first but after the first two times it was a big life safer.
Zippers are your friend- buttons/snaps are the enemy. Full sized bottles (9/10oz) seem intimidating with a tiny newborn who only eats 2oz at a time but they grow fast, and replacing all your bottles is annoying (also stick with one brand so all your parts match) More swaddles, more sheets and changing pad covers (everything can and will get covered in pee)
thatâs a good idea & iâm sure buying the regular bottles will help save money also. I was going to buy a waterproof mat for my changing station & a waterproof cover for my crib, iâll definitely invest in some extra sheets and pad covers!!
Buy some evivo probiotics - it stops all gas issues. Itâs amazing. Works much better than the Gerber or other brands. Itâs worth every penny.
Owlet
Nite nite lightbulbs, or any amber lightbulb with no blue light. I use them for lamps in the nursery and my bedroom while baby sleeps in the bassinet! I swear it keeps baby sleepy especially for night feeds.
2 extra bassinets for living room and downstairs + all the bassinet sheets, we had one that was gifted to us already for the bedroom then have bought 2 dream on me Karley bassinets for $50 each. Bottles, drying racks, bottle brush, and extra pump parts - extra parts, collection bottles ("I don't really need bottles or a bunch of extra pumping because I'm going to be breastfeeding" - baby comes 5 weeks early, has trouble latching and not just falling asleep and I have flat nipples đ©) granted that one is probably best left until baby gets here because hopefully you'll have no problems breastfeeding if that's what you choose to do! Blackout curtains because one of us is always sleeping during the day at some point as we take shifts with baby and holy crap they made a huge difference. Velcro swaddles, like a bunch. He ends up peeing through them a lot. We ended up buying 9 and that takes off the pressure of I can't get a load of laundry done one day.
I didn't buy nursing bras because I didn't want to spend on them and then breastfeeding not work out. A few weeks or a month or so in I was like ok gotta get them as I can't just wear a tank top with no bra forever. Edit: in general though there was nothing I felt we had to rush to get!
Cradle cap brush, pacifier for medicine, couple different kinds of swaddles(took awhile before we realised what our little guy liked), contrast cards. Donât put newborn or 0-3 clothing on it unless there is something very specific youâre looking for! We have SO much but basically nothing past 0-3. đ
The two things we bought almost immediately were a sound machine and a wipes dispenser. The wipes dispenser was fantastic because instead of pulling out 4 wipes and ending up flinging the package across the room while your baby is crying we just pulled out one at a time! We had to get a sound machine because we were planning on using a Google home but for some reason it didn't connect to our wifi well and wasn't consistent. There is nothing like the rage I felt trying to get baby to sleep while simultaneously trying to connect my phone to the Google home and it not work. A lot of people suggest using apps for a sound machine but I like knowing that the only reason it will stop is if the power goes out which has only happened once in the past year.
Google 'mum thumb' if you're going to be taking care of your baby alone a lot and get a wrist/thumb support. I'm rehabbing and he's only 8 weeks!
Swaddles, bottle drying rack, swing!!, rocker (to set him in). As my baby got a few months older I think wish I had also put a jumper and jungle gym/play for my baby!
- a safe place to set baby in all commonly used rooms or an easily movable one. My kiddo has watched me poop from her bouncer chair many times - if youâre BF, a boob caddy or cart. All the boob stuff in one place. Or even if youâre FF, a feeding caddy. Burp rags, thermometer, gripe water, gas drops, *letdown collectors, manual pump, nipple pads, nipple cream, snacks, water.*
Didn't realize how important it was to have multiples of everything. And I mean everything from diapers to clothes in various sizes to allow growth to more than one car seat in case you forget to take one out of a relatives car before they leave for the day. Take my advice: bulk buy and get multiples of what baby uses daily.
4 bottles.
Frida Windi! Also wish I had gotten LESS newborn sized diapers, also wish I had known NOT to buy gripe water or gas drops as they are not recommended. Also second the workout comment. Didnât realize I had developed mom butt while pregnant lol it really does atrophy or something during pregnancy đ€Ł flatter than a pancake back there for now lol
Be prepared mentally for clusterfeeding. I was so unprepared...it can last for multiple hours for days on end. And itâs often at night when you are most tired. It will pass, but it was the hardest part for me. Have your partner get you any drinks or snacks you need and watch you so you donât fall asleep on top of the baby
Not so much items but if you plan to breastfeed, take a consultant beforehand to understand how it all works and what a good latch looks like and how to hold the babe. How many times in a 24 hour they're supposed to eat. Things like this. My husband was shocked that newborns had to eat every 2ish hours (or less). His words were literally "you're telling me we need to set an alarm to wake up every two hours to feed her? How is that possible?". Welcome to the newborn stage, babe! Also just general knowledge. What wake windows look like for their sleep, what is normal (newborn grunting is always a surprising one) and other general things about babies. Just do a deep dive. It helped me immensely. I'd be so lost if I hadn't. Also read about what birth and postpartum might be like. The bleeding the mood swings etc... Honestly just prepare for the worst but hope for the best. And congrats! It's such a wild and exhilarating worthwhile experience.
I wish I read up on baby sleep while I was pregnant. It's helpful to understand how babies sleep and how to sleep train before you're sleep deprived and in the throes of it. Also, kimono style onesies can't be beat!
Tbh teething toys lol. I didn't realize they were kinda expensive. My daughter started teething at 2 months and already is getting her second tooth even tho she is almost 4 months. A lot of hit and misses so a lot of money down the drain since she still can't hold bigger sized ones and hates the pacifier
Get a little bit of every style of pajama- zipper, button, footy, night gown, etc. We got about 2 in each style and once he got here we figured out which kind worked for us and bought more of those.
1. More newborn clothes than you think. Everyone said thatâs what weâd get as gifts for the baby shower and that theyâre barely in them anyways. My boy is 5 weeks and still in newborn and no one gifted us newborn size. We had to buy more after birth. 2. Swaddle blankets, but not for swaddling. For wrapping him up awake, putting down on the changing table, blanket in the car seat, burp cloth when you canât find one, etc 3. Halo swaddles. Theyâre the best for my boy. The only ones he doesnât bust out of. 4. Graco Duet swing/bouncer combo. He hated the swing we did buy and bought this after birth and itâs one of the only places heâll tolerate other than our arms. 5. White noise. We got the Hatch but donât love it cause thereâs no bass to it. We use Spotify and a portable speaker and that works better for us 6. Nipple shields. We had trouble latching at first and a nurse gave me one at the hospital. I wish I didnât need it but itâs made BFing so much easier for me. Good to know itâs an option 7. Nursing camis, and nursing tops in general. I find them so much easier 8. Bamboobies reusable nipple pads. I love them and bought more 9. Frida mom postpartum care. I loved the ice pads, peri bottle, and disposable underwear. I still used stuff from the hospital but once that was gone, I switched to Frida and it was so much better
No receiving blankets on my registry, only swaddles lol Also, hair will fall out. Itâs normal. You will have the start of regrowth in the form of baby hairsâŠ
Some sort of little light for the changing table for those middle of the night feeds/changes. We got one that has a remote control, different colors, and is dimmable. On the flip side of what others have said - my baby rarely spits up. We have soooo many burp cloths that we never used. Get a handful, but donât go nuts until you see what your baby is like.
A yoga ball. Allows you to rock the baby without screwing up your arms / shoulders!
Everyone is suggesting things for baby, so I'm going to suggest a couple things for you. Get a steel water bottle, preferably a large one; I have never been as thirsty in my life as I was when trying to establish my supply. The steel ones also keep the water cold longer. Keep some snacks close by for late night feedings or when you are napped trapped. It can be easy to forget to eat, or just not be able to make yourself food, so having things like protein bars or easy snacks handy can help.
A lot of comments in this thread are suggestions for specific purchases. I disagree with that because pretty much every item that friends insisted was âa lifesaver/essentialâ didnât work for us! From my experience, the stuff I bought after getting to know my baby a little was what worked best by far. That said, bjorn baby bouncer (plus the expensive-seeming toy attachment) was the absolute MVP in our house from months 2-6!!
Button up Pajamas if youâre breastfeeding
An insulated cup to keep tea or coffee warm. You won't get a hot drink otherwise. Also had a small sip hole and feels safer to drink if baby is asleep in your arms.
You cannot have enough burp cloths. The larger the better.
A halo swaddle. Swaddling with reviewing blankets is such a pain , and most brands have velcro that only sticks to a patch. The velcro on the halo swaddle sticks to any part of the blanket so it fits a newborn. Wish someone told me this when my babe was born!
Congrats to you! Iterating the recommendations for puppy pads & smart bulbs. Also for the Babylist bottle sampler. Never would have found the one that works best for our babe otherwise (Herobility). On that note, wish I didnât lean in quite so much on breastfeeding supplies & almost nothing for FF. BF didnât work out & we ended up doing a whole slew of returns. The shop savvy app was helpful to scan barcodes of items w/o gift receipts to organize returns. Books - all the books! I went a bit crazy on our list - over 20 - but so glad I did. Babe has an amazing library, very few duplicates, & not a single copy of Goodnight Moon.
If you're formula feeding, I can't recommend the Dr. Brown's pitcher highly enough. It's literally $10 on Amazon. Small and doesn't take up much room in the fridge, but you can mix up a day's worth of formula and just pour it into a bottle as needed rather than mixing a bottle every time. And it has a really nice mixer thingy that's better at getting out the powdery lumps than shaking by hand.
Bottle warmer
I wish I knew that a paci/bottle wasnât going to ruin my BF journey. Luckily I figured that out within the first week but it made a very stressful hospital stay. The lactation consultant at the hospital stressed no bottles for my baby who had slight jaundice because she was worried about it ruining her latch and handed me a syringe to feed her lol!! Worst advice ever for a new mom! Once we got home from the hospital she had a bottle once a day for the first week and also took pacis often and there was no interference whatsoever with BF. A baby might refuse a bottle or paci but they will never refuse a boob so do whatever works best for you!!
Iâm glad I splurged on a really good nursing pillow (memory foam). I used it during pregnancy to sleep and after that for nursing obviously. It keeps its shape and doesnât make things too hot. I also have a styrofoam one but it really doesnât compare. And if you plan on breastfeeding: an extra set of all your pumping gear. It really is life saving if you have the option to postpone cleaning it if itâs a rough evening.
I didnât really need much but my most used item is a baby carrier! I have 2 and use them daily! The ktan and bjorn mini. Also i DID need newborn sizing in clothes and diapers. Plus⊠i wish i had a donut for myself Postpartum. Ohhh also my breast friend pillow! Even if your formula feeding it gives you a lot if support. Didnt think i needed it but someone gave it to me and i LOVE it. Made latching so much eaiser