I'm digressing.
I need advice, or rather a list on what you need for a baby. Not clothes. Clothes I know. Clothes we have. What I want to know is, what do you need the first, let's say, 72 hours after you bring a newborn home? And don't say "diapers". I have it on good authority that babies don't poop until they're about 6 months old. Right? Right? right? Not right? :(
Zack and I have spent the past, oh, 4 or 5 years or so getting ready for baby. We have a nursery, we have a crib and we are now the proud owners of a car seat and stroller. They've even been tested! (Thanks Emma and Beth!) We have clothes. We have many many clothes. (Clothes have been good therapy for us.) We have a dresser full of said clothes. I call it my "Hope Chest".
Here's a nice shot of my hope chest:
Here's the crib full of stuffed animals. You can never have too many, right? (How will the kids play "Smother" when they get older if you don't have a ton of stuffed animals?)
Here's our sweet new stroller. Beth-tested, ZaCarrie approved. It's in the spot where the rocker will go someday.
Here's the crib full of stuffed animals. You can never have too many, right? (How will the kids play "Smother" when they get older if you don't have a ton of stuffed animals?)
Here's our sweet new stroller. Beth-tested, ZaCarrie approved. It's in the spot where the rocker will go someday.
And here's the car seat and bookshelf. We even have some cool childrens books about adoption!
So what I'm saying is we've got lots of things. And we feel as prepared as you can be when you might have a baby next month or you might have a baby in two years. But we're not prepared for the day to day stuff. Sure babies need clothes, but what kind of clothes? What about bath stuff? Food, diapers, blankets, diaper bag, etc. What do you really need? I think I'm starting to panic just a little because as of this weekend, we could have a baby at any time. Literally, ANY TIME. (But nobody's really expecting that...)
So I'm asking all you experts out there, what do you NEED when you first bring that baby home?
17 comments:
Those wash cloths with the soap in them are so good for babies. I always thought they were a silly waste of money, until I had a baby and tried giving her a bath without them. And one of those sink bath tubs is good too. Hailey's grown out of it and it's still the only way she will bathe without tears. Alex and I also were ultra grateful for those bouncy seats, Hailey would have never slept in the first 4 months without one. Now I am rambling, I will stop.
We'll let you know in three weeks. Unless you find out before us, and then YOU can tell US!
I like how the car seat has reflector strips, in case you leave it in the middle of the road, at night. Nice touch. And "smother"! I must teach my kids how to play "smother"!
You will need lots of burp cloths (or "bubble cloths", as my mother calls them). Babies don't just politely burp and be done with it. They spew. Some of them spew A LOT (like "The Exorcist", only not so creepy.) Don't buy fancy embroidered ones, either. Old towels work just as well, although they're not cute.
You won't need any kind of baby food unless you're getting a 6-month-old, but you'll need formula (although I'm sure you've already thought of that.) However, fast and easy people food would be a good idea. Like frozen pizzas, or lasagnas, or hamburger helper-type quick and easy meal stuff. Or an overexcited grandma living close by. That works, too.
Okay, I don't want to hog the comments, but if I think of other actually useful stuff I'll pass it along. And I'm very excited that as of this weekend you could have a baby ANYTIME! How cool is that?
Do you have a diaper pail? A long brush for cleaning bottles? White noise (to simulate the sounds of the womb.) BTW, we chose rain falling, Emma liked it.
Thanks for the comments. I had thought of a baby bath, but I wasn't sure if that was one of those things that you don't reaaally need. Now I think we'll get one. And a long brush for cleaning bottles would be good. I hadn't thought of that. We'll be cleaning lots of bottles.
This weekend at a baby shower I learned that cloth diapers work great as "bubble cloths" so I plan on getting some of those.
And Allie, your girls seem like the type who would LOVE Smother. I can't believe you haven't taught them how to play yet!
I think you'll be fine with the ideas you've gotten and then what you already have. Do you have baby lotion? I love the stuff but am horrible at putting it on Jackson. I also loved out baby swing. That was a good way to get him to fall asleep. Do you have like a floor playmat or gym? Those are fun. Binks??or pacifiers whatever you prefer??? And remember there's always a grocery store nearby so you'll be fine!
Ok Carrie, I have a 6 week old so...a swing! This is a MUST! My son sleeps in it, truly essential! And not one of those big ones, Fisher Price does a "take along swing" that is the best. Also receiving blankets (the kind of thinner blankets)that you can wrap them up tight in, lots of these are nice as babies tend to poop and puke often. And some slippers that stay on their feet, because their feet get cold. I'm on kid #4 and only used that baby bath with the first, so that's kind of iffy. But the "Huggies" disposable washcloths that have the baby wash in them are the BEST! Best Wishes!! :)
I would get a dimmer for the light switch or a lamp that has a dimmer on it. New born babies are used to bright light and noise at hospital when sleeping. So we gradually dimmed the light at night over a week or so to help them adjust to sleeping in the dark also played classical music and did the same gradual fading off to be able to sleep in quieter circumstances. Of course that one I think is less important because it is nice when they can sleep with noise happening around them, ie. nap time.
Also the dimmer helps so that when you have to go into the room in the middle of the night you don't have to flip on the bright light and completely wake them up. You just need enough dim light to check things out do a feeding change a diaper and slip out, causing the least amount of shock to them as possible, thus baby goes back to sleep faster. SO exciting!! If I think of anything else I will let you know.
It sounds like you pretty much have what you need. I would suggest sleeping a lot before the baby comes to your home...or you can prep yourself and get up every 2-3 hours just for fun ;)
I think you need the little tummies Gas Drops or as mike calls them "Scream-Be-Gone" and some Tylenol. just in case. We just use a yellow foam thing in the bath for Kenna to lay on. It works great and she still fits on it. I would also suggest The Bed Time Bath and Bed Time Lotion by Johnson it smells good and makes them sleep wonderfully. Oh and Bordeaux's Butt Paste, It's the best for Diaper rashes. Binky's if you are going to use them.
We are Very big fans of this book.
On Becoming Baby wise, The gift of night time sleep. by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam
Do you have onesies? I like the ones form Wal-mart they are the Small Wonders brand. For when the baby might have a a diaper explosion, they are wide enough that you can take them off by pulling them down over there feet and not over there head.
Reading through the comments I realized that I have forgotten most of it. I think you got a lot of great advice. How exciting that it could be anyday that you could get a baby.
Thanks guys. I feel lots better now. I was going to ask how you give a baby a bath without the little tub thing (I mean, really, they didn't have those in the olden days) but I think you answered it for me, Rachel.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to run to the store for a dimmer switch, some soft music, some receiving blankets, and some scream-be-gone. I'm expecting that stuff to work miracles...heh heh...
I'm glad you have such support and ideas. It looks like you are very prepared! If you want you can call United Way and have one of their home visitors come with their "Welcome Baby" program. I used to be a volunteer and we helped new parents with baby care. They give you a great booklet and watch a sweet 'First Years' video.
As for needed supplies: blankets, diapers, wipes, rash ointment, burp-cloths, formula, bottles, binkies, clothes, socks, hats, and I loved my bjorn - a baby carrier so you can have both your arms free while they stay with you throughout the day. Good Luck! I've really appreciated your openness and updates on this blog. You are all in our prayers!
If you don't have some already, I would recommed some slippers for you. Bare feet get a little cold in the middle of the night during feedings, diaper changes, and walking up and down the hall. :) I suppose a baby bath might be nice, but I've never had one. We just put a towel on the bottom of the tub for the baby to lay on. I totally agree on the portable swing. Major life saver!
well, personally being one of those people who had literally less that 18 hours notice from being selected to bring home baby, I would say you have a very safe start. A few things that might be helpful, that we learned quickly to grab were:
-A bassinet
-A formula on the go server thing (has three sections to measure the formula out then it pores right into the bottle..very nice and a MUST!)
-Definitely a baby bath. We didn't think we needed one at first because we had a large sink, but the bath was easier to use, especially if it comes with a hammock.
-Diapers, Diapers, and Diapers. Size NB to 3....our little guy grew so quickly that we wish we would have started buying diapers long time ago, however, my husband was pretty much against me buying any type of baby item until we had a baby. He is was a party pooper!
-Baby sleepers that look like your little one is in a bag. Super nice to have, especially when they are little.
However, you may not want to buy everything because then when the baby showers come, you wont know what to tell everyone that you need.......
:o)
A swing is a must, also the mini bathtub thing helps saves your knees and shoulders cuz you don't have to keep bending over the tub trying to hold the babe up and out of the water. Also, get one (or make one) of those rice bags that you can heat up. It's perfect to place on little upset tummies, and really helps soothe them. Daisy didn't really have a lot of gas issues, but Courtney's little guy sure does, and that really helps! Oh, and a few different brands of formula to try at first. Your baby will really act differently and you'll notice which one works best. And binkies, different ones. K, I'm done.
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