Baby things....

[Bigsweetie]

I personally think the "must have's" are so particular to each baby that there really aren't many "across the board" must haves.

But with Emily, our must haves were the Papasan Swing, two different size diaper bags (a small one for short trips, a big one for longer trips), her diaper champ. Emily hated her bouncy seat and her pack-n-play/bassinet.

Molly, our must haves are the swing (again), the bouncy seat (she loves the vibrations), and our pack-n-play. Go figure, she sleeps fine in there, Emily hated it!

I would say definitely get the swing. I've found very few moms that can live w/o theres. Everything else, it will depend on the baby, you, and the combination of both of you together. Emily would've hated being in a carrier, she loved her swing. Molly's just too darn heavy LOL! It's amazing though how different my kids are. They're almost polar opposites!

It's interesting to see everyone's must haves!!! Great post!

[rgphib]

Originally Posted by Bigsweetie

I would say definitely get the swing. I've found very few moms that can live w/o theres.

I've got the baby that doesn't like his swing He liked it for about 2 weeks...I think when he was around 3-4 weeks old. I haven't been able to put him in it every since. I think it is because he likes to be active....I don't know....I was so hoping he would like it to give me a break!

[Chi829]

Love it love it love it! THanks Regina for such a great post! It's so helpful to see what worked for some and what didnt work for others,,, Im already looking at the ergo carrier,,, gotta have that for sure! You guys are the best!

[Chi829]

oh yeah, I forgot to ask,, what about must haves for dads? Are there any particular things out there that your hubbies LOVED to have? Also,, that bumbo chair looks like a must have as well!

[TheWife]

Duh, how could I forget the swaddling? We are big swaddlers, those babies just jerk around and wake themselves up over and over, but when they are swaddled they sleep forever. We like the ones from Babies R Us, they are only $10 Toys"R"Us/Babies"R"Us

[amelia]

It is fun to see what are must haves for each person. My kids hated being swaddled. They hated having their arms bound. My DD still doesn't like her arms touched at all.

As for dads: Ummm.......My DH's must have was me. I'm the one to comfort and feed when I was nursing DS (once they were on bottles he would feed too). Aside from that, I can't think of anything for DH. I've known a lot of girls who had 2 diaper bags, one for DH and one for themselves (the DH would pick out his and the girls picked out theirs). We just had one that was manly enough for DH to carry around. Besides, he has yet to go out with the kids alone and need this own diaper bag. But, maybe that could be an option for your DH?????

[jr_lenz]

I agree with bigsweetie, each kid is so different, but how do you know until they get here and you start the trial and error. my biggest suggestion is to get as much as you can second hand, from friends/ or second hand kid stores. We got a ton of stuff passed from Lances sisters. I was sure that we would need a swing. Trayton LIVED in his. Stevie 10 mins at the most...for her its all about the bouncy seat. Lance's sister swore by the portable bassnett, again, Stevie hates it.

As for dad in our house he picked out the bag, and we made sure that the baby carrier fit him. Baby R us has them hanging up, and you can go in a try them on to see what one you like. also we knew what we were having and I was doing the nursey in PINK, PINK, PINK. he finally told me that he wanted a little of him in the nursery too, so we have a WWII plane, and went with some greens to tone down the pink. So if Bill shows intrest, let him have a say in the nursery.


So are must haves. Bouncy chair with the vibration. a good baby monitor (great for getting outside durning nap time). a small heater for bath time. and lots of burp cloths (we have a spitter-upper) they are very easy to make ( i think they are overpriced in the store) and my mom bought cloth diph. to use.

[jr_lenz]

forgot I was going to give my two cents on strollers. With Stevie I went for the smaller stroller...it kinda looks likes a up graded verison of the umbrella stroller. With Trayton I went with the carseat stroller combo, and I didn't really like it or use it much. To me that stroller was to big and bulkly, esc. for airport use. They aren't in the carrier carseat very long so we barely used the pairing feature.

Right now her stroller doesn't lay down enough for her to use it. but I figured that she is going to be a bigger baby for alot longer than she is going to be a newborn. Plus right now I can carry her in the baby pack, or the jogger, which lays down farther.

When you go to buy your stroller, really think about where you are going to use it. Me I wanted an airport stroller (that is where I feel like we will use it the most) so I wanted a smaller more moveable stroller.

Also we have a backpack, which works great when you are doing really crowded events like fairs and such. The baby is up can look around and you aren't fighting the crowds with a stroller. They work great in the store when you are trying them out, but when you get them into a crowd and small spaces they can get overwhelming.

[Chi829]

Originally Posted by jr_lenz

So if Bill shows intrest, let him have a say in the nursery.

If Bills shows interest? If I know my husband at all,,, this wont be an issue,,, kind of scary! hahahaha!!! Did many of you use monitors? From what I saw,, those things can be really costly huh?

[Brenda]

I was never paranoid about not hearing the baby until we moved into a large house. My ped recommended that we NOT use a monitor cause we'd lose sleep, if the baby needed us he would let us know! Of course when we didn't have it i think i was staying awake trying to listen for the baby.
We have one that i use in the kitchen with a monitor, it can be hooked up to a television to view.
Last night I used the monitor for a little bit and then quickly turned it off cause of her noises. (last night was her first night in her own room)