Baby things....

[Imachickadee75]

I too had trouble with the monitors keeping me awake. Everytime Jason would make the slightest noise it would wake me up! When I started turning it off, it was his big noises that woke me and was all I needed. However, I love having a cordless reciever that I can carry outside with me. This is great when I have some lawn work to do or something outside the house. Mine has lights that light up with the sound so even if I'm running the vaccum or lawn mower I can "see" the sound.

I also wanted to add the cheap sponge pads that are made for laying your baby in the sink to bathe. I could NOT live without these. I hated the little tubs that you put in the tub -they KILLED my back. Instead, I would put the little pad in my bathroom sink and fill it up. They give you a little squirt bottle to spray your perinium when you go to the bathroom -I found it also makes a great "Shower" for the sink -especially since both my boys had so much hair. This was also handy for baths even before the umbilical stump fell off. Jason's took WEEKS and needed baths before then. With the little spray bottle I could keep his belly button area dry while still slucing him off.

[Regina]

Oh, I totally agree with every baby being different. My second slept in the swing most of the time, and she wouldn't go to sleep without it. We went through so many batteries. The other kids liked it okay, some more than others.

I second getting things second hand---especially any family/friends willing to give it to you. This way, you can find out what works for you.

Oh, and if you are planning on having more than one, don't go with the gender colors for the strollers and such. I think I would love to do that, if I only had one, but it just isn't practical if you are planning more....unless you are wealthy enough to replace them another time. I have to admit, I do have bumpers of both colors though....but after 6 kids, we have accummulated a bunch of things....too much.

I liked an infant carseat and then a baby carseat. I liked to be able to just take it out of the seat holder and go into the store without waking her/him up to put them in the carrier.

[Bigsweetie]

I have a funny story about our monitor.

When we had Emily she hated her pack-n-play/bassinet. We put her in her crib in her room. Well one night DH agreed to get up with her. He is a really sound sleeper and unbeknownst to me he turned the volume on the monitor all the way up. Everything was quiet, everyone sleeping peacefully, when all of a sudden Emily lets out this HUGE scream. DH almost hit the ceiling!! I thought he was going to have a heart attack. He was white as a sheet! I was cracking up laughing so hard.

Another time, I was in bed sleeping during the day and DH agreed to take care of Emily for me. He was in the livingroom, Emily in her crib. He forgot to take the receiver out of our room. All of a sudden I hear a choking sound. I freaked thinking Emily was choking and DH didn't hear her in the livingroom. My heart was racing! I RACE to the bedroom to find DH standing in front of the changing station gagging. Emily had pooped her diaper and he couldn't handle the smell. All he said to me was "take her" and he ran for the bathroom where I heard him throwing up. Again, I couldn't help but laugh my butt off! Poor guy!!!

[lucky81698]

My son loved sleeping in his pack-n-play. He slept better in that than his crib up until he was around 3! We first had the rectangular one with the bassinet on top, then when he outgrew both sections of that, we got the bigger square one. He never liked the bouncy chair. He had an airplane that he could stand up in and bounce and spin and stuff which he loved. (I think someone else on here had one of those too) He also loved sitting in his carrier to eat and for some reason never liked his high chair. I liked the wipe warmer too, but the wipes toward the bottom tended to get dried out. We tried a stand alone potty, he didn't like it and neither did I (as far as cleaning goes) so he just used the training seat you just set on the toilet. I could not live without the monitor! Not a video one, just the sound one. I used it for like 5 years! I could not sleep without it and wanted to get a new one, but my husband said no...he hated it!

One thing we always did for heating bottles (he was not breastfed) was to boil the water and put it in a thermos so when he woke up we always had hot water to heat the bottle instead of having to wait for the water to get hot enough to heat the bottle. Just poured the hot water into a big cup and in a minute or two it was ready. It worked great.

They also make these pads for adults to use for I guess changing adult diapers, I'm not exactly sure, but they were much bigger than your typical changing pad and much better for public areas where their whole head and body was on the pad and they would be protected from touching anything. Plus you can just throw them away after you use them.

Good luck to all of you new and expecting moms!

Jan

[Regina]

I think my husband must hate monitors too because every time I buy one, he ends up hiding it. I know it doesn't wake him up...a mac truck could go through the front of our house without waking him up! Maybe it is a guy thing or something. I know that those tv monitors had some show critcizing them because people, like burglars or something, can view the inside of your house while in their car out front...or something like that. I remember picking up a couple of conversations with my regular monitor when we lived in an apartment (maybe the other people were on a cordless phone or had a monitor too?)

So, instead, I just wake up 20 times making sure the baby is still breathing...drives my husband batty because half the time I wake him up to check too. Then, I don't think he was awake enough to really check, so I go check. This is typically at the point when they start sleeping longer in the night, and I guess I am just shocked that they slept more than a few hours! : )

[stellaandcorasmommy]

my/our top 3/4 MUST-HAVES...for stella
- papasan chair
- quilt for the floor - agree with the animal/dog remark from jackie
- boobs (ha ha...but seriously a DEFINITE with her - no pic here!)
- loved my single stroller...expensive but so worth it...folds up SO easily and compactly (similar to an umbrella), totally reclines
Inglesina ZPY - MAL - Zippy 2008 Standard Stroller

my/our top 3/4/5 MUST-HAVES...for cora
- baby sling (i have a maya wrap...i'll try to attach the pic) my friend had a moby wrap on with her little one...(i'm on the left - yes, i was breastfeeding while walking through an apple orchard...it was my first time bfing while walking...so the sling isn't on right, it should be over my shoulder to distribute the weight more efficiently - i've perfected it now).
- a pacifier...some babies do...some babies don't. cora did.
- all in one, or pocket cloth diapers (so much easier to use...for me... than the typical cloth diapers...plus they come in so many fun colors! we've used monkey doodlez and chunkymonkeydiapers.com)
- good baby monitor (i like having one, and this one works so much better than stella's did) - Amazon.com: Fisher-Price Long Distance 900MHz Monitor: Baby
- i have a double stroller now...a sit n stand, i like it a lot more than some of the other sitn'stands out there, oldest can ACTUALLY sit on the seat when baby is in recline. i like it...but i don't LOVE it, like i LOVED my single stroller. helps though with a baby and a 3 year old. stella was just old enough that she would want to be carried at times and it is really easy for her to jump on and off at the zoo and such. maybe i do love it. just not LOVE it.