Must haves for a baby.

Marley · 04-05-2007, 09:12 AM

I am expecting in Sept, and I was wondering if there was anyone on here that could offer me some advice on what you couldn't live without with your baby, and what you never even touched that you thought you had to have.

I don't have alot of room where I am living now, or alot of money. I have to be frugal, and space conscious when picking things out. I am wanting to avoid getting things that I will not use.

Nate · 04-05-2007, 09:28 AM

I'm not a parent.

There was an article in our local paper recently citing a huge number of physicians saying that all these new-fangled devices and toys designed to help a child develop faster mentally (yes, I'm looking at you, Baby Einstein) are no better than traditional toys and [especially] parent-child interaction, and may actually be worse. My recommendation would be not to get hooked on those things, because that can really really really become addictive (I've seen it with a couple that is a friend of ours that just had their first kid... he has like EVERY Baby Einstein product available; I can't imagine how much that cost).

It's kind of like cats (and, trust me, I know cats... even if I don't know babies)... you can buy them a whole slew of specially designed toys, but their favorite thing to do is still to tear the hell out of an old cardboard box. Don't get sucked up into all the hype that says you have to have all these great new products for your baby to be "healthy" and to "develop" well and all that jazz. Just be a good parent.

I don't know what else.

3e3c3e · 04-05-2007, 12:50 PM

Being a father of twins I have to agree with Nate that you shouldn't get caught up in all the "must haves" that the Babies-r-us type places tell you need. The best advice is just get what seems like it will work for you.

Efficiency seems to be the key, or at least it was for us.

We found a lot of products being to big or heavy to manage (strollers, diaper bags). We also found that the less we could manage with when we went out the easier life seems to flow.

As for toys and those kids of things, again I agree with Nate. My wife went to a week long training at IAHP for one of their Earl Learning programs for mothers. It was amazing to us to see that basic things are much better for the children developmentally than all of these crazy tools. Keep it simple and just enjoy being a parent.

~3e3c3e

danalyn · 04-07-2007, 10:20 AM

excellent thread...
I wonder if anyone used a sling to carry the baby. I think they're a great idea but I'd love to have some feedback from someone who has tried one...

3e3c3e · 04-09-2007, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danalyn

excellent thread...
I wonder if anyone used a sling to carry the baby. I think they're a great idea but I'd love to have some feedback from someone who has tried one...

My wife had purchased one before we found out we where having twins. It did not get very much use at all. But I know she did use it a couple times around the house when one was sleeping and the other one was awake.

We gave it to her cousin who just had a little boy and she uses it all the time and seems to be very happy with it.

~3e3c3e

Singin4Him82 · 04-09-2007, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danalyn

excellent thread...
I wonder if anyone used a sling to carry the baby. I think they're a great idea but I'd love to have some feedback from someone who has tried one...

I was actually going to mention this one. I could not live without my slings!! It has been a lifesaver for me!! I have a very sensitive baby who likes to be near me and I found that when he doesn't want to sit in his bouncer or his swing he will sit in his sling as I clean house, go to the store, and eat dinner when he's fussy. There were so many nights before I got it that he would be fussy and I'd end up trying to hold him while we ate dinner and that was nearly impossible but the sling allowed me to do all these things so much easier but still keep him close. Also if you plan to nurse, when baby is a newborn it's great because you can put the baby in the sling and nurse him with privacy in public and no one will even know you're nursing. I highly recommend them, I don't know how I would have gotten things done without it! Plus I can use the sling as he grows because there are different ways you can use it as they grow. I personally feel my slings were great investments!

Another thing I personally love is my travel system (stroller and car seat). It makes outings so much easier for us when I can just pop the car seat into the stroller and go. We have a Chicco keyfit and it's so light and easy to handle, it's not bulky at all. I'm a small girl too, 4'11 so there is no way I could handle a big bulky stroller or car seat but this one is so simple to use! If you plan to go out with the baby a lot I highly recommend a travel system!

danalyn · 04-09-2007, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Singin4Him82

Another thing I personally love is my travel system (stroller and car seat). It makes outings so much easier for us when I can just pop the car seat into the stroller and go. We have a Chicco keyfit and it's so light and easy to handle, it's not bulky at all. I'm a small girl too, 4'11 so there is no way I could handle a big bulky stroller or car seat but this one is so simple to use! If you plan to go out with the baby a lot I highly recommend a travel system!

is it one of those combination strollers that convert into a car seat? Chris' mom & sister bought us one. (Not sure the brand though)

***BillSPrestonEsq*** · 04-09-2007, 03:28 PM

I am not a parent...

however, some of my friends at school have recomended one thing. Baby sign language. I know it sounds kind of hokey, but after watching their little guy ask for a bottle or a toy instead of bawling uncontrollably, it seems good. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that it would not be too expensive.

Elizabeth · 04-09-2007, 04:00 PM

I've heard lots of good things about baby sign language. I am slightly biased because I am fluent in ASL and love it, but I know it would have been wonderful to know when my sister was younger. I have a friend's family who has used it with success.

Singin4Him82 · 04-09-2007, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danalyn

is it one of those combination strollers that convert into a car seat? Chris' mom & sister bought us one. (Not sure the brand though)

Yeah, I'm not sure how all of them work but mine has a magnet that helps it latch right into the car seat base and the stroller. It's so easy to go from the car to the stroller, I love it!

WandaWoman · 04-09-2007, 05:11 PM

We used slings for the first couple of months. They were great for church and other outings. They were also great for toting babies up and down the three flights of stairs at our apartment. They allowed us to use both hands to carry things and to hang on to the rail.

Now, we have a Snugli. It's one of the front backpack type things.

It's cool because the baby can face forward to look around or facing you for sleep.

Other things we couldn't live without...
-Mylicon (gas drops) ****LIFE SAVER**** and don't be afraid to buy the generic brand. It's the same stuff.
-You can never have too many blankets or burp cloths.
-Boppy pillow. Great for nursing or to prop your baby on so they aren't always laying on their backs.
-Podee bottlle. It's a hands free bottle. Great for on the go feedings, or if you're like me and you have two hungry babies at one time.

I know there are more things. I'll post them as I think of them.

Marley · 04-09-2007, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillSPrestonEsq

I am not a parent...

however, some of my friends at school have recomended one thing. Baby sign language. I know it sounds kind of hokey, but after watching their little guy ask for a bottle or a toy instead of bawling uncontrollably, it seems good. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that it would not be too expensive.

I was actually really thinking about trying this one out...

http://www.sayitvideos.com/ This is a link for the DVD I was looking at.

I was wondering though, what age would you use these at? My thought was maybe 4-5 months.

Marley · 04-09-2007, 05:52 PM

What things did you think you needed, but you didn't?

3e3c3e · 04-10-2007, 06:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillSPrestonEsq

I am not a parent...

however, some of my friends at school have recomended one thing. Baby sign language. I know it sounds kind of hokey, but after watching their little guy ask for a bottle or a toy instead of bawling uncontrollably, it seems good. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that it would not be too expensive.

Ah yes - it is amazing. My wife started teaching the boys when they where 3 months old a couple of "baby" signs. Work great. After they turned 1 we began teaching them ASL - now that they are 2 they sign A LOT. Joshua does not like talking in public, seems to be a stage he is in. But he will sign to my wife and I. Stephen likes to sign when he is tired. It also seems to be helping them with their speak - a lot of time they say something and sign at the same time.

If you are looking for videos to help out I would highly recommend Signing Time:
http://signingtime.com/

They have a 13 video series for toddlers and 2 videos for babies. They didn't have the baby videos at the time we started so even the toddler ones seem to work for babies.

~3e3c3e

nate95366 · 04-10-2007, 11:00 AM

I have two little ones, and of the things that have been mentioned so far that others have really liked and used, we've never used.

For instance, a sling or Snugli. We have one of each, but our kids both came out huge (9lbs 8oz and 10lbs 10oz). I don't think either of them fit into a sling or Snugli past the age of 3 months.

I would agree with the sentiment about fancy toys. For some reason, though, a lot of toys still have ended up in my house. We try to keep them organized, and I basically fight against getting any with batteries, but people will give you gifts too, and some of those will probably be toys with batteries. One thing I've learned about the really loud toys with batteries is that a swatch of duct tape over the speaker does a world of
good! In my opinion, the best toys are stacking cups, balls, and blocks.

One thing we used for a while with our first but have not used since is the "Diaper Genie." It does let you store up to 20 used up diapers without too much of a smell problem, but the inserts are expensive and we've found that the common plastic grocery sack works pretty well, and doesn't encourage you to store all those dirty diapers...

We've found our Pack n' Play portable playpen/crib to be pretty useful because we travel a lot. We got it used at a garage sale. New, they can be kinda pricey, but like I said, we use ours a lot.

Nate