List your essentials AND your special awesome wants

[smeep]

I'm trying to figure out everything I NEED plus a few really awesome wants (water wrap/sling is on my "really awesome want" list that I don't NEED).

So...list away!

[WifeofAnt]

Needs and wants?

• Clothes. Obviously all babies needs clothes. I hope this LO loves gowns because I bought a bunch.
• Diapers. We're using disposables for the first few weeks then switching to our cloth stash. I figure I'll be too pooped to do laundry.
• Wipes. I actually don't get the lure of cloth wipes so we're using disposable wipes.
• Bathing Supplies. Tub (we got a baby bucket), washcloths, towels, soaps and shampoos.
• Bed. Whether you get a crib, pack n play, cosleeper, bassinet, or bedshare, the kid has to go somewhere. Also make sure you have a place for naps. Its not the best idea to leave an infant alone in an adult bed.
• Blankets. Swaddling blankets, blankets for the cold, crib/bassinet/PnP/cosleeper sheets, playing-on-the-floor blankets, ect.
• Burp cloths. I bought cheap Gerber cloth diapers. Horrible diapers, decent shoulder protector.
• Gear. Strollers, car seats, play pens, bouncers, swings, ect. Only the car seat is really mandatory but we have more. Sometimes a swing is just a safe place to set baby while you're busy doing 'unsafe' stuff.
• Babywearing. Sling, wrap, something. Just please don't rely on a crotch dangler.
• Breastfeeding stuff. The support pillow, breastpump (totally optional), Lansinoh, nursing bras, tank tops to hide belly while NIP, and a good nursing book.
• The medicine cabinet. Try not to buy anything that expires until you need it. Most pharmacies are open 24/7 nowadays. We got a basic healthcare kit and a special little snot-sucker. I personally find snot worse than puke.

[kalamos23]

moby wrap - or something like it - is an essential. i used that dang sucker with dd until 18mo to get her to go to sleep. plus, it was so comfortable.

on that note - music with a good beat. dd wouldn't fall asleep until we figured out that the house was too quiet - she slept to techno for a long time.

on the wipes - i didn't get the allure of cloth wipes either, until i was using disposable wipes with cloth diapers. after picking sposie wipes out of poopy diapers a few times, i realized that having wipes i could just throw in the wash with the diaper without separating them was a plus. though, the sposie wipes do okay through the wash, they tend to gum up any aplix/velcro diaper closures you might have.

lots of snacks around for you while you are nursing and meals easy to make for the first week or 2 - you would not believe how much will be able to eat after you give birth. it's insane. it's like you are making up for not being able to eat that well for 9 mo. and then as the baby gets bigger, you get hungrier and hungrier - i think it peaked at about 6mo for us.

soothies gel pads - those thing saved my nips, between that and the lansinoh.

wifeofant really touched on everything, i just wanted to touch on a few things specifically that we really loved.

[smeep]

Originally Posted by WifeofAnt

[*]Babywearing. Sling, wrap, something. Just please don't rely on a crotch dangler.

Crotch dangler! Love it! I did find a couple crotch danglers from DS (I was given 3, but only used one occasionally until I got my Moby and learned how bad they are) and I just tossed them back into the shed. I have no plans to use them, so I might as well not bring them out. I suppose I should give them away, but I hate the things on principal.

[scrappin-mama]

Just gotta chime in on the cloth wipes thing. They are soooo much easier than sposie wipes! You don't have to worry about separating them out, just throw the whole thing in the pail and wash it all together. If you don't want to spend the money on thicker ones or make them yourself, the cheapo little packs of gerber baby washcloths work pretty well too.

[smeep]

I'm in agreement on the cloth wipes as well. I, too, had to constantly pick out disposable wipes and eventually got cloth ones. Way easier that way.

[babyjelly]

my essentials are pretty simple. Clothing, diapers and wipes, blankets, a sling, and a carseat. Really, that is all.
on the napping place...I totally put my kids in a laundry basket
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[MaerynPearl]

I have had three kids at three different points in time... amazing how much things can change right? and learning new things every time I have learned that I love love love having-

A supportive husband
My moby wrap
Having a comfy place to breastfeed when I am at home
Cloth diapers
A stroller, for the few times I need a stroller, that is easy to use, easy to store and actually comfortable for my baby (so no umbrella stroller...)

Of course, none of these are a necessity. I spent my first two children without any of those but the stroller and they turned out totally fine.

But man they are wonderful... my supportive husband just made us dinner
my moby wrap keeps my arms from getting too tired from holding baby all day and makes her much more mobile.
I have breastfed standing up, sitting on a bench at a football game, sitting in a swing at the park, sitting on the ground outside... and probably more odd places than that... but man I love my comfy rocker.
I never cloth diapered my first two. Call it peer pressure or my mom telling me it wasnt worth it, too much work... or the fact that we didnt have a washer/dryer at our house or a local diaper service... but am cloth diapering this time and I love not having to run out in the middle of the night to get a new pack of diapers because we just ran out. And thats just one of the reasons... lol.
And the stroller... Im not sure how much I will use it with Mae since we have the Moby... will see.

[IdentityCrisisMama]

Need:

Convertible carseat (True Fit is what we're getting)
Prefolds, flats, covers, wipes / Sposies for the night in the beginning
Some nice muslin receiving blankets (if the large flats are too small)
A new ring sling
Some clothes (it'll be summer so mostly t-shirts)
Breast pads
Simple bouncy chair
Yoga ball

Wants:

Nowali moccasins (#1 want!)
Lovely wool soakers, shorties, longies
Beautiful soft clothing
Baby legs
Nice nursing tops
Lounge wear for mama

Would not turn down if free/used cheap:

Side car or bassinet
Sit-N-Stroll
Extra carseat / baby bucket
Nice umbrella stroller
Fleece pouch sling for DH

[othersomethings]

Need:

LARGE muslin or flannel (if in cold weather) blankets!!! Swaddling was impossible until I tried some oversized blankets. I'll never go back.

[ibusymomto5]

True needs are simple(milk, diapers, clothing, car seat, loving arms), but I'm a sucker for things that make my life more convenient and fun. This is all stuff that I've loved having in the past and will try to have on hand again.

Diapering Stuff
prefolds, fitteds, covers(at least 1 wool for letting baby air out)
snappis/pins
cloth wipes
wetbags for diaperbag - so many fun prints
pail - I use a wastebasket
pack of disposable diapers and wipes - just in case

Clothing
onesies for summer baby, gowns/sleepers for winter baby
comfy, 100% cotton nice outfits for church/going out
socks

Bedding/blankets
oversized lightweight swaddling blankets - I want some muslin ones!
warm blankets for winter
crib/bassinet/pack-n-play - we cosleep but I like something different for naps
sheets & waterproof pads for above

Breastfeeding
nursing bras - supportive ones for day and some comfy sleep ones
nursing pads - Lansinoh is my favorite
a few nice nursing shirts, the ones that don't "scream" nursing shirt
tanks for putting under shirts so my middle is covered while nursing
Boppy pillow - saves my back and frees up my hands
burp rags - old pfs or small receiving blankets work great
milk storage bags - for catching excess milk during early days
bottle - nice to have on hand in case of an emergency
nursing corner - comfy chair with a table nearby to hold snacks/drink, phone, books, etc.
nursing stool - totally saves my back

Other
car seat
stroller - The kind the car seat snaps into so baby can stay asleep
bouncy seat/swing - convenient while showering/cooking/etc
sling/wrap
diaperbag
baby tub, baby wash, hooded baby towels
freezer full of pre-made meals

[Virginia884]

Subbing! This is a great list; DH and I are starting to add things to our registries and I am having one heck of a time coming up with things. Especially since the culture where we live is to buy buy buy all these useless gizmos and gadgets.

Right now our list is- car seat, co-sleeper (bought for CHEAP on craigslist. YES!), cloth dipes, clothes, boppy, moby, blankets.

Side note- I know that I've heard 'crotch danglers' are bad for baby and I've told DH as much, but can someone tell me why or send me a link?? Thanks!

[smeep]

Originally Posted by Virginia884

Side note- I know that I've heard 'crotch danglers' are bad for baby and I've told DH as much, but can someone tell me why or send me a link?? Thanks!

It's bad for their backs because they're not in a sitting position...they're also bad for the adult's back because the way they go on they don't have proper support. Make sense?

[JudiAU]

Nose-frida the snot sucker is a must have now. That thing is genius.

[WifeofAnt]

Yeah, think of when you sit on a chair. Your weight is supported by your butt and your legs. The 'crotch danglers' don't support the legs in any way so their full weight is on their tailbone and spine.

[ILoveMySofie]

Originally Posted by JudiAU

Nose-frida the snot sucker is a must have now. That thing is genius.