Advice from the experienced mamas, please? - Page 3

[amberskyfire]

Originally Posted by RosieL 

Question "-wool piddle pad. This has saved me SO many times from having to get up in the night and change the sheets on the bed and crib. I made my own by felting an XXL men's wool sweater and just cutting out the front and back. VOILA! Two free piddle pads. Other moms felt wool army blankets and cut them in quarters."

Does this go directly under baby?

Yes, it goes under baby's lower half. So, baby in bed next to me on top of unprotected bed, diaper on baby,  piddle pad under baby's diapered bottom. Or if you go diaper-free, you can just place a couple of prefolds over the pad and lay baby on it for diaper-free time. If the piddle pad is a 1/4 blanket sized one, you have to secure it to the bed with diaper pins at the corners.

They can get damp if baby leaks heavily, but if you have more than one, you can just toss it in the wash and grab the other one.

[bcblondie]

All baby really needs is mamas arms and mamas milk. My son loved his swing but this time around I'm going to try just holding the kid more. Lotsa things I'm gonna do differently this time...

[bluebutterfly]

Some of my must-haves:

Cloth Diapers: Half a dozen kissaluv newborn fitteds, a dozen mother-ease one-size diapers, at least 36 prefolds, 6 or so Thirsty covers and a couple Disana wool covers.   A 13 gallon kitchen garbage pail with two PUL liners.   Lots of cloth wipes and a few good waterproof changing pads (PUL covered with cotton, for example).  If you're using cloth and out-and-about, you'll want a couple wet bags that fit inside a diaper bag.

Nursing:  A tube of lansinoh lanolin, a nursing pillow (I used a Boppy) and some breast pads (though I had low supply and never needed them, you might), a phone number of good local lactation consultant - just in case.  A safe nursing necklace is fun for baby.

Car Seat:  I like the Britax Marathon 70 convertible.

Crib:  I side-car'd the crib next to the bed so I needed to get it set up well ahead of time to make it even with the mattress, etc.  The one thing I splurged on was a Naturepedic mattress.  If baby is co-sleeping in bed with you, some wool puddle pads or a safe waterproof mattress cover (Naturepedic makes one)

Clothing: I liked sleep sacks at night because they made changes easier, extenders for one piece clothing gave us extra wear-time.  My son didn't really care to be swaddled.

Accessories:  A baby swing, baby carrier (which brand is hugely a personal preference but I'd not recommend a sling type carriers), a play yard and jumper (I didn't use these much but a few times they were very handy - this depends on lifestyle, etc.)

Health: A safe baby toothbrush, baby nail clippers, a good thermometer, a nose bulb syringe

Toys:  As a baby, my son's favorites were the visually (black/white/red contrast colors) and tactile type of toys.  Lamaze has a lot of cute ones.  Get a few things you feel comfortable with baby chewing on - cotton toys are nice.  I honestly think many of the things on the market today are almost over-stimulating.  We had one of those playmats and looking back at videos of my son laying on it with so much going on - he was totally overstimulated. :D

Food:  Stock up on freezer meals!

You'll have plenty of time to get a lot of the other things - high chair, any additional feeding supplies, etc.  I wish with my first I hadn't bought as much as I did upfront because it took me a little bit to adjust and figure out what I liked and what worked.   For instance, we bought a stroller and baby car seat.  The baby car seat only got a little use and the stroller, zero.