BABIES NEED VERY LITTLE OTHER THAN THEIR MAMA!
As a seasoned mama, take my word for it! I use less and less things for baby! Redirect your funds to quality items you do need, that I find I couldn't really do without especially having other children.
It goes without saying, yet I will say it, save your money on artificial food and give your baby the best, BREASTMILK! Human babies were made to consume human milk! If you are struggling, see a lactation consultant and join a local Le Leche League! I am very active in ours and am so happy to help others! I struggled with my oldest, J, our entire 18 months with low milk supply, slow weight gain, infrequent bowel movements, and generally high needs. Our second child was a breeze! Our third we struggled immensely with allergies and elimination diet. Through them all, we persevered because we never gave ourselves another choice! To us, there isn't one.
Save your money on a wipe warmer and use your arm or leg. Seriously! I always change my babies on the floor or on my bed and before I change them, I pull two or three wipes out and drape them over my bare arm or leg. By the time I have undressed, de-diapered, and checked out the present, the wipes are perfect body temperature and baby is perfectly happy.
FOR NEW BABY WITH A STARTLE REFLEX: make diaper time and bath time much more pleasant and swaddle baby's arms. During a change, I always tuck a blanket tightly around baby's arms and chest and tuck behind them. This keeps their arms from flailing and them from screaming because this mama can't handle a screaming baby! It makes my heart shatter! During bath time, use a hand towel to cover their body and pour water over them to keep them warm! Again, no screaming! I often opt to bathe with my snuggle bug! This encourages milk production as well as skin to skin contact and the relaxing water environment baby grew in for 10 months! It can be wonderful therapy for baby and a nice calming time for mama before bedtime after the older children have gone to bed.
Needs:
1.) car seat. We all need one. Save your money though and buy a convertible car seat. Yes, the buckets in lovely patterns have some appeal and being able to break your back carrying them seems great! However, the average infant seat is outgrown before 12 months so why spend double the money when you can buy one seat from infant to booster?
2.) a good front carrier that won't break your back. The ergo baby carrier is my top pick! It's perfectly ergonomical for you and your baby. The wraps are nice but they make me sweat and I don't like to be hot! The investment also eliminates your need for those pesky infant car seats. Just snuggle baby up out of his/her seat at Target and baby will fall back asleep to your heartbeat and warm touch. If you need, you can nurse baby in the carrier while doing all of your grocery shopping! The Ergo has a nice hood that snaps us for privacy and people never know I am nursing while on the go! Www.babysteals.com often have them for about $50 which is up to 1/2 off! Snag one up when you can!
3.) Aden and Anais swaddling blankets. You typically get 4 for $35 and they are marvelous! They swaddle baby nice and snug while not making baby sweat. They also double as awesome nursing covers while out and about. I typically tuck mine into my bra strap and baby is happy!
4.) diapers! This may surprise you but I advocate disposables AND cloth! I love Bumgenius for cloth! Www.cottonbabies.com always has great deals! I make my own cloth wipes out of flannel and my own wipe spray for them. Using disposable wipes makes a mess when you forget one in a diaper and you have an extra item to toss away. Cloth just folds in until you wash! Cloth is amazing but there is a definite learning curve! If you go this route, invest in a diaper sprayer. 100% breastfeeding babies have water soluble poo so you need not pre-rinse but once you intro solids, you'll be happy for the sprayer!
I also endorse disposables as long as you are buying environmentally friendly ones free of chemicals that harm your baby! We have tried many different kinds and have fallen in love with Honest diapers and wipes. Www.honest.com The patterns are adorable, they deliver to your door, and are the best quality diaper I have ever used! Plus, they don't reek of the awful chemical smell.
5.) onesies! The only onesies I use for my babies are Carter's. They are the only ones that fit my babies. And they have some forgiving stretchiness to them. If you find a brand that works for you, don't mess with what works! Be brand loyal! I have wasted money trying to be cheap! If buying new is cost prohibitive for you, as it is for me because I don't believe in buying new things, visit your local Kid 2 Kid and buy used, save the difference! I'd love to tag along with you ;-)
That's all!
"Wait!" You say! "What about cribs, themes, paci's, and bottles?"
We don't believe in many of the modern baby items. We co-sleep with our precious little babies. Visit www.drsears.com to gain an understanding of safe co-sleeping. Our breastfeeding relationship flourishes best this way and mama gets the most sleep this way! Our babies never have had their own room! With our first we made a beautiful nursery and he never slept there for even 1 minute! It quickly turned to an office and we have never gone down that road again! Who likes to sleep alone? We were not created to be alone! J slept in a twin bed against our king bed until he was almost 3, when X was about 1, and they began sharing a room together. Now, all three boys share a room and no one would have it any different! J sleeps on the top bunk and X and M sleep on the bottom full bunk snuggled together! Rooms are a place for sleep and rest. We do not allow toys in there or play in there. We have many other rooms in our home for those things!
We don't believe in mama substitutes that many find in paci's. None of our children have ever taken a paci despite my pleads during all night nursing marathons and I have written them off! While we don't really believe in bottles either, asking a sitter to spoon feed breastmilk to our baby is unreasonable. We don't leave our babies until they are at least eating solids which in our house begins at about 9 months on average. I have an electric breast pump but prefer to use a manual one. Since I have struggled with my milk supply and don't pump often, pumping is frustrating and stressful for me and I have to pump as often as I can over a week to plan to leave baby with a sitter so I have enough milk stored up. We use glass bottles, Lifefactory are our preferred but Gerber makes them quite cheap and Target has them!
While we do have some other baby items, none of them are necessities! We have a jumper for a prewalker who is at least ready for foot pressure, so I can have supper going and entertain baby. We also have a high chair which we just got and have never had before! It will be neat to have a baby use one this time around. We got a 4 in 1 so we could use it on the go and at home! Clothes are necessity but never in excess! Our babies live mostly in onesies! Socks are a nightmare because they never fit our babies! We have infant Robeez that we love and use all of the time. We also use them with our babies when they start walking. Hard soled shoes can actually be a detriment and our pediatrician recommended leaving our babies barefoot as much as possible. The Robeez give them the sense and feel of barefoot while protecting them with a moccasin type bottom!
I make several item that I just desire to have and it calms my nesting problem too! I make my own burp cloths, the Aforementioned cloth wipes, wet bags, bibs... I am interested in making some nursing gowns for sleep also that have buttons or snaps so that when I don't need access, I feel modest and covered!
I have a few items that are purely wants but that I love:
Tommee Tippee bibs. They have a neck that is thicker and keeps cheese from drool and milk dribble from forming in your baby's neck! Bibs are great for saving your baby clothes for another child. Sometimes it takes months of storage for milk stains to appear!
A baby food maker and storage pouches. I love these! Baby Breeza has one that I really want! I have always made our baby food for on the go situations even though we don't spoon feed but instead encourage table solids when baby can grasp and eat alone (baby led feeding).
Baby soap and lotion. Water is plenty to clean your baby and coconut oil wonderful for lotion. But already having three boys that need a good wash, two with sensitive skin and one with skin bumps, I have to be very picky about soaps and lotions, but we do need them! I have found a brand, gone away from it because Target stopped carrying it, and gone back since I found I can buy it through their website direct. We LOVE LOVE LOVE 'Say Yes to Carrots'. As a wash, Dr. Bronners is our preferred wash but its not tear free and with babies, that's okay but toddlers are movers in the bath!
Honestly, I cannot think of anything else! There are entire stores devoted to baby items and while these items are all nice, most are a marketing technique boasting convenience to get you to spend your money! You don't need them! You just want them! Nothing is as satisfying to your baby as you are. So prop up your feet and snuggle your baby, for the days are long but the years short and you'll regret allowing your baby swing to monopolize your baby!
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