To get you started:
1. Registries
1a. We will be registering at Target. Babies R Us is about 45 minutes away from us. Would Babies R Us or Amazon be a better choice?
1b. What is something that you thought you needed but you really didn't end up using?
1c. What is something that you wish had been on the list?
1d. There are so many options...which items do we need to research ahead of time and which can we go to the store and pick our favorite?
1e. What specific things (with a brand) have worked well for you and that you would recommend?
2. Diapers
2a. We're considering cloth diapers. Any thoughts?
2b. How much extra work/time do cloth diapers actually take?
2c. Which brand of diapers (cloth or disposable) seem to work well or poorly for you?
3. Daycare
3a. What questions do you think we should ask prospective daycare providers (beyond the basics)?
4. Other
4a. What tricks did you learn that worked well?
4b. What other advice do you have that hasn't been covered in a previous question?
5 comments:
Hey Amanda (and Ben),
Great questions! I'll answer the first thing that comes to my mind.
1a. Babies R Us is a super store with everything, but if 45 mins is a long drive for you and/or your gift buyers, just pick Amazon.
1b. Bottle drying rack and bottle parts dishwasher basket. Never opened them. Also, we didn't use our Bumpo too much.
1c. Get a Boppy pillow (or similar), they rock. And as a point of interest, register for the same brand of kitchen-ware, especially sippy cups etc. A lot of piece (like lids and liquid stoppers) are interchangeable which saves a lot of matching.
1d. Beyond researching everything, and there are a ton of baby opinions out there, research the expensive stuff because likely you'll be using it a lot. Car seat, stroller, high chair, crib, pack and play, etc. If it's less than $20, just pick it yourself. Also, just pick something once you narrow down the list, because you'll never know the different between Item Z and Item Y, even though Item Y has super feature B (which you didn't know you needed until reading about it). We have leeway as first-time parents . . . and have no idea what we're doing! : )
1e. I loved the Baby Bjorn carrier and Chico (carrier) car seat, and would recommend them.
2a. If you have your own washing machine, I think they are worth it. Save some money for sure (especially if you have > 1 kid), but you never have to run to the store because you're out and you're not filling landfills.
2b. Hardly any? It's not like you're hand washing them! : ) Really, just dump water-proof bag of diapers in washer, throw in drier when done, dump back into bag when dry. Simple. Remembering to do them is the key (keep that pack of disposables around!), but it's quite easy. The thing you need is the toilet-attached sprayer: I have not touched poop or dirty water for years when rinsing diapers. Plus, it saves you the "soak load" on laundry cycles. Also, we don't take them on trips over 2 nights without a washer, or all-day-no-car trips (like amusement parks, etc) - carrying the dirty diapers gets old.
2c. Check with Jess about the brands and such. There are zillions.
3. We didn't use. If we were going to, we'd find a private person that we knew or was recommended. Nothing against the commercial places, but those employees come and go and you won't really know them.
4a. Hugh had sensitive skin so "hypoallergenic" was a great word to see on anything (Brand X that had it always worked better than Great Commerial Brand "for baby skin").
4b. Ha, nice try! There's no magic answer here - we'll never figure it all out! Patience and perseverance - you two will love your kids and be great parents. Enjoy it, don't "solve" it! ; )
We love you guys, keep us posted (and with this blog, I know you will)
Clay
Well, here is my two cents...
Something you might decide you don't need is a high chair. We just have a Deluxe Booster Seat which is great. It takes up way less space and it is easy to take along where ever you need to go.
Something you might want to consider as you research your first car seat/baby carrier is how big of a baby can fit in it. We almost bought one that was only good up to 22 lbs and Joash would have grown out of that long ago. We are so happy we went with the Graco Snugride which is good up to 35 lbs. Especially since they now recommend kids be in a rear facing car seat until they are 2.
Cloth diapers are totally worth it. We use Bumgenius 4.0 pocket diaper. I wash a load of diapers every other day and it has been so worth it. I think if I were to get more, I would go with snap closures instead of velcro. Nicki's Diapers is a great web-site. They have a deal that lets you buy different brands to try. I would recommend testing them out on your baby before settling on the brand you are going to use.
Hope this helps!
If we did it again I would def use the cloth. I'd do Target and Amazon for the registeries. Get the Anais recieving blankets...they are pricey but worth every cent! The Boppy is indespensible. We used our Bumbo seat ALL the time. The baby tub doesn't need all the bells and whistles, our mom's washed us in the sink right? We had the booster instead of the highchair. I would get a VIDEO MONITOR, especially if jr. is a light sleeper.The stroller is all your taste, the carseats we had were the GRACO SNUGRIDE and the BRITAX. CONSUMER REPORTS has a list of the top baby stuff, I think it's only $10 bucks for online access. The PLAYGYM was also a lifesaver as Henry was an active baby. We waited on the SWING to see if he really needed it but the BOUNCY SEAT was nice so I could take a shower. BABY BJORN or something like it carrier is a really good thing to have, especially if jr. does not want to be put down.
Clay gave a pretty in depth answer from our families perspective, so I'll just add a few thoughts. I agree with the other 2 posts that a space saver booster seat would be a better option than a high chair. We got a free high chair hand me down so that's what we use, but if I wouldn't have bought one. We also love having the super small booster seat that folds neatly in our car all the time, then if we are eating at someones house it's easy to keep the kid at the table, and I don't have to remember to bring it along. I think the bouncy seat is essential for the first few months too. But get the cheaper kind that is just a wire frame because it moves with them so much better than the firm seats. (they seem to be pretty common items at yard sales).
As far as diapering, I love cloth diapering, but if you are doing a day care you have to make sure that the day care you choose will be willing to use cloth. Many are not. If that's the case of your day care then I don't think it would be worth it. As far as brands we like Huggies for disposables. For cloth we use prefolds with Thirsty covers for day time. And Sugar peas for night time. jilliansdrawers.com is a store in Ithaca and it has a great website and their customer service is really good. Check out their site if you think of cloth diapering, they have a section called "New to Cloth" that I found pretty informative when I was starting up.
So excited for you guys!
I know you guys already started the gift registry thing, but here goes. Hope it's still helpful:
* We thought the Baby Bjorn would be the best thing since sliced bread...Brian hated it. I got him into it twice, he spit up a ton each time and then just wanted out the second he was in. He's a mini-Joe - there is no restraining this kid.
* We had a *lot* more luck with the swing than the bouncer (though it was more of a napping place than anything else.) If you're looking to register for a swing, picking one that can swing both front and back and side to side is key. Fisher-Price has some good ones.
* We are admittedly lazy and thus do not cloth diaper. Huggies works well, though the Little Movers type can irritate his butt with prolonged use. So we tend to go the Snug and Dry route. Pampers are cheaper but stick to butts, which doesn't help diaper rash. Any diaper is going to give a rash with diarrhea, no matter how diligently you change.
* Amazon is awesome. Don't forget to sign up for Amazon Mom for yourself if you haven't already. You get discounts on stuff and it's ridiculously easy to buy enough stuff to get free Amazon Prime for a year. Then after your year is up, Ben can get an Amazon Mom account (it's for all caretakers) and you can get another year of Prime.
* Big stuff I go to brick and mortars to check out, but the cheaper stuff I just browse on Amazon for.
* We got an Angelcare motion-sensing monitor because I am twitchy about SIDS. If your baby is wriggly they will find ways to wriggle out of its range for a while ;)
* Lastly, every baby is different, so you will probably not use everything you get. It just is what it is.
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