The ultimate list

I love lists.
This is for all you lady-mammas-to-be out there.  I know a few peeps who are knocked-up so I thought I’d send out an unsolicited list concerning all things essential as I see them, for the 1st 9 months.  I’ve divided it into pre-baby checklist, newborn, and things you can wait on.  I also included a list of things I did not miss and that you might want to steer clear of.  I’m a bare essentials type of gal- I did not want all this extraneous baby shit sitting around my house unused.  I remember being completely clueless and had to rely on friends’ advice to get me through.  Remember, Amy and Tisha- strolling through Babies-R-Us with a clueless Shannon?  I couldn’t have done it without you guys!  Also, good God, I don’t know what I would’ve done without my sister’s advice and input and help…. So, pay it forward, here is the list:

Newborn Needs:

Onesies- 8-10 (size 0-3 months); 12 (size 3-6 cuz they grow so darn fast).  Luci  basically lived in onesies during those early months.  They just seemed the most comfortable thing for her.  I wasn’t all about “dressing her up” at such an early age- too much of a hassle, we never left the house, and some of those outfits seemed downright uncomfortable!  Nice, cheap, soft onesies did it for us for a long, long while.  My only advice- buy very few small ones and mostly medium sized at first.  You’ll be amazed how fast they grow!!!!

Other outfits- pants and t-shirts; zipped, footed pajamas; and of course, you’ve GOTTA have SOME cutsie outfits for all the photos!!!!  Suggestion- 7 or so outfits.

Diapers- Swaddlers, smallest size.  I’d get 3-4 huge boxes so you don’t have to run back to store right away.

Diaper Genie- We have Diaper Genie II and have had no problems with it.  Do not forget to buy multiple replacement bag thingies- like 5 at first so you don’t have to worry about going back to store for more for a while.

Diaper Cream- Desitin is the BEST (and cheapest); don’t go for all those expensive brands- my sister tested them all out for us!  Her findings- Desitin blows them all outta the water!

Bathtub- one that fits in your kitchen sink so you don’t have to bend over your bathroom tub.  We still use the same bathtub and she’s over 20 lbs now!  I can’t remember brand name but we got it at Babies R Us, pretty generic.

Socks-Trumpettes are the only ones that will stay on.  I’d get 12-pair.  Baby can wear these (one size fits all) until they are about 1 year old.  Luci has just about grown out of these- but they make toddler sized for 1-2 year olds so I need to pick up some of those soon.

Bibs- once you start bottle feeding, you’ll need a shit-ton of these.  My sister gave me probably 15 terri cloth bibs and I was like, what the HELL am I going to do with all these bibs?  Well, I used them all the time, still am and STILL had to wash frequently.  I’d recommend 15 cheap, washable- will use till at least 9 mo of age.  They WILL get stains on them!

Baby Book- I love “Baby 911″ by Dr. Ari Brown- she is a Dr at my pediatrician’s office.  Friends got this book for us and it was our bible for 1st 4 months  for sure!  Everything you need to know from red flags to sleeping patterns to nursing, to development.  Great!  I still reference this book occaisionally.

Thermometer- some pediatricians require you to have anal themometer.  I know, sounds horrible but my peds office said that if we called in saying our child had a fever, 1st question would be if we took it with anal themometer.  If not, they’d make us hang up, go purchase one, retake temp and call back.  Baby doesn’t even feel it- we did it when she was asleep and wouldn’t even wake her up.   She still doesn’t even realize anything’s going on down there.

“My Breast Friend”- I call it a “boob-preserver” and it is hands-down SO much better than the “Boppy” for breastfeeding.   Night and day.  If you’re going to breastfeed, this is a MUST.  It made my life so much easier after the lactation consultant recommended this.  Made a HUGE difference in my technique and technique is everything when breastfeeding!

Boob cream- You need pure lanolin.  I used Lansinoh and loved it.  This stuff is miracle in a tube.  Won’t get into the gorey details on here but suffice it to say, you WILL need this stuff if you are breastfeeding!  Bring to hospital.

Nursing bras- Target has cheap ones that were perfect for me.  I had 2 and went back and bought about 5 more to avoid having to wash one twice a day!

Nursing pads- I remember having absolutely no clue these even existed when Amy and Tisha pointed them out at Babies-R-Us.  Uh, yeah.  You’ll need these.  You’ll need a TON of these.  I got the washable type mostly and probably got about 40 of them.

Lingerie or sock washing bag- to wash nursing pads in so they don’t get lost.  Also useful for small baby items like socks.

Burp-cloths- get a ton of them.  Babies-R-Us has this really annoying brand that completely lose their square shape after washing which make them impossible to fold….I THINK they were the organic cotton type, so stay away from those.  I probably have 15 or so burp cloths.

Washcloths- get a ton of them.  I think I have about 20.  I use 2 for every bath.

Baby hooded towels- I bought the cheap packets at Target.  I think we have about 6 of them.  I also have cheap regular hand towels as extra padding for countertop for after we remove her from tub in kitchen.

Blankets- get about 8 of the thin flannel kind for swaddling.  Then, a few extra plush, cute ones for other purposes.  We really overdid it in the blanket area (I love blankets).  I have about 20 of them and didn’t go through that many.

Kiddopatamus-Swaddle Me wraps-  These  were awesome when it became to hard too swaddle her in a regular blanket.  These are easy to use and really worked for us.

Crib sheets- I am addicted to crib sheets.  I have about 8 of them and that has served us pretty well so far but I think 3-4 would be essential.  Target has cute ones!

Mattress pad- 2 in case one gets soiled and needs replacing before you can get to do the laundry.

Mattress- recommend organic one.  Make sure you air it out prior to assemling it with sheets, etc.  And, get one at least 2 months before you have baby so that all the chemicals, etc can “air out”.

Diaper changing pad- we just got one that sits on top of regular dresser and it’s worked out great for us.  See below for anti-slip material.

Rubber carpet anti-slip- for use under diaper changing pad if you’re using it on top of regular dresser.  You can get it at Target in rugs section.  Just cut a piece small enough to fit under pad and works like a charm- Thanks, Amy!

Sleep sacks/wearable blankets- Once Luci started hating being swaddled, these things were life-savers.  She still sleeps in one every single night and will probably continue to do so for a long time.  I think she was over being swaddled at 2-3 months and these provided the extra warmth she needed to keep her warm in such a cool room (see below for recommended temperature in nursery to avoid sids- it’s a chilly 69 degrees plus fan!)!  Only complaint- the ones you find at Babies R Us are so CHEAPLY made.  I haven’t looked elsewhere and keep suffering through broken zippers, etc.  We’re about ready to move up to the next size and I’m going to track down some better quality ones.

Small Fan- the news that circulated air helps to reduce sids by 72% came out right after Luci was born.  We went out and bought a fan right away.  I was freaked because of the chilly air in her room- but apparently, fans don’t help decrease the temperature, they just circulate the air so all was good.  Don’t point it direclty at the crib.

Humidifier- especially for winter nights.  The last thing you want is dry snot clogging up those nostrils-makes for horribly long and hard feeding times!  We got a cheap one at the drug store and used it just about every night.

Nose-sucker thingie- a MUST, especially for a bad cold.  However, according to our Dr, you’re not to overuse it as it can irritate nasal cavity and make everything worse so we basically tried to use it right before feedings so that Luci would actually eat!

Throat-sucker thingie- Luckily, we didn’t have to use this a lot but you need it.  Especially for the first few weeks, while they’re getting used to swallowing, etc.  Peace of mind.  I carried mine around with me everywhere in my diaper bag.  Bring it to the hospital.

Eucerin- My Dr. recommended this for Luci’s excema.  I don’t know if it really works because she still has it, but it’s very moisturizing, very mild for baby’s sensitive skin (and I’ve tried all kinds of creams for excema and nothing’s worked so far).  Just regular old Eucerin.  I put it on her every day still.  Note- not recommended to put anything on baby’s skin for first few weeks to 1st month.  Dr. also recommended Aquaphor and I use that, too.

Formula- even if you’re breastfeeding, have it on-hand.  We tried both liquid (more expensive) and powder.  No difference.  Powder is cheaper and easy peasy.

Bottles- get BPA free bottles (BPA can cause all kinds of problems-it leaks from the plastic when it has been heated).  I liked Green to Grow (thanks, Jami!).

Bottle drying rack- simple one.  And bottle brush.

Munchkin plastic bottle parts holder thingie for dishwasher (for nipples, tops of bottles, etc).  A coworker got one for me and I had no clue what it was.  We use it every single day still.

Milk Storage bags- Once you get to the point where you’ll actually leave the house for any amount of time, you’ll need to pump and store.  There are many options for this-the freezer bags seemed to work best.  There are also containers you can get to keep in fridge.

Car seat- duh.  Get one that works with your stroller for easy transport of sleeping baby.

Stroller- duh.  I LOVE my BOB for jogging.  Fabulous!  No complaints here.  We got the “Sports Utility” one since we jog on the trail a lot and it’s just perfect.  The front wheel doesn’t turn so it’s not great for a regular stroller. However, you could totally get the “Bob Revolution” and use it as your jogger AND regular stroller.  Just get a car seat that goes with it.  Regular day-to-day stroller- get one that works with the car seat for easy transferring of sleeping baby.  Ease of use is key so test it out in the store.  Ease of use and weight.  You don’t need an expensive stroller as long as it’s easily manipulated and light, you’re fine.  If you’re a jogger, save the $ and use it on the Bob jogger instead-it’ll change your life.  Ok, not really, but it’s the best damn stroller ever.

Wipes- shit ton of these.  I use Target “unscented”.  Never used a wipe warmer and never would- not needed.

Mild baby wash- not supposed to use anything but water for at least the 1st few weeks.  Get something mild.

Nail clippers- I didn’t get comfortable cutting her nails until she was about 3 months old.  It’s scary!!!  After the 1st month, I think, you can peel them if you want.  Before that, the nail isn’t separated from the skin yet so I wouldn’t touch them.  Socks work (so they don’t scratch themselves while sleeping).  The mitten things they sell that are all cutsie-steer clear- they do NOT stay on!!!!  They also make onesies with folds that go over the hands- we used these a good bit too and they worked fine.

Swing- Ummm… at first, I refused to buy one.  I hate big plastic baby looking shit.  Hate that shit.  Amy let us borrow hers and THANK GOD she did.  The was the ONLY way Luci would sleep the 1st night.  I highly recommend you getting a swing.  Doesn’t have to be anything big or fancy.  A small, cheap one will do.  For the first few months, I didn’t like leaving Luci in her crib while I was awake so I always put her down in the swing in the living room where I could keep an eye on her.  She loved sleeping in the swing.

Breast pump- duh.  Get a good one.  Thank you, Tisha!  Shirly reminded me you can rent a hospital grade one.  Do this- it is NOT gross at all (sounds it, I know).  Once you figure out how it all works and that only the replacement tubes, etc etc “touch” you, you’ll see what I mean.  You’re basically just renting the motor.

New set of tubes- etc if you’re borrowing a breast pump

CD Player and soothing CD’s for nursery- Luci still loves acoustic guitar and I think it’s from music in her room at an early age and also Craig playing to her.

Things you can wait on

Bouncy- one that hangs in the doorway.  Luci loved it!

Bumbo- We fed her in this for a few months but you don’t need it until they can sorta sit up, maybe around 3 months.

Lots of toys- they literally sleep and eat for like 3 months.  lots of extra toys that early will clutter up the house.

Convertible car seat- don’t need this till they are 20 lbs, around 10 months old

Food processor- you may want to consider buying one if you plan on making your own baby food (a lot easier than it sounds)

Things for Mom/Things to do before

Robe/Slippers- for hospital

Comfy PJ’s- you will live in these

“Spa-like treatments” for your showers- Showers are rare.  Make them worthwhile.  Spoil yourself with good, yummy smelling essentials.  I did and it made my showers extra special.

House clean- pay someone to do a good cleaning about 1-2 weeks before due-date.  That way, you come home to a really clean house and you don’t have to worry about it

House projects/organizing- won’t have time after baby gets here

Read up on C-sections- just in case.  I had no idea recovery was going to be so painful

Shopping- stock your kitchen about 1-2 weeks before due date (or even a few weeks earlier than that, just in case).  Anything and everything you can think of- you WILL go through it.  Easy to prepare dinners and yummy snacks, etc.  Include maxi pads on this list-lots of them.

Ask friends/relatives to bring you food- Essential.  Our friends Kevin and Tisha stocked our fridge for us while I was in the hospital.  It was AMAZING coming home to the yummy food they got for us.  Also, other friends brought us food throughout the weeks following Luci’s birth.  I remember the securing of food being such a pain in the ass and it would’ve been WAY WORSE without the help of our friends.  They also brought us food in the hospital- this is essential because if you’re anything like me, you’ll be STARVING and hospital food sucks.

Find a good pediatrician who has a nurse lactation consultant on staff- ESSENTIAL.  We spent about 3 hours with ours and she was AMAZING!!!!  Changed our lives!

Learn to take naps at weird times- You must sleep when baby sleeps.  I could not and it wreaked havoc on my everything.  I wish I had actually practiced taking naps.

Things I did not get that I did not miss

Wipes warmer- not a necessity

Exersaucer- I hate these big plastic things.  If they made a cool mod one, I would’ve gotten it.  I think there’s a market for cool, mod baby stuff.  I wanted a sleek wooden one.  Not out there.  Didn’t miss it anyways- and she had one at daycare.

Bring to Hospital

Robe/Slippers

Socks

Snacks- seriously.  I was in there for 5 days and we raided the hospitals snack area like 30 x per day.  I would recommend stuff like pudding and jello.  I couldn’t get enough.

Toiletries- I remember the 1st shower post-surgery.  It hurt like hell but damn, did I smell better afterward

Baby outfit

Change of clothes- comfy

Notebook to write any notes from Dr/lactation consultants

Baby book- for the little footsie prints

Lansinoh- Boob cream

Oh, and take everything they try to give you in the hospital home with you- you’ll need ALL of it.

I’m sure I’m forgetting things so I will add as I remember them.  It’s a lot to think about but eaiser to get a hold of than it seems.