Baby Gear Basics

The thing about those biased recommendations is people are awfully defensive of their parenting. Sometimes more so than they are about their actual children. Think about how much people normally hate to be told that they're wrong and then multiply accordingly for how nuts people go about everything related to their kids. If you plan to do anything different than any other parents in your presence be prepared to hear about why you're wrong and they're right.

As for crappy brands, I think the truth is that with the state of liability and sheer volume of ambulance chasers around you're not likely to find something important for safety and a total PoS out of the box because companies simply can't get away with doing that. Where you will pay for cheap is in the durability and features department, but that kind of stuff will be obvious in the store.

Strollers: I have an unnaturally violent dislike of Styrofoam and plastic wheels. They're simply inferior materials. Buying rubber wheels means almost certainly buying a jogging stroller. They're nicer to push in general (so much so that everyone who has ever pushed our stroller has remarked upon it). They take uneven and rough terrain or eve something simple like grass so much better than 'standard' strollers. Of course this comes at a major cost in weight and portability. Our stroller is big and heavy, you pay for having to carrying it and you're not going to fold it up to fit in the glove box the way you can with some strollers.

Car Seats: Take your time and find a good car seat. Latest recommendations have kids in rear-facing cars eats until 2 and in some manner of booster till something like 100 lbs. If you look around you can find single seats to take you through the entire sequence - and though they cost more initially they're cheaper than buying 3 or 4 different seats along the way.

Baby clothes: Forget the sizes, every brand is so different they might as well not even bother labelling them. Remarkably frustrating. Also, don't get too excited about buying 'newborn' size clothes. Quite a few babies I know are in the 3-6 month sizes in just a few weeks. My son didn't even get to wear all of his newborn stuff before he outgrew it (my parents went off the deep end with clothes).

I don't recall any could-not-have-made-it-without-this devices off the top of my head, but if I think of any I'll be sure to come back and let you know.

 

Single best thing we got for our babies: Burley stroller. Will allow you to exercise with your little one.

Things you will wish you had more of in the middle of the night: Old fashioned cloth diapers. Not for diapering but to use on all the spit-up etc, that needs perpetual cleaning.

Thing to get early: The crib. Can be a pain in the ass to put together. You WILL NOT have time to deal with it once the baby comes. Get it done early because you never know when baby will arrive.

 

Here's the thing: Get what you can afford.

When we had our first kid, we were barely out of school (I was a bike courier while my wife was pregnant and only got my first career path job when she was two weeks from giving birth). We spent a lot of time looking for gently used baby stuff. It was amazing how much there was available. This was in the days before Craigslist, so now it's a lot easier.

The one thing we didn't go second hand on was a car seat. I wanted to make certain we had the best one available.

If you plan on going to friend's or parent's houses, get a folding playpen/crib. They make your life a lot easier.

Diapers: there is a debate about cloth vs. disposable. The information we read suggested that your decision should be made based on what you have a shortage of in your area: water or land. If you have a shortage of water stick with disposable. If you have shortage of land, go with cloth. In Toronto, you can put disposable diapers in the green bin (organic waste) where they are processed for compost.

 

I was mostly on the bus or walking with my little ones. Even when it was just my son I splurged and went for a double stroller. More space for laying down and when going on an outing to the park I had a more storage space for gear. I chucked the purse in favor of a big bag, diaper bag or knapsack. Both of mine were boobie babies so I also used a front pack.
I would really go with what you can afford for around the house. Consider your travel habits. They grow so fast that some toys and gadgets never even get used and can end up being a waste of space and money.
I agree with never buying a carseat second hand.

 

This. Sooo much this. No reason not to have the nursery finished by week 30. Even if the baby is a couple weeks early you don't want to be scrambling to find it a place to sleep. Ours came healthy, fit and happy at 35 weeks. He stayed in the hospital a few days extra but I'm still so glad we didn't wait to have everything finished.

 

Here's my 2 cents:

The crib is not as important as people think other than the "get it done now" factor. Chances are that the baby will not be sleeping in a separate room initially. Generally, you want baby near mom at night because it helps with breathing and it's a lot more convenient for feedings. All of ours slept in a bassinet for the first 6 weeks or so. Get the baby's room ready (if it has one), but don't freak out about the crib if there's a reason that it can't be assembled immediately.

There are a few types of strollers to consider - first, there's one that you can put a car seat into (it's basically just a metal frame). It's convenient if you're going somewhere but a giant pain for a walk around the block. You need it but don't use it as your primary stroller. Second - bigger wheels are better. They handle bumps much better and give a better ride. Most of them have an option to lay baby flat, and that's great when they're infants.

Here's what you need when you're headed to the hospital to deliver - the car seat (already installed), a change of clothes and toiletries for you, and the going home outfit for kiddo. Nothing else. The hospital will load you up on diapers, ointments and all other assorted baby gear. Take it. It will save you a trip to the store, which means additional sleep later.

 

Our hospital has a person 'certified' (their word) to install car seats from most major manufacturers and does it for 'free'. Also, if you have a preemie they do something called a 'car seat test' in which you'll have to take in into the hospital. It might be prudent to either just bring it along or wait (if you're not going home in 6/12 hours or whatever it is now) until the coming home trip to install it so you know what you're in for. Your husband will almost certainly have enough down time to install it after you get there.

 

The new cars seats with newer cars make it ridiculously easy to install. The LATCH system is basically 3 clips that get tightened as much as possible. Once you understand how it works, you can pop a seat in and out in about 3 minutes with minimal hassle.

 

Long time ago for me, but one thing we found indispensable was a good ultrasonic mister for when the baby is stuffed up (and s/he will be). Most have a small reservoir, and have to be refilled too often. For some reason I have it in my mind that ours was from Fisher-Price (can't find it on line) and it had a big enough reservoir to go all night.

A second thing we found very useful when the kids were a little older was a travel playpen that folded up very compactly and doubled as a crib when away. Made travelling MUCH easier.

 

Books, loads of them. I read to my kids every night when they were baby's and tots. They grew to have enormous vocabularies and both love to read. It also gives you time to sit with baby and just enjoy time together.

 

Another one I just remembered: They make these metal framed seats that go on the floor, with a soft cushiony seat for baby. There's a little hang bar above to put toys for them to look at. And they can vibrate.
Great to buy 20 minutes of peaceful time so you can eat dinner together, with baby quiet right next to you, but not in your lap.

 

one of my twin girls loved swaddling cloths. They definitely helped her relax as a newborn. the other didnt care or need them. I also like the fisher price fish tanks that strap to the side of their cribs and play a few songs. The girls have had theirs for 27 months now. We did use a bottle warmer, works pretty well but they arent cheap. Get a good bottle brush and plenty of bottles.

 

Avoid drop-side cribs, and get on the CPSC's recall e-mailing list. The latter will show you why you should avoid the former.

 

We had a swing that was too strong, moved too quickly. She hated it and grimaced the entire ride. We had another swing that reclined like a car seat and moved side to side. That was well liked by baby. I liked the carriage type stroller. Mine slept there the first month or two, and I could push it from room to room without waking her. Looking at changing tables, one big enough for a toddler is great if you can find one.

http://download.gracobaby.com/ProductInstructionManuals/be005.pdf This took practice finding actual baby sounds, but it was fun. it came with 2 headsets. I'll never forget waking from a nap to see my 2 older girls standing beside my bed, wearing the headphones, about to put the microphone on my tummy to hear their little sister.

 

I would recommend a dozen muslin cloths, or buy a few yards of muslin cloth and cut into squares, use them on your shoulder when burping, wiping up sick, food, milk, they can be boiled and tumble dried. You will be amazed at how useful they become.

 

I also used a bedside bassinet with both boys, it was was much easier to have them close for the first five/six weeks, feedings and etc., just overall closeness was comforting.

The one thing I would never buy again and threw away immediately was the diaper pail, diaper disposal, bs.... it may be quick to stick the dirty diaper in the can right next to you and twist, and yes the smell was gone, momentarily, but when you eventually had to empty the thing it was REPULSIVE!!!! I immediately went to recycling my wally bag, plastics, etc. just put the diaper in, twist, roll over twist again and toss in garbage, garbage out every other day, much better, and you don't have to spend extra to buy the silly refills for the diaper pail poop fermentationanator, those things are just gross and a waste of money.

A good rocking chair is a must, with a recliner is even better so in those late nights you can rock and then tilt back and rest, or even in the day. Some of my most precious pictures are of daddy rocking the boys in the rocker and then reclining with them asleep on his chest, so sweet.

Should have bought stock in desitin, not creamy, it is a great barrier to protect the tender skin, use at first concern, and use often and liberally to prevent diaper rash.

If you intend to breast feed, Lansinoh lanolin is a miracle worker, use early (before you even begin feeding, start massaging and pinching and rolling, toughen those puppies {nips} up! S.O. would probably volunteer for this job) and often, and it's great for eczema also (allergies of lanolin aside). If you do breast feed, invest in a few good breastfeeding bras, pj's, and shirts, it really does make it easier and less "work", oh and nip pads, imp.

Again, Congratulations, so exciting, are you feeling movement yet? It is so amazing to feel movement inside your own body, enjoy every moment, even the not so enjoyable ones, they are all worth it.

p.s. I am allergic to wool, but not lanolin, so if you are allergic to wool don't automatically rule out lanolin, try a little on the inside of your wrist, lansinoh hpa is pharmaceutical grade and truly awesome.

 

Strollers/prams
- take a 5kg bag of rice with you shopping - dump it in the device and drive it around the shop. Should give you an idea of how well it drives 'loaded'.
- try and collapse it and put it back together - if you can't do it really simply, don't buy it.
- weight is important - you need to be able to get it in the trunk of the car. Something really heavy is just.....bad.

We had a Phil and Ted's Explorer and it was really good. 3 pneumatic tires, baby could lie completely flat, was fairly light, easily manoeuvrable and also folded down quite small. As a bonus, the extra toddler seat you could attach was 'inline' (i.e. the thing didn't get wider when you added the second seat for the second child.

My wife also bought a cheap (really light) stroller, that still could be laid flat - this was good if you were just nipping down the shops and weighed about a 1/3 or 1/4 of the Explorer.

Baby bag
You are going to lug this everywhere, it is going to be full of so much crap and you really don't want to lug two bags. My wife originally bought a cute backpack but quickly realised it was too small. Ended up buying a satchel type bag with a should strap. That little extra space was really important.

For the second baby we skipped the bassinet altogether and went straight to the cot - given you wrap them tightly and make the cot up so they can't disappear under the blankets, that is fine. Also baby one stayed in our room for about a day - too F$%^ing loud - we dubbed him "Snorty" and moved him into his own room

Good luck with it all - just remember that advice is worth what you paid for it