Baby gear!

[lili]

Let's talk about it! Have things you can't live without? Any FTM's have questions?


I'm on the hunt for a great backpack diaper bag, any recommendations?

[acarpediem]

I could not live with out my ergo 360 baby carrier with the first one. It was a must have with public transportation. This time around, I want to get a rock N play. I wish we would have had one the first go round.

[marygracerich]

I think all I want is a rock n play. I borrowed one last time. Other than that I still have all of my stuff from G.
I will get good use out of the pack n play and the sit me up chair. Those are great.

[Deleted]

My cannot live withouts are sound machines and baby carriers of some kind - I am a Tula girl. Oh, and swaddle blankets. I have never had any luck with sleep sacks or swaddle bags or any of that, I am an old fashioned DIY swaddler haha.

What about CAN live withouts? I have never had a travel system for an infant bucket seat. With DD2 we skipped the infant carseat altogether and we plan on doing so for this baby too. Also, I am sure I can live without it, but I won a free auto rocking RNP that I am so pumped to use for this baby. Those were not a thing for my last two (or if they were I must have just been too cheap).

[sunfrogger]

Aug 9, 2017 8:33:17 GMT -6 lili said:

I'm on the hunt for a great backpack diaper bag, any recommendations?

I have a Bagnation bag and love love love. It was a special on prime day. Tons of stuff for two littles!

[sunfrogger]

My RnP and my Lillebaby! I may get a sit me up seat but not sure yet.

[sunfrogger]

I barely used the PnP last time

[lili]

I've got a RnP, but was thinking on getting the auto rock one. Is that necessary? We have a swing.

[lili]

Aug 9, 2017 9:02:43 GMT -6 sunfrogger said:

I barely used the PnP last time

Yup, I only use ours when we travel.

[Deleted]

A PNP is a must for us, DD2 slept in it in our room for the first 6 months or so and we plan on this baby doing the same.

[maddisonrose]

Must haves for us are : mamaroo! This thing literally saves our lives at multiple stages with DS. Good swaddle blankets - we use Aden and anais. I have a Tula carrier but this time I'm going to go for a beluga baby wrap and see if it works better earlier on. A halo bassinet also worked wonders beside our bed for the first 5 months, it was a life saver especially when recovering from a csection. And finally a dock a tot! This made sleep training so.much.easier. And DS still uses his to this day

Live without: a pack n play- we never ever used one in our house. An actual diaper bag- I don't know why but it was just so unnecessary to me so I switched to a Herschel backpack and it just made life easier. Last thing was the bumbo. D was exceptionally strong and was sitting up on his own at 4 months with no help from the chair so kinda just sat useless

[dragonflyinn]

Aug 9, 2017 8:33:17 GMT -6 lili said:

Let's talk about it! Have things you can't live without? Any FTM's have questions?


I'm on the hunt for a great backpack diaper bag, any recommendations?

All my girlfriends swear by Fawn Design backpack diaper bags. They are so cute & don't look like diaper bags.

[dragonflyinn]

Can't live without:

*Rock-n-play-- so nice to have and DD took so many newborn naps in that thing! It lasted us a long time bc she was so petite, it helped when she got her first cold too bc she could sleep on an incline for a few nights.
*Pack n play-- she slept here in our room the first few months. After that I used it as a playpen for months, she spent 30-45 min playing in there every morning while I did chores.
*baby carrier-- another Tula girl here. We had a cheap one and I regretted that & got the Tula around DDs first birthday. I'm really excited to use it sooner with this one (my neighbor has the infant insert for me)

I may come back if I think of more! We were VERY minimalist with DD. Only got the basics really (like the things above + car seat & stroller). I'm on team "baby will adjust to whatever you have available" meaning if your baby doesn't like your swing or bouncer or whatever at first, that doesn't mean your kid won't eventually like it. This held true for our DD at least so we were able to save $$ by not buying ALL the things.

[tiffrobot]

Must have:
baby carrier! I didn't use one with DS, but was a life changer with DD when my hands were that much busier with an older one! For me I did the newborn stage in a ktan and then moved to a BabyHawk mei tei around 3 months. She pretty much lived in that thing! It was so nice to go for walks too because DS was still in a stroller and she hated her car seat the first few months so instead of using the double in the beginning I could just strap her on and push him.
And because of the carriers-a babywearing coat! I live where it gets COLD in the winter and luckily had the thoughts to invest in a good maternity/babywearing coat with her, now that this one will be born in the bitterness of the coldest months (we can hit -50 wind chills in January) I am sooo happy I have it!

Not needed: we don't have an actual change table. We have a dresser that's the perfect height to put the change pad on, and then we have room in our bathroom to stick one on our floor so everything is right beside me for bath time or for changes once they start rolling around and they won't roll off a table.
And diaper bags-i think I'm just going to upgrade to a nice big Mom purse. Seeing you guys mention backpacks above actually sounds like a great idea too.

I will add more as I think of it, but those are the things that instantly stick out to me as my personal must haves/don't need

[lili]

I actually really like having a changing table on both floors, but don't have room for it downstairs anymore. I'm not sure what my alternative is now because changing on the floor like I do now isn't going to be an option for awhile.

[Deleted]

Aug 9, 2017 10:15:07 GMT -6 lili said:

I actually really like having a changing table on both floors, but don't have room for it downstairs anymore. I'm not sure what my alternative is now because changing on the floor like I do now isn't going to be an option for awhile.

Do you just mean comfort wise as you get bigger or why isn't it an option? I have never used a changing table 🙈🙈

[lili]

Aug 9, 2017 10:17:17 GMT -6 peachesncream said:

Aug 9, 2017 10:15:07 GMT -6 lili said:

I actually really like having a changing table on both floors, but don't have room for it downstairs anymore. I'm not sure what my alternative is now because changing on the floor like I do now isn't going to be an option for awhile.

Do you just mean comfort wise as you get bigger or why isn't it an option? I have never used a changing table 🙈🙈

After the baby comes, I wont be able to get on the floor and change them. I'm having a RCS....the issue isn't really that I NEED a changing table, I just need a higher table to put a changing pad(don't want to bend a ton in the beginning) on and I don't really have anything.

[sarahh]

Must have: Swing, pack n play, aden and anis muslins for swaddling

We have a RNP but DD didn't like it much. Maybe this baby will like it.

We used a PNP with DD in our room for 6 months. This time I bought a halo bassinet off a BST and I'm hoping that will work better for me after C-section because last time I had to keep getting out of bed to get DD and the halo swings over the bed.

We really want to get a double bob. I have almost given up on finding a used one in my area for under $400. I was talking to DH and at Babies R Us you can use a 20% off coupon from Buy Buy baby which we get all the time and stack it with the 10% completion discount (we started a registry to track what all we need to buy and get the completion discount). Currently the Double Bob is $659 so with the coupons it brings it to $475 which is more manageable. We'll see though. Maybe I will stumble across a used one sometime this fall when it gets colder.

[Deleted]

Aug 9, 2017 10:19:36 GMT -6 lili said:

Aug 9, 2017 10:17:17 GMT -6 peachesncream said:

Do you just mean comfort wise as you get bigger or why isn't it an option? I have never used a changing table 🙈🙈

After the baby comes, I wont be able to get on the floor and change them. I'm having a RCS....the issue isn't really that I NEED a changing table, I just need a higher table to put a changing pad(don't want to bend a ton in the beginning) on and I don't really have anything.

Oh, got it! Ouch. I feel like in that newborn stage we changed a lot of diapers in the Boppy on the couch.

Oh, add Boppy to my must have list. I did without it the first time around but I really really loved having it with my second.

[mrsp84]

Yes to the RNP! That is my #1 thing that I tell all my expectant friends to get. It was where DD slept basically the first 5 months of her life. And it helped us get her through her first sleep regression. I love that thing. And it's so easy to fold up and take places. Not sure if the automatic one is necessary though. I always just rocked it with my foot while doing other things.

Another must have for us was a humidifier. I think it still will be with #2 since we're having another winter baby.

This time, I want to get a backpack diaper bag (thanks for the suggestions already! I'm going to look them up!) and a baby carrier. Now that I've lost a significant amount of weight since I had DD, I should have more options. I'll have to look into the Tula since most of you ladies are recommending it!

I also plan on using my PNP this time. We got a brand new one at my baby shower and it ended up just going to my ILs house because we had no room for it. Now that we've moved and have a 2 story home, I am going to set up a diaper changing area with the PNP and have extra sets of clothes available so I don't have to keep going up and down the stairs.

[Deleted]

Oh and this is a stupid petty one, but a top load washing machine with no agitator. I am visiting my parents and they have a front loader and it is driving me nuts - the load size is so tiny and I can't pause it to add more, I feel like I am doing laundry constantly! We do cloth diapers too so without our ginormous washer I think I would lose my mind.

[helloerrbody]

I have a lot of must-haves lol. Rock n play, bouncer, swaddle me swaddles, dohm sound machine, my breast friend pillow... I could think of more I'm sure ha.

[lili]

What kind of bottles do I buy for a newborn? I didn't do a whole lot of bottle feeding until my other two were a bit older. I want to do FF right from the start. Do I need to bring them to the hospital?

[sarahh]

lili, all my daughter would take were Dr. Browns bottles. We plan to use those and I just bought some Como Tomo silicone bottles which we plan to also try this time.

[maddisonrose]

Aug 9, 2017 11:44:34 GMT -6 lili said:

What kind of bottles do I buy for a newborn? I didn't do a whole lot of bottle feeding until my other two were a bit older. I want to do FF right from the start. Do I need to bring them to the hospital?

We had to play around with a few (avent, tommy tippee) but then settled on dr browns because it greatly reduced the amount of gas and throw ups he had. Definitely starting out with them again

[pippiann]

The rnp was okay but it was the only thing DS would sleep in and made it really difficult for M to sleep on a flat surface. If he sttn in it I wouldn't of cared but he was still up every 2-3 hours. No rnp this time, I have the stokke crib sooo we'll use that bassinet , the uppababy bassinet or pnp bassinet.

A must in my book would be a swing or a least a bouncer, this is how I cleaned, showered, or even ate without holding DS. I also loved the boppy lounger for the couch or on my bed. Swaddle blankets for sure and some burp cloths. I also couldn't have lived without my glider. It was a splurge item, we got a PB one and we still use it everyday. In the really early days I could always get a three hour nap with him on the boob in that thing!

[girlonabike]

Must Have: RNP, SwaddleMe sacks, Swing, changing pads on both floors, binkies, diapers & wipes.
Depends: Bottle Genius formula preparer (think Coffee Maker, but for formula). That thing saved our sanity. When it became clear that formula-feeding was gonna be necessary for us, the Bottle Genius made it so much easier. It measures out the formula, mixes and heats it up automatically (you can opt for non-heat too). A life saver in the middle of the night. It bit the dust just as kiddo was moving to whole milk. If we end up going the formula route again, I am definitely buying it.
Didn't need: Wipe warmer, pack n' play (although we do use it now as a time-out area for kiddo), and pretty much 90% of the stuff on our registry, lol.

[lili]

Aug 9, 2017 12:04:36 GMT -6 girlonabike said:

Must Have: RNP, SwaddleMe sacks, Swing, changing pads on both floors, binkies, diapers & wipes.
Depends: Bottle Genius formula preparer (think Coffee Maker, but for formula). That thing saved our sanity. When it became clear that formula-feeding was gonna be necessary for us, the Bottle Genius made it so much easier. It measures out the formula, mixes and heats it up automatically (you can opt for non-heat too). A life saver in the middle of the night. It bit the dust just as kiddo was moving to whole milk. If we end up going the formula route again, I am definitely buying it.
Didn't need: Wipe warmer, pack n' play (although we do use it now as a time-out area for kiddo), and pretty much 90% of the stuff on our registry, lol.

Talk to me more about this bottle genius? Is it better than getting a dr brown's formula pitcher?

[readinglove]

Aug 9, 2017 11:44:34 GMT -6 lili said:

What kind of bottles do I buy for a newborn? I didn't do a whole lot of bottle feeding until my other two were a bit older. I want to do FF right from the start. Do I need to bring them to the hospital?

We got lucky in the DS took the first bottle we tried - the Avent Natural. He never had any issues with gas or anything, and I love that they were easy to wash/didn't have a lot of parts. The hospital had pre-mixed formula bottles that came with nipples, so I'm not sure on bringing your own. Maybe wouldn't be a bad idea? But don't quote me on that. Sounds like a question to ask at your next appointment.

[helloerrbody]

Aug 9, 2017 11:44:34 GMT -6 lili said:

What kind of bottles do I buy for a newborn? I didn't do a whole lot of bottle feeding until my other two were a bit older. I want to do FF right from the start. Do I need to bring them to the hospital?

I'm a fan of Joovy Boob bottles because they have way fewer parts than Dr Browns.