Looking Forward To Baby - 5 Must Haves
I remember when I first started looking at baby items to register for in preparation for my baby shower. There were things I didn’t know existed. A baby wipe warmer? Pacifier wipes? Special baby detergent? A special pail in which to dispose diapers? Baby knee pads? A Pee Pee Teepee? Baby urinal? Seriously?
First off, I don’t remember having any of this stuff as a baby, and I lived. To be fair, I suppose I wouldn’t remember anything from being a baby, but I assure you, my parents did NOT buy this stuff. Some people may swear up and down that you need these things, but I am going to go on a limb and say 90% of people wouldn’t put these items in the baby essentials category.
While everyone has their own “baby essentials” list, here’s mine. You will learn as you go that some items you purchased you just don’t use and others? You’ll be doing an overnight order for on amazon.com at 3AM. So, take these suggestions or leave them, and you’ll learn along your journey!
Sheets
So, babies? They pee. And poop. A Lot. And their poop….not so solid those first 6-8 months of life. And sometimes—the diapers—they fail you. The poop goes straight up the back or out the leg holes and…you got it—onto the sheets. Or the pee…it just leaks out. Certain positions. Certain diapers. Perhaps someone doesn’t quite get things positioned correctly on a diaper change. And you get a soaked sheet. Not even just once a night. But multiple times. And the last thing you want to worry about at 1AM or 3AM or 4AM is not having anywhere for baby to sleep because you’ve run out of clean sheets. So, we say sheets fall in the really, really essential category. Not just 1 or 2 sets. Try 5 sets. And the same number of mattress pads if you use those. That way, if baby has a mishap on the sheets, you can throw them in the washer, put new ones on and get back to sleep!
Pajamas
We totally know how amazing those cute dresses and mini suits are. And the baby shoes?! Baby swimsuits, baby leotards and tutus? Adorbs. Pretty much any outfit in baby sizes are hard to pass up. But you need to be realistic. While those may be adorable for an occasional outing or photo shoot, the majority of the time, baby will be in pajamas. And quite frankly, you may be too! So, buy some adorable ones! I personally would ONLY buy ones with zippers. I found the snaps completely annoying in the early months because the diaper changes were never ending and the snaps were so much more time consuming than the zipper! Your call. Try both. We recommend 15 pairs of pajamas — seems like a lot but they will likely go through several pairs through the day and night. And unless you plan to do laundry way more than we do, you’ll want some back ups.
Changing Pads
Pee. Poop. Do you see a theme to this blog? Changing baby happens a LOT in the beginning. And unless you want that pee and poop to be on the bed or the carpet or couch or wherever else you change baby, you’re gonna want a stock of changing pads. Probably 10-15 of them. They make the plastic kind that usually come in your diaper bag (which you can just wipe off if something unwanted gets on it), but they also make a softer cloth kind that you can wash and re-use. I thought those were nice. But again, unless you want to do laundry a lot, you’re gonna want quite a few on hand. Keep some upstairs, downstairs, in your diaper bag, in the car….wherever there’s a chance you might change baby. There are a lot of germs everywhere. You’re going to want this extra layer of protection.
Diaper Caddy
This to me was a lifesaver. With my first, we were in a 2-story house with a basement. I had her nursery upstairs which had a changing table and diaper and wipe supplies. Then I had a diaper caddy on the first floor which had a changing pad, diapers, wipes, cream, dirty diaper bags, etc. and another diaper caddy in the basement with the same supplies. So, no matter where we were, I could change her on that level. No one wants to carry a baby with poop up its back up two flights of stairs because that’s where all the supplies are.
Burp Cloths
We’ve talked about stuff coming out one end…now let’s talk about the other end. Spit up. Vomit. It happens. A lot. With some babies more than other but best be prepared in case you’re lucky enough to get one of the projectile vomiters. Burp clothes are multifunctional and versatile. They are a barrier between your clothes and baby to hopefully save an outfit (yours) in case baby spits up during a feeding or burping. Also, they’re great for wiping up milk that dribbles down their adorable little chins. And obviously they can be used to clean up vomit or spit up that maybe made it to somewhere unwanted. And in the off chance you’re out and about and forgot to refill your wipes…well you gotta do what you gotta do. Maybe just throw that burp cloth away when you’re done. Get 20 or so…you’ll go through quite a few a day.
Again, everyone is different and every baby has different needs. You might determine that your baby just can not deal with cold wipes on its precious little butt, and that’s okay. Feel free to take these suggestions or leave them. As long as you give your sweet child the love that it deserves, this other stuff is secondary.