My friend Jenni is expecting her first baby, and asked for advice on useful baby products to get. I had so many, I decided to post them here in case anyone else was interested (plus this would have made for a ridiculously long comment on her blog!) I'm by no means an expert on this kind of stuff, and everyone is different in what they find useful, but these are things that I either loved with Katie my first time around, or wish I had used and am trying the second time around with Olivia. (A few were already mentioned to you Jenn, but I thought they were worth mentioning again here!)
First of all, there were a couple of things that I found very useful in the hospital the first time around that I would highly recommend for you as the mother.
1. Depends. You might laugh or feel dumb buying them, let alone using them, but I am telling you now, I LOVED these for after Katie was born. You may feel a bit like Homer Simpson, but they sure as heck beat what they give you in the hospital! I was so much more comfortable in these that I didn't care that I was putting diapers on myself as well as the baby!
2. Anyone who knows me knows that my first labor & delivery experience was far from ideal and I still hate the hospital I went to. But, in my mind, they did do one thing right (and pretty much one thing only!) They gave me ice packs that were actually baby diapers with crushed ice inside the lining. I don't know if all hospitals do this, but it was the perfect ice pack because it was absorbent and had enough padding that the ice wasn't right on your skin. The nurse showed us how they did it and it was fairly simple - just gently separate the lining from the diaper at the back of the diaper to create an opening to the inside and fill with ice. I continued to do this after I came home. Separating the lining doesn't work with all diapers though...I'm thinking they used Pampers? Anyway, it was genius.
3. Bring a pacifier to the hospital just in case. Some hospitals provide them I guess, but mine didn't and a pacifier would have been nice since there was also no nursery and I had the baby all day and all night. Make sure it's the right size (0-6 months) too so that their little mouth can handle it. I don't care what they say about "nipple confusion," after I got Katie a pacifier, my nights (and days!) were soooo much better.
Okay, the rest are just your basic baby products!
4. Butt Paste - funny name, great stuff!
5. Dye-free gas relief drops. You may not need them, but if your baby has trouble with gas after eating, these are great to calm them down. I had some with Katie, but it was bright pink and stained her clothes, so make sure it's dye free!
6. While we're talking about stains, which are inevitable with babies, Oxi Clean Baby Stain Soaker got most of the stains out of Katie's clothes...even the really tough ones.
7. The Boppy pillow, or some kind of nursing pillow. (If you're planning to nurse) This saved my arms from total exhaustion, and it serves some other handy purposes too!
8. A sling. I have a Baby Bjorn, but it works better for babies that are a little bit older. I wish I would have had a sling where a newborn baby can be cradled close to you while still freeing up your arms to do things. I'm getting one this time!
9. Again, if you're planning on nursing, a nursing cover. I used blankets with Katie, but they did not offer great coverage, I was constantly worrying about adjusting them, plus they made me and the baby too hot!!
10. A good diaper pail. This saves you from the smell, or having to run outside to throw each diaper away! I have used the Diaper Genie and it works just fine for me, but I don't absolutely love it when it comes to emptying it. Maybe there's a better one out there I haven't tried??
11. Mesh laundry bag for all the little socks and other miscellaneous tiny things that need to be washed, but not lost!
12. The best burp cloths I found were the cloth diapers. They're thicker than most burp cloths and absorb much better.
13. Lots of water bottles! (Especially if you nurse) I bought a huge flat of them so I could just grab one and run.
Okay everyone, it's time to break out the holiday tunes if you haven't already!! Here's a list of my faves.
I love the little numbered doors! I'm excited to find something fun to put in each door (Lindt chocolate comes to mind. yum.) and I hope this will become a fun holiday tradition for our girls too. There are a lot of different versions out there I'm discovering! There's even an ultra modern one at Target online too. Not my style, but there certainly seems to be an advent calendar style for everyone these days!!
