Baby Stuff

[sweetlambofgod]

My friends having a baby and she wants to know what is the best kind of diapers, baby bottles, carseat, baby food, formula etc to use. She wants to know all you lovely mothers tips and suggestions on baby products. She wnats to knwo if you recommend a soother? Any products she should buy or shouldn't? What about a diaper Genie?

 

[gizmo03]

I am not a mommy *yet*, but I have much experience with babies as being an aunt and a nanny. A diaper genie will be your best friend, well in my case, I loved them! My personal favorite diaper is Huggies, never really cared for Luvs and how they fit. And not sure if you have them where you are, but Advent bottles are really good.

 

[frankincense]

I have been blessed with six beautiful babies. Perhaps I can help!

1. Bottles- Dr. Browns (sold at Babies R Us & Online) These bottles prevent colic and help with reflux. Most recommended bottles by peds. Dr. Brown has nipples that are wide and narrow. The wide ones are for bfing babies. I breastfed my kids successful while using these bottles when pumping. These really are the best!!!

2. Diapers- Tried them all. Pampers Swaddlers. GREAT for preemies and small babies. Our NICU and hospital uses the swaddlers now, as they are supposed to be better for the bottom and cause less rash/irritation. Help prevent leaks for bigger babies. Also- believe it or not TARGET brand diapers are pretty good.

If your friend is ambition, cloth diapers are great too. We use both. My 4th child has eczema & allergies and can NOT wear disposables as they break her skin out. We use 100% undyed cotton diapers for her.

3. We just went through a carseat class because our baby was in the NICU. The carseat technician said the Graco Snugride was the best reasonably cost carseat out there. They have excellent consumer reports and do great in accidents.

4. Swing- The Fisher Price Papasan Swing is amazing. Six Months later, and my baby is giggling in it.

5. Carrier. Get a GOOD carrier. IMO, Snuglis are cheap, but there is a reason for that. People often make the mistake of buying awful carriers and then they give up and the babies never get that experience. They hurt your back and shoulders. The Baby Bjorn is a great carrier. You can get them on ebay for a little less. Also, slings are great too. We are "attachment parents" so we wear our babies a lot. It is a lifesaver because you can get things accomplished while still holding your baby. The Maya Wrap & New Native Carrier are my favorite slings. Remember, cultures since the beginning of time carried their babies in carriers. It makes babies cry less and those babies have less colic and reflux. They also have an amazing sense of security.

6. Books. The Baby Book by Dr. Sears

7. Sleep sacks- great for keeping a baby warm, sleeping on back without having to use a blanket

8. Baby food maker- for when the time comes... it is cheaper, healthier, and yes, tastes better to make your own baby food. Also more enviromentally friendly.

9. Boppy Pillow. Great for nursing, bottle feeding, tummy time, and learning to sit.

10. Thermometer/baby shampoo/infant tylenol/mylicon/etc..



Things we dislike over the years....
The Diaper Genie. Most of my friends trashed it too.
Snugli Carrier
Changing table. I rarely ever see these things do anything but gather clutter
Bassinet- none of my kids would sleep in the bassinet. They slept in the swing or carseat (or my arms) because it is more confined & secure. By the time the get big enough to sleep on their own, they can be too big for the bassinet

 

[Jengi]

We use Dr. Brown's bottles too. They are a bit expensive, but imo very worth it. She really does have much less gas than when she uses other bottles. (Actually she has less with Dr. Browns bottles than when she was breastfed!) If she will be bottle feeding a dishwasher basket to wash all of the nipples and caps etc is useful and a drying rack.

When I had to switch to formula I called the ped about what to use. Enfamil or Similac w/iron. They told me go with whichever of them was cheaper and more readily avalible wherever I shop. I use Enfamil Lipil w/Iron. During my childbirth classes, I signed up to get free samples of both of these. Both sent a case of powdered formula plus, enfamil sends me about $10.00 worth of coupons each month!

We use Luvs diapers. Like Blue said, they all leak. For Ellie, Luvs seem to leak less. Around here they are the cheapest too. We have tried them all because I got lots of different brands at my showers. The only ones I don't like are Huggies Supreme. On Ellie, they leaked like every other diaper!(Regular Huggies and Huggies Ultratrim are fine though.) I use whatever brand of wipes are cheapest. I did use Huggies Newborn for the first few weeks and then Pampers Newborn but now use which ever is the biggest and cheapest pack. We use a wipe warmer. She seems to appreciate the warm wipe during a change. (Does fine with a cold one too though)

I love the Diaper Genie! It is one thing I would not live without! There is no diaper smell in her room. My friend had one for her dd a few years ago and did not like it, but appearently, they have redesigned them to make them eaisier to load and use.

Sheet savers are a lifesaver. They are pads that you put across the crib on top of the sheet. (I also have them in cradle size and pack and play size) If she spits up or diaper leaks you just remove the pad and you don't have to change sheets in the middle of the night.

We have the Graco Snugride car seat and stroller. I got the one that comes with the light stroller. If I had it to do over again, I would just get the regular stroller. IT is not that much lighter and I think, less durable. My husband has a Britax Roundabout car seat for his car. I LOVE it. It is not a removable carrier though. It is rear faceing and also forward facing for when the time comes. When she out grows her graco, this is what I am getting for my car. It is more expensive, but she can fit in it until it is time for a booster seat. It has a very high safety rating.

Other things we use-- swing, boppy, pack n play (we use it downstairs when we need to put her down) Baby Magic night time baby wash, Avent pacifiers, Gymini (play mat thingy), Digital camera or lots of film

Skip buying newborn size clothes and buy 0-3 and 3-6 months.

We bought very carefully and registered for only the necesities. I can't think of anything we have that we don't use.

 

[Princessperky]

1. Pacifiers- if you get one you will be back in a year or so asking how to get rid of it, save yourself some trouble and skip it IMO. All kids cry, so long as the needs are met, why try to pacify them? However if you do not nurse, it doesn't take as much sucking to get formula out of a bottle, and you will need to fill the extra need nature gave her to help her survive. (or him)

2. Diapers- It is a but shape thing, test them and find one that works, but beware, none are perfect. The skill of the adult means more than the brand. We used luvs, but our kids both have butts the same. Cloth vs disposable, go with what you honestly will do. We used disposable up till now, but this time we are planning on cloth, NOt for the first few weeks!

Getting out of diapers quicker, if you hate them look into ECing or IPTing, I sortof ECed DD and she was so much cheaper on diapers and fully trained at a little over one.

3. carseat- avoid the cross bar, but other than that, go with what you can afford. We have a carrier type and it was nice to be able to move a sleeping baby without waking, but this time it will be wedged inbetween DD and DSs seat so there will be no more of that. And of course when we turned them around we had to get a new one. Course with three kids in carseats, well one booster, not like the carrier type isn't getting milege

4. Swing- DD and DS rarely liked it, but we found DD liked a bouncer, DS never got to try.

5. Carrier. sling, I so am a fan of a sling. You can nurse in it, shade a baby from sun, and let them sleep thru anything, or let themn see the world, from almost birth to oh well they say 30some lbs, but I don't hold my kids when they can walk, they walk.

6. Books. - kidwise, sturdy board books with real pictures are my preference.
-parentwise, most of them say the same thing. I have what to expect the first year, used it like a babybook, checked off what my DCs did as they did it, kindof cool to compare, I used the toddler one too, but it had almost zero useful information and the 'what they can do' was very haphazard.


7. Sleep sacks- wonderfuly warm for the first few months, no good when the baby wants to roll. Guess it depends on when yours is born.

8. Baby food maker- I used a hand blender, 20$ and worked wonders for making mashed potatoes or soup too.

9. Boppy Pillow.a 50$ pillow, sure its great but I have three that work for free.

10. pack in play - I hate caging children, and IME no kid sleeps well out of town, just resign yourself to company while out of town, for eons (ok like a couple years depending on practice). In the house you might need something when they learn to crawl and you want to clean the bathroom, or shut the door while DH is around and clean first then get in the tub to relax

11. changing table - much easier IMO to use the floor or a big bed, or a lap or whatever your preference is. I can walk away form my baby on the floor, and gives them a chance to practice rolling.

12. peepads, sheetsavers, lappads, waterproof pads- whatever the name get some!

13. clothes, get one premie or small shirt for the first picture, after that skip it, no baby fits them for more than the first week or two. (and for theat week a blanket is sufficient)

14. Diaper pails- diapers stink, sorry, a bucket can only hold it so long then you have to change it . We used a trashcan and took garbage out frequently.

15. wipes- aim for die or fragrance free, in case, no need to find out it irritates your baby after the fact!

wipe warmer, really not much use, specially if you are changing your kid in who knows where, and they fill up those diapers everywhere so forget it IMO.

16. Bed/bedding- whatever floats your boat. IF you are anti sharing the bed, get something that fits in your room to save yourself extra time in the middle of the night. If you want to share the bed but worry about the baby, get one of them fancy soft boxes if it makes you happy. But no matter what, your little one will grow out of it so fast, even the crib .

17. stroller - I have seen so many strollers being pushed by kid carrying children, so whatever you can easily push with one hand while holding the baby that is supposed to be in it . Oh sling makes it all so much easier, two hands free and no buckles or fancy contraptions like those other carirers.

18. bath stuff - I prefer a bouncer like seat, so the baby can lay back in the tub, but I get a shower when my babys bath, killing two birds with one stone. but if you get a tub, make sure it is fully washable and easy to drain, and fits somewhere.
- soap, the less weird ingredients the better for the skin, Ivory is nice and gentle, so is all the plain baby brands. for first time moms I recomend a pump so you don't need both hands.
-towels and such, big ones work fine, but go for it if you have the room and money, the baby ones are cute

19. lotion - eucerin and aquaphore are wonderful for dry skin, and excema, both of which my whole family gets when I get pregnant and shortly after the baby is here. Avoid any with alchol (or alchol like stuff) in the ingredients, they dry off not soak in, making some conditions worse.

I had to take out some smilies to make it post, so if I come off mean sorry, it is the mean ole site.

 

[vscola]

Wow, such wonderful advice! My son is almost 3 onths old, so putting a bit of my experiences in too

The swing ... everyone said we would love it, all babies do ... Christian HATED it. He screams if we try to put him in it, he does love his bouncey chair though! Maybe see if she could try these larger ticket items out before she buys them? Such a big waste if the baby doesn't like them

We have the diaper genie ... its ok. I could really take it or leave it.

He also loves the sleep sacks (we use halo ones). He just sleeps a lot better in them.

We use a pack-n-play (with the bassinet up), but only to hold his play mat thingie (from baby einstein) We have dogs, so it keeps it dog-hair free and him safe (my little dog thinks he is her puppy!). He really enjoys the playmat though.

We have tried several types of formula because of gas issues, and we really like good start with iron (purple can).

We started with avent bottles, as they were the "best" ... he didn't seem to think so! He likes the playtex ones with the drop in liners. The nipples are soft and big.

We use our changing table and love it. Everything is right there and ready to go (also holds all the extra stuff for when we run low). I know a lot of people find them useless though!

We use huggies, but thats because we got that many of them at showers! I did try one store brand and it just didn't hold as much. Oddly, Christian was in newborns size diapers for about a month! But he has a tiny little bottom

We also use a thermo pot (from Blue Impulse's advice) and LOVE it ... making bottle takes next to no time and its nice having hot liquid whenever you want it

Take lots of pictures!!

Good Luck and tell your friend CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[Zoomer]

diapers- we used Pampers, only ones that did not leak and generic baby wipes

baby bottles- I liked the Playtex VentAire

carseat- We bought a travel system stroller, that way you can unhook the carseat and hook it to the stroller, without having to wake baby.

baby food- we used whatever was on sale

formula- we bought store brand, formula is FDA regulated so all formulas have to meet a minimium nutritional requirement.

She wnats to knwo if you recommend a soother? I wouldn't force it on the child, only if they are they type of baby that needs alot of sucking. Both of mine did without and it saves the pain of having to break the habit.

For us the Diaper Genie was a waste, ended up just tossing it after the first child. The boppy was good for breastfeeding. When my children were infants they liked the gymini play mat. Changing table was a waste, we ended up changing the kids where ever they were at.

 

[MyLittleWonders]

We use cloth diapers ... they are really easy and saves money and the landfills. If not, I recommend your friend try a few different brands because as most people posted, each baby will fit and react to disposables differently. I would avoid getting large quantities of the newborn size until she has the baby because the baby may be too big. (Our first son was in disposables and grew out of the newborns in about 2 weeks.)

I'd also highly recommend your friend nurse. It's cheap, convenient, and always there. If not, again, each baby will take a bottle nipple differently. I worked with my first son and expressed milk for him. It took about 5 types of nipples to find one he'd take. He finally settled on the Nuk nipple. My second son has had me home the whole time and wouldn't ever take a bottle from anyone. He only wants the real thing.

Carriers - go with a sling. You can make them yourselves for really cheap (Maya Wrap has directions for making them.) or buying one on-line. The front pack baby carriers are not the greatest for baby's hip development or spine. Slings are totally versatile - can be used nursing, when baby is sleeping, as a back carrier, front carrier ... will outlast, pound wise, a front carrier by many pounds. I can't say enough about slings!

Soothers/pacifiers ... sometimes it just depends on the baby. My first son loves his (still does at almost 4 - doctor says at least he won't be getting married with it! . My second son would spit it out immediately. Babies have a very strong sucking reflex and urge ... it is a soothing technique. Breast fed babies tend to get this need met at the breast. Sometimes that isn't enough (or the mama needs a little break). It isn't the end of the world if she decides to use one or if the baby needs one. Typically babies will find something to suck ...

Diaper Genie - never had one. With my first son, we'd just take his dirty diapers out to the trash. With the second, we have a diaper pail in the bathroom with a liner and just dump the liner and dirties into the washer to clean.

Baby food - with the exception of the baby rice/wheat cereal, our kids eat from the table when they are ready to start eating. In the beginning I'd cook some veggies separately to get them really soft and just mush them up. They'd get bananas out of the peel and avocados too. Once they matured in their eating and got some teeth, the mashing would become a little more chunky. In my opinion, baby food is a waste of money ...

Baby books - yep, anything by Dr. Sears! You can also visit his website.

 

[katelyn]

For a diaper pail, we have the Diaper Champ (available at Babies R Us) and like it a lot. We don't have any odor problems so far, and you don't have to buy "special" bags to use in it - you can just use regular kitchen trash bags.

For diapers I agree with others who have said it depends on the baby. Huggies do not work well for us for some reason. Pampers seem to work the best for Natalie, while Luvs are OK. We also like Pampers baby wipes over Huggies. They seem softer.

We have an Eddie Bauer carseat/stroller combo. The carrier car seat is a little bigger than the Graco version, so you can use it a little longer.

We have a Kozy Carrier (www.kozycarrier.com) and it's nice for those times when Natalie wants to be walked around.

Natalie likes Mam silicone pacifiers. We didn't plan on using a pacifier but right from the start she wanted to be sucking on something to fall asleep (and she would fall asleep while nursing, I would unlatch her, she would wake up and want to be sucking again...) So we gave her the paci.

Also, if baby gets a cold, a cool mist vaporizer comes in handy.

 

[selune]

Out of the 4 children we have, we used Pampers, Huggies, and Luvs to happy results. It really depended on the child's body shape as to which diaper we settled on. Every store diaper we tried required changing about 2-3 times more frequently to avoid leaks, which killed any savings that we had from using them.

We never had a special diaper trash, just changed the trash regularly (walmart or grocery bags are small and free so we used them to take the diaper trash out quickly.)

Slings gave me no end of back ache, so I always just carried them or had them in their carseats when out.

PackNPlay was great for us. We stopped using a crib when our second just couldn't sleep in it, our first rarely slept well in it. The pack N play had the attached bassinet which was great for naps when the baby was little and the playpen area made a nice bed when they outgrew it. I had a much easier time getting our children in and out of it too because it's a lower railing and bed than the crib (being shorter can be difficult at times). We generally coslept while the babies were nursing which made all things easier for us.

Our first was the only one who took a bottle. For formulas we liked only the Carnation Good Start, as it had the least offensive odor fresh or after being cycled through our daughter (either through spit or the diaper...)

We never could get them to enjoy a swing, the youngest like a bouncy seat for a bit, but they all preferred the floor.

Best wishes to your friend!

 

[Leanna]

Get a digital camera!! It is one of the best things I have. I can take pictures of him, and delete them if they turn out bad. I can see if I got the smile or not.

The carry in infant carseat we had was my favorite item. When he was a newborn I could carry him into the grocery store without having to wake him up. When it was cold out I could get him in there with a blanket and then carry him to the car. He grew out of it at about 5 months old, but by then he was a lot more stable to get him in and out of the car seat anyway. It was also nice because it fit right into our stroller so we could put him in the stroller without having to take him out either.

Diapers. I had lots of leaking problems with the Walmart off brand. I use Pampers, Huggies or Luvs. Luvs has a funny smell though. When he was a newborn the best ones that didn't leak were Pampers Swaddlers. He was small (6 lb 14 oz)and they were smaller than the Huggies newborn.

I used a Diaper Genie for the first three months but then I got sick of emptying it. We just throw them in regular trash and empty it often. Its a lot less work.

So many items. So much I could say, but won't.

 

[Neenie1]

Baby products, A lot of ours would be different so can't comment on a lot of stuff, but will try.


Diapers - nappies: We used a mix of cloth and disposable. We have Huggies here too, but find them not that much different to other brands.

Wipes: go for something unscented if you have to use them at all. (we used to use a wet face washer and just wash with the nappies)

Bottles: I breastfed so can't comment. The times we did bottle feed we used Avent bottles, I think they are a UK brand.

Dummies/Pacifiers: We did use one, ditched it when ds was 2. Fantastic, not all kids will take to one, but if they do then it is fine so long as you don't let them carry it around all day when they are walking and they don't try to have it in their mouth and talk at the same time LOL (Can't stand that)

Diaper genie: If that is what I think it is, then to me it is a waste of plastic and not very good for the environment. Used shopping bags work just as well, and then you take it out at the end of the day or when it is full.