For My Mommies to be

I was reading a blog the other day and the mommy had the neatest post. She posted her favorite baby items and the items that she could have done without. I have several people who read my blog that are preggers. Now, keep in mind that I am not an expert mom by any means and every child is different. Just because things didn't work out for Brayden doesn't mean that they won't work out for your child. So here is our list:

Baby Items we LOVE or use a lot:

• Swing-This was and still is our lifesaver. Brayden loves his swing. He will sit in it for hours whether he is asleep or awake. We bought the lamb swing so it can be for a girl or boy. It is very soft! One tip I would say is to try to find one that plug into the wall. Ours drains the batteries.
• Batteries- You need to stay well stocked in all battery sizes. Trust me on this one. If you don't stock up, you will be thinking of me while you are going to Wal-Mart at midnight for batteries.
  
• Gowns- I know....I know...I had a boy, but all babies can wear gowns. These were lifesavers. The last thing you want to do in the middle of the night is to unsnap and snap a million buttons on your baby. Gowns were so much easier.
• Sanitizer pumps- We had one at his changing table, one in his diaper bag, and one in the living room. When you have a newborn, you have to be very careful about germs. Sometimes you don't have time to go wash your hands so this was very nice. Also, for all of your guests that want to hold your precious angel...it is easier to just say, "here let me pump a few squirts of this sanitizer before you hold him or her"....rather than saying, "can you go wash your hands."
  
• Diapers and wipes- When you have a newborn, you can't have enough diapers and wipes. When Brayden was first born only Pampers worked on him. He was so small and had no hiney so all of the others leaked. Now, we can use any kind...my preference whatever brand I have a coupon for. TIP: If you have any friends that don't have babies, ask them to save any coupons for formula, wipes, diapers, etc. They don't need them and will probably throw them away.
• Bottles- Of course you know you will need bottles, but I wanted to put this one for a tip. We chose Dr. Brown's bottles. Justin and I had no clue and when you go to Babies R Us and see the bottle aisle, it can be quite overwhelming. We just chose Dr. Brown's because we had heard of the brand. Now don't get me wrong, Dr. Brown's bottles are great and they get the job done. My issue with them is all of the attachments. With one bottle you have five different items to clean and sanitize and even more if you decide to use the lid. So let's put this into perspective during a normal newborn day: 5 items x let's say 8 feedings= 40 things to clean. Not to mention that if you are on the every two hour feeding...you will be feeding 12 times a day. With our next child, I am going with the Playtex drop-ins. They are cheaper and way easier to clean.
• Boppy Pillow-Justin loved this more than I did. It is nice to have so your arms do not get tired. I didn't use it when I breastfed, because it seemed to get more in the way than anything. I liked it just for holding Brayden and for company. Some people who visit you have never held a baby in their life. If this is the case, always offer the Boppy. It makes them more comfortable and you more comfortable.
  
• Nipple Shield-I know that is kind of graphic, but it was a lifesaver for me. I was very adamant about breastfeeding my baby. Brayden had other ideas about my boob. He refused to latch on. By the time I left the hospital, I was in tears about the whole breastfeeding thing. (BTW: if it doesn't work in the hospital, wait until you get home where you are more comfortable. I had too many nurses shoving my baby's head to my boob and making him cry.) One day, I broke down and text my friend Danae. She had the same issue so she bought a nipple shield and it worked. It took Brayden about two and half weeks on the nipple shield, and then finally he started feeding without the shield. I was thrilled! I occasionally brought the shield out when my nipples got sore. It helps give them relief so they can heal.
  
• Burp Cloths-You can't have enough of these bad boys. Brayden spit up all of the time. We constantly were going through several burp cloths a day.
  
• Sensitive skin babies-Brayden has eczema so we have to be very careful with what we put on his skin. We wash his clothes in Dreft (save coupons for this b/c it is expensive). We use Aveeno to wash his body and hair. Aquaphor Baby lotion to keep his dry skin moist (this stuff is very thick and greasy so make sure to buy the tub and not the tube. The tube is too hard to squeeze.). For any eczema break outs, we have a prescription but the over the counter cortisone cream with aloe works better than the prescription stuff.

Baby Items that just didn't work for us:

• Diaper Genie-Let me first start by saying that I know some people love Diaper Genies...this is fine! I am not one of those people. No matter what level it is...Elite or whatever...it stinks. We have a regular trash can in Brayden's room. If he does number 2, I throw the diaper in the outside trash. No, you don't have to do this with every diaper. Most of the time I would throw it in the kitchen trash and by the end of the day took that trash out.
  
• Bouncy Seats-I don't know why, but Brayden does not like bouncy seats. He will sit in them for a little while but not for long. He prefers a swing over a bouncy seat. Now keep in mind that I have heard of very few children that don't love their bouncy seats. Most babies love it so it may work for you.
  
• Tub seats-I am not sure if this is what you call them, but let me explain what it is and why we bought one. First, it is a mesh-like seat that you sit in your tub and wash your baby. We bought this, because our friend Heidi bought Brayden a duck tub but he can't use it until he is 6 months old. We just wanted something until he could use his duck tub (which quacks by the way...how cute). I placed him in this seat and it started sliding all over the tub. I mean it is hard enough to hold onto your little newborn especially when his seat is sliding all over. You pretty much have to bathe with one hand if you use a tub seat. I ended up going to Babies R Us and getting a baby tub. We love it! Brayden loves bath time, and I can't wait until we can use his duck tub!
  
• Tons of big blankets-We received tons of beautiful plush blankets. Don't get me wrong, I love them and we use them...but you don't need a lot of them. I say three or four would be fine. We swaddled Brayden so receiving blankets work best for that. I would use the big blankets to cover his car seat up when we were in public (b/c of germs), and now I use it to lay over him just in case his swaddle comes undone. I will probably use them more in the winter time, but not in these hot Mississippi summers.

Well, I think that is all for now. I will post more if I think of anything else. If you have any advice or anything that worked or didn't work for your baby, please post a comment about it. Enjoy!