Preparing for Baby: To Buy or Not to Buy
Recently my sister asked me for some advice on preparing for her first child. I was honored to share some of the things I’ve learned with her, but it seemed once I got started, I couldn’t stop dishing my opinions. What better place to collect all I’ve learned and advise about preparing for a baby than my blog?This first post will be items that help and ones you really don’t need for baby. The aspect of what to buy or register for can be overwhelming. It’s important to remember this:
the main necessities are a way to eat, a safe place to sleep, and a car seat. Everything else is just a bonus. When making a registry, it’s tempting to scan every do-dad and gadget that Target has to offer. But if you want to actually use your baby gear instead of letting it gobble up your closet space, read on.
The house had enough closet space until you had a kid
Extra Necessities
You know you need a crib and car seat, but there are some practical items I would deem necessary to scan into your registry first thing. You need crib sheets (3), a crib mattress, changing table pad, changing pad covers (2), burp rags (6), bath towels (2), bibs (8), etc. These are things you will likely go out and buy if someone does not gift them to you. These are also things that are disgusting to acquire secondhand.
JumperWe got our jumper used for $40 and it has been the most helpful item we’ve purchased because of its longevity. The child uses it from age 4 months to at least 18 months. Lily at age 2 still loves to bounce in ours. It seems like a toy, but more importantly, it’s some place the kid will want to go when you have to do the dishes. It takes up a fair amount of space and you don’t travel with it, but it’s a must for our home life.
Bumbo
This thing is useful. It can be used for bathing, as a high chair to feeding, and as a way for baby to sit up and view their surroundings from age 2 months until about 8 months (crawling). It is also super portable and we used it everywhere (my sister joked it was “glued to Lily’s butt”).
Booster High Chair
Get one of those $30 booster high chairs instead of a full blown high chair. We have both and the booster is smaller, works just the same, converts to a booster seat when the kid is a toddler, portable, and easier to clean. Definitely a better alternative to a big, bulky high chair, the only downside is that it takes up one of your table chairs.
SwingBoth of my kids preferred swinging to bouncing, but I’ve heard every kid is different. Our swing is the kind that can fit an infant to a toddler (2+ years of use). It folds down and is portable, so it’s a safe place to set baby on the go as well.
The Right Stroller
There is every kind of stroller out there. Strollers that work with your baby’s car seat, umbrella strollers that are really compact to take with you on the go, jogging strollers for exercise mom, and everything in between. We have owned six different strollers (all secondhand purchases I tried out and resold if I didn’t like), and I would say the best one is the double stroller/bike trailer combo. This is because it holds two kids (if you’re going to have your kids within three years of each other, that’s nice), it doubles as a bike trailer, it has plenty of storage, it pushes and maneuvers like a dream (even in a little snow!), and it folds down to nothing. It works with one kid in the center of the stroller harness, too. It’s also my favorite because our stroller gets the most use on walks through our neighborhood and outdoors. It isn’t a great stroller if you’re shopping or at the library because they usually don’t have cup holders and are rather large when set up. In the end, the stroller to get is the one that fits with your lifestyle. Every kind has its pros and cons.
Cousins out for a stroll
Boppy
We have loved our boppies. This half doughnut pillow is designed for breastfeeding, but not only is it helpful for that, it’s also great for tummy time, supporting your new sitter at six months, taking naps (you, not the kid), and preventing rolling babies from falling off the couch. We love the boppy so much, I have two and one for Grandma’s.
Now on to items we DID NOT find super useful.
Pack ‘n Play
Pack ‘n plays are huge, not a safe alternative to a crib for co-sleeping, and too bulky to truly be portable. We used our pack ‘n play only in the first month of baby’s life for both our kids. It’s a safe place to put the baby down, but so is a swing or bouncer or the floor. Even with Nick, we just taught Lily not to touch Nick when he was in the bouncer instead of placing him in the pack ‘n play. I guess it’s a good time-out spot, but you can figure something else out. I would say don’t get one of these unless you plan to sleep over other places A LOT. They’re also a dime a dozen at garage sales and secondhand.
Safe from his sister in the bouncer 😉
Crib Bedding
Do not buy or register for crib bedding. Your crib should have nothing but a mattress, waterproof mattress protector, and fitted sheet. Anything else (even breathable bumpers) is dangerous. It astonishes me how many people that will put their child’s life at risk for something as trivial as a cute crib.
Non-infant Tub
You only need a special bath seat for when your baby can’t sit on their own. After that you can just bathe them in the kitchen sink (so easy with the sprayer). We have a fold-able, portable mesh infant tub insert that is perfect. The big plastic infant tubs use less water than filling a bathtub, but they are clunky and big to store. You can see our mesh infant tub stored in the closet in the first picture of this post; it’s quite small!
Walker/Exersaucer
These are worse versions of a jumper. Walkers are also dangerous as your child can tumble down the stairs. They are annoying as baby can follow you everywhere and bang into your furniture. The exersaucer costs about ten dollars less than a jumper and functions the same EXCEPT it doesn’t exercise the baby (oh the irony). I guess if your baby loves to turn in circles quickly, that could be considered exercise, but they can do that in a jumper, too.
Floor Gym
This is a super pointless toy that only gets about two months of use. Instead, invest in links that will open your eyes to ingenuity at it’s finest. All you need to do is attach toys to dangle in the air above anything, and you’ve basically made your own customizable floor gym. Plus links are used for EVERYTHING: attaching toys to car seats, jumpers, and strollers, bags to your stroller handle when shopping, linking your child’s gloves or clothes together, as teething rings, as a puzzle, as a rattle, the list goes on and on. In fact, you must get links. That should have been at the top of this list.
So much fun!
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Links blow my mind, Mom.
There you have it! That’s my list of baby gadgets we found very useful and ones we did not. What items have you used often with your child? Is there one or two baby gadgets you could not live without?
If you’re preparing for baby, I’m sure you would love to read 5 things to include in your birth plan.
