baby stuff.

this is likely going to be a fairly long post. if you're not interested in baby items, skip it. :] i have a few friends who are expecting, so i wanted to compile as much information as i can think of into one spot.

it's easy to get overwhelmed with the amount of baby stuff available, and as a new mom, it's hard to know what you really need vs what might be nice to have vs things you really don't need at all. my goal early on was to not accumulate a bunch of random baby stuff, and just get the things we would really need. i think my husband appreciated that goal because he didn't want it taking over the house either. :]

i did a lot of my own research into baby products and also got a lot of guidance from this website: http://www.lucieslist.com/

i tried to divide things into basic categories, so hopefully this will be somewhat easy to follow. as always, feel free to ask me any questions you have. 

sleeping
before aiden was born, i didn't know how i felt about co-sleeping. people would recommend it to me, but i wasn't really sure. i had planned to keep him in our room in a bassinet for the first three months or so, then move him to his crib. it turns out that co-sleeping works well for us. especially since he likes to eat so often. [i am just not cut out for the "cry it out" method.] 

this is easily one of my favorite photos. aiden is 4 days old & about to fall asleep in the bassinet.

• we got a pack 'n play similar to this one with a bassinet attachment and a changing table attachment. i found the changing table too low for me to really use very often [i had pretty bad back pain for a few weeks from the epidural]. we used the bassinet until he outgrew it, then we removed both attachments and use it as a place for him to sleep now. 
• we have this crib in his nursey. he naps in there sometimes and plays in there a lot. it converts into a toddler bed for later too. 
• we recently added a mesh bumper like this to his crib now that he's rolling everywhere because he kept getting his leg or arm stuck. [the old fluffy crib bumpers are no longer recommended for use because they can cause suffocation.]

we also quickly learned that a swing would make naps possible for our little one who likes to be held and rocked. 

• we have this swing in california. it's kind of loud and creaky. it's worked for our purposes, but we don't love it.
• we have this swing in nevada. it seems to make less noise, but it could just be that we use it less often. 

eating
i've been lucky to not have to supplement with formula so far, so i can't offer any insight there yet. i can tell you that if you're planning to breastfeed, get a pump before you deliver... don't wait like i did. i chose my pump based on a recommendation from a friend that was confirmed after reading this post. i have no basis for comparison because it's the only one i've used. the main point for me was the "closed system" since i didn't want to worry about mold, etc. but i will say that sometimes i wish i had gotten the tiny medela pump. for one thing, the parts for ameda are harder to find vs medela that is literally sold everywhere. but also... the medela one is so little and cute. haha. 

i use the avent natural bottles and have no complaints. aiden hasn't had any problems with them either. we started out with the dr. brown's ones, and the milk just flooded out too fast for him, so we switched and never looked back. :] also, we offered him a bottle fairly soon. i worried a bit about "nipple confusion", but we didn't experience any problems switching between the bottle and the breast.

i also tried the boppy pillow for nursing. i wanted to love it, but it just didn't work for me. i know a lot of people swear by it, so it might worth having on hand. but then again, my mom and grandmas made it though nursing without a boppy, so it can be done. :] 
it was actually during a lactation class that i learned that i could nurse him simply by holding him. all the nursing pillows they had were being used, and i'd left mine at home. i decided to just try holding him, and it worked out really well. my arms get a bit tried sometimes, so i just use a regular pillow or a scrunched up blanket to hold his head, if needed. 

you'll also want to get a few nursing bras and nursing pads to line your bra when you leak. motherhood maternity makes some pretty cute nursing bras, but you may need to wait until after your milk comes to determine what size you'll need. i use these lansinoh nursing pads. 


diapers
i wanted to do cloth diapering, but i couldn't get my husband on board. since he does the majority of our laundry, i decided it was a battle that couldn't be won. i'll give it another shot with the next baby though. :] 

aiden seems to fit into diapers for a couple days, and at all other times they are either too big or too small. we have learned that pampers seem to run the smallest, huggies are a bit bigger, and seventh generation are the biggest. so as we are transitioning to a new size, we start with pampers, then use huggies, then seventh generation. seventh generation are the only ones that he has peed through during the night. he's had major poopy blowouts in all bands though. [changing pad liners are very handy so that you don't constantly have to wash the changing pad cover.]
**edited to add: we just moved him up to size 3 diapers and the huggies and pampers seem to be nearly the same size. so the sizing transition may not hold true for all sizes.

in the hospital, they had us apply petroleum jelly to the baby's bottom at each diaper change. i'm not sure of the reason, but it does make cleanup easier. eventually we discontinued this, but he has had a bit of diaper rash occasionally. we've used both boudreax's butt paste and desitin. i think we prefer the butt paste, but they both work well. the butt paste does seem to stain things a bit, so be careful with it.


clothes
everyone told me not to buy a lot of clothes because they will be gifted to you. that's a good theory and one to follow if you're planning on getting a lot of gifts [like if you're having a big shower, for example]. i had a small shower and we were given a few outfits here and there, but a couple weeks before my due date i took inventory and we barely had any clothes for him! my sister came to the rescue and sent us a big box full of various sizes. so nice. also one of the shower gifts i received from my friend mara was a set of hanging tags labeled "0-3 months", "3-6 months", etc. and a set of onesies for each size range... that was a great gift. :] 

the bottom line: 

• don't buy any newborn sized clothes. you'll likely be given a few outfits and that will be enough to get you by.
• if you see footed pants or sleepers, that would be the one item i would recommend buying. they are fairly hard to find, but footed clothes are the best.

you really don't need tons of clothes. having more allows you to wait longer to do laundry, but really you don't want poopy clothes laying around. just accept that you'll probably be doing a small load of baby laundry every day or two.  

speaking of laundry, we use dreft to wash the baby's clothes. and a helpful tip: we had an outfit that came out of the wash still stained a bit from a blowout. i laid it over his crib to remind myself to rewash it with some stain remover, but the next day the stain was gone. i remember reading a while back that people put their cloth diapers in the sun to get rid of stains... so sunlight really works! :] 

bath
i wanted to get a cute baby tub, but i didn't buy one before he arrived. his first few baths were just given in the kitchen sink with james holding him. when we were visiting my parents a couple weeks after he was born, we used a bath seat similar to this one, and that's what we use still. we keep it in our bath tub and use a hose attachment on the faucet. it works pretty well. hooded towels aren't necessary if you have some nice soft towels, but they are definitely cute. 

aiden has semi-sensitive skin and a bit of eczema, so we try to keep it well moisturized, especially when we're in nevada.

• this aveeno baby eczema lotion has been really good. we use it after each bath and other times as needed. 
• we also use this j&j natural lotion sometimes. i like using it on my hands too, so that i don't put anything on that might irritate him when i hold him.

car seat & stroller
of all the items i researched, i probably spent the most time looking into car seats. i literally spent hours. i think it paid off because i've been happy with our choice. :]

• we have the britax chaperone infant car seat. the base is rather big, but it fits into my car just fine and to me, it was worth the larger size for anti-rebound bar. on the rare occasion that james takes aiden in his car, he does not use a base. [i believe all car seats that have snap in bases can be used without a base, which is good to know for traveling, etc.] if we were frequently taking aiden in james' car, we would probably invest in a second base.
• i'm 99% sure that i will get another britax when aiden outgrows this car seat.
• we have the britax b-agile stroller, and i love it. it's less than 17 pounds, so i can easily lift it in and out of the car by myself, and i can fold it up with one hand. right now, we have the adapters in place to use with his car seat. he's almost to the point where he can be placed directly into the stroller, which will be nice for going on walks. did i mention that i love this stroller? :]

big toys

• james & my mom got this baby einstein jumper one day while i was at my rotation. aiden was showing signs that he would enjoy a jumper and mom & james knew that i would delay the process doing my research. ha! aiden totally loves it. 
• we picked up this play mat soon after he was born, and he loves it too. 

  enjoying play time at 7 weeks old.

smaller toys

• the lamaze toys are my favorite. hands down. they are bright & fun & cute. and somewhat educational. :] aiden has captain calamari and stretch the giraffe and enjoys both of them. 
• sophie. aiden doesn't quite use sophie as a teether yet, but he loves when i make her squeak. 
• links. good for clipping toys onto things and fascinating as stand alone toys too.
• ikea has awesome puppets like this one and these.  

other random items 

• we use the soothie pacifier. it's really the only one we tried, and aiden liked it, so we didn't try anything else. 
• we didn't buy any of the special swaddle things. james learned how to swaddle aiden in a blanket after watching the nurses do it a couple times, and he taught me how. we received a set of swaddle blankets from pottery barn similar to these, and they were easily my favorite ones to use. 
• i also never bought a nursing cover, but swaddle blankets work pretty well. i think a nursing cover falls into the "nice to have, but not necessary" category.
• we don't have a monitor yet, but it's still on the list.
• bibs! oh my goodness... i don't think it's possible to have too many bibs. especially if your baby drools as much as mine. :]
• the snot sucker thing that they give you at the hospital is really the best one, and you can't find them for sale anywhere. i keep ours in the diaper bag now after being without it one too many times. 
• it's good to have some infant tylenol on hand and know how to dose it. [if you need help, just ask me!] 
• i also use the little tummys gas drops sometimes. i didn't initially use them, but after some time, it seemed clear that he was fussy because of a tummy ache, and sometimes it's hard to get him to burp. as a soon-to-be pharmacist, i wanted to know if there was actual evidence that this stuff works. there isn't. but eventually, i gave it a try, and it seems to work for aiden. 

that's all i can think of for now. if you have any favorite baby products, i'd love to hear about them. :]