HELP! For first time mom to be!!

Hi Moms,

I have 6 weeks to go until my due date and have been so busy with work and getting ready to move into our new house that I have left all the baby stuff until the last minute! This is our first baby and I am completely overwhelmed with what to buy.....So far all I have is a cradle and a baby bjorn!!!I dont even have the mattress for the cradle...so wondering if any of you have a few spare minutes if you could answer a few questions below. I would really appreciate it as I know I wont have the time to start researching now and if the baby comes early I am screwed!! Thanks in advance and sorry for the bother but I dont know who else to ask.

What type of mattress did you buy for the cradle / bassinet?

Do you have a bumper on the side of your cradle / crib? I have heard conflicting reports on whether its safe or not.

What brand Car seat did you buy?

Did anyone just buy the snap and go for the car seat for the first couple of months instead of a stroller? My baby will be born in Feb and I am just wondering if I can get away without having to shop for a stroller until about April...

What brand pacifier did you buy if you used one?

What brand bottles do you use? I am planning on breast feeding but would like to use a pump too as I will be back at work after 6 weeks!!

Any other info that you think might help me from turning grey in the next 6 weeks would be most appreciated......

Thank you all so much.

Re: HELP! For first time mom to be!!

What type of mattress did you buy for the cradle / bassinet?
Can't help with this one because I borrowed a cradle that already had a mattress.

Do you have a bumper on the side of your cradle / crib? I have heard conflicting reports on whether its safe or not? We do have a bumper on the cradle but only used to cradle one night (she didn't like it) so I never gave it much thought.

What brand Car seat did you buy?
We have a graco snugride infant car seat. We bought it as a travel system with the stroller. When it comes time for the big car seat we'll be buying the Britax Boulevard.

Did anyone just buy the snap and go for the car seat for the first couple of months instead of a stroller? My baby will be born in Feb and I am just wondering if I can get away without having to shop for a stroller until about April...If you aren't going to be out walking you can get away with no stroller IMO. The bjorn will be great for carrying the baby at the mall/store.

What brand pacifier did you buy if you used one? My DD using the ones the hospital gave us....they are the bluish/green soothies. You can buy them at BRU. They are made by "the first years" and they come two in a pack.

What brand bottles do you use? I am planning on breast feeding but would like to use a pump too as I will be back at work after 6 weeks!!

We use Dr. Browns bottles. Have tried Avent and Playtex Natural latch but like Dr. Brown's the best.

Re: HELP! For first time mom to be!!

I never had a cradle only a mini co sleeper so I cant help out there.

Bumpers in cradles or cribs are just decorative. They are suffocation hazards once baby starts to roll over which is in 2-3 months usually so IMO they are a waste of money.

I had a graco snugride for the infant stage and Britax Marathons for the convertible stage. Super comfy seats!

Snap n gos are WONDERFUL!! Ive had both. One kid with a stroller and one with a SNG. I LOVED LOVED the SNG!!

No pacifiers here, kids didnt like EM.

No bottles either, kids didnt like EM.

Dont worry, as long as you have food and diapers your baby will be fine

Re: HELP! For first time mom to be!!

What type of mattress did you buy for the cradle / bassinet?

Do you have a bumper on the side of your cradle / crib? I have heard conflicting reports on whether its safe or not.

I had a bassinet for the first 5 months (yes, I kept Molly in her bassinet for that long). It came with a matress. For her crib I had a full bumper set and it was fine IMO. I didn't remove it until she started to climb on it when she was 18 months old..some babies do that MUCH earlier. I got her the matress for her crib at BRU. It was about $125 and a Sealy.

What brand Car seat did you buy? For the infant seat I got a Graco Snug Ride and got an extra base for Scott's car. For her next seat we have 2 Britax- one marathan, one roundabout. The roundabout is better for the Accord since it is a bit smaller in size.

Did anyone just buy the snap and go for the car seat for the first couple of months instead of a stroller? My baby will be born in Feb and I am just wondering if I can get away without having to shop for a stroller until about April...
I got a Graco Metrolite stroller that matched the Snug Ride. It weighs 14lbs so it was the same weight as the snap and go. I then got a snap and go for Scott to keep in his trunk. Once I took his car and didn't have a stroller. The car seat is very heavy to lift and carry thru a store so I ran out and got the snap and go. It was worth the money to have both IMO.

What brand pacifier did you buy if you used one? The hospital will give you one. Don't bother buying one. Molly hated them though.

What brand bottles do you use? I am planning on breast feeding but would like to use a pump too as I will be back at work after 6 weeks!! For this I would hold off until the baby is born. You need to nurse for the first 2-3 weeks and establish your bfing. Then you can start to pump after nursing to begin getting a freezer stash of bm. Do you have a pump yet? If you are working after 6 weeks you will need to get yourself a Pump In Style (or PIS Advance) and get your body used to it before returning to work. I used the Playtex bottles with the silicone nipple. The LC told me NOT to use any latex nipples. But since I have a latex allergy I couldn't anyway. I love the liner bottle since I find them much easier to clean. Also you will need gerber or lansolin (sp?) bm bags. The medela ones stink IMO. I can help you with your pumping schedule and such when you are ready. Just let me know.

Any other info that you think might help me from turning grey in the next 6 weeks would be most appreciated......

I would also get a Bundle Me since your baby will be born in the winter. It goes over the car seat so the baby is kept warm. You also need a hat for the baby.
You need some blankets, crib/bassinet/cradle sheets and matress pads. I would say 4 is a good amount. You may need to change them a few times if she/he leaks thru the diaper. You need diapers. I got a variety of sizes in cases so I always had them on hand. I also got a few cases of Pampers Senstitive Wipes. I am one of those people who hates to run out of stuff.
You need a baby care set with the nail file, clippers, hair brush. You need some bibs- babies really drool a lot.
I would get a variety of oneies and some PJs, outfits, socks. I used only Dreft to wash Molly's clothes in for the first year. Cotsco is MUCH cheaper to buy Dreft.

Re: HELP! For first time mom to be!!

What type of mattress did you buy for the cradle / bassinet? We borrowed one...sorry no answer on this one.

Do you have a bumper on the side of your cradle / crib? I have heard conflicting reports on whether its safe or not.
Yes my understanding is that you have to make sure that the ties are are tight so that they are unable to get between the bumber & the crib.

What brand Car seat did you buy? Graco Snugride

Did anyone just buy the snap and go for the car seat for the first couple of months instead of a stroller? My baby will be born in Feb and I am just wondering if I can get away without having to shop for a stroller until about April...
I had a stroller but you can definitely get by with the Snap & Go.
What brand pacifier did you buy if you used one? We used avent - but the best one was the one the hospital gave us.

What brand bottles do you use? I am planning on breast feeding but would like to use a pump too as I will be back at work after 6 weeks!! I b/f & bottlefed too. I used the advent bottles.


Finally don't panic. I had Joseph 6 weeks early - 2 weeks BEFORE my shower. We didn't have anything. My mom had a slew of clothes ready. We borrowed a bassinet and changed him on a storage bin until our furniture arrived. THere's a post on this website about the things you need those first few weeks. Do a search or if anyone has time, post the link??

Message edited 1/2/2006 11:28:15 AM.

Re: HELP! For first time mom to be!!

I just wanted to input on the bottles. I also used the Avent bottles. They have silicone nipples that are supposed to be a lot like a mother's nipple. So if you are bfing and then are going to pump and then feed in a bottle, these bottles are good. I bf and bottle fed and my son had no problem at all going from breast to bottle with these bottles.

Re: HELP! For first time mom to be!!

Re: HELP! For first time mom to be!!

FIrst, there's an awesome book that narrows down everything you *really* need and has the best recommendations for brands - it's called Baby Bargains - I literally took the book with me to Babies R' Us and that's how I registered... now for the questions:

What type of mattress did you buy for the cradle / bassinet?
I bought the one that was recommended by the book - Colgate Classica I. It was about $90.

Do you have a bumper on the side of your cradle / crib? I have heard conflicting reports on whether its safe or not? No. The American Association of Pediatrics says NO for SIDS reasons.

What brand Car seat did you buy?
Graco snugride in Colby. Bought it with the stroller. I know some people think they are too hefty and a pain in the butt, but I love mine. When I delivered I took Alex out for a walk in the stroller almost everyday.

Did anyone just buy the snap and go for the car seat for the first couple of months instead of a stroller? My baby will be born in Feb and I am just wondering if I can get away without having to shop for a stroller until about April...I've heard great things about this one, and almost bought one myself. It's worth a try, and it's definitely a lot cheaper than the travel systems

What brand pacifier did you buy if you used one? Alex doesn't like them. We tried the ones the hospital gave us but she didn't take to them. I bought a few others at BRU but she never took to it. They will send you home with a few from the hospital so you don't need to get any unless your little one decides he/she doesn't like that brand.

What brand bottles do you use? We tried a whole bunch but the only ones Alex would take were the Playtex Nurser ones with the drop in liners. The nipple is most like the real deal because it's shaped more like a real nipple and the baby has to work hard to get the milk out. If you use a nipple that's too easy the baby might get lazy and stop breastfeeding because breastfeeding is a lot harder. But, now we're going to wean fairly soon and Alex is having some gas issues, so I'm going to try with all my might to switch to Dr. Brown's. Everyone swears by them that they reduce gas the most.

Re: HELP! For first time mom to be!!

I wouldn't spend a ton of money on a mattress - we bought one for about $125 at BRU - when we went there we got the whole rundown from a sales associate, and decided which one we wanted.

Snap and go is great...I use the Graco Quattro travel system and like it a lot - it is bulkier but you dont have to worry about a stroller later on.

I HIGHLY disagree with Michele31 about having bottles in the house. IMHO you absolutely should have bottles...(I breastfed and pumped since day one)

I EBF'd and had bottles in the house since day 1 - and thank goodness - there were times I really needed to sleep so a family member fed the baby expressed milk while I caught up on sleep (although I pumped for every feeding I missed to keep up my supply). I also recommend the PIS by meldela pump (Also lanisoh cream, and gerber storage bags) I use avent.

I personally use mam or avent pacifiers - if you buy the avent starter kit it comes with two of them.

Some other things I recommend...
for diapers: pampers swaddlers
the fisher price aquarium bouncy chair (this has saved a lot of our lives here!!)
get a tub of balmex to keep on your chainging table - its the most economical - but for my diaper bag I use desitin creamy.

HTH! Good luck!!

Message edited 1/2/2006 1:36:02 PM.

Re: HELP! For first time mom to be!!

Thank you all SOOOOOOOO Much....I feel like I can come up for air now and know so much more than I did at 9.00 am this morning....I really, really appreciate all your replies and comments.

I can go shopping now and know that what I buy has been recommended by real moms so know they will work!

Thank again for all your help. I will probably be posting on here full time when our baby does arrive...

Thank you hug:

Re: HELP! For first time mom to be!!

Message edited 12/16/2011 4:38:01 PM.