What items are must haves or a waste of money when buying for a new baby?

[Armywifeandmama]

Well.....We breastfeed and cloth diaper so the same 300 in diapers I bought several babies ago is still going strong. We don't buy formula of course. We cosleep so a crib isn't needed. A pack and play isn't used at my home often but they are nice to have. All you really "NEED" is clothes,diapers and wipes really. A bed of some sort be that cosleeping,crib,pack n play...
Walkers are dangerous and not needed for quite awhile anyways. A high chair for me is a must but that you won't need right away. A carrier is a must for me as I carry my babies everywhere most of the time. A stroller you may want but I use a carrier instead.
Babies don't care about toys in the beginning.
Babies don't need shoes.

 

[EweSheep]

Don't ever buy those manual breast pumps! Painful and useless!

I had those wonderful breast pump machines,....started with an M (couldn't remember the brand name). Get a GOOD one!

 

[Armywifeandmama]

Don't ever buy those manual breast pumps! Painful and useless!

I had those wonderful breast pump machines,....started with an M (couldn't remember the brand name). Get a GOOD one!

I agree completely! I don't know if you stay home but if you do you may find a pump isn't needed at all. With my first kiddo who was disabled and couldn't breastfeed or suck on his own I pumped exclusively for over a year using a hospital grade medela pump I rented from the hospital for about 50 a mth. If you do need a pump the only way to go is Medela. With all the other kiddos though I never touched the pump since I was home to breastfeed as much as needed anyways

 

[Armywifeandmama]

Also....
Boppys are easy to make! I've made 2 but I have never found I used them too much.
Preemie and NB clothes are really a waste! I have preemies every single time ( scheduled c sections because of my placenta abruption issues) and I still only use preemie clothes in the hospital and that's it.
My youngest is 8 mths and average in weight and height and is sitting here in 18mth clothes just to give you an idea. Kiddos grow like weeds so don't focus too much on the small sizes.
I've never had a baby bath tub. Every bath until a year or so is in the sink.
A carseat is essential
I would go to walmart and get one of those baby kits with the meds,baby nail clippers etc.

 

[spanky1205]

Just before we had our baby, my wife and I were given every hint in the book by everyone from our family to the grocery store clerk. The best thing we were told came from a guy that my wife worked with. He gave two pieces of advices. 1) Relax you will struggle but you will figure it out, all great parents do. 2) Everyone has advice, do what you are comfortable with, do not get hung up on what everyone else thinks.

I do not know why but that actually stuck with me. My daughter is healthy so we must have done something right. Since you actually asked about hints here is what I can tell you. There are many many expensive articles to buy your baby. You do not need all of them nor do you need the most expensive ones. As long as the baby is healthy and you and the father are happy go with it. If you can not afford the wiz-bang awesome dipers, buy the parents choice. Its not the end of the world and your baby will do the same thing in all of them. Same goes for every other article you will need, get what you can afford and drive on. As long as you guys are happy and the baby is healthy, your new bundle of joy will not care when they are 20 years old anyway.

I was pretty easy going. I did not get wrapped up in much of anything as long as my daughter was happy and healthy. The one thing I did demand was a diaper bag that was not girly. My wife and I found a jeep one that had all of the compartments and do dads she liked and the colors I wanted.

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

wow, I've been keeping up on reading these posts since day one; I am making notes, and I discussed many of your ideas with my sisters who are older than I am and have had many kids: you guys have come up with some great suggestions; my favorite being the diaper backpack instead of diaper bag! I am so happy this is being discussed, thanks for starting this thread! I'm expecting my first in June, and though I've been collecting baby things for what seems like my whole life, when it comes down to it, there are a lot of things I just don't know about personally... though I've taken care of my sisters babies and stuff. Its all going to be different when it happens to me.

Armywifeandmama; did a lot of people discourage you against cloth diapers? are they a total pain to clean? I'm considering doing cloth diapers-as I don't like the nature of disposable anything in large quantities. Would you suggest them for everyone or to a specific type of person? oh and where do you get them?

 

[Armywifeandmama]

wow, I've been keeping up on reading these posts since day one; I am making notes, and I discussed many of your ideas with my sisters who are older than I am and have had many kids: you guys have come up with some great suggestions; my favorite being the diaper backpack instead of diaper bag! I am so happy this is being discussed, thanks for starting this thread! I'm expecting my first in June, and though I've been collecting baby things for what seems like my whole life, when it comes down to it, there are a lot of things I just don't know about personally... though I've taken care of my sisters babies and stuff. Its all going to be different when it happens to me.

Armywifeandmama; did a lot of people discourage you against cloth diapers? are they a total pain to clean? I'm considering doing cloth diapers-as I don't like the nature of disposable anything in large quantities. Would you suggest them for everyone or to a specific type of person? oh and where do you get them?

I am one of 6 and my mother used cloth diapers for all of us. Alot of my friends ( other Army wives mostly) use cloth diapers. I have encountered a few people that are grossed out but those are also the people that complain of the cost the cost of diapers , must have Pampers,complain the WIC program doesn't provide them, ugh. We use cloth because of our budget, because in my opinion they are better for my children's skin, they are "green" although I don't care much about that one. People don't seem to remember that disposable diapers are a very recent development. Some how moms and babies have survived using cloth for some time. I machine wash and hang dry all of our clothing. Cloth doesn't add much work and for us saves a fortune. There are tons of places to buy them or if you are a sewer you could also try making your own. I would suggest them for anyone, not just a certain type of person. LOL. That made me laugh....lol.... I'm the furthest thing from "green" or a "hippie" or anything of that nature but I'm a big cloth diaper mama simply because it makes no sense at all to pay money for something that will pollute our world and your child just poops in. Makes no sense to me and it doesn't fit in our frugal lifestyle. I buy all ours used mostly on Ebay. I spent about 300 and that was several children ago. I don't buy disposables ever.

 

[Livinzoo]

I cloth diaper and breast feed. Still going at 13 months. Some woman don't respond well to pumps. I could only get a ounce per side but could hand express more. If I had to pump I would have to rent a hospital grade pump. I have a medula pump in style. In the beginging work with a lactation consultant. One that is registered. Our hospital had one and we could come a few times a week weight the baby before and after feeds and get help with latch. If you experience even more problems get the baby checked for a tougue or lip tie.Breast feeding is much easier than pumping and bottle feeding.

There are many types of cloth diapers. I use prefolds, a snappi and covers. I spent about $300 and these will last through the 3 kids I plan to have. Cleaning is easy. Breast milk poops get put right into the pail. For other poops I have a shower that is next to a toliet. I have a shower head on a hose and added a second hose to reach the toliet and I spray the poos off the diaper into the toliet. Dirty diapers go in a pail. (its a 13 gallon trash can with lid lined with a pail liner) I was every 2 days. You want to use detergent that is safe for diapers. Here is a good reference list for detergents http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm The diapers I love are Green mountain diapers (GMD). They have sales of seconds about once a year and they go FAST. For covers I like the thirsties duos. They come in 2 sizes and are adjustable.

Baby food is a waste. Mine went right from the breast to the table at about 6 months.

I love slings. A good wrap is great when they are small. As the get bigger I love my Ergo. And I also have a ring sling for popping the babe into during a quick store run.

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

I am one of 6 and my mother used cloth diapers for all of us. Alot of my friends ( other Army wives mostly) use cloth diapers. I have encountered a few people that are grossed out but those are also the people that complain of the cost the cost of diapers , must have Pampers,complain the WIC program doesn't provide them, ugh. We use cloth because of our budget, because in my opinion they are better for my children's skin, they are "green" although I don't care much about that one. People don't seem to remember that disposable diapers are a very recent development. Some how moms and babies have survived using cloth for some time. I machine wash and hang dry all of our clothing. Cloth doesn't add much work and for us saves a fortune. There are tons of places to buy them or if you are a sewer you could also try making your own. I would suggest them for anyone, not just a certain type of person. LOL. That made me laugh....lol.... I'm the furthest thing from "green" or a "hippie" or anything of that nature but I'm a big cloth diaper mama simply because it makes no sense at all to pay money for something that will pollute our world and your child just poops in. Makes no sense to me and it doesn't fit in our frugal lifestyle. I buy all ours used mostly on Ebay. I spent about 300 and that was several children ago. I don't buy disposables ever.

I said certain type of person because I know many people who would get the heebee geebies just thinking about having to do any extra steps with a poopy diaper than absolutely necessary; these people also can't imagine putting forth more effort than they have to. I think its because they are over consumeralized (if thats a term), they're kinda lazy and they like everything to be convenient and easy. Which isn't bad in and of itself, but I would avoid wasting my breath with those individuals. There are, however, other types of individuals out there who would be more receptive/open to a different approach-these people are the type to I was inferring

I'm considering going cloth becuase I inherited the 'cheap' gene from my dad. If I can make it myself I can't justify buying it, if I can go cheaper without increasing risks, I do, if I can handle to go completely without thats sometimes even better. I am also on a limited budget, but not really compared to a lot of people on her, thats only a secondary motivation, though a good one. Why spend more than you have to? I like spending money on fun stuff like ducks and gardening.

Oh, by the way, my mom is teaching me how to sew better, we're making one of those bags that hold your baby clothes on a hanger, she says they're really handy if you have tall stacks of baby clothes falling over all the time. I have a love for laundry and don't like that happening, so I am looking forward to using this. So, reveriereptile if you're particularly peeved when a stack of neatly folded laundry topples or you want a convenient onesie dispenser near your changing table, maybe give a thought to making one or refurbishing one from a garage sale.

 

[reveriereptile]

I was pretty easy going. I did not get wrapped up in much of anything as long as my daughter was happy and healthy. The one thing I did demand was a diaper bag that was not girly. My wife and I found a jeep one that had all of the compartments and do dads she liked and the colors I wanted.

I have already been thinking about getting a manly diaper bag. Luckily for my husband I'm a bit tom boyish so I don't need a girly diaper bag. Also I don't want to get stuck carrying both the baby and diaper bag if either one had pink on it.

I cloth diaper and breast feed. Still going at 13 months. Some woman don't respond well to pumps. I could only get a ounce per side but could hand express more. If I had to pump I would have to rent a hospital grade pump. I have a medula pump in style. In the beginging work with a lactation consultant. One that is registered. Our hospital had one and we could come a few times a week weight the baby before and after feeds and get help with latch. If you experience even more problems get the baby checked for a tougue or lip tie.Breast feeding is much easier than pumping and bottle feeding.

There are many types of cloth diapers. I use prefolds, a snappi and covers. I spent about $300 and these will last through the 3 kids I plan to have. Cleaning is easy. Breast milk poops get put right into the pail. For other poops I have a shower that is next to a toliet. I have a shower head on a hose and added a second hose to reach the toliet and I spray the poos off the diaper into the toliet. Dirty diapers go in a pail. (its a 13 gallon trash can with lid lined with a pail liner) I was every 2 days. You want to use detergent that is safe for diapers. Here is a good reference list for detergents http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm The diapers I love are Green mountain diapers (GMD). They have sales of seconds about once a year and they go FAST. For covers I like the thirsties duos. They come in 2 sizes and are adjustable.

Baby food is a waste. Mine went right from the breast to the table at about 6 months.

I love slings. A good wrap is great when they are small. As the get bigger I love my Ergo. And I also have a ring sling for popping the babe into during a quick store run.

Thanks for explaining what you do to clean the cloth diapers. I just figured I'd go with the disposable diapers but after reading through all the posts I might give cloth diapers a try. If for some reason they don't work out then I will use them for something else and use disposable ones for outings.

My husband and me are planning on building a house this summer also and I am starting to wonder if I should put a sink in the utility room for cloth diaper cleanings.

I only do some secretary things for my husband at home so I'll be at home all the time for breast feeding. If the baby isn't thriving due to tongue problems or some other reason I will want to try pumping. I'd rather not have to pump but like to know that I have the option if the pumps do work. I didn't even know the hospitals rent out pumps. That is some nice information to know.

I do have the What to Expect books and those had a lot of good information in them except for what types of items to buy other than the basic list. Those books were nice to read through if anyone hasn't read them. I think my SIL ran off with my pregnancy one though. I'll probably just buy another one since she is going to be going through the fertility treatment due to her boyfriend having a low count from childhood cancer and chemo.