what do i and the baby REALLY NEED?? like furniture/equipment/gear?
alright, my husband and i have a somewhat small home….and he has ALOT of military gear that’s eating up our storage spaces. Anyways, we’re trying to figure out what we really NEED to have or what would be helpful to have instead of whatever looks nice or looks useful. we don’t want to waste money on something that will be used only a few times. we already know to get a crib, car seat, stroller, dresser…but what else?? what items did you have that you LOVED? i’m not due for a while, so we’re just in the planning mode as of now! thanks girls!
“Baby Essentials That Aren’t, Part 1: Cribs”
http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/01/15/baby-essentials-that-arent-1/
“Baby Essentials That Aren’t, Part 3: Strollers”
http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/01/28/baby-essentials-that-arent-part-3-strollers/
Get a sling or other soft carrier — I had no stroller until baby was 22mo, and would not have bought one if not for a knee problem — and the fancy little cages are quite unnecessary; baby can sleep in bed with you, and migrate to a mattress on the floor later on if you like.
a swing
after your all most done with the swing then a walker
Boppy, those things rock.
And a baby bjorn carrier will become very useful when the babies a few months old!
Plus my MIL got us this little bouncer chair, its really small, and has totally come in handy when we want to shower or bath, keeps him occupied and happy, and takes up little space!
LOL know just how you feel about the military gear!
I would say a changing table and you can buy a holder for all your baby needs that hangs from the celling. I found that use full when changing my little girl. that way everything is right at your figer tips.
allso I would buy a pack and play very small and you can use it till your baby dont need it anymore+ you can take it with you where ever you go very easy. And I would get a baby bath it is small and easy to wash your baby up with out putting more water than you need in the tub.
Baby bouncy seat. My daughter is 8 months old, and I still sit her in it when she eats her bottle. She would take her naps in it. and it’s mobile to where I could move it anywhere while I was cleaning or doing whatever. That was essential for me. As far as anything else, like a swing or whatever, I’d say no. Just takes up space, and my daughter didn’t even like it anyway. Sounds like you got everything else you got is good.
Although I am not a girl I do have a suggestion!
I highly recommend one of those baby bottle warmers. They are REALLY useful when its 4:00 AM and the baby wakes up and needs a bottle and you don’t want to deal with messing with hot water from a stove top while warming up breast milk (or Formula) for feeds and they heat up the milk to the right temperature instead of getting the milk too hot when you sort of loose track of time…. Great to have especially when you have limited space…
This is a really great question. A lot of people go out and by a whole nursery suite of furniture and it leaves most experienced parents asking WHY would someone do that!? I am going to suggest something you might not think of too: you need to ask yourself what you need as soon as the baby gets here and what you’ll need when it’s 6-12 months, etc. Here is my advice as a verteran mom:
In terms of in the baby’s room and as soon as baby arrives you’ll need:
Like you said,
crib, dresser, crib sheets, bumpers (if you even want them), and a window covering that blacks out ALL light. (Your baby will be sleeping a lot during the day at first and if you plan for him/her to sleep in the crib you’re going to want to have it dark.)
One thing I would really suggest is a comfy rocking chair in the baby’s room as well. You can get really nice ones second hand. This a great idea to rock baby and/or nurse in the nursery and then put baby to bed. Gets baby into the routine and teaches him/her “ok. this is my room where I sleep and I know when mommy rocks me and feeds me in here I’m going to bed.”
Another thing I would suggest for right away is a baby swing. You will get a lot of housecleaning and sleep for the HOURS your baby will nap in the swing. Both my kids slept tons of time in their swings and I can’t tell you how much easier having one will make your life the first 12-18 months of baby’s life!!
A pack -n- play is really good to have too, a fold up one that doubles as a bassinet for travel and later for play pen use.
Also a stroller /car seat travel system is REALLY great to have. Especially if you like to shop. Trust me!
You’ll also need all the bedding, bottles, and other stuff like that.
Here is what I WOULDN’T WASTE MY MONEY ON:
a changing table
a bassinet
a wipe warmer
a bottle warmer
a diaper “genie”
The things listed above are not necessary and in my opinion are kind of stupid!
I have a bouncer and believe you will want one of these it will put the baby a sleep when you are having a hard time or a bad day and you will want something to help you give the baby a bath witch means something for the baby to seat on while you are cleaning the little one up. Some other include extra dippers and plenty of wipes. We also have a walker because my little one is starting to crawl and that helps his legs you might want to get one of those latter after the baby is born. And then a few things that keep the babies interested while you are cooking, cleaning, and doing personal things are always a help believe me. We have a 5 month old and all I had for him before he was born was a crib, car seat, and a few clothes so do not worry about anything. You can always buy things after they are born by what you think your baby needs.
Actually, I don’t consider those all necessary. Instead of a crib, try safe cosleeping, or a bassinet. You don’t need a special type of dresser, and frankly, shelving on the wall above an existing dresser works just as well!
Car seat is, of course, not optional! The best bet is to skip the “baby bucket”, and get a convertible car seat with the highest Rear Facing weight/height limit you can. This will save you money, as you don’t need 2 seats within one year! It is no longer true that you should turn baby around at 1 year. It is far, far safer to keep them rear-facing as long as possible. http://www.car-seat.org
You don’t need a changing table. All you need is a waterproofed changing pad or two, and change baby wherever!
Most gadgets (wipes warmers, for instance) are pointless.
A swing is nice, but space-consuming, and while some babies love, love, love them, some can’t stand them. Since you can’t use most of them with brand-new babies, wait. Then go to a friend’s house and try one to see if your baby likes it before you commit the money and space to it. Also, buy off craigslist. I got one practically new for 1/5 the price.
My can’t do without item? A wrap and/or sling!
My mom just had a child and she also has a small place. Instead of a crib we got her a round bassinet! Travel swing! Yes they are low to the ground but great swings. All the kids I know who used them love them!! I can’t really think of anything else I just had to have when my son was a baby!
this is what we bought for each of the twins. we lived in the basement of my parents house so we didn’t have much space so we only bought what we needed.
Crib
Stroller
car seat
dresser
diaper genie (you will definitely need this no ands or buts)
changing table tops for dressers (these save tons of space as they can double the dresses as a changing table!!)
swing (we bought one of these and one of th bouncers. they pretty much do the same thing i would reccomend the swing more then the bouncer though)
soft carrier (perfect for going to crowded places)
floor gym (this was like my own personal babysitter you need it if you don’t plan on letting your house turn into a pig sty)
bouncer (can double as a high chair at feeding time and will save space and money)
and then you know clothes, diapers, food, toys…etc etc…