I didn't start looking around at baby stuff until now and I'm already overwhelmed.
Consumer reviews vary greatly, there are so many different opinions....I just don't know where to start.
I have to start registering and I'm losing my mind!
I wish there was a website that just said, "buy this car seat" and "don't buy this diaper bag". All the guesswork would get taken out and I wouldn't be wracking my brain over all of this crap.
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We bought a mattress topper last night. It's made out of memory foam. I'm so tired today because I slept so hard last night. It's kind of ironic, you would expect to sleep BETTER on a new mattress (so to speak). It'll take me a little while to get used to, but my back feels fantastic.
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Your best bet, really, is to talk to all the moms you know.
We got a travel system. The stroller works well even though she's no longer using the infant car seat. When she got bigger, we picked up a convertible car seat that will last until she's 5 years old. I have a BUNCH of coupons from Babies R Us that I want to send to you; two of them deal with travel systems and convertible car seats. Email me your address so I can send them to you; I lost it from when you gave it to me earlier.
I didn't worry about buying a change table or contoured pad. The only thing the pad is good for is preparing them for getting changed in the ladies room, as those are contoured.
I also worked in a Babies R Us so if you have ANY questions, let me know. The one thing you will absolutely need is a double electric breast pump; Medela has the best.
Please email me if you have any questions; I'm more than happy to help. If you're having a baby on a budget (like we were, unable to afford EVERYTHING), I'm your woman. :)
I'm going to follow along the lines of Simi Scorpio :D
I hated travel systems. They didn't fold down enough and were too heavy. We got a Graco car seat and matching stroller (lighter and folded down farther than the ones in the travel system) for the same price as the cheapest travel system and it's waaaay cuter. They fit into eachother so it works the same as a TS.
The changing table was awesome for the first month because he was peeing everywhere everytime I changed him. Now, he's got a little more control, and we just change him on the bed, or floor, or couch, or table, whatever.
I had a hand pump, which would've been fine if I hadn't have had so many problems with breastfeeding. Oddly enough, when I did get the electric pump, my supply seriously dwindled. Look into if your insurance will cover a pump for you because if (and it's rare, but it happens) the pump causes more problems than it helps, you won't have spent $400 on a pump you can't use. Now that he's older, I just use my Medela Harmony to pump for his rice cereal and I (thank goodness) haven't had any supply issues with the hand pump. It rocks.
I'm not sure if you're going to crib or co-sleep but be prepared (either way) for the possibility that you may have him in bed or near the bed for a little bit at first. Some of the most hardcore "the baby will be in his crib!" moms I know are still co-sleeping because some babies/moms just need that. We bought a co-sleeper that sat in the middle of Eric and I...hated it with a passion. Couldn't breastfeed, took up more room than necessary, etc. We just ended up using one of those sleep positioners (the two triangles with the fabric in the middle) for the first week or so. We had a pack'n'play to use instead of co-sleeping when he was tiny. We never even pulled it out (still haven't) but the bassinet in it might work for you.
The swing and bouncer saved our lives many times when he'd cry because he was colicky and we had no idea what was going on. They'd make him nap almost immediately.
Moby Wrap was sooooo cool! I could just strap him to me, get everything I needed to get done done and we could go for walks while he napped. It's great when you don't want to take a stroller somewhere.
Get a diaper bag with a travel changing pad in it. Those fold down thingies? NASTAY!
The Boppy is AWESOME for the first few weeks. When you're first trying to figure out how to breastfeed, you have no idea how helpful it is to have something to just lay him on while you try to get a proper latch going.
Feeding is a whole other story. If you want help on bottles and/or binkies, let me know. Seriously, the whole LLL stuff about "give him a bottle/binky and he'll never want your boob again" is GREATLY exagerrated. This is coming from a mom who had to give her son a bottle and a binky on day 2 of his life and, to this day he REFUSES to let either enter his mouth.
We do cloth diapers, so if you're thinking about doing that, email me. As Eric says, "that's a whole other essay."
We didn't have any money, either, so I can help a bit with the budget stuff, too. :) Craigslist is your friend.
OOH! AND! Lansinoh? YOU NEED IT! Seriously. You need it. Period. Disposible breast pads made me itch (and you could always see them through bra --oh God, nursing bras, whole other story. Stay awaaaay from underwires and I wouldn't wear one for the first few weeks. In fact, my lactation consultant told me not to wear a shirt at home for the first month and a half, some of the best advice I got --, and shirt). Cloth weren't much better and you go through *so* many in the first few weeks while you're getting regulated that it's almost impossible to keep up with washing and drying them before you need them again. These things called "LilyPads" were great once I was regulated.
Is that enough? lol I'm so sorry! I didn't expect to make it this long and would you believe this is me being prudent with information? Dear Lord.
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