The first time I went to Buy Buy Baby was when I was around 15 weeks pregnant. I distinctly remember walking through the aisles beginning with diaper bags, maternity, bottles, pumps and feeding essentials, solids and related items, an entire aisle for baby monitors. Bathing and diapering came next, followed by personal care and so on.
Across the store, I spotted a few gliders and rocking chairs.
I raced through the store, crossing aisles of toys, cribs, clothing, bedding accessories and what not, only to go and to sit on the them.
And took a deep breath!
This was only half the store and I hadn’t even checked out the world of car seats, strollers, play pens, swings to name a few.
The following couple of days, my husband was curiously busy with his laptop. When I finally asked him what he was up-to, he revealed an excel sheet that he had meticulously complied while keeping it modest – The Baby List. It was categorized into various sections, Nursery, Diaper, Wardrobe, Postpartum etc, and the average price of each item in each category was listed next to it. ( read it as – how much we desire to spend). What was more impressive was the empty column next to it with the heading “Actuals”, to track the actual amount we spent. That moment, I couldn’t have been more sure that I married the right person.
It is very easy to get overwhelmed by the abundant choices when buying baby items, also very easy to go overboard and buy every item available or over spend and not to forget, the anxiety of first-time parenting.
Right from the beginning our choice has been to try to keep it minimal. I tried my best to be as objective as possible. Off the things we bought, I’ve made a compilation of what we loved, why, and what failed miserably. Also links to most of the products are below.
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1. Glider
I have been using this since my Third trimester and continue to use it now. While buying a glider for the nursery, you may want to consider a power glider or something that won’t wake your baby up with sudden jarring motions or the loud sound of the glider. Rocking motions in the chair before birth can help comfort your infant after birth.
2. Bassinet/ Crib
Co-sleeping makes me quite nervous. A few weeks after V was born, we got a bassinet and we shared the room. Now at 5 months, he sleeps in his crib in the nursery. If co-sleeping works for you, this may not be necessary. We did not buy a playpen, lounger, rocker, or swing.
Since we setup the nursery upstairs, for daytime sleeping (which helped him distinguish between day and night) and a change of environment (for my sanity), bassinets were of great help as they were mobile.
3. Bouncer
My infant adores this Baby Bjorn Bouncer. He has reflux, so when he was a newborn, he needed to be held upright after feedings. This made it much easier to stay in that reclined position. He now sits in his bouncer with his toys and keeps us company while we have lunch or dinner.
The key to acclimating him to the bouncer is by making him sit in it everyday or frequently and help him understand that it is one of the safe spaces for him to be in.
4. Dresser/Changing table
I would strongly advise a dresser over a changing table. This way, it doubles as a great place to store your baby’s clothes. Practically speaking, you might not be able to go to the wardrobe and get some clothing if your kid is being changed on the table. You’ll want something your hands can grab while keeping the baby safe.
For the lower level, we used a diaper caddy
5. Baby Monitor
This can be a good buy even if you intend to co-sleep. When the baby takes one of their zillion naps, you can catch up on that TV show, read a book, or finish your work. Although we had it since he was born, he began using it extensively when he moved to his crib.
6. Sound Machine
YES! Nowadays, I find it hard to sleep without white noise.
7. Clothing
Let’s address the elephant in the room. I will create a detailed post on this, for now, this should help.
- Onesies – Do yourself and the baby a favor, – DO NOT buy onesies or clothes that need to be worn from the head. At least for the first 1-2 months or until their necks get stronger. Instead, front-buttoned shirts are preferable. We got something like this from amazon.in.
- Gown dress – Another No. These baby gowns are very cute, although advertised otherwise, are a nuisance. They ride up, or is too big and the baby always swims in it. Neither can it be used in car seats. Just not worth!
- Snow suit – got one, but never used it to date.
- Footies – Best friend. Especially the dual-zipper ones. Snaps, not so much.
Weather-appropriate clothing – Babies grow quickly; plan the choice of clothes based on the weather conditions at different stages of growth.
8. Shoes
While they are adorable, instead buy fuzzy fleece booties/ socks instead of shoes to keep your baby’s feet warm and dry.
9. Swaddles
- The velcro in the pre-stitched swaddles bothered my baby. As a result, we used the traditional muslin swaddle. However, he soon began to unwrap from it.
- That’s when I discovered the Love to Dream swaddle, and his sleep improved dramatically. I was apprehensive about buying this one as it was super expensive for the number of times my baby would use it. But it was worth every penny. He was able to sleep better and as a result, so were we.
- Love to Dream dupe – it was a backup for the love-to-dream swaddle (in case he had a diaper blowout, or a missed laundry day etc). By 3 months, we transitioned him out to sleep sacks.
- Halo was good for hotter days. But as winter approached, his arms got cold without sleeves.
- Fleece sleep sacks – keeps him warm during winter, he likes it. We still use these.
10. Toys
- V loves this play gym. Started using it when he was around 2 months, and still uses it.
- High contrast cards – We’ve got these over his changing station. It comes in handy when changing diapers at night. He looks at them and begins to speak, which keeps him from moving too much. This distraction was preferable because it made it easier to put him back to sleep. (He used to fight diaper changes and would sob uncontrollably.)
- Rattle/stroller toys – it is his favorite to date.
- Water play mat – really wanted to love it. But he hardly plays on it and I wouldn’t recommend it. It gets cloudy and requires a lot of cleaning.
11. Bath
- We set up a bath tub over the bathroom counter and use a spout along with a bucket to pour water.
- Baby hair brush – did not have it initially, but it is useful to have
12. Nursing/ Feeding
I recently came across a portable bottle warmer, which I feel could be a lot more useful for long-distance travel, and even to a mall or a park.
We recently started V on solids, and I’ll cover all the details in another blog post. For the time being, all of the nursing necessities are covered in my Breastfeeding blog post.
Pro-tips
1. Hat – if they give you one at the hospital, keep it safe. It was so hard to find something that small to fit him. (I ended up making one)
2. Mittens/ socks – These are notorious for getting lost. So while washing put them in laundry bags so they all stay in one place.
3. Burp cloth – never too many of them.
4. Have hand sanitizer at you changing station for those times when you can’t immediately go and wash your hands after a diaper change.
5. Secondly, Diaper cream applicator. It is mess free.
6. First-aid and personal care items like thermometer, infant tylenol, saline spray, snot remover (not the bulb, too big for baby nostrils), nail trimmer are a must.
Mommy, it’s a comprehensive and must list for new moms/ moms-to-be. Kudos to you and looking forward to more of your motherhood journey with V 😊
Thank you!! 🙂