I need some advice! I am pretty much finished buying all our baby stuff but there are some things I am a little unsure of. Please let me know if you have any experience with/opinion on the following:
-wipes warmer- do babies really care about their wipes being warm? is it worth the $25?
-bottles- do you notice a big difference in bottle brands? are glass bottles better?
-bottle brush/drying rack- do we need bottle cleaning supplies? all of the bottles we have are dishwasher safe, but does the dishwasher not do the job sufficiently?
-diapers & wipes- which brands do you like the most?
-diaper hygiene- what diaper rash products work the best?
-laundry detergent- are baby-friendly detergents worth the extra money? what is the danger of just using our regular, non-name brand detergent?
-baby first aid- what infant first aid products are actually necessary? we have a baby thermometer, nail clippers, gas drops, and other things, but there are whole aisles of products!
-wipes warmer- do babies really care about their wipes being warm? is it worth the $25?
-bottles- do you notice a big difference in bottle brands? are glass bottles better?
-bottle brush/drying rack- do we need bottle cleaning supplies? all of the bottles we have are dishwasher safe, but does the dishwasher not do the job sufficiently?
-diapers & wipes- which brands do you like the most?
-diaper hygiene- what diaper rash products work the best?
-laundry detergent- are baby-friendly detergents worth the extra money? what is the danger of just using our regular, non-name brand detergent?
-baby first aid- what infant first aid products are actually necessary? we have a baby thermometer, nail clippers, gas drops, and other things, but there are whole aisles of products!
11 comments:
My opinion on the wipes warmer is it is a waste of money. It tends to dry out the wipes and I have had two babies survive cool wipes and they didn't seem to care. Bottles I don't really know because I never really used them until the babies were closer to 1 but at that point the bottle brush was necessary although I never needed the drying rack. I think it depends on how many bottles you use. Costco brand diapers have done the trick for us. They seem to work just as good as the name brand, but if you go name brand, I like huggies. With wipes we use the Kirkland brand (which you can buy by the box from Costco). Otherwise, I would just recommend getting anything unscented because the scented wipes tend to cause diaper rash in my experience. My first had lots of problems with diaper rash so my pediatrician told us to just wet down paper towels and use that and it did the trick, no more diaper rash. I think the baby detergent is great. "They" say it is better for the baby's skin. I really don't know if there is a danger to using regular detergent, but I have never done so until my kids are closer to one and a half. I love baby All or dreft and get the dreft stain remover spray because if you spray it on and soak their clothes right after a blow out (soon you will come to appreciate the term blow out) you can get the stains out. Other than what you have listed for first aid, I would get a bulb syringe. They come in handy. Other than that, I would just play it by ear and get anything additional when or if the need arises.
That is probably more info than you wanted but I hope some of it helps. I am excited for you guys! You will do great, don't worry.
okay so I have no kids and I had no idea that there was such a thing as baby wipe warmers!?!?!?!? Wow...it's like saying that we need towel warmers for when we get out of the shower?! Would it be nice...yes. Is it necessary? Um I think not. All I can say is as far as the baby detergent or baby first aid I feel like that is just good advertising trying to make you buy more BABY things. you know?!? What ever happened to simplicity?! I am scared now...I don't even want to know what I will end up buying when I have little ones...there are to many things to choose from...i think i might just want it all! haha
Wipes warmer = total waste of money and space.
Bottles, you just have to figure out depending on the child. I never used glass bottles because aren't they super expensive?
I use a bottle brush because most of the bottle I have are the complicated anti-gas bottles with lots of little parts that need a little extra cleaning. Trust me, without the bottle brush those little pieces would smell awful. Never used a drying rack. That's what my counter top is for.
I tried all types of diapers and I ONLY use name brand, Huggies. Totally depends on the child though. It's worth the extra money to me to avoid blow outs and leaks. Both my boys must have weird shaped bodies because only huggies would work. Costco is the way to go for diapers and wipes.
Booker would get pretty nasty diaper rash and the only thing that would do the trick was a combo of breast milk (who knew!?! it's also great for eczema) and prescription creme from his ped. It was usually yeast, so the regular cremes like desitin didn't work. Baby powder was usually sufficient to keep rash away for Ike. I also liked using one called Bordeaux's Butt Paste for Ike.
I still have a bottle of Dreft that I bought 3 years ago before Booker was born. It's almost full. If your baby has super sensitive skin, then it's a good idea to use the safe baby detergent. Otherwise, don't sweat it.
I agree, bulb syringes are useful or sucking gunk out of their mouths. They usually send you home from the hospital with one. In fact, they send you home from the hospital with tons of sweet stuff. I always took as many diapers, burp cloths, thermometers, etc, as I could find in my hospital room :) That's what it's for- I swear!
Basically, you'll just have to find out by trial and error with this little girl. I can't wait, it's coming right up!!!
I have to agree on the wipes warmer - a friend used one for a while and the result was that when they had to use a cool wipe (ie any time they weren't at home) their baby threw a royal tantrum. It was horrible! For bottles I have an aunt who is a lactation person and she recommends aveno if you will be nursing because it is most like nursing for the baby so you are less likely to have a baby quit nursing for the bottle. They are nice even if you aren't nursing. We never really used bottles - we transitioned straight to a sippy cup with a straw, so I don't know about the rack stuff. I would say though that the best thing you can do is run them through the dishwasher because the steam and such kills germs. I like desitin, though we don't use it often but you can buy it at costco, which is always nice (you can also buy infant Tylenol there too, which would have saved us some money had we known a little earlier). I had no idea there was such a thing as baby-friendly laundry detergent! We didn't change our laundry routine at all (except for significantly more loads!) The bulb syringe got a lot of use at our house, but it was the end of cold season, so I don't know what it'll be like in the summer.
I've been thinking of you lately and am excited about the coming baby!
I was just reading about taking things from the hospital and had a comment...DO IT!!! One of our nurses whispered to us that they have to throw away pretty much everything that touched your baby, so if you can make any use of it, take it or else the garbage man will get it!
Okay, so I have my own opinions about things, but I will try to make it shorts.
Wipes warmer is stupid.
Bottles, just do plastic, easier for wear and tear, but make sure they are BPA free. I would simply get the cheapest kind you can, cause I haven't noticed they make a difference.
Bottle brush is a must and I have bottle drying rack that I love and use all the time. The stuff is kinda little for the dishwasher and I'm too cheap to risk losing anything.
Wipes- doesn't really matter what kind. But for diapers when they're little, I like pampers. Costco doesn't sell Newborn dipes. After NB, it doesn't really matter I don't think what brand. I now get them from costco.
I do have baby laundry detergent, but partially cause I just like how it smells:) It's pretty generically recommended, so I would do it. But I'm not sure its a must.
I wouldn't get any other first aid products, I have yet to use any of the ones I have besides a thermometer and nail clippers.
I have 3 different kinds of diaper cream, and they have all worked well.
Take everything and anything you can from the hospital. One of which is the little spongy thing that collects her mucus in her nose and mouth. We use it a lot. But then again, Briz is just sort mucusy. Can't wait until you have her!!!! Briz is very excited to meet her new bff. And if not, we're going to make her be excited.
We haven't seen ya'll in forever- we should definitely hang out if you aren't too tired. You are getting so close. My advice- buy the cheapest bottles you can find in small sizes for the first four months, butt paste works the best on diaper rash but the true secret is blow drying their bottoms after baths and diaper changes if it gets really bad- we didn't have that problem but from hospital experience air is the best for diaper rash- we would even stick a towel under them and let them sleep without a diaper. We didn't change our detergent but I bought spray oxyclean for blowouts and it worked and our bottles either got boiled or stuck in the dishwasher- we have a brush but I've only used it like twice. I tried the generic diapers and had bad leakage the best diapers I've found for girls are pampers swaddlers and boys huggies. We are so excited for you!
wipe warmers--silly. Dot has never minded a cool wipe on the bum. It actually makes her laugh half the time.
Bottles--up to you, really. I did get glass ones, but I rarely have to use bottles. If you will be using them frequently, plastic (BPA free) are probably the safer route.
For cleaning, I just run everything through the dishwasher and set things on the counter to air dry if they need a little extra. You could get a pack of bottle brushes just in case you get a little gunk stuck in one--probably worth the few bucks to make the job quick and easy.
Diapers--we LOVE luvs. Pampers have given our little one a rash, and so have the Target brand. Wipes, however, we have found don't really matter. Just make sure you get unscented. We have been getting the BJ's brand ones in the softpacks--they're great for throwing in the diaper bag.
Detergent--again, up to you. I bought one small bottle of baby detergent because I found some on sale. However, Marty's mom brought us a bunch of newborn stuff she had washed in regular detergent and Dot had no bad reaction. I think you'd be safe not to, but for peace of mind you could get one bottle and then phase her laundry into your detergent when it runs out.
Um, let's see. We have used our clippers and nail file, thermometer, gas drops, tylenol, and brush. I wouldn't splurge on anything too crazy.
And, hey, we will be in Utah in like a week and half! If you're not in labor, when would you like to get together?! Email me!
Ok. You asked, so here are my answers:
1- Brandon and I just stuck the wipes in our warm hands for a minute before putting them on Elly. That seemed to warm them up fine.
2- I used Avent bottles; they are BPA free which is (I think) the only reason people are using glass these days. I never wanted to take a chance of having them break on the floor or something.
3- The only reason I see needing a bottle brush/drying rack is because you need clean bottles much more often than you run your whole dishwasher, I guess. But, if you end up breastfeeding, you probably can do with just the dishwasher because you won't be giving her a bottle that much.
4- When Elly was brand- spanking new, we used the super sensitive wipes (pampers in the green and white pkg.) because we weren't sure yet if she had sensitive skin and didn't want to test it that soon. As soon as she was over a month or so old and she never had reactions to anything else, we used Costco wipes. We always bought the Huggies diapers from Coscto. We liked them better than the Costco brand for diapers. But, the wipes were great.
5- We swear by A&D ointment for diaper rashes. Elly didn't get too many, but when she did, that stuff would clear it up in one diaper change! Plus, we liked that it was clear, instead of sticky white stuff that ended up on everything.
6- We used our regular old detergent for all of Elly's clothes. I think (personally) the special "baby safe" detergent is for babies with super sensitive skin, so you might want to test her skin before washing all her clothes in your regular detergent. Elly never had any reaction to our detergents.
7- Must haves? Thermometer (a good one, you should splurge on this. We messed around with the stick one you put in her rear end or under her arm for a while, but she was so squirmy, we never got a good reading. We have the one you stick in their ear. It works great), keep some infant tylenol on hand, in case she runs a fever in the middle of the night and you don't care to go out to the store right then. That's pretty much it.
Oh yeah, call me any time day or night if you have a problem you can't solve. I'll do my best!
You guys will be great. It's really fun and not that hard!
So Carly, I have to agree with Lacy. There is so much crap people say you need and you really don't need any of it. Plus, the main thing that I found was that if I didn't have it, I didn't need it. One addition to the list:
Desitin now makes a clear version of their diaper rash cream. It's nice because it doesn't get everywhere. We use that and/or bordeaux butt paste. Weird name, cool results.
There's my two cents worth. You guys will be great parents.
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