Soon-to-be First Time Mom Looking for Advice from Experienced Moms

I couldn't have lived without the miracle blanket! www.miracleblanket.com. Without it, I don't think that my daughter would have gotten any sleep!

Good luck!

You really don't need about 80% of what people register for. We actually registered for very little - the last thing we wanted was to acquire a lot of "stuff". Here's what I think is essential:
1. Baby bath or bathing pad
2. Some soft baby wash cloths, baby soap etc.
3. A baby carrier of sorts. I prefer wraps and slings, but if you insist, a bjorn is better than nothing. When your kid is small you'll really prefer this to a stroller, which is huge and in the way and a pain to take places. Plus, your baby will want to be held a lot when it's little and wearing your baby can satisfy that need and keep your hands free around the house.
4. Rocking chair or glider (we got ours off craigslist)
5. Nursing pillow like a Boppy. Love LOVE this.
6. Lanolin for your nipples if you're planning to nurse. Put it on BEFORE they start to get sore. Also, use some disposable breast pads when you do, or it will show through your shirt. (Note: could also use olive oil, which I hear works well)
8. Crib. Nothing fancy. Ours does not convert - when our son turned 20 months he moved to a big boy bed. It really just needs 2 mattrass settings - high and low. (Note: not needed any time soon if you're co-sleeping or have baby in a bassinett. Not needed at all if you want to co-sleep until your child is ready for a "big" bed).
9. Car seat (if you have a car)
10. Snap n go or similar - we didn't use ours a ton but if you live in the city and end up parking far away from wherever you're going or want to bring the car seat as a place to "put" the baby when you're not carrying it, this can be handy.
11. Some place to put the baby so you can actually do something. Could be a swing, bouncy seat, moses basket, blanket on the floor etc.
12. Changing pad and 2 covers. (again, not essential, but very handy. We have ours on top of a dresser. Other moms I know just use a folded receiving blanket on the floor. Whatever works for you...)

I think that's it. You'll get plenty of clothes, receiving blankets etc as gifts from people whether you want them or not, so I wouldn't worry about registering for them.

Good luck!! Also I suggest checking out "the Girlfriend's Guide to Baby Gear" - I don't agree with everything in there, but most of it is pretty good advice.

Ok, here I go. This is all of the stuff I wish I knew...

My favorite onesies are Carters. All the other brands seem to get stretched out around the neck, or are super thin icky material after a wash or two.
My baby loves the Avent pacifiers. They are the only ones he will take, and he loves his binki.
I have found that when I was stocking up on diapers and onesies before I knew if we were having a boy or a girl and I grossly underestimated the amount of wipes we would go through. I did find that generic diapers are not worth the savings…but generic wipes are just as good. Target even has a generic "sensitive" wipe.
www.pedipeds.com are the best shoes for little ones! I tried a couple of other baby shoes that were more affordable, and they ended up not bineg worth it and I sent them back! The pedipeds rock, and are made really, really well.
We tried a couple of different sleep positioners, and our favorite was like 12.99 at target. It has velcro so it adjusts with growth and has triangular sides with vents.
For jammies my favorites are ones that are two pieces. It is so much easier to pull the pants down than to un-snap or un-zip for middle of the night diaper changes!
The other thing we love is the mirror we got for in the car. It is in the back seat so my little guy can see himself in it, and we can see him. He absolutely loves it. The one we got has a monkey on it and he immediately smiles at it and starts talking to it when he gets in his car seat! Plus, we can see him with out having to break our necks!

And lastly we got a soother for in his crib, and he LOVES it. He looks up at it, and holds his little hand up in the light from it and watches his fingers! The music is really soothing and calming too! It is the rainforest waterfall one from Target with Monkeys on it.

I know that was a lot of info, but I hope it helps.

Good luck, and best wishes!!

hi and congrats. i read a book that was very helpful. it basically compared some of the different brands of baby stuff that was out there and if they were worth the money or not. it was very very helpful when i had my fist baby almost 6 years ago. and every year they come out with a new version and update the info. i forget the name, but perhaps if you head to your local book store and describe it you might be able to find it. i will also try looking through some of my stuff to find out what the name and author are. as for me.....there's really nothing out there that i "can't live without" and most of the expensive stuff is not really worth the money. but my favorite thing when i had my 2 kids were the walmart brand of diaper white cloud. they are so soft and so inexpensive when compared to other brands.....and they hold up very well when compared also. good luck and have fun !

I used a book called Baby Bargains to select all my stuff. It has reviews and recommendations about what you will need and which products/brands are best...depending on your price range and needs. That book saved me hundreds of dollars.

Hi A.,

Congrats! This is such and exciting and fun time. One thing I wish I had done was to spend less on my infant stroller. (She was only in for about 7 months, then I wanted something smaller with different features once I wasn't restricted to the infant carrier.) If I were doing it again. I would start with an inexpensive snap & go style that fits the carseat carrier. Then when the baby is out of the carseat I would spend more on a stoller that suits your needs. It's hard to know what you really want/need until the baby is here, so it's nice to be able to wait.
A must have along those same lines is a Bundle Me. It fits right in the carseat and stoller. There is also a product that is similar that fits over the infant carrier by Kiddopotamus which is invaluable if you are going to be transporting your little one via stoller a lot.

There are so many great things out there for moms now, I'd be glad to help more if I can. Happy hunting.

Hi A.,
Congrats on being pregnant!!! We can't even imagine not having the Fisher-Price Newborn to Toddler Rocker. It's $44.99 and it is the best rocker out there. We have been using it since our baby was born (5 months ago) That will be all you need, it's light so you can carry your baby anywhere, colorfull, and you can use it for a long time with out having the bouncer seat that only last you for like 3 months. Have fun and get ready for a very exciting time with your new baby-A.

Hi A.,
I was in the same situation...first to have kids, not sure what to register for...But now I have my 4 month old little boy and time just flies!!
I could NOT live without the bouncy chair...I got the rainforest one, but any bouncy chair could be just as fun...the one with he aquarium on it entices the little ones! And I had a colicky baby, so ANYTHING I could do to give me even a 5 minute break from holding him was a life saver!! :)
Also, PAMPERS SWADDLERS...All the moms in my moms groups agree for whatever reason, they hold in the "stuff" SO WELL. (again, personal experience, but huggies just didn't cut it for some reason)
Oh, and make sure to get those pads they put on changing tables so you dont have to change the cover so often. With a boy, this came in very handy!! ;)
One last thing...dont invest in an expensive thermometer early on,...the pediatrician wants you to have a good old fashioned rectal thermometer when you call hysterical that the baby feels warm and the digtal one just isn't reading properly...(Found this out the hard way too...Had my baby in December, and had to go out in the snow to get the one the pediatrician wanted)...ha ha!
Anyway, good luck with everything! Best advice is to just take it one day at a time, and enjoy EVERY minute as much as you can! It flies by!
Congrats!