Top 5 Products for New moms/New babies?

[dakcp2001]

Good timing I am shopping for a baby shower gift, could you all maybe tell what was the biggest waste of money or things that did not work for you? I have no children so I feel lost shopping for baby stuff.

[twinboysmom]

Originally Posted by dakcp2001

Good timing I am shopping for a baby shower gift, could you all maybe tell what was the biggest waste of money or things that did not work for you? I have no children so I feel lost shopping for baby stuff.

Diaper genie. It very quickly went to the curb with the garbage. I also didn't like those bath sponges for the bathtubs for newborns. I could never get it warm enough, always seemed cold.

[Minnesota!]

If we had another kid, the only things I would need would be:

Evenflo bottles
Target formula
Boppy
Target diapers/wipes
Butt Paste
And (I know, 6 items..) the sleep and play outfits that snap, vs zip.

Everything else, including a crib, playpen, etc....I found to be a waste of money.

[chloelovesdisney]

Top 5 items -

Hands free pumping bra
Happiest Baby on the Block book
Sleep Sheep
Swaddle Me
My Brest Friend nursing pillow

Honorary non baby item -
Ipad - helped me stay awake when I was nursing in the middle of the night

[Erin1700]

Originally Posted by twinboysmom

Diaper genie. It very quickly went to the curb with the garbage. I also didn't like those bath sponges for the bathtubs for newborns. I could never get it warm enough, always seemed cold.

I like the yellow bath sponge to use in the big tub when baby is a little older.

[Frye7127]

of course my boy is 12 now, but these were my favorite things:
1. Humidifier - still use it to this day. He loves to sleep to the sound.
2. Baby bottle warmer for upstairs in the middle of the night, so I didn't have to go tracking downstairs to fix a bottle - loved it! After a hip-to-hip emergency C-section, I was thankful not to have to track down the stairs several times a night.
3. swaddle blankets - swaddled him forever til the blankets got too short, it put him out like a light.
4. Baby Bjorn carrier - great for outings - nobody touched him or got too close and he liked being worn and it freed up my hands. Also, liked the backpack carrier and so did he when he was older.
5. My buggy - a Graco stroller that had the car seat attachment. sturdy and durable and definitely served its purpose.

My others were Huggies when he was an infant, Pampers when he was older, Avent bottles that converted to cups - definitely got our money out of those. Doorway bouncy chair, and a terrific pediatrician.

[minniebride]

Originally Posted by Christopher Robin

1 diaper genie
2 diaper genie
3 diaper genie
4 diaper genie
5 diaper genie

We actually took a risk and got the Babys r Us brand diaper pail & we love it! It does a great job hiding the odor. Best part is it was only $20!

[badblackpug]

Originally Posted by mjkacmom

All of my babies were formula fed, and we tried them all, ready to feed, concentrate, powdered. By far the easiest method (which, of course, I discovered with the last) was powdered, made up individually, with warm tap water. Fill the bottle, add the powder, shake. No need to heat it up, or make it ahead of time.

Robeez were also discovered late in the game, but I never bought a pair of baby socks/shoes again.

And I am STILL using old cloth diapers for dusting and rags! Some day, I'm going to have to buy more.

We did the same with the formula. It was especially easy in WDW. Preloaded the bottle with powder, kept a couple of bottles of water in the back pack, and we had an instant meal.

The swing.

[Sarah_Rose]

If I had a list of 5, they would all be various types of baby carriers. Ring slings, woven wraps, buckle carriers... All have gotten more use than any other baby items.

Close runners up: cradle swing, Boppy, and jumperoo.

[minniebride]

Originally Posted by mjkacmom

All of my babies were formula fed, and we tried them all, ready to feed, concentrate, powdered. By far the easiest method (which, of course, I discovered with the last) was powdered, made up individually, with warm tap water. Fill the bottle, add the powder, shake. No need to heat it up, or make it ahead of time.

Robeez were also discovered late in the game, but I never bought a pair of baby socks/shoes again.

And I am STILL using old cloth diapers for dusting and rags! Some day, I'm going to have to buy more.

We actually use cloth diapers as burp clothes-they are WAY more absorbant for spit-up than regular burp clothes!

[minushka72]

Originally Posted by Minnesota!

And (I know, 6 items..) the sleep and play outfits that snap, vs zip.

The snap up ones are the best since they snap down both legs. So much easier for diaper changes! The zip up ones only unzip one leg so you practically have to take the whole thing off to change a diaper!

Also loved my sleep sheeps! My kids still sleep with them at ages 6 and 3.

[Sarah_Rose]

Originally Posted by minushka72

The snap up ones are the best since they snap down both legs. So much easier for diaper changes! The zip up ones only unzip one leg so you practically have to take the whole thing off to change a diaper!

Also loved my sleep sheeps! My kids still sleep with them at ages 6 and 3.

See, I prefer the zip-up sleepers. I find the snaps too "confusing" when I'm half asleep or in the dark, and prefer to just have to navigate a zipper.

Oh, and my 6 month old LOVES her Sleep Sheep. My son never cared for it, but every time I go in my DD's room when she's asleep, she's lying directly under the sleep sheep (it's hanging from the top rail of the crib) so that she can play with it's feet while she falls asleep.

[Help, Please!]

Most useful... (I have a 16 month old)

1. Fisher Price Snugabunny Swing (or, I guess, any nicer Fisher Price swing)...most expensive thing we bought and TOTALLY WORTH ALL OF THE MONEY!!!

2. Swaddle blankets. As my mom, who is a NICU nurse says...babies like them, it's the parents who have problems! (Can't get the blankets to stay, etc.)...the "SwaddleMe" ones are great, velcro rocks!

3. Any time of white noise...sleep sheep, etc. We actually use (still!) an old iphone in a radio/charger in the baby's room...with a rain sound...because of it, he sleeps well in cars, airplanes, etc! Then, we can just take the iphone wherever we go!

4. This tub http://www.target.com/p/fisher-price...b/-/A-10875121 I did WAY too much research on bath tubs, and found that the reason young infants generally don't like baths is because they are cold..parents put them in slings/on sponges and they are not warm. We used this tub from a very early age...the baby can be submerged partially in water, and there is a big bump that stops them from sliding. I guess the best part, though, is that the big bump is removable (easily) and our 16 month old can now sit in the tub and has room to play with his toys, and we don't have to fill up the entire regular bath tub yet. Saves on water for sure!

5. I also loved the nuk bottles http://www.target.com/p/nuk-orthodon...m_1_2&term=nuk bottles (Come in different sizes, colors, etc.) We tried MANY bottles...Dr. Brown, Playtex Drop-Ins, regular Playtex, the glass ones, etc. etc. and these were my favorites! SOOOO easy to clean, and their is a vent in the nipple to let the air out so the babies never have to stop sucking for the air to escape...like some other bottles we had. Will definitely stock up on more of these for a future child!

Some things that we returned/were not happy with (just in case you're interested, I know I was before I had a baby):

-Boppy (my torso was too short, the baby was too high for me to feed him using the Boppy).
-Bottle and Wipe Warmers
-I'm sure there are more that I can't think of at the moment!

Good luck with your baby! It's a rollercoaster, but what an amazing ride!

[minniebride]

Originally Posted by Help, Please!

Most useful... (I have a 16 month old)

1. Fisher Price Snugabunny Swing (or, I guess, any nicer Fisher Price swing)...most expensive thing we bought and TOTALLY WORTH ALL OF THE MONEY!!!

2. Swaddle blankets. As my mom, who is a NICU nurse says...babies like them, it's the parents who have problems! (Can't get the blankets to stay, etc.)...the "SwaddleMe" ones are great, velcro rocks!

3. Any time of white noise...sleep sheep, etc. We actually use (still!) an old iphone in a radio/charger in the baby's room...with a rain sound...because of it, he sleeps well in cars, airplanes, etc! Then, we can just take the iphone wherever we go!

4. This tub http://www.target.com/p/fisher-price...b/-/A-10875121 I did WAY too much research on bath tubs, and found that the reason young infants generally don't like baths is because they are cold..parents put them in slings/on sponges and they are not warm. We used this tub from a very early age...the baby can be submerged partially in water, and there is a big bump that stops them from sliding. I guess the best part, though, is that the big bump is removable (easily) and our 16 month old can now sit in the tub and has room to play with his toys, and we don't have to fill up the entire regular bath tub yet. Saves on water for sure!

5. I also loved the nuk bottles http://www.target.com/p/nuk-orthodon...m_1_2&term=nuk bottles (Come in different sizes, colors, etc.) We tried MANY bottles...Dr. Brown, Playtex Drop-Ins, regular Playtex, the glass ones, etc. etc. and these were my favorites! SOOOO easy to clean, and their is a vent in the nipple to let the air out so the babies never have to stop sucking for the air to escape...like some other bottles we had. Will definitely stock up on more of these for a future child!

Some things that we returned/were not happy with (just in case you're interested, I know I was before I had a baby):

-Boppy (my torso was too short, the baby was too high for me to feed him using the Boppy).
-Bottle and Wipe Warmers
-I'm sure there are more that I can't think of at the moment!

Good luck with your baby! It's a rollercoaster, but what an amazing ride!

Totally agree about the tub! We started out with a sling seat tub thing and my baby screamed the entire bath. Then we switched to this & now, at 7 weeks old, she actually smiles during bath time!!
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2404856

[ilovefh]

Originally Posted by minniebride

We actually took a risk and got the Babys r Us brand diaper pail & we love it! It does a great job hiding the odor. Best part is it was only $20!

We still use the Munchkin version. The Arm and Hammer diaper pail I think it's called. It has a little dispenser that releases Arm and Hammer into the bag each time it's closed. Smell wise, it's priceless!

Other things we loved were the swaddlers.

DH likes the zipper sleepers for the same reason another poster said, easier to navigate!

Our swing and our bouncy seats are well used as well.

But the two best things we ever did for ourselves and DS are things we didn't purchase...

1. I could not breast feed so we had to use formula. We always used room temp water so we'd never have to heat water when we're out.

2. Made sure anywhere he slept was not silent. We have a small one level house and every time we put him in his crib we'd leave the door open to his room and just go about our daily business.