New baby on the way! Advice

[Teresa Pitman]

I agree with what everyone has posted, and you have gotten some information, but I would add that I would NOT buy a used breast pump.

Unless the pump you are purchasing is actually rated as hospital grade, it is impossible to completely clean it and there are a lot of dangerous pathogens that can be pass through breast milk. If you are getting the pump from your sister, and you know 100% that she is disease free, than that is one thing, if you are getting it off Craigslist or from a friend or acquaintance, I wouldn't risk it.

There aren't really a lot of dangerous pathogens that can be passed on through breast milk (although there are a couple): the bigger risk is that if milk has been left in some of the pump tubing, it could get moldy, and the mold would contaminate your milk.

Some pumps will sell you a kit consisting of the parts that are in contact with milk (the flanges and tubes) so you can attach that to the motor part of the pump without any worries.

TP

 

[jessc79]

I agree with what everyone has posted, and you have gotten some information, but I would add that I would NOT buy a used breast pump.

Unless the pump you are purchasing is actually rated as hospital grade, it is impossible to completely clean it and there are a lot of dangerous pathogens that can be pass through breast milk. If you are getting the pump from your sister, and you know 100% that she is disease free, than that is one thing, if you are getting it off Craigslist or from a friend or acquaintance, I wouldn't risk it.

Disagree. If its a decent one you can buy replacement parts. I did that for mine because there were 8 years between my kids plus some of it got lost. I think it was around $30. Lots of women I work with have bought or borrowed pumps.

 

[dja14]

My kids are older now but I agree with the less is more concept. For our first we had so many little sleepers and onesies it was crazy. No way did he he even wear them all once.

I would say
-buy a good new infant carseat. It really is easier and you need one you can trust. You can use it for your 2nd if it is not too old.
-I would be okay with a used bed if I knew it had not been recalled and especially if it was a friend. I would buy a new mattress though, they are not expensive in the realm of stuff.
-wait til after your shower to get clothes and blankets, then buy only what you need (like a weeks worth per size) If you do not have a washer buy more, if you do you can buy a little less. For sure wait til later in your pregnancy and see if your dr estimates the baby's size. Our 2nd weighed 10lbs (and the dr told me he would be close to that) I think he never wore newborn clothes and only wore the tinest diapers for about a week. We did buy one special outfit for each child and I kept those, just like my mom kept ours.
-For blankets you need a couple larger ones (for covering carseat and floor play) and several swaddling, cotton ones. But you will probably get both of those at a shower easily, probably more than you can ever use I had like 40 blankets in asst sizes
-get a thermometer, when you need it you need it right then
-breast feed if you can and get a pillow! The pillow is so helpful, those babies get heavy after a while, the pillows are so worth it. I would buy new for that too. You want it clean and firm, not mashed down. I used a new one for every child. I would get a new pump, if you can, but I just used a little handheld one since I was home, but if you go back to work a bigger one would be lots better and worth the money
-a play and go/playpen type thing is really good to have too and I would buy new for that because the mesh on the sides and the mats for bottom are hard to make sure they are super clean I think. But you really don't need it right away

Basically if you can wash it in hot water/bleach it you can do used, if it is sturdy and not recalled. SO much of that stuff is hardly used at all. If you have a good friend who will sell you stuff (and you know her house is clean, not just a friend from work who shows up together there, make sure you see the house) then you can get some good deals

It is worth not buying too much stuff to be able to stay home longer I think. I would start buying some diapers though if you can, they really add up faster than you think, just having some to start always made me feel like at least one thing was 'free'

Have fun getting ready

 

[FlyingDumbo]

Thank you everyone! You have given me a lot to think about!

 

[jaleaton]

A wonderful tip someone gave me is start working diapers into your grocery budget now (if you have extra space). While I was pregnant, starting around 7 months, every time I went to the grocery I would get a box of diapers. I would alternate getting sizes, a newborn size the first trip, a box of 1's on the 2nd trip, a pack of 2's the next visit (I never bought ahead past a size 2 diaper), then start over with the newborn size. That way I had a good supply of diapers started up, and didn't have to buy diapers for quite some time. I would also tape the receipt to each box in case I did need to exchange them for a different size later.

My 2nd baby hates being wet, so is changed as soon as she pees, and as a newborn, we easily went through a box of diapers a week. She's grown out of that a little, but a box of diapers still only lasts us 2 weeks max.

Bf'ing is obviously the cheapest route, but if you have any chance that you may formula feed instead of bf'ing, I would figure up those numbers as well ahead of time. I've found that Target's Up and Up formula is still cheaper than Similac, even when using the $5 off coupons. Of course every baby is different, but one large tub of formula only lasts us about 10 days.

No one told us ahead of time how quickly babies go through these necessities, and how quickly those costs add up!

 

[jaleaton]

A couple of other tips I've discovered:

Don't buy cutesie baby socks. They are terrible, and don't stay on their little feet. I've found that the fold down socks from Walmart or Target are the best ones that stay on.

Don't buy Gerber onesies in a size NB. They are TINY, and often end up too tight causing rubbing on their umbilical cord.

For baby's hospital outfit / coming home outfit, I would plan to have a couple of choices/sizes. We were expecting my 1st to be about 8lbs. at birth, I told people not to get us NB sizes b/c I was afraid she would outgrow them too quickly....well, she was born 6lbs.10oz., and could easily fit in preemie clothes for a few weeks because even the NB clothes were huge on her. My 2nd was 7lbs.10oz., and fit in the NB's fine, but not for too terribly long. Obviously though, if a baby were bigger or longer, NB sizes may be too short / snug on them.

 

[pigletto]

If you are going to register for a shower a fairly simple solution is making sure that the store you pick has a ship to store option.
Then people can order online but you pick it up at your local store and it results in no fees for either party. I know I have done that for weddings when we wouldn't be attending or it was far away and we didn't want to lug a big gift.

 

[Jedana]

One thing I asked for were multiple crib sheets and mattress pads. I'd layer them--mattress pad, then a crib sheet--two or three layers thick. That way, if there was a blowout in bed, changing the bed was as simple as removing the pad and sheet--and I didn't have to try to change the bed at 3 am!


Cloth diapers. they work for burp cloths, quick clean ups, etc. bleachable if needed and soft for the baby!

 

[tarak]

First off, Congratulations!!!

There aren't really a lot of dangerous pathogens that can be passed on through breast milk (although there are a couple): the bigger risk is that if milk has been left in some of the pump tubing, it could get moldy, and the mold would contaminate your milk.

Some pumps will sell you a kit consisting of the parts that are in contact with milk (the flanges and tubes) so you can attach that to the motor part of the pump without any worries.

TP

I would only buy a used pump that had a closed system. The basic difference between open and closed pumping systems is that with an open system, the milk can be pulled into the pumping mechanism and mildew can grow in places that cannot be cleaned. The Medela hospital grade pumps are closed, but the non-hospital grade pumps are not (the pump-in-style, for example). The Ameda Purely Yours is also a closed system, and very reasonably priced, if you want a double electric pump. That's what I bought to replace the Medela PIS I threw out because the motor was contaminated. It didn't look like mildew had developed, but it sure smelled like it had. I'd used it for about 9 months with my son a few years back and it was nicely cleaned and stored in a dry place.

You can also buy a hand pump. Medela makes one for about $30 (the Symphony, I think) and it works fantastically well. It's perfect if you don't pump all the time.

I second trying a few types of diapers and not getting a big case of them right off the bat. One of my kids had problems with anything but pampers (and we had to use the sensitive wipes with her). Our youngest, fortunately, has no issues, so we can use any brand at all. I buy the Target brands, because they run almost half the price of the same amount of pampers.

Many gadgets aren't necessary. If you think you want a swing, wait until after the baby is born and test them out at babies r us. Same with a bouncer. Some kids love them and some hate them.

Jedana is dead on with her recs. We had one child who spit up if you looked at her cross-eyed. We had to employ the multiple sheet trick with her. Also, the gerber cloth diapers are perfect. We've had the same set for the past nine years and they're still as soft as they were when we first bought them. The perfect burb cloths, IMO. Fancy ones are sort of silly - why buy something pretty that's going to smell like sour milk?