undividedspirit

There is so much information out there on what you need and what you should have for your new baby. So, I thought I’d give you a list of what I found useful.

Baby Books

The two most useful books are the Mayo Clinic’s Guide to Your Baby’s First Year and Focus on the Family’s Baby and Childcare. I also want to recommend any of the Focus on the Family resources for parents. I read “Bringing up Boys” by Dr. James Dobson and it was excellent and I am currently reading “Strong Mothers, Strong Sons: Lessons Mothers Need to Raise Extraordinary Men” by Meg Meeker.
(Their marriage materials are great too but that’s for a different post).

Bottles and Formula

I couldn’t breastfeed because our baby was born via surrogacy (see my post on surrogacy to learn about that) so our son was bottle-fed. We used the Phillips Avent bottles which we sterilized in the Phillips Event steamer. We warmed the bottles in the special electric warmer for bottles. You don’t need all these extra things. Also, you don’t need to become too caught up over the bottle brand/ type. Your baby is a human being and eating is a survival instinct, they’ll drink out of Phillips Avent, NUK, Tommee Tippee, you pick. Whether one bottle type dramatically helps with air intake, I don’t know. We had read that you can’t warm formula/milk in the microwave because it creates “hot” spots, which, I suppose, is true, if you are making the milk really warm and don’t swirl it around after warming, but, taking “the-edge-off” the milk in the microwave, setting it for 15 seconds, I think, you are ok. Your baby doesn’t need super warm milk. You can also sterilize bottles in boiling water with a splash of bleach. For instructions on how to sterilize your bottles with water and bleach, or just using your microwave, check out this article on thebump.com.

Which formula to use can be a stressful choice but we have found that most pediatricians recommend Gerber GoodStart Formulas (Gerber is the name Nestle trades under in the USA), called Nestle NAN formulas in South Africa and Australia. When our baby was just a few weeks old, he struggled with constipation, so our healthcare provider recommended that we use Navalac which solved that issue and created another issue – reflux. After struggling with this for 3 months I switched his formula to a goat’s milk based formula. Our pediatrician was against this and said it wasn’t nutritionally sufficient but it stopped the reflux and, in my opinion, reflux is not nutritionally sufficient either. Our son was far more comfortable on the goat’s milk formula. We used the Holle brand.  He did struggle with constipation again so I gave also him bottled water between feeds. He would take a suck from his bottle and realize it wasn’t yummy formula then refuse the next suck, but a sip now and then did help. I also used glycerin suppositories. You get liquid glycerin gel suppositories and those worked great. Our son didn’t lose any weight or have any other issues while on goat’s milk formula. He hardly ever got sick and still gets sick very seldom. Because he was formula fed, and not breastmilk, I did start solids as soon as I felt he was ready because I wanted him to get a broad nutrition base soonest.

Cloth Diapers

I really wanted to do cloth diapering. I read this blog which is what made me decide to get the Soft Bums brand. I liked these diapers. I will say that I found that, after 3 months old, the mini pods were too small as they would flood after one “wee”, and our son seems to urinate often. You can use the mini pods as well as the double pod but that would make the diaper too bulky, in my opinion. I used the Omni shell with the double pod that I just folded back and tucked. In retrospect, I would just use the Omni shells and double pods. 6 shells and 12 pods would be sufficient as with an infant you are doing laundry frequently anyway. Once you know cloth diapering is definitely your thing then you can maybe get a couple more shells and another 5-10 double pods.

How they work: as shown in the images above, Clip the pod (the absorbing pad bit) into the shell (the outer waterproof thing), fold under (the fold is away from babies skin and into the shell), close up just like a normal diaper. You do need to change the baby more often, say, every 1-3 hours but I don’t mind that. Poo diapers get a little shake off into the toilet before they go in the pail. Gets most of the solid bits off and the washing machine takes care of the rest.

I have the Dekor diaper pail which I bought on Amazon click here
I also have the bag inserts which I also bought on Amazon click here
These I just pull out and push the diapers into the washing machine with my hand on the outside of the bag, so I don’t have to touch the diapers and then throw the bag in after it.

Laundry tip: use about 50 ml distilled vinegar in every load to odorize your machine. Put it in the softener slot in your machine. I actually do this for everything, makes towels super soft, makes everything cleaner and fresher smelling. It’s hypo-allergenic and cheaper than softener. And, despite what you may think, you won’t smell the vinegar.

I gave up on the cloth diapers at 6 months because the poos became too hectic but I like to think, I helped the environment and my baby’s bum for a bit. The best disposable diapers are Huggies Little Snugglers/ Huggies Gold, depending on your country.

The Nest or Pod

Get one. It was awesome. A friend gave us one and I am so glad she did. Our baby loved the feeling of being in a confined space. We took this with us when we traveled or went out visiting friends and family. Baby Sleep pod You can pop the nest on a couch or a bed (or on a table) and voila, baby bed. You can also prevent “flat-head syndrome” by propping the baby up against the side, on his/ her side.
You get a few different kinds but I like the ones on Etsy, as they’re cozier than the Dock-a-Tot but both are great.

Bum Balms

I don’t understand why this isn’t a big thing here in the USA. This as a standard in the U.K.; Australia; South Africa; etc… Every diaper change, you apply a cream to the bum crack to protect your baby from diaper rash. I have one called Pure Beginnings which is fantastic. Every time I have run out my son gets a rash, no matter what I use, but this is lovely stuff (good hand cream too!)I think it is shea butter with other ingredients. Sudocreme is also great for redness and full-blown diaper rash. Sudocreme is actually fantastic for any broken skin issues, like cuts and scrapes on babies and adults.

Carriers

We had the Ergobaby 360 to start with and we were also given the baby sling/ wrap thing. The sling thing was a pain. Who wants to go through all of that simply to get your baby onto your chest? Also our son was big. I saw mamas with these tiny little babies and the sling thing looked comfortable on them but we never liked it and our son complained whenever we tried to force him in there. The Ergobaby carrier was OK. We used it a little bit in the first three months but he outgrew it quickly and wanted to be able to look around. So we got the Dada Airflow Carrier  and that has been great. It’s cool and comfortable; our son doesn’t get as hot, and he can look around. It separates into a hip seat which is a fantastic device if you have a big, heavy baby. It’s so useful that I have a Kangaroo hip seat that I strap on many times a day. It has saved my back I tell you!

Bathtime

We used a bath pillow for the first 4 months and then switched to the Angelcare bath support. Both were great and I do think using the bath pillow initially is a good idea because it is a cushion for your tiny baby. When they are sitting supported then the bath support is adequate. I cannot recommend Eucerin products more highly. They are not widely available in the USA but you can order them on Amazon. If your child has sensitive skin or skin conditions, like eczema then their “Eczema Relief” range is worth the extra cost.

Solid Foods

I was a little confused about this to start with. The books and the moms I know all seem to say different things. Our son was ready for solids at about four and a half months which was when he was sitting up in a supported position. He could hold his head up on his own but need to be propped against something. We used this seat to feed and he was well-supported in it. Also, we lived in a condo at the time, so it was a space-saver. I did what the baby books I mentioned in the beginning of this post suggest, and started him of on solids with rice cereal. After that I moved him on to oatmeal baby cereal. I then bought a book on baby purees because I wanted to give my son the very best nutrition possible, I don’t work so I have the time and I like to cook. I got this book by Stephanie Middleberg: The Big Book of Organic Baby Food. She offers such great suggestions and my son and I both really enjoy the recipes.  She doesn’t believe in the whole start on rice cereal thing, she thinks starting on veggies is better and I don’t think she is wrong here. If there is another baby I will probably follow her advice and start with veggies but as a new mom, I wanted to get it all “right”.

Nose Sucking

You will need to suck the snot out of your baby’s nose. It isn’t pleasant for them (or you) but it helps them sleep better and feed better. You also prevent colds from becoming chest infections if you stay on top of your baby’s runny nose. Spraying saline in to their nose and then sucking the fluid out is a great way to keep their nasal passages clear. You can buy saline in a spray bottle at your pharmacy. Don’t get the bulb thing to suck your baby’s nose, get one when you suck on the end of a tube, like this one. Depending on your budget, you can get the automatic one too. Your baby will wriggle around, more and more vigorously as they get older, so try swaddling him/ her in a blanket/ towel so you can hold them still.

Teething

Don’t waste your money on different teething rings, beads, etc, Sophie La Girafe is the best. Also, once our son was eating solids, I would put chopped up frozen fruit like mango and melon in these net pouch things. If our son was very uncomfortable, especially if he was running a low-grade fever, I’d give him Tylenol (or paracetamol).

Toys

Play mats with the dangling things are great. I changed the dangling things every so often which our son loved. Also the jumper was a huge hit from 6 months of age. Rattles,  soft toys and soft books/ things with different textures that make scrunchy noises are all appreciated by babies. Our son loved his singing elephant.

Strollers/ Buggies/ Prams

We agonized over this decision which seems quite funny now. Really, a solid stroller is a solid stroller. You do not need the fancy one for $1000. I am so glad we didn’t spend huge money on our stroller. They get puked on, rained on, eaten in, thrown in the trunk of your car, thrown in the hod of an airplane. Seriously, get the average priced model that suits your vibe. We used the Britax B Agile and it was fab. The basinet was our son’s car seat till 6 months old and was sturdy and practical. The pieces all fitted together smoothly, the stroller was comfortable to push, I hung a cupholder accessory from it, I had extra bag hooks that held my handbag. It worked well for us. Only thing is that it wasn’t great for jogging and it was bulky for traveling. Once our son was a year old, we used a Pockit stroller when we traveled and it is awesome. If you travel a lot, like we do, I highly recommend a stroller that you can take on as hand luggage. So often your stroller doesn’t come out as you get off the plane and sometimes you don’t get it back until your final destination (even if you ask very specifically to get it back at your connecting flight). If you have connecting flights, having to carry your baby between terminals plus all his other stuff (blanket, stuffed animal, snacks, drinks, etc) is a surefire way to put yourself in tears, or cause a fight between you and your husband.