first baby…advice?!!

Na get him/er the new galaxy or droid-much better

Yay!! Bshaa Tova!! I recently had my first baby:). Finally a thread that I actually know a thing or two about. You definitely want to get a snap n go stroller. I have a chicco key fit 30 ( my doctor and other realizable sources say that this is the safest. It fits until 35 pounds, however my child is only 5 months old and very tall and I can’t see him being in this by his first birthday. I definitely reccomended a swing. I did not get one because my apartment just did not have the space. All of my friends with babies have any one of the standard swings from buy buy baby and their children loved it, napped in it, played etc.

Do not waste your time with swaddle blankets except for the ” miracle blanket”. It saved my (sanity). I had 50 different swaddle blankets and after about a month, my son was able to break out of the swaddle. The miracle blanket is great and not too expensive.

This may be a basic but I found the pacifiers the hospital reccomended are horrible, my son only likes the nuk pacifiers, they helped put him back to sleep when he would wake up at night.

I’m not sure if you are planning to nurse but I do, and a good pump is worth a million bucks. BH I got mine as a gift but it is the smartest thing I own. Medela is great.

I have had a fantastic pack n play as my sons crib, he is moving to his actual crib this week, but if you want him/her with you I suggest this. Babies often outgrow bassinets and the pack n play will be more useful in the future. I will think of more things but.. Good luck bhaa Tova I hope that I helped a bit.

What’s a baby carrier?

Yes i can tell you exactly what you need. and it will be spot on.. tried and true. first where do you live (city, suburbs, israel usa) for the stroller get the city mini (not the new version) i liken in to the honda odyssey. everyone has one and everyone cant be wrong!! for the car seat get the graco, snap and go. if you have and use a car get the adapter to the stroller so the car seat can snap on in and out of the car elimintating theneed to wake up the baby. get the fisher price swing although you cant use it on shabbos, its still alifesaver…learn how to swaddle, you will need that…..if you are using bottles, everyone likes the avent ones, (i am not sure i understand why) I would stick with the playtex w drop in liners. if nursing you MUST buy the “my breast friend” nusring pillow. and buy that purple johnson and johnson bath soap that puts babies right to sleep!!! GOod luck, beshaah tova

B’shaa tova. Always lovely to hear about babies coming. Any type of Snap and Go that snaps into the carseat base, turns into a stroller, and can be carried without having to move the baby, is a bracha!!!! A pac and play is a good choice in lieu of a crib for the first several months, as it is very portable.

DON’T use old fashioned type nipples on baby bottles (for when you bottlefeed your own expressed milk or formula, something I STRONGLY recommend you get the baby used to doing, because there WILL be times you are not available to nurse the baby, even if you might not think so). Get the MAM or Nuk type nipples, they are silicon nipples shaped like a real nipple during a feeding, and it is really better for the baby’s oral muscle development. Above all, make sure you take some Mommy time for yourself after the baby is born. Your husband can give a bottle feeding (yes the Medela pump is a great idea, but you can more inexpensively buy an Evenflow electric pump and it works almost as well).

during the night, so you can get some sleep.

Get sleep when you can!

I actually liked the bathtubs that can accommodate different ages (sling, laying, sitting). Wet babies are incredibly slippery and hard to hold on to. It’s much easier and in my opinion safer to be able to lay your baby down reclining and rinse them. If the seat back seems too hard, you can always put a washcloth or small hand towel in to line the tub underneath them.

You’re going to want to look at the safety record of car seats before buying. There are websites that list these records for popular brands for the last few years.

Don’t go by recommendations of others. Safety records can change year to year. When we checked (a few years ago) Graco had a fantastic safety record for years and years and was very economical. Still, you need to check the last few years.

A pump (I liked medella; they use similar ones in the hospital) is extremely useful.

Using a pump helps the milk flow and is one of the ways you’ll be able to get more rest. This will allow others to take over a shift or two to give you a break.

We used a bassinet in our room for the first few months. They have ones with wheels that can be moved anywhere in the house. This is a real lifesaver when you want your baby nearby. They can sleep in swings too, but it requires picking them up and moving them mid-nap.

Choose your furniture carefully.

We opted for white nursery furniture which, unfortunately, really isn’t suitable for older children (and won’t fetch much second hand if we were to sell it).

Try to get things that are “timeless” and can be used for all ages (newborns through early adulthood).

First baby advice? Have a second.

Ooo yes I forgot the bundle me! I just got a jj cold bundle me, fits all the strollers and car seats. It is a mechiah. My baby kicks blankets off and since it is so cold out I just did not know what to do, this is perfect you fit it into the car seat or stroller, loop the straps trough and its like a sleeping bag. So cozy he loves it.

Looks like you got plenty of advice so not sure if you want mine too but here’s the scoop from the good old shkoyach.

Rule #1- If you dont have lots of money to spend… go on craigslist. We got so man thing in GREAT condition from there and spent close to nothing. Find people that used it for their 1 or 2 kids and arent planning on more. Make sure to see everything and anything before you buy it. We got clothes also – mostly like new or new – tons of gorgeous things for a joke of a price!

Carseat- we found the chicco keyfit to be the most padded and comfortable and yet affordable. You can get 2 bases and it snaps in and out of both cars. My baby lasted in it till abt a year. He is very tall and really started growing out of it at abt 10 months but still managed till abt 13mos.

We got the Stroller to go along with car seat. The carseat snaps into the stroller and you can use it without the car seat once they are big enough to sit in it and see the world. Also can be used to lay back and lay the baby in it tho I like to pad it with soft blanket when did that.

Stroller drawback- its a bit heavy and takes space. Try it out in store.

Swing – got a Graco swing – was pretty decent. The battery cover went missing and they sent me a new part no problem. I wish I got swing earlier cuz by the time I got it baby only fit in for a few months.

bassinet- we got kolcraft with music mobile and vibrator it was really very good. (aside from annoying song by a lady but you dont have to push that button.) The brakes on the wheels werent awesome and like to stay in locked position but that could be just our luck.

bathtub – no such luck. I had one that had a slope in it to hold the baby up but he hated the bath so he just kicked and screamed… somehow he learned to love the bath tub and offering bath time is like offering ice cream!

Diapers- contrary to popular belief you DONT need to buy huggies or pampers! I got Luvs, huggies, pampers, target, walmart and baby leaked through all of them. Some ppl love the luvs – they were the worst for me. huggies and pampers were compareable to target brand so being that the case, we stick to the cheaper option which is target. if you do want to get huggies or pampers – GO TO target – you can find major sales there on the cases.

Bibs- they come in handy with leaky bottles and jar food

Bottles- everyone goes nuts about the AVENT bottles. Baby sitter made us get also. They have one maila for a babysitter- it feeds the baby quickly. It has one maila that is really a MAJOR drawback: it has a leak guard ring. this is annoying because some of the leak guard rings dont fit properly and all the milk spills all over anyway. The rings that do fit nicely are great… but if you lose them – you’re doomed! You cant use the bottle without the guard ring or you end up with 90% of milk on babys onesie and 10% in his mouth!

I found the NUK orthodontic bottles to be the best. They have an air spot for air to go out when sucking so baby gets less gas and lied alot.

passifiers- docs and nurses tell you not to- DONT listen. It is the biggest lifesaver and you’d rather baby use the passy as a passy instead of Mom as a passy!

Pump- Medella pump in style is the “in” pump from what I hear. Many insurance cover and many dont. If they dont… Do not despair if you qualify for WIC (which you should be getting if you are low income as it is now! Important to get your nutrients and they pay for it!) WIC gave us an AMEDA electric pump and we were very happy with it. It takes patience to get the whole pumping thing straight but its great. If you dont get enough milk… DO not worry. You can speak to a lactation consultant and there is nothing wrong with supplementing with formula – just watch out for kashrus on dif types. If chalav stam is an issue – you can use soy or J&J has a chalav yisrael run of similac as well as sunrise brand which is WAY cheaper.

Nursing pillows-The Boppy was a LIFESAVER tho I dont know about others. I also got a pillow for my bed thats shaped like the back of a couch… hence turned bed into comfortable place to lean back when feeding baby.

Recliner – a Must whether its a rocking chair or a full recliner but great for feedings.

Nursing sheilds – nobody tells you about them but it saved me many moments of tears when I was in agony and it taught baby how to suck correctly.

Nursing pads- I found nuk disposable breathable to be great… evryone has dif prefernce…. you’ll have to try out what works for you.

highchair – we got safety 1st reclining and moveable height and baby LOVES it. Mother in law calls it his “throne”. It has removeable tray also good for cleaning (and for milchig fleishig!)

nail clippers nose bulb etc- many hospitals give it to you along with other stuff but if not you can always get in target.

Changing table – If you have no room for changing table you can always get changing pads that are washable and use them on the floor or bed. make sure to get a few in case of lucky leaky times.

co-sleeper- When I went to visit parents someone lent us a co sleeper that attaches to the bed and it was really great.

Pack n’ play we use the even flo brand but you can get graco also and if you will use it as a crib for a while I suggest you get the plush mattress to stick in. I didnt know abt it till after I got a crib and my poor baby slept on the hard mattress.

Cribs- they cost ALOT but get a good solid one. Watch for recalls! You can get on craigslist also but sometimes the price is almost worth it to get new. The jewish stores sometimes have some nice deals and nice sales.

And most important- get ready to ROB a Bank!!! Having kids cost lots of money and you just gotta do what you gotta do!

What about a port-a-crib (not a Pack and play, but a real mini crib)? I used one for many years along with a big crib. The Portacrib was used by my parents until we were able to buy an additional crib to keep by them, and then I used it as a second crib when I had babies 18 months apart. It really served us very well.

I think that she just wants an idea of what to buy when the time is right. Also, not everyone holds by that. I learned that the Ayin harah is that if someone sees you buying baby items it could cause them to be jealous etc.. You know the rest. But someone could be just as envious when they see your growing belly, right? I didn’t purchase items before hand but I do know many frum people who did.

I really would suggest the chicco key fit it does have the best safety ratings. The only thing I don’t like about it is the sun roof but its not horrible, and it is very roomy and semi light weight.

Oomis I like your last paragraph:)

Mercury: Bsha’ah tovah! This is such exciting news! I hope you have an easy and smooth (rest of your) pregnancy, labor and delivery!

Its great that you’re getting so much advise here. But i think that you have to realize that there is so much out there, and so many different opinions. Perhaps your question should be a more general one, like what do i need to buy for a first baby?

I’m more of a simpler shopper and many of these things that were mentioned are not necessities.

For example, this baby bundle thing, while one baby may love to be bundled in a cuddly blanket, this may not be how your baby likes to sleep. Or you could just learn how to swaddle your baby in the hospital. I did not spend money on a special swaddle/bundle blanket for any of my children, rather learnt how to swaddle in the hospital and saved a couple of bucks there.

Ottomans: some say that you must have one where as just sitting in a comfortable chair or on your couch is perfectly fine too and this is a bigger expense to save on.

The best thing to do would be to make sure you have necessities first and as you feel that you need it, buy other items that will make your life easier. I dont know your financial status, but if you go through a list of items that people feel are necessities, you may find you can cross off many items, or you can get ideas about what you might want to get.

Crib

Carriage

Car seat

winter blanket

thinner blanket

baby crib sheets

swing/bouncer

bottles

paci’s (if you are into them)

bathtub

baby shampoo/bodywash

baby nail clippers

warm baby socks

sleepers

undershirts

diapers

snowsuit (or those warm cocoon-like fitted “blanket” that fit to the standard infant car seat so that you dont need a snowsuit)

hat

I know i’m missing many items, but this can be the start of a necessity items list. Or you can visit a baby store and get ideas from there.

An old tzaddeikis from Yerusholayim once told my MIL that she davens for all her kids’ shidduchim since they’re born.

we all get nervous at first, may you have much hatzlacha the fact that you are planning shows youll be a great parent

well now all u got to do is enjoy ur sleep … & tax deduction …. while it lasts

I hope you both find work soon and that this frustrating situation does not cloud this beautiful time in your life! Btw my city mini in brand new, if this is the ” big” basket I can’t imagine what the old version had. All in all basket or no basket it’s a solid stroller and my son really enjoys being in it. My chicco key fit , besides the fact that the color choices aren’t great, really is great and the top rated car seat out there. I think it isore expensive than the graco though, but has a better harness. Whatever you get, your child should be happy healthy, and you should only have nachas.

I’m also expecting my first baby .

Have you any ideas about the Baby Roues pram? It sounds good – light and folds with the bassinet, and looks good – and not very expensive. I still haven’t found any reveiws online though, and I don’t know how their after sales service is

having my own first this summer….great thread with tons of info…thanks all 🙂