The Low Down on Baby Gear

The hardest thing about being pregnant (besides avoiding tuna) was trying to build a baby registry. If someone asked me,

“Hey Patti. I want to get a dog. What should I buy to outfit my new pet?” I could rattle it off. The right kind of leash, the healthy dog treats, the crate…

I could outfit a new cyclist without even thinking.

But a baby? A whole new human being?
Whenever I searched on those baby store websites, everything looked like a scam. It reminded me of when I was planning my wedding.

“Hey, what about party favors? You know you need these ugly ceramic doves to send home with your guests! Only $5.95 apiece!”

How could I, a woman who had never even seen a newborn baby up close, ever hope to separate the useful necessaries from the opportunistic crapola?

Well, I asked my friends who’d been through it… but I still had to deal with a lot of trial and error. So.. for the next generation of new parents, I present Patti’s Baby Necessaries.

Preparation

I strongly recommend that you read The Happiest Baby on the Block before baby comes. This book teaches you how to comfort a crying baby, and really, that’s the number one priority for the first few weeks. I promise you, nothing will matter more.

Raise a Smarter Child by Kindergarten: Once you get the baby to stop crying, you’re going to want to know how to raise her. There are lots of books on that topic, but I particularly like this one. Written by a neurologist, it teaches you how your child’s brain develops, and tells you what sorts of activities are good for baby at each stage, and warns about things that can hamper her development. I revisit it every month for new games and tips.

I wish I had found the sleep book before Scarlett was born. Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child is a bit dry, with a lot of charts that didn’t really help me out… but it did teach me some things I desperately needed to know. Some things I learned from this book:

Trust me, you need to know this stuff.

For the Tiny Months:

Swaddle Me Wraps: The nurses in the hospital will teach you how to swaddle your child with a recieving blanket, but sleepy parents of wriggly children appreciate a velcro closure. They help your baby fall asleep and stay asleep which is a good thing. You’ll need a few, becasue babies poop alot. They come in cotton or fleece.

Moby Wrap: I tried every kind of sling imaginable, but I like this better than any of them. This baby carrier is basically a long piece of fabric with an instruction manual, but at $49.95, it’s the cheapest thing I found. It’s more of a production to put on than the Bjorn, but easy on the back, and it’s so snuggly that baby sleeps happily in the Hug Hold. Also, baby wearing is a great way to turn little screamers into little nappers.

Boppy Pillow: Scarlett lived in her Boppy for the first four months. It’s good for nursing, but she also liked to nap in the Boppy (when the Boppy was on me) and it was great for airplane rides, because it made my lap into a little bed for baby. Now that she’s sitting up and crawling she sometimes uses the Boppy for a backrest when sitting up.

Born Free Bottles (and later, sippy cups): These bottles contain no Bisphenol A, and no PCBs, and they have to good flow. By far the best bottles we used, and mom and dad don’t have to worry about the plastic poisoning baby.

Carseat Wheels: The stroller is the single hardest item to buy, period. It’s worse than car shopping. I have four strollers at home, and am still not entirely satisfied. Put off that stroller decision for a few months, though because the easiest way to transport baby is to use car seat wheels. We liked the Graco one for two reasons: 1: Consumer Reports retested carseats and found the SnugRide was best. 2: These wheels are designed to go with SnugRide seat, and snap on quite securely. Trust me, if you use a car, or fly in a plane, or need to stroll your tiny baby, these wheels are your friend. Note: Don’t make the mistake we made. Buy the big size carseat that lasts until they’re one year old. Those six months go by fast, and then you’re shellign out another $300.00.

Musical Mobile: Scarlett LOVED this mobile. Two days after we installed it, she had learned to turn hear head side-to-side to follow the motion, and she her first baby babble words were directed at the mobile. When she woke up too early for her tired parents, we could turn on the mobile and gain ourselves another half hour of sleep while she laughed and kicked and played. Later she learned to push the buttons to activate the thing herself.

Bouncy Chair: Scarlett always loved to be bounced, and this was a safe place we could set her down when she was too little to try to escape. It was also a safe place for her to sleep when she had a cold and needed to sleep with her head elevated so she could brethe through stuffy sinuses. I don’t know how I would have survived newborncy without it.

Baby Gym: Once Scarlett started looking at things and slapping at them, she needed some mental stimulation and practice with her hands. She loved playing in her gym, and we loved buying little toys to add to it.

3-6 Months

Video Baby Monitor: When Scarlett started sleeping in her own bed, and moving around some we couldn’t stand not to be able to see what she was up to. Now that she sleeps thru the night in her own room, we sleep with the monitor so we can check on her anytime we want without waking her up. This was especially useful during sleep training, because we could watch her and see that she was okay, even when she was crying.

Exersaucer: This is the greatest invention on the planet. When I dropped Scarlett into her ’ship’, she went to it like she’d been waiting for it all her life. Kids need something to do with their hands, and parents need someplace to put baby once she starts rolling, squirming, and crawling. Also, being able to practice standing, and to swivel herself around was great exercise.

JJ Cole Park Blanket: I like this specific blanket because it’s pretty, and because of the design. It’s sort of like a map, only easier to fold, and it’s lighly padded. A bit heavy to carry around, but the ease of folding makes it worthwhile. I just keep it in the basket of the stroller so we can pop it out anytime we’re out and about.

UV Protection Stroller Sunshade: Need I say more?

Lamaze Block: In the beginning, she looked at the block with fascination while I turned it and shook it. Then she learned to grab all of the interesting handles, and soon after she could bring it to her mouth. Now she operates it with hands and feet, and she bites it and opens the little flap and closes it. At 9 months she loves this block more than ever.

Organic Bedding: We didn’t want Scarlett sleeping on a pad of degassing foam rubber, wrapped in degassign vinyl. You may think we’ve gone ’round the bend, but if you are interested, we bought the quilted organic crib mattress, the wool pads, and the organic cotton sheets. The sheets are so soft, and so are the wool pads, which do a great job of protecting the mattress when we have poop escapes. The baby never slept well in her co-sleeper, but on this mattress she conks out. So, if you’re into organic, these products rock.

6-9 Months

Fabric Blocks: