Gotta have it!

[zeitgeist]

Our baby isn't due until April (still too early to tell the gender) but I'm doing the preliminary research on what we're likely to need. There are things we're going to need, things we might like to have, and things that are probably unimportant or useless. The trouble is that even knowing that some things will be important and some will not, it's not so easy to sort out exactly which things are which.
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I could use a little help prioritizing. What things did you find fit the "Gotta have it" category? What were useful and what could you have lived without?
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So far we have a swing. Weird place to start, it seems, but it came highly recommended by the parents who donated it to our cause: "We would never have gotten any sleep without it." Sounds important. We like sleeping every once in a while, so that sounds like a "Gotta have it."
It's a nifty Fischer Price aquarium thingy. Plays gentle music, swings back to front and side to side, has a little mobile that is supposed to spin, but doesn't. I had to do a little rewiring to get the light to work again, but the motor for the mobile seems to have blown. As long as the swing works, that's probably ok.
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I'm spending more time looking at car seats than any one other thing. I understand some hospitals don't let you take the baby home if you don't have one, so it's pretty high up my list of "Gotta Have It." Would be even if that wasn't the case; I'd like to get the baby from place to place in one piece.
I'm looking at the Graco SafeSeat. It looks, well, safe. And convenient; I particularly like the easy interoperability with their stroller frame. We tried it out at a Babies-R-Us, seems pretty good to me... my wife thought something lighter might be better. Any suggestions?
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What else should be high on my list?

[HarperKsMommy]

Well congratulations! Im guessing your the husband,right? Anyways, it pretty much depends on your budget. I had no budget. But here are some of the things I found on the "Gotta Have It" list-

Definatley a stroller, like you said. We have the Graco Snugrider Infant Carseat Frame with this carseat-
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2785194

Also, a Play Yard/Playpen. We have this one. I think it's great!
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2844619

You should buy her the Boppy. We have the Boppy Bare Naked, and its wonderful!

BUMBO! Our daughter could sit up at 3 months thanks to the bumbo. The doctor said its because the Bumbo supported her back.I said umm ok?

Fisher Price Rainforest Rainforest Jumperoo

Fisher-Price Aquarium Bath Center

Graco Mealtime Highchair - Cherry Blossom

Fisher Price Papasan Cradle Swing [couldn't find the link]

Well let me know what your budget is and I can help you some more!
=)

[craftyashley]

If you are bottle feeding, or using binkies. I LOVED my the first years sterilizer. I didn't know what a priority item it would become! I also got a little sterilizer nutty- sterilizing everything... but my infants didn't get sick!

[cay8099]

If you use a dishwasher to wash bottles, then the Munchkin ( I forget the exact name for it) bottle holder thingy is great. It is a little dishwasher safe basket that hold bottle accesories. It has 2 compartments- the top is for nipples and the bottom is for other stuff. We use Playtex VentAire advanced bottles. So this was perfect for us in holding all the parts so they don't fly all over and end up in the botttom of the dishwasher. You can get them at Wal-mart or Target. It's cheaper at Target.

Most diaper bags come with a changing mat. This is great for when you are out and need to use the changing station. Just lay the mat down and baby is not touching that dirty changing station. Who knows how often they really clean those things, eeeewwwwww.

You should also consider a small wipes holder, some diaper bags come with these, I think you can also buy them seperate. It really saves so much space in an already overflowing diaper bag.

Tip: When changing Poopie take off babies socks. Seriously the first time that socked foot lands in poo you will wish you had listened.

[zeitgeist]

The budget is... well, it's not boundless. (That's part of why there are so many 'buts' below ) For safety things like car seats and the like, we're not going to be scrimping. For other things... well, I've doing a lot of looking on craigslist.
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Fisher Price Rainforest Rainforest Jumperoo
- Looks like fun, but unless we have the miracle baby whose neck can hold up his/her head from the moment of birth... perhaps we can wait a bit on that one.
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Fisher-Price Aquarium Bath Center
- Looks good, but there are a lot of comments there from parents concerned about the hump in the middle. Did you find that a concern?
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Graco Mealtime Highchair - Cherry Blossom
- Couldn't find Cherry Blossom. Margo and Clara look pretty good to me.. but is the harness really necessary? It's a high chair, not a car seat.
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Fisher Price Papasan Cradle Swing
- No "buts" this time. Got this one free on craigslist. Seems that the motor for the mobile is faulty, but the rest works fine. I doubt that baby will ever know the difference.

[zeitgeist]

Just found this list, and Wow! there are a lot of things to get.

[cay8099]

Having a harness in your high chair is nice. If your ped gives you the go ahead to start cereals at 4 months then baby is not able to hold him/herself up yet. We have one that leans back but my baby still ends up leaning forward and it's hard to feed a baby from a spoon when they insist on leaning forward. Most babies don't sit up on there own until around 7 mos. give or take.

[WWmama]

Since you’re on a bit of a budget, I’d like to recommend this:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=8154691
It’s way cheaper than the Boppy and I actually like it a little better. It has a strap that you can use or tuck away into a pouch that holds your baby in place. (Check out the pictures) This helped a TON when my son was brand new.

I’d also recommend a bouncy seat, one that has a light up toy bar. This was a life saver when my son was first born and it still is. We have two, one that lights up and one that doesn’t and the light up toy bar holds his attention MUCH better. He’s 4 months old now and he sits in his bouncy every morning as I shower and get ready for work. We have this one:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5420734
There have been lots of times when I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep without my bouncy seat. When the swing wasn’t cutting it, this usually did. We also use it while spoon feeding. He can’t sit up yet, so it works perfectly. (A high chair is also something that you could put off a little while if you need to. )

Another toy that we could use immediately and my son still LOVES is a play gym. We have this one:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5420733
It’s nice because it has lights. When my son was first born, lights were pretty much the only thing that he loved looking at. I can’t tell you how long he would just stare at our windows. LOL

I got this bath tub as a gift and I really like it. It fits down in our kitchen sink and folds up really nicely.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2373640
I sent it to my mother-in-law’s and I really wish I had kept it for our house. I love our other tub, but it’s huge and takes up a ton of space.


You also want to make sure you have plenty of footed sleepers, receiving blankets, socks, DIAPERS, wipes, etc. I also really liked nightgowns. They make the midnight changing SO much easier!

[zeitgeist]

We're not on such a shoestring budget that we'll have to skimp on necessities, fortunately. I'm sorry if I gave that impression.

I’d also recommend a bouncy seat, one that has a light up toy bar. This was a life saver when my son was first born and it still is. We have two, one that lights up and one that doesn’t and the light up toy bar holds his attention MUCH better. He’s 4 months old now and he sits in his bouncy every morning as I shower and get ready for work. We have this one:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5420734
There have been lots of times when I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep without my bouncy seat. When the swing wasn’t cutting it, this usually did. We also use it while spoon feeding. He can’t sit up yet, so it works perfectly. (A high chair is also something that you could put off a little while if you need to. )

Another toy that we could use immediately and my son still LOVES is a play gym. We have this one:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5420733
It’s nice because it has lights. When my son was first born, lights were pretty much the only thing that he loved looking at. I can’t tell you how long he would just stare at our windows. LOL

I've been looking at those exact ones at Amazon.com and BabiesRUs.com, and at similar ones in a brick-and-mortar Babies R Us. My wife is a little concerned that I'm going to spoil the baby.

[craftyashley]

You should also consider a small wipes holder, some diaper bags come with these, I think you can also buy them seperate. It really saves so much space in an already overflowing diaper bag.

Check these out: http://imnotspoileddesigns.com/catalog.htm?category=14