I recently had a friend ask me some pregnancy and baby product questions via email, and because she was so thorough, I thought I would share my answers here on the blog as well. Hope this is helpful if anyone is wondering something similar.
1.What items should I get keep gender neutral?
- I would recommend potentially your furniture (crib, dresser, glider) if possible. We are reusing all of Adeline’s, although I did have to buy her a used crib off a Beg Barter Buy Facebook page because I’m not ready for her to be “free” at night. I was definitely glad her glider wasn’t pink though.
- Carseat and stroller for sure!
- he baby toys/gear you will only use for a short time, like a swing, bouncer, play mat, infant bath tub, baby carrier for baby wearing
2. What are some must have items for the nursery?
- Diaper pail – We got the Ubbi because it looks somewhat discreet and you can use regular trash bags in it instead of buying the fancy name brand ones. Once the baby is eating solids, though, I think there is not too much you can do about the smell if you leave it in there for too long, or you accidentally leave the lid open. Maybe some of the other pails work better for the smell, this is the only one we have experience with though!
- Rocker/glider definitely
- Crib
- Changing table – We did a dresser and Marcus built a little changing pad frame to go on top.
- Changing pad – We got this one from Crate and Kids because it is longer than the normal ones out there. You do have to get the covers from their site too, but I think its worth it for Adeline to not be falling off. Remember that you might be using until the kid is 3ish depending on when they potty train.
- I recommend a mirror over the changing table – it’s fun to look in the mirror and play once they are old enough!
- We didn’t use a traditional noise machine with Adeline, but did have the Shusher which I really loved. I would carry it around the house on my wrist those early days!
- Monitor of some sort
3. Do you think it’s important to keep a ceiling fan in the nursery or not?
- We typically don’t use Adeline’s fan, unless we are coming in from playing outside during the summer, and I feel like she is overheated.
4. What are the most expensive items to make sure and register for? Any recommendation on specific type/brand to go with?
- For our stroller we went with the City Mini GT. I love this stroller for lots of reasons (super easy to fold up, very smooth, literally turns on a dime, fairly light weight), but do have a few unfavorite things about it, namely the small basket at the bottom (important for me when I do my mom’s exercise group and need that space for my workout equipment/Adeline’s things) and the fact that it has the baby leaning pretty far back to where they can’t see much out the sides. This was great when Adeline was younger and would sleep through our outings, but now she really dislikes being strapped in and leaning back. I recently upgraded to the UppaBaby Vista (it can be a double stroller). I can’t completely compare them yet, since I haven’t been using it that long, but I do think it’ll be a good fit for us. It’s terribly expensive, though, and was hard to spring for before I knew how many kids I would have/how close together they would be.
- For our infant carseat we went with the Chicco KeyFit30. Zero complaints. You can get an adapter to snap it in nearly any stroller. We actually found someone selling the same carseat on a BBB Facebook page and bought another one just to have on hand/put in my mom’s or Marcus’ car to make things easier.
- Definitely have at least one extra base. Possibly more depending on your childcare situation.
- I would consider registering for a toddler/convertible carseat, too. We have the Graco 4-Ever and have been happy with it so far!
- For our monitor, we went with the Nest Cam. We liked this option because it connects to wifi so you can login anywhere and see the room on your phone. The video quality is good, and we figure we can use it somewhere else in our home in the future. We were able to just buy another camera for baby boy’s room and will be able to view them both on the Nest app. The downside, however, is that it’s not as portable as some other monitors. For travel we just use an old-school sound monitor, and it’s worked just fine.
- We have the 4moms Breeze Pack and Play. It’s super pricey, but opens and closes SO easily (with one push or pull). This has really come in handy for us because we’ve traveled with it a lot, so I’d say it was worth the money. If you are getting a pack and play to stay in one place (like the one my mom bought for her house), I wouldn’t recommend getting something this expensive.
- I can’t really speak to wearable baby carriers. We have a fabric one and a Baby Bjorn, but didn’t use them as much with Adeline as we would have thought. I have a fairly weak back, so I opt for the stroller whenever possible. I have heard that people use them much more for their second babies, since they need to be hands on with their first, so we will see!
- I would also recommend registering for a high chair. We have the Chicco Stack 3-in-1, which has been good. No complaints. I would recommend buying an additional seat cover (they have lots of cute ones on Etsy), so you can throw them in the wash periodically and not be worried about getting it back on immediately.
- Baby gates, walking toys, baby proofing items (I recommend these for cabinets), basically just think past the first six months of life.
5. From items you bought/received, anything you highly recommend?
- Nose frida, boogie wipes, breastfeeding/pumping gear if you are planning to go that route.
- Here are Adeline’s favorites from around 1 year old: http://www.routetohealthandwealth.com/adelines-favorites-1-year-old/ and 7 months old: http://www.routetohealthandwealth.com/adelines-favorites-7-months-old/
6. Items you recommend to try and find used?
- Honestly – almost any of the above! People sell these items on Facebook groups for deeply discounted prices, and many are very gently used. I would just join a few groups and keep your eyes open.
7. Hospital bag must-have items?
8. Items to get but not use/open until needed?
- Everything that isn’t needed to be set up before baby comes. I would wait until it’s time to use the product, because you may end up never needing it! Especially clothes, don’t rip the tags off until you are ready to put him in it (other than what you want washed and in drawers initially).
9. What is the best pregnancy pillow?
- I have the Snoogle and love it!
10. What is the best bra/nursing clothes?
- I like the Medela sleep bras and bamboobies nursing pads.
11. What is the best place to get maternity clothes?
- In general, I don’t like to spend too much on pregnancy clothing, because my body is constantly changing, and I can only get so much use out of an item. With that said, places like Old Navy and Target have been my go-tos.
- For more special events like a baby shower or maternity photo session dress, I really like PinkBlush Maternity (my New Year’s Eve dress was from there).
- While I was pregnant with Adeline I did Le Tote, which is a clothing rental service. You pay a monthly fee and get to choose items from their website. The pieces are sent to you, you wear them, and you send back to them dirty! This was GREAT while I was working and had to be in business casual every day. I didn’t do it for this pregnancy, since my lifestyle and day-to-day attire is very different, but I really enjoyed it the first time around.
- I recommend giving in to the maternity clothes sooner rather than later. I held out for a long time with Adeline, and once I bought my first pair of maternity jeans, I wondered what the heck I had been doing all those months. They are so comfortable!
12. What websites or apps did you find helpful during pregnancy?
- These are free online resources I liked/used: http://www.routetohealthandwealth.com/online-pregnancy-resources/
