A friend has always had her babies wear baby pilot hats. I thought it was a good idea - especially during the winter. Babies wear these hats in Romania, too. I found them at www.HannaAndersson.com (European company). I've never seen them in stores, so I guess they are not very popular here in the States.
Size: XXS - 1 - 3 months
Size: XS - 3 - 12 months
Size S - 1 yr - 3 yr
http://www.hannaandersson.com/style.asp?from=SC|6|2|156|47|12||&simg=36305_011
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Someone gave us a Pogy Travel Crib that we really like. It works great until they start rolling around (5 months or so):
http://www.target.com/gp/search/183-0455788-1824453?field-keywords=pogy&url=index%3Dtarget&ref=sr_bx_1_1&x=0&y=0
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These are very cool-looking bibs. I haven't bought one yet, but have been eying them for a long time. They are made from diving suit material, I think. BuiltNY. Amazon sells them.
(Update) I actually ended up buying the following bibs from Amazon. They work GREAT and are very easy to clean. AND they keep the mess off clothes while they are learning to eat by themselves. KLADD PRICKAR bibs. You can buy them from Ikea or Amazon. They don't look great online, but they are cute (and VERY functional).
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70179754
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Also, I read this book a while back, but it was a GREAT help in
learning to photograph a baby. How to Photograph Your Baby (by Kelsh). You can get it at the library.
http://www.amazon.com/Photograph-Your-Baby-Nick-Kelsh/dp/1556708955
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REGISTERING...
A lot of baby things are personal and depend on your personality. I wrote the things I used and didn't use along with a little synopsis of why. Hope it's helpful!
If you register at Babies R Us, they usually give you a list of things you'll need. I actually didn't use a lot of the things that I thought I would. Here are Target's and Babies R Us' suggested lists:
http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=2964381
http://sites.target.com/site/en/baby/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-036198&ref=DashboardS2010
I would register at Target (only...or in addition to BRU). A lot of people can't get to BRU. And Target has a pretty good return policy when you get duplicates of things, as long as it's on your registry. You can always add it on before you return it if it's not on there, too.
USED A LOT:
Infant Car Seat (5 lbs. - 30 lbs.) Baby Trend Flex Loc Infant Car Seat from BabiesRUs (We thought about getting just one car seat that would hold him from infancy to toddlerhood, but we did end up getting two carseats. You can't carry the infant in the convertible ones, so you end up waking a sleeping baby to get him out of the car. Both carseats we got had bad reviews for ease-of-use on the web, but they were at the top of the list on www.consumerreports.org. I found that the reviews were more "user-related" than actual problems with the seats.
Convertible Car Seat (5 lbs. - 100 lbs.) - we got the Eddie Bauer Delux 3 in 1 Convertible Car Seat from Sams for about $40...a fraction of the cost of BRU or Target or Walmart. And it was rated one of the top on Consumer Reports when we bought it.
Waterproof car seat pad (STILL use this!!)
Nice umbrella-type stroller...Chico Capri Stroller from BabiesRUs (We've been very happy with it...but I'm going to have to get an umbrella extension for more shade...I also wish it reclined even more for him to sleep.)
Cheap umbrella-type stroller (for airports and to keep in the back of the car)
Baby Bjorn baby carrier
Mei Tei baby carrier (Baby Hawk)
Pack & Play with bassinet attachment (when they're really little and not sleeping through the night, this was nice to keep in our walk-in closet so I didn't have to get up and walk across the house to feed him at night. Now I use it as a play yard for him to entertain himself while I get dinner or clean.
Pack & Play sheets
Door Jumper (This worked great while I made dinner...he loved it)
Exersaucer (STILL use this!)
Burp clothes! (I ended up using so many that I bought two stacks of white washclothes...and I can use them as rags when they're worn. Make sure they are the soft wash-clothes...not the cheap Walmart ones. I think Macys or JCPennies has 12 for $8-ish. I still use these to wipe up his spills or give him a quick wipe down. We also had some nice embroidered burp clothes for when we went out.)
Bibs (I used some little ones when he was a baby to save on changing his whole outfit 10 times a day from spitting up and drooling.)
Disposable diapers or Cloth Diapers. I know this is a funny thing to add. (See "Cloth Diapers" post.)
Nursing cover...I didn't have one, but I think it would have been really helpful. The blanket was hard to keep in place.
Highchair
Nail clippers
Humidifier, warm mist (Our doctor told us to keep one going at night/naps during winter to help keep any congestion moist. Otherwise it could cause ear infections, chest infections, etc. We did, and he never got an ear infection.) We got a cheap one from Walmart that didn't require a filter. And if you use a few drops of eucalyptus oil, it helps nip colds in the bud.
Thermometer
Gripe Water (all-natural gas relief liquid) We should have bought stock in this company...we went through so many bottles.
Bulb syringe (Make sure you get the one that is one piece of plastic. The one with the soft plastic bulb and hard plastic nose piece didn't work very well.)
Baby Wipes
Changing pad and cover
Crib...they are all relatively safe these days since they have to abide to really strict guidelines. I almost bought a convertible crib (converts from crib to toddler bed and then twin or double bed), but realized that I would rather get a nice crib I liked to use with all the kids then keep buying a new convertible crib for each baby. Then we'll get twin beds when they move up from the crib. That way it doesn't matter if the babies chew on them or jump on them (or spit up all over the rails...). One thing I would look for in the reviews is whether or not it scratches easily. We got ours from Babies R Us and are really happy with it...although we had to put a guard on it because our son chewed on it while teething.
Also, you can read reviews on Babies R Us website and even google "crib reviews." After reading all the reviews on Babies R Us, we actually went down to look at the cribs in person and a lot of them were already scratched up...even with good reviews. Some weren't though...so that's a good test.
Crib mattress
Crib mattress plastic SIDS cover (see "SIDS" post.)
Large flannel blanket for swaddling. If you sew or know someone who does, that's the best way to go. I haven't found large enough ones otherwise.
Wearable blanket - this worked great during the winter when he wouldn't stay swaddled anymore.
Clothes...Baby clothes sizes are not to scale. :) Our son grew out of the 0-3months size when he was about four weeks old. And to make it more difficult, some brands run bigger and some smaller. I feel like I'm constantly going through his clothes and switching out the small and adding the next size up. :) It has slowed down as he's gotten older, though.
I thought I was conservative in the outfits I bought...but there were soooo many he never even wore! I would only get three or four cute outfits for church/outings in the 0-3 month size. When they are so tiny, it's hard to get them in and out of outfits, and they spit up so much (and get dirty/wet) throughout the day, that when I was at home, I just used the footed pjs (I liked the zipper only much better than the snap ones). I had about 4 or 5, but I often used them all in one day, so this next time I got a few more.
The wrap white shirts (a onsie without the bottom section) also worked great for those first 6 weeks when it was hard to get things over his head.
Baby Clothes Sizes:
Premie (usually up to eight pounds)
0-3 months
3 months
3-6 months
6 months
6-9 months
6-12 months
9 months
9-12 months
12 months
12-18 months
18 months
18-24 months
24 months (before their 2-year growth spurt)
2 T (longer and not as big around the waist)
3 T
etc.
2) I've come up with a handful of "must-haves" for me. Of course I have a boy, so girl clothes are a WHOLE different world.
0-3 month
~Pilot hats (for newborns during any season [protects from wind] and toddlers during winter)
~Side snap shirts (when they are infants, the over-the-head onesies are hard to get on and off...especially at night when they are soaking wet)
~Socks don't usually stay on...so only a couple pairs to go with outfits
~Outfits...four or so (for going out and church)
~Baby footed pjs (The ones with a zipper!!! You'll need these for all seasons since babies kick off blankets)
~Large square blanket for bundling
3-6 month and on
~One pair of jean shorts/jeans
~One pair of khaki shorts/pants
~One pair of corduroys (during cold weather)
~Misc shirts for play/church
(I tried buying different colors of pants, but they would only go with certain shirts. It has been difficult enough to switch out his clothes and making sure everything fits, so this makes it easier for me.)
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DIDN'T USE:
Shopping cart cover (I just carry disinfectant wipes in the car...the cover is just too bulky for me.)
Baby Travel system/large stroller...(an infant car seat that fits inside of a stroller) (I used my stroller so little when our son was small. I just bought a really nice umbrella-type stroller that reclined and used it even when he couldn't yet sit up on his own. The other just seems so bulky and hard to maneuver to me.) Also, my mom said that they are not worth the money...and you don't end up using them as much as you thought. We didn't get one, so I don't know. When the baby is little, you can put the car seat in a regular umbrella stroller. Face the carseat forward and wedge it in the stroller. It won't snap in, but it is secure (as long as you don't go off-road). :)
Bouncer (our son never liked his bouncer because it would move when he kicked his legs and it would scare him. I had to prop it up with something so it wouldn't move.) It may have just been the style.
Baby Swing (I never bought one because I wanted our son to learn to fall asleep without being rocked...and I just thought it was an extra piece of baby equipment in the living room. :)
Gyms/tummy-time stations...I'm a minimalist, so a blanket and a few toys worked great for me.
Sterilizer (I didn't use bottles frequently. When I did, I would just pop them in the dishwasher, and that worked fine.)
Nursing pillow (Boppy) I had one, but it was more comfortable for me to just hold our son while he nursed.
Baby Food Processor - there are some cool ones out there, but a regular food processor worked great for us. Just boil/steam the vegetables/fruit until soft and then pop into the processor and freeze in baby food jars or icecube trays.
Highchair splash mat...I fed him myself until he was ready to learn not to throw things on the floor. We also have tile, so it didn't matter if something dropped.
Baby Bathtub...we had one, but he was so cold in it because only his bottom section was in the water. I ended up using a towel in the bathtub with a couple inches of water.
Hooded bath towels...we had two or three different kinds and didn't like any of them. They never seemed big enough. We ended up using a towel.
Diaper bag - I actually didn't end up using a diaper bag. It was too bulky for me to carry along with the baby. So I found a small (very chic!) backpack which has worked great.
Bedding set/bumper (I had one, but when he was a couple months old, I had to take it off because he would pull it down to be able to see outside the crib. It didn't stay in place with him pulling on it, so I just took it off.) I found a velcro "breathable" bumper and REALLY like it. (Target carries the breathable ones.)
Sleep positioner (Since I had the SIDS mattress cover, I let him sleep on his stomach from the time he was 2 or 3 weeks old.)
Diaper stacker (I just used a basket)
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