So what do you actually need?
When I was preparing my hospital bag towards the end of the pregnancy I looked up so many Pinterest articles to get an idea of what I might need. I realized I didn’t need much.
Here is a list of items I ACTUALLY needed/used in the hospital.
-T shirt
-Granny panties
-Nursing tank: I actually didn’t use this in the hospital, but wish I had. Most of the time I was just skin to skin with him and didn’t care, but again- would’ve been nice to have
-Big Shorts/ big sweat pants- You will probably be wearing a gigantic pad for the bleeding in these sweet mesh underwear the hospital gives you. Most of the time I was not wearing any pants, just my sweet mesh undies, but once visitors came, I quickly regretted my decision and wanted those shorts asap.
-Zip up hoodie- Similar to the nursing tank, I didn’t actually have this with me, but learned quickly in the first 2 weeks that it helps. While you are nursing you can keep yourself comfortable in temperature with sleeves on if you are wearing a nursing tank.
-Slippers/socks
-Shower stuff/ toiletries/ toothbrush (The hospital did give me a shower bag which was nice, but I wanted my own stuff). I also brought my hair dryer with
For the baby:
Blanket
Car Seat
Outfit to go home in
I did not use the nursing pillow I had in the car or the nursing cover ups. I had brought my ipod and sound dock for the labor and didn’t use that at all either. We mainly watched TV and tried to sleep when we could. Our hospital offered room service for both me and Matt which was nice to not have to worry about food.
The hospital provided everything else. When you are getting ready to leave- take everything. That was something I heard a lot from people. I did take the extra pads and such, but didn’t need them. I did use the tucks pads(witch hazel) and the peri bottle they give you once I was home. They also give you samples of lanolin and other breastfeeding needs which was very nice to have.
Once we got home these are the items we have needed for the first month:
Clothes
-Footie PJs (with the zipper)- I like these the best because you know he will be warm (We have 4 of these I think)
-Onesies (short sleeve and long sleeve)- I believe we have about 4/5 of each
- 6 pairs of socks
-2 pairs of sweat pants
Nursing/feeding
-Bottles: I am breastfeeding and pumping, so we have 4 of the Dr. Brown’s 5 ounce glass bottles (infants need no more than 3 ounces at a time) and the 2 plastic pumping bottles that came with the Spectra S2 that I got from insurance. That has been plenty for us but we do have to wash them often.
-Breast pump: As mentioned above I have the Spectra S2. I don’t know any different, but the reason I chose it is because it is a closed system which means the milk doesn’t go through the tubing (I have heard from other pumps that can be a pain to clean). The S2 has a really nice night light that helps at night. I also heard it is quieter than other pumps, but I have no idea because I don’t know anything about other pumps.
-Bottle warmer- we have the Doctor Brown’s warmer and it has worked great
-Cleaning brush for the bottles
-Drying rack (not necessarily a must have, but we like having them separate)
-Burp clothes- I think we have about 6-8
-pillows- I have used my actual nursing pillow maybe once. I use our other regular pillows we already have. Cori dog has used it more than I have probably
**At 2 months I have started to use the actual nursing pillow more as he can sit in it
Other
-3 blankets for the little guy (I like 3 because you can still have one to use while you wash the others)
-Changing pad/table. We have been using our Chicco pack n play in our bedroom at this time. There is a changing table piece that we use and it has storage on the side of diapers and wipes. We went with Chicco rather than Graco because it seemed like it had more add ons for less price.
The organizer/ dividers I had put in his drawers were super easy to transfer into our pack n play so that his change of clothes is close to us while he stays in our room at this time. (this is a divider with 4 sections)
-Pacifiers- we have 4
-Rock n play- he sleeps in it in our bedroom before moving him to his crib in his room
- for boy after circumcision you need Vaseline and gauze pads in the beginning
- tons of diapers and wipes
-car seat (2 bases one for each car mine and Matthews)- we got the Chicco KeyFit car seat and stroller. It has done a great job so far.
-stroller
-diaper bag- love this one I got. Click here for information on this bag.
-Noise maker. My friend got us a portable one for the stroller that we love while we are on the go. You attach it to the car seat and it has 4 different noises you can play to keep baby calm. It has worked great! We also use a noise maker in our room at night.
Bathing
- Baby Bath tub
-Baby towel (we have 4, but 2 would probably be enough)
-Johnson baby soap and lotion
Mama
-nursing tanks/bra (bought tanks from target and online)
-Lanolin or coconut oil *These will stain your clothes--- buy black tanks/bras so it isn't so obvious
-nursing pads
-Zip up hoodies
-Rocker in our bedroom
-stool softener
-pads
- pain reliever
So far that is all we have used or needed. We do have a bouncer and a floor “play gym” but it hasn’t entertained him enough at this point.
1 Month to 2 Months
YI Dome 1080p is our baby monitor. (I am also borrowing just a sound one from a friend). This monitor is a wifi video monitor with a phone app. It works really well and it wasn’t that expensive! It gives alerts when he is crying or if there is movement so your phone doesn’t have to stay on. At night we like to be able to hear him, so we either keep it on an ipad all night, or we will use the regular baby monitor.
The picture quality is great:
Ergobaby carrying pack- Cade normally doesn’t like it right now, but he ends up falling asleep while he’s in it. It frees your hands so you CAN make your meals! ;)
Mobiles- he LOVES looking at them
We have started to use to sit him in during his "awake/play time" while we do other things:
skip hop play mat - I love it becuase you can move the items that dangle. We have attached on to his car seat handle while we are out.
Swing- there are hanging elephants over this swing that he loves
Bouncers- The bouncer has other items that dangle in front of him so that he hits them. (it can easily come off too if you prefer)
My nursing cover/ car seat cover
Door knob cover?- My sister gave us cover for the latch so that it stays quiet when we open and close it- only thing is it doesn’t keep Cori from going in there while he’s napping:
Nose Frida- I get this weird satisfaction sucking out his boogers. I use it probably once every other day
Swaddle Blankets- He has never liked being swaddled, but we use them to cover him while the weather is getting warmer.
BABY JOGGER!- I finally got replacements parts and LOVE having the ability to jog with him in his car seat. (this is the Mountain Buggy Terrain- a coworker is letting us borrow it! so nice!)
3 to 6 Months
Skip Hop Table- Originally I thought this was over rated because he was so short for so long and couldn't touch. Then once he started to touch, it was wonderful. It keeps him occupied for quite a while
Standing Bouncer- He loves jumping. He is typically jumping while sucking on the dragonfly toy that is attached.
Boppy- To help him sit up we position the boppy around him for a nice support and extra cushion in case he tumbles over. (I never really used it for nursing, this is the most we have gotten out of this item)
Toys- He started teething very early (his first 2 bottom teeth came in at 4 months). He started liking the girraffe when at about 4 1/2-5 months. He likes the cloth books that have the crinkle to them too. Anything he can slam and make noise with, he is a fan
Sleep Sacks- these help keep him warm at night as well as keeps him from jolting awake as much. At this point we have 5 sleep sacks of different kinds. All but one does not have sleeves. As we go into the winter months, I will need to get more.
Bibs- he needs bibs on bibs for how much he spits up and drools. My favorite are the
Mirror- He has always loved looking in the mirror, but it wasn't until 6 months I realized I should bring our small mirror in our closet out to the family room to have him sit in front of while he plays
More bottles- I had gotten plastic 4 ounce bottles for daycare and the 4 we started with wasn't enough. Just because I didn't like the pressure of having to wash them ALL the time. So we ended up with 9. (They mainly come in packs of 3). Then the doctor suggested to give him an ounce more at 6 months, so we went back to using our 5 ounce glass bottles and got 3 more of those (now we are at 7).
Pumping bra for work
High Chair- I waited until about 6 months to start giving him baby food. At that time we started to use the high chair to feed him
Clothes- Lots and lots of clothes
Fitted crib sheets- Now that he is in his crib, we use the crib sheet and the crib mattress pad/cover. He has leaked out of his diaper, so there have been nights we need to change his sheets. We now have 3 different crib sheets just in case of accidents.
Overnight diapers- We have started to get the pampers stay dry diapers for over night for the reason above. He still has some accidents, but I think it is because he pees so much it is ridiculous. (I also don't change his diaper during the night feedings)
Something I really haven't used:
Bumbo... I think I have put Cade in it a total of two times.
As we continue to use or not use items that we registered for I will continue updating this post.
