After having already braved the oh-so choppy waters that are newborn parenting once, we're re-evaluating a few of those must-have items for round 2. I figured I'd share my two-cents incase someone is standing at Babies R Us with a scanner in their hand freaked out of their mind like I was 2 and a half years ago.
The Boppy Pillow
This is the one thing I knew we had to have. It was the only thing I'd ever heard of relating to babies and figured all parents must have one. Truth be told, I HATED it, especially when it came to breastfeeding. It didn't provide enough support to actually assist with the breastfeeding process. I wound up using regular pillows with the boppy. Jake, however, loved it as it provided the perfect support for him to hold the baby because he didn't have to worry about keeping 8 lbs up to his boob for 30 minutes at a time.
This Time I'm going to try out the My Brest Friend pillow, I mean it has a water bottle holder on it and I once saw Michelle Duggar using it on their show, so it must work. If you have any recommendations, I'm all ears.
Rocking/Glider Chair
When my sister had her babies 10 years ago, gliders were all the rage. To me, there weren't any other options but a glider, and we opted to register for a low-budget one from Wal-mart because we didn't know how important it would truly be.
We had no clue that you basically eat, sleep and breath in your rocking chair and it should be the most expensive piece of furniture in your nursery. Ours fell apart in the first two months and we had to replace it. We still use the replacement on a nightly basis, after using it night and day for those first few months. For this next one, we're spending the money on a good, quality chair that won't fall apart and hopefully won't squeak every time we sit and rock.
We received so many receiving blankets. They're cute, they make a great gift and everyone knows that babies need blankets, right? Only problem is that receiving blankets are useless when it comes to swaddling, which is why babies need blankets. They're not large enough to create a proper swaddle, leaving both baby and parents frustrated with the entire process.
Cue the little swaddle pods that make any parent a swaddling whiz. While the ones with velcro do the trick, we found them to be a little bit of a nuissance when dealing with a sleeping baby who you want to sleep even longer. The loud velcro ripping noise really doesn't help out the process. So we upped the ante and tried out the crazy zipper pod, to which solved all of life's problems. Sure the baby on the front looks crazy, but trust me friends. This thing will solve many of life's swaddling problems.
You might also want to try the larger blankets made for swaddling, or at least that's what I'm going to attempt this time, because somehow I feel it is my motherly duty to be able to perfect a swaddle.
You might also want to try the larger blankets made for swaddling, or at least that's what I'm going to attempt this time, because somehow I feel it is my motherly duty to be able to perfect a swaddle.
Baby Books
What to Expect When You're Expecting is the worst book ever written. It's alarmist, makes you feel completely inadequate and strikes the fear of God in you when preparing for birth. I got it because that's the first thing you do when you're pregnant, duh. And really it did provide plenty of answers to most of my questions, it was just that the answers were a little extreme. I would recommend hitting up Baby Center instead, where they have less alarming answers to most questions.
Really, the only baby book I think is necessary for parenting is Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by the controversial Richard Ferber.
I was all sorts of hot and bothered at the idea of letting your child "cry it out" when Gwen was born. We swore we would never do it. Then 5 months later we were at our wits end with a cranky, tired baby who wouldn't sleep and wasn't eating well as a result. Trust me, I got the No-Cry Sleep Solution and followed the crazy ideas laid out in the book. It didn't work and actually made things much worse. A girlfriend lent me Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems and we read through it, planned and decided it was what was best for our family.
The whole problem with Ferber's Cry-It-Out method is that it's misunderstood. It's not simply shutting the door on your screaming baby and letting them figure it out alone and scared for hours. It's actually a gentle approach where you check on your baby while they're learning, comforting them and letting them know you're there. It's a staggered, caring approach that left both us and Gwen much better off once completed.
I'd recommend getting this book and not to bother worrying yourself over it until your baby's 3 months + and keep it close by when you find yourself pulling your hair out trying to get your baby to sleep. We've referenced it numerous times throughout Gwen's life and I've never been more grateful for any other resource.
What about you? Any must-have baby items you received that didn't live up to the hype? I'd love to know.
1 comment:
SwaddleMe makes GREAT blankets for swaddling, and they even include instructions on a little fabric tag sewn to the blanket. I used them for my daughter last time when she was an infant before transitioning to the sleep pods you talked about. The blankets are generous size and they have light weight fabric ones for summer months.
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