Baby Must-have’s, Nice-to-have’s, and Shouldn’t-have’s (Part 1: MostlyMust-have!)

As we celebrated (hooray!) CC’s second month birthday, I finally have a little more time to think back to the things we’ve bought/received and review the usefulness of each item. Please note this is only personal preference, but hopefully a good reference.

Please note that most of the items and their pictures here are from Amazon.com. Yes, I don’t know how Moms survive prior to online shopping!)

This entry will be mostly must-have’s, at least things that you must-have in the first few months. I will also note down if it’s something you should get before the baby arrives.

Diapers and Wipes
We had this ideal of using cloth diapers and cloth wipes. Well, little did we know, first few weeks of a baby’s life it’s almost impossible to use cloth diapers! In general, cloth diapers, because the need to be worth its cost, are made a bit bigger for most newborns, even for our 9-pounder! Also, with belly button still not completely healed, it’s best to use disposable so not to cover it and rub against it. Lastly, cloth diaper in general does not absorb as quickly as disposable, which allows the baby to complain about wetness sooner and therefore better for their skin (so they’re not stewing in their own filth!). This would be a wonderful trait for potty-training kids, but for the few days we’ve tried on CC, it was not so good for a baby who is hard to fall asleep and wakes easily (aka CC). Therefore, we’re not putting the use of our cloth diapers on hold.

However, in the meanwhile, we have discovered a wonderful service offered by Amazon.com. Amazon Mom! We subscribed to the service and they will send the diapers, free of second day shipping charge, at the schedule we set, at a discounted rate! We’ve been buying Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive diapers. and loving it! It is what the hospital uses, so far not causing any diaper rash on CC, and it also has a pee indication that allows us to tell if CC has pee’d without taking the diaper off! We love it!

As for wipes, we use Pampers Sensitive Baby Wipes. We just bought the refills and put them in the box. It’s alcohol and fragrance free. It feels good even to my skin!

Verdicts:

• Thumbs up for Pampers disposable diapers and wipes. Must have BEFORE baby is here.
• TBD for cloth diapers. Definitely a money saving product though.

Diaper Spray
Given we bought our bumGenius diapers, we also bought and installed bumGenius diaper spray. In the few days we’ve used it on soiled diapers, as well as using it to clean baby puke off any clothing item, it was WONDERFUL! It acts as a very strong spraying tiny showerhead, but it connects directly to your toilet water source. Therefore, you can spray directly into the toilet and just flush! 

Verdict: You’ll be crazy not to have it! Since it’ll need installation, you should just try to have it before the baby arrives. Otherwise you won’t have the time and the brain to install it!

Diaper Gauze / Burp Cloth
I placed Gerber diaper gauze on the registry, as well as purchased some more later and re-purpose it as burp cloth. What I did was cut them in halves and sew three/four layers together. They are the most wonder burp cloth ever! After a few wash, they absorb really well and still soft to baby’s face skin.  And it is true, YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY BURP CLOTH!

Verdict: Absolutely must have!! Get them (and lots of them) before your little one arrives.

Changing Table and Changing Pad
Instead of spending lots to buy a fancy changing table, we clear off my clothes drawer top and put the Basic Comfort Contoured Changing Pad by Summer Infant. I made a cover for the changing pad and put another layer of home-made cloth changing pad (similar to bath towel) on it. It’s inexpensive, easy to clean, and very comfortable and safe for CC.

Verdict: Must have, again, before the little one arrives.

Playpen / Day Bed / Changing Table
We received a playpen / day bed / changing table set from our friend and boy is it the best piece of baby furniture ever! That’s where CC spends most of his time during the day. It’s a hand-me-down and so I don’t have exact model, but it looks something like this. The changing table is removable and so it does not take up much space at all. The wheel on the playpen also allows CC to be moved around in the room. Worth its weight in gold!

Verdict: MUST HAVE! Need installation, get it and learn how to put it together before the little one.

Crib
We’re not exactly co-sleeper. We still want baby to have his own bed and comfortable sleeping in it. But getting up at night and bending over to pick him up and put him down has had a toll on our backs! So we have side-car’d his crib. We took one side of his crib off, and pulled the crib directly next to our bed. It provides easy access to baby while still have him sleep in his own bed. We also are able to have our own big blanket and sheets without having to worry that he’ll be suffocated.
The crib we put on registry and received was Graco Victoria Non Drop Side 5-in-1 Convertible Crib. I like everything about it EXCEPT the backboard. Given we now put the crib against our bed instead of against the wall, the backboard is now more of an obstruction than decoration. I wished we had ordered a crib that’s even height on all sides. But, once we move the crib to its original position, we won’t have this concern.

Verdict: Nice to have, can wait until baby is a little older. In the infant stage, the playpen / day bed is good enough.

Bath Tub
As any first time parents, we were clueless when it comes to bathing CC. But The First Year's Infant To Toddler Tub with Sling made it so easy! The mesh sling works as a hammock and baby just sits happily on it. Since it’s mesh material, the baby’s bottom is soaked in water just like if there is no sling, but it provides that level of security. One drawback is that it does not have a temperature indicator, but you can use any baby thermometer for that. Somehow the size of the tub also allow us to rest the baby bath tub on the two sides of our bath tub, while we sit inside our own tub to bath him. Most of all, it’s so inexpensive and safe!

Verdict: Another absolute must have. Although newborns just need sponge bath, so not something you’ll need until they’re 2-3 weeks old. Also can get easily from online.

Car Seat and Stroller
After  much thought, we opt-out on the traditional car seat / stroller combo. Instead, we purchased Chicco Keyfit 30 Car Seat. Here are our reasons: The stroller that comes in the car seat / stroller combo are usually very very bulky. Yes it’s comfortable with tray table and all, but your baby will never use it until he’s much older! By then, he can just use any umbrella stroller! In addition of being bulky (of course, hard to fit into car trunk), it is also extremely heavy. I’m a decently tall woman and I have trouble lifting it and storing it. Since we drive to places more than walk to places, space and weight is more important to us than how fancy the stroller is. Also, we can now lift the entire car seat onto the stroller without waking CC. We expect to change to another set of car seat and strollers when CC is more than 30 pounds.

Verdict: Must have, but only in this combination. If nothing else, this is something you have to have to even leave the hospital!
Diaper Disposal Bags and Dispenser
Okay, note, this is not “diaper bag” but “diaper disposal bags”. Just like puppies, you won’t want to leave the house without his poopy bags. You don’t want to be caught outside with a stinky diaper either! We bought Munchkin Arm and Hammer Diaper Bag Dispenser and just hook it onto our diaper bag. It completely masks the smell of the soiled diapers and large enough to put a couple diapers and wipes in it. Don’t forget to buy the refills too!


Verdict: Must have, unless you don’t go out.

Diaper Pail
There are many options, but this is the one we went for: Diaper Dekor Disposable System and refills. Again, another item worth its weight in gold. It has a tube of seems like endless plastic, and you can just cut off the dirty bag, tied the end, and create another bag! It’s hard to explain but you’ll know it genius-ness when you see it!


Verdict: Must must have, unless you want your place to stink.

Bottles
We originally purchased Lifefactory Glass Baby Bottle with Silicone Sleeve. I very much want to say I love it, and I do. Glass bottle gave me peace of mind when it comes to all the BPA contaminated plastic bottles. But unfortunately CC did not love the nipple that comes with the bottle. It’s too long and it causes him to gage. But I have heard many wonderful things about it and will try it with CC once he is more used to bottle feeding.

In the meanwhile, I have made purchase of The First Years Breastflow Bottle. It’s double-nipple system moderates the flow and its shape mimic real breast nipple. So far it works best for CC. And honestly, we survived fine with just one bottle.
 
Verdicts:

• Lifefactory bottles – Not a must have for newborns.
• The First Years bottles – Must have!
• [Update on 12/4/2010: We would like to change the verdict. Somehow CC now loves the LifeFactory one more. Not so much the Breastflow one anymore. We’re very glad since that means we’ll get to use all the 10 LifeFactory bottles!]

Detergent
I didn’t know how easily a baby keeps a smell, as well as how much he rubs against my clothes! But I’m just so glad I listened and bought Charlie’s Soap! It doesn’t have the “wonderful” smell of Tide or whatever brand you use usually, but it also makes the clothing much softer and free from the need to use fabric softener! Somehow our clothes are less staticky but just as soft. And we found ourselves needing to use less detergent.

Verdict: Yes, must have! And yes, get them before the baby’s born, since you want to pre-wash everything at least once before he/she arrives.

That’s all for now. When I have time next, I’ll talk about:

• Nursing pads
• Nursing cover
• Breast feeding pillow
• Baby swing
• Bottle warmer
• Music mobile
• Baby carrier
• Swaddle
• Pacifier
• Bath essentials
• Bottle drying rack
• Baking soda (yes, baking soda)

Second Month as a Mom

Baby Prison
[7W1D] I’ve always thought I would be a good mom. But my own vision of a Mom is someone who educates and disciplines. I did not know staying home 24-7, doing feed-burp-change-and-repeat is part of the job too. In fact, that is all to this "job” so far. Yes, I do feel like I’m in baby prison with no early parole. But the minute I see that cute little face, with cute chubby cheeks, and tiny little fingers…I’d like to say it’s all worth it. Or at least for that moment.


Sleeping…for Baobao that is
[4W] I’ve read from many websites and books to NOT nurse your baby to sleep. It will condition the baby to only want to nurse in order to go to sleep. While chewing on Mommy’s boobs was the best and easiest way to put the little one to sleep, I have that fear of a 7-yo needed to nurse before going to bed! So I took the advice of some people and start adding “constants” to the sleeping routine. For example, I know CC falls asleep very easily when I do lying down side-feeding with him (we both lie down, face to face, while he feeds.) So I tried to put him on his bed, on his side instead of on his back, warm up and give him the pacifier, while rubbing his back.

[8W4D] Well, 4 weeks later, we know there is no worries that CC will be a 7-yo who still wants to nurse. In the last week or two, he has started to learn to fall asleep on his own! Hooray!

Kissy Kissy Mommy! Oh, he just wants to eat!
[4W] Yes, Mommy is tricky tricky tricky! When CC wants to eat and roots around, I sometimes kiss his right cheek, and he’ll turn towards me. And then I’ll immediately kiss his left cheek, and he’ll quickly turn towards me again. If I do it quick enough, I keep kissing his mouth instead! Hee hee. Stole many many kisses!

[5W] Although, WORD OF CAUTION, DO NOT assume because they’re rooting, they have no back-up supply of milk in their tummies! One time, the little bugger decided it would be funny to puke a little into Mommy’s open mouth. YUCK!!!

Colic
[4W] Oh yah, CC gets colicky. Something every parent wish and pray and hope their baby will never get. While they say no one really knows what caused colic, one of the most plausible assumption is gas. After coming out of jaundice, CC started to be more alert/awake and ate a lot more as well. Unfortunately his little belly system did not get the message and therefore wasn’t caught up in ramping up the processing power. Result: very full, very gassy, very uncomfortable every time right after he eats. Supposedly adults get this type of gastro-reflex as well, but we don’t get it until an hour after we eat, and we are just so used to it. But babies’ gastrointestinal system is much shorter, hence affect them much much quicker.

Poor Mommy and Daddy, we want the little guy to eat more and grow more, but we also start to fear every feeding time. Little guy gets so uncomfortable that he grunt and strain and wail and goes crazy! At times, he even turns purple! We tried to do tummy massage and leg pumps, but he gets so worked up and so rigid, can’t even do much! But of course, he always gets relief right after he poops or farts, but somehow the frequency is far and much less lately. Yikes.

After a few days, Mommy finally got very worried and called the doctor. We also tried Mylicon and probiotics. They helped but not completely. Doctor said unfortunately it happens around 4-6 weeks of age, and of course, the famous last words, “It will pass.” (“It” meaning the colic? Or poop and gas? I guess both.)

One day, Mommy and Daddy realized CC was quite loosey goosey and relaxed right before eating and in the morning. Therefore we decided to do the massage and pumps BEFORE he eats instead of after. Mommy also tried to hold CC very snugly to her body, so provide some resistance when CC tried to push and poop. Well, it worked!! We were able to loosen the “goods” before the little trunk gets too stuffed up with both waste and nutrients. Hooray!

Well, this is no professional procedures, but we hope this can help future new mommies and daddies! And we hope this will pass soon for little CC!

[7W1D] In between Mylicon, Florajen (probiotics), tummy massage, and leg pumping, colic seems to ease up a bit until yesterday. Today, CC was in full-blown colicky mode! Unable to sleep for more than 30 minutes for the entire day. Mommy was pooped out by the end of the day and ready to cry herself!

[8W4D] Maybe his stomach issues have gotten better, or maybe we’re just more used to it and know how to deal with it. Seems like he has gradually move out of that fussy colicky phase. Fingers crossed!

Nanny
[7W1D] We found our nanny! Grandma went back to Taiwan last Friday night, so started on Monday, I was all alone during the day and officially full-time Mom. It was scary. Very scary. We went on Golden Gate Mother’s Group to look for nanny, but there are only limited number. So while searching for average nanny wages, I came across this domestic help searching site, Care.com. We narrowed our choices down to a handful of people, and started contacting and interview them. As of today, we have decided on a nanny! :)

[8W4D] After one week of having Mara, our nanny come in on Monday and Wednesday. When the nanny is here and I’m not busy with house work, I situate myself upstairs and do some reading / web surfing. While I complain about baby prison, the irony is I am also extremely tormented when CC cries and I’m not one (or Woz is not the one) to go to him and comfort him! I know our nanny is more than well qualified in taking care of CC and in reality probably much better than I am, but like any mother, I don’t think anyone is good enough to take care of my son! Boy, I think I’ll probably cry on his first day to daycare/school! To think I almost did when Twilight went to puppy playcare last year! But, it’s got to be done. Little boy will have to grow up to be a man, and it’s a mother’s job to teach him how by letting go.

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It’s been a good month, it really has. The drama of pregnancy, birth, and family has quiet down but it is nonetheless quite eventful still. Now back to a little family of 4, we struggled and stayed afloat just so perfectly. Woz has, in the meanwhile, gotten a spanking new job at the Canadian consulate. The little Woz family is happy and getting ready for the holiday season.
Happy early Thanksgiving to everyone!