Expecting our First Child! Advice?

[Belle of the Ball 051411]

My other "advice" is to not find out the sex! It can be hard at times but that moment in the delivery room (or operating room in my case) when the baby comes out and the doc says "it's a ..." is a moment that will tug on your heart strings forever. It really takes the whole birthing experience over the top. It's worth the wait, I promise you!

My family thought it was a lot of fun to not know either. My husband really loved being able to walk out to the waiting room and announce the sex. Once we were settled in our room, our family came back and we announced our son's name.

[PirateLover]

My other "advice" is to not find out the sex! It can be hard at times but that moment in the delivery room (or operating room in my case) when the baby comes out and the doc says "it's a ..." is a moment that will tug on your heart strings forever. It really takes the whole birthing experience over the top. It's worth the wait, I promise you!

My family thought it was a lot of fun to not know either. My husband really loved being able to walk out to the waiting room and announce the sex. Once we were settled in our room, our family came back and we announced our son's name.

I can only imagine what a thrill that must've been! Unfortunately my husband and I are both very impatient and not too fond of surprises, so we will be finding out the gender, at least for this one. We are the type of people who get so excited for Christmas we start giving each other gifts early. I threw him a surprise 30th birthday last year and it was the hardest thing to keep it a secret. Thanks for all your other advice, too!! I appreciate it!

[MNNHFLTX]

I can only imagine what a thrill that must've been! Unfortunately my husband and I are both very impatient and not too fond of surprises, so we will be finding out the gender, at least for this one. We are the type of people who get so excited for Christmas we start giving each other gifts early. I threw him a surprise 30th birthday last year and it was the hardest thing to keep it a secret.

We chose to find out the gender ahead of time too and for us it actually heightened the anticipation of meeting our little guy (who is now almost 22 years old!).

I have no idea what strollers are out there these days but I would recommend investing in a nice baby swing. That was a life-saver if I had to take a shower or get a couple of things done around the house. Also buy a few lullaby CD's or download them onto your computer, iPhone, mp3 player or whatever. Not only are they soothing to the baby, but they can soothe a new mom's jangled nerves too.

On a side note, people seem to think a pregnant belly is public domain for patting, something I just had to grin and bear. I didn't mind the older ladies that did this; I guess I could understand that it brought back nice memories for them. But it can be very unsettling.

[emerzmom]

Congrats to you!!!
I don't have any first year advice but just thought I would pass something on. My great grandmother told me that the dishes, laundry, and other chores would always be there but my daughter would only be a little girl for a very short time...play with her, read to her, sing with her, and most of all just be with her. Best advice I every got as a parent!
Enjoy your new little one!

Julie

[Tri Minnie]

Congratulations! I agree with the others that favorites are likely to be person specific, but I will share a few things I have loved and what hasn't worked for me. My children are 2,3 and 5, and I have used my stroller system less than 10 times. I know people who adore them, but I have always found it just too cumbersome. I did love the Chicco car seat though that came with it. Instead I used one of those metal frame strollers you just set the car seat in and a lightweight Combi. As a walker and runner, I also find my BOB invaluable.

However, I would say that the absolute favorites of myself and my children are the Ergo carrier, the Maya wrap, and the king bed. All three of mine also liked the bouncy seat. We also went with Fisher Price booster seats instead of a high chair and never regretted that choice.

Good luck with all of the decisions. Like many of us, you will probably end up with items you thought you needed and never use and items you didn't start with initially but find you really wish you had.

[Belle of the Ball 051411]

Another product I absolutely love is the Nose Frida Snot Sucker (sounds gross but I promise you it isn't). I use it everyday morning and night. Get it!

[HollyB]

My advice is to wait at least a week before you take the baby to Disney World.

But seriously, every kid/family is different. We have twins. One loved the swing, one hated it. We went through six types of bottles before we found one both kids liked and then they changed the nipples half way through and we had to go stockpile all the old stock. We never used a changing table but others adored theirs. I liked the side-by-side strollers but other families preferred the inline front to back. Well, you get the idea. What works for you won't necessarily work for anyone else and vice versa.

So advice:

Try out the strollers in the store. Fold them up, unfold them, pretend to lift it into the car. The reason I liked the side to side? The front to back was too unwieldy and heavy for me to work by myself and there was no way I could have lifted it into the trunk of our then car.

Check recalls. Baby and kid equipment, toys, and clothes seem to get recalled more than any other category. Check out SafeKids and CPSC frequently.

Learn to ignore judgmental stares/comments. Total strangers will feel compelled to tell you what you are doing right/wrong when you are parenting. We flew with the twins when they were small through very busy airports. They had backpack leashes. Some people were all "Cool, I wish we'd had that." Others were all "Do you think your kids are dogs? How horrible." Um. No. I think I don't want to lose two active kids in O'Hare Airport, but thanks for asking. Do what's right for your kids/family. Ignore everyone else.

Good luck!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Been twenty years for us too:

Must have-baby gowns and onesies

Never used a diaper genie or wipe warmer

[DebK]

Congratulations!

Nap when the baby naps.....

[AgentC]

I can only imagine what a thrill that must've been! Unfortunately my husband and I are both very impatient and not too fond of surprises, so we will be finding out the gender, at least for this one. We are the type of people who get so excited for Christmas we start giving each other gifts early. I threw him a surprise 30th birthday last year and it was the hardest thing to keep it a secret. Thanks for all your other advice, too!! I appreciate it!

I found out the sex of both of mine and for me it worked well. I thought it was very cool when they showed us during the ultrasound. Of course I am a bit of an obsessive planner so it was very helpful to know and make plans and nursery themes around it.

I am going to echo the YMMV on certain items. It can be so personal to the child. My son loved his bouncer and his swing. My daughter hated the bouncer and loved the swing.

Both enjoyed the baby gym/playmats. Both loved there mobile and having one with music was a must for them.

I found a lot of the little toys they sell for infants- wrist rattles etc to be a waste.

Diaper pail- We have a one floor house. I bought a diaper pail with a good seal but it was not a diaper genie. We used deodorized bags and emptied daily. That worked well for us. I would definitely have something next to the changing area if possible because it makes life much easier to be able to drop them right in.

We got a very nice plastic baby bath tub that had an infant side for under 6 months and then a bigger child side. It was very helpful and we even used it (inside the bath tub) when they were older.

Water proof/ water resistant sheet savers- these are little pads that tie down and go across the crib for accidents. Much easier than change the whole sheet.

On the stroller /car seat issue. For my first I had a Graco with the removable baby carrier.

The positive side was that when I took my son out, he did have something to sleep in and didn't have to be removed from the seat.

The negatives were that is was bulky and heavy. It was awkward in stores. Even though you see people put them on the seat sections in shopping carts , you aren't supposed to and if you put them in your cart, you have no room. Also they grow out of them quickly and then you have to move to convertible rearing facing seat. When my son grew out of his baby seat, I switched him to a convertible rear face Britax seat.

For my daughter, I started her as in infant in a Britax convertible. I did not really use a stroller for her until she was a few months old. When she was younger,I normally had her in a sling. I really loved mine. It makes them easy to carry and easy to nurse.

We had a three wheel Jeep Liberty Stroller that we loved. It lasted for 5 years and I used it for both kids.

Oh and one final thought - Register for basics like diapers and wipes. They are expensive and you go through them fast.