Expecting our First Child! Advice?

[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!

[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.

[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.....