I'm now 25 weeks pregnant and I have roughly 5 more weeks before I am doing any real baby purchases. Instead I am spending my time planning out exactly what we need and thought I'd share since... I have nothing else to do right now and am avoiding cleaning the guinea pigs' cage. ;)
So first of all and most importantly - diapers. I'm going to use gdiapers. At first I'll plan to use the biodegradable inserts. Those things are awesome because you can flush them down the toilet! When the baby is a couple of weeks old and has started having regular bm/urine output I'll switch to fleece liners. I didn't really like the inserts that come with the gdiapers so I'm going to use a different kind, but I really like how easy the diapers are to use, how soft they are, and most of all that they close in the back instead of the front. Gdiapers are also pretty well priced and I like that.
My husband doesn't like to change new babies diapers so we have an agreement that he changes all diapers except for the baby's diapers until said baby is 6 months old. This has always worked out great for me because I don't mind changing baby diapers but once you have to get on the floor or chase kids around to get them into a diaper, then I'm not too fond of it. Also I feel a lot less guilty about asking him to change a diaper when it's kind of his job. ;) And just to add, I do change them when he's not home! LOL
Next important are hats.
Not just for style. Did you know that until children are about 8 or 9 their body cannot regulate their temperature? Until that age kids should wear hats. In every season children should wear hats. I wont get into my whole Waldorf based/inspired thoughts on parenting - I mean, I totally could, if you want because I love to talk about it! But let's just say that I believe it has a very large impact on a body's spacial awareness, regulating body warmth, and there are many people who believe wearing a hat at a young age is super important because warmth is the best gift we can give our children. A lot of people (of the natural parenting mindset) consider babies to need the warmth and security of said warmth in order to receive their soul properly. I know that sounds a little bit silly but I think that if you have a happy baby, they will be a happy toddler, a happy child, and ultimately a happy adult. And so I'm not sure about the spiritual part but babies are the most sensitive of creatures... ok, I wasn't going to talk about my parenting beliefs. So these are a few of the types of hats I'm planning to order.
First of all I look for hats for indoors or late spring/summer a silk cotton blend. In the fall and winter I like knit hats. I have yet to purchase a felted wool hat but they look very warm and comfy. Honestly this side of the state doesn't get too cold, maybe if I lived in Minnesota I'd buy a felted hats. ;)
I'm not a huge fan of the knot hats and even less of a fan of the double knot hats but I really like that the "brim" of this hat is flat. I hate gerber/lamaze baby hats because they are sewn up and/or have the seam in an awkward place, therefor they don't fit very well.
This one does have a turned up brim but the seam is in a different spot. Also the cap part is large enough to actually contain a baby head. Some hats that come with outfits are ridiculous and can't even fit on a real baby's head.
I've had several children. With Molly I went overboard with adorable little jeans and cute dress shirts etc. But something that I've gradually found is that I'm a big fan of swaddling, BIG fan. Our girls still like to be swaddled and we swaddled Iris until she was almost one and she started standing up and crawling around. Again, warmth, that "big hug" feeling, and hello, so much easier to hold them are my main reasons. Because I know that 90% of the time my baby is going to be swaddled I don't worry about cute outfits. My plan is to do onesies and leggins, or onesies and pants. I like to avoid pants for the first few weeks because of where pants fall on the baby's tummy and they have a lot of tummy trouble in the first few weeks to work out. Learning how to fart is hard work! Not to mention their umbilical cords... yeah so, all my newborn sized clothes (which my shrimpy kids stay in for about 6-8 weeks) are all mostly based on comfort and not necessarily on style. ;) These half t-shirts give super easy and quick access to diapers. White clothes are my top choice because they are easier to get stains out of!
Seriously - rainbow leggins. How could you say no?
Wool soaker - great for cloth diapers wearers (or anybody) because wool wicks moisture away from the skin... just incase you have a little leaky diaper. Also - it's a freaking fox. I could die.
Mittens.
Baby's scratch themselves like little idiots then they cry because someone is scratching them. They'll be covered in nasty bleeding wounds if ya'll done cover those little razors. Also, they will scratch you. Ouch. When you're like, slightly engorged and trying to get the freaking baby to just latch on and relieve the pain and you have to breath through it and they're sitting there scratching your already painful boob... you might think about throwing them, I mean it could go through your head, don't do it. Just put gloves on. You can alternately use socks. But gloves are cuter.
My only warning is make sure to buy gloves that do not have elastic in them, find the ones that have elastic thread. They fit better and wont leave huge red marks on your baby's arms.
Socks.
I like socks, but babies never keep them on. Every time I take off their pjs or unswaddle them their socks will be lying there like little castoffs. Babies have horrible circulation and for the first few weeks, if not months your baby will have ice cold/blue feet. I've found that putting babies in COTTON socks, not those cute fuzzy socks, will keep their feet warm, but they wont stay on. I really love Hanna Anderson's little moccasins.
As for swaddling. I love to swaddle, I already said it.
My favorite while baby is sleeping. You can really tighten these and baby can't kick their legs free.
These ones, "summer swaddle me" have a slit in the back so you can use these in car seats,swings, or bouncers while buckling them in. It's important to buckle your infants in when you have a really loving older brother or sister.
Aiden and Anais.
These are muslin and so so so soft. Each time you wash them they get softer. They are really big blankets and give you a lot of options for different swaddling styles and can be used as your baby is getting older.
Incase you're having a baby soon and are looking for advice (I loooove to give advice!), it is best not to swaddle your baby while breast feeding. While their super spastic movement looks... spastic, they can use their little arms and help position the breast better and having them un-swaddled and not super comfy cozy will help them be more alert and nurse better. If you can, have your baby be skin on skin contact to regulate their heat while you're nursing. lifting your shirt or taking it off and having baby with no shirt on - tummy to tummy, is soo good for them for many reasons!
BABY GEAR *booming voice*
I love baby wearing and baby loves mommy wearing. Did you know your heartbeat helps regulate your baby's heart beat? Also, if you can wear your baby, you can wash the dishes, or go for walks, or go grocery shopping.
There are lots of baby wearing devices and my favorite is the moby wrap, followed soon by the ergo carrier when your baby is a little older. I've read one too many articles on how bjorns, graco, eddie bauer have the same type of carrier and it's actually not very good for the baby because of the way she's positioned on her spine/tail bone and how her hips are separated in an awkward position.
The moby has a ton of ways to tie on and can be used for a very long time. You can wear your baby facing in, when they're older facing out, or on your back (when they're older older).
Look how comfy this little nugget looks!
Ergos are awesome for babies a few months old. You can get an infant insert too for smaller babies. This is super useful for toddlers who are super attached. I've had mostly super attached babies and when they're a bit older you can pop them onto your back, and hardly even know they're there... until they are pulling your hair then you'll know.
I have two living room areas and my bedroom. I don't want to have baby furniture all over the place but for my house, these are going to be perfect.
I think this is considered a "rocker" in the baby section of... anywhere. It's super soft and comfy and CANNOT TIP OVER. I have toddlers, I have to worry about these things. My sister has one and absolutely loves it and has a toddler that is the ultimate baby safety tester, this one can with stand a lot and still doesn't tip.
I love this swing. I think my sister had this swing with Jack and we used it once and loved it. Once my babies are old enough to sit up and play they really aren't interested in a swing, and that's why I like that it's just like a little bed that rocks back and forth. It also plays creepy womb music. The legs are pretty wide, but again - sturdy!
Instead of a basinet in my room I opted to purchase a playpen that has a newborn "napper" in it. I'll keep it next to my bed and when baby gets a little bit older I'll move her to the raised bed and when she learns to sit up, around 6 or 7 months she'll move into the nursery and Iris will move into the girls' room.
Ahhh, I feel so much better writing this. I wont lie, it's hard to wait to do most of my purchases. Plus these are just my "staple" items... I love little terry cloth jammies, oh ma gosh, they are so so so snuggly in those little things. But having these documented makes me feel more "legit" and... planned out.
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