Things that underpants (and any new parents) need, but they don't know it.

[SoCalDem]

Johnny Jump Up (but you need door frames).. Every kid I have ever known has just loved this thing.. My middle son especially loved it :)

[JimmyJazz]

1. traveling playland

[progmom]

5. yes!!

once progspawn was 4 months old, that thing was a god send.

[meegbear]

2. So new parents need door frames too?

Man, having a kid can take a toll on yah.

[SoCalDem]

4. I know.. We were CRUSHED

when we moved and our new place had no frames to attach the johnny to, so our youngest never got to use it :cry:

[LynzM]

3. A baby sling

Check out www.peppermint.com

The best $40 I ever spent for parenting. Having free hands and a happy back is worth so much more than that!!

[xultar]

6. Some of these have been recalled. Have them check manuf 2 make

sure the one they have is safe.

[progmom]

7. a backpack

[SoCalDem]

10. TRY IT ON BEFORE YOU BUY one

The one we got was miserable for ME, but worked for my tall husband.. the metal bar thingie on the bottom of the frame came to just the wrong spot on my back, and KILLED me:)

[JimmyJazz]

13. Most models no longer have that bar thingy, but have two legs

like the one in the picture. I think the problem you had was common for a lot people and was fixed.

on edit: That pic does seem to be showing a bar. Oopsie. But, I know you can get them without that part across because that's what I had.

[JimmyJazz]

11. I LOVED using the backpack. It was great for the mall and wonderful

for toning the legs :D Some stores in the mall have their racks so close together, it's impossible to manuever a stroller.

Once I learned how to get it on and off by myself, I used it all the time.

[xmas74]

20. I'm pretty short so a sling worked much better for me.

The bar landed funny on me and made me feel really stiff while I walked.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. Best baby item ever!!

We have a ton of pictures of our oldest in his - he used to nap in it.

Hubby nailed boards up over the doorway when our house had no door frame near the family room. Worked great.

[SoCalDem]

9. Our middle son would wind himself up, and then get dizzy

and LAUGH.. We howled watching him :)and the dog would chase him in circles as he spun around... I had it in my kitchen doorway, and while I made dinner, he spun himself in circles:)

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. Sleep. Sleep when the baby sleeps. Don't try to get things done, just

catch up on Zzzzzzz's. :hi:

[MissB]

14. Vibrating bouncy seat

some kids hate 'em, but some kids absolutely love them.

[SoCalDem]

15. Sounds great.. They didn't have those when my kids were small..

Someone bought us one of the wind up swings, which we HATED.. Just as the baby was dozing off, you'd have to rewind it and that crank made so much noise they would wake up :eyes:

[iconoclastic cat]

16. Wow, I need to bookmark this thread!

IconBaby has about 6 weeks to go, and some of this stuff looks great!

I'm also learning to swaddle from this book: Baby-gami: Baby Wrapping for Beginners

[SoCalDem]

17. Be careful with the swaddling.. Babies are like little furnaces

and they cannot regulate their temps all that well.. Better to be a bit cool, than too hot :)

But you are right about the ideas.. A lot of the stuff we bought because we "thought" we needed , turned out to be crap..and the stuff we never even thought about , but stumbled on turned out fantastic..:)

[Dora]

18. Two things:

1) Learn a SONG that's long enough to keep you interested in it enough to sing it over and over again. When mine was newborn, the song was "Walkin' After Midnight," and we've been stuck on "Birdhouse in your Soul" since he was two months old.

2) Use a PACIFIER, for the first 3-4 months.

I was resistant to using the pacifier, but the pediatrician recommended it. It saved my sanity when my son was insisting on nursing every 1 1/2 hours when he was three weeks old. The pacifier allowed him to self-soothe by sucking, and it allowed me an extra 30-60 minutes before I nursed again. I also belive that using the pacifier improved or strengthened my son's latch, because after he started using it, our nursing sessions became much easier and he ate more efficiently.

Do not use it unless it's needed. My son would also suck his thumb, but had a hard time keeping it in his mouth - that's when the pacifier came in handy.

We stopped using it when he was four months old. He rejects it now, "We don't need no steenkin' pacifier!"

[SoCalDem]

19. Pacifiers are Grrrrreat!! and they won't ruin their teeth

do what works for you..and IGNORE buttinski family members who will try to tell you what you are doing wrong:)

[xmas74]

21. A well-stocked first aid kit, a piece of paper w/ all necessary

phone numbers on it (laminate the paper and it keeps well) hung up next to the phone. First time baby tries to drink bleach you can look at the list next to the phone instead of panicking. Also, keep a disposable camera in the diaper bag in case you are out somewhere and baby does something really cute (regular cameras seem to be left at home and camera phones always need to be charged at the crucial moment).
And finally, some inexpensive classical cds. I played them for my daughter all the time. I played the same song for feedings, the same song for naptime, the same song for bathtime, etc. It quickly helps them learn a schedule in a way that they can understand it. And I've found classical cds in bargain bins for as low as $2.50. What a bargain!

[Terran]

22. A Valium prescription?

Earplugs?

:hide:

[Kadie]

23. A Boppy!

http://www.boppy.com/




Another must have for us was the baby swing. The jumper was great too!

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

24. Exer-saucer, bouncy chair (vibrating) and portable booster chair

Got lots of use out of all of these things. And the portable booster is great for visiting friends/family who don't have a high chair at their house.

[davsand]

25. If it works for you and your kid it is FINE.

Lots of "stuff" can make life easier. It can also make it complicated because you drag so MUCH crap around with a baby.

My biggest suggestion is to go buy a package of those incontinence mats that they use for bed ridden folks with bladder control. They are a couple of feet wide and a couple of feet long, with plastic on the back and what looks like diaper material on the side that faces up.



They make the BEST disposable changing mats for the diaper bag! They are cheap and easily portable. I never trusted the changing tables in p-public restrooms and those disposable mats were just perfect for that.

WHEN (not if, but WHEN) your kid gets diaper rash they are also great to lay the baby on and let everything air dry. If the baby pees on it there is no big mess, and it can do wonders to clean up diaper rash or even head it off if you air the kid out regularly.

Probably the best advice I can give you is that everyone is quick to tell you how it needs to be done. If you are doing it your way and you and your kid are happy then tell the busybodies to STFU. There is NO one right way, and anyone who tells you there is probably is lying.



Laura

[SoCalDem]

26. They are called chux..and they are WONDERFUL

great chair protectors too (if you have a "barfer")

the come in all kinds of sizes.. they will aslo save you from a complete bed change at 3 am..

I always put mattress pad/sheet/chux/sheet, and then could peel off the top sheet if it got wet..still had a sheet.