10 most useful things and 10 most useless
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barbwong_130
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The piece of equipment I found most useful was a baby sling. I don?t really think it matters which type you get but it is really useful to be able to have the baby close and your arms free. I liked the Mayawrap sling best, www.mayawrap.com.
The best thing for us was a grobag or as we like to call it a 'sleepy suit'. They stop your baby from kicking themselves awake which in the early days especially will happen a lot and it also means that they will always be kept at the right temperature so no useless fretting wondering if they are warm enough etc.
We had a big baby (over 4 kgs) so the sling didn't last long though I'm sure for most other people they would be great. Even when we advanced to the baby bjorn it only lasted a few months again because of size. Who wants an 8 kg baby on their chest when they've been carrying one around on their tummy for 9 months? We're having number two now though so I'm hoping it will be lighter so I can get better use out of both the sling and the carrier.
Also really useful - dummies (pacifiers). They are awesome. Babies need to suck. It soothes them, so if you don't want them to suck their thumb give them a dummy. You don't need to rush into it but a week or so after birth certainly hasn't hurt us. The idea behind it is that babies need to learn to help themselves. They need to be able to sooth themselves so letting them suck is a good way for them to do this. Believe me, I've seen the alternative and it's not pretty. Our 1 year old goes to sleep when we put him down and has pretty much since birth. He's always been able to wake up for a feed, even have a play and go back to sleep without a whisper of complaint. Friends on the other hand who have never allowed the dummy or the thumb have a child that never smiles and who is a nightmare to put down to sleep even at 14 months. There is no question that they could ever leave him at someone elses house for the night, he would scream til they came home. Ours will sleep anywhere.
We had a big baby (over 4 kgs) so the sling didn't last long though I'm sure for most other people they would be great. Even when we advanced to the baby bjorn it only lasted a few months again because of size. Who wants an 8 kg baby on their chest when they've been carrying one around on their tummy for 9 months? We're having number two now though so I'm hoping it will be lighter so I can get better use out of both the sling and the carrier.
Also really useful - dummies (pacifiers). They are awesome. Babies need to suck. It soothes them, so if you don't want them to suck their thumb give them a dummy. You don't need to rush into it but a week or so after birth certainly hasn't hurt us. The idea behind it is that babies need to learn to help themselves. They need to be able to sooth themselves so letting them suck is a good way for them to do this. Believe me, I've seen the alternative and it's not pretty. Our 1 year old goes to sleep when we put him down and has pretty much since birth. He's always been able to wake up for a feed, even have a play and go back to sleep without a whisper of complaint. Friends on the other hand who have never allowed the dummy or the thumb have a child that never smiles and who is a nightmare to put down to sleep even at 14 months. There is no question that they could ever leave him at someone elses house for the night, he would scream til they came home. Ours will sleep anywhere.
Definatley the Baby Bjorn. Our baby was big enough to use it from birth, and now is 8.5kg and 5 mths old and it is still very comfortable.
If you do buy one, go for the Active it's absolutley worth the extra money for the back support. I can still carry him around for a couple of hours before either of us become uncomfortable.
A lite easy folding pram that reclines flat. Fantastic for them to able to sleep in anywhere, and easy to use on public transport.
A microwave steriliser.
And i definatley would not have survived the first 2 months without homevisits from a private midwife!
If you do buy one, go for the Active it's absolutley worth the extra money for the back support. I can still carry him around for a couple of hours before either of us become uncomfortable.
A lite easy folding pram that reclines flat. Fantastic for them to able to sleep in anywhere, and easy to use on public transport.
A microwave steriliser.
And i definatley would not have survived the first 2 months without homevisits from a private midwife!
Our best buy:
1. If you don't have to get around HK in public transport and there are lots of places to walk around the neighbourhood (We moved from Sydney when bub was 5 months old - still useful around the area of HK that we live at.):
The best thing we bought for ourselves was our Bugaboo Chameleon. Our bub has been out and about since he was 6 days old. It has a flatbed bassinette and he didn't know the difference between being in his cot or in his bugaboo! I could go everywhere and not worry.
2. If not, I'd second the Baby Bjorn as our other best buy.
3. Grobags are fantastic!
4. I couldn't have slept through the nights without swaddles/wraps. Bub was sleeping through the night from Week 5.
5. Dummies - Love them! He had them from 2 days old. Our midwife reckons it's an easier habit to break than the thumb.
6. Spa treats for mum. Absolutely fabulous to leave hubby behind for two hours or so to handle the situation like a real mum!
7. Avent steriliser (not the microwavable ones!). Couldn't breastfeed so had to depend on them for cleanliness.
8. Lots and lots of Bonds Wondersuits!
9. Playmat & Baby rocker (we got a Fisher Price)! Loved leaving him in the world of it while I hit the showers.
10. A mobile that hangs over him in the cot that plays the same tune. This tune induced him to sleep all the time!
11. THE MOST IMPORTANT SURVIVAL PRICELESS ITEM if you can get your hands on one here in HK - MOTHERSGROUP!!! I couldn't survive the first 5 months raising bubba on my own without it.
Our never even needed it and glad we never purchased it items:
1. Water thermometer
2. Baby monitors
3. Stuffed toys. Leave that for later. It simply collected lots of dust.
Good Luck with your purchases!
1. If you don't have to get around HK in public transport and there are lots of places to walk around the neighbourhood (We moved from Sydney when bub was 5 months old - still useful around the area of HK that we live at.):
The best thing we bought for ourselves was our Bugaboo Chameleon. Our bub has been out and about since he was 6 days old. It has a flatbed bassinette and he didn't know the difference between being in his cot or in his bugaboo! I could go everywhere and not worry.
2. If not, I'd second the Baby Bjorn as our other best buy.
3. Grobags are fantastic!
4. I couldn't have slept through the nights without swaddles/wraps. Bub was sleeping through the night from Week 5.
5. Dummies - Love them! He had them from 2 days old. Our midwife reckons it's an easier habit to break than the thumb.
6. Spa treats for mum. Absolutely fabulous to leave hubby behind for two hours or so to handle the situation like a real mum!
7. Avent steriliser (not the microwavable ones!). Couldn't breastfeed so had to depend on them for cleanliness.
8. Lots and lots of Bonds Wondersuits!
9. Playmat & Baby rocker (we got a Fisher Price)! Loved leaving him in the world of it while I hit the showers.
10. A mobile that hangs over him in the cot that plays the same tune. This tune induced him to sleep all the time!
11. THE MOST IMPORTANT SURVIVAL PRICELESS ITEM if you can get your hands on one here in HK - MOTHERSGROUP!!! I couldn't survive the first 5 months raising bubba on my own without it.
Our never even needed it and glad we never purchased it items:
1. Water thermometer
2. Baby monitors
3. Stuffed toys. Leave that for later. It simply collected lots of dust.
Good Luck with your purchases!
Two more...:blahblah
12. If you can your hands on them, Lavender bedtime bath from Johnsons & Johnsons. The ones here in HK doesn't say it's baby friendly unlike the ones from Oz. We get our wonderful visitors from Oz to bring a bottle or two over each time someone comes round. Another tool that aided his early sleep through the night routine. We still use it, he still sleeps well.
13. Penaten - It's an extremely pricey purchase considering that it's just a wee tin container but it works on nappy rash instantly! Don't need reapplication in many instances so far.
12. If you can your hands on them, Lavender bedtime bath from Johnsons & Johnsons. The ones here in HK doesn't say it's baby friendly unlike the ones from Oz. We get our wonderful visitors from Oz to bring a bottle or two over each time someone comes round. Another tool that aided his early sleep through the night routine. We still use it, he still sleeps well.
13. Penaten - It's an extremely pricey purchase considering that it's just a wee tin container but it works on nappy rash instantly! Don't need reapplication in many instances so far.
Also couldn't live without our bugaboo chameleon- for the first 5 weeks baby would only sleep in bugaboo bassinet at night (refused to sleep in cot!). Also couldn't live without fact that maxi cosi car seat attaches to the frame so can safely travel with baby in a taxi. Could not of lived without car seat!
Also couldn't live without grobags- our son has kicked blankets off him since we brought him home from the hospital, so grobags have been very necessary! I would reccomend two of each tog you are using at any particular time- so if one gets wet in the night can change it. Would say don't buy too many 0-6 mnths, our son grew out of 0-6 mnths by four months and is now in 6-18 months.
Have used our bugaboo much more than baby bjorn which I have never felt very comfortable carrying baby in for very long, it just seems such an uncomfortable place for them to sleep! And son is now 4 mnths and 8.5kg, so can only carry him in it for very short periods of time. Would also reccomend baby bjorn active. Tried to use the ellaroo sling with our son but he was just too big and hated it! Tried to put him in upright and he pushed himself backwards and nearly fell out- at which point we have never used it since!!!!
Grobag egg room thermometer has been very useful- and so always know what tog grobag should be using, and what baby should be wearing to bed. You obviously have to use your own intuition when it comes to how hot/cold baby is, but thermometer still useful as a starting point.
Breastpump- allows me to get some sleep while husband takes care of baby! Couldn't of lived without it!
Play mat- we have the tiny love gymini musical something one- our son loves it! We also have the abc foam mats from toys r us which are great from him to roll about on and play with his toys on.
A mobile looks nice on the cot, but have always found it distracts rather than soothes our son, espec. now anything that moves, makes noise, or is bright is something to be grabbed and put in his mouth! It does however keep him busy when I put him in his cot to run his bath, if home alone.
Also couldn't live without grobags- our son has kicked blankets off him since we brought him home from the hospital, so grobags have been very necessary! I would reccomend two of each tog you are using at any particular time- so if one gets wet in the night can change it. Would say don't buy too many 0-6 mnths, our son grew out of 0-6 mnths by four months and is now in 6-18 months.
Have used our bugaboo much more than baby bjorn which I have never felt very comfortable carrying baby in for very long, it just seems such an uncomfortable place for them to sleep! And son is now 4 mnths and 8.5kg, so can only carry him in it for very short periods of time. Would also reccomend baby bjorn active. Tried to use the ellaroo sling with our son but he was just too big and hated it! Tried to put him in upright and he pushed himself backwards and nearly fell out- at which point we have never used it since!!!!
Grobag egg room thermometer has been very useful- and so always know what tog grobag should be using, and what baby should be wearing to bed. You obviously have to use your own intuition when it comes to how hot/cold baby is, but thermometer still useful as a starting point.
Breastpump- allows me to get some sleep while husband takes care of baby! Couldn't of lived without it!
Play mat- we have the tiny love gymini musical something one- our son loves it! We also have the abc foam mats from toys r us which are great from him to roll about on and play with his toys on.
A mobile looks nice on the cot, but have always found it distracts rather than soothes our son, espec. now anything that moves, makes noise, or is bright is something to be grabbed and put in his mouth! It does however keep him busy when I put him in his cot to run his bath, if home alone.
I agree Spocky, we LOVE our bugaboo. It's the best pram by far. We travel a lot and when we are only going to one place we'll pack it in its travel bag but otherwise if we're getting on and off a lot of planes we have a a mclaren. Our child hates the mclaren, has never ever fallen asleep in it so you can't go out for a whole day unlike the bugaboo which is so comfy he'll nod right off. Then the mclaren is so low to the ground he feels out of the action. With the bugaboo he can sit at almost our height in restaurants and when walking knows exactly whats going on. I would recommend it to everyone. And when it comes to steering and maneouvering I don't think much can compete with the bugaboo. Some people complain about the price but considering you use it every day for a few years I think it's well worth it.
MOst useful:
large receiving blankets for swaddling
white noise machine
stroller/car seat combo
wrap, my favorite is the mei tai style for older baby, and moby for younger.
grobag in winter
swing(used little with baby#1, lots with baby#2)
Neat diaper system
Nice to have but not necessary
gymini play mat
mobile
Least useful
pacifier
bottles/breast pump. My babies refused both
this microwave congee cooker thing I bought. Useless
I hated my baby bathtub. I should have bought one that had the small infant insert so it would have been usefull longer. Baby outgrew it very quickly
large receiving blankets for swaddling
white noise machine
stroller/car seat combo
wrap, my favorite is the mei tai style for older baby, and moby for younger.
grobag in winter
swing(used little with baby#1, lots with baby#2)
Neat diaper system
Nice to have but not necessary
gymini play mat
mobile
Least useful
pacifier
bottles/breast pump. My babies refused both
this microwave congee cooker thing I bought. Useless
I hated my baby bathtub. I should have bought one that had the small infant insert so it would have been usefull longer. Baby outgrew it very quickly
Most useful:
Rocker / swing - to keep baby entertained
Baby bjorn
Grobag - we only used it starting from 5 months but she is almost 2 and still using it
A bathing net from Eugene
Her lovey - she cannot fall asleep without it and it soothes her when she is cranky. I ended up buying 4 of them.
Breastpump
Lanisoh (sp?) ointment for sore nipples
This is not an item but the telephone number of Mrs. Chee, an LC who helped me through those first few weeks of breastfeeding!
Exersaucer and Bumbo for when she was older
Sterilizer
Dr. Brown bottles which made her less gassy.
Least useful:
Diaper pail - The one I bought was useless because the diaper pail still stunk. I ended up just throwing it out of the apartment everytime.
Rocker / swing - to keep baby entertained
Baby bjorn
Grobag - we only used it starting from 5 months but she is almost 2 and still using it
A bathing net from Eugene
Her lovey - she cannot fall asleep without it and it soothes her when she is cranky. I ended up buying 4 of them.
Breastpump
Lanisoh (sp?) ointment for sore nipples
This is not an item but the telephone number of Mrs. Chee, an LC who helped me through those first few weeks of breastfeeding!
Exersaucer and Bumbo for when she was older
Sterilizer
Dr. Brown bottles which made her less gassy.
Least useful:
Diaper pail - The one I bought was useless because the diaper pail still stunk. I ended up just throwing it out of the apartment everytime.