checklist - will deliver witin 4 weeks - am I ready

hey there gals,

I will deliver inside the next four weeks and did 'what i think to be' my final marathon shop yesterday.

I now have:

change mat
change table
mobile
bath tub
johson baby wipes
oil
shampoo
nail clippers
cotton buds
alcohol
diapers
muslin clothes / squares
theremoter
diaper bag

long sleeve and legged bodysuits x 6
short sleeve bodysuits x 6
Plus other outfits
No scatchy mittens x 1
cotton hats x 2
socks
booties
cotton blanket / swaddle x 6

cot
ftted sheets x 2
flat sheets x 2
thermal blanket x 1
warmer swaddle x 4 if needed
water proof matress protector

aprica stoller
mosquitto net
activity mat
baby carriers x 3

breast feeding bras
breast pads - disposable and washable
lanolin nipple cream
feeding tops
maternity pads


nursery curtains
a pic over the change table
mobile over change table (nothing near cot)

i know I still need to buy:

square cotton pads
small plastic bowl
zinx oxide
thermoter for the room (where to buy???)
matress protector
baby monitor (keen to buy second hand)
moses basket
black and white toys

anything glaringly obvious that i have not listed or missed???

any tippers would be grand.

thanks in advance. kind regards, trace
 
A pump to clean the nose, very important, knowing that babies breath only with their nose during the first year.
Also, don't bother too much about shampoo and so on, water is enough for the 3 first months.
Concerning the toys, they don't play much before the 3rd month.

Welcome in the mums world ! :D
 
You didn't mention diaper cream ?.. we used the Weleda one, "preventing" any rash by putting cream at each change, and our son never had any problem at all.
 
Sorry, me again :blahblah... just checking my "life saver basket" in the bathroom, and we are also using the "serum physiologique" (saline solution) to clean baby's eyes and nose. You can find some Mustela small doses, very useful. They have some at B2B....
 
Trace,
The only other thing I can think of for your list is a rain cover for the stroller.

I bought the zink oxide (Desitin brand) at the Mannings on D'Aguilar in Central. For the room thermometer, you can get a GroEgg one at most of the baby shops; I'm pretty sure Annerley carries them as well.

Happy Handover Day,
Sarah
 
frenchy - you are a star! many many thanks. my maid actually added the nose pump to the basket yesterday and encouraged the purchase. thanks to you and her, otherwise I would have never bought it! yep, missed the diaper cream as well. as for saline - many thanks. never heard of this also.

i need to venture back to b2b to pick up the matress protector so this works in perfectly.

thanks for this Sarbear2! i did dream of the cover last night. do you think it is over kill to get a mosquitto net as well?

i will pink up zink oxide as well. the only thing I dont like about the goegg is that you can not turn the light off. if i take gina fords milarary classics to heart - this just wont do. :-)

happy handover to you both. trace

ps as a side frenchy - r u french? the father of my child is french african. i can not speak a word of french but will end up teaching my little gal :-)
 
Hi

I had my baby girl 10 weeks ago. I did not know what I need mittens for. Then I saw how much she scratched her face in her sleep, or pull her nostrils or poke in her eyes - Moro reflex for the first at least 6 weeks. So I would add more than 1 pair, as you will be changing them daily.

I was told to use cool / tepid boiled water to clean diaper area as not to expose her skin to all chemicals and petrocemical derived oils in creams etc. Works very well so far. Be careful with shampoos, creams etc. I test everything on feet to avoid alergies. Still my bub was 'blessed' with milk rashes on her face and her neck for more then 2 weeks!

You need diapers, I recommend Huggies, they keep contents better, very absorbent, can sleep thought the night if you are so lucky. My girl is alergic to Pampers, they must be using different chemicals like bleaches , glues etc. I only found out after one visit to the clinic when I changed her in the diaper provided by the clinic.

A changing mat is useful when you are out and about, but not a must have. A clean towel will do so your baby is not lying on cold, possibly not so clean, plastic changing table in a public toilet.

For the black and white toys, I made cards myself by printing them in thick black stripes, then check, then added red. Very popular. My baby loved staring a those cards attached to the side of the moses basket.

Infant paracetamol, like Calpol, or somehting like this, will be needed for first immunisations. I forgot about a siringe to administer it, so had to solve sirrupy paracetamol with cool boiled water and feed my girl with the bottle! There is no way she would have taken a spoon!

You may want in the 2nd month some dummies as a last resort solution (at least for me).

Re feeding, in the hospital I was given a scoop/spoon as to avoid the bottle for the first 2 months, so that your partner can assist with night/evening feeds. Now breastfeeding is well established my girl can easily switch between breast and bottle. If you want to share feeding and you plan to breast feed, then a pump is a saviour, sterlizer, and BPA free plastic or glass bottles (4 is more then enough).

You may consider a car seat for transport from the hospital. If you do not have a car, then borrow one. You will feel better, although here it is not mandatory.

Not sure you will need a baby monitor, you will have te cot next to your bed for the first few months, I think. Thee is no way you cannot hear your baby crying or even stirring lightly. I developed excellent hearing now I have my baby. My husbandwill be snorring away until my baby is really in distress, and I will wake up when she makes the slightest noise (and they do make noises, you shuld hear them farting or burping! best local construction worker will be proud!)

I hope it helps.

A
 
forgot to add bibs - most babies have reflux and drip/spit a lot, to avoid changing clothes every hour. not so much for esthetics but to avoid rashes - stayng in wet and cold milk spit soaked t shirt can lead to rashes.

sun hat is a must - when you use a sling for going out, unless you use an umbrella all the time

a
 
thankis very much A - this really helps.

I also enjoyed hearing that your milk/feeding is well established and you can switch between breast and bottle as I have heard so many challenging stories. I guess one of my fears is not being able to feed my bub.

You also inspired me and I know which black/white cards I am going to make when I get back to work tomorrow :-)

re moses basket - i have not bought one because i spent so much on the cot (0-4 years). in wingon they have this mini basket/cot thing that you can place in your bed or next to it. Have you seen them? if yes, what do you think?

Many thanks for all of your help. MUCH APPRECIATED. :-)

Trace
 
zinc oxide and diaper cream are pretty much the same thing.

a moses basket is not necessary. it is nice to have but babies grow out of them very fast.

also, are you planning on breast feeding or bottle feeding?
one of the best purchases i ever made was a breast feeding pillow. i didn't have one for my first, but bought it for my second and LOVED IT!

other than that, i think you've got all your bases covered. (a little on the over-kill, little ones need very little, in actual fact) but what is a first baby for, if not over-kill!?!?!?!
 
Moses Basket

I was reading this thread, very useful. I was just wondering about the Moses Basket. I was planning on using one instead of the cot (for as long as I can) to avoid buying a cot we might not use. How long can a baby stay in the basket (I was told 'till about 3-4 months)? Also, the baskets don't seem to have firm bedding. Is that a problem? I thought firmer is better for baby safety purposes.
 
I know it seems unnecessary but my breastfeeding pillow was invaluable for the first four months -- positioning is crucial and you will be Bfing every two hours or so which puts a LOT of strain on your back. I practically ran to Eugene after 2 weeks of using the pillows we sleep with. I had a mammy viallage one but I would recommend the My brest friend one as the mammy village cover stretches out and isn't as effective. I just sleep with it now.

Another mummy tip I can give is to have a bottle of foam hand sanitizer by the nappy changing area and one in your nappy bag as well. Sometimes messes do get out of control -- especially when BFing and poos are runny and you can't leave bab there.

I'd recommend Grobags for when bab is out of his/her swaddle -- they're brilliant as bub never wakes up because he's kicked his covers off. They come with a free room thermometer if not mothercare stock them.

will add if I think of more! Good Luck and take a deep breath -- it all happens too fast!
 
Concerning the bibs, take them with velcro and some plastic behind, if not your baby will get wet anyway.
 
We bought a Combi Roanju Baby Chair which doubled as an infant bed for the first two months when bubs slept with me in our bedroom - which 1) made breastfeeding in the middle of the night much easier and 2) his cot seemed so big for such a small person when we first came home from the hospital.

Not only was the Combi chair an excellent first bed, it has wheels so we could wheel bubs between the bedroom and living room without waking him up during the day.

Plus even after he grows out of it as a bed, you can still use it as a feeding hi-chair for the next few years.
 
Oh yeah and I'll recommend the snugglenest co sleeper -- we used ours for 2 months... we could have used it for much longer but I was keen on getting bub into his cot --- our bedroom is quite small and although having him in the same room made BF easy initially I was craving our own space soon after a couple of months
 
Trace,

I skipped the mosquito net and just went rain cover. Only time will tell if this was a wise choice. My thought was this: its not like Id be taking them out into the wilderness - we're talking cement city and air-conditioned malls in HK.

Do any mums out there feel like the pram mosquito net is a must have?

Sarah
 
We have a mosquito net that came with our bugaboo and I have never used it! It is still in its original packaging.

When our son was tiny I put the citronella anti mosquito patches on his pram, and then when he was older on his back (where he couldn't touch them), and now he's 21 mnths he wears them on his clothes.

Grobags are the best!! I slept better knowing my son wasn't able to get a blanket wrapped round or over him!

We had the gro egg thermometer and found it great ( we got in B2B), yes it glows at night, but I don't think anywhere enough to disturb baby.

How about a vibrating/rocking chair?? We found it very useful.
 
hi ladies,

thank all of you very much. this has been one of the most useful threads to me and i feel so much better for it.

i will definitely buy more mittens, making my own b&w, buy the right bibs, the rain cover, forget the mosquitto net, think about the gro egg (still have gina in my head) - perhaps get mum to bring a couple of room theremotres from aus, foamoing hand sterilizer, saline, zink, summer hat, bf pillow ..... thanks also for the combi chair option - i did look at this ages ago so thanks for reminding me.

one qu - at what age do u start using a rocking chair? can this be a purchase for 3-6 months?

you have all been fabulous - THANKS AGAIN.

trace
 
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