Hello Mammas -
My husband and I have been working on our house for over 2 years now on our 'off' time. Since we own our own business, it has been difficult to balance home/work responsibilities - thus taking our project into major delays. Needless to say, we have a baby on the way in 4 weeks, still have some projects to wrap up, and no nursery yet. I'm fine with not having it ready given all of the work we've done elsewhere in the hosue (though I am tired of everyone asking :) ) Since, I plan on keeping the little one in our bedroom the first month or more while I nurse, heal and (try) to get us on a schedule, I just really want to know:
What do I really need to have set up and available to care for an infant?
I think I have the essentials: diapering, bathing, some clothes, blankets, etc. I have a dresser with 10+ onesies, a few sleep-n-plays, and some 'day clothes'. A friend of mine let me borrow two bins of boy clothes (which I have yet to go through). But without knowing how much 'stuff' we'll be using, I don't know if that's enough...
Any advice is appreciated :)
Thanks for all of the support, Mammas :)
We DO have a pack-n-play bassinet and a crib (finally, after canceling the order we placed in March when we found out it wouldn't ship until JULY!!). The baby shower gave us a few other pieces of baby gear: travel swing, bouncy seat, blankets, etc. - so we should be good to go there.
It looks like we have all of the essentials - even without the stuff as so many of you mentioned all we need is love :) We waited 12 years to have this kiddo, so there's most certainly plenty of that to go around.
Being a first-time-mommy is kind of scary and having the house in an uproar makes me that much more anxious - but on the grand scale, I know it doesn't matter. Thanks again for all of the encouragement.
I feel your pain. My daughter came 5 weeks early after we had only been in our house 6 days! Just make sure that you have a bassinet. The baby can stay in that until he is 3 months old. Don't fret too much about the baby room being done - he won't know. :) Just make sure you have a changing table with lots of diapers and burp rags and several change of clothes for each day.
Good luck!
hi J.
i can relate! we did not get the nursery done until my baby was 6 weeks old. honestly we still do not use the nursery even now except to store her things.
we were under construction as well. i put her bassinet/ moses basket where ever i was. it is still in my room. i had a changing table in the dining room. a changing table is not a necessity. my checklist for the first six weeks went something like this:
somewhere to sleep - bassinet/ moses basket
bouncy seat or swing- which she sometimes slept in
baby bath tub
carseat and stroller
swadling blanket
diapering accesories
a couple of bottles with the slow nipples+formula (did not- even try a bottle for three weeks)
a couple of sleepers (my baby lived in those for 3 weeks)
that is my short list. it is amazing. i found i had way to much junk. all she did for weeks was eat ,sleep, poop, and want love. cover those areas and you have it made.
all i needed was some comfy lounge wear, nursing bra, and starbucks!
congratulations- you are going to love it!
That's all you really need at first. He'll probably live in onesies and swaddling or receiving blankets at first, and aside from that, he mainly needs diapers, formula (and bottles) or breast milk, and a place to sleep (one of the following: a bassinet, cradle, crib, swing or even his car seat or bouncy seat). Oh- and of course a correctly-installed infant car seat base (or car seat, if you're using a convertible car seat). Remember, you can always buy what you need (and you'll have a better idea of what you need after he's been around a couple weeks or more). Don't sweat it, he won't know if he's in a nursery or not! Good luck and take care of yourself!
Vibrating bouncy seat is great. And after they are big enough to hold themselves up - those activity center things that only turn around - they don't roll.
Hi J.,
I am due with my second any day now, and have been rehabbing our house for almost 4 years - very slowly. We moved here 2 months before my daughter was born and focused all our attention on getting her room done before we did anything else. Then we didn't use her room except for diaper changes for at least the first 4 months!
This time around, we are working on baby's room, but it has just been drywalled, and there's no way it will be done. I'm a lot more calm this time around, because I know we won't need it. What we do have set up in our room is:
a cradle, changing table with diapers, clothes, wash cloths, etc. and I know we're good to go. The only other things you might want to consider are: (depending on the set up of your house) a monitor can be a life saver if you have 2 stories. Baby can nap upstairs and you can get something done downstairs. You can nurse in bed easily enough for nighttime, just make sure you have some extra pillows or a Boppy for support. You will want to set up some other comfy spot in the house for nursing - a rocker, couch where you can put your feet up or glider are all great (we use a la-z-boy that rocks and reclines and love it). At your "nursing station" you'll want a table you can put things down - extra burp cloths, water, books, magazines, etc. I can't honestly think of anything else you need to get started. You don't know baby's size yet, so don't go overboard with too many clothes - he could grow out of them really quick, and you can always send someone for more once you know what you need.
I would recommend going through the bin of clothes your friend gave you to sort by size before baby arrives, because you won't want to be going through them after baby is here. Then you can quickly grab what you need as baby grows.
Good luck and don't stress. All baby really needs in this world is you!
M.
Don't worry! It sounds like you are doing fine. When I was pregnant with my first child my Doctor told me you could use a dresser drawer as a bassinet! This is not recommended of course, especially since bassinets are so affordable now a days. They can be in a bassinet for about three months. The point is, your baby needs love and care and that is it! You can get by with whatever you have as long as you nurture your son. It really sounds like you have what you need. If you do buy a bassinet, I really liked having one with wheels, we had a one level and I could take the baby with me whever I was going in the house. A swing can be a real life saver as well, but you can wait and see how your little guy is first. I alway recommend buying a minimum ammount prior to giving birth, it is easier to buy as needed than to try to return or sell stuff you bought and didn't need! If you are looking to spend a little money, a diaper de'kor from Babies R Us, is a great item (if family would like to buy you something, ask for this, I did!) It really traps the smell and is extremely easy to use!
