What is the most needed thing when you bring your newborn home?
Pacifier and swaddle blanket.
If friends ask how they can help, tell them to make you freezer meals or bring over food - homemade healthy stuff, not takeout or junk.
a swaddler! I couldnt get a regular blanket to swaddle right and my baby didnt sleep well until I found a self swaddler that velcros shut.
diapers and a night light.
Good breastfeeding support. It's hard, but well worth it.
Wine...just kidding, well, not really!
Make sure you have enough diapers and wipes. Get some vaseline and diaper rash cream. Also have a thermometer on hand. I would say those are the necessities that you don't want to have to run out for if you need them in a pinch.
And for you, make sure you have food in the fridge or cash in the house to pay for delivery. Eating will be last thing on your priority list, but you have to eat!
Good luck!
diapers, wipes, bottles,
Super powers! haha
Seriously, probably either bottles & formula or knowledge/training about breastfeeding.
I loved my video monitor too.
And diapers.
The most important things that your newborn needs are your arms and your breasts! It is also nice to have lots of diapers (more than you think you'll need) and some small wash colthes (tons of them) washclothes wet with warm (not hot!) water are the best thing to clean the baby's very delicate skin, using wipes on a newborn can sometimes cause diaper rash. I sometimes would use a wipe or two and then a washcloth to clean all the wipe residue off. I also used my cloth sling every day, it is a lifesaver! When you have to go out shopping or whatever, use the sling to carry your baby in. S/he will sleep peacefully in it and it also discourages strangers from trying to touch him or her. Don't use the infant car seat as a carrier outside of the car, at least not often, babies these days are developing heads that are flat in the back from being left in car seats all the time. Ther are a lot of products being marketed to parents as "essential" to infant care, and most of them really are not. A few other things that I liked: a bassinet or a moses basket, although my babies usually slept with me; a bouncy seat with toys that hang in front of the baby; plenty of blankets, recieveing blankets as well as quilts; cloth diapers to use as burp rags; a changing pad that can fold up in your diaper bag, you lay it out on the floor or on a changing table to give yourself a clean surface to lay the baby on to change his or her diaper; breastfeeding supplies: the herbal supplements fenugreek and blessed thissle to increase your milk supply if needed, Mothers Milk Tea is also good, though not super strong; a box or two of disposable nursing pads; lanolin cream for your nipples; 3 or 4 nursing bras or comfortable bras that you can pull down easily; a nursing cape , some people call it a "hooter hider" it is way better than trying to use a blanket for cover up when nursing in public; I used a Boppy nursing pillow a lot with my first baby, with my second and third I didn't really need one anymore. Good luck with your newborn!
For the newborn: Baby gowns (onsies are easy once the last bit of umbilical drops off, but the gowns are nicer at first plus they make diaper changing easier), diapers, soft cloths, diaper ointment, YOU YOU YOU,
your milk (or stocked formula/bottles and nipples if appropriate - personally, I liked having some on hand so I could occasionally take a break - as new babies can nurse ALL the time - BUT many people are opposed to that - so whatever works for you), blankets for swaddling, & a safe place to be put down when Mommy and/or Daddy can't hold him/her.
Everything else is gravy.
For you: Sleep, premade food, nothing scheduled for at least a few weeks, permission to stay in your pajamas all day (give yourself permission:), patience, help with chores or the ability to leave them undone for a few weeks.
For a few weeks, your baby will be all about pooping and eating (and sleeping hopefully:), but that slows down pretty quickly. Take it one day at a time.
You don't say if you are giving birth or adopting - but either way - I do strongly suggest breastfeeding (you'll need the doc to help if you aren't the birthmom). It is good for bonding and it makesyou nice and MELLOW! : )
And.....I assume CONGRATULATIONS are in order? p.s. I also loved my Baby Bjorn and Boppy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. : )
Food for you and SO! Seriously, you'll probably have just about everything needed or wanted for your little one...and a few things you won't need at all! As parents though, and especially new mom's, we tend to forget about ourselves until something slams us in the face, hunger for example lol. So frozen meals, lots of delivery menus, or a SO ready to run through drive through a lot!
With both of my girls, for the first several days, I really only ate when someone put food in front of my face haha! If you are breastfeeding, then it's really important to continue the healthy eating practices started during pregnancy...but it's a little harder cause we're so wrapped up in baby!
Good Luck and Congratulations!
To have someone cook for you or bring food for you.
To have someone do menial household work like laundry, dishes, etc.
To have someone give u hugs and be there for support when you need it!
Good luck!
Don't worry about it and just have the baby at home. Safer and healthier for you and the baby.
Lisa
Other than the obvious (car seat, clothes, diapers, wipes, bottles & formula or pump and breast pads) we ....
LOVED the Fisher Price "Rock and Cradle" bassinet. Only about $50 and kept baby on her back in a 45 degree angle, all snug as a bug. She slept great in it for the first 4 months next to my bed. Very light weight and easy to move (slides on the carpet like butter) and folds up to store. Took it with us when we traveled (easier to set up than a pack and play anyday!).
If you want to get a swing...get one that swings side to side. Most babies DO NOT like to swing up and down until they are about 4 -6 weeks of age.
Then you need lots of support for the first few days until you have healed and have a good sense of what to expect. There will be several days where all you do is feed baby, burp baby, change baby, hold baby, sneak in a meal, sneak in a visit to the bathroom (sometimes holding baby), sneak in a shower (about every other day if you're lucky) and repeat. Remember, all of these things actually take time and your day is over and starting to blend into the next day. :)
Good luck!
Another adult there with you... Baby's father, your mom, a friend... Anyone, who can give you a break when you need one. Also, when you're a new mom you are going to have A LOT of questions even if you've read every book out there on parenting. So having another mind there that isn't running on auto-pilot after a few days of very little sleep... Is a good thing.
I completely agree with the swaddler and/or a couple receiving blankets that can be used as a swaddler. I had both. The swaddler was amazing, but kept my baby a little too warm. The receiving blanket didn't keep him as warm, but it did always get loose.
Oh... And the basic necessities of course.
Sleep!
All kidding aside, my boppy. If you breastfeed, this is the best invention because the baby lies on top of this pillow which helps the angle and position your baby is in as you attempt to learn this new skill. And, even when you are a 'master' at breastfeeding, the boppy makes the experience all the more pleasurable.
Also, a swing. A newborn isn't use to all that new space (one of the reasons we are taught to swaddle). The swing provides a cocoon like environment for the baby to nap in.
Congratulations!
To have everything already washed, put away, bassinett or crib made with clean sheets, some burp cloths ready & receiving blankets, a baby bjorn (so you can get stuff done), an infant swing (for the same reason in case you have a fussy one), pacifiers if you are using them (tried with 1 and 2nd never wanted one), and a boppy pillow or something similar if you are nursing (or clean bottles and formula/proper water for mixing if you don't). Of course having groceries in your fridge and some meals in your freezer for thawing would be great too :) These are my plans anyway -- 14 weeks to go with Baby #3.
A good swaddle blanket, pacifier if you choose that route, pre-made meals for yourself if possible or at least easy to make food. A good swing that the baby can sleep in. Both of mine slept in their swings mostly during the day in the first month or two. I saw someone else said bobby for nursing - I agree, it made it so much more comfortable.
How exciting - enjoy!
I definitely agree with the thermometer thing... If you aren't comfortable taking rectal temperatures (and don't have one of those forehead or ear ones) you can ask a nurse while in the hospital to show you how to do it properly. It's definitely a good thing to know... Diapers, wipes, recieving blankets (make great burp cloths). Breast pump if you are nursing. (you will be engorged for a while... good time to pump the extra to store! lol.) A lot of people swear by a swing, but we didn't have enough $$ to buy one so we made do with a bounce seat. Newborns are so used to being in near-constant motion in the womb, so a lot need movement to sleep. My DD spent the first 2 months or so sleeping mostly in her bouncer...
A cozy spot for you to lay and sleep with the baby, watch TV, read magazines, and eat without having to move around much. I nested on the couch for about a week. It's nice to have your mom or mil there to do your normal household chores so you can spend all your time doting on baby and healing.
