As we prepare to welcome baby #6 into the family, I thought I might as well write a piece on what to get ready before baby’s arrival for any new moms out there!
Don’t be pressured to deliver ON your EDD
Even as you wait for your baby’s arrival, don’t be pressured by the doctor to do anything you are not comfortable with. Eg. membrane sweeping, induction, a c-section, etc…
Seek a second,third or even fourth opinion if you need to. And please do not be held back by the maternity package you have signed up with at the clinic or doctor. It can always be terminated and you can ask to be charged pro-rata.
Read and know the signs of labour to watch out for. Don’t go in too early. Pray and ask God for wisdom in knowing the correct timing for you to go in.
What to get …
Now, what you need to get and what you want to get and what you are pressured to get are all very different things. As a much older mother, I have seen so many new inventions to “help” the new mother, it is mind boggling. No wonder having a baby is so expensive. I will share what is useful, nice to have and totally useless for our family.
1. Baby Furniture
Cot – do you need it? Are you going to co-sleep? I prefer not to co-sleep so we have always used a cot from Baby #1. Our babies go straight to the cot the day they come home from the hospital.
*Side note, we bought that first cot at Salvation Army’s thrift store for just $15 and we used it for all 7 children. After our 7th outgrew it at 6 months old, it was passed to a mother in need. Fantastic buy!
I do buy the other paraphernalia such as the bumper pad and cot rail covers. When the baby reached 6 months, we “promote” him to a larger sized cot that converted to a toddler bed.
Decide on where you want to place baby in view that you probably will be up several times a night to nurse the baby. You wouldn’t want to put baby too far away! When we had less children, the cot was placed in a separate area (with a baby monitor) but now that we have space constraints, baby’s cot is in our bedroom.
2. Changing Table
I find this indispensable as I do not have to bend awkwardly to change the baby. It is at an ideal height for me. We bought ours rather cheaply from IKEA more than 9 years ago and it is still serving us well, 5 children later. However, they no longer have it in production!
3. Pram
The kind you get depends on your budget and the size of your car boot!
Our car boot is extremely narrow and small so we had to get a slim-built pram. And, if you don’t have a car, then you will want a light weight pram that is easy to open and close with one hand.
4. Sling
Besides the pram, I found the baby sling extremely helpful. In fact, I would say it is a non-negotable for me. Once I discovered it with baby #2, I was never without it! It allowed me to carry baby and hold on to one or even two children at the same time! My sling also doubles up as a blanket when baby lies in the pram.
Nowadays, slings and carriers abound. Just get the better ones if you want to protect your baby’s young spine.
5. Car Seat
If you own a car, you must get a car seat for the baby. Again, there are many models and variations to choose from. There are those that can grow with the child from infant to toddler and those that are strictly for infants. And please do not get hand me down carseats that are passed their expiration dates (yes, carseats have expiration dates!) or is damaged in anyway. You would be compromising your baby’s safety.
Read Your Car Seat Safety Questions Answered.
A baby needs to get used to sitting in the car seat whenever you travel in the car. It is much safer for him. (It is also illegal to not put a baby in one when you have space in the car for a car seat!) Yes, he probably will yell his head off the first few times (months even for one of our children!) but persist and he’ll soon know that when he’s strapped in the car seat, he’s in there till the car ride is over.
6. Bouncer
I have baby bouncer/recliner that I put baby in to lie and just watch the world go by I move it around the house so that baby does not get bored/hot/cold being at the same place, looking at the same things. Sometimes I let the baby fall asleep in it too. This provides an alternative for the baby instead of just lying in his cot or being carried.
I also have a thin mattress bought from Kiddy Palace for about $30 that is placed on the floor for baby’s tummy time as an alternative to the bouncer. This allows baby to stretch out fully instead of being curled up in the bouncer when he is older. This is usually the place where baby first learns to flip himself over.
PICTURE OF DH SUCKING THUMB ON MATTRESS
7. Baby Clothes
How many pieces you need depends on how often you plan to do your laundry. Baby clothes are tiny and they dry pretty fast. Even as you plan for x number of outfits, give and take another 2 – 3 extra sets for accidents that happen with little babies – spit ups, baby poop leaking out of diapers – that happens all the time
But I would recommend not buying too many infant sized outfits. They really outgrow them very fast. I tend to have on hand just 4 – 5 pcs of clothes in sizes 0 – 3mths. And the rest in 3 – 6 months. I don’t buy size 00.
For pyjamas, I like putting them in short-sleeved, footed sleep suits. We do not sleep in air conditioned rooms so this arrangement suits us fine. They will not overheat. You do have to adjust baby’s clothing according to the temperature in the baby’s room. Most newborns prefer to be warmer rather than colder.
Mittens & Booties
We don’t do mittens and booties to the horror of many! Yes, they may scratch their faces with their nails but it is ok. They heal very fast! As for booties, since we swaddle the baby, I don’t see the need to put booties on either! Plus it really irritates me when either the bootie or the mitten keeps falling off! And we do live in hot and humid Singapore! But this is your call.
For those who wonder we don’t wash our baby’s clothes separately or use baby detergent. Yes, yes – again a gasp of horror from many new moms. Just use less detergent and if you are really worried about detergent residue on the clothes, do a double rinse. Everyone’s clothes gets washed together and sun dried.
Laundry
I wash baby’s clothes sometime around the 36th week of the pregnancy. Wash any earlier and you’ll probably have to wash again since dust will settle on the clothes. After washing and drying them completely, I put them into ziplock bags and squeeze all the air out of them. This was a great tip my girlfriend taught me and I am passing it along.
Nowadays, there are those vacuum bags that you can purchase from Daiso for just $2 each! Clothes are then placed under the changing table till it is time to bring them out.
By the way, after the first baby, I wash ALL our clothes together. Saves a lot of time, effort and water! There is no need to handwash them in special detergent unless you really want to. I use an organic and scentless detergent for all our clothes anyway.
8. Diapers
Do get newborn-sized diapers to last you at least the 1st 3 – 4 weeks. Then you can proceed to size S. Well, unless your baby is bigger than the average baby! Like my 7th baby who was a whopping 4.3 kg at birth!
Loose diapers lead to leakages and that’s a big mess when they poop! Depending on how efficient your baby is in passing out her pee and poop, you need to be prepared to change diapers anywhere from 5 to 12 times a day and night! So be prepared!
Cloth or Disposables?
Whether you get disposable or cloth diapers is a personal choice. I have cloth diapered 4 out of our 5 children. I like them A LOT. But, cloth diapers stop working for us when the children start eating solids. Somehow, that changes the acidity of their pee and poop and leads to diaper rashes. Which I know is not the norm. So I usually switch to disposables by then.
Today’s cloth diapers are not only prettier, but a lot more convenient to use than the plain muslin cloths we used to use. Diaper covers are also more durable. Check out local online store WhoopeeKiddies and Bumwear for an idea of the types available now.
Baby wipes
I do not like to use commercial baby wipes unless we are out. And I avoid those that have fragrance on them like the plague! My first few babies often returned from the hospital with diaper rash and I didn’t know why. Later on, I discovered that it was due to the Johnson & Johnson baby wipes used in the hospital which are also given to us in the baby bag from the hospital. After that discovery, I brought Pigeon Unscented Wipes to the hospital with me to use when I diapered the baby.
At home I use plain water and cotton wool to wipe and clean. Then I dry them off with specially put aside cloth towels instead of using paper towels. Saves money and is environmentally friendly too!
I buy cotton wool by the roll from the Chinese Medical Halls for anywhere between $3.00 to $5.00, depending on the brand they have available. And each roll lasts me a long time. I tear and ball them up, then put them all into a plastic tub.
I also stand by a few tubes of diaper cream (we use Drapolene) to smear on babies bottoms as and when necessary. Some people swear by Desitin or Sudocreme.
9. Toys
It is so tempting to rush out and buy all the colourful and interesting toys you see in the shops! But for the longest time, a baby doesn’t really need many toys. I must say that a simple baby mobile is helpful in occupying the baby when he is lying in his cot. Only when baby is older and is able to grasp toys on his own that he needs more toys.
You may however wish to buy a simple CD player in the baby’s room to play praise and worship music.
10. Milk Bottles/Breast Pump
Since baby #2, I have not had milk bottles at home. But I did have to make Henson go and buy me a breast pump after #2 because I had a bad case of mastitis and the baby refused to nurse to clear it the blocked ducts. Ouch!
You may wish to stand by a few bottles and a basic breast pump in case of emergencies. For this I really like the Avent Isis Manual pump. It is affordable (especially when there is a sale on), easy to assemble and gentle on mom when pumping. I hated the Mini Medela. The motor was so noisy! And it hurt while pumping even though one could adjust the suction power! And to further aggravate me, the motor died on me just after 8 months of use!
Just a word of caution – never pump in the early days just to check how much milk you are producing! It is highly deceptive! Baby is the best pump ever! So don’t be surprised if you can only manage 30ml or less when you pump in the early days.
About Formula Milk
It is said that if you really want to succeed in breastfeeding, do not have any formula milk at home! It is radical but hey! without that temptation in your house, you will be more inclined to press on! This is your call. You may feel more pressure and can’t produce the milk the baby needs 🙂
10 things to get ready before baby’s arrival
So there you go, the 10 things I made sure I had on hand before baby arrived. Did I miss out anything? What are the things you have prepared for your baby’s arrival? Share with us in the comments.
And don’t forget to check out Preparing for Baby’s Arrival – The Hospital Edition
*** Post Updated July 2017 ***