Woohoo!

Babies Rule!

Expecting our first in 6 weeks...a boy...looking forward to all the leaf gear I get as we need a ton of diapers!!!

Any advice out there? What's a must buy for a newborn and what's over rated?

I'm all for the for babies and "Family" even though I'm lacking on the children. I'm hoping this forum provides an educative "Safe Haven" for parents and mature members to post some really great advice!

woohoo!!!

is right.


Wondering what exactly to go with this forum?

We naturally need parent-nights.., or parent-meets.

Skanjii...we organizing RFD's first Young toddlers parent meet?

I'm VERY down.

Do we want this forum to be about ANYTHING parent-related....or ONLY about PARENT-related DEALS??? I need guidance before the powerful force we know as bubble.tea is unleashed on the forum

Originally Posted by skanji

Babies Rule!

Expecting our first in 6 weeks...a boy...looking forward to all the leaf gear I get as we need a ton of diapers!!!

Any advice out there? What's a must buy for a newborn and what's over rated?

Congrats.

Spend the money on a good LIGHT stroller. I thought the big giant stroller travel system would be great and solve all our needs. Problem is it takes up 90% of my trunk. Getting a lighter one would mean more trunk space for other things. First stroller if you can clamp on an infant seat, can be used for like the first 4 years, better get 1 light one to use for 4 years, than have to buy a light one later on like me.

Oh Diaper Genie or the likes is in my books a definite. Don't want to smell your house up, even though it is unavoidable. At least you minimize it.

Other than that, depending on your child/budget, other things may be a must.

A bumbo seat...I wish they were out there when mine were small!!

Don't buy the generic wipes!! You end up using more of them since they are thinner!!!

Don't buy a car seat that will go from rear facing to a booster, chances are there will be one out there that is better when your child hits 40 lbs and it will be so ratty and filthy that you won't want to use it.

Don't be a hero....gripe water is your friend!!

Ohhh..I have a million of these, but homework questions await!

....and CONGRATS!

Originally Posted by Kranberry

Congrats.

Spend the money on a good LIGHT stroller. I thought the big giant stroller travel system would be great and solve all our needs. Problem is it takes up 90% of my trunk. Getting a lighter one would mean more trunk space for other things. First stroller if you can clamp on an infant seat, can be used for like the first 4 years, better get 1 light one to use for 4 years, than have to buy a light one later on like me.

Oh Diaper Genie or the likes is in my books a definite. Don't want to smell your house up, even though it is unavoidable. At least you minimize it.

Other than that, depending on your child/budget, other things may be a must.

+1 on the diaper genie/champ (our 1 month old likes to poop @ 3am)

+1 for the aria car seat + stroller system (wifey likes the colour choices & it's quite light compared to the graco travel systems)

best of luck!

Here's the deal ....you have to have the three questions responded to and it prints as a part of the coupon in order to get your Bonus Points.

I just got back from my SDM and got mine , tried with just the coupon, and they asked for the questions. Luckily I had both with me (I wanted dh's card to credited too )

-Get newborn diapers and size 1's just in case (depending on the size of your baby you may be into the 1's sooner than you realize!)
-Buy wipes in BULK - you'll go through tons...
-Diaper genie is good, but if your baby is breastfed, the diapers will really not stink at all - so you can save money by just keeping a plastic bag near the change table
-You'll need lots of diaper shirts / sleepers - no need for 'real clothes' (cute sweaters / jeans) for the first while, you'll be changing so many diapers that you'll be tempted to leave your baby wrapped in a blanket at times.. I know we did.
-Some kind of diaper bag (doesn't need to be an 'official one') - keep lots of diapers, a change of clothes, and wipes in it.. Keep it packed at all times so that if you need to leave in a hurry one day you aren't running around trying to fill it up with stuff
-Cook / bake NOW so that you have stuff in the freezer / fridge for when the baby arrives - there's nothing better than knowing that you don' thave to think about cooking when you have a newborn... Days fly by and you won't even realize that you haven't eaten
-Take TONS of pictures - you'll regret it if you don't as they grow up so quickly!

I think that's it - let us know if you have any specific questions that we can answer to help you out, and GOOD LUCK!!!

A.B.

And...

save.ca always has diaper coupons for the brand names, so use them.. but we find that the no-name brands are JUST as good (sometimes better) - so don't be afraid to buy one of those packs to try them out!

Get a Costco membership. It'll be well worth it.

Tips...

If you are into cosleeping then try the armsreach.com cosleeper

Diaper Champ!

Try different diapers. Some just fit better. For us, the Huggies Supreme just fit better than cheaper and more expensive brands...fit better means less leakage...

Baby Bjorn (tried and liked this make specifically)

Actually liked the tank sized stroller. Took it everywhere, from around Toronto, to the heat of Australia and the Carribean to the snows of a Montreal Winter...what we liked best was that he would always be comfortable and we had storage room for everything that we could need.

Stroller had the car seat (reverse mount) then forwards...but had to change as he got too big and we needed straps that were farther up the seat...now had to move to a booster. (at 3 1/2 he is 40" and 40lbs and slim)

When we tried solid food (6 months), I made most of his food. Always kept bags of frozen veggies (carrots, beans, edamame, squash, peas...you name it). Never stopped the fruit and veggies...even now, at Christmas, instead of picking chocolates off the tree, he went to the fridge to get raw snap peas and carrots (he's 3). Keep trying different foods. We never have to worry when travelling as we know there will always be something for him to eat!

Books for you...Dr. Sears!!!

Books for Cooking: Superbabyfood

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Cloth diapers are also an option but require more work.
They also tend to save you money in the end apparently.

Diapereze offers cloth diapers (that is where I got mine).
There are cloth diaper services too that do the laundry part for you.

Washcloths can also be used as wipes.

Get a couple of high contrast toys (black and white patterns).
My baby girl was already looking and following the toy with her eyes right after birth. I didn't have any black and white toys so I printed out a lot of black and white patterns and had her follow them...

I had to buy saline nose drops to unclog her nose.
Dry air really builds up snot and makes it hard for the baby to breathe. I put saline drops in and waited 5 minutes before using the snot sucker to pull out a gigantic snot from her nostril..

You will be editing that title when you've had many sleepless nights and your up to your knees in $hit and puke!

It'll be "BooHoo"

Originally Posted by 3weddings

A bumbo seat...I wish they were out there when mine were small!!

Have one for my daughter. She hated it. She prefers to stand and doesn't like to sit so it was used for maybe a total of 30mins.

Yeah we tried the bumbo seat for my son...was too confining for him and he didn't like it