New Mom STUFF

Stella: I was looking at young Saucy’s baby registry today. It’s so funny to me how new moms just don’t know what they’ll really need until after they have seen all of the things they never even used… I am guilty of this myself. For example, I insisted that my sweet, precious newborn had to have soft, girly towels for me to wrap her up in after her baths. My mother told me to just use my towels, but I thought this idea was insane! I also thought her little pink bathrobe was to die for… and I had a massive collection of receiving blankets. Well, the towels got used for a few months until she outgrew them… She screamed when I tried to put her in the bathrobe… and then she was just so cold and wet that I had to take it right off anyway… and those receiving blankets were only good for swaddling the first few months as well… Now they have become her baby doll’s blankets. What a waste. And don’t even get me started on clothes… Our shed has tubs & tubs of outfits that only got worn once.

Loki: Yes, I was glad to have you as my helper when I went to register. People don’t always pay attention to the registry though. I got lots of cool things at my shower… plus 5,000 newborn outfits. But most of the things off my registry were not purchased and I felt like I didn’t have everything I needed!!! I was not in need of that many clothes because as mentioned above, I got all those hand-me-downs! Plus my in-laws went crazy buying new outfits every weekend since they found out I was having a girl! (She was the first girl to be born on that side.) Luckily, I was able take back a bundle of clothes and some things that I got duplicates of… Like I had a baby bathtub registered (which I got) and then someone also bought me a SPA tub. Umm, my baby did not need two tubs! I never used those pacifier clips either, and I personally bought baby towels with the hoods because they are so sweet… But they are so thin. I dry the baby’s head with them and then wrap her up like a burrito in one of my own. I have yet to have to buy shampoo or body wash so that is nice. Before I had a little bambino of my own, I wouldn’t even buy off the registry and I would just buy clothes thinking I was being really nice buying some cute clothes. I still can’t help myself with clothes… because let’s face it, that is 10 times more fun than buying someone nipple cream. Now I try to buy things off the registry or things I know they will need and then only buy one piece of cute clothing!

Stella: Yes, you can tell who the moms are with young children at baby showers because they are the ones giving the practical gifts. (But then I think when they get to be older they revert back to just wanting to buy clothes because they haven’t in so long...) I hated getting diapers at my shower.. But then I actually went 6 months without having to go to the store to buy a single diaper. That was NICE. And hand-me-downs are the best. I get LOADS of them from Small Town’s girls. I try to only buy extra things that she doesn’t already have, but it’s hard not to get carried away when you only have one kid to buy for. Another tip from me: Buy cheap diapers. I remember Small Town told me the same thing when I was pregnant too. I don’t know what your child will do in them- but the only thing mine did was poop & pee. Also, you can buy 10 different paci’s that you think are adorable, but you’ll find your child really will only like one particular kind and the rest will never get used so don’t waste your money. Same thing with bottles. Stick with one kind. Although I never used bottles so all questions concerning pumping/bottles will be differed to Loki. However, I am an expert at the difficulties of breast feeding. Inverted nipples, bleeding nipples, breast infections… Welcome to my life in 2006…. Other advice: Splurge on the newborn photos. It’s the only time they are going to look so tiny & precious. And if you purchase photographs during their first year of life, be sure to get black & whites. This makes the photos timeless! If not, you’ll end up with a bunch of dated photos that just look out of style, and since your baby will change so much during the first year you will constantly want to only display the newest.


Loki: My child likes to sprout flowers in her diapers so I like to buy the better ones. Just kidding, but I don’t like the cheap ones. Sorry. They just feel….cheap. No, really... they feel weird to me, and I like Huggies the best. They really aren’t that much more expensive, and I always get coupon so it evens out. Before I had Blue, I didn’t know that you went through a package of diapers a week! Sheesh! My friend (who doesn’t have kids) thought that a package of 50 newborn diapers would last until the baby was out of the newborn size.... Hahaha..... Little did she know that you use about that much in one week. Speaking of which, my child is 8 ½ months now and she is still in size 2 diapers. I think she will be in these forever. How long until we potty train? Actually, I thought I would be a lot more disturbed and have many more gag refluxes than I have had while changing diapers. I handle the poop well. Of course now Blue likes to try and run away the minute she is un-diapered. You have to HOLD her down. She hates it. Stella likes to let Blue go commando a lot….and then she always pees on the floor. I’m glad I don’t have a boy… which I hear is a spout the minute the diaper comes off. They have those little hood hiders that you put on, but apparently those don’t work too well either.

Also, there are several things that I got that I thought were really cool and then I only used them for like 3 months. The little baby seat/bouncer was nice for awhile, but then she learned to sit so she doesn’t ever want to lay in that anymore. The bumbo has been really cool…I even use it now when I want her to be still! (But don't leave it on top of things with them in it like on the counter or table..) We got a new swing as well, but hardly ever use it! I didn’t like to put her in it in the beginning because it always put her to sleep during the day. I didn’t use the bassinet at all! We used the little bed sleeper until she was big enough to go in her own crib (3 months). This has turned into an advise post...and I think most of our readers are already moms!

Stella: Who cares. They can add advice at the end on BABY STUFF. Yes, even Bella wore size 2 & 3 diapers forever. (But she weighed 25lbs at 4 months & stayed that same size for years... She just got taller.) She could wear a 3 right now, but alas, she is potty trained and doesn't even wet the bed at night. What a delight that is to my poor, tired and weary soul. I was planning on having a bed wetter... I think it is recommended to not even start potty training until 2 1/2 years. But whatever- it's different for each kid. Some parents will swear their child was potty trained at 6 months. Poopy diapers never bothered me. I liked to show off the big honker messes to whoever was around. Check this out! hahaha...

Bella never used a swing either...I used a bassinet until she was too big and had to move her to her crib. Her FAVORITE item was a jumper... She lived in that thing! We never had a bumbo and she learned to sit up just fine.

To be continued....

Help the new mom shop... Tell her what you think she will need to buy!