blonde with brane: March 2016

Friday, March 25, 2016

Baby Registry: Other and FREE PRINTABLES

We're here! We've reached the end of the baby registry series! Ya-hoo! A few remaining items that I grouped as "others" and then you'll find a fabulous printable... or two!

OTHER NEED IT'S:

1) MEMORY BOOK: Ask me if my book is filled out. jk, don't. The answer is not good. But maybe you'll be awesome sauce and be on top of it. If so, I really liked this Carter's one (pictured) that I found at Babies R Us but ended up purchasing on Amazon. There's also a calendar version which I wish I would've gone with - not as durable as a book but with it hanging on the wall I think I would've been better about jotting things down as they happened!

2) ROCK-N-PLAY: THE BEST. Being a BabyWise mama I didn't want to get a swing mostly because I didn't want to rely on it to keep Oliver soothed but also, they're so dang big! Someone lent us a rock-n-play and I loved it. It was extremely easy to move from room to room and folds up. We used it often when we ate dinner. We could eat and have Oliver right next to us and rock him with our foot if he got fussy. The one we borrowed wasn't electronic but it looks like most of them are, now. Oliver also took naps in it when he was newborn if we were in the room and could keep an eye on him. This definitely makes the top 5 list for me. ...I should probably actually make a top 5 list before I throw out such statements but I think it stands here.

3) PACK-N-PLAY: Necessary? No. Helpful if you're traveling, yes. Also helpful if you want a sleeping or changing station in another room. We got the basic pack-n-play without the additional attachments (changing station, etc). We knew we would only be using it for traveling. The Graco one works perfectly fine - it's not like it needs a whole lot. Sometimes the buttons on the side to collapse it get a little stuck and I have to really push but it doesn't take much to get it unstuck. It's slightly annoying but not a big deal... we don't use it enough for it to really matter.

4) LOVEY: Oliver didn't go for this but I know other babies love theirs! Basically a small stuffed animal holding a little blanket. And then if your kid loves it - get more! QUICK! Before they run out! And if you're traveling with it, bring another! This is serious business, folks.

5) TOYS: You don't need an entire toy box worth. Three will be enough. Then when they get older you can expand their horizons. ;) Technically, Sophie the Giraffe (pictured above) is not a toy - she's meant for teething. Think, doggy toy, and basically, that's Sophie. Soft, squishy and, yes, squeaky. Another thing that Oliver didn't take to but kiddos love these things. Apparently my child likes to break the mold. Something soft is good. That ball thing pictured above is good, too. Easy to grasp, colorful and rattles.

6) SAFETY GATES, ETC: You may want to wait until you'll actually use the baby proofing stuff to get it. We only have two safety items - a gate and outlet covers. So that's all I can speak to. As far as gates go - get one like the one above that you can walk through. I'm not sure of the brand we have - it's second hand. Whatever you get, make sure it extends wide enough to fit your door frames. We also have outlet covers that allow for you to cover plugged in items which we like. Doesn't work for larger than standard plugs (like our Mac charger) but otherwise it's great! We also have a power strip cover and it's great! The piece that covers the power switch doesn't latch as well as I'd like and Oliver can sometimes get to it but 90% of the time his attention stays away now that it's covered up. And obviously you probably need the ones that plug directly into the outlet - we live in a 115 year old house and all the outlets are high up so Ollie can't get to them.

OPTIONAL:

Infant Swing: Too big for me and I didn't want to end up relying on it for soothing and naps. We did decide that we would get a used one if Oliver ended up being colicky.
Bouncy Seat: I would pick the rock n play over this so I stuck it in with the "optionals." I think one or other will do ya.
Jumper: Like the ones that hang from your door frame. You shouldn't let your kiddo bounce for long periods in them but it definitely helped me out many times while I got dressed and ready for the day and he bounced around like a happy little dude. (I can't recall the recommended time limit on these so check that our for yourselves.)
Bumbo Seat: We did get a seat by Mamas & Papas for Oliver eventually... well, his grandma got it. If she hadn't, I don't know if we would have bothered. It was definitely helpful though! I used it the most when preparing dinner - Oliver could sit with me in the kitchen and play on the activity tray. Before we got the seat, we would use the nursing pillow for Oliver to sit up against and that worked well if I was paying attention to him but not for things like prepping dinner.
Books: More like a "later" than an "optional." People will buy you books! At my shower the guests brought books with a note (usually to Oliver) written inside. I loved this. I love reading a book to Oliver and remembering the special people in our lives.

POINTLESS:

Stationary Entertainer: So.... many, many, many wouldn't agree with me here. We did well without it, Oliver got along fine and he was walking shortly after his 1-year birthday.

THE END!

Woo-hoo.

I don't know about you but I'm feeling pretty great about completing this series.

Except not really "the end" because you need a printable list! Here ya go. :)

And here's much more involved list with additional spaces to write in your own items. It also includes quantity, registered store, received, gift giver and thank you card columns. This is similar to the list I used when registering. I liked having everything in one place.

Hope you enjoyed this series and find the printables helpful! If this is your first stop in - take a look back at the other posts in my Baby Registry series below!

TRANSPORTATION

NURSERY

BEDDING

CLOTHING

FEEDING

BABY CARE

Monday, March 21, 2016

Baby Registry: Baby Care

We're finishing up this series on my next post with a few "Others" and then your printable baby registry checklist! (Which I promise will come much sooner!!) I'll also be giving you an expanded list that has places for where you registered for each item and who got you the gift! I used the expanded one when registering and to keep track of what we had left to buy. It's also fun to look back on that filled in sheet and see who got little O what.

So let's get on it. Today we have "Baby Care" items.

BABY CARE NEED IT'S:

1) INFANT TUB/SEAT: Fab and I opted for the light blue seat pictured above. I used it in the sink when he was itty bitty and then as he grew I put it at the end of the tub and I showered while he sat in it. I kept a warm wash cloth over him to keep him warm. This made my shower time SO much easier. I wasn't forced to shower while he napped or keep him outside the tub where I might have to get him while dripping wet. Once I was showered I would clean him with the washcloth then pick him up to rinse him off, put him back in the seat to dry off myself then get him out. The seat also folds up so it didn't take up a ton of space like the typical infant tubs do.

2) SHAMPOO, BODY WASH, LOTION: I don't have too much opinion on what's best but someone did get us a Mustela set which contained the Newborn Foam Shampoo. It's supposed to help with cradle cap. Oliver never had any issues with cradle crap. We did like the Aveeno wash and lotion that we got. I'd err on the side of the sensitive stuff just in case. Doesn't hurt.

3)WASH CLOTHS & HOODED TOWELS: Ok, so I wouldn't say these are absolutely necessary but it is helpful to have baby sized ones! Regular wash clothes are pretty bulky for their little bodies. I've tried both and the infant ones are much better. For the towels - get terry cloth towels, not the microfiber ones. The microfiber ones are annoying.

4) BRUSH & COMB

5) NAIL CLIPPERS (& NAIL FILE?): I've read a lot of people who recommend the nail file but I just can't begin to imagine how difficult it must be to file those little bitty nails. I tried. It wasn't easy. It was dumb. I'm in the clippers camp. Go for the clippers. Most likely you will end up getting some kind of kit with these things and it'll come with both, anyway. When Oliver was teeny I bit his fingernails off... gross? eh. Whatever. You'll do a lot more gross things after you have a kid. ;) Much easier than attempting filing or clippers.

6) WUBBANUB: We LOVE our wubbanub. Last month Oliver ripped the pacifier off his. Not only are these things super cute they are also easy for your little one to get back in their mouth if they drop the pacifier. When Ollie was smaller and working on his napping, we would prop the Wubbanub up next to him, in his mouth, and it would actually stay in his mouth. If it was just a regular pacifier, it would've definitely fallen out of his mouth.

7) THERMOMETER: Take the regular thermometers, to use rectally, from the hospital. They toss them after you leave anyway. And then write "rectal" on it so you don't stick that thing in your mouth! Ew. For a quick temp read we have the Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer - you swipe it across their forehead. We like it a lot. No complaints.

1) NOSEFRIDA: This thing is UH-MAZE-ING. Seriously. It's a replacement for the bulb syringe boogie sucker. NoseFrida is 10x better. 1000000x better. Is it slightly gross... eh, maybe... but not really. It's mostly just awesome.

2) MEDICINE: Infant Tylenol for any fevers or bad teething. Gripe Water for a gassy belly.

3) VITAMIN D DROPS: Why didn't anyone tell me to get this before Oliver came? Idk. Silly, people. You'll need to give your little one a Vitamin D supplement for their first year. The first bottle we got required a 1mL dose. Then we got these drops and loved them - mush easier than a full mL.

4) DIAPERS & WIPES: We cloth diaper over here so I'm not going to give "best" recommendation here. But you'll need them - a LOT of them. Take all the diapers from your hospital room home with you, too. Since you don't know for sure how big your baby will be, you should start small on the newborn size diapers. Go crazy with the wipes though! ;)

5) DIAPER CREAM & AQUAPHOR: You can use Aquaphor for a lot more than just the bum but it does make a a great protectant on their bum, too.

6) DIAPER PAIL & LINERS: Options here - Small or Big. Small diaper pail that you empty more frequently or huge diaper pail that holds a bunch and smells pretty bad when you take it out. Diaper Specific container or Regular Trash Can. We use a regular trash can, like the gray one pictured above by Simple Human, since we cloth diaper. It keeps the odors in completely but our diapers also only sit for 3 days before they get washed. They have a smaller trash can, too.

7) WET BAGS: These are wonderful to have when you're out and about with dirty diapers or clothes or whatever mess comes your way. Definitely more needed if you are cloth diapering but I'd get at least one small and one medium even if I wasn't cloth diapering. We have some small ones from Planet Wise that are good but pricier. I really like these Damero's that I recently got a medium and small of. They have two zipper pockets which is great for putting clothes in one and a diaper in another, if needed.