Bath Salts.
I only throw this one in there because I am a long, hot bath person, myself. After you give birth it is recommended that you not take a bath for SIX WEEKS! This might be common knowledge by now, what with the internet and all, however when I was pregnant this was one of the 'Atermath Scenerios' that no one clued me in on.
So, take all the baths you can now. Especially if you will be raising Junior on your own, because believe it, there won't be a solitary bath period for a long, long time. So, throw on some tunes, or grab a book and soak it up, literally.
For Baby:
Tip: Stock Up.
Take inventory of everything you have for your upcoming arrival. 20 recieving blankets, 15 onesies, 10 packs of diapers...
Now triple it.
When Princess Poopy Pants first arrived I thought I had the whole thing under control, what I didn't do is the simple math.
There are 24 hours in a day, on average a newborn will sleep 12 of it...but, here's the kicker...he/she only sleeps for about an hour & a half to three hours at a time. To err on the side of safety, lets say Junior is dead on about his two hour mark, for mommy, this means waking up every two hours, fixing a bottle and changing at least ONE diaper, sleeper, blanket, etc.
Now, unless you will be able to do laundry once a day, these numbers are looking pretty bleak.
When my daughter was born I could only do laundry once a week, at the laundromat no less. It was not only a big, giant pain in the ass, but have you ever tried juggling an infant, a handful of change and two baskets of laundry? It's NOT my idea of a good time, and probably not yours either.
This is another time to hit the thrift store. Yes, I know that your new baby is SO important and you want only the best for them.
The newest most high tech car seat. Check!
The cutest, softest outfits. Check!
Brand new bottles with Baby Eyore on the sides. Check!
And yes, at your shower you probably got packs and packs of recieving blankets, it may have even been laughable then, but it won't be later. Because these blankets aren't just for baby anymore. They are wonder mom's all purpose tool.
These are the most useful things you will ever find. They're great for burp towels, floor mats, if you want to set junior on the floor beside you while you do yoga.
Yes, there are also many different other types of things you could use. There are actual burp towels, which are about $2.50 each. There are warm and cuddly larger blankets on which to set the baby which go for Gods Know How Much. But in the larger scheme of things, do you really want to continuously be washing one or two or three much larger blankets? Especially since for the moment, Junior isn't able to move around too much, he won't need that much room.
Ok, so what I did...only after my daughter was born(Hindsight and all that.) was use the new blankets, the ones that I had bought or gotten from my shower and those were used for swaddling specifically. Then I went out to the thrift store and bought about 20 more, none costing more than .70 cents and THESE were my all purpose, can be ruined and I won't care blankets.
Onesies.
Hit the thrift store for onesies also. These again are something of immeasurable importance. Do the math problem again. You'll see.
Socks.
It seems you can never have enough of these, only because washers and dryers don't particularly care for them. As in 6 pair go in and 4 pair come out...and the last four pair consist of mostly the bastard mates of the lost socks. It's never ending.
Socks are another thing I would suggest for the thrift store, simply because they WILL get lost. Why pay almost a buck a pair for something that not only your baby will grow out of in a month or so, but that may not even be around THAT long?
Diapers.
If you plan on using cloth diapers I applaud you. I couldn't do this because as I said, I was only able to do laundry once a week, and who has time to hand wash ANYTHING at this point! Or so I thought then.
But, if you are, that's GREAT. Make sure you have about 40. The easiest way to go about this is to change Junior, feed him, play with him and once he goes down for his nap, immediately wash the diaper. Bleach and liquid laundry detergent are a must!
If you are using disposable diapers...well, let's keep that math problem in mind. 12-20 diapers a day. It all depends really.
Now, when my daughter was a baby, she had a very sensitive bottom. There was no use even TRYING to put her in the lesser expensive diapers. She could wear one or two, but anything more than that and she would begin turning red down there. I don't know if it was the diapers themselves or her tender little bottom.
But, I did figure out a little bit of a cheaper way to go about this. I would buy one pack of the Fitti diapers and one pack of the Huggies or Pampers and I would change it up. Every two or three changes I would put her in one of the Fittis.
You could also do this with cloth diapers. Every two or three changes, switch it up and you will be saving about $10.00 a week, and that is a low estimate.
Regardless, keep that math problem in your head. 12-20 diapers a day. We'll say 105 diapers a week which will be about $30.00. No, it doesn't sound like a whole lot, until we start talking about the fact that Junior most likely won't be potty trained for AT LEAST 50 weeks. At LEAST. Think about it.
http://www.greendiary.com/entry/how-harmful-are-disposable-diapers-to-your-baby-and-the-environment/
Ok, on to better things.
Pacifiers.
I hate these things. Now. Back when my daughter was born, I didn't know any better. They gave me two at the hospital and I just kinda rolled with them. After that our pacifier habit was up to two a week.
If you will be employing the help of a pacifier, I would suggest stocking maybe 6 or so, just in case.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pacifiers/pr00067
Baby Nail Clippers.
These are an essential yet often forgotten item. Baby's nails grow fast and to avoid them scratching their own poor little faces, or even yours, in their sleep, you must stay on top of the finger nail grooming. Yes, they have the little mittens to put over their hands, but using those things to me, alwas seemed like torture. Just saying. Although they MIGHT be necessary. I used my daughter's mittens one time and couldn't put them back on her. Plus, she hated them.
Hats.
My daughter never would keep one on. As soon as she was able she would reach right up and yank off the offending hood and drop it on the floor. But, it's super important to keep Baby's head warm, so if you can swing it...swing it.
For the Home.
Liquid Laundry Soap.
I say this not only because you will need it to do the 14,000,000 loads of laundry you will do over the next few years, but because it's a quick fix in some situations. Say you spill, or baby spills something on your shirt, her shirt, anyone's shirt...or pants...or both.
Just fill your sink with warm water and a few drops of liquid soap and toss the garment in to let it soak.
Also good for carpets. If you don't have a carpet cleaner, just mix 32 oz of wam water to 1/8 cup of liquid detergent, wet the stain, let soak, blot up. There should be no scrubbing necessary if you hit it pretty quickly. I used to keep a spray bottle of this mixture under my sink just in case.
Oh, who am I lyin' to. I still keep this under my sink.
Tip: The best laundry soap isn't always the most expensive.
As sensitive as my daughter was, we never had a problem with our laundry soap. I hear a lot of soaps claim that their product is best for Baby's skin, etc. etc. but, personally, and I tried them all, I never saw a difference.
I will drop you a list of laundry soaps since I have learned over a large trial and error period what works and what doesn't. And I mean WORKS, as in actually cleans your clothes.
Tide.
We all have used Tide at one time or another. And yes, it works. Great. It makes your clothes smell wonderful and it gets the clean. However, for most working mothers, buying a bottle of Tide is akin to taking that much needed vacation to Cancun.
Out of our reach.
Purex.
This is about 1/2 the cost of Tide and works just as well. Plus they have a new 'Naturals' product which is supposedly good for the environtment and smells hella' good.
Arm & Hammer.
This is the soap that I use. The liquid, never the powder, for the powder doesn't like to disolve in cold water. It is even cheaper than Purex and also gets your clothes clean. There is very little scent after the wash is done, but we're paying for clean. Right?
Again, you may require a trial and error period to find out if each of these soaps may be compatible with Baby's skin. I never had a problem with any of them.
I would suggest stocking up on a good 3 or 4 bottles, just to be on the safe side. If you do find out later that the soap is creating a rash on Baby and you have all this laundry detergent to spare... Do this.
Presoak all Baby's clothes in a tub filled with warm water and laundry soap and then when it is time to wash...about an hour or so... do the laundry with no soap. It works, I'm not lying. That way the washer rinses away the soap residue AND any stains on the clothes.
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