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New baby essentials

  • 06-03-2012 10:43am
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,065 ✭✭✭


    With the jaw dropping array of equipment options and overwhelming variety of products and so on, I am sure that I am not the first mother-to-be who is feeling completely lost with regards to what is needed and what isn't.

    So, new mums, tell me... if you were to start it all from scratch again, what wouldn't you do without? What was nice to have, but not essential? And what was a complete waste of time and space?

    I'm really hoping that I (and other expecting first-timers) can learn from your wisdom!


«1

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 567 ✭✭✭egan2020


    For a new baby, I'd go with intercoms, car seat, about three cellular blankets, vests and baby gros, a hat or two, nappies, thermometer.

    I found I used a bouncer a lot. I got a bean bag as a gift and while it was lovely, it was rarely used apart from the first week or two.

    As regards bathing, I didn't bother with a baby bath second time round. I just used the kitchen sink for the first couple of weeks and then a friend gave me a seat that goes into the main bath from when she was about a month old. You don't need any body wash etc - just plain water will do.

    If you're planning on bottle feeding I'd have about six bottles, bottle brush and steriliser. Don't buy in formula until the the baby is born as it sometimes it can take a while before a baby settles on a particular type.

    Oh and always have a camera nearby!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    A Tummy Tub! Everyone thinks I'm mad with my 'bucket' but it makes bath times so easy. You fill the 'bucket' up to the line, pop the baby in it and they can kick away, while you sit on the toilet (erm as a chair I mean ;) ) so you're not breaking your back. Plus when they get older the bottom transforms into a step for reaching the sink etc when getting washed.

    The buggy! If you're on your first have a real think about the buggy. The last thing you want is in a couple of years to have to get rid of the pram/buggy you only got one use of. Ones like the Phil and Teds that can be easily converted into a double buggy (especially if you can get a second hand one on line) are worth their weight in gold!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,175 ✭✭✭hoodwinked


    i would leave as much as possible until after your baby was born!

    we bought loads of things only to end up with duplicates as gifts, and then we bought somethings and discovered afterwards they weren't suitable for our daughter (for example: we bought avent bottles and ended up replacing them with Dr. browns after she developed wind issues)

    get the essentials/stuff you'll use, nappies..etc

    sleep suits are a god send for the first few months especially with your first baby as you might not be confident enough with the floppy head to try on baby clothes for the first month or so. ( i know i was more comfortable just using sleep suits for the first 3 months)

    teddies/toys you will get hundreds of them don't buy any yourself. even if you think people wont buy them teddies/toys they will always accumulate anyway.

    we never used the changing table, high chair or anything like that.

    we couldn't have lived without the buggy/car seat/cot.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,192 ✭✭✭Lola92


    For me essentials were:

    - Cotbed
    - Carseat
    - Buggy or sling (whichever you choose)
    - Muslin Cloths
    - Bouncer
    - Fitted sheets, Flat sheets, cellular blankets x 2 sets
    - Good fleecy blanket or footmuff when outdoors
    - Baby monitor
    - Digital Ear thermometer
    - Vests and Sleepsuits size 0-3 x7
    - Microwave steraliser
    - travel cot can be very handy if away and also used as a play pen when they're a bit older

    If you are bottle feeding a Milk powder dispenser and formula scoop are really handy too.

    I wouldn't bother with:

    - A moses basket
    - bedding sets (bumper etc.)
    - Changing table
    - Cot divider
    - crib
    - baby bath (just use your own/ washing basin)


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,968 Mod ✭✭✭✭Moonbeam


    Talking about absolute essentials...

    A car seat,
    A place for baby to sleep (A travel cot with a bassinet)
    A buggy that lies flat or a sling.

    7 vests and 7 baby gros
    A few pairs of socks
    2 Hats
    nappies and wipes
    2 cellular blankets.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,065 ✭✭✭Kash


    See, I knew people would have some great advice!

    And... that I would need it!
    I have never even heard of a sleep bag or a cellular blanket!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,215 ✭✭✭galah


    I definitely couldn't do without the co-sleeper bed (baby-bay, on loan from a friend) or the changing table (back problems, if I had to bend over to change the monster on the bed or couch, I'd be in constant agony...)

    Moses basket is dead-handy too for naps in the living room - but we got ours as a present, wouldn't go out and buy one either.

    We've only just bought the baby monitor, defo didnt need it up to now (baby is 14 weeks old).

    Muslin cloths are essential though :D Also a mattress protector sheet comes in handy if you want to reuse the mattress again at some point. ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 310 ✭✭doubletrouble?


    help , take every bit you can and if it's offered hold those that offer it to their word. baby clothes, they're very expensive again if offered take them and even the hand that offers them while your at it.:D


  • Registered Users Posts: 227 ✭✭chirogirl


    Obviously the buggy and car seat. Though i've a small 3 door car, so the isofix base for the car seat has been a god send, saves me messing with the seat belts.

    I live in an apartment so the sangenic nappy bin has been great, saves me going up and down to the dumpster every day.

    I did buy a beech wood changing unit, with drawers and a cupboard underneath, so once the baby outgrows the changing bit, the plinth can be removed and you're left a piece of furniture.

    The cot mobile has been great for the baby, she loves it, keeps her entertained whilst i'm in the shower and for bed time.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    What's a cot divider? *blush*


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,192 ✭✭✭Lola92


    What's a cot divider? *blush*

    One of these. I bought one and never used it once, must stick it up on adverts actually lol :P


  • Registered Users Posts: 65 ✭✭purplecat


    What's a cot divider? *blush*


    http://www.mothercare.ie/safababy-sleeper-white.html

    this is it , handy for twins or making cot smaller.. we didn't buy one, I made one similar to it cheaper... looks good might take a pic and post some time to show....:D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,585 ✭✭✭lynski


    tummy tub FTW! loved it. used one for all 3 of mine, when the older one was in the bath i put the tummy tub and younger one in with them, great times. only think is i only got about 6/7 mths out of it each time as they got too big and wanted to stand up.
    If you are planning more then one, i would invest in a tripp trapp highchair - expensive, but takes up no space, grows with the child(ren), can be used for adults afterwards, and helps, IMO, with their back strength.
    I would also invest in a phil and teds from day one if I were to do over, a second hand one is fine, but will be used again and again and again - the one i have I have used for the past 3 yrs, and it was 3 yrs old when i got it, battered but in perfect working order and so versatile.
    Digital thermometer - unfortunately essential
    Other then that, a few vests, a few nappies, some cotton wool, a few baby grows and a cardigan.
    Boobs, nipple cream and a carrier.
    some good tea, biccies and pre-made dinners also useful.
    Cot, probably, but again if i were to start again, i would not bother until they are older and just co-sleep, sooooo much easier in the short and mid term will get back to you on the long-term. and a proven way for mom to get more sleep.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,339 ✭✭✭How Strange


    I agree with moonbeam and as others said a changing table. My husband thought they were a gimmick but a sore back after a few days of changing our son on the kitchen table soon changed his mind. Thankfully we got one second hand from friends.

    Definitely take all offers including clothes. There'll be plenty of time to buy nice clothes etc but newborns only need vests, baby gros and cellular blankets for the first few weeks.

    I'd also say don't go running out buying things like bouncy chairs etc just yet. Little babies don't need bouncy chairs, cot mobiles, playmats etc so you've got 2-3 months to decide what you need.

    Don't buy too many nappies especially newborn or size 1 as they grow out of them very quickly.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭liamo


    After changing our new daughter a couple of times on a changing mat on the floor my back was about to break so I got into the car and got one of these. 15 months later, we're still using it on a daily basis. It also has a built-in bath and as it's on wheels it can be moved from room to room easily.

    If your budget can stretch to it, get a baby monitor with a camera! We had the audio only monitor for 11 months until our little angel threw it into the toilet. We then got the camera model and, OMG, the number of trips up the stairs it has saved us!!

    Best of luck.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,937 ✭✭✭implausible


    The most useful/used items had to be the travel cot (for napping, travelling, as a playpen and a toy dump) and muslin cloths (breastfeeding covers, mopping up spills, burp cloths, puke-catcher and my now 22 month old has them as unremovable bibs)

    A word of advice - do your research on the items you need and take friends/family up on offers to get them. My clueless brothers were happy out to be told exactly what to buy.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,242 ✭✭✭liliq


    We got a gift of a preloved changing table recently- love it, saving my back!
    Monitor,
    Car seat,
    Moses basket if you get a gift of one is great,
    Bedside/ co-sleeping cot- this is a must for me! If your planning on breastfeeding it's so handy to have baby so close, :)
    7/10 vests (long/ short sleeve depending when baby is due...) and babygrows,
    A few cellular blankets,
    I stocked up on different size nappies when I saw them on offer (bought 2 packs of size 1 and ended up giving one of them away), it was great, didn't need to buy nappies for weeks!
    Muslin clothes,
    A good sling (I'm only realising now how much easier life would have been if I'd had one in the early days!)

    Really all you need is a few clothes, nappies, and either bottles/ steriliser/ formula if formula feeding, or breastpads, nursing bra, lanolin if breastfeeding.
    Everything else is just whatever makes like a bit easier :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    lynski wrote: »
    tummy tub FTW! loved it. used one for all 3 of mine, when the older one was in the bath i put the tummy tub and younger one in with them, great times. only think is i only got about 6/7 mths out of it each time as they got too big and wanted to stand up.
    If you are planning more then one, i would invest in a tripp trapp highchair - expensive, but takes up no space, grows with the child(ren), can be used for adults afterwards, and helps, IMO, with their back strength.
    I would also invest in a phil and teds from day one if I were to do over, a second hand one is fine, but will be used again and again and again - the one i have I have used for the past 3 yrs, and it was 3 yrs old when i got it, battered but in perfect working order and so versatile.
    Digital thermometer - unfortunately essential
    Other then that, a few vests, a few nappies, some cotton wool, a few baby grows and a cardigan.
    Boobs, nipple cream and a carrier.
    some good tea, biccies and pre-made dinners also useful.
    Cot, probably, but again if i were to start again, i would not bother until they are older and just co-sleep, sooooo much easier in the short and mid term will get back to you on the long-term. and a proven way for mom to get more sleep.

    Yay! Go the tummy tub! :D

    We have a trip trap chair. I'm not convinced by it. They are handy, but I'm not sure they're worth the money. I'm also not sure do we buy another for the second guy or use the same one?

    If I was starting from scratch I would definitely go for a new Phil and teds. I was so against them initially because u thought it was cruel on the one sitting lower and thought they were a bit of a 'statement' more than anything....but they are the most useful practical buggy I have ever cone across. I got one second hand because of the second guy. I got rain gear with it, the second seat, a cocoon for the infant...all for 180 euro! It's seen better days, but its a work horse of a thing!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,065 ✭✭✭Kash


    Wow - thank you so much!

    Hubby and I love the idea of the tummy tub, so it's definitely on the 'to buy' list. I'm really finding this thread so useful, I'm going to share it with all the other girls due in July - we've a lot of first timers in there!


  • Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 10,439 Mod ✭✭✭✭xzanti


    I had no idea what a Tummy Tub was, had to Google it..

    Wow, what a great idea, wish I knew about them when I was having my wee lad :D

    Great gift idea if someone you know is having a baby.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 747 ✭✭✭littleredspot


    Instead of a changing table we got a normal chest of drawers and put the changing mat on top. Filled the drawers with all the baby stuff. It's very handy to have to hand. Then when baby is out of nappies just remove the mat and you've a perfectly good chest of drawers.

    A moses basket is really handy because you can let them sleep in it in whichever room you're in and then carry them into the bedroom at night without disturbing them. That said some children love them and some don't.

    Muslin squares is one of the things you think is some sort of scam, but are actually really handy.

    Sleep suits are great for keeping them warm even if they kick off blankets.

    I'm going to go against the grain and not reccommend the monitor. Unless you've a huge house you should be near enough to baby to hear if they need you. I've seen too many parents driven mad thinking they hear things.

    The best advice so far though is buy very little. All your family and friends will be looking for ideas so let them know what you need. Also taking whatever you're offered secondhand, saves a fortune.


  • Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 10,439 Mod ✭✭✭✭xzanti


    Sleep suits are great for keeping them warm even if they kick off blankets.
    .

    Yeah these are great, or Gro-bags.. I found these great cause our little guy used to kick his blankets off from birth.. wouldn't let us swaddle him either, he was like a little magician clambering out of the blankets :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 185 ✭✭Queen of Sheebs


    Tommee tippee bibs for new borns are an absolute must in my eyes. Other bibs just didn't fit and our little man spilled the milk out the sides of his mouth for about the first 3 months. I tried so many bottle and teats to stop it but nothing worked. The spongy rim on the tt bibs saved his clothes. I find now that they are great for days when teething drool is bad.
    I found the monitor excellent too.
    2 different coloured small baby sponges for washing him.
    A tub of silcocks base....brilliant...€4...still using it. I put a spoon in a cup of boiling water to melt it and added it to his baths as a soap and the applied directly to his skin after baths as a moisturiser. Cleared up his dry skin within a few days (overdue babies are prone to dry skin).
    Bar the monitor...all cheapy bits but very useful. Good luck.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 189 ✭✭NyquistFreak


    Ladies this is a great thread, thank you all! Blow in from the due in July thread here!

    Can someone talk to me about baby proofing?! We're moving into a new house next week (lovely little bungalow so no stairs to worry about!) and don't want to set myself up for a baby-proofing nightmare a few months down the line!


  • Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 10,439 Mod ✭✭✭✭xzanti


    Ladies this is a great thread, thank you all! Blow in from the due in July thread here!

    Can someone talk to me about baby proofing?! We're moving into a new house next week (lovely little bungalow so no stairs to worry about!) and don't want to set myself up for a baby-proofing nightmare a few months down the line!

    My advice, don't use the adhesive press/drawer locks, they're crap.. We used them at first and you'd forget they were there, go to open the press/drawer with any sort of force and they come away... Get the ones that are screwed on.. Save yourself doing the job twice..

    Atlantic Home Care have some good locks and gates.. I know you don't have stairs but if you want to cordon off certain rooms, they have an offer on at the moment of 2 good quality gates for €39.99..


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 984 ✭✭✭NextSteps


    lynski wrote: »
    If you are planning more then one, i would invest in a tripp trapp highchair - expensive, but takes up no space, grows with the child(ren), can be used for adults afterwards, and helps, IMO, with their back strength.

    They're a b!tch to clean, though.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 984 ✭✭✭NextSteps


    Kash wrote: »
    Wow - thank you so much!

    Hubby and I love the idea of the tummy tub, so it's definitely on the 'to buy' list. I'm really finding this thread so useful, I'm going to share it with all the other girls due in July - we've a lot of first timers in there!

    Tummy tub is good, or you could just use a baby bath, which lasts much longer. I was away when he was a few months old and used a mop bucket instead of the tummy tub - worked just as well :D !


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,065 ✭✭✭Kash


    NextSteps wrote: »
    Tummy tub is good, or you could just use a baby bath, which lasts much longer. I was away when he was a few months old and used a mop bucket instead of the tummy tub - worked just as well :D !

    Funny that you should say that, I showed the Tummy Tub to my friend yesterday, and she said "I hate to break it to you Kash, but that... well, it's just a bucket" :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,357 ✭✭✭ceadaoin.


    We got this baby bath and it's been great.

    The ledge that the baby sits against means that we can have both hands free to wash her and she doesn't slide everywhere. It's a bit small for her now at 12 weeks but was worth it in the early days.

    Also a cot top changing table saves space and is really handy. Buy more bibs than you ever think you'll need and if you see wipes and cotton wool on special offer, stock up!


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    Kash wrote: »
    NextSteps wrote: »
    Tummy tub is good, or you could just use a baby bath, which lasts much longer. I was away when he was a few months old and used a mop bucket instead of the tummy tub - worked just as well :D !

    Funny that you should say that, I showed the Tummy Tub to my friend yesterday, and she said "I hate to break it to you Kash, but that... well, it's just a bucket" :D

    Lol, if you're going to brave a tummy tub, you have to be ready for the jokes :D. They really are great. And when they're too big for it you can get a bath for e5 in IKEA.

    Has anyone mentioned a bouncy chair yet? If not....a bouncy chair! :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,919 ✭✭✭ziggy23


    definitely agree about the digital thermometer we got one that you just place on the forehead and it gives you the temp. Saves a lot of worrying of has he or has he not got a temperature.
    I wouldn't go too mad buying loads of clothes the amount of presents you get is unreal.
    As for the pram make sure it's one that folds easily and will do well into they are a toddler I went through 3 buggies:eek:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 310 ✭✭doubletrouble?


    liamo wrote: »
    After changing our new daughter a couple of times on a changing mat on the floor my back was about to break so I got into the car and got one of these. 15 months later, we're still using it on a daily basis. It also has a built-in bath and as it's on wheels it can be moved from room to room easily.

    Best of luck.
    ceadaoin. wrote: »
    We got this baby bath and it's been great.
    have to say we have both types of baths and have tried them both thoroughly. we found that the one that comes with the trolly is far better(liamo's one). our twins love nothing more than to be immersed in water. they'd gladly spend the whole day there once the water remains warm.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,065 ✭✭✭Kash


    For all the Tummy Tub owners:

    I bought the Tummy Tub and the stool.
    The bucket part just sits in the stool.

    Is it supposed to click/clip in or something, or is it the weight of the water that keeps it stable? Definitely don't want it falling over!!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    Kash wrote: »
    For all the Tummy Tub owners:

    I bought the Tummy Tub and the stool.
    The bucket part just sits in the stool.

    Is it supposed to click/clip in or something
    , or is it the weight of the water that keeps it stable? Definitely don't want it falling over!!

    The top of the stool bit is a flower shape...lift off the surface of it and it opens out. The bottom of the bucket part clicks into to the now opened out stool bit. Don't put the baby in the tub unless the tub has clicked into place and is absolutely secure


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,065 ✭✭✭Kash


    Thanks Hannibal - the tub and stool were at my parents (my mum is a bit crazy, and doesn't want baby stuff in my house in case I jinx something) so I asked her to double check it as it was way too wobbly when Dad and I tried it... she said with a bit of brute force the tub part clipped into the flower part.

    She said it's now so secure that she can't get it back off :D

    Nanny to be is now satisfied that it is safe, and if it passes her discerning judgement, it will pass anyones.

    EDIT: If anyone wants to see how to put it together with the amount of force required to clip it in place (plus a super cute baby) this video is great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7n7o5Lwy80


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,893 ✭✭✭Hannibal Smith


    Ah excellent...it shouldn't need brut force though....just twist the tub part till all the bits click in to place. Unless they're made differently now, but it shouldn't take any effort at all


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    Kash wrote: »
    So, new mums, tell me... if you were to start it all from scratch again, what wouldn't you do without? What was nice to have, but not essential? And what was a complete waste of time and space?
    From a very new dad and mom, and mostly aimed at the ward and the first few days:
    • Pump-action spray bottle filled with filtered water. Used on mom during the birth if she got too hot, and on her calves which were constantly itchy because of the hormones, and on dad's face and mom's face in the delivery ward after the birth because the hospital air is so dry, and when filled with warm water, on baby's backside for changing time. Nice multitasker. Bought mine in the cooking section of hsw.ie of all places, but they sell them in lots of places and on ebay, and they should be quite cheap. Get a smallish one though, no point bringing a litre sized thing when you only want about 200ml at most.
    • Cellular blankets. We only got two and we're getting more asap - they're just the business as blankets, as ad hoc sleep positioners, as ad hoc sunscreens, and so on.
    • Neurofen/Panadol/Hedex/whatever for dad. You're not the patient, so the hospital can't give you any form of pain meds, and mommy shouldn't take your neurofen because they need to know what she's on, but on the day after the birth you're likely to have a monster headache because of the stress, and because you probably didn't eat and drink properly the day before :D And since all you want to do is focus on baby's face a few inches from yours, the headache's a bummer and chemicals are your friend...
    • Slippers for both mom and dad. Everyone tells mom to bring slippers for the ward because the floor is cold - that's not why you really bring them though. You really bring slippers because it's a hospital and they're careful, but there's still a risk of sharps on the floor. And since dad shouldn't walk in off the street and put boots on the bed while sitting in the chair holding baby (because what if you put him on the bed afterwards to change him or check the nappy or whatever - you've no idea what you've walked through...), having slippers for wearing just in the ward is useful.
    • Hand sanitiser. Yeah, maybe I'm being paranoid, but for the first month I'm allowed, so every guest gets a squirt of hand sanitizer into their hands before picking up baby. I've no idea what they've had on their hands that day!
    • A small bag inside your ward bag (we bought a mothercare set of baby lotions that came in its own zippered case with a handle; we left the lotions in the bathroom and used the case). It's handy to keep the little things like lip balm and such together in the delivery room bag too, but it really shines after the birth when you put all the nappy-changing stuff into it, and when you have to change baby, you just grab that and take him down the hall to the changing room, instead of trying to juggle him, nappy bags, nappies, vaseline, spray bottle and so on.
    • Smartphones. Camera, phone, MP3 player, radio, all in one device. Also:
      • Facebook app. Gets photos up and family off your back quickly and lets you deal with hospital stuff faster than calling the few people you have time to call and then having the "Why did you call X and not me???" conversations.
      • Contraction timer apps. Utterly useless to us in the end, I'm afraid.
      • BabyESP (EatSleepPoop) app. Used it to track feeding times and nappy changes in the hospital, using it still. Lets you sync a single baby's data over multiple devices which is handy. Android only though it seems. But there are many apps like this on every platform. It sounds like overkill, but we're finding it makes things a lot easier. And you can show hard data to the PHN if you're worried about something.
      • Podcasts. At a few points on the ward, mommy was sleeping and baby was sleeping on my chest and we'd be there for two or three hours at a stretch. Sometimes you'd blink and the time was over; other times, especially when I was tired, I stuck an earbud in one ear, left the other free to keep watch on the two of them and listened to the friday night comedy podcast, to material world, to IT conversations, to Science in Action, and so on.
    • Takeaway menus. Seriously, by the end of the day we came home, we were so tired we couldn't even face the effort of microwaving something to eat, so we just ordered pizza. I seriously wouldn't recommend it as a habit though ;)
    • Robinsons barley water. Mommy has to keep hydrated, and that stuff makes it a lot easier to chug pints of water.
    • The hoover. We brought baby home on the first day and he went nuts. Wouldn't settle, wouldn't stop crying any time we stopped talking to him. We finally figured out (we were a bit slow on the uptake with this one) that he'd had nine months in the womb where it's really noisy, then birth which is very noisy, then three days on the delivery ward which goes from really loud and noisy to kindof relaxed but still with background noises, to the car ride home which was noisy, to the living room and silence. Poor thing must have though he'd suddenly gone deaf. Turned on the hoover and just left it run, it calmed him right down. After an hour of that, we managed to wean him onto the radio, and over the last few days, he's gotten more and more used to the quiet. But the hoover earned its wages that first day :D
    • Along with the towels for mommy to shower with and so forth, bring another dark towel to change baby on. Holles St. has a changing room with changing units in it, but they don't have mats on them (it's a hard wooden surface) and they ask you to use your own towel rather than the blue towels they use for the cots and swaddling. You might also want to have your own bag of cotton wool balls, because they keep them in the changing room but occasionally they run out and inevitably you're there with everything laid out and prepped when you realise you've nothing to clean his bum with. And they're kept in a cupboard down the hall, not in one in the changing room so you have to go find a nurse to get more if you don't have your own stash.
    • Men's Pyjamas for mommy in dark colours, because they're easy to doff for examinations or feeding, they're more comfy than nightdresses and they have a pocket for things (btw, what idiot designs womens clothing so that mom's clothing has no pockets when she needs to carry fifty things all the time?)
    • Shirts for daddy, in soft cotton or flannel, with some sort of alternating high-contrast pattern (plaid. Yay.) which open with buttons in front like normal. Babys calm fast when they hear a heartbeat, so open your shirt, lose the 1970s medallion, put his ear over your heart and trade dignity for peace and quiet :D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,260 ✭✭✭Mink


    I see the starts of a good book for new dads Sparks!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 310 ✭✭doubletrouble?


    i dont know if this has been mentioned already but another essential is a nappy bin. cant live without one of these.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 482 ✭✭annamcmahon


    I just use a normal bathroom bin as a nappy bin. I was given a sangenic one and thought it would be good in an apartment but a bit pointless for me in a house. I do use cloth nappies though so don't fill the bin that quickly.


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  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 301 ✭✭surime


    egan2020 wrote: »
    I just used the kitchen sink for the first couple of weeks

    This is kind of shocking for me.. kitchen sink? :confused: The one were you wash your vegetables and meat and wash dishes?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    surime wrote: »
    This is kind of shocking for me.. kitchen sink? :confused: The one were you wash your vegetables and meat and wash dishes?
    That's where I was washed as a child. That or the bathroom sink (and hey, can we spell E.Coli or Neonatal Meningitis?)
    You do clean your kitchen sink regularly, right? :D


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 301 ✭✭surime


    Sparks wrote: »
    That's where I was washed as a child. That or the bathroom sink (and hey, can we spell E.Coli or Neonatal Meningitis?)
    You do clean your kitchen sink regularly, right? :D

    My mother is microbiologist and no need to tell me about bacteria... and that's why I am shocked, sure I do wash my sink every day with cif and often fill it with water and milton, but still it it not a place bath your baby!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    surime wrote: »
    My mother is microbiologist and no need to tell me about bacteria... and that's why I am shocked, sure I do wash my sink every day with cif and often fill it with water and milton, but still it it not a place bath your baby!
    I don't think anyone was saying you had to, but many parents can't spend fifty euro on what is, essentially, a fancy plastic bucket to bathe infants in (I actually like the tub, but we were given a present of a different model of bath and it worked perfectly well). And generations of parents before us did fine without a special bath for babies, using sinks. And I honestly do think that if a sink isn't kept clean enough to bath a baby in, it might not really be a great idea to prepare food using it which the baby's mother has to eat, especially if she's breastfeeding. Keep the sink scrubbed down with steel wool, use cream cleanser of some kind regularly, and disinfect with dettol or just plain ordinary bleach every so often, and of course keep the immediate surrounding area just as clean. At that point, your risk levels are going to be about the same as for a specialised bath which will usually be kept in a bathroom, and therefore covered in particulate fecal matter from when people flush the toilet, along with the usual sources of pathogens.

    I mean, I'm as paranoid as the next new parent, and we're buried in hand sanitizers and soap and hot water here because we're still in the first month, but I think I'd go insane if I was that germophobic in our world. I mean, what would I do with flowers from visitors if I was that worried?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 40,038 ✭✭✭✭Sparks


    This is probably too simple to note, but I'd have liked to have seen this beforehand and didn't, so - our changing station:

    198280.jpg

    The whole thing is on the cot bed, which has the mattress up at the highest level (and which is still too low - but by the time he moves from moses basket to cot bed in a few weeks, we'll have had time to sort something out and the changes won't be as frequent. Maybe :D ). The cot bed looks fancy btw, but it was a sale in mothercare and was probably overpriced still. It's meant to last him till he's around four, but I think it might not be up to it...

    Anyway, left to right, we have the fresh nappies on the 'clean' side of the changing wedge (which has washable covers). There's also a muslin on the wedge, just to catch the worst of it if he goes mid-change, which has happened once or twice. There's a nappy pail on the floor with water and dettol in it - the muslin and cover go in there if soiled, until we get them into a wash.

    On the 'dirty' side of the wedge, you have:
    • Cotton cleaning pads (which are so much easier than the cotton balls to use when cleaning up the normal nappy-related mess, but we keep the balls around for things like cleaning the cord and naval and so on). Some left out in a small stack before the change, the rest in the bag.
    • Jumbo sized tub of vaseline to use as a barrier cream once he's cleaned
    • Cotton buds and liquid talc in case he had a particularly wet nappy, but we usually don't use it. Incidentally, both the vaseline and liquid talc are on the wrong side - I wanted there to be a 'clean' and a 'dirty' side to the changing wedge, with one side ('dirty') used only for the cleaning up of the poop, and the other side ('clean') used after that for putting on stuff that would stay on till the next change.
    • Hand sanitizer. Use once before beginning the change and once after having cleaned him up and before putting on the stuff that'll be on him until the next change, like vaseline or liquid talc.
    • The mothercare case that was our nappy bag on the ward. Right now it just holds the small plastic bags we use to bundle up all the debris from a change.
    • Tommee Tippee nappy bin, which has an antibacterial nappy bag setup internally, which is really nifty and keeps bad smells locked away. Even with all the sun of late, there's no odour in the nursery. We don't quite fill this in a week, at least so far. Handy little thing.
    Not in shot is a small plastic container with a wide base which we fill with warm water before the change to dip the cotton pads into. No double-dipping! :D

    There's a tallboy out of frame to the right, over the changer's shoulder and within arm's reach and there are more bags of nappies, pads and cotton balls on the top of it and more supplies in the top drawer, all within arms reach.

    The toys occasionally help distract during the change, but mostly, it's just somewhere to store them until he's old enough to find them interesting. The white webcam is our baby monitor, mounted to the cot itself.

    Like I said, it's pretty basic stuff and probably not news to anyone, but what the heck. Anyone see anything useful that's missing?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,339 ✭✭✭How Strange


    We used the kitchen or bathroom sink too. We bought a baby bath but it was far too much hassle. We only bathed him max once a week up to 6 months.

    I'm actually suprised that you're so shocked surime.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 301 ✭✭surime


    Sparks wrote: »
    I don't think anyone was saying you had to, but many parents can't spend fifty euro on what is, essentially, a fancy plastic bucket to bathe infants in (I actually like the tub, but we were given a present of a different model of bath and it worked perfectly well). And generations of parents before us did fine without a special bath for babies, using sinks. And I honestly do think that if a sink isn't kept clean enough to bath a baby in, it might not really be a great idea to prepare food using it which the baby's mother has to eat, especially if she's breastfeeding. Keep the sink scrubbed down with steel wool, use cream cleanser of some kind regularly, and disinfect with dettol or just plain ordinary bleach every so often, and of course keep the immediate surrounding area just as clean. At that point, your risk levels are going to be about the same as for a specialised bath which will usually be kept in a bathroom, and therefore covered in particulate fecal matter from when people flush the toilet, along with the usual sources of pathogens.

    I mean, I'm as paranoid as the next new parent, and we're buried in hand sanitizers and soap and hot water here because we're still in the first month, but I think I'd go insane if I was that germophobic in our world. I mean, what would I do with flowers from visitors if I was that worried?

    Sure, maybe this can work for somebody, I was just surprised. Nobody does this in Poland, but this can work maybe..
    -I am not sure why you think you have to teach me how to clean sink :rolleyes:, but thatnks for tips.

    -one more thing - to have everything around baby so sterile is not good actually... his/her immune system will have no chance to develop and with the first contact (there will be first contact - in another house, shop, creche) baby will get infection easily! (just to make sure -I dont mean by that you should wash baby in a dirty sink..)


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 301 ✭✭surime



    I'm actually suprised that you're so shocked surime.

    That's because I never heard of it before -sorry! ;)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,339 ✭✭✭How Strange


    surime wrote: »
    That's because I never heard of it before -sorry! ;)

    When you have a baby covered in poo up to his neck you'll find yourself hosing him down in the shower or putting him under a running tap.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,937 ✭✭✭implausible


    surime wrote: »
    Nobody does this in Poland

    That's really interesting. I presumed everyone had at some stage washed a baby in the kitchen sink.

    When we were kids, we washed our hair in the kitchen sink!


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