A few days old
It's easy to go in a shopping and nesting frenzy when it comes to having a baby, particularly when it's your first child. But I'm glad I reined in my impulse to shop, shop and shop some more and waited because with the things that were passed on to me by my sister and sisters-in-law, and what I received from my baby shower, I really didn't end up buying a lot.
Now that Ace has passed the third month mark, here are the baby items that turned out to be my must-haves, with most of them received for free!
- Onesies with snaps- I received so many baby clothes and I was initially thankful for the tie-side tops because I was scared of putting on a shirt or onesie over my baby's head, since I thought my fingers might go through the soft parts on his head (newbie mom alert!). But after struggling to dress Ace in a tie-side one too many times while he was having a full-blown screaming fit, I realized that onesies were the way to go and that snaps were my new bestfriends. Forget ribbons, zippers, velcros and buttons, snaps are where they're at when it comes to convenience.
- Breast pump- I bought an automatic pump with a manual pump converter from Unimom to build up my breastmilk stash. I leave the motor in the office for my workday pumping sessions and use the manual pump when I'm home.
- Socks, mittens, bibs- I thought I had enough of these when I was still pregnant and preparing Ace's stuff, before I knew just how much babies drooled. Now I'm always picking up a new pack of socks every few weeks and perenially running out of bibs and mittens.
- Swaddling cloth- my hubby and I were about to lose our minds because Ace just wouldn't stop crying during his first few days! Then when we visited my mom and the baby started crying again, she simply wrapped him up in a large piece of cloth, carried him and hummed a tune and Ace was out in a flash. Lola for the win!
- Carrier- I've been using a mei-tai every time we go out and Ace generally takes to it as long as he's already sleeping or half-asleep when I strap him on my chest.
- Car seat- for the daily trips to my mom's house a.k.a. Lola Daycare.
- Tub- before we got the PUJ tub, I used to be so scared of giving Ace a bath since I would first soap him on a rubber mat on our bed and then bring him to the bathroom where I would sit on a low stool, lay him on my lap and pour water on him. Not only would I end up soaking wet, he would also be squirming like crazy making the possibility of dropping him very, very high. But with the PUJ, bathtime is so much easier and safer.
- Sterilizer- I bought a two layer Chicco bottle sterilizer and I use it mostly for my breastpump parts. Sterilizing is done in 5 minutes flat.
Baby stuff I had on hand but didn't need yet:
- Stroller- the mei-tai was more than enough for bringing around, so my nephew Logan ended up using the stroller.
- Crib- he sleeps in our bed, which makes it so convenient for nighttime feeds. He has a crib in Lola Daycare but I don't think we'll be getting a crib for our condo, as we just don't have space for it.
- Toys- all the toys he received are still packed away. My boobs are all the entertainment he seems to appreciate:p
- Cloth diapers- I have about a dozen cloth diapers which I was determined to use before I gave birth, however, the effort of handwashing eventually made me switch to disposables after two weeks. But I've been using CDs on him every weekend and now that Ace has a full-time yaya in Lola Daycare, we'll be shifting to full-time CDs very, very soon.
My list seems long, but believe me, with all the baby stuff available in the market, this list is already very lean and basic. But come to think of it, a baby at 0-3 months old only needs his mommy and his diaper changed every now and then. Forget Baby Einstein, just get your boobs and arms ready and your baby will be just fine.