What have I missed?

[1st-time-mommy]

Hi all. I'm now 37 weeks pregnant. I am quite worried that I'm not fully prepared for my baby's arrival. I'm planning to breastfeed but does that mean I still have to  buy baby bottles and teats and stuff?How many bottles should i get and any brand recommendation?Where is a good place to get good deals?

The things I have already(some bought and mostly handed down):
baby cot
playpen
stroller
bouncer
car seat
disposaple diapers
baby clothes, wraps, bibs
baby wipes
breast pads
breast pump

I prefer to get all the necessary stuff before I deliver for peace of mind. Have I missed out anything? Please help I'm feeling anxious and fear I may have overlooked the basics. Thanks in advance.

[couple of thoughts]

baby bath
changing mat
Bags for disposal of nappies
dummies/pacifiers (don't flame me - was a life saver for our first one)
Mothercare sell bottles and steriliser etc.
Soap/shampoo for baby bath
Moses basket and bolsters
lots of sick clothes
PLUS
relax and enjoy next couple of weeks get as much rest as you can will make first month easier.

[midge]

Sounds like you pretty much have everything - don't forget (you probably already have one) a cordless landline phone so you don't have to sprint to answer when you trying to breastfeed.  I always went through loads of disp. breatpads in the first few weeks of feeding, and of course lots of nappies and wipes.  It's probably worth getting a packet of muslin/ cloth nappies, they are indispensible for wiping up spills, wrapping baby if they are cold and general cleaning.  

My kids also loved dummies/ pacifiers from early on as well, lots of people don't like them but I consider them a godsent when you have a breastfed baby who needs to suck to go to sleep.  As long as they give them up around 12 months old, you might have  a bad few nights, though.

I wouldn't worry about bottle if you are going to b/f, if it works out and you feed them for a while they can go straight onto an Anywayup cup or something like that.

Have a great birth and all the best.

[Cheng]

Get a little formula, bottles and teats anyway:

1. Hopefully not but you may have difficulty feeding baby etc and you want to have back up just in case.

2. Sometimes when you're so exhausted, you may want to express and let someone else feed while you rest and skip a feed

[mkk]

Baby powdered milk (small tin to start with just in case - I know my milk did not fill up my little one so supplement is the name);
Bottles - definitely
Suggest Avent  
small ones for water (baby needs water still);
middle sized one for bottle feed (0-4 months)
big ones from 5 months onwards

Am expecting our second soon so I am in a frenzy of buying too.  

[also]

I found I needed more towels....baby had fantastic timing!!  Also needed bottles as even though I did breast feed, baby had latching on problems so expressed LOADS!  Also I bought a hug a bub when baby was eight weeks (for plane travel initially), wish I had bought it earlier.  Was guaranteed to get baby to sleep very quickly in middle of the night.  However prepared you think you are  there is always something you will forget...you'll survive!  

[mom's love]

Receiving blankets - best for newborns in keeping them tightly snug and warm

Wash cloths

Vaseline

baby hair brush

mobile for cot

nightlight

pyjamas for the mom - you'll be surprised you can wear them the whole day!

Enjoy your baby! They grow up real fast!

[formula]

If you are SERIOUS about EXCLUSIVELY breastfeeding then don't get any formula - the tempatation will be too great.  If you have problems feeding (it's jolly hard at first) then knowing that you can make up some milk......
Now, this is not a judgement - just the fact because if you've got nothing else to give to your baby then you have no choice but to stick with it.  If you're not so pro-breastfeeding then by all means stock up although you will be inundated with milk if you do want it (have no worries on that score).  I was offered formula in the hospital and at the one week check up at the doctors.  Now, it's up to you whether or not you feed but you have stated that you want to breastfeed and so I am just sharing my experience. The worries about not having enough milk are generally unfounded.  MOST mothers will produce enough milk for their babies - that's a biological fact.  You will have a LOT of pressure though even in the hospital to accept samples "just in case you don't have enough milk".  Like I say, your choice.

[WAHM]

I totally agree with the above poster. Totally up to you and I'd respect any woman's choice not to breastfeed, but if you do want to, then I'd forego buying bottles and formula. There is no reason to assume you will have difficulty breastfeeding, but if you do, having bottles and formula handy will just make it so much easier to give up - I speak from personal experience since I had real trouble breastfeeding and I can't tell you how many nights I opened the kitchen cupboard and gazed longingly at the tin of formula I had stashed away in there. Much better to seek the advice of a proper lactation advisor if you do run into difficulties. Even if you intend to express milk, it's generally not advised to give baby a bottle within the first few weeks since you run the risk of nipple confusion - since it's so much easier for a baby to get milk from a bottle than a breast that once they do, it's sometimes hard to get them to go back. Milk production works on a supply and demand principle so the more you feed, the more milk your body produces. Introducing supplementary formula feeds just interrupts that cycle and cuts down your milk supply - fine if you want to wean, not so good if you don't. And let's face it, if and when you do decide to bottle feed, then bottles and formula are in every Cold Storage - not difficult to get hold of. By the way, breastfed babies do NOT need additional water until they are started on solids.

On the subject of baby equipment in general I'd say "travel light" - borrow as much stuff as you can, and just see how it goes. Babies really don't need much stuff.  I know so many parents who have boxes of hardly-used toys and hardly-worn clothes.  Including me ! I'm expecting baby #2 later this year and have already given away or sold a lot of the stuff I bought for baby #1. Final thought - if you don't already have a digital camera or video camera that can be really useful to have especially for keeping in touch with the family back home.

[This message has been edited by WAHM (edited 08-03-2004).]

[Twins Mom]

I very much agree with WAHM on the digital camera and video camera. We originally thought the digital camera (and it is great) would be enough for the first few months because in our minds the babies would not be doing all that much for awhile, so a video camera would be a waste. However, we found out very quickly that even though babies indeed do not do much for the first few weeks, they do start making cute noises and faces, etc. that you may want on film. It is also great to be able to send pictures by email from the digital camera and video either via internet or regular mail. We have not even left the states yet for Singapore (heading over in about 4 weeks), but we currently do not live close our family and many of them have not yet seen our babies in person, so the pictures help.

[Milky]

I totally disagree about not buying formula.  With my first child, I came home from hosiptal and 3am the following morning, with 2 bleeding nipples and a screaming, hungry baby it was just awful.  With no shops open, my husband ended up back at the hospital in order to get some milk I could feed to my daughter.  I did manage to breast feed her after that, but I made sure that with my second I got some formula in just in case.........typically though it wasn't needed that time.  

[soprano]

If the baby is going to be in its own room then I'd get one of those baby-listening devices - you can find them in Mother's Work.    

[just ideas]

Definitely get 'Avent' is you do decide to buy bottles.  Sudocrem is, in my opinion, brilliant stuff for nappy rash and a whole host of other ills.  Agree with comments about hordes of muslin squares - you will not believe how many uses you can find for them!  I would also buy more than one changing mat as I used to have them dotted around the house, ie. one in the nursery and one in the bathroom etc.

When buying a steriliser I found a plug-in electric one to be more useful as I could take it away with us wherever we went and all it needed was a plug.  If you have a microwave one then obviously you need a microwave and they are not always supplied in hotels or rented villas etc.  There are tablets to do the job but I found them more of a hassle than carting the steriliser!  It's a personal thing.

[mommy]

more on the digital camera/video:

my husband and I took a picture of the baby every month for a year on the same chair, next to the same teddy bear. They are my most cherished photos and great to send to relatives so they can see how baby is growing.

my husband also did a mini video interview of me a few days before the birth and then about once a week for about three months afterwards. It's amazing to watch the transformation I go through as I get used to being a mother.

just a few ideas...

[optimist]

cream - for your tummy to help avoid/reduce stretch marks after birthy.