What Do You Need When You're Having a Baby?

For some, this phase is long gone -- the days of worrying with what to have on hand when the newborn is brought home.  These folks are now into dance lessons, batting practice, or their kids have grown.

For many who read these posts though, this is a new phase for them.

I have a friend who is expecting her first child. She asked me what she needed to do before her baby got here.  Wow!  What a question!  It sure did bring me back to the overwhelming excitement, joy, worry, and overall anxiety I felt before having my first child.  It is a great time, but one that can often be accompanied by feelings of concern for getting it all right.  (I remember thinking, "Oh, no!  Now I really HAVE to be responsible since someone else will be counting on me with their life!")

After having several kids, I can say that there is no need to worry.  If you're reading this, and if you're making visits to Positive Parenting with Purpose, chances are you are taking steps you need to in order to be as prepared as you can.  (You can never be fully prepared.)

You'll want to have a plan in place to keep your marriage strong, something you definitely want to give some thought to prior to giving birth (see the pages on Positive Marriage, and Positive Parenting, which both deal with keeping your relationship with your spouse strong).  You'll also want to acquire some really good parenting books, and after giving birth, you might want to try to take in some parenting classes.

But what about the "stuff" that you'll need to get before your little one's arrival?

These days, hospitals won't even let you pull out of the hospital drive without having your newborn strapped into an infant car seat. So obviously, you'll need that before you bring the baby home.  You'll also want to acquire all of the feeding accessories you'll need, which will change some depending on whether or not you decide to breastfeed or bottle feed.  (If you're still up in the air about that, you might want to look over the Pros and Cons of Breastfeeding.  I also have a page on just the Benefits of Breastfeeding.)  Anyway, if you decide to breastfeed, you'll want to consider renting or buying a pump, which allows others to feed the baby at times, but also enables you to store some milk in the frig and freezer for a time you might need it.  You'll want to look into getting some breastfeeding clothes, as well as a drape for when you are out somewhere and need to feed the baby.

Otherwise, consider which type of bottles you want to use.  There are SO many kinds, you'll really want to spend some time gathering information to determine the kind that will work best for you.

Obviously, you'll want to stock up on diapers and wipes, although it might be smart not to buy too many diapers prior to bringing Little Bit home because you don't know what size he/she will need until the baby's born.  Have your changing station set up and ready for when you get home, including a changing pad or soft, safe area where you'll be changing the baby's diapers.

You'll need a number of toiletries, such as gas drops, rash cream, bathing soap, a fingernail file, etc.  You'll also want to know where you are putting your baby down to sleep when you bring him/her home.  (Honestly, I had all of mine sleep in the car seat until they were a couple of months old because they seemed to sleep better being slightly upright than being flat.)  Have sheets for their bed and blankets on hand. If you believe in swaddling, you'll want to make sure they're the right size.  Also, my kids slept much better with a music maker in their rooms.

Have the pain reliever drops on hand that are recommended by your baby's doctor.  I always had some in a home cabinet and some in the diaper bag.  (I also have always kept an antihistamine stick handy for insect bites that I'd never see coming.) 

Anyway, those are some of the things that you'll want to have ready for the bub when you bring him/her home.  There are many more things that you could get, and from what I've seen, most first-time moms go bananas buying for their little angel.  But you just need to have the basics on hand and then get what you determine you need after getting used to your new addition.



If you want more information on things you might want to consider having for your newborn, and then items you might want as your baby grows, check out:  Baby Accessories, Child Safety Products, Baby Diapers, Baby Bottles, Pacifiers, Baby Cribs, Infant Bedding, and Baby Monitors.

Product Recalls

So I found out the other day that my youngest child's crib has been recalled.  It was kind of by accident that I found out, and I usually pay close attention to information about baby product recalls!  So this got me thinking about people who don't frequently write a parenting blog and might have recalls even further back in their minds than I do. 

How do others find out about recalls of products that they're using?

A lot of times, it might be on the news, listed on some websites, or might be a topic of discussion by mothers who've taken their kids to a playground.  Other than that, the only really solid way of knowing if a product you are using is still considered to be safe for the general public is to seek out information from the CPSC (if you're in the States.  If you're reading this from another country, find out the governing body that regulates recalls.)

The most recent and most news-worthy recalls are often published on parenting sites.  But there are also a few places you can go to keep up-to-date on a regular basis.  The CPSC has a site that will list all of the most recent recalls.  If you're interested in previewing recalls of items that might be purchased for a baby, you can find their widget detailing recent recalls on my Baby Products Recalls  page.  It's there because it just makes it easier to find out specifics on recalls having to do with products for kids.

If you have a question about a specific item that you've purchased and think that it might have been recalled, you can visit my general page on product recalls.  Here, you can enter the specific product in question to have the widget do a search on recalls for you.  It's a handy tool if you aren't interested in scrolling through other recalls to possibly find the one that you are interested in.

Keeping children safe is just one of the many responsibilities of parents these days.  Keeping apprised of product recalls is just one of the ways to stay armed with information to make the best decisions possible for your kids.

Visit us at Positive Parenting with Purpose for more on child safety, which includes info on such things as car safety (and more on the infant car seat), child poisoning, the internet safety for kids, (including info on things like the sexual offenders list), sun safety for kids, and some general information on child safety products to consider.