Important Baby Items Every New Mommy & Daddy Will Need (Part 1)

Having a baby is no cheap endeavor. The first bit of good news is that you don't need everything all at once, so save taking a second mortgage for a later time (like when your kids go to college). The second bit of good news is that you really don't need everything that you see advertised on TV or in those parent-type magazines.

Food Supplies

If you plan to breastfeed, you'll still need bottles for giving your baby water during those times after breastfeeding, or when just a swig is needed to wet your baby's whistle. It's also needed for those times when you decide to go out and leave the baby with grandma for the night (you'll need to do that at some time just for your own sanity).

There is a moderate selection of different types of bottles and nipples. Honestly, your baby won't care with whatever design the bottles are. There are, however, two types of bottles you should watch out for:

1. Avoid bottles (or anything) made of glass. They break easily, and your child will throw his bottle at some point in time!

2. You may also want to avoid the bottles with the plastic liners. These bottles are supposed to reduce the amount of air your baby gets, thus reducing the amount of spit up. There hasn't been any research that proves this belief to be true. Also, sometimes those plastic liners leak. And if you're an environmentalist, need I say anything about the waste of plastic liners?

Clothing Supplies

Your baby's primary item of clothing is the diaper, though it's actually more of a tool than an article of clothing. Yes, like a clean-up tool (Imagine life without them). Your only choices for diapers are cloth and disposable.

Other clothes for baby can get more creative. Even so, don't trust anyone who tells you that you need this many shirts, this many nighties, and so on. The rule is that however much you have is however much you'll need. (Yet the more you have, the less often you have to do laundry.) If your baby is growing at a fast rate, you may have too many clothes and end up not using them. Only you can decide how much of everything you need.

Try to buy clothing that is flame retardant (which is usually found only for pajamas.) The label on the clothing - or packaging - will mention whether or not the clothes are flame retardant. Avoid clothes with drawstrings in them. The drawstrings have been known to get caught in a variety of things, like slides, elevators, escalators - and can cause your children to get hurt.


Bathroom Equipment

No, don't go buying pint-sized porcelain toilets for your precious little poop-maker. At least, not at first. Actually, a baby's first bathroom equipment will probably be a bathtub, specifically one of those small plastic bathtubs that have a sponge lining. These tubs are great for newborns. They're sturdy, they keep the baby at your level so you're not leaning over, and they make bathing in the sink safe and easy. Granted, this special tub is not a must-have item. It's still possible to bathe baby in a sink. However, the plastic tub is inexpensive, washable, and portable.

Another bathroom item you'll eventually get for babies is a potty. That's their own, wee toilet, upon which they'll hopefully one day take their first real poop.

Baby Seats

Babies also need a place to sit and a few core items, maybe not tiny furniture, but some special things just their size. Infant seats are those little chairs that you plop your baby in while you're trying to get things done around the house. They're light enough that you can take them to any room you're going, along with your baby. Some seats are adjustable so your baby can be sitting up, or lying back. Some bounce with your baby, some even have little covers so the mean, bright sun can't get into the baby's eyes.