Furnishing a Nursery

Choosing a Stroller and a Car Seat

Choosing a Jogging Stroller

In this post I am going to focus on other baby gear that I personally found important to have and why. If you’re about to have a baby shower for your first child, walking through the baby store’s isles can be overwhelming. So many articles, they all seem important and possibly necessary. Monitors, crib mobiles, swings, playpens, bath tubs, changing table pads, diaper disposals etc, etc… I think it’s important to separate these items into three categories, “not needed”, “I could possibly use that” and “I definitely need it”! From that point you can make a decision for what you need to purchase based on the necessity level and the budget.

Even with my first one, I used careful judgment at picking baby items (yep, I’m a minimalista!).  I evaluated how long I would be using the item, how much it costs and what is its necessity level. And since I knew ahead of time that we were planning on two kids, I picked the colors to cover either gender.

This is a list of items that I’m glad I got, since they were well worth getting.

Playpen/bassinet combination with changing pad is a definite necessity and will serve your child from birth until 2 or 3 years old. I decided not to purchase changing table, see why in my previous article and started using playpen from the time my daughter was born. I didn’t use it as a bassinet, since it’s bulky and not easily movable. When my daughter grew up a little, I got rid of the changing pad and started using it as an actual playpen. It’s definitely a lifesaver when you need to leave the room to take a shower or if you’re cleaning the house or when they simply misbehave! Since it can be folded into a compact bag, it served as a bed for her when we went to visit relatives overnight. She outgrew its bed purpose at around two, when she got too tall for it.

Bassinet is a very convenient item to have, but not worth buying brand new. It’s only great for the first 3 months of your baby’s life. It’s small and portable. I used to wheel it around the house everywhere I went. At night the bassinet was next to my bed for the convenience of breastfeeding. During the day it sat next to me in the family room. When I went on the porch, I brought it along as well. Since its use is limited to only first three months, I saw no point of getting a brand new bassinet. I borrowed it from a friend. If it’s not an option, look for a used one. Just make sure it’s stable, the base is not missing any screws and the wheels are in working condition.

Baby swing is a definite necessity. I used it from almost time she was born until about a year from then. The motion kept her quiet while I was able to get other things done.  She would often dose off in it.

Shopping cart cover got its use for the ten bucs I spent on it. I used it from the time my daughter was about 6 months until she was a little over a year. You can definitely use it longer than that, I just didn’t seem to have a necessity for it.

Baby carrier/sling (0-3 months) for newborns. We used it quite a bit to walk around the neighborhood for the first 3+ months of her life. I left it up to my husband to carry her around in it. The weight was a little too much for my back for the whole stretch of the walk.

Baby gym is a little on the pricey side for a brand new, but it had a good run with my first one and will be with my 2nd as well. She started to interact with it at about 2-3 months of age until we decided to pack it up around the time she started walking. She enjoyed the lights going on and off with the sound of the music. She didn’t start grabbing the toys until few months later, but it kept her entertained overall. Even now, at two years old, she sneaks into her closet (that’s where we store it), closes the door from the inside and turns on the music with blinking lights. It’s like she’s having her own little party in there, no parents invited .

Baby intercom is a definite necessity if your baby is sleeping in a separate room. I would recommend purchasing the one that is running on high frequency, the kind that the cordless phones use, rather than the low radio frequency. At first we got the low frequency one, and it drove us nuts at night. It was making all kinds of static noises, and we were just having a hard time sleeping. Also, if your neighbors happen to come across the radio frequency you’re using, they can listen in on your conversation in the nursery. After a few days I bought the high frequency intercom and had no problems with it. No static noises, just the baby! Some people complain that they’re having a hard time hearing the baby, but I didn’t find it to be a problem at all.

Crib Mobile/Crib Aquarium are not the “can’t live without” type items, but they are nice to have. My daughter was enjoying them since infant until we moved her to the big girl’s room at 2. Even then she couldn’t part with her musical aquarium.

Infant bath tub (0-6 mo) I found to be very useful. You could definitely use other means to wash the baby, like the sink or a regular bathtub, but it can be a bit tricky in the early months, having to support his head and washing him at the same time. So with my first one I played it safe by getting a special bathtub, and it worked out very well.

There is no way to cover absolutely every baby item. This is just my take on the things that I consider important and  personally use to make my life easier. If you have something to add, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. I love to learn from others how they do things.

In my next post I’ll focus on the items that I consider unnecessary based on my personal experience and judgment.

I know it’s a little past due, but we are having a boy! We found out on October 7 during my second ultrasound. I was about twenty one and half weeks preggie at the time. The baby was estimated to weigh 1.1 pounds and everything seemed to be normal.

Sex of our second baby didn’t matter to us much, but honestly I was just a tad more excited to hear that we are having a boy! Our first one is a girl and to have one of each is definitely a blessing. Before the ultrasound, my husband and I were pretty much convinced that we are having a girl this time as well. My sister-in-law did the ‘scientific’ pendant test against the palm of my hand. The pendant was moving in a circular motion versus back and forth, predicting a girl. I also did the Intelligender Gender Prediction Test, which was kind of inconclusive, but I decided that it was going to be a girl afterall.

So definitely hearing words “it’s a boy” from the ultrasound technician was a wonderful surprise! I now have to switch my mindset from pinks and purples, dolls and hair dos, to blues, and trucks, and planes, and sports uniforms. I’m used to girly things (hello, I’m a girl), and since I am the only child, exploring the boy world is like stepping into the Wild Wild West. But afterall I am more than ready for the challenge and can’t wait to meet my son! He, he, it still sounds a little unnatural to me, “MY son”, but boy-o-boy am I ready!