Lerin's Guide to Baby Registry, Part One

Today, I am going to give you a list of my personal MUST-HAVES. This list consists of the items I can't imagine going without if I were to bring home a newborn today. (Subsequent posts will address the items I recommend buying as baby grows, items that aren't absolutely necessary but are very nice to have if you an afford them, breastfeeding/bottle feeding items, a post on diapering options, and finally, items you DON'T need to waste your money on.)

My Must-Haves for Baby:



My number ONE recommendation for ANY parent, whether this is your first baby or not, is "The Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD by Dr Harvey Karp. I didn't know about Dr. Karp's method of baby-soothing until my third child came along. I know that my experiences with newborn Madeleine and newborn Isabella would have been much more positive had I known these things back then! Benedict has been the most AMAZINGLY content baby, and I think it is because he had a smooth transition from my womb to the world. Please get this DVD! I'd buy it for every new parent in the world if I could. That's how wonderful I think it is.

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Clothing and Layette

Baby clothing comes in many varieties. My philosophy for dressing a newborn is: the simpler the better! Trust me, you will be changing this newborn baby's diaper at least 8-10 times per day, and you don't want to fuss with a lot of snaps and silliness.




Get a couple of really precious, frivolous outfits for special occasions, church, or photography sessions from Gymboree. They are super-cute and the highest quality, longest-lasting, been-through-multiple babies and still look fantastic little outfits I've ever owned. They have matching shoes, socks, toys, and hats/hair bows too. If you are only buying a couple of these outfits, you (or Grandma) can afford to go all out and buy all the little accessories. Other than those two outfits, please do yourself a favor... stick to simplicity and frugality.



I like to have several packs of onesies (also known as bodysuits) on hand. Onesies are the simplest type of baby wear, just like a t-shirt with snaps at the diaper area. I would have at least a dozen of them on hand. Newborns go through several outfits a day with all of the inevitable diaper leaks, spit-ups, and changing accidents. If you're following my NUMBER ONE recommendation for parents of newborns, a onesie will be the only clothing baby really needs. Since you will be swaddling most of the time, baby will not be cold.



If you live in a cooler area, or if the season is chilly, you can pick up several packs of footed sleepers. Babies constantly kick off their little socks, so just save yourself the trouble and get an outfit that is all-in-one. I suggest zippered sleepers. It is much quicker to zip a sleeper than to fuss with a million snaps, especially when an impatient baby is kicking and crying to be dressed and swaddled again!



Having about a dozen onesies and/or sleepers may sound excessive, but trust me, this precious baby will go though several outfits per day. You will be doing constant loads of laundry! This is a natural segue to my next must-have... SHOUT stain remover. No matter what brand or type of diapering method you use, the baby will inevitably "explode" out of diapers occasionally. As a mother with many a ruined outfit can attest to, unless you treat the stain right away, it may set! As soon as baby is clean and dressed in a fresh outfit, rush the stained article of clothing to the laundry room and spray away.



As I've mentioned more than once... you WILL need be swaddling the baby quite a bit. I've tried just about every kind of blanket out there and my favorite are the Carter's 4-Pack Flannel Receiving Blankets. I suggest picking up two or three of these packs. Once again, babies are messy and need complete changes of clothing (including swaddling blankets) more often than you would guess.



My husband Adam disagrees with me, though. He thinks the Carter's blankets are too small and he prefers bigger ones. He also liked using the prefolded "Swaddle Me" blankets with velcro, like those pictured above. I didn't prefer them because I liked wrapping baby much more tightly, and I usually only swaddled the arms anyhow so I can still buckle baby into the swing. However, this just goes to show that different items work better for different parents!



You will need Gerber cloth diapers, but NOT for diapering. You need them for burp cloths! Every baby I have ever brought into the world or provided childcare for has had their fair share of spit-up and drooling. Baby stores sell the CUTEST little embroidered burp cloths... so cute, in fact, that I never wanted to wipe baby puke on them. Gerber cloth diapers are great because they are cheap, highly absorbent, and best of all: they're white, which means they can be bleached!

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Baby Gear:



This is one item you absolutely can't leave the hospital without! An infant car seat is so essential that the nurses will check to see the baby is properly secured before you drive away. Do not buy a used car seat; for safety reasons, this is one item that you should always buy brand-new. My favorite infant car seats are by Graco. You leave the "base" of the seat in your car, and you can use the car seat as an infant carrier when you are out and about... you've seen them, I'm sure, attached to grocery store carts. The nice thing about this type of car seat is that you don't have to wake baby to get him out of the car. Just tote baby around (they're heavier than you think, expect to see a bicep and tricep emerge soon!) and then simply click it back into the base when it's time to head home again.



These strollers are SUCH a great invention! This is a super light-weight, very easy-to-use stroller. You simply click the infant carrier into the stroller frame. As I mentioned above, the infant car seats can be heavy, especially as baby grows. I bought one of these when I had Isabella. They were a new product then, and so much better than the bulky travel system model!



May I introduce THE BEST SWING EVER? I have been through several swings in my mothering and nannnying days, and this is THE magic swing! It swings from side-to-side in a cradle motion, which all of my children have preferred. It is padded and comfy for a newborn, just like Mommy's arms. It also has white-noise capabilities (ocean sounds, brooks, etc) and music. It has a mirror, mobile, and toy tray for older babies. I can't praise this swing enough and I recommend it to all of my friends. In fact, I have “sold” so many of these by showing my friends how much their newborns love the swing at my house. Even babies who "hate" swings love this one, much to my shocked friends’ happy surprise. When baby won't sleep in his crib at night, this swing always gently rocks them back to sleep. Don't forget the batteries, though... get SEVERAL packs of D-batteries.



This is called a Travel Lite Crib. It acts as a bassinet for newborns, and then as a travel crib for older infants. I recommend this above ANY other bassinet for one simple reason... it collapses! And that means it is portable! I had a Kolcraft bassinet for Madeleine and Isabella, and there was no way to take it with me when we travelled or were at a friend's house for the day. It also was such a pain to store because I couldn't collapse it, and it was hard to clean. The Graco Travel Lite Crib is SO much better than anything else available! I keep it set up next to my bed for easy breastfeeding in the middle of the night. Buy a couple of extra sheets and a couple of waterproof pads in case of any diaper blowouts.



I tried a HOST of different carriers and two different slings. None ever seemed comfortable for me or for my baby. I was always trying to avoid the Baby Bjorn because of the cost, but the five carriers I went through before would have paid for it a couple of times over! I am telling you: buy or register for this item. The Baby Bjorn was so comfortable and it helped me carry my babies around all day (like they wanted!) while also having free hands for my older children and daily chores. It's great for around the house or for a long day out and about, and my husband will also wear it.





I was probably the most anti-pacifier mommy on the block with my first child. That all changed when Isabella was on the blue-light bed for jaundice as a newborn, and the ONLY thing that comforted her was a pacifier. I couldn't hold her or nurse her, but the pacifier became her source of comfort. My baby boy didn't care WHAT he was sucking on, be it the breast, his fingers, or a pacifier... but he always needed something to suckle to fall asleep. I preferred giving him the pacifier, to prevent being up all night with him or the orthodontic problems that can result from prolonged thumb-sucking. I like the Nuk brand because they are cheap and cute. That's what they gave Ben at the hospital and that's what we have bought ever since. I stick with silicone over latex though, because the latex ones keep a taste and they smell funny to me.

If you do use a pacifier for your baby, be sure to get a pacifier leash! You can attach it to baby’s clothes when you are out and about... trying to find a dropped (and dirty!) pacifier in a store or buried under baby in the car seat is never fun.


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Bathing/Grooming:



I have mixed feelings about baby bathtubs. I much prefer bathing WITH my babies until they can safely sit in the kitchen sink. However, with older children in the house, I couldn’t climb into the bathtub with my newborn and supervise the big kids at the same time. I found that the baby tub was useful for these times!



I love, love, love Johnson's baby products. Their shampoo and lotion smells SO good to me, and I never had any problems with baby's sensitive skin. This kit includes baby cotton swabs which you ALSO need... Adult Q-tips are small enough to slip inside the ear canal and can easily cause an injury. The baby cotton swabs have an extra big tip to prevent such an accident. Desitin is also my favorite diaper rash ointment. I usually slather it on thick at night, to help provide an extra barrier of protection for baby. The baby oil definitely comes in handy as well... I'll explain next!



If your babies are anything like mine, you will use the baby oil and comb! All three of my children have had “cradle cap” which consists of dry scaly skin on the scalp. I had tried the doctor-recommended baby shampoo scrub brush and Head and Shoulders dandruff shampoo, to no avail. What works for us was an internet-advice find and I am passing it to you. COVER baby's scalp in baby oil and let it sit for awhile, until the scales get softer. Then comb and comb and comb them out. It worked for us!



Baby fingernails grow soooooo fast, and they end up scratching their sweet little faces if you don't stay on top of them. Make sure you have all the tools... a tiny set of nail clippers (the adult size can cut more than baby's fingernail!), a tiny set of nail scissors and a file. Carefully cut the nails with the clippers, and then take sharp edges down with the scissors or file.

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AND FINALLY... don't be without a Digital Camera with a video mode to capture all of those precious, fleeting memories. You will want to email pictures and video of your sweet beautiful baby to all of your family and friends.

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We've reached the end of what I personally feel are MUST-HAVES to bring a newborn home. Less than you expected? Over the course of the week, you will get all you can handle of my recommendations... but this my personal list of "can't-do-withouts" for a newborn.