What to bring to bring the baby home in

[Cindder]

I was wondering what I should pack for the baby to come home in? The baby isnt due until March 14 (I think it could be earlier though). Also I was wondering what baby items (grooming/health) should I have at home? For instance, a rectal thermometer, nail clippers, brush?...It can be confusing.

Thank you for help!

Deanne

[egoldber]

You really don't need anything special to bring baby home in. Bring a cute outfit (with a hat), because you'll want to take pictures. Just make sure it is VERY easy to get on. You'll still be nervous about dressing baby at that point. If it's cold, just cover baby with some blankets.

All the things you mentioned are good to have on hand. Here are a few other suggestions:
baby emery boards (useful until I got the hang of clipping)
diaper rash ointment (just in case)
baby lotion / ointment (I find that my baby's cheeks get chapped from the dry heat inside our house)
saline nose drops (for her nose when she gets congested)
Mylicon drops (for gas)
infant Tylenol
several baby washcloths
a couple baby hooded towels
an infant tub and big yellow sponge bear (They sell these sponges at BRU & Target for about $3.99 and can be placed inside the infant tub to make it easier to bathe baby. I found it to be a lifesaver. They are so wriggly and slippery!)

HTH,

[egoldber]

I second the usefulness of the hospital "scrub brush". We couldn't use it with our baby for too long, since she had a ton of hair when she was born and it has only gotten longer since! It is now past her collar and I had to trim her bangs (at 6 months!)!

But a great point here is to bring home EVERYTHING you can from the hospital. We came away with diapers, wipes, a plastic water cup for me (useful to keep hydrated while nursing), etc. You have already paid for everything they give you in the room, so make sure to take it home with you!

HTH,

[Melanie]

We used the tiniest sleeper that we had and he was still swimming in it! The first couple of weeks we used a lot of the side-snap shirts and infant pull-on pants as they don't like things pulled over their heads and you don't want to use a onesie until the cord falls off. I TRIPLE the scrub brush from the hospital - we still use ours!

Here's *my opinion* of a reality layette (of course we overshopped and had more than this):

2 packages (6) side-snap shirts
2 infant pants
5 sleepers
2 gowns (we ended up not liking these b/c my son was a kicker, but so many people had told us they were great, so I think it was just us)
5 flannel receiving blankets
2 bigger microfiber/fleece receiving blankets
2 hats (find the tiniest ones in the store & don't forget to bring home the ones from the hospital)
5 pairs of tiny booties
1 package cloth diapers (come in very handy for burp clothes or covering a boy while changing the diaper) we like the diaper service quality ones best
2 "nice outfits" (you'll wish you had these for the first portraits you take, and trust me, you won't be ready for shopping again before then)


Don't waste your money on Gerber brand shirts, sleepers, gowns or onesies because they just aren't soft. Spend the extra $$ for the Carter's brand b/c you don't want to irritate your newborns' skin.

Grooming Items:
"scrub" brush from hospital
nail scissors & clippers (until you figure out which you like)
ultra-soft emory board
baby hair brush
baby powder with corn starch
diaper rash ointment
baby soap/shampoo combo (do you really want to mess with two bottles and a slippery newborn?)
4 baby washcloths
2 baby towels (again, I'm partial to Carter's - they are just bigger and softer)
thermometer (we use digital under the arm and add .9 degree)
the little nose-sucker thing LOL! (the kind the hospital uses which are tiny at the end seem to work best for us)
hypoallergenic unscented diaper wipes (and our doctor still recommended rinsing them first)
a few brands of diapers b/c they do not all fit every child (we went through pampers, huggies, & white cloud before finding Target brand fit our son)
unscented laundry detergent (that Dreft stuff is way too strong smelling for a newborn, we use ALL Clear, b/c that is the kind Costco has, but any of the brands which have a hypoallergenic type should work)

Good Luck and Enjoy your newborn!


Mommy to Little Jonah born 11-6-2001

[suzska]

Oh, I just wanted to say be careful which Carter's hooded towels you get. I have one that is the "JOY" (Just One Year) print, and it is smaller and not as nice as the plain, old solid Carter's ones. I think the print one came with a washcloth, but the others don't. I snatched up two white ones a few weeks ago on clearance at BabiesRUs. A few other brands I have aren't even square! (Whoever made them, didn't cut the fabric on grain, and it drives me nuts that they don't fold up right. And they are smaller than the Carter's ones, so I don't even use them anymore.)

I think I ended up with 9 side-snap shirts. And I had 2-dozen cloth diapers. My son had reflux pretty bad the first 6 months, and we went through a dozen in no time, and I don't like to do laundry every day, so I went and bought a second pack. Now he likes to snuggle with them at naptime sometimes. And we still use one as a "pee shield," as we call it, for diaper changes. ;-) And I had 6-7 sleepers (again, don't like to do laundry).

Another note, we use liquid Tide Free, and no dryer sheets/fabric softener.

You guys have come up with some good lists!

--Sue B.
SAHM to Evan Jeffrey 03-11-01

[suzska]

Here, I though I'd show you what our son wore home from the hospital. :-) He was born this time last year. The outfit is actually a two-piece outfit, but it was so big on him you can't see the leggings (he had a little t-shirt on underneath). We had a hat for him to wear home, but we just couldn't bear covering up all that hair for the picture! And the cloud blanket is ours, too--they let us use it for the photo. If you have a special blanket you might want to pack it for the photo that they will probably take at the hospital (otherwise they use a basic pink or blue one for the background).

I can't think of anything to add to the list for items that you will need at home. We used a little, plastic basin that the hospital gave us to give him sponge baths with until we could put him in the baby tub. They also gave us this really neat "scrub brush" to wash his hair with, and I still use it today.

Good luck! And Congrats!!!!

--Sue B.
SAHM to Evan Jeffrey 03-11-01