Advice for a newbie mom from those who've done this before?

Katie - posted on 01/01/2011

I was scanning the posts above, so pleae excuse me if any advice is repetitious!

I say move into maternity pants. I found that that waist line was the only thing that kept expending on me, so the pants I bought early on lasted me my entire pregnancy. I do prefer the maternity pants that have the high elastic band. Not even remotely sexy, but I find them to be most comfortable.

As for the registry, I would say avoid the bottle warmers and whatnot. If your baby gets too accustomed to those luxuries, it's more difficult when they're not an option. Add the big ticket items to the list now, even though you may not need them for awhile. Register for your high chair and convertible car seat right away. No one has to buy them for you, but if you can minimize those purchases later, it's extremely helpful! A swing is, in my opinion, a life saver, so definitely add that!! Clothes of larger sizes come in handy, as do plenty of bottles. What I also did was went onto websites for typical registry palces and looked up people I know. What did they register for? It's a great way to gather ideas on what to add to the registry as well as specific brands and stuff to look into.

Elizabeth - posted on 12/20/2010

Sounds like you already have plenty of Advice, but the more the merrier eh?

First off, Maternity clothes. I know it's the wrong season for Garage sales, but try Mom2Mom sales (they have them all winter), second hand stores & friends. I've never tried yoga pants, but Maternity clothes grow with you and you can always save 'em for the next baby.

Plane trips, we traveled and I had terrible problems with the pressure in my sinuses when we landed. the second leg of our trip (we had a layover) I threw up all over myself. It was gross. My hubby's family friend suggested two days before you fly to take an antihistimine (sudafed, claritin, benedryl) But ask your OB/GYN which one they prefer, b/c each one differs and you should have the all clear anyway. They'll tell you for sure if you're safe to fly (which you should be fine) I used Claratin and it worked great, my two flights home not a problem at all!

With my son i registered for lots of things. Glider chair, baby swing, pack-n-play, Headrest mirror, boppy pillow, diapers, wipes (can never have enough) tummy mats, you can ask for clothes of a larger size (they grow out of 'em so fast), breast feeding blanket/shawl if you plan to breastfeed, and bottles. heaven knows you can never have enough of those- even if you do breastfeed. Car seat is a HUGE buy, you can't bring baby home from the hospital with out one, and if you buy it new, a lot of times you can trade in the infant seat for a discount on the toddler one when they out grow it. Also check out Mom2Mom sales, for strollers, high chairs... all those expensive big ticket items. You can get really good deals on gently used stuff like that!

Sharon - posted on 11/27/2010

I have an almost 13mth old and am currently 19wks with #2.
I love love love elastic waisted pants, but loose elastic, not tight at all. Skirts are good too, elastic waist, that way you can choose to go above or below your bump, whatever feels comfortable. Or dresses. Plus I was always a few degrees warmer than everyone else the further I get into the pregnancy, so layering the clothing is good.

I didn't travel while pregnant, except for 3hr car trips, and one 6hr flight at 9wks, so can't help there sorry.
A baby Shower would be great, and your friend sounds like they want to be involved a bit so I say go for it. Another idea apart from gifts is a signature style book (like people have for 21st or engagements) and the guests can write in little tips to get your through the tough times. You know, things that they learnt along they way and found worked for them.

I don't think bottle warmers are really neccessary, although we did have one that plugged into the cigarette lighter in the car, so that was handy for our trips. At home, when he was using formula we would warm the bottle in a jug of hot water, only took about 4-5mins. Wipe warmers I never used either, think it's a cute idea, but not really needed. Highchair I wouldn't worry about until bubs is nearing 6mths, or can sit on their own, unless you see a super hot deal. Ours cost $70 (aussie), that was 50% off, and it does the same as the more expensive ones. Just get one that wipes clean easy, the prettier they look and more padded they are the harder they are to clean, especially when bubs starts feeding themselves.
Picking a carseat, we went with a brand we felt comfortable with, and chose to use a capsule first rather than the convertible seats as we always planned on having #2 soon after.
When you buy and get given clothes, don't cut the tags off all of them. Once you know the size of bubs, then you can either exchange for a bigger/smaller size if needed.
We didn't bother buying a cradle/bassinette until after our son was born, just incase he didn't need it. At about 3wks of age he started wanted the security of the closeness of a bassinette. We had chosen one out prior to the birth though, just incase.

Sarah - posted on 11/22/2010

I have a 15 month old and am currently 19 weeks pregnant with baby #2.

Clothes - I love maternity pants! I found that all the ones I bought lasted me throughout my last pregnancy...and I gained 90lbs!! They are very comfortable. The yoga pants were great until about 6 months, then were getting just a little too snug. If you plan on having more kids after this, then make the investment into a few pairs of pants. Also, see about borrowing from friends if possible.

Travel - My husband and I just got back from a trip to the Bahamas. It was only a 3 hour flight, but I found that if I did a lot of walking around the airport before getting on the plane, I was pretty good. Getting a seat with some extra leg room would be great too...especially if you're like me and tend to get swollen ankles. I purposely didn't drink too much on the flight because the bathrooms are so awkward while pregnant..and even when not!

Registry - I was amazed at how many receiving blankets we actually used those first few months!! We had to go out and buy more. Same as cloths. I wouldn't bother with any of those fancy warming things. Not worth it. We also cloth diaper, so I put things like wet bags (for travel and in the diaper bag) on our registry. Sleepers and clothes in sizes up to 24 months were a great gift, because we're still making our way through them and it's been nice not having to buy as much ourselves. We didn't start using a highchair until about 5 1/2 months. However, we just got a hand me down. All the new stuff really isn't necessary. And when you think about it, it's better for the environment to reuse then to go and buy new. And better for the wallet! I found the carseat to be the most important thing we bought and we did TONS of research into that. That is also the one thing I would not get used. One thing we've used consistently, which was a great baby gift, was a CD player with a nice variety of kid's CD's. My son loves going to sleep with music. I also found that a lot of things, you just can't plan for...you'll figure out what you need, what you don't need and what you need more of as you go along.
Hope that helps a little? Good luck with everything!!

Jamie - posted on 11/18/2010

You should be fine traveling but walk the aisle of the plane every hour and drink lots of water! As for getting this for the baby..you can register for high chair and a bigger car seat for when baby outgrows the first car seat. I wouldn't register for wipe warmer/bottle warmer....if you are making each bottle right before feeding there should be no need for a bottle warmer as you would be using warm water :) Car seat covers are something else that I have never used and I live in Nebraska and last year we had 2 back to back blizzards..just make sure you use a heavy blanket over the baby so the cold doesnt get in. Don't get very many socks either..they just fall off babies feet!! I hope this helps

Rebecca - posted on 11/18/2010

well for clthes just find strectchy shirts a pants with an elastic waist and jeans with a maternity nand on them and yes travel is safe until your third trimester i flew to montana at almost a month pregnant and as for the baby list just look up a check list on babies r us website and add of course a convertiable crib to it b/c they out grow cradles so fast there just not worth. buying

Amanda - posted on 11/17/2010

For clothes I went with yoga pants, they'll expand to fit in a couple months and you can dress em up some unlike regular sweats.
I did travel while prego, and there were no probs there, and about drinking lots fluids while your on the flight?? dunno if i agree with that, if you have a lotta pressure on your bladder airplane/airport bathrooms can be a pest.

And i had a lady at babies r us walk me through the registry and suggest what the must haves are, but in the end no one went off the registry anyway, so i can't really help you there either......