A movie (loosely) based on the book What to Expect When You’re Expecting
They have a line of posters for the movie that feature the female leads. Let’s ignore the fact that the posters are overly airbrushed and the women are not gaining any ounces or spreading inches in any area besides their belly bumps right now. It’s more the quirky sayings on them. A couple of them didn’t really prompt much reaction from me. These two definitely did though:
The first one says: “I just have all this extra energy. Plus I’m like crazy horny.”
Big fat nope on both accounts there. I had zero energy during the first trimester, the second trimester was a little better but it definitely wasn’t even on part with my normal energy levels… absolutely no extra energy. And I’ve never felt more homely in my life, thus I don’t feel particularly amorous.
The second one says: “If I knew I’d have a rack like this, I would’ve gotten knocked up years ago.”
Hell No! Sorry, but I find pregnancy boobs annoying. I had to buy all new bras, all I wear are sports bras now. When I did purchase new regular everyday bras I outgrew them in a week which was highly annoying. I just want to go back to the way I was… but I don’t know if that will ever happen.
The poster I identified with the most was this one.
It says: “I’m calling bull$#!%. Pregnancy sucks.”
I know this may not be a popular opinion… but that’s totally how I feel. I truly never ever ever ever ever want to be pregnant again. I can’t say 100% that I will never ever ever ever ever be pregnant again, who knows how I will feel when my baby is actually here. Maybe I’ll decide I want a minivan full of kids. (That sounds horrifying to me.) The hubby is adamant we can’t have just an only child. I used to think that you needed at least two kids, but pregnancy has SUCKED.
Part way through our vacation I started to feel the kid really moving, so much that I can see it from the outside. I don’t love that feeling… it kind of creeps me out. It also kind of feels like my stomach is churning as if I’m going to be sick. It’s kind of fascinating and interesting that there is a human being that is a split of my DNA and my hubby’s DNA in there, that doesn’t mean that I like it in there. Just like every parent wants their kid to move out of the home at some point, I want the kid to move out of this current home!
Obviously I don’t want my baby to be born at 27 weeks… but I’m ready to not be pregnant anymore. (Well, I’ve felt that way since day one.)
I’ve just started to get really uncomfortable and I only imagine it will get more so over the next 13 weeks. Bending over is harder due to a small beach ball on my stomach. I have had horrible back pain, all upper back which I think is due to the pregnancy chest, and I don’t know how to relieve it. Massages help for a day or two, but then it comes back. Lifting heavy things (that aren’t truly that heavy) is getting harder. My breathing difficulty was greatly relieved while on vacation, but it’s back with a vengeance now.
Oh… and I need to create a real baby registry. I don’t know what things to register for. I told my husband we needed to go to Babies R Us to make a registry. His reply, “We have a car seat and a few onesies people have given us, we don’t need much else.”
I replied “I don’t know what we need, but I know we need stuff like snot suckers and thermometers.”
His reply was that snot suckers aren’t really needed and you just feel the baby’s head to decide if it’s sick and needs to go to the doctor.
So if you’ve got any ideas (especially those of you who have been through this) leave me suggestions on what kind of items are REALLY TRULY needed at the beginning, please share them.
Jill Will Run 
I’m glad you asked. I agree that registering sucks and you have NO idea what you really need and what’s just gimmick. Plus for the first 4 months, baby really don’t do anything but eat, sleep, and pee and poop. Angelina Jolie was right about babies being boring! So you don’t need much.
Oh the other thing is that NOBODY BUYS OFF YOUR REGISTRY! You are going to get clothes, clothes and more clothes because clothes are cute. And people can’t help but buy cute baby things instead of functional baby things. So don’t worry about what to register for and what not to. If you’re lucky smart people will give you diapers. That’s the most useful gift I can think of.
As far as brands, I’m partial to Chicco. We had the Chicco travel system stroller & carseat, pack n play and highchair. It’s on its 3rd use (a friend used it after Mia outgrew it and now we’re using it for Henry), so it has held up very well. By the way, Henry is outgrowing a lot of his stuff and we’re about to goodwill it, if you want it, message me!
Here’s the things I couldn’t live without in the beginning:
1. A bouncy/vibrating chair: It’s portable so you can take it into the bathroom with you so you can pee and take a shower without having your own separation anxiety about leaving the baby unattended.
2. Burp cloths: Babies spit up, and breastfeeding can be messy, etc. They come in handy and you tend to go through several a day
3. Sleeping gowns: easy access to diapers. no buttons/zippers to worry about. warmer than onsies and most have sleeves that fold over their hands so they don’t scratch up their faces
4. Swaddle blankets: some babies like being swaddled and some don’t but it’s good to have a few on hand
5. Pack n Play: another crib option for another room, like downstairs)
6. Small diaper bag: You don’t need to carry everything with you. You’ll survive if you don’t have 20 changes of clothes. I like Skip Hop bags cause they aren’t too babyish and they are functional.
Here’s maybes:
1. Swing. It was a hit and miss with us. Some people swear by it.
2. Baby monitor with video-display capability:Baby slept in our room for first 6 months so not really necessary. And you’re pretty computer savvy, I highly recommend home security cameras that you can access from your computer and iPhone. I’ll message you the details. Also cheaper than baby monitors.
3. Jumper: (baby can’t use until about 5 months at the earliest) but we LOVE ours
4. Co-sleeper: It like a bassinet that attaches to your bed so you can sleep with the baby without worrying about rolling over on it. Great for the first few months.
5. A rocking chair/glider: I didn’t have one with Mia and I survived. I had one with Henry and I liked it.
6. The boppy: A nursing pillow. Also heard good things about My Breast Friend (if you are planning on nursing).
7. Baby carrier: I love the Ergo. I had the Bjorn and it killed my back. The Ergo is a bit harder to use though until you get used to it.
8. Carseat canopy (www.carseatcanopy.com): Great to cover baby to protect it from weather ailments or privacy when sleeping.
9. Uddercover: a nursing cover for nursing in public.
What you don’t need:
1. Baby wipe warmer: They just dry out the wipes. Huge waste of money.
Buy the snot sucker. Your baby will still be mad at you for picking its nose, but it makes the process easier. Baby nail clippers on the other hand are a total scam. I found adult ones way easier and I only ever clipped my son once…
I would say that a carrier is necessary – I had the Baby Bjorn with back support when Spud was little. However once I go the Ergo when he got bigger I wished I’d just had that all along. Same for the jogging stroller – the one that came with the carseat wasn’t good on gravel so was useless to us.
It probably took a year to realize we’d accumulated so much stuff that we didn’t really use (wipes warmer anyone?). It also took about the same time to get over the “buy new” mentality. Baby stuff is pretty decently priced on Craigslist. We actually found our BOB stroller there – practically brand new (she needed a double!) and for $200 off.
Hope that helps and sorry for the long comment…
We came home with the snot sucker from the hospital. 🙂 Put things on the registry that you wouldn’t buy otherwise, like the uber deluxe jogger stroller with a plug-in for your iPod, or the really cool bouncer seat thingy that vibrates and plays music or a swing. When they’re really little they do go through a lot of onesies, receiving blankets, a few bottles (even if breast feeding) oh, and diapers. The rest of it is just fluff. I’ll second what Alanna said about Craigslist.
I was like the Elizabeth Banks character. I was not a happy camper during pregnancy. I was also pregnant during one of the hottest summers on record. Not fun.
PS – We didn’t know the sex of our first, either, and went gender neutral. There’s a ton of gender neutral stuff out there, besides, your newborn child isn’t going to care about that stuff anyway.
Aw, man! I just wrote a really long comment and then accidentally closed the window before I submitted it. :-\
Like Irene, we got our favorite snot-sucker from the hospital. They give you all kinds of things—diapers, wipes, onesies, receiving blankets, pacifiers—which is nice.
What you need for your baby is going to be slightly-to-completely different from what anyone else needs for their baby. Things we used all the time with Annalie we never used once with Elliora; and things that Annalie hated were essential with Elliora. You just never know until the baby is here and you can use trial and error.
I love love LOVE my Ergo, though, and wish I’d had one with Annalie. I tried every sling and carrier out there with Annalie, since she wanted to be held all the freaking time, and never really found one I loved. Pouch slings are nice for rolling up and sticking in the diaper bag in case of an emergency, but the Ergo is far and away the MOST comfortable carrier I’ve ever used. And it’s adjustable so you and your husband could both use it, and it can be a back or front carrier. Even though it’s expensive, I recommend it highly.
We never used a Boppy or a pack-n-play while our babies were little, and both my kids hated being in a bouncy chair whether it was vibrating or not. We didn’t even own a crib till Annalie was 15 months old (we had a bassinet at first that ended up being a cat bed), since she would only sleep if she was touching one of us and we co-slept.
The only things you really NEED when you have the baby are diapers and a carseat. The rest you can accumulate as you go. Oh, and expect your boobs to keep changing sizes…they’ll probably settle into one size around two months post-partum, if you’re nursing. And then after you quit nursing they might change size again.
This ultimate baby registry checklist list from Amalah (once again!) is great:
http://alphamom.com/pregnancy/our-ultimate-baby-registry-checklist/
Yay for shopping! You already have great ideas on here, but I can’t let this post pass me by.
Everyone will have their own opinion as to what you need because every mom is different and every baby is different. But, here are my thoughts…
1. Gowns. Even for boys. Makes life so much easier at 2 am.
2. Bottles. Even if you plan on nursing, it’s nice to get a break and let daddy take a turn at feeding the baby. Also, get some Lansinoh ointment and breast pads. I used Johnson pads at first and they literally ripped at the tender flesh (insert horrifying story for another time, here). I really liked the Lansinoh pads and didn’t discover them until baby 4.
3. Vaseline. If you have a boy and if you circumcise him this will be a necessity.
4. Breast pump. Spend your $ and get a good one, especially since you’ll be working and
baby will be in daycare. I love mine. Kate also has a nice one.
5. Swing. All 5 of my babies lived in theirs. Get an electric one, not batteries. You’ll spend your life savings on C batteries if you don’t. 🙂
6. Bouncer. Nice change from swing and easy to feed baby when starting solids. Can also bide with your foot while working at your computer desk, etc.
7. I could get into the ”don’t buy” but I’d be here all day and it’s simply my opinion as is everything else. If you have specific items you’re wondering about though, I’m glad to put in my two cents (as usual).
Good luck!
P.s. Scott insists I add binkies. We liked the ”Soothie” or generic Wal Mart version of it.
P.p.s Have Kate make you a ”hooter hider/udder cover”. She’s made some really cute ones.
Sure, I’ll throw in my two (three, or four..) cents in too.
The first two things I would put on my wishlist if I could go back can’t be found on a registry. The rest you can accumulate later. #1, find a good pediatrician. You spend a lot of time together over the years, and I love my pediatrician and his staff. It’s been so helpful to have someone who respects me as a parent, is approachable, knowledgeable, etc. We found ours by chance through a short presentation at our childbirth class.
#2, spend time with a lactation consultant after delivery. I had a lot of trouble early on breastfeeding with both my kids. I worked with a lactation consultant at the hospital, and also one at my pediatricians office after a week of misery. Not to steer you off from breastfeeding at all, but it didn’t come easy for me without a lot of help and I had some additional complications. Seriously, see one at the first sign of difficulty and it could save you a lot of pain. (oh, and I didn’t care for Lansinoh ointment, I ended up having to get a prescription for Newman’s nipple ointment, which worked great for me).
As for the “stuff”, I agree that all you really need is diapers, carseat, some onesies, and a place for the kid to sleep (whether it’s a crib, bassinet, co-sleeper) etc. The rest is just what fits into your/and your kids lifestyle. And as everyone else said, it varies even within families. Take your mom with you to register rather than Kevin. 😉 I like to buy stuff from registries, but I actually already have your present picked out. 🙂
Bouncy chair: huge hit with #1, not so much with #2
Swing: Great for both (absolutely get one that plugs in!)
Pack & Play: indespensible for both (ours had a changing table, which was handy to have downstairs away from baby’s room, and we use it while traveling all the time)
Breast pump: Robyn and I used the same model (Ameda), I know several who like the Medela too. I got tons of use out of mine (with some amuzing office stories to go with it). And bottles will be useful as Robyn said.
Boppy: used it a ton with #1, not as much with #2, just because I was a little more in the nursing groove by then.
Bumpo chair: didn’t have one with number #1, but #2 loved sitting in it.
Little play gym/floor mat with dangling toys: Didn’t have one with #1 but #2 LOVED it. Saved my sanity!
Bjorn: both my kids did good with it, and once I learned how to adjust the fit a little better, did fine on my back. Many of my friends swear by the slings though.
Burp cloths: we went through many a day with both my kids. If you happen to have a spitter like mine, skip the cutesy flannel ones and go with something more absorbant like cloth diapers.
Carseat canopy: only had with number 2 and liked it.
Hooded towels and washcloths, swaddle blankets (received some with velcro that helped keep baby bundle that were kind of handy, but got too small quickly)
Oh, and a stroller. We use our little collapsible “umbrella” stroller more than the big travel system stroller, particularly after the first 4-6 months. Make sure to “test drive” it, to make sure the handles are a good height (most are way too short for me and cause me to hunch), there’s no bars or wheels that interfere with your stride, and even with the umbrella strollers, spend a little more and get one with a little basket underneath.
Newman’s ointment, yes! I forgot that’s what I switched to with Kyle. I ditto everything on pediatrician and lactation specialist…very crucial. Couldn’t remember the brand of pump I had.
By the way, I don’t know if you’re interested but I have a wooden cradle you could use in your bedroom until the baby is old enough to move to a crib/their room. I can’t bear to part with it since my brother-in-law made it, but I don’t have use for it right now either.
Just my old fashioned two cents. I was a pacifier person. Many people are not but I could not have been a perfect parent without one. HaHaHa. Really liked them for all six and weaned them all around a year without much trouble.
uh yeah i love how their arms are all still super tiny. i’m sure you’re finding that to be true! lol.
(sorry, can’t offer any advice as you know but looks like you’ve got some helpful tips!)
I think their arms are tinier than they probably are in real life too!
I’m at the point where I feel a little like everything is expanding. It’s not quite as bad as I imagine it in my mind, but there are definite changes everywhere and movies don’t illustrate that accurately most of the time!
a boppy: it’s the half-moon pillow that fits on your lap when you’re feeding and turns into a great help to help the baby sit up. Get two (one for upstairs and down stairs).
Pack n play FOR SURE: we had this downstairs when Lucy was a newborn and it was her napping place (since they have a little cradle attachment that when removed turns into a play pen when they’re MUCH older.
Gowns for the newborn months are great. they make changing diapers WAY quicker.
Pacifiers are great in a pinch BUT kids can get attached. my cousin had hers until she was FIVE. BUT, Lucy and Abbi didn’t grow attached at ALL and when you’re in the store trying to check out and she/he is hungry it’s a GREAT save.
a baby monitor is a must too….not the video one, just a good listening one.
rocking glider chair for YOU….WITH a rocking ottoman. It was $200 but it saved my nights.
a good nursing bra or THREE
towels with hoods for baby
a nice baby bath
you don’t need shoes…my kids NEVER had shoes until they could walk. no one judges…and it’s vegas. too hot for that
You really don’t need any STUFF like toys until they’re like 6-10 months old, so don’t worry about that stuff.
ALSO: never used baby powder…or oil but bought it because I thought i needed too.
MAN it’s been a long time since I’ve had to think about this stuff!!!!
I love you, and if you need ANY help I am RIGHT HERE and at RETRO. 😉