CLOTH DIAPERS

Figuring out which cloth diapers to go with was actually more painful than giving birth. I didn't understand what Pockets, AOI (all-in-ones) Pre folds, Snappis, Covers, Soakers etc were. That is until I found this amazing store on the UES (Upper East Side) called metro-minis. It was hippie heaven in the middle of Manhattan. Kyoki was amazing at walking me through it all, and now I shall try to simplify it all for you. I'll update this post tomorrow with photos... I promise.

So the basics:

There are three kinds of diapers.

Pre folds -

These are the kind our parents put us in and make great burp cloths. I suggest buying them from a reputable source such as the Bummis brand or from clothdiapers.com. The ones they sell in Babies R Us and Target are cheap, not very absorbent, and don't have the correct number of layers to provide the right amount of thickness. Basically the way these work is you can either fold them in thirds and put them inside a cover (I'll explain in bit) or you put them on like a diaper and pin them at the sides. There is an alternative to sticking you and the baby with diaper pins called Snappis, which were surprisingly invented by a man and are GENIUS. They hook into the fabric like the metal things that you use on an ace bandage. Once you have the diaper on you need to make the situation water proof. That is where the diaper cover comes in. The cover goes on top of the pinned on diaper or you can lay a diaper in side and put it on that way. You will need 12-24 diapers and about 4 covers. Covers sell for $12-$15 and diapers are about $1.50-$3 a piece.

PROS: For the true environmentalist this is the way to go, there is much less manufacturing and therefore it is more eco friendly. This method is also MUCH cheaper. If you don't like the diapers you can use them as rags, dusting cloths, burp cloths.

Cons: Not as user friendly. You will need to buy 2 sizes of diapers the first will probably get you through 4 months, the second will get you through potty training. You can also buy one size fits all covers that will last you from newborn to potty training or you can buy sized covers, you will have to get a bigger size every few months. This is costly and I didn't find that these fit any better than the one size fits all.

All In Ones (AIO)

Pocket Diapers

Baby Furniture

Baby Monitors

Swaddling Blankets

I've tried them all and at four months, I'm still using them. Although now, Lincoln is just about grown out of the largest size I can find. AHHHHH he can't sleep long periods without them. But as he is now rolling over, he rolled onto his belly and I have discovered that he sleeps longer and better on his belly than his back (he took a 3 hour nap today). I know I sound like a horrible mom, letting him sleep on his back with SIDS lurking around the corner, but according to all my reading, once they start turning over, well it seems like tummy sleeping is fair game. But back to the miracle of swaddling blankets. There is one, and a pricey one at that ($30) called the Miracle Blanket. Trust me, it's no miracle. In fact it's a down right pain in the ass. The video makes it look easy, and well you CAN get the hang of it after about 30 times. But, it's awkward, hard to use, and during a 2am night feeding/diaper change, you might want to just hang yourself from the long piece of fabric. The one I suggest sells for about $12 ($18 if you want organic). It comes in a variety of fabrics, including cotton for the summer and fleece for the winter. Its a small piece of fabric, you stick the kid in, velcro the left flap to the center of the blanket, Velcro the right flap to the outside of the blanket and even my little Houdini stays snug as a bug all night long.

What to steal from the hospital

The hospital will be a time when you can stock up on baby gear. I'm sure all hospitals are different, but if you are delivering at Weil Cornell on 68th, this is what they have to offer and what and how I suggest taking. Trust me, most of the stuff they get is donated from the companies that manufacture it so you will not be ripping anyone off by taking as much as you can.

1. Disposable undies - As glamorous as they sound, they are mesh, large and well weird looking. I took home as many of these as I could get my hands on. Whether you deliver vaginally or by C-section, the down there area is not pretty, and why waist nice undies when you can just throw them out at the end of the day.

2. Pads- Again you will probably need to wear these for a week or two. They are large and bulky but they are free and get the job done.

3. Doggy Pee Pee pads - I'm sure this is not the official term, but you all know what these are, they are blue, and are waterproof. I slept on them for a week when I got home because sometimes that monstrous pad shifts, and why ruin good sheets. When I no longer needed them, they were donated to my doggy Scout.

4. Nipple Cream - This stuff is expensive, and a little goes a long way. I personally had bought some of the Lansinoh stuff in the purple tube. I thought it was thick and hard to spread. The Medela brand one is fantastic and they give you tons of these in mini tube form. I got so many (and really only needed them for a few weeks) that I gave them all away. It's also great to have these instead of getting the big tube because you can leave them all over the house (and a few in the pocket of your My Breast Friend).

5. Diapers - Even if you are going to cloth diaper like I do, that first week of mid-night feedings when you are in a haze, these will come in handy. I also use disposables when I travel so I more than used all these up by the time I was onto the next size. They normally have size 1 diapers so your baby won't outgrow them for a while. Even my monster was in these for the first month. The trick to stockpiling these is empty out the drawer in the bassinet when they bring your baby to you, when they take him away, they will refill it. In no time you will have a nice stash built up.

6. Witchhazel Pads/ Squirt Bottle/Sitz bath - As I had a C-Section I cannot speak as to how useful these things are but I know those who delivered vaginally found them to be a godsend. I wasn't allowed to shower for 2 days after my surgery, and the squirt bottle definitely came in handy to freshen up down there.

7. Gel Pads - These you refrigerate and then put on your nipples. They felt WONDERFUL after a tough round of breastfeeding.

8. Hand Sanitizing Gel - They will give you mini squirt bottles of these. Like the mini tubes of nipple cream, you can never have too many. Its great to leave them all over your apartment, in your purse, diaper bag etc.

9. Formula - This, as with most of this stuff, you can ask the nurses for when you leave. Most nurses will HOOK YOU UP, so don't be shy and ask. They give you little 2 oz tubes of formula which is what they feed non breast fed babies in the hospital. I didn't take as many as I could have because I thought I was going to breast feed. MISTAKE. You never know if you can or can't. Even if you can breastfeed exclusively, this stuff is normally good for 2 years. At some point you might need it and you can always pass it on to a friend or donate it to a woman's shelter. These tiny disposable bottles were great for when I was traveling on the plane, the subway or bus. They are quick and easy and RIDICULOUSLY expensive if you buy them on your own.

Along with this, if you are having trouble breastfeeding they have disposable Medela SNS feeding systems which were fabulous if you are struggling to breast feed and aren't making enough breastmilk.

10. Chanel Makeup bag - No I'm not kidding, but sorry ladies, you will probably only get this if you deliver on NYC's Upper East Side. You don't have to ask, you will get one, but it can't hurt to try and get another one right ?

WHAT YOU REALLY NEED AT THE HOSPITAL

The simple answer to this is NOTHING. Anything you could possibly need, they will provide for you. I had three massive bags packed months before I went into labor. How much of it did I really use ? Well, basically none of it. The hospital is going to provide you with the basics, clothes, underwear, food, shelter, everything you need for the baby (this will lead into my topic of what to STEAL from the hospital later this week).

Here is what I suggest the essentials are, especially if you live far from home:

1. Cell Phone/Cell Phone charger, I was in no mood to watch TV or surf the web, but my blackberry was my lifeline. I'm pretty sure I was texting and pushing.

2. Laptop for AFTER delivery. You know you are going to want to get on Facebook and post up pictures. Sure this can be done from a smart phone but it's not as fun.

3. Baby Wipes - The hospitals normally just provide you with paper towels and tell you to wet them if you need to. This is fine for PEE PEE, but Poop is a WHOLE other story. That Shit (pun intended) is like tar and baby wipes are definitely helpful. My favorite which are chlorine free, and fragrance free are Earths Best Baby Wipes in a yellow package. 7th Generation makes "Free" ones too, but I don't think they are even half as good.

4. Slippers - But they will most likely have rubber bottomed socks if you forget

5. A robe - I made the mistake of not having one, and numerous people saw a variety of body parts throughout the 5 days I was hospitalized.

6. Nursing Bra's / Tank Tops (wait until closer to your delivery date to buy this as your body will change size and they can get expensive)

7. A Nursing Pillow (my personal favorite is My Breast Friend - See my nursing post)

8. Clothes to bring baby home in.

9. Stroller that car seat will attach to

10. Car Seat

I think that is pretty much it. The hospital provided EVERYTHING else that I needed.

BOTTLE WARMERS

This is going to be a short topic. I think they are the biggest waste of money, dangerous and overall unnecessary. It's a huge scam; spend $60 on a bottle warmer, another $30 on a nightside bottle warmer, $20 on a travel one, another $20 for one in the car. RIP OFF.

First of all, if you don't warm the bottle from the start, that kid doesn't know what he is missing. Second, they can often overhead the bottle not only damaging the bottle, posing a potential burn to your child, but they can destroy the nutritional content of the formula or breast milk. My suggestion, for formula, use room temperature water to mix. For breast milk, I would run the bottle under hot water for 30 seconds just until the separated milk would come back together. For refrigerated formula I felt it refreshingly cold and the munchkin was never the wiser. If you baby has a hard time digesting formula, it can help her digestion to have warmed milk. Again run the bottle under hot water for 30 seconds and that does the trick.

Bottle Drying Racks

In NYC its hard to find something that's small and functional to dry your bottles. I know a lot of people like to wash their bottles in the dishwasher. More power to you, but I think that the high heat makes the bottles/nipples deteriorate faster, and who knows how that breaks down the plastic and if that will get into the formula or breast milk. Call me paranoid but I'm a hand washer. So I found this cute and tiny little bottle drying rack thinking it was the answer to my bottle drying dilemma. It was okay.... okay in retrospect it sucked.

The problems were that this rack does not drain the water, leaving you with slimy water sitting at the bottom. The racks have a hard time staying up when loaded with too much stuff. Last but not least it just wasn't big enough. I then looked into a few racks. I even tried a few others including this cool looking Skip Hop one.

But although this one looks really cool, I didn't think it was as functional as it could be. I didn't think it drained that well, and It really didn't hold as much as I wanted it to. In the end I settled for this one.

It looks large, and well it is. But trading in NYC for greener pastures in Texas I have a lot more counter space. But in reality the footprint of this isn't that much bigger than the Munchkin one above and I LOVE IT. It has two tiers, the bottom one holds bottles and miscellaneous, the top level is adjustable in height and holds nipples and any remaining odds and ends. It drains directly into the sink, and if you don't want it to, it comes with a little tray to catch the water run off as an alternative. And to top it off, it spins !!! The reviews for this were positive, except for people that used glass bottles. Apparently the sticks that hold the bottles won't support the weight of glass. But hey don't use glass. Even this crazy mom is using plastic. If you want to see why, see my post on bottles. Its available at Babies R Us and is made by First Years.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2747237

BOTTLE STERILIZERS

My topics keep getting more and more entertaining, but I promise to wrap up the world of bottles with one more post on Bottle drying racks tomorrow. So after talking to numerous doctors, nurses, lactation consultants and reading every baby book known to man, I found out my sister was officially a paranoid bottle sterilizing mother. Apparently you are only supposed to sterilize baby stuff the first time you use it, bottles, pacifiers etc..... After that, hot soapy water does the trick (or a dishwasher - which I personally am opposed to - see post on BOTTLE DRYING RACKS). Sterilizing is not only a waste of time, but it's a waste of money buying a sterilizer. The cheapest microwaveable one goes for about $20 with electric ones going up to $100. For those of you with a tiny NYC apartment, this also means you have to find space for a huge bulky sterilizer that will eat up 2/3 of your counter space. SAVE YOUR MONEY. You can instead buy sterilizing bags. Each bag can be used 20 times before you have to buy a new one. I have no clue what price they are, but all of you preggers friends of mine will each receive one. My sister (because the sterilizer was not enough) stockpiled these things and I have at least one to give each of you. Also if you buy a Medela Pump, one of these handy things will come with your pump or a pump parts kit.

The bag is plastic, folds flat and you simply pour in 2oz of water, microwave according to instructions, and VIOLA ! your stuff is sterilized on the cheap.

BOTTLE BRUSHES

Wow I just realized how much is involved with baby stuff and how detailed and boring the subjects can get. That's right ladies, today I will be discussing bottle brushes, to be followed up with bottle sterilizers and bottle drying racks. FANTASTIC. Today's post will even have a picture!

So after my recent move, the bottle brush I had (which I now disgustingly realize was a hand-me-down from my sister) got lost or tossed, and I was faced with the daunting task of picking a new one. There was a WALL of bottle brushes. I couldn't find the one that I had previously, one with scratchy bristles and sponge combined in one and made by Munchkin. So now that I had driven all the way to Babies R us, what was I to do? Go home of course and scour the internet for reviews so I didn't waste $4 on the wrong brush ? Yes I almost did this, but I sucked it up and took the plunge and I haven't looked back. I bought another one made by Munchkin. After all, I soon came to realize that you are supposed to toss them after about a month of use, much like a sponge. It came in a two pack and it has been fantastic.

This is why I like it:

It has a cool suction cup so it stands upright. This feature is GENIUS and a must have for a bottle brush in my opinion. It keeps it from getting all gross and nasty, falling into the sink or touching things. It also has a built in nipple brush which my other one was lacking. With the small nipples this is really important to get them properly cleaned. This one didn't have the spongy material of my other one, but the two different kinds of bristles get the job done just as well.

BOTTLES

MAM, BORN FREE, AVENT, DR. BROWNS, PLAYTEX or all of these in GLASS ? oh My !

I had to try a few bottles in my search for the perfect one. Of course I started with the free ones that I got, Born Free, Avent and MAM. They were all short and squat, which meant they had the wide nipples on them. At first I really wanted to try the MAM because it was supposed to prevent nipple confusion. However for my little muncher, that was never an issue, he would latch onto anything near his mouth, nipple or not. MAM was easy to clean, despite the 5 parts of the bottle: bottom, air vent ring, bottle, nipple, nipple holder ring. The flow however was super fast and my little man would suck it down in 2 seconds. Because of the fast flow, my little man was getting lazy with his sucking and was also gulping a lot of air. My lactation consultant suggested that we switch to the Playtex Ventaire Advanced. I liked the tall skinny ones. I felt they were easy to hold, much easier than the short squat bottles. Lincoln also liked the small nipples much better than the wide ones. The flow was also super slow. Finally, I had what I had been looking for. The construction of the bottle was just like the MAM in 5 pieces but you get used to washing it, and I found it actually easier to put together than the MAM. I did try the Avent and Born free each once. They were fine, but I didn't like how it felt to hold the bottle. I've had friends complain that Avent and Born free leaked. As for Dr. Browns, I have friends that swear by it, but complain that it is a major pain to clean.

PLAYTEX WINS FOR ME !!!!

There are a few great things about these bottles.

1. They also come in a short squat wide nipple version. These nipples are interchangeable with the drop-ins version of Playtex bottles so that can save you a little bit of money if you are using those. (Drop ins are probably the best for gassy babies as you can squeeze all the air out before they start sucking).

2. The tall skinny version fits perfectly onto Medela parts. This means you can pump and feed right out of the Playtex bottle. This is great for 2 reasons. It saves you money having to buy Medela bottles AND Lincoln HATED drinking out of them, they didn't have air vents, and he got super gassy.

3. They are some of the cheapest bottles on the market you can get a pack of 3 for 13.99 (plus 20% off - see the Babies R US v. Buy Buy Baby Post. They have a started pack of 5 where you can get a combo of the short and tall ones.

GLASS

I thought about buying glass, until I spoke to one of the Born Free founders, whom by the way sell plastic and glass and this is how he talked me out of glass:

1. Glass breaks

2. They are typically more expensive

3. They are heavy

4. You have to buy a silicone sleeve to keep bottle from breaking if it hits floor = More money

5. All the formula is flowing through a PLASTIC nipple anyways, so everything is touching plastic. Yes it is better to heat glass than plastic, but see my post on Bottle Warmers. If you are that worried about the plastic, which is all now BPA FREE, use silicon bottles.