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.