first baby’s list: review and advices

many of my friends are pregnant for the first time and talking with one of them yesterday i thought about my baby's items list that i made with my first pregnancy...
i found some advices very useful and i want to share them with you! on internet you can found thousands of websites with tons of list for a newborn baby so i’m not going to state the obvious. this one is very detailed and you can check what you already have, others like this one tend more to the essential.

the hospital
where i live the hospital give you a list of item to bring with you, including  how many  dresses and onsies for the baby, nightgowns for mommy, personal hygiene’s product for the mommy (all the things that you need  for the baby is provided from the hospital). the only thing i can suggest, based on my personal experience, is not to buy 4 nightgowns if you’re not going to wear them again; it’s a waste of money! i bought just 2 and  i added one pajamas, fully opening on the front. unfortunately i’ve lost it,  so for this pregnancy i bought a pair of gym pant with a low-cut tank top, easy to take off for breastfeeding but reusable even when you’re not breastfeeding anymore. plus i don’t like the “sick air” that gives you a nightgown in a hospital bed! another suggestion about nursing bras: i bought one and i found it very unconfortable! it’s easy to take off the front part but not so easy to put it in place again! and my solution was… to use a bikini top! it’s easy to move left or right for an easy access, easy to wash and super easy to dry, if the birth is in spring – summer it’s not so strange if somebody sees you with a bikini under a shirt… for me it was perfect! yes, the breast support is not the best so i didn’t use it everyday exclusively, but i avoided to buy a lot of bras that i could have used just for 1 year (or less).always remember all documentation relating to pregnancy (of course!). this time i think i’ll write a message inside my folder: please do not cut the umbilical cord before it stops beating and keep the lights as low as possible. my first delivery was a dream: three midwives just for me, the light was descreet ( no beacons pointed at me!) and i remembered to say about the umbilical cord. but this time i’m going to go to another hospital so… i just want to be sure to have exactly the same experience (at least for what i can control!). it’s up to you if you want some music during the labor: i took my ipod with me but i prefered the stillness of silence.

back home
back home you need just very few things. do not buy everything “just in case”… for example a changing table is useful (you can change the baby even on your bed or on the floor like i’m doing right now with zoeti – who is too heavy for me and my growing belly!) but buying tons of creams or even a soap it’s unnecessary. for the first days you can just wet the baby with some warm water (no soap and no bath until the umbilical cord stump falls) so your sink is just what you need.
of course you need diapers, but try different labels before buying 10 packs! and you can definetely wait to buy a baby hair brush: look if it will be useful (zoeti was born almost completely bald and i’m using the hair brush only now!).


 a cradle is useful if you’re not thinking about co-sleeping. zoeti slept    with us for the first 4-5 months so i almost never used the cradle that  my cousin lent me.  after we bought a crib where she slept until a month ago (now she’s sleeping in a  big normal bed). we bought our at ikea (the one in the picture) and i was  pleasantly surprised!


 the nursing pillow can be replaced with some normal cushions and buying 3-4 baby bottles if you want at least try to breastfeed your baby, can be a waste of money: you can’t give him/her anything other than milk for the first months so your small baby bottle can be unsuitable for a 6-7 months old (the teat will be for sure!)
the choice of a stroller was the hardest for us, not only because we’re talking about a large amount of money, but also because you have to consider a lot of things! we decided to privilege the lightness and the dimensions when closed. i didn’t want to have a bulky, heavy stroller! of course the aesthetic side is important but not fundamental. i love three wheels stroller and they are perfect for where i live (near the montains), but it’s not easy to find a light one. in the end we choose this one:





we love it! it’s perfect for us: easy to close/open, light, easy to clean. it’s a TFK  Buggster S.



 on internet you can found a lot of models and solution but i suggest you to chose it as soon as you can: sometimes (almost always!) you have to pre-order it and then wait until 1 month to have it… yes, you don’t need a stroller with a new born, but if you buy a combined system, like i did, with stroller and baby carriage the waiting list is the same.
my friend sent me this picture about one of the most   amazing stroller i have ever seen! it called Taga Bike and   you can switch between a three-wheeled bicycle for you and baby and a stroller with a roomy basket. it’s wonderful, but somehow scary at the same time! i don’t know how big could it be when you close it but i doubt that i can easily put it in my little car!