Her Unexpected baby!!! What does she need?

[Lady_V]

What are the ABSOLUTE baby basics???

Thanks in advance -- A woman I know in my complex just found out she is pregnant... money is extremely tight for her and she asked me what the bare bone minimums are. I never had an infant... DD was 15 months when I brought her home... I told her I will 'contact the experts and get back to her'.

She said she doesn't want to use disposable diapers... part eco-friendly, part costs.

What does she need and how many?

[G'MaDebbie]

We have a 1 month old foster baby, he was 2 weeks old when we got him, these are the things we needed for him to get thru without running to the store everyday:

baby bathtub
diapers 80pk
wipes large box
onesies (12)
sleepers (12)
hat
baby wash clothes (6)
socks 12 pk
blankets (6)
bottles (12)
formula 10 cans
pacifier
baby soap
nail clippers
thermometer
nose syringe
I believe that's all we bought to get started....hope that helps!

[angelic007]

hello! as far as the diapers go, she'll need anywhere from 10 to 24 for a 24 hr period...that depends on whether the baby is breastfed or bottle fed...breastfed babies usually have more frequent stools so she would need a higher number of diapers...but the list up top sounds good!

[catlover]

well, if money is tight, there are a lot of things can be bought from the dollar store.
me,myself, did it for my daughter,
baby wash clothes(pack of 6)

baby clothe wipes( pack of 6)

socks,baby towels, and a large size plastic container(originaly used for the kitchen) as a bathtub, my daughter used it on a daily basis till she was 6 months old, then i swithched to the baby bathtub.

i will try to post later, if i remembered other items from the dollar store.

[sunshine]

I just used regular, soft washcloths on my kids, and used wash cloths for diaper wipes.

2-3 dozen cloth diapers, and several pairs of plastic pants

The baby will need someplace to sleep -- bassinet, cradle, crib, port-a-crib.

If she's breastfeeding, bottles are not needed, unless she wants a few to supplement or pump to feed occasionally.

She'll probably get a pacifier from the hospital.

Several sleepers, onesies, and one or two nicer outfits for outings.

several receiving blankets

[Nishu]

She'll need diapers and clothes. I like sweat pea gowns and onesies.

Pacis may be nice. None of my children have really wanted or needed them.

Wipes-- if she starts saving her old clothes and cutting squares out of things like old tshirts she'll have plenty by the time the baby's here.


She can make her own cloth diapers if she's crafty. Used prefolds are really cheap too if she'd rather just use those. I just bought 11 pocket diapers for $10 each- used. I think that's a pretty normal as an initial investment. Inserts are super easy to make on your own and sometimes I just use washcloths.

http://www.zany-zebra.com/free-cloth...patterns.shtml


If she starts looking now in the clearence sections of department stores and consignment shops she'll probably get some awesome deals since the baby is probably due in opposite season.

A place for hte baby to sleep is nice. Those first months though you can really put them anywhere. My daughter sleeps with me and she has a bassinet that I bought for $25 off of craigslist.

Carseats are necessary obviously but I never used a stroller with my first two and only use Lily's occasionally. It was so much easier to carry her carseat.

It really just depends on how frugal she wants to go. I'd say list her priorities and then just start checking them off as she wants or can spend the funds. What's needed really does change from person to person.

[Nishu]

Oh in re: baby poop... I've heard conflicting reports. Lils is breastfed and rarely goes more than once a day. I've heard that breastfed kids actually have to go less because breastmilk is digested so completely.

[zakity]

What about that elimination communication thing? That would save on diapers too.

[McD]

Wipes and diapers are a must, be they cloth or not. You can make your own babywipes as well.

A few comfy sleepers and onesies are all the clothing an infant really needs as long as they have access to a washing machine.

I would forgo bibs and instead purchase baby wash clothes. They can be used as washclothes, wipes, kleenex, etc.

I would forgo the baby bathtub. The hospital sent us home with a dishtub--I've seen similar ones at the dollar store.

The baby will need some blankies. The best blankies we were given for swaddling came from Walgreens, were fleece, and very inexpensive.

A car seat is ABSOLUTELY a requirement.

Some of the things are more of a 'wait and see' type of deal because it truly depends on the baby. We had family give us the expensive bottle systems but b/c of the types of bottles the nurses in NICU used all that Wesley would take were the cheapy Target brand. Same with pacis--he was given tons of the 'soothi' brand and wouldn't use any of them.

Tell her to start looking clearance racks, craigslist, tag sales, etc. You can find tons of baby items DIRT CHEAP! Also, tell her to sign up with pampers, huggies, enfamil, similac etc. She'll get all sorts of free samples, coupons etc. Even if it's something she can't use, she may be able to barter with them from someone who can.

[kittykatstrong]

Letting people know what she is looking for can get her stuff at low cost. Most of the time if I put the idea out there somebody know somebody who has one just sitting in the garage.

I dont really ask I just mention it in passing.

[Nishu]

They sell fleece blankets at the dollar store here. They're basically just a square of fleece with a rough stitch of thick thread around the edge but they would do the job.

I wouldn't buy a baby bathtub. Most people bathe their babies entirely too often. They don't get that dirty, and a warm water rinse is more than enough to remove anything they get on them. I've read (though I can't find the study now) that the more a child is bathed in the first few years, the greater chance they have for skin problems later in life. I wouldn't even bother with baby soaps. They generally contain several suspicious ingredients and do nothing of importance aside from making them smell nice and possibly stripping the skin of natural oils.

I find the easiest way to bathe the baby when they're teeny tiny is to fold up a hand town and lay it into and across the sink. Just like so-->


Then I put in a little warm water and sit the baby in the sink on the towel. Baby baths are so useless.

[MRAHoffman]

I nursed for the full year. When I went back to work, I bought the Medela dual pump for $250 (considering the cost of formula at approx. $30 per week, it paid for itself in a little over 2 months AND after I was done I sold it for $125, so REALLY it paid for itself in 1 month not to mention the health benefits to the baby as well as the bonding time). I used cloth diapers for 18 months (except for night as 1 throw away before bed, kept him dry and me well rested through the night) when he began urinating more as well as his feces was more "adult", we used throw aways, but he was fully potty trained at 2 1/2 years and I used the cotton training pants, not Pull ups. Also, I did not use baby wipes (except for travel). I bought about a dozen or so inexpensive wash clothes (in a pack) and when I changed him would wet the wash cloth with warm water (wipes have alcohol in them which can be drying), would wipe him clean and put the dirty wash cloth in the diaper pail (we used a lid covered plastic garbage can filled with hot water and a little Borateem...I bought a washer with a seperate rinse cycle to rinse clean...would dump the diapers in 2 or 3 times per week, spin them out, put in some Dreft and wash them with the extra rinse to make sure all the soap was out), use a hand towel (bought a few cheap ones that I kept on the changing table) to dry him, put on a LOT of petroleum jelly (served as a barrier for the urine/feces and his skin and only used diaper ointment maybe a half a dozen times so keep a tube on hand, but the petroleum jelly is FAR cheaper), would put a liner in his cloth diaper, put it in his diaper cover (buy a couple of the velcro diaper covers, they work GREAT and as long as they are dry, they are fine and rinse and dry at night when they are in the throw away). I would recommend buying a dozen onsies. I was fortunate to have a lot of clothes donated, garage sale, thrift store (my son is now 7 and he STILL has size 12/14 clothes that I received as a baby that he has to fit into) and I sized/inventoried all of them and put them in garbage bags and as he grew into a size, I would grab the next bag (I liked to keep 7 each short shirts, shorts, long shirts, pants, 1 spring jacket, 1 winter coat, 1 show pants, 1 shoe, 1 boot...I think thats all the clothes). When I first, had him and my mother moved in w/ me all three of us shared a 1 bedroom apartment for 6 months until I got a 2 bedroom which we lived in until he was 5 and I bought my 3 bedroom house (paid cash for) so I had VERY little space. I didn't bother with a basinet (his and my room had his dresser, a full size bed for me, MY dresser which doubled as a night stand that I kept my lamp and clock on, a small changing table...a changing table can be an option as they grow out of them so quick, you could also, just put the diaper items on their dresser and just lay them on the bed with a towel under them, but be sure to have your supplies on the bed prior to changing so they don't roll off...and a crib...when he first came home I had a special roll around him, for the snuggling effect). I had a bouncy seat that he loved, a swing that he also loved, but MUCH of the time, I just put a blanket on the floor with his toys and he loved that best. The way may apartment was set up, the living room and dining area were baby proofed and were his playground, the hall and kitchen were gated off. Because of this he rolled over and crawled early and was walking at 8 months, 27 days. I never owned a walker/bouncy thingy as the pediatriciam said they were dangerous (he saw many head injuries). When he was older I got a high chair and then a booster seat and of course to bring the little one home from the hospital, a car seat is required. The only other thing that I would highly recommend is a library card. As I tell my son when he says I "need" to buy him something, I only NEED to give you 5 things...a roof over your head, food on the table, clothes on your back, a good education and lots of love. Take care and good luck.

[wanderlusting]

I would direct her to www.diaperswappers.com There are tons of ideas for making her own diapers, buying used ones cheaply and other ideas for getting her baby items cheaply and eco-friendly

[staciah]

I got alot of my baby clothes at the Goodwill because they wont be in them very long. Don't buy new.

She will also need burping cloths.

If she puts her name on the pampers mailing list and carnation formula, they will send her free samples and coupons.

The baby will need warm, snuzzy receiving blankets and one piece jammies. The baby needs to stay warm and swaddled when they first come home..

Car seat

Crib

Clothes diapers or disposable and wipes (homemade)

If not breast feeding than bottles

[fernykins]

I never used a bathtub with my babies.. I always used the kitchen sink........ I used both cloth and throw away diapers....... I had lots of clothes since I had to go the the laundromat. You can get by with as little as a few items if you can keep them clean.........Tell her good luck with the new baby.
Fern