What to Pay - Baby bath

My advice, DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE NEW! They are EVERYWHERE used. Mom2Mom sales, garage sales, freecycle.... and they are easy to find a for just a few dollars.

This is also a good item to wait and see on. We barely used ours and gave it away to a friend. Instead we really liked the bath sponge that we could lay him on and just put him in the real bath tub. It did probably use more water, but we found it much easier to use.

I ended up getting my tub for free from someone in a local parenting group.

Did you use your baby bath? Does your bath have extras that you would consider must haves?

What to Pay - Towels and Wash Cloths

The bad news - Wash cloths are hard to find used. For good reason too, the ones we have are pretty gross after over a year of use. Why? we used them everywhere! To wash his face after meals, to wash his high chair after meals, to wash him etc. Sometimes foods like carrots or pumpkins will stain them and they never look the same after that.

The good news - Towels are a bit easier to find used. Since the baby is usually clean already, when the towel is used, there are usually not stains other than laundry mishaps.

The really good news - People LOVE to buy baby bathtime stuff! These were the first things to go on our registry and we got doubles of almost everything!

That being said, most of our baby stuff was purchased new, but I did get a nice towel and some wash cloths at garage sales for under a dollar, so they are out there.

What to Pay - Saftey Items

I am still learning on this one. The first safety items that I purchased were two baby gates for $30 that needed to be installed.Since we have 2 stair cases (one to the upstairs and one to the basement) I thought that we would need these and I did not want to get the pressure type gates since I wanted them to be very strong for being at the top of the stairs. One of the gates was installed at the top of the basement stairs as soon as he could scootch around. The other is still not installed, but we plan to use it at the bottom of the basement stairs as soon as the basement is finished.
We also purchased two baby gates for full price at babies R us in desperation.We needed something to keep him in one room when he started to get mobile so we could sit down for a few minutes at time. They have been used in multiple locations and have been great to take to friends houses to keep him contained there. They have been used to keep him in the kitchen, to keep him out of the kitchen. Upstairs (since it was going to be pretty hard to install a gate at the top of the stairs, we also have a landing and keep a pretty close eye on him while up there, so we feel it is safe), at the bottom of the basement stairs temporarily and on our deck.  I have concerns about when we move him downstairs to his own room (since we are upstairs). I don't want to lock him in his room, but I also don't want him wandering the house and getting hurt. Someone suggested putting a gate across his bedroom door so we would hear him and he couldn't get out, but he wouldn't be as locked in.

The next thing we installed were the outlet covers. These are a pain to keep track of. I worry that they are a chocking hazard if left around. They are also a pain to get out. I recently found some at meijer for our basement play room that I like much better, but I cannot find them online to link you to them. They have little buttons that make them easier to get out and they also have notches on the sides so you can just clip them to the cord of what ever you plug in. They are also not a worry free way to protect your child from electrocution. Our son ended up half way unplugging our CO2 detector and touching the prongs, which gave him a little shock. He was OK, but it is a good reminder that they can still hurt themselves, even with the proper child safety measures in place.



These were hopeless for us. We installed them when he discovered they cabinets opened and he figured out how to get past the locks a week later. It does slow him down, so the do help a bit, but they were still less effective that we had hoped.










We registered for these, but have not used them yet. He can reach the door knobs and has the right idea on opening them, but so far has not done so. These may be installed very soon.










I did register for one of these and did not get them, but I am not sure we need them. We find it easier and better to just keep the bathroom door shut at all times so he cannot get in there. He seems to like to flush the toilet more than anything.











What childproofing have you done? Was is all necessary? Do you think any childproofing is necessary or should children be taught what not to do?

What to Pay - Snoogle

I found one of these for $15 (with a cover) at a mom2mom sale and got it. Typically these are about $80 at babies r us and you also need to buy (or make) a cover. I really liked it. It seemed to support all of the areas a I needed it too and eliminated the 5 other pillows I had doing the same thing. However, the pillows did work, so this may not be something you would want to spend $80. The one I bought was the only one I had ever seen at a mom2mom sale also, so you might have a hard time finding one used. It did also serve as a barrier to keep my half (ok 3/4ths) of the bed to mys

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elf.

What to Pay - Boppy

The boppy seems to be one of those essential things that every mom needs to have. Its primary purpose is for a nursing pillow, but I didn't really care for it for that reason because the baby tends to fall inward. A normal pillow seemed to work just as well. If you feel you need a good nursing pillow, I would recommend the My brest friend pillow, the lactation center at our hospital had one that I tried and it was nice, but not worth the extra money and storage space t me. 

We did however use our boppy for other things. I used it while pregnant. I am a back sleeper and since it is recommended that you sleep on your side while pregnant, it was a hard adjustment for me. My shoulder would hurt from the pressure put on it, so I replaced my normal pillow with the boppy so that my head would be propped up and take the pressure off my shoulder. 

We also used our boppy for tummy time and to prop him up when sitting just before he could sit on his own. If you are willing to get these used, I would recommend it. They seem to be everywhere at garage and mom2 mom sales, so you should be able to get one for $5 or under.

What to Pay - Diaper Pails

For some reason, because we had planned to do cloth, it did not occur to me that we needed a diaper pale. I did end up purchasing one at a mom 2 mom sale for $3, but I also had delusions that I would be willing (and at first able) to take baby upstairs every two hours and just use the one changing station we had set up there.

We ended up purchasing a second diaper pale so we had one on each floor. To complicate things, we use disposables at night and other times, so we need a place to put both disposables and cloth diapers. We actually just use small trash cans with used plastic grocery bags as a liner. They usually do not smell bag and when they do we just change them. The cloth diapers tend not to smell bad either (unless they have not been washed in awhile) since we rise out the poop right away (we do only have one diaper sprayer and it is downstairs).

Both pales do have a place for you to put deodorizer disks, but I don't think they made a difference.

I have heard people swear by the diaper genie, and they don't seem to be too bad when purchased used, but there they get you is on the bag refills. 

So, in conclusion, if you are just doing cloth, you need somewhere to keep the diapers between washes. If you are doing just disposables, a regular trash can may work for you, unless your baby has really stinky poo. If you are willing to get just any old diaper pale and are not turned off by getting one used, you can get them for under $5. Most places will have smaller ones new for around $10.

What type of diapers do you use? Do you use a pale or a regular trash can? Do you own a diaper genie? If so, what do you think?

What to Pay - Baby Swing

We got lucky and had a friend lend us their baby swing. It as great for a couple of nights here and there when he was congested, but for the most part it just sat in our living room and took up space. As I said before, I do however know many people so say this was and essential parents survival tool. 

If we were to need to buy a swing, knowing what I know now, I would get a travel swing. We have a small house and a full size swing along with all of the other baby stuff made for a very cluttered house. The full size swing was also very hard to transport, so I think a travel swing could "kill two birds with one stone". 

Was your swing essential to you, or just in the way? Did you use a travel swing full time and did it work well? Did you get a good deal on your swing?