Always have a name picked out for a girl and a boy. Do not believe the ultrasound! I was told I was going to have a girl and low and behold, out came our son, Logan. If this happens to you, I give you permission to cry for an hour like I did. And any time afterwards that you feel like it.
Do not open everything you get from your baby shower. Little ones grow so fast that many items, especially for newborns, won't ever be worn. You can exchange them at most stores for the same item in a bigger size, if the package has not been opened.
You do not need 25 receiving blankets. More than likely you will choose your 3-4 favorites & never touch the others. I chose these really large ones my mother got from the Martha Stewart Collection at K-Mart. They were used almost exclusively and still look great.
Baby carriers are wonderful! It is a good idea to have 2 carriers, one for each parent, so that you do not need to re-size it every time you switch who is carrying the baby. One parent may prefer the traditional front carrier, many dad's prefer back carriers, and now there are all kinds of new slings on the market as well.
Have the carseat installed in the car BEFORE your due-date, and men, PLEASE read the instructions! It is not always easy to install them at the exit from the hospital while you are nervous and exited about bringing your new baby home.
Instead of those HUGE strollers they have now, you may want to look into purchasing a Baby Trend Snap-N-Go. It is a "carriage" only, carseat NOT included. It allows you to put your infant car seat on a carriage frame without removing child from car seat. It is light weight and compact enough to fit behind the drivers seat of your car. It adjusts to fit many styles of carseats.
Not having a "nursery" is not going to harm your child in the slightest. Do not feel guilty if you "never got around" to putting it together. Our son was a few months old before we even had the crib up, since he mostly slept in our bed (and still does).
Teeny tiny baby shoes are cute and that’s about it. They are not useful and will likely be lost in the chaos that will become your child's room. If you can't walk, you don't need Reeboks.
To get more "wear" out of your normal, ie. "pre-pregnant belly" clothes, try a belly belt that attaches to existing jeans with buttons to expand the waistline. Then just wear a long, loose fitting shirt to cover it.
For the baby, get as many "front" snapping shirts as you possibly can. It is not the easiest thing in the word to pull a tiny shirt overtop a newborns big head. The front snapping shirts/onesies were all my son wore for the first couple of months.
Let me state that the "name brand" diapers always left little "beads" of gel on my son which are very difficult to remove with wipes. We almost exclusively used generic disposable diapers and I have never had that disgusting problem with them, or had leaks.
Sometimes it IS NECESSARY to just put them in the tub. Some poop will not be removed without warm water, soap, and a firm scrub with a washcloth.
It is not necessary to outfit you new baby in Baby Gap or any of the other name brand "baby" clothes. And it is perfectly acceptable to buy USED baby clothing. They will only wear it once or twice anyway, and if it is not totally destroyed by the time they outgrow it, you may be able to trade it in for more clothes in larger sizes at the baby resale shops.
Dad's, if you can take time off from work, do so! Your significant other will need the help with the new baby. Contrary to popular belief, women are not all born with the innate knowledge of how to care for a newborn infant. In fact many of us are worse at it than MEN! Can you imagine?!
You are allowed 2 photos showing your child asleep, surrounded by or holding various alcoholic beverages. More than 2 and you will be reported for "corrupting a minor".
If your child picks something up off the floor & eats it, it is protein. Period.
Don't try to clean the house! Let it go. Ignore it. It is not important in the grand scheme of things. If you cannot stand the stench of it anymore, try to get someone else to feel sorry for you and get them to do it.
Your child WILL roll off some piece of furniture or another at some point. The best you can do is to surround your bed, couch and chairs with many pillows and hope for the best.
When the doctor says "PUSH" what he really means is "Push like you have to take the biggest dump of your life." And if you poop on him or his nurses, don't be embarrassed, REALLY, they do this every day, **IT Happens.
DO NOT have the TV on in the room while you are in ACTIVE labor. Your husband will more than likely not be focusing on YOU, especially if a stupid guy-movie like Airplane is on.
Breastfeeding moms. I recommend using "nipple shields" especially for first-time breastfeeding mothers. They really help the baby latch on, without pain, especially if you have inverted nipples. My son stopped using them at about 4 months on his own, even though I breast fed him for a year.
I suggest investing in the washable and reusable breast pads. They are more comfortable than the disposable paper ones and actually absorb more.
Nursing bras can be purchased before you give birth, you won't have time to do it afterwards. You can purchase it a cup size larger than you are when you are close to you due date or you can get fitted at a "Breastfeeding" shop. Keep the tags on it, and you should be able to exchange it if it doesn't fit right when your milk comes in.
If your baby is a "twiddler" or a "pincher", you may want to invest in a Nursing "necklace". Unless you want your child to be "Tuning in Tokyo" at 2-3 years of age, I would recommend you get one and save your nipples.
Invest in a water-proof mattress cover. Trust me, you will need it. If not for the throw-up that spontaneously erupts from your newborn, then for your breasts which will leak like Niagara Falls when it time to feed your baby in the middle of the night.
