A girlfriend poked me on facebook today and asked the burning question that all new mother's to-be ask. Daunted and perplexed as they walk into the baby shop, it's always the same - "what in the hell do I register for?"
I'll never forget my first trip into that dark place. I invited my mother and sister to town, already mother's themselves, to guide me through this dark maze. All the "must haves" and "essentials," the cart filled as my brain emptied. And $200+ later, I was clearly prepared to take on the thing that knew nothing, the little monster who'd never seen a diaper, a diaper bag, a baby swing or a bouncy chair. I was prepared because I had stuff. And stuff prepares you for any emergency. Ha cha cha, you're a mom and you have tons of shit! It's all you, girl. You're locked and loaded.
And then it comes. And you go a little crazy. And you realize the stuff isn't helping. The stuff isn't stopping the crying. The stuff doesn't protect the shit from leaking out the diaper. The stuff doesn't magically put the little bugger to bed. Even worse, you've got so much stuff that as you're sleepily stumbling your way to find the little monster in the wee hours of the morning you trip over the stuff, which you clumsily dropped on your way back to bed. The stuff is your enemy. The stuff doesn't work. You worshipped the golden calf and now, like the ten commandments thrown in your face, it hits you that you're on your own to figure it out.
When it comes to new babies, someone else's stuff is meaningless
"Buy a pump, get the expensive one, you won't regret..."
The Captain didn't make it 4 days on the breast and that very expensive pump spent the next 5 weeks attached to my very sore breast, only to be cast aside.
"Swaddling works like a charm, it will settle him right down. You must get a swaddler..."
The Captain was miserable when swaddled and the only thing that got him to sleep was when he wasn't snug as a bug.
The list goes on. And I'm not saying' it's all useless advice, it's just that none of it prepares you for anything and the investments you'll make, looking for that golden nugget, that miracle that will shut your baby the hell up...it only exists in hindsight.
And so what's MY list of musts? The Mediocre Mama's golden nugget? I could lead new mother's down my own path of comforts and enumerate the things that worked for the Captain, but if my tips work as well as some of the advice I received when expecting, then I'd sooner hold my tongue. Therefore, I guess all I can offer is the practical and not the cure:
Bibs, and lots of them.
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5 comments:
Wow I inspired a post! That is a first. I must be getting close to motherhood!
Thanks for making me laugh. I swear the first time I saw the wall of pacifiers at the baby megastore I went cross eyed and nearly passed out! I never imagined there were so many brands, shapes, sizes, colors...there must be thousands! Scarey!
So true, Amy. You did give good advice though: don't count on stuff to help, and maybe don't spend money on it until you are sure you will use it. So Susan, I'll give you my take too:
1. Don't buy a lot of diapers until your baby is born. If your baby is normal to large, then the smaller diapers might only work for a week or two, or not at all.
2. Don't worry about pacifiers until the baby is born. He might be a thumbsucker, or not respond to that sort of comfort at all.
3. Bouncy chairs and swings are very temporary measures. Your baby might like one, both or none, and will only use them for the first 3 months or so. With that in mind, try not to ask for the gold-plated versions.
4. You can't have too many bibs, cloth diapers for mopping spit up and random fluids, or receiving blankets for the same purpose.
5. Make sure at least one changing station is a comfortable height for your husband.
Hand me downs have been a godsend! Just got some from Kathy yesterday. It's the obligatory moms saying you have to register so Aunt so and so doesnt' go out and get you a pair of porcelin baby booties or something really practical like that. thanks for the advice...you guys are great!
take as much stuff from the hospital as you can fit under your looser fitting clothes. everytime they brought me new receiving blankets and cloth diapers, i stashed a few in my bag. also, take the plastic basin. i still use this stuff and my kids are 2 & 5 now.
No, no! You want Aunt Crazy to buy you the useless whatnots. Otherwise, you'll never have anything worth keeping. The rest of the stuff is just clothes and practicalities, not heirlooms. If you are lucky enough to receive some strange piece of silver with your baby's name on it, thank the sender profusely, because it's the only item you won't be passing on to your friends in a couple years.
Plus, you'll have a great conversation piece as you and your friends sit around trying to figure out what the thing is, why anyone thinks a baby needs it, and whether or not it could harm your child if you actually handed it over.
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