Pinkie that's FABULOUS news about 8 embryos going strong! Fx that they continue to thrive and you have a large number of grade A's to put back & freeze!!
llbean sorry to hear the bad news, what's the treatment or long term prognosis for graves?
Coolstar welcome to 3rd tri! You're moving along to the finish line fast! Let us know how you're feeling.
MrsG what's going on over there? You must either be having that baby right now or in quiet anticipation?
Hi everyone!
Did anyone get any good lists of 'essentials / must haves' in prep for our little miracle arrivals?
Hope everyone else is well! xx
PC sorry to hear your cold is still lingering.
Everyone seems to have a different list. For some moms the wipes warmer seems an essential, I'm not interested in extra things cluttering up my diaper station. From our first week with baby these are the things we've really found useful:
- The to me tippee steamer. Omg, I'm both bf-ing and pumping and having to boil the equipment 6x/day would be a total chore. The Tommee Tippee brand has one of the largest chambers to hold pump equipment plus bottles & nipples. A steamer where you press a button and it's done in 5 was totally worth the $10 that I paid for a gently used one.
Spectra S2 pump. Pumps milk faster than the medellas and is more heigenic in that the hoses aren't needing to be cleaned all the time as it's a closed system. With the other pumps when water gets in the hose mold can collect, you'd have to bleach regularly to ensure mold doesn't enter the hoses.
- cloth diapers, we've done a load/day and saved prob $50 just in the first week. It's quicker than a trip to the store and as long as you get a good brand like Fuzzibuns or Rumperoos, you'll save yourself a heap of money.
- socks, Kushi toques that Velcro underneath, or sleepers with feet. They like to stay warm and when dad swaddles them and they kick their feet out if they have socks on they won't wake as easily. I just got all white so if one gets poop on it you can grab another without worrying about sets.
-a good swing, it bought me an hour of time to pump and make breakfast this morning while DH slept. I can only imagine with 2 you might get to change the others happy without the other screaming!
- DD hates sleeping or being laid down alone on her back. She's a side sleeper through and through. So a wedge has helped me feel like she won't roll onto her front and not be able to breath. A wedge also helps when they get sick to breath better. We've used it for every nap and in our stroller bassinet.
-a good ear or touchless thermometer. After watching her scream in the hospital when they had to undress her and shoved the cold thermometer under her armpit, we got a good touchless forehead thermometer.
-a cozy for the car seat, it's already cold out there!
- a super soft bunting suit that has hands & feet that invert with a hoodie for cold days.
-they bathed her in the hospital and didn't put cream on afterwards. Her skin cracked so badly after that 1 bath that they were so deep you could see red. Looked like they'd bleed if you touched the raw bits around her feet, wrists, arms
so I got the German brand organic Walida cream and put coconut oil on her afterwards. If she sucks her hands it's non-toxic (Johnson & Johnson regular brand is NOT good to consume). Bum spray, bum balm, powder. Bum spray keeps skin hydrated whole it cleanses, bum balm for rash, powder keeps them dry & prevents rash. After 2 rubs with cream & coconut oil her skin was back to being super soft.
- soft wash cloths, spray bum spray wipe bum.
- MacKinley has massive gas from the formula that we used to supplement. A vibrating chair helped her get rid of gas after feedings. Or when you burp them you can grab their little hips while lying them upside down & jiggle hips & bum + give back massage, helps gas escape
I used this website https://www.babygearlab.com/Breast-Pump-Reviews/Ratings & Amazon reviews to find the top ranking/reviewed products and then bought most of the top ranked products gently used for ~ 1/3 of the retail price either on ebay (spectra pump - paid 1/3 regular price but it was brand new) or on kijiji. Items like this are very personal choices so what works for me may not work for you xx