This Saturday, The Prof and I drove to a wedding for one of his former students and research assistants. We decided that prior to this trip we would take the baby name book and list of names so that we could work on it in the car. As you may recall, picking a name turned out to be a difficult endeavor. Once we knew we were having a boy, the choices narrowed down considerably. I sat down with the best baby naming book, The Baby Name Wizard, and came up with a relatively long list of boy's names I liked and gave The Prof the option to do the same. Interestingly enough, he trusts my judgment and did not ask to look at the book for other names. As we drove, I would say a name and it would get a yes, no, or okay. There were few yeses on both of our part, many okays, and only a few nos. I read the okays again and we actually eliminated all of them for various reasons. Names I originally thought I loved suddenly fell under the no list. Honestly, I love all three names. I feel like we can hold on to all of them and see what he is like when he's born. Well, basically make a snap judgment of what name fits him best and voila! He is named!
On another note, we are finishing up the registry and oh my, we are still a little befuddled. The Prof told me that I am better at this sort of thing and let me go to town. I think the choices overwhelmed him. We will be heading to Babies R' Us this weekend to look in person and try to finalize our choices. And then our heads will simultaneously explode. In order to be the best registering mother to be, I emailed five friends who are relatively new mothers to ask what items they thought we definitely needed and what items we should avoid. While I'm on the subject, if those of you who have children want to do the same, I would absolutely appreciate any help you can provide. As I said, we are amateurs at this whole parenting business and any friendly advice you wish to share will be appreciated.
Get a bottle warmer! We got ours from The First Years before Matthew was born and used it for Noah as well -- it's wonderful! Heats a full 9-oz bottle in about a minute.
2 diaper bags: one large, one small (but I like bags, so we had many more than 2 :))
A Sleep Sack (or any of its clones) so the baby stays warm without blankets.
A contoured pad for the changing table -- helps keep the baby from rolling off (but I ended up never using the cloth covers that I bought -- the plastic pad was much easier to clean)
Lots of easy-to-change, easy-to-clean clothing: onesies, stretchy long pants, sleep-n-plays. Special cute outfits are great, but not practical -- we kept most of ours for visiting or photo ops.
Glad to hear all is going well and that the names are narrowed down! Can't wait to see what you choose :)
Posted by: Erin | October 27, 2008 at 06:53 PM
Uh, yeah, so I am unqualified on the experience end...but I was at a baby shower two weeks ago and the "boppy" seemed to be a big hit.
Posted by: ms chica | October 28, 2008 at 07:20 AM
I have two great baby names picked out, but no desire to have a baby. Go figure.
Posted by: Noelle | October 28, 2008 at 08:17 AM
A swing is a must, a pack n' play is a must. Also, a bath bear. Trust me on this one.
Posted by: mrs.chicken | October 28, 2008 at 08:43 PM
A bouncy seat. Some vibrate, some play music, etc. I borrowed one for Zoe, bought one for Holden (I think it was Fisher Price). But you can put a newborn in it for play interaction, they sleep in them, you can move them while sleeping, you can shower, you can do some laundry, etc. and always take the baby with you. They are ESSENTIAL if you want any semblance of self in the first four months. Once the baby sits up, you won't us it any more. If I lived in Erie, I'd give you mine ;)
Boppies are useful if you're breastfeeding (and often if you're not). No matter how you feed the baby, make sure you have a comfy chair. Glider rockers are good (don't skip the ottoman); I recommend a full-out La-Z-Boy recliner/rocker. You will sit in it for hours on end. You will sleep in it. Oh -- get a travel neck pillow and put it on when you're doing late-night feedings. You'll fall asleep and wake with a stiff neck, unless you're reclined ;)
We never used a bottle warmer. Babies don't mind a cool or room temperature bottle. On the occasions we did warm a bottle, we warmed some water in the microwave in a measuring cup and put the bottle in that.
A mobile or a cribside musical toy is useful too. It'll amuse him long enough so you can pee in peace. Trust me -- this becomes a big issue. I thought mobiles were silly and a waste of money. Before Zoe was a month old, we went out to get one ;)
Also you can never have too many blankets. :)
Posted by: Eden | October 30, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Definitely second the bouncy-seat and pack-n-play and boppy!
As far as the bottle warmer..well, Matthew never cared much about temperature but Noah does. So I hope you're lucky enough to NOT need one!
Posted by: Erin | October 31, 2008 at 12:58 PM
I'm also partial to the boppy, the swing and the bouncy chair. I'd add a bjorn to the list.
Posted by: alejna | November 01, 2008 at 08:49 PM
Glad to hear all is going well and that the names are narrowed down! Can't wait to see what you choose :)
Posted by: jordan retro | July 31, 2010 at 01:07 AM