Feeding

Before I had my baby, I’d been determined to breastfeed exclusively while also pumping out milk so that my husband could participate, too. We registered for both bottle-feeding and breastfeeding equipment. It turned out that breastfeeding didn’t go as smoothly as I’d imagined (my baby had a bout of jaundice during her first week of life that prevented us from getting a smooth start), and we ended up relying a lot on bottle-feeding both formula and breast milk. The moral of this story: Even if you see yourself breastfeeding exclusively, it doesn’t hurt to have some bottle-feeding equipment around just in case things don’t go as planned. Just hold onto the receipts.

Bottles

We registered for the BornFree Newborn Bottle Starter Set, and with three 9-ounce bottles, three 8-ounce bottles, and one sippy cup it was the perfect set—but not until my baby was about four months old. We started using it right away, but the number of pieces to wash (the top part alone breaks up into four separate pieces) combined with the number of bottles we were using (at least eight a day) was just plain daunting. Plus, my baby was spitting up a lot, which isn’t an uncommon problem with newborns, but I attributed it to the amount of gas she was getting from her bottles.

Then I read about Playtex Expandable Drop-Ins, which are plastic bottles that you fill with disposable liners that contain the milk. It got great reviews for reducing gas (the liner deflates as the baby drinks) and for cutting down on the amount of washing (you simply throw the liner away and wash the nipple). I decided to buy the starter kit, which consists of a bottle and 100 liners for less than $10. It turned out to be wonderful, and we used only this for the first four months. My baby’s spit-up was noticeably reduced. We went back to the BornFree set when she started drinking fewer bottles a day and it wasn’t such a chore to wash the bottles anymore. I would’ve stuck with the Playtex Drop-Ins forever if it weren’t for the fact that it costs money to replace the liners and it’s wasteful to keep throwing them away. Still, the Playtex was a life saver for the first few months, and I highly recommend starting off with those bottles.

Burp Cloths

You will need burp cloths and as many as possible. We had nine and it didn’t feel like enough during those first few months. Our baby spit up after just about every meal, and I’ve read that almost half of all babies have this problem, which lasts until six months or so. Burp cloths are also great to place flat under your baby’s head in the crib or bassinet. That way, if she spits up, it’ll get on just the burp cloth and not the whole crib sheet.

Cleaning Brush

If you’ve got bottles, you’ll need a good bottle-cleaning brush. A regular sponge won’t fit into the bottle properly. Our Philips Avent brush has done the job nicely from day one, and is still going almost a year later.

Drying Rack

You will need a rack to hold all the bottles, including their accessories (nipple, nipple ring, etc.). The First Years Spin and Store Drying Rack that we got has served its purpose well.

Dishwasher Basket *

I thought I’d be using my Prince Lionheart Infant Dishwasher Basket (it holds all the small pieces of each bottle) a lot, but it turned out that I preferred to just clean everything by hand, which seemed more thorough. But if you are a dishwasher fanatic, this is perfect. Plus, it also makes a good storage basket for the little pieces.

Formula

We use ready-to-feed Similac Advance Early Shield, but your baby will let you know what brand and form he prefers. We’ve also tried Enfamil and the powdered version of both brands. You can sign up for free samples online (www.similac.com and www.enfamil.com) to experiment.

Breast Pump *

I can’t say I’ve test driven any other breast pumps, but the Philips Avent Duo that I own worked very well and felt as comfortable as a breast pump could feel. The best thing is the memory feature—you set up a comfortable speed by hand and the machine replicates it repeatedly. Breast pumps are very expensive, and if you’d rather not shell out the money for one, you can rent them from your hospital.

Nipple Cream

It’s an unfortunate side effect of breast feeding, but your nipples will likely crack and bleed while your baby gets the hang of latching on. Lansinoh cream helps soothe and heal your skin and isn’t harmful for the baby to ingest. I was slathering on the stuff by the handful.

Nursing Pads

If you are nursing, your breasts will occasionally leak and stain your shirt. That’s fine until you find this happening in public, which is why they invented disposable nursing pads . You stick them on the inside of your bra and they absorb all the excess milk.

Nursing Pillow

I registered for a Boppy because I thought it’d be handy for nursing. I found that regular throw pillows worked better—they’re smaller and more maneuverable—and we put the Boppy away. But when my baby began sitting up, the Boppy came out again and became indispensable. She sits snugly in the middle, and it catches her when she falls back.

Breast Milk Storage

For storing breast milk, the Lansinoh bags work great and don’t take up very much space. To further compress the milk and keep it all in one place, the First Years Milk Storage Organizer flattens out all the bags with a spring-loaded drawer.

Bibs

You cannot have enough bibs during the first few months. We had about eight going, and it seemed like too few. Your baby will spit up, drool, and make a mess while eating, guaranteed. The good news is bibs are a popular present. I registered for the Bumkins 3-pack and received all our other bibs as random gifts.

You will also want Bumkins waterproof fabric bib when you start feeding your baby solid food (four to five months of age). We own two. The bib has a pocket that catches all the stray food, and it’s made of a washable fabric, so you can just run it under the sink after each feeding. I love this product. I’ve tried another brand, but the waterproof fabric was stiffer and got in the way of my baby’s arms. (Note: This bib is good for solid food feeding only, not milk. It won’t absorb liquids.)

High Chair

We got the Fisher-Price Space Saver High Chair, which saves plenty of space as advertised. The only thing is you have to give up one of your dining table chairs to accommodate it, but that wasn’t a problem for us. This high chair even converts to a booster seat later on, although we haven’t tested out that feature yet.

Spoons

You won’t need baby spoons until the fourth month at the earliest, but when the time comes to introduce your baby to solid food, the smaller heads of these spoons will make feeding time less messy. You’ll get more food in, trust me.

Not Recommended:

Bottle Sterilizer

You can easily sterilize bottles by throwing them in a pot of boiling water for ten minutes. You won’t need to do it very often either (unless you use well water); every few weeks is sufficient.

Bottle Warmer

Simply fill a tall Tupperware container with hot tap water and submerge your bottles into that. It works just as well.