Staying Healthy and Groomed

It’s handy to have a medicine cabinet stocked with baby items, but I’d recommend getting only small or trial size versions of everything, as you never know if you’ll actually need any of these things, and they may have expired by the time you do. Your baby may never get a diaper rash and then that economy-size tube of cream will be wasted. Then again, he might get a diaper rash, and you want to be prepared.

Thermometer

The Vicks Speed-Read Digital Thermometer is a great thermometer. You place it in your baby’s armpit for a reading, and it’s fast and accurate. For even greater accuracy, you can insert it rectally—the thermometer comes with disposable covers for this purpose.

Aspirator and Saline

I wasn’t familiar with aspirators until I had a baby—then it became my best friend. Your baby will likely have moments where her nose is clogged with snot and you’re desperate to get it out but don’t know how. Enter the aspirator. All you do is squirt a couple of drops of saline into your baby’s nostril (we use Baby Ayr), give it a couple of seconds, and then suck out all the loosened snot with the aspirator. It works really well if you have a good aspirator, and your baby will be much more comfortable.

I’ve read that you should ask to keep the aspirator they use on your baby at the hospital, but in the chaos of giving birth, I forgot to do this. The aspirator that I eventually got came from an American Red Cross kit, and it’s okay but not that powerful.

Nail Clipper

We got our nail clipper from the American Red Cross kit mentioned above, but you can purchase just the nail clipper by itself. It has a built-in magnifying glass, which I found rather useless, but the clipper works very well.

Baby Lotion

If your baby is born in the winter, you will likely have to moisturize her, as babies’ skin is very sensitive and prone to drying out. There is also baby eczema, which is a common problem for newborns. I bought Johnson & Johnson’s baby lotion first, since that was the brand I was familiar with, but my pediatrician recommended that we use Aquaphor instead. There is a huge difference. The Aquaphor is odorless, thick and clear like Vaseline, and extremely effective. I would definitely recommend it.

Baby Face Moisturizer

When your baby begins drooling, he may develop a rash on his cheeks, chin, and neck. The best thing to do is to keep these areas dry, but it’s difficult. My mother-in-law finally bought us some Boudreaux’s Baby Kisses face moisturizer to put on the red patches. It works like a charm. It’s also supposed to be a good chap lip balm for babies, although I’ve never used it for that purpose.

Humidifier *

I have very dry skin, so I use a humidifier during the winter in my own bedroom. For this reason, I decided to get one for my baby’s room as well, although if you’ve never experienced the horrors of itchy dry skin, you may not feel so inclined to do the same. If you’re looking to buy a humidifier, the Crane Cool Mist one that's shaped like a panda is adorable and doesn’t require any filter changes, a feature that won me over.

Diaper Rash Cream

Chances are your baby will face diaper rash at some point in his life. The warm, moist, dark environment of a diaper is prone to rashes. There are a great many brands out there that take care of the problem. We personally like Aveeno’s product.

Sun Block

Sun block is not recommended for babies under six months of age (they can’t process the chemicals absorbed through the skin just yet). We started using the Banana Boat Tear Free kind only recently, and it’s been just fine.

Baby Medicine *

I would actually hold off on buying Baby Tylenol, just because you probably won’t be using it without a trip to the doctor’s first, where they’ll likely give you a free sample of the stuff anyway. Plus, medicine expires quickly, so the box you buy may be outdated by the time you get around to using it.