Looking back at the first 6 months: 6 things I couldn't have lived without!

I had done a post on things I needn't have bought very recently, and before anybody has the chance to get carried away and call me a little (or more) wasteful, I thought I should hurry up with listing the things I am so glad I bought...

1. Nursing Pillow (the good ol' Boppy): Manya continues to be mostly breast-fed with almost no formula supplementation (except in her cereal or with some veggie/fruit) and I don't know how I would have or any nursing mother can manage without a good nursing pillow. I bought a couple of slip covers for it too and it continues to be the best breast-feeding companion (after my daughter ofcourse :P) ever!

2. Humidifier: M was a winter baby and in the first week or so, we noticed she was really noisy during her sleep - that heavy nasal snore that you get when you have a cold - that's what she used to sound like. We got the humidifier and it was like a magic wand - she breathed so much easier. It is an absolutely must have for dry climates as well as for the winter seasons.

3. Sleep Sacks and Wearable Blankets: We got the sleep sacks from Halo and the wearable blankets, like this one, from Carter's. Though M outgrew these by her fourth month because a. she is a taller-than-average baby and b. she loved kicking her legs around, I still swear by these. They are soft and snuggly and assure you that the baby will be warm and comfy without having to worry about suffocation because of the need of added loose blankets etc. I had atleast one for every night of the week (to save on frequent laundary, ofcourse :D), and was very disappointed to give them away. Have two of them still tucked away in a closet :).

4. Bouncer: I did do a post on how M was a reflux baby, and this bouncer (my baby shower gift) came in extremely handy as she had to be kept propped up for about 30 minutes after every feed. And Manya was a very frequent feeder, so you do the math. She still uses it - though sparingly now as she is getting to the point where she can get up and sit upright without support. They say that's the time to dump the bouncer, and we will - but we have had a very positive experience till now.

5. Play gym: Another baby shower gift (we have this one from Fisher Price) that was a must on our to-buy list. I was not as convinced of its utility when I was pregnant but it soon became a life saver. (Again, this will become redundant when M sits up on her own). Since M turned a month old, we started making her spend time at the play gym - it was barely a few minutes in the beginning but it grew to cover the time I took to cook an entire meal and clean up too! She still plays with it rather than in it given her increased mobility, and we are already researching on the next activity center we need to get her. 

6. Bath Tub: When we got this one for M, my mom was pretty skeptic as to if we would ever to get to using all the paraphernalia. She accepted she was wrong immediately after M's first bath! The sling is so damn useful, especially for slithery new-borns :D - the perfect way to introduce a baby to water and bath time. We didn't get a single cry from M when we placed her on it for the very first time. At about 3 months, she outgrew the sling and now we just use the tub as is with the insert to keep her oily body from skidding on the smooth surface. What can I say, our bath times are a lot of fun and hardly any hassle! I'd recommend this to all new parents and parents-to-be.

So, what are the things you are proud to have thought of and bought for your babe?

Looking back at the first 6 months: 6 things I needn't have bought!

Now to start with a disclaimer, I have never considered myself a hoarder, though at certain instances I might go a wee bit overboard with the "essentials" :D.

So here's an objective assessment of baby things I needn't have bothered to buy. Like they say, one is wiser only in hind sight. (I also plan to do another post of things I am glad I bought, so come back for that one too!)

1. Baby booties: Yes, I mean the cute kinds, the kind that make the background for this blog! I bought such pretty (not to mention expensive - all above 20 USD!!!) crocheted yellow and pink ones for Manya and she didn't wear them a single day. They were all too easy to take off by our wriggling babe!

2. Wipe warmer: I thought I had hit a jackpot with this one when I got a really good one on sale for about 30 USD from Babies r us - it made a lot of practical sense to a heavily pregnant me - we were going to have a winter baby and she would be so comfortable with warm wipes during diaper changes, I thought. We used it for exactly two nights. Why? A, with controlled temperature at home (between 70-72 F), it was never freezing cold anyways; and B, you have to switch it on for 3 hours, then switch it off for a couple of hours and then back on. With trillion other things on your mind, not to mention postpartum fatigue, this should seriously not even be the last thing on your mind.  

3. Newborn-size onesies/bodysuits/sleep-n-play sets: I knew I was going to have an average sized baby (given my birth weight and the ultrasound results), so I thought she'll definitely wear N size for the first first 2-3 months. So, not lots, but I got quite a few of the my first Christmas, my first this, my first that stuff only to have M outgrow (length wise!) all of them by the second week! There were many not even worn once! And since most go around the diaper or have closed toes, you can't really continue using them like you can with plain Ts or PJs! 

(P.S. Vish's BIL was visiting us exactly at that time and mentioned that most clothing companies make sure that the N or 0 size is really small so that you come back for the next size sooner than later. A finance biggie, I'll take his word for it :D.)

4. Baby caps: I got atleast a dozen of these, and ended up using them only twice - once with an outerwear that did not have a hoodie and another time to keep her oily head from soiling the bed sheet (her bath was getting delayed for some reason). Doctors recommended not using caps at home and most of the outer wear for the chilly winters came with their own hoods! 

5. Frocks: I blame my pregnancy hormones for this one. With a November baby on the cards, that too on the east coast, seriously, what was I thinking. Sigh. You are going to have a girl baby - you enter a baby clothing store and you don't buy the cute little frocks! Sacrilege! Manya wore the baby size frocks I bought her exactly twice - that too with PJs at the bottom, jacket on top, and only to please me!

6. Dusting powder: With all the research I did, I don't know how come I went wrong on this one - though I just picked up only one big bottle from Burt's Bees - nothing to make me really broke :D. On the very first day in the hospital, the pediatrician said no talcum powder and no dusting powder, even if it was talc free. Aah! 

Do you also have a needn't have bought list from your experience?