Since Fredericksburg Baptist Church (the church I grew up in) is hosting a shower for us in August, we spent the majority of Sunday afternoon registering at Target. All I can say is WOW! What an overwhelming experience! :) We were so excited about the whole process and couldn't wait to get our hands on the cool little scanner gun. When we registered for our wedding 5 years ago, we went nuts and scanned everything we thought we might possibly need or ever want (including a hatchet if I remember correctly....). This experience was quite different. Even though we had our little checklist of "necessities", it got pretty tough to figure out what we really needed, what would be nice to have, and what simply would collect dust. Even better, you're talking about two people who have NO idea what the difference is between an activity mat and an activity gym (among other things). I can only imagine that anyone working store surveillance must have been cracking up laughing at us scratching our heads and reading boxes, etc., etc. I think we were there for close to 2 1/2 hours and the baby section in our Target is about 5 or 6 aisles. Even now, I chuckle! But it's done and we're proud! Just be kind if you look at our registry at either Target or Babies R Us (we did that one online) and remember that we have no clue what we're doing. Anything we weren't sure about got scanned. Well --- except the galloping horse thing. That was ALL Abe! ;) Best quote of the day was from Abe while looking at a shelf of baby stuff ---- "I am so overwhelmed. Not at becoming a parent, just at figuring out all THIS stuff!!"
So on that note, I have a question for anyone reading this that has kids. (Assuming, of course, that anyone reads this!) What one or two things do you think are absolute necessities for baby? We have a crib, a bassinet, a glider with ottoman, a high chair, and thanks to some friends who were having a baby yard sale, we also have a Boppy pillow, a vibrating seat (AKA a bouncer??), a diaper genie, and a pad for a changing table. Abe's Dad is building us a dresser and we have gotten GREAT advice from our friend Nathan who suggested we register for larger size clothes and diapers. And of course, we know we need a car seat and a stroller. But tell us more!!!! What could you have not lived without with your baby?? Comment here or just shoot us an email ---- we'd love the advice! :)
Love to all!
Abe & Martha
The Mikells
Baby Stephen at 20 weeks
Popeye!
Baby at 12 weeks
Baby at 8 weeks
3 comments:
A swaddling blanket! That really helped my kids to sleep.
Also, read Harvey Karp's "Happiest Baby on the Block" before the little one comes. It's got great ideas for dealing with newborns. I had two colicky infants and it was a great help.
a crib and a bassinet are awesome and will definitely be used. but i would also recommend a pack-n-play. they are great to set up in the living room for those times when you need to put the baby down and do something, or to change his/her diaper (they come with changing "table"). they are also great if you travel and need a place for the baby to sleep. and while the bumbo has become somewhat controversial (what baby product hasn't?), i loved ours. Rachel was able to sit up and look around when she wasn't able to sit up on her own yet. it was nice for her to have a different perspective than from on her back or tummy. it was also good to use when we started feeding her solids. just make sure you keep an eye on him/her while he/she is in it. :) and also, if you are active, i would recommend a baby bjorn or some type of carrier.
good luck and have fun! registering is extremely overwhelming but exciting. :)
Wait until you have to put some of it together... I was glad I had an engineering degree. I, personally, could not live without a bouncer - my kids always preferred them to swings. Pack N Play is the other thing... it can serve as a crib for as long as you need it. If you plan to breastfeed, I highly recommend "so that's what they're for". But I don't think anything is a necessity except a car seat. You can always make do with what you have. (BTW, I highly recommend getting just onesies and sleepers for the most part... as much as you'll want to dress them in their Sunday best, you'll use it... well, never!!! Well at least not until they walk.)
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