What You REALLY Need for Baby’s First Two Years: Months Two Through Six

In addition to the things you will need for the first month, you will also need ever-increasing size, seasonally-appropriate clothing; incrementally bigger diapers; baby wash & lotion; Baby Vicks; a cool mist humidifier; a temple-and-underarm thermometer; nasal saline spray and a bulb aspirator; Pedialyte; infant Advil or Tylenol; gas drops; and a few simple toys.

My daughter had several outfits that did not have feet in them, so we invested in itsy-bitsy socks. Washers love these tiny little things, so I started putting them in a small lingerie bag. This has the added benefit of keeping them together, too, so you don’t have to hunt through the wash to find them all. Especially since I am a cheapskate and just washed her clothes with ours – and everyone got fragrance-free homemade laundry soap.

If you are using disposable diapers, by the second month you will be out of newborn size and into size 1 – or even 2. Don’t worry about buying too many. Also, generic diapers such as the ones from Sam’s Club work wonderfully! Your baby doesn’t care, trust me. I preferred the ones that changed color when wet, but they’re not necessary. When my daughter started sleeping through the night, I started purchasing Baby Dry for nighttime use and generic for daytime. And when there is a good sale, stockpile – and get some of the next size or two. You’ll need them before you think you will.

Check your stash of wipes and diaper rash cream, and if you don’t already have a Diaper Genie or something like it, now is the time. The first month or so, baby poop usually isn’t too smelly, and it’s a thinner consistency. By the third month, your child will poop less often, but it will stink more. And when “real” food is introduced at four months, you’ll thank me for the advice.

If you need air freshener, go for clean linen or eucalyptus scents – they’re not horribly perfumey, and they knock out the aroma of decaying poop in the diaper pail.

I used baby wash & lotion from the start, but some moms disagree. I bathed her about once every three to four days unless she blew out a diaper (sink bath, anyone?). The first five or six baths were in her little tub on a table. Then I moved to the shower stall, where I could rinse her more easily. She stopped screaming when I did this, too. I think because the water was warmer! Note: your child may be like mine, and prefer water warmer than recommended – or even possibly colder.

As for baby lotion, I alternate between lotion and creamy baby oil. Since my daughter doesn’t seem to have sensitive skin, I am able to use the bedtime lotion, or the vanilla oatmeal. I did use Baby Aveeno on her face until about 15 months. This started when she had baby acne at 4 weeks and it came and went, freaking me out.

Babies get colds, too. They don’t usually cough for no reason, so if they are coughing and have a nasty runny nose, they’re probably sick. It happens, and unless they are wheezing or whooping, it’s probably okay. Nasal saline spray and a bulb aspirator will be your friend. Unless it is an infection, antibiotics do no good on colds because they don’t work on viruses. Don’t freak, but do make an appointment for the pediatrician to take a look, especially if your child runs a fever. Some ways to help are by placing a cool mist humidifier near (but not next to) the crib, dabbing a tiny bit of Baby Vicks on the chest of their sleeper (not on their skin), and placing a rolled-up towel under one end of the crib mattress to elevate the baby’s head when they sleep.

Unless the baby is completely refusing breast milk/formula, don’t give them anything else to eat or drink until they are at least 4 months. Then, under the care of their pediatrician only, give them very small amounts of Pedialyte. You may also give them a doctor-approved dose of Advil or Tylenol if they are running a fever. Whatever you do, DO NOT GIVE THE CHILD HONEY until after their first birthday.

Gas drops were our friend through about 6 months, but after that, they became unnecessary. My daughter just didn’t burp very well, and got painful gas.

Toys. Every child needs toys. However, I’m here to tell you that some of the best toys are simple. We never had a swing or a doorway jumper. For Christmas, when my daughter was 2½ months old, I got her a Fisher-Price activity gym with a piano and lights on one end and dangly stuff above. She LOVED it. She also loved the lights and bells I strung from her Pack ‘n’ Play toy bar – she couldn’t reach the lights, and only by kicking could she hit the bells. At 6 months she got an Exersaucer, used. That was also a Mommy Score until she started cruising.

She liked to sit and play with spoons and cups, boxes, and a Pringles can I put marbles in and glued shut. She also loves her activity table, though she plays more with the one at Grandma & Grandpa’s house. She had plastic keys and a pull toy on the carry bar of her car seat, too.

But honestly, her favorite toys then and now are family members and pets.

What You REALLY Need for Baby’s First Two Years: The First Month

There are thousands of products for babies out there. From the completely essential clothing to newborn shoes, there are so many things you do and don’t need.

I had an October baby, so she was pretty little when it got cold.

Here’s the short list: Bassinet or Pack ‘n’ Play, crib, crib mattress & sheets, a couple of bottles, newborn formula, breast pump, nursing bra, appropriately-sized diapers, wipes, a Boppy or other nursing pillow, a cheap bottle warmer, one or two pacifiers, diaper rash cream, a car seat, a handful of onesies, a few sleep-n-plays with feet, and a few flannel receiving blankets.

If you are like me, you will want Baby to sleep next to you. Hence the bassinet on this list. I found that the smaller bassinet fit my requirements much better than the Pack ‘n’ Play, because it was a lot easier to move in a hurry. I did use the Pack ‘n’ Play – in the living room. I did look at the cosleepers available, and they weren’t very sturdy in my opinion. However, you will probably not need the Pack ‘n’ Play with the combination napper/changer attachment. I never used it.

As for crib mattress, go for the firmest one you can find. But you don’t need to spend $300 on the mattress. Ours cost $40. Forget crib bumpers – they’re dangerous – and the breathable ones are cute but you can’t see through them, and frankly, by the time the child is old enough to need them, they will use them to climb out. Jersey sheets are awesome and forgiving. I do have a couple of waterproof pads, but I have mostly used them to keep dog-mud off the futon in the baby’s room.

Receiving blankets are extremely useful – as burp cloths, to swaddle the baby, or as a protective barrier when changing them on a surface such as your bed or sofa.

Diapers. I wanted to cloth-diaper my daughter. My hubby wasn’t so enamored of the idea. We compromised and I said I’d cloth-diaper her at home, and disposable-diaper her elsewhere. Yeah, right. They put her in Pampers Swaddlers in the hospital… And I still like those best. Even the pre-folded cloth diapers are hard to put on a wiggly baby. They have those with inserts and snaps… They’re cute but inconvenient. I think my daughter wore cloth diapers about 4 times, and she’s 18 months old now.

Wipes are essential. Go for cheap unscented ones. My favorites are the Kroger brand with vitamin E and aloe. Bonus, they can help soothe those postpartum hemorrhoids. And take off makeup. And clean little hands and faces. And cleaning diaper rash ointment off your fingers. Which, by the way, I tried several brands… And I love Desitin for minor rash, and Resinol for the bad stuff. My daughter now calls Resinol “packo” – spackle, as it has the consistency of wall patching compound.

Feeding paraphernalia. I was a rabid “I’m only going to breast feed” Mama. Till I couldn’t do it. I could not get my daughter to latch properly. She didn’t get a pacifier or bottle in the hospital. It hurt really bad. I felt really awful. Day 4, she flat refused (and I later realized it was the shellfish chowder my hubby made for dinner the day we came home). I bawled my eyes out as my Mom fed her 2 ounces of formula and I pumped for an hour and got – about a half an ounce. I still tried to nurse. Sometimes it went better than others, but many times she got pumped breast milk in a bottle, or that mixed with formula. (Later, things got better – you’ll read why.)

So basically, if you’re going to breast feed, you will likely still need bottles and a pump. And having formula on hand for emergencies won’t hurt your baby. And if you can’t breast feed after all, you’re NOT a failure! I was mostly bottle fed, and my daughter ended up getting a combination till she was a year old. She’s very healthy, very intelligent and very happy. (If you’re not breastfeeding, you obviously won’t need the pump.) The cheap bottle warmer was very helpful, as I didn’t have to go upstairs in the middle of the night. Mine cost about $10 and was worth about $500 in convenience.

I didn’t want a nursing bra. I ended up needing one, finding one I adored, and was comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that I recently bought a couple more – even though I’ll never be nursing again – because I now hate my old bras. Mine aren’t fancy or expensive – they’re 2 for $16 at Wal-Mart. PS: I despise underwire.

The Boppy pillow took a bit of getting used to, but I found I was able to nurse while playing Solitaire or FarmVille. Typing was possible, though not easy. Or I could just kick back – and her weight stayed off my healing C-Section incision. I also could snug her in it while I did things like folding laundry or getting dressed, and she could watch or nap. (She has now claimed it as her relaxing pillow, so I probably will never get rid of it.)

One or two pacifiers are very helpful. Some babies have a more pronounced need to suck, and these do the trick. Call ‘em what you want, they’re lovely bits of plastic.

Onesies and sleep-n-plays with feet will be your friends. You see, if it is warm, the onesie is all you need – covers them shoulders to butt. And sleep-n-plays allow them to lounge around all day and keep warm. You can have cotton ones, terry cloth, and fleece (probably other fabrics as well). We had one I used for outings that was really fluffy fleece; and the others went from crib to car seat to sitter or wherever nicely. And remember: your child does not care if they’re “cute” or in their “favorite color” (which is really YOURS), or if they have ruffles and lace (unless they’re uncomfortable).

A car seat. Get a good one. My recommendation is Graco or Evenflo. Get the kind with a base to make your life easier – and get at least one extra base for the grandparents or Daddy.

Lastly, something I did not get until my 6-week checkup but could be a life saver. Please don’t dismiss Postpartum Depression as “the baby blues”. If it lasts more than a few days to a week, get help. Antidepressants might sound awful, but when Mommy feels better, baby feels better. And, frankly, the minute risk of my daughter ingesting a small amount of antidepressant was a far better outcome than a suicidal/homicidal mother. I waited too long to get help – I should have done something at 2 weeks – but luckily everything turned out fine. And breastfeeding magically got a LOT easier that very first night.

What I didn’t need: a swing, a wipe warmer, a glider, a nursing stool, and a lot of “when I had babies” type advice.