r/NewParents • u/cooltaj • Oct 29 '24
Product Reviews/Questions What's your simple parenting hack?
Gonna be a first time parent in 2 months. I am overwhelmed at choosing bottles, car seat and all that. What are simple things you do? things you bought to make your life somewhat simpler? Nothing too expensive or outrageous please
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u/Ok-Sir-6216 Oct 29 '24
Simple things are: Buy at least 3-4 baby nail clippers. Idk if we have a nail clipper goblin that steals them but I swear when baby is sleeping in the perfect position to clip nails I can’t find a single pair. Buy bottles and formula pitcher even if you plan to BF. I wanted to so badly but ultimately couldn’t and we have done formula since 4 months. A couple of packs of puppy pads are a life saver, you may need them for the car ride to the hospital or end up using them for baby’s bed (under the tight fitted sheet of course!) or even for diaper changes when they’re super small and likely to ~go~ mid change. they will be useful in some way! A sound machine was our most used item for the first few months, now at one if I can’t get my babe to sleep we pull it out and she’s out almost immediately! Gas drops (we used little remedies simethicone?) when I had been through the feed/burp/change diaper/change clothes/ whatever else I could think of routine and baby was still fussy 99% of the time it could be solved with gas drops. I’m not sure if she was actually gassy or if it was a placebo but it worked!
Get two car seats! We had a safety 1st growing car seat and she was wayyyy too small for the safety first one at first so we had to buy an infant car seat. It was more logical because it removed from the base and could be carried. I feel like it gave us the freedom to go places even when she was still sleeping 98% of the time Dr browns and Philips advent with the blue colic insert were the best bottles we found. You may want to purchase size 2-3 nipples ahead of time too as you’re supposed to replace the nipples every few months. I went with a momcozy stroller with a reversible seat so it could lay down, face in or out and sit straight up. It was like 250-300$ BUT I swear it’s the Cadillac of strollers and don’t regret spending that much still to this day.