Clothes for a Newborn

So here is a list I found at Pregnancy Weekly that talks about what clothes you should have ready for a new baby. We have purchased a lot of items already and they are washed. Also, We are lucky to have some friends that have passed on a ton of clothes to us. I think we are ready to go. We just have to get our car seat installed. Is there anything else that you think we need to do? What else could be added to the list below?

Here are some of the things your new little one will need. It's probably best to get them together during your seventh month. Don't forget to wash everything before you put them on your baby.

3 Side-snap shirts
3 Pullover t-shirts
6 Onesies
3 Gowns
4 Terry cloth sleepers with feet
4 Snap-up rompers without feet
2 Blanket sleepers
1 Bunting/snowsuit (if needed)
4 Booties and/or socks
4 Bibs
2 Sweaters
1 Jacket

Major Purchases: Playard

As with my last post we have started purchaing items for our first child. Yesterday we purchased two items. One was the stroller I previously talked about and the other was a Living Room Playard. We spent more that we probably should have, as we talked to a salesperson at a store and she indicated that there was a cheap one on sale at a Baby Days Sale this coming weekend. I never even knew there was such a thing as Baby Days, but it seems like every store is having one the coming weekend! She told us that some babies even sleep in this until they are two years old and not to be fooled by all of the bells and whistles on expensive systems. Anyways, we purchased a maching playard to our stroller and car seat combo that was three times the price of the cheap one she told us about. Are we suckers for buying the bells and whistles and trying to match items? Guilty. Anyways, we purchased the Graco Pack 'n Play® Playard, it sure looks good.

Here is some information that I found on this product (found at Albee Baby):

Product Features and Benefits:

• Silhouette style frame blends flowing lines, ideal proportions and purposeful details to define quality and comfort.
• Posture plus changing table fits your life with uniquely convenient height and functionality.
• Cozy oval bassinet embraces your baby with Graco signature quilting.
• Baby basics organizer blends practical baby care with style and flair offering diaper stacker, refillable wipes container, and storage compartments.
• Deluxe electronic mobile entertains and soothes with:
• 2 speed mattress mounted vibration
• 5 classical songs + 5 soothing nature sounds
• LED lights "dance" to the music
• Check light shines on baby's sleep area
• Timer settings of 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes
• Full slumber dome canopy shades bassinet with a calm charming influence
• Squeeze latch adds graceful detailing to natural folding motion
• Accented with elliptical aluminum legs
• Wheels for better mobility in the home

Recommended Use:
For use by children unable to climb out, less than 35" tall.Changing Station for use by children less than 25 lbs.; Bassinet for use by children less than 15 lbs.

Care and Maintenance:If unit gets sandy, carefully remove sand from all surfaces before packing into bag. Sand may damage top rail lock. Clean with household soap and warm water. Drip dry. NO BLEACH. Machine wash carry bag in lukewarm water.

Was it worth the cost? What are your experiences with Playards?

Major Purchases: Baby Strollers

We are almost at week 25 now and this past weekend we started purchasing big items, that we will need when the baby arrives. We decided to go into a larger city and get some advice on products that we might need. We started at Toys "R" Us - Babies, as we were told that they are very educational. The lady we talked to had run a daycare for years and was very helpful. She took us through all of their products and indicated what she thought was best. We were specifically looking for a stroller and she indicated it did not matter which one we got but we should go with a Quattro.

We ended up purchasing one later on in the day from Sears. We purchased the Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe Travel System. The main reasons we purchased this model was because it was a Quattro, the car seat is good for infants from 5-30 lbs. (most of the others only were good up to 22 lbs), and yes we like the colour. More information about the system we bought can be found below.

The Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe travel system includes the Quattro Tour Deluxe stroller, SafeSeat infant car seat with a 5-Point front adjust harness and a stay-in-car adjustable base. The Quattro Tour Deluxe stroller is made of aluminum tubing and promises years of comfy strolling for infants through toddlers. The one hand gravity fold simplifies life for parents and the 180° rotating canopy with peek-a-boo window shades your child from any direction. The 4-position, flat reclining seat keeps your child comfortable while the parent organizer tray with storage compartment and cupholders provides convenience for mom and dad. The lower and load storage basket is the perfect place for storing baby's essentials. Best of all, this travel system includes the Infant SafeSeat car seat for your infant from 5-30 lbs. and up to 32".

Do you have any other suggestions about major purchases that we should be doing before the baby arrives? What were your experiences when purchasing a stroller?

The Cost of Having a New Baby

I found a interesting calculator used to predict the cost of raising a baby in the first year. You can view this calculator by clicking on the following link:

Ringing Up Baby: First-Year Costs Calculator


When I went through I found that the first year cost will be around $8500. This includes one time purchase items at $2800 and an additional cost of $475 a month, not including any daycare (as my wife will be staying home for at least the first year). I like that you are able to select the items that you want and can change the cost of the item price (there is an average price listed for each item). If you do not like the calculatorthe shopping list is an excellent source of information. Any suggestions on how to cut corners? Is this list realistic?

Huggies Virtual Room Creator

Huggies Virtual Room Creator is a web based program that allows you to decorate your baby's or toddler's room with the click of a mouse. I especially like the floor plan decorator as I was able to build a room with the actual dimensions of the room we will be using. At this site you can also do things like create a mosaic of you and your baby, create an online story book, look at products and view special offers. I know that I am beginning to sound like and advertiser but this site is a lot of fun.

Baby Furniture

This week I will be focusing my posts on baby furniture. Yesterday we were at SEARS and started looking through the baby furniture and toys. It was sure a lot of fun and when I looked at the prices I realized that we need to be saving money in a hurry. The selection was abundant and we found many things that we liked. When is the best time to start making purchases? I talked to one couple that started buying things after 12 weeks. That does seem early but the research I have done tells me that after 12 weeks and hearing a heartbeat means the chances of a problem are less than 1%. Please give us some advice on when we should start purchasing items, how much it will cost, the best places to shop, must have items and anything else that may help us out.

Decorating the Baby Room

We have been gone for the last couple of days but I am ready to start posting again. Today, we started talking about decorating a baby room. At first I thought we should not paint this room, as we just painted it roughly two years ago, but my wife really wants to change the colour.

She is thinking about a light green colour and I think that would be OK because the football team I love is green and white.

I decided to do some searching on the Internet to find out what others think about painting a baby room.

Painting Baby's Room - Creative Ideas for Painting a Baby Nursery by Rebecca Johnson

This article gives the following suggestions:

• Stencil a board around the room
• Decorate and put up a chair rail around the room
• Paint vertical stripes around the room
• Paint a mural on one of the walls

Ideas for Decorating Baby Rooms, General Baby Room Decor and Nursery Decoration

This article gives the following suggestions:

• Coordinate nursery bedding and window coverings
• Use a calm color scheme (ie. mint green, aqua)
• see also Color Meaning, Color Psychology & Color Therapy

So when is it the right time to start to Decorate a Baby Room? Any suggestions when painting or decorating the room?