last update: 14 Feb 2011
To help some friends of mine who are going to be new mothers, this blog entry is for you.
It will also be updated as I go along.
You'll need to think about the following things:
1.) Bedding - crib or co-inhabit?
2.) Bath - getting a tub or an inflatable tub, etc
3.) Bottles
- electric steamer/ microwave sterilizer
- what bottles to get, etc
4.) Laundry Detergents/bottle cleansers
5.) Nursing cloths
6.) Nursery items
7.) Cloths - pants, shorts, onsies, receiving blankets/towels, etc
8.) Diapers
9.) Lotions, creams - face, diaper creams, petroleum jelly, etc
10.) Hygiene - nail clippers, nose suction, etc
11.) Breast pumps?
To help you more, below are some Baby Checklists that I used. The numbers are suggested but it would really depend and vary when your baby comes along. It's going to be a lot of random shopping on a need basis.
BabyCity
Baby & Co
Breast pump:
If you'll be working within a month or two and going back to work, I suggest you get a pump but if you'll be on ML for a few months (like in Canada ~ 2 years, I think) you can delay getting a pump and go through direct feeding.
I have a Medela Swing (single breast) but in HK, I borrowed a friend's Spectra 2 Dual Expression electric breast pump. Both are good and useful for me.
Depending on what you want, Medela pumps are a bit noisier (it might be a deal breaker for you but for Colin, it was fine) versus other pumps. Medela and Spectra are about the same. There are other pumps around like Avent, etc. You would have to check and weigh in what you need/want. Most quiet electric pumps do not accommodate batteries at the moment.
I currently use an electric one that accommodates batteries since I sometimes pump in the car going home.
Also, it's nice to have double pump but jfor me, I need to focus and massage each breast whenever I pump to effectively get all the milk out, so single pumps work well with me. About the having the other breast leak, it really depends. For me, leaked amount is not a lot to make a big difference in my output.
