Aspirators

When ever I go to baby showers I like to give a diaper bag filled with all my favorite baby supplies! I will share with you!
*Mylacon! (I buy the Wal-Mart brand. Works just as well and is way cheaper.) This is a must! You never know when the baby will get gas, but you will be sorry if you can't help!
*Nail clippers with a bulb at one end. Makes them so much easier to hold/use.
*Desitin cream for the tush! Either original or creamy.
*Cool mist humidifier. Good when the room is dry and when the baby gets a cold.
*Slippers. Wal-Mart sells them in the baby isle. Blue or pink. They say Thank Heaven for little girls/boys. The have a velcro strap. They were the only ones that ever stayed on!
*a pacifier holder. If you plan to use one, this will save your sanity! It clips on to the babies clothes and keeps it from falling to the floor or getting lost.
*Diaper duck. A small duck with a tube attached which holds bags for diaper disposal. Not a necessity, but so nice to have!
*Baby Tylenol and Motrin. You will be so happy to have them on hand when you need them. (Again, Wal-Mart brand is much cheaper.)They are not the same!
*A swing. This is my opinion, but it was a life saver!
*We used a Bumbo seat once the baby can hold his/her head well. They loved being able to sit and look around. We also used it instead of a high chair.
*I use a Braun Ear thermometor. The one that warms the tip. It has always worked well for us. The Ped. just askes what kind of therm. you used. They can go from that, it is accurate enough.
*The bulb asp. from the hospital is all I ever used. It worked well. A battery op. one sounds scary!
Well, that's what comes to mind right now. Just a few opinions. Good luck, and congrats!

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Get the book Baby Bargains. It takes you through it all and even recommends products (based on consumer reports and parent polls).
Congrats!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi M.-

I know you said this is your first child, but trust me, you DO NOT need a battery aspirator! The hospital will give you a bulb style aspirator to take home. If you want to buy one, I purchased one that had an access cap on the back end which allowed me to wash out all the snot really well.

As far as other things you need, I would say a good pair of small clippers is critical. A good trusty thermometer that can be used rectally is also needed. I like having a soft hair brush to massage the scalp after baths.

IMO everything els is fluff that someone is trying to sell you. The old basics are still the best san the batteries.

~C.

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I've tried all types of aspirators, and the Nose Frida is the BEST. It doesn't lose power like the manual one b/c it's powered by your mouth (like a pipette). There is a sponge so you don't swallow your baby's boogies :)

As for thermometers, they say rectal is best, but we use a temporal one. We used the Braun ear thermometer but it's inaccurate like 99% of the time.

You will need a the baby thermometer to take rectal temperature, which is the best way for a parent to take a baby's temperature, per my doctor - the temporal ones are often off by a degree, and the ear ones are only accurate if you put them in exactly as it should be done.

I don't think I ever used the clippers, but I definitely used the baby nail file - I think they are "softer" than regular emery boards, and baby's nails are very thin, so they don't require much pressure to file off.

Get a manual aspirator - the battery operated one I got for my daughter didn't work at all.

Some of those kits also have a thimble-like thing you are supposed to use to clean their gums. That's a good idea too when they start eating solids.

When my kids were babies, I ended up with a nasal aspirator, maybe it was a wishing well gift at my shower. I never used it, never extracted stuff from my kids' noses at all. They have gotten to be healthy 10 and 14 year olds without ever having mom pick stuff out of their noses :)
Good luck preparing for baby

I received a battery-powered aspirator and it never worked properly on my babies. The manual one from the hospital worked best. Now that my son is bigger the battery-powered one does work well for him. If you haven't yet, you should add a vaporizer or humidifier to your registry.

I like our Braun (I think) ear thermometer. It is not always accurate and you do need to be particular with the angle you use. You can also use a regular thermometer under the arm. I have never used anal. If your child has a fever, it will register even if you don't get the exact temperature.

I used nail scissors from Babies 'r' Us. Someone else gave them to me and they are a butterfly. Very nice because you can see what you are doing better than with clippers, which you position and then clamp down and hope you don't get skin.

One of my FAVORITE baby items are Johnson and Johnson baby q-tips. They have a large bulb head and then a smaller tip that is too short and small to go into your baby's ear. They are perfect for twirling out water and/or wax on the rim of the ear, and I still use them on my toddler and preschooler, especially on the edge of their nostrils after a bath.

I think one of the most overrated baby items is bath towels. My kids were too pudgy for them by six months--we still used them, but a cuddly regular towels wraps them and keeps them warmer more easily. Of course, the hood part is nice and I still have them and use them, but I would not go out of my way for them looking back.

I found an aspirator I liked (can't remember what brand) but it is a bulb that separates from a squat-looking tip that has a wider base with a small tip, so it cannot go far into baby's nose, and you can separate it to clean the tip. It was the only one I found that had decent but safe suction and was easy to clean. I am pretty sure I got it at Eckerd or Wegmans. I never tried the battery-operated one. I mostly used it during cold seasons along with some baby saline, which is nice for flushing their nasal cavities out.

Cool-mist humidifier is a must-have. You can get a safe vaporizer as well, just choose something that you think will be easy to clean (you will be cleaning it out daily when you are using it), and that will not be too anything (loud, annoying, bright, messy, etc.). We have ours sitting in a plant drip-pan because it sloshes when you move it. You will not be putting anything in the water (like VaporRub stuff), but if your baby gets a cold, Vicks makes a lovely-smelling BabyRub (check the ages).

We never used bottle sterilizers (I nursed--if you nurse and pump, Medela makes a nice microwave steam clean bag which does a great job for pump parts once a week or however often you want them disinfected). Bottle warmers are a nuisance, as are bottle drying racks. You will need latches, knob covers (maybe), outlet covers, etc. It never hurts to get that ahead. I was installing things when my 6-month-old was climbing around me into the cupboards. I can go on and on--I worked in child care for years and have two busy boys, so lots of ideas and opinions, but every baby and home is different. :)

I used a manual aspirator for my girl when she was two hand half months old. It was a Farlin product, not with a very long end which goes inside baby’s nose too much, for such use there were separate straws type of silicon objects. But I was very comfortable without them.

Really need...
- nail clippers
- no-scratch mittens
- Tylenol
- Mylicon
- Saline drops
- Aspirator- battery operated!! We tried both and the battery one takes less time and is less messy
- If it's a boy... lots of A&D and gauze pads for the circumcision
- LOTS of the safety q-tips
- comb/brush combo
- invest in a good monitor
- get a safe, but cheap tub... don't fall for the "spa" ones. Most of my friends returned theirs for the $20 version.
- lots of hand sanitizer and soap for visitors who want to cuddle the little one

We registered for the First Aid kit and didn't use most of the items included. I have since suggested to other new moms that you register for items individually.

I had my first baby last August. I used the aspirator from the hospital, the others that I purchased or was given didn't seem to work. Yes I am sure she would have been fine without me getting all that out of her nose, but how comfortable would you be if you never blew your nose. As far as thermometer I have all of them gifts mostly. I can see using a rectal for a very little baby, but even in the hospital when she was born they didn't so, I use the ear or temporal thermometer like my pediatrician does. Nail clippers I did use safety first ones with a little light on them again a gift. Not at any age have I been able to get my daughter to stay still to do her nails. I actually use a little baby nail file if they begin to get too long. If you keep up with them that should be enough. Hope this helps.

I received an aspirator, clippers and digital thermometer in a small "summer infant" kit for my first son. Both my husband and I loved them. When my second son came around, I tried to find them again and was able to buy them separately, but figured for a few bucks more I would get the small kit ($12 total) again even though some stuff does go to waste. Also, in a jam, I purchased a White bulb aspirator (maybe safety first??) that is the same design as the summer infant one. They work great and with my little guy we have used it daily since he was born. The kit I believe I bought at KMart and the white aspirator at Target. They probably also carry very similar if not the same at a Walmart. I did try the one that separates, but find that the piece that goes in his nose is a little sharp on the edge of the plastic and does not work as well.

I do use the thermometer (rectally) when the fever is high and I want to know exactly what it is. Otherwise, I use the exergen temporal thermometer. I like it, but when my oldest was registering "high", "high", I like to have a rectal to gauge if I should be calling the MD or going to the hospital. I found that it is most accurate with the exception of the rectal thermometer. The ear one SUCKED!

I found that I got a lot of that stuff sent home from the hospital--both an aspirator and a thermometer--so I returned the ones I bought and used theirs. I've never heard of a battery operated aspirator, but it sounds unnecessary, just make sure the one you get has a really small tube for getting into a tiny nose. Also, I didn't like our baby clippers at all and ended up using the adult ones. I did end up buying a nicer (20$) thermometer. Good luck!

I agree that the hospital will give you the best aspirator out there!
As for clippers, I used emery board files at first - such tiny digits! And now use a clipper with a light on it (makes easier to see tiny fingers AND I can clip while she's dozing which is easiest).
Thermometers - I bought sooo many of them and was disappointed that my baby's temp changed drastically depending on the method - I would use the ear therm five times in a row and the readings would be all over the board. I found the MOST accurate and EASIEST is the Exergen Temporal Scanner. It cost about $30 at Walmart, but sooo worth it! It's non-invasive (you just swipe across the forehead). I have matched it with he rectal thermometer, and it is right on the money! You should always have a rectal therm, too. You pediatrician may want you to verify any alarming fever with it - it's just so invasive and (to put it bluntly, starts the poop chute going like mad - then you have a messy, sick baby)
You'll also want to also have a nice soft baby brush (not comb) around to rub the baby's scalp in case of cradle cap.
I was given one of those fist aid "kits" with scissors, and medicine spoons and droppers, etc - half the stuff is still unused after a year! Medicines will come with their own dispensers. Take care.
Congratulations, Mommy!!