Questions for people with infant care experience.

[rivka]

Here's what curiousangel and I have for the baby so far:

two nightgowns
one bib
one stuffed dachshund (thanks to geekchick)
one book of original nursery rhymes (thanks to papersky)
I Am A Bunny (board-book edition)
Touch And Feel Baseball (board-book edition)

It occurs to us that this might not be enough.

Tomorrow we're going to a Baby Products MegaStore to start familiarizing ourselves with our various options for gear. We're still far from buying, and even far from registering for gifts, but we want to get out there and actually handle various kinds of equipment.

So, those of you who have had infant experience, as a parent or daycare worker or babysitter:

What baby gear was absolutely vital?
What was a waste of money and space?
Are there any particular products you swear by?

(Quick rundown of current parenting plans, because I'm sure that they will affect gear recommendations: Li'l Critter will be breastfed. We disagree about cloth vs. disposable diapers. Li'l Critter will not sleep in our bed. We have a car, but also travel by bus and light rail.)

Comments

[castiron.livejournal.com]

What I couldn't have lived without:

Nursing pillow. (I liked the "My Brest Friend" pillow in spite of the cheesy name.) Makes it much easier to keep kid in a comfy position.

Flannel-coated rubber changing pads. With these, any surface is a changing table.

Because I was working outside the home and nursing, Medela Pump In Style pump.

Those nightgowns with the elastic bottoms -- easy to pull up for diaper changes, but tend to keep the kid's legs more covered.

A ton more nightgowns and onesies than I'd ever dreamed we'd need. (We had to change the clothes at least every other poopy diaper, sometimes every poopy diaper, and in the first months, the boy had ten poopy diapers a day.) (Stock up on your preferred laundry detergent by third trimester.)

A sling. We also used the Snuggli carrier, which worked very well except that it was hard to get the kid out (ok when he was awake, problematic when he was asleep).

Stroller that fit in our trunk -- we didn't use it much when he was an infant, but by time he was pushing 20 pounds, it was very helpful.

Stuff I could live fine without:

Special baby towels. Our regular towels (or sometimes hand towels) dried him off just fine.

Changing table. Never had one. We just used the bed or the floor.