Thursday, February 14, 2008

Mad Rush

I just spoke with my friend S, her brother's girlfriend is the one carrying our maybe baby. No one has made up their minds regarding the baby, but the option is still on the table.

However, we thought her due date was sometime in April, it's actually the end of March! HOLY COW!!

So we've now started a mad rush to get "things" in order. I called the adoption agency to find out exactly what has to happen, I've e-mailed Moxie to see if she and her amazing readers can give us some advice on what we absolutely need to buy beforehand (and I'm asking the same of you too. I know I have readers, now is the time to rise and shine and give me some real advice! Please, pretty, pretty please!) seeing that I DO NOT need to have a bunch of unnecessary baby stuff in my house if this thing goes south. We will have a shower a few weeks after she is born, again, if she is meant to be ours, to cover all the goodies.

So I will tell you what we do have so that you can tell me what I need (bare necesseties please, I dont' think I can do a whole lot of baby stuff until after we know for sure she is meant for us):
1 cradle - wanted bedding set e-mailed to my mother today with permission for her to buy
1 travel system(in rubino) courtesy of friends (to be returned once we get our own, not necessarily a travel system. I'm thinking of this and this and then getting something like this later on.
1 pack n' play
1 swing (on loan until we get our own)

Things I think I know I will want (lots of words tripping over themselves in my head, MARCH!)
1 sling - probably a peanut pouch
can't think of anything else I will want to be before hand, but maybe you smart people will know what I cannot possibly live without between the birth and a shower?
Things I'm pretty sure we will need:

diapers
bottles (what kind, how many)
wipes
formula (what kind is best? how many cans should we have on hand just in case? - we can always donate if it turns out she won't be ours)
burp clothes (how many? again not over kill, just necessity)
receiving blankets

If there is anything else you can think of that I am missing of could you good people please let me know? Thanks. I'm a little nervous and excited and oh.my.goodness. I just realized I'm going to have to tell me bosses soon. Oh my.

Oh yeah, and some good mixed drink recipes for in the meantime would be great. I'm partial to vodka and gin, but fruity things are good too!'

5 comments:

Dooneybug said...

Wow! I can't believe how fast this might happen for you!! How exciting!!!

Looks like you have the basics down. As far as formula, every formula sold in the US has to meet the same standards. You can pay for the name brands but you are paying for the name and not necessarily because it's a better formula. When I had to formula feed my son for a few months, I bought Parent's Choice (Walmart brand) that had the DHA stuff in it. I compared it label to label with Enfamil and they were EXACTLY the same. Actually, the Parent's Choice had a few higher percentages of certain vitamins but it was identical ingredient for ingredient. And it's half the price of the name brands. Even having coupons you will still pay more for the name brands.

The nice thing is that as long as you have a few sleepers, blankets, diapers, car seat and a place for the baby to sleep, you can always run out to Target and get the things you want and need at anytime.

I really hope this works out for you guys! I'll be praying for you!

Dooneybug said...

Oh, and for number of bottles and burp cloths? Five or six of each to start should be enough (you'll have to wash those bottles once a day most likely). If you know someone who has bottles they aren't using, maybe you could borrow a few different brands until you know what brand the baby likes best before you make a purchase?

Anonymous said...

Holy crap!

Everyone I know uses Avent bottles. I did until I went Super Hippie and bought Born Free.

My kid drinks Target formula. And I'm sure he's turning out brilliant.

A pack and play. Swaddling blankets. Diapers. Wipes. Clothes. Carseat. That's it. A carrier and a bouncy seat might help you get through the day, but not asap necessities.

Gah!

andnotbysight said...

Oh my goodness! I'm so excited for you!

I'm no help on the baby stuff, but a shot of gin in a tall glass with sparkling water and a spoonful of limeade concentrate is really good :) (My husband was experimenting with mixing drinks one summer day, and even though it's not summer, it still tastes good!)

Frenchie said...

Hi there--
I just found your blog through L&F.

Congratulations on this exciting possibility! I wanted to answer your question about what to get because I went through a similar situation myself--found out about baby about 4 wks before he was born!

We already had a crib and some bedding. Here's what we ran out to buy asap/received from friends (and glad we did):

Travel system. (We got a Graco and loved it)

Bottles/Nipples. We chose to get glass bottles due to the plastic toxicity scare. We got them at Babies R Us.

A microwave bottle sterilzer system (we thanked God for this because we were in a hotel room for a while after our son was born). I think ours was made by Avent (sp?)

Bottle brush and gentle dishsoap.

Burp cloths (sounds like a lot, but have at least 10 on hand).

A few bibs (small size)

Several Onesies, a few PJ's

You're getting a sling--good. We also got a Baby Bjorn and liked having it. Though you could always get this a little after the baby comes...not imperitive.

A diaper bag. (Or some large sac you could throw a few things in--just have something ready)

I don't think you need that many blankets. A few. You'll leave the hospital with one, probably.

Mitts in case he's/she's a scratcher.

Formula: We decided to keep him on what they were giving him at the hospital (our birth mother chose not to breastfeed while she was with him in the hospital). It was Infamil/Lipil (gold label). It's been great. We also got several pre-mixed glass bottles of infamil that you can screw a nipple right onto. SO fantastic for our situation in those first few days.

Best of luck to you and your family!!!! Hope this was helpful.