(Part 3) Best products from r/predaddit

Take your lady, if that's a thing, and go to a store that sells baby stuff and has it all out. That way you can look at all the things and see what you, and more importantly she, likes.

I like Graco, as a company, so we bought mostly stuff from them. And the more stuff works together the nicer it is. We got a carseat that has a base and your baby carrier "snaps" into it. Then you can carry them in that carrier and it can also "snap" into the stroller, so it all works together. so FIND A COMPANY you like and just get one. TBH, strollers, or.. did you call them prams? Have to meet safety standards, so they will all be fine. But figure out how small they fold up too, for transport and storage. Also, if you live in an area with rough terrain, like rocky roads, dirt paths, cobblestones, etc., consider one with large bike tires rather than small plastic wheels. It takes up more space, but it is so much easier to push! They call them jogging strollers. I don't jog... but after one trip to the pumpkin patch which had several hundred feet of crushed stone you had to get across... I went and bought one used.

I also found something REALLY useful called a "rock and play", which is like a rocking sling bed you can put the baby in. Ours actually had a little mechanical foot that let it rock itself. It is a safe place you can put baby down when you need to do something else, like do laundry or feed yourself.

Finally, some babies need to be swaddled to sleep, which means wrapping them up like a burrito. It's pretty easy for them to get out sometimes though which wakes them up. So, they make "sleep sacks" that represent the swaddle but they are zippered. We found one called the Woombie that worked well for us. I think it was like this.

Oh! And don't be afraid to get stuff used. You may not want to, but some of it, like, you barely use, and it's still fine. Especially clothes. Sometimes you get clothes and they don't even wear them because you forget about it, or it gets lost, or you just don't like it, or they are the wrong size for the weather. Also shoes! Baby shoes are stupid expensive, so try to find some cheap at yard sales in various sizes. Throw them in a box and by the time baby needs them, you'll have a bunch. But use common sense. Probably don't buy a used carseat, because you don't know what happened to them, but maybe a pack and play and definitely clothes.

Good luck! Ask questions, we'll help!

• Blankets, especially when they're young. They drool/shit/spit up on everything so you change all of their clothes a lot.
  
• Truthfully, I always kept a spare shirt in each car. Usually for the same reason.
  
• Buy lots of frozen meals for when the baby first comes home. Fill your freezer. You have no time in the first few weeks, all you're going to want to do is sleep. We had blue apron at the time and we could barely even do those.
  
• Invest in a chair for the baby and keep it in the bathroom. It really comes in handy.
  
• I also loved the swing. The baby slept like a champion in that thing.
  
• Reusable diapers. We used little helpers, and they worked amazing. Take about 300 bucks and make the investment. It's worth it. It's more work, but in the long run you won't regret it. I'm about to bust open the old ones because we have a LO on the way. By now they've paid for themselves.
  
• Get an Ergobaby carrier. I'm a big guy (300+ lbs) and it fit me with an extension. My wife wears it a lot too without the extension. We tried the other ones but they didn't work out that well in the long run.
  
• Keep baby tylenol on you. Trust me, when you need the stuff it's going to be a 2am trip to wherever to pick it up and you want to avoid that.
  
• Also, Zarbee's Children's Cough Syrup... same reason
  
• Don't screw with the forehead thermometers. They're never accurate. Just pick up some vasoline and get the rectal thermometer. They won't remember when they get older so you can just not tell them you used it.
  
• Pick up a ton of wash cloths. They have so many uses when it comes to little kids. We picked ours up at babys R us. It was cheap and they're a soft fabric. A lot of the time we would use this instead of a wipe. They're a lot more friendly on the baby's bottom. I don't really think a young kids butt is really ready for whatever they put in the wipes initially.
  
• Get Desitin for diaper rash. It works the best.
  
• Invest in a baby monitor. We ended up picking up a wireless camera. It was a lot cheaper, connects to WiFi so range is NOT an issue (as long as WiFi is in range). Plus, it connects to the phone and it will alert you of any changes. Has night vision, sound, etc. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077SCZBPM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
• Buy a bunch of those white onesies for around the house. Like i said, babies can just erupt at any time so you're going to change them a lot.
  
• Get the baby swaddlers for sleeping. it works really well when they're young because it keeps them contained and warm.
  
• Always remember, FLEECE IS KING. No velcro, buttons only.
  
  As for the other stuff, we still co-sleep and she nurses, so i have no idea about cribs and bottles... even though the kid has her own crib.
  
  I'm cutting myself off. I feel like I could go forever.

I know you guys are probably looking for something to use as a tool of reference but I won't lie the best baby book I got was Calm the Fck Down

It was a great read me and my wife went through right before our bundle of joy was born. In some ways it honestly did help.

"What to Expect When You're Expecting" is an obvious but great choice.

Best of luck guys!

YES. Photography is fun and really easy to get the hang of once you do a bit of studying. I'm a wedding photographer, and use Canon gear. Canon and Nikon both make top-notch cameras and lenses.

Honestly, the lens is the more important part. Nothing wrong with getting good used equipment to save some cash. You can get a 4-5 year old camera body (like a Canon 50D or 5D) for $500 or less. A couple of beginner lenses with good optical quality will set you back another $400-500 depending on what you want.

I always recommend "Understanding Exposure" for photog newbies:
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390

It's a great book that puts things in simple terms and makes photography very accessible.

I would also highly recommend checking out POTN forums:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/

I've been on POTN for about 8 years and it has proved to be a great resource. I've bought and sold thousands of bucks worth of gear and gotten great advice from other users. Lots of pros and amateurs alike. It is Canon-centric but the photo sharing section obviously is open to anything.

Feel free to PM me with any questions as well!

I bought this table and I LOVE IT! Granted I have yet to use it, but I put it together (I'm 6 months prego) in about an hour, and just love love love it. It has tons of space right at my finger tips, and I don't have to change the baby at an angle. Instead it's straight forward.

Edit: I will be investing in a better changing pad, which I still think is worth it.

Here are the books I got, they're pretty useful:

The Expectant Father by Armin A. Brott and Jennifer Ash:
good month by month guide to what's going on with your partner while she's pregnant, lets you know what to expect, what to worry about and what not to worry about, along with some general advice/info. Also tells you what things are like from her perspective, which is helpful.

Be Prepared by Gary Greenberg and Jeannie Hayden:
this one is good for getting ready for actually having a baby - contains basic but important stuff like how to burp a kid, car seats, how to feed it, dealing with teething, and most everything else up until they're about 1. Extremely practical.

She's Having a Baby, I'm Having a Breakdown, by James D. Barron:
very similar to The Expectant Father, but broken down into trimesters instead of months and more oriented around what you might be worried about or freaking out over. More general than some other books I've seen, by which I mean more practical and useful.

Honorable Mention:

Father For Life by Armin A. Brott (who also wrote The Expectant Father):
this one goes from pregnancy until your kids move out basically, so it's a lot more general, but I think it's useful for people who are worried about how they'll do as a parent or what their kids might expect of them. It seems like it was written for you to take it off the shelf every year and refer to it, but you don't have to treat it like that - instead it sort of unpacks the way they next couple of decades could unfold, what you have to look forward to, to expect, and keep in mind. Good "soul-searching" sections.

All of these books make the same claim-to-importance ("there's way more reading for women than there is for men!") but I like them better than others because they don't then placate or coddle you - I think other books can be extremely condescending, but YMMV.

http://smile.amazon.com/Infant-Optics-Monitor-Interchangeable-Optical/dp/B00ECHYTBI/ref=zg_bs_166870011_3

We could have gone cheaper, but nothing had ratings as good, or as many features. There are more popular Motorola models, mbp36, but they didn't have nearly as many positive reviews. I've tested it from the upstairs nursery to the basement and back yard with no issues or interference.

Price fluctuates between $209 and $171 (got lucky when I bought it for that a month or so ago).

Pick a model you like, and use camelcamelcamel to watch the prices for you.

Edit: Features I wanted include talk back, pan and zoom, expandable by adding another camera, good night vision, large viewable handheld monitor, good battery life, optional wide angle lens for when she's older and moving around her room and a far reaching range that didn't interfere with my WiFi.

I don't want to jump in here with "fear mongering" or anything, but you should seriously scrutinize your home network before leaving it up to a webcam setup others have suggested. Especially if you want to use Wi-Fi.

Ever notice some hickups that happen on your network for maybe 2 or 3 seconds at a time? Are you comfortable with the possibility that something could happen in those 2-3 seconds? A piece of furniture, a wifi-enabled phone, or even a person standing in the wrong place can do weird things to wireless networks. In most cases I'm sure it's fine, but I want to make sure you know the risks :)

If you still consider going the Wi-Fi camera route, I would get a dedicated wired router and a wireless access point. Both will do their jobs MUCH better than the typical all-in-one wireless router you see in most homes. I have this kind of setup, and I know how to properly configure my wireless network to have the least amount of interference from neighbors, so I will likely still go with a Wi-Fi camera.

Here is fantastic wireless access point
Any <$20 wired router is probably fine.

If I have scared you out of wi-fi cameras (sorry!), just look for descriptions/reviews that ensure you it is "interference free". "Free" is a stretch, but they should be much more reliable. Here is an example, but it looks like most dedicated monitors have this feature.


Edit:
TL;DR Wi-Fi be crazy

We aren't doing a push present, but I was just shopping for my wife's birthday and settled on these slippers. Alternatively, to go with the gaming theme, I just purchased this controller. It works with the Switch (and PC) and has an awesome d-pad. The same company makes more retro styled controllers but this one is brand new and felt great for old school Mario as well as some Monster Hunter World on PC. I literally got it yesterday, but I'm pretty happy with it so far.

Just go now:

Sleeper - Agree with OP, this thing is fantastic. Daughter never slept in her "real" crib until nearly 9 months old. Really pissed that they added the auto-rocker and now I'm tempted to spend $90 to replace our perfectly good one.

Swing - Get one that plugs-in. Also, the one that rocks like a ship (4mom?) and is like $300 - wife's cousin bought one because expensive = best and kid was getting sea sick.

Nosefrida or Baby Comfy Nose - this may save your sanity and the life of you, your spouse, or your child because otherwise sleepless nights are in your future.

Boppy - amazingly useful.

Extra car seat base

Don't bother:

• Baby wipe warmer
  
• Bumbo
  
• Diaper Genie - they barely work and you get a compressed plastic log of unholy smell instead of a plastic bag that you can get rid of after one diaper if warranted.
  
  Kid Dependent:
  
  Bottles - we got lucky on our first try and she did great with the Tommy bottles. Don't buy a ton or at least don't open them all and be unable to exchange.
  
  Formula - not judging and sometimes its necessary or just a simple convenience. But some kids prefer one brand over another and/or will react differently to different brands. Also, Costco = Gerber; Target = Similac and WalMart/Sam's = Enfamil.
  
  Pacifier - some love them, some hate them. Most love, but ours hated the straight kind and was insisting on the flat ones within a few months.
  
  Humidifier - get a real one that uses heat and be smart enough to put it far enough away from the kid so they don't get burned. Ultrasonic doesn't do shit for stuffy noses or coughs.
  
  Good Idea, but can wait:
  
  Video monitor - We went with a normal Foscam and put the tinyCam app on our phones for a few bucks.
  
  Small food processor - as said elsewhere, don't get the baby one; or just get the cheaper Bella one from Kohl's. Making baby food isn't that hard and it's a ton cheaper. If you've got a Nutribullet or similar, you're also good to go.

My wife is vegetarian (newly about 2 years) and I'm vegan (9.5+ years). I'm also a registered dietitian. The majority of the meals at home are vegan (but she'll cook an egg, order a pizza, use cow's milk in her cereal time-to-time). I agree with /u/Centropomus in regards to a DHA supplement. We use Neuromins; it is a vegan DHA supplement that is recommended by my colleagues that specialize in pediatrics (most other vegan DHA contain abortifacient compounds).

For snacks, I strongly encouraging the pairing of carbohydrate/starches with a protein. This is moreso as pregnancy is an inherent insulin-resistant state . But it also aids in ensure adequate protein (essentially 20+ grams over her normal non-pregnant needs) and satiety.

We also take a vegan prenatal supplement (mostly for the iron). Overall iron needs for pregnant women are very high (27 mg). But it is commonly recommended that vegetarians (and vegans) consume 1.8x this recommendation due to the absorptive capacity of non-heme iron sources (~48 mg which is insane!). To aid in absorption, she consumes vitamin C-rich foods which influence absorption and avoids dairy products for 1-2 hours before and after (Calcium inhibits absorption of iron in the intestine). Basically, this means she drinks her chocolate almond milk (50% DV for calcium) outside of this window.

I wouldn't really worry about protein (unless she eats like shit), iron is more so a concern but can be quickly rectified by a iron supplement or vegetarian formula pre-natal vitamin. Finally, I would encourage the use of Neuromins (DHA) and other omega-3 food sources.

LINKS:

http://vegetariannutrition.net/docs/Pregnancy-Vegetarian-Nutrition.pdf - This is recommendations written by the Vegetarian Nutrition Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

http://www.pcrm.org/pdfs/health/pregnancy_factsheet.pdf - This is written by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (more or less the PETA of health professionals) - It is likely geared more toward vegan diets and includes more information than necessary but basically reports most of the same as in my post.

Please feel free to PM if you have any questions. I wouldn't worry but instead learn to cook lentils (they're awesome!) and add some chickpeas into your diet.

I do not and would not recommend this type of crash dieting to my patients.

EDIT: She also takes vitamin d2 (2000 IU daily - we live up North).

Graduated to dad life a month ago so I'm no expert, but personally I think a diaper bag is worth it. I got this. My wife on the other hand just uses a big beach style bag and it is really hard to find things in it, but I'm a bit OCD when it comes to organizing stuff.

The reasons I personally like a dedicated diaper bag:

• insulated pocket for bottles
  
• lots of pockets to organize stuff
  
• exterior wipe dispenser
  
• changing pad (you are going to want one of these)
  
• special clip to snap onto stroller
  
  Anyway I hope this helps. Best of luck.

Looks great.... I have 16 mo old twins. The beginning is really rough, but there's some amazing payoff as they get older.

A few suggestions:

• We had our girls crib together for the first 3 months or so. We kept one crib in our room and one in the nursery. During the day they would sleep in the nursery; at night they would sleep in our room so we could get to them faster and easier in the middle of the night.
  
  

• Glad to see you have Boudreaux -- when you need that stuff, you REALLY need it.
  
• You may want to get rid of that baby powder. They do not recommend using it anymore because all the dust it throws in the air can be bad for the babies' lungs.
  
• You may want to replace the basket next to the glider with a table so mom can have a drink or some food. Also good place to put the pump (if she decides to pump).
  
• My wife chose to feed in the living room, so we quickly moved the glider there. It gets lonely pretty quickly to sit there and feed all day without people or TV to keep you company.
  
  
  Also, you may want to get one of these nursing pillows: http://www.amazon.com/My-Brest-Friend-Deluxe-Nursing/dp/B0032Z81M4/ref=sr_1_4?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1426256362&sr=1-4
  
  Good luck!!!

Another FTD here. I had the same dilemma: Packaged baby cam vs. badass custom wifi cam setup vs. audio only.

A friend ended up buying us a simple Summer brand video monitor with night vision. Even though I didn't end up hacking together a secure stream for my wife when she's at work, I really do love it. I'll definitely recommend the video over audio-only so I can peek and see if she looks cold or if she pulled her blanket over her head.

I do miss the wifi/streaming abilities but it isn't a deal breaker. My advice is that you'll be happy with whatever you get so don't worry too much about buyers remorse. You'll quickly adapt to whatever features you end up getting and it's NBD if budget is your main concern.

Good luck.

The Birth Partner is a good one. It is aimed at the partner regardless of gender.

The Bradley Method is another good one and is more heteronormative (written with the heterosexual male husband as the primary audience).

We're a gay/trans couple, so both of these books are a bit of a mindfuck for us, but the information in them is great! I'm still looking for a book that provides all the necessary information without couching it in gender(roles/stereotypes) or mainstream relationships (almost all are written for married hetero couples). The problem with birth and parenting books is they are written in this weird way-- like in the second person with huge assumptions about the reader being written into the text.

I have an awesome intro to weightlifting book that assumes absolutely nothing about the life of the reader. It manages to provide excellent info about beginning barbell training for anybody who wants to learn it. I don't know why birth and parenting books can't be written the same way...

My wife is only about 13w along, so we haven't gotten around to that yet, but one of the books I read was really helpful and awesome, and it was written by the guy who started a company called Diaper Dude that has some really nice-looking stuff that gets great reviews on amazon. They have a bunch of great types, so if he prefers messenger bag, backpack, crossbody, etc, there's various styles. And (the one I'll probably request) MLB brands :)

Let us know what you pick!

Honestly? My wife and I don't even have a changing station. We have 3 little changing mats (one in the living room, one in our bedroom ,and one in the diaper bag) along with a package of baby wipes in each location as well. That's really all you need. A dedicated station like that, to us at least, seems like a waste of money.

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To answer your question, though:

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1. Fridababy Bundle Each item in here has proven useful in the first 3 months so far. It's worth having on your registry if you don't already.
   
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2. Cloth diapers. Trust me, if you're willing to put the money down up front for them (they're a bit more expensive to get started with) and do the laundry associated with them, you'll save money in the long run. In the last 3 months, we have bought MAYBE 1 package of disposable diapers to use for the couple of hours she may be out of cloths while they are being washed. Over the next few years, that'll add up to being cheaper than what we paid for the cloths.
   
   ​
   
   
3. Someone else mentioned the Halo swaddle. Those are pretty awesome.
   
   ​
   
   That about does it for me for the SURPRISING stuff. To finish, though, I'll tell you about a couple of other things you should probably avoid:
   
   ​
   
   Bottle warmers. Not necessary. My wife insisted she get one, but honestly? No. Just use hot water in a regular pan in the sink. Takes just as long.
   
   Find the right pacifier. They're all different shapes and my baby only really likes 1 brand. Got kinda pricey before we figured it out.

I'm a premom, not a predad :) Currently at 22 weeks. I've always had migraines but they have been so much worse now that I can't fall back on my Excedrin. It also started getting bad for me around week 8 or 9. I've talked to my doctor a couple times about this now - these are both her reccs and the things that help me:

• My husband got me a couple of these reusable gel packs to keep in the freezer and cycle through.
  
• I make sure to drink 8 ounces of water / day.
  
• Drink caffeine first thing as early as possible upon waking up. My husband has been making coffee / tea for me every morning and bringing it to bed.
  
• Eat spinach at least every other day.
  
• I now sleep with a sleep mask because one of my triggers was the morning sun coming in and causing light sensitivity issues (which then triggered a migraine for the day).
  
• Generally try to avoid bright lighting. I work a desk job that involves staring at a computer screen for 8 hours a day, so I now use f.lux set to about 3200K during the day, and also wear Felix Gray glasses when I go shopping or other places where there might be super bright flouresent lighting. At work now, my coworkers have been kind enough to allow me to set all our lights to low, and keep the overhead flourescents off.
  
• DO NOT SKIMP ON SLEEP! If I don't get my ~8 - 9 hours a night, I always get a headache.
  
  Good luck!

One thing I know that I wish I had at the beginning is a Boba Baby wrap. That thing is amazing! My daughter loved to be held, but its hard to get stuff done with no free arms. This thing worked great and would she slept great in it.

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