[*~Butterfly73~*]

Hi, ladies!

We are in the process of adopting from Vietnam, and getting close to having our paperwork sent into our agency. We want to start getting ready for the baby registry, but have no clue what to get for a 6-8 month old, do we need a bouncy seat? a swing?
BTW, we know the obvious stuff (high chair, stroller, car seat).

Help!

Thanks!
Sue

[gdaisy]

Don't forget the teething tablets/rings.... etc. My 7 month old is miserable with this.... I have also found that getting an ice cube and wrapping it in a wash cloth helps also!!! Good luck!

[mommamarci]

It depends on the baby. (I know, so helpful!!) By 6 months my son was too big for the bouncy and swing. The bumbo would probably be a waste as well. I would say an Exersaucer. Cameron loves his! He is nine months and we use it every day. A Boppy pillow: they are great to use when feeding bottles. Makes it easier on your arms. Hmm, wooden blocks. Great for development.

As far as car seat, I would get a convertible car seat instead of an infant carrier. By 6 months Cameron was 28 3/4 inches long and our carrier only went to 29 inches. You just never know. Cameron was also heavy so it was too much to lift him in the carrier. They make some great convertibles that could be used for the child's life. (Well, I mean the child's car seat life...)

If you have any specific questions about certain items, please feel free to ask!!

[mommamarci]

Oh, and I forgot to say: WELCOME!!! We love new people on here!

[blessedbybug]

Originally Posted by *~Butterfly73~*

Hi, ladies!

We are in the process of adopting from Vietnam, and getting close to having our paperwork sent into our agency. We want to start getting ready for the baby registry, but have no clue what to get for a 6-8 month old, do we need a bouncy seat? a swing?
BTW, we know the obvious stuff (high chair, stroller, car seat).

Help!

Thanks!
Sue

I guess it would depend on your little one's size when they come home. I know with two of my cousins that were adopted internationally, they were alot smaller when they came home. So the bouncy seat and swing might be useful. But I would not buy them new, just have a "borrow" or used situation lined up and try them out.

I would make sure you invest in a good sling. I used a Baby Bjorn with my little guy until about 8 months (when he really started moving and then hated to be tied to me as much) and he is a huge baby. You'll want to have babe with you lots.

An Exersaucer would be a great investment. Both for entertainment and for helping you have a place to put babe when you're making supper or getting dressed.

Also, one of the playmats with stuff hanging on it that you can place babe on back to play underneath it would be nice esp if they are late sitters like my little guy was. If babe is already sitting, this wouldn't be as good an investment.

Baby gate and outlet plug covers and other things to babyproof as needed.

You might need one of those sitting rings for the bathtub.

And a baby food grinder so you can offer table foods to babe. Both my kids refused baby food almost from the beginning.

Sippy cups, spoons for eating/drinking.

Clothing as usual... we love tshirts that are like onesies. They look like tshirts at the top but snap around to cover tummy when crawling.

My DD enjoyed Baby Einstein DVDs (son not so much!) and that freed me up for 15 minutes to make a phone call or wash my hair.

I'm sure there's more... but I'll stop now. Good grief, makes me want to go out and do a registry! Good luck on the journey to your Babe!

[OnTheJourney]

Hi and Welcome!
The ladies have a lot of great ideas!
I agree that you should wait until babe is home with you and you can see his/her size and activity level and borrow to try out if you can. This age is kinda hard as the spectrum is soo broad. My DS is 7 1/2 months. Neighbour's DD is 8 months.
Swing - DS was bored of his by 3 months. He was busy! But my neighbour's DD still loves hers.
Bouncy Seat - we got the infant to toddler rocker and used it a ton until 4 months when we got busy! but also handy as a feeding chair to take to grandma's! DS still likes his when he's not feeling well, it's inclined for napping to keep the lungs clear. Also good to buckle them into if you need a shower. Neighbour's DD still likes just sitting in hers alot.
Exersaucer - probably a safe bet that this will be a favorite and be used alot. I have yet to meet a baby that doesn't enjoy spending time in their's!

Oh yeah, the bath ring someone mentioned is good, but if you have the newer nonskid tubs, they don't work.

Some other littler things: Teething toys, balls (rubber grippy ones are great), sippy cups, the basket thingy to wash nipples, sippy plugs, bottle rings, soothers ect in the dishwasher, toys that make noise! we are into shaking and banging right now.

Tip on highchair - make sure the seating area is shallow/ low tray, kwim, so if babe is small they are not upto their armpits. Also a bit of a contoured supportive back since babe may not be a good sitter yet. And if babe is active squimmer, like DS, the hard plastic crotch bar is essential, not just crotch restraint strap. Make sense?? (My neighbour and I each ended up returning a highchair and then ended up switching our 2nd ones!)

And I totally agree with mommamarci - go with a 3-in-1 carseat! It'll save time and money!

Sorry so long! Good Luck!
-M

[StorkWatcher]

CONGRATS!

SOunds like you'll already have the carrier and an umbrella stroller for the pick up trip, right? I know the int'l boards have tons of great threads on great strollers and diaper bags for pick up trips..

I recommend a Mei Tei Carrier (you can go to that brand name and add a .com on Yahoo/Google to find them).

Easy things for people to buy you from a registry that you'll use at some point:

baby wash cloths and towels (we use wash cloths to wipe down after every meal, so we have PLENTY)

a couple of cloth diapers (AWESOME wipe up rags)

sippy cups (just try one or a few different styles, as some babies can be quite picky, and it may be hard to find out which one babe likes for a while)

baby cups/utensils/plates -

bottles, if you know what kind babe is already taking, or again one eaach of a few types to try out when you get home

Dreft laundry detergent (or another dye/perfume free kind)

Diapers - you maybe can guess on a couple of sizes if you won't have the latest weight of babe close to pick up. Or get larger sizes - 4s or 5s.

car mirrors so you can see the babe behind you. We first used a great one when he was rear-facing that attached to his back seat, so I could see him in our regular rear-view mirror. Now we have a small one that attaches to the reg rear-view that I can aim right at him in his front-facing carseat.

Baby Einstein music CDs or other lullaby CDs. Maybe even some new age/relaxing CDs, something w/ an Asian sound might feel familiar to babe, or buy some over there if you know what type of music foster family/orphanage plays. But we LOVE the Baby Einsteins.

educational toys for 4-6 mos and up

BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS - we got TONS for our showers, and I was very happy to have them

baby bath products - but be careful - My son ended up not being able to use many of them, as he has sensitive skin

that's all I can think of at the moment...

[SchmennaLeigh]

I second the suggestion for MeiTaiCarrier (all one word). We couldn't have lived without it during that phase of life.

At six-eight months, Nick loved balls of all kinds; roll-a-rounds were a godsend at that time.

And a GOOD camera.

[*~Butterfly73~*]

Wow, ladies thank you!!!! You have all been a godsend!

We walked into Babies 'R' US the other day and was sooo ovewhelmed!
Thanks again!
~Sue