[misstonicee]

OK. I have not even recieved my license yet, but I got a call yesterday that there is a need for a placement for a little girl who was just born...she is about a week old. I said that we could take her.

Now I am in a panic because I keep thinking of all these things that I will need to get and I am so afraid that I will forget something important.

So far, I have things like a swing, bouncy chair, soft toys, pack and play exersaucer, a few burp cloths, a cradle (that I am picking up from my sister this weekend), a crib (that I will get soon from my sister), a carseat that will be given to me by my friend.

I know that I need to get clothes, bibs, bottles, pacifiers.

Questions that I have from expereinced fp, since she is coming home from the hospital, do they send her home with things like formula or clothes? How do I know what type of formula to feed her? How do I know what size clothes to buy her?

I feel so foolish right now because I manage an infant program in a child care center! I can't believe that I am so paniced and have so many questions!

These are only a few questions that I thought of, please feel free to share other things that you think I have left out or will need to get before bringing her home.

Thank you,

Toni

[MommyToTwo]

She will have been drinking formula at the hospital. Just keep her on that kind. Bottles are trial and error -- some babies hate some nipples, so be prepared to try a few different kinds. Neither of my kids would ever take a pacifier, so I have no advice there.

She will most likely not come with clothes. Buy according to her weight. At one week old pretty much everything will be too big anyway.

Make sure to get diapers, wipes and receiving blankets. You'll also want to have some baby soap and diaper rash cream on hand.

[cabbagepatchkid]

Well, I can't tell if you are excited or not...LOL!!!


No matter how prepared you are there is something that you will have forgotten...but that's O.K...on my very first evening of being a foster mom I had to go to Walmart and pick up a few things that I had forgotten.

Some items you will need for an infant:

Onesie tee-shirts
one peice sleepers--you'll need several of those
recieving blankets for swaddling
pre-folded diapers for burp cloths
disposible diapers
baby wipes
crib sheets
bottles (Avent is a good brand for babies with a weak sucking reflex)
nipples
pacifiers-?
car seat
large, warm baby blanket for swaddling baby in the car seat--snowsuits are a pain for a newborn

Good luck and can't wait to hear more about it!

[sdiedre]

My experience has been that they come with a small bag from one of the major formula manufacturers that will contain a couple of bottles of formula.....the hospital will have her in a onsie and a diaper along with a receiving blanket and that will be it.

get LOTS of onesies, and LOTS of bottles (unless you are up for washing them as you go).

great tip I got from a nurse friend of mine was to pre-fill bottles with the cold filtered water ....you can just add the formula as you go to the now-room temp bottles.

Have fun!!

[misstonicee]

Thank you ladies for your input. I am VERY excited...and also afraid that I will not have everything to make her first night comfortable for her. I have a lot of friends that are going to bring me things at work that they will let me use. I will have a ton of clothes and onsies. I'm jsut worried because most of the things I will be getting are from boys and they were born in the summer. When she is home with me, I don't care what she is wearing as long as she is comfortable and warm.

I am going shopping today so your tips will be helpful!

Toni

[kimb1005]

I looved the nightgown bags. Made it very easy to change them at night. I was also a big believer in layers. I also lover the car seat blanket--this way you don't have to deal with trying to get a very small baby into a very big snowsuit.