[teachamy]

Hi folks,
I was thinking...I told friends and family to wait until our baby comes home before we have any baby showers, and now I am realizing there are things we will desperately need for him that haven't even occurred to me yet. We have all the furniture and a lot of clothes, but we obviously need diapers, wipes, toys, teethers, formula, bottles, car seats, etc. etc. Is there anything else you found invaluable that I should consider picking up prior to the big day?

[ksquilter72]

As the mother of two daughters, I can tell you that what you really NEED is a place for the baby to sleep, a few clothes (you won't know exactly what will fit until you see him), lots of diapers and wipes, and a few bottles. Don't go overboard on those until you know what he likes. Some babies are picky Now, what's FUN are all the adorable toys and blankets and exersaucers and board books and music cds and Little Einstein dvds (an absolute essential in my house) and sooooo much more...

Don't worry - you'll have everything he needs right away and you can always swing into Target on the way home if you forget something!

Dianna

[tinkerbell11599]

Hi,

May sound a little silly but I learned by lesson with adopting my son...make up some meals ahead of time and freeze them. It'll save you the trouble of trying to cook afterwards. All you'll need to do is thaw and reheat. We spent alot of money on take out afterwards and I really wished we hadn't but I was too tired to cook. I've done a bunch of cooking and freezing this time around.

We got pacifiers ahead of time but our son didn't use the pacifier when he arrived. We tried using them with him but he wasn't interested in it. We also got a portacrib as well but he hated it...did nothing but scream bloody murder in it. Be prepared for just about anything and any emotion from your child and your own. I spent most of the time going from crying happy tears when our son was sleeping to bouncing off the walls. I didn't get much sleep that first week so be prepared for that.

We didn't overwhelm our son with toys for the first month. We wanted him to bond and adjust well with us. We gradually took out toys that we put away in his closet. Nothing too loud that would scare him but all fun stuff.

We also found what really helped him was putting his name above his changing table. It was something that a friend of ours got for him. It's made by Melissa and Doug and it's a wooden magnetic puzzle. You select the back (hanger) and the pieces to put into it. We give him one of the letters to hold while we're changing him. We spell out his name and tell him about the fire truck magnet on one side of the puzzle and about the digger on the other.

We also incorporated Korean items in his room. He has a Korean flag, Korean masks, and a norigae in his room. We also bought books on Korea and it's culture for him when he gets older but they make nice picture books right now. Get books on adoption for you to read to your child. There are some nice ones out there.

I can't think of anything else right now. I'm sure others will have their own tidbits to add.

Number one thing I suggest is rest up, you'll need it!!

Jen

[mimi01]

Hi there,
I agree with PP that you should really make a BUNCH of meals and freeze them. Do as much of this as possible. When I had my son, my MIL gave us a lot of meals and this was a life-saver!!!! If you don't like to cook, stock up on store bought frozen meals. Also, I would stock up on non-perishable items such as toilet paper, paper towels, etc. It is not that you won't be able to get to the store, it will just be one less thing to think about.

Don't buy too many diapers ahead of time as you may not be sure what size the baby will fit into. The diapers say a certain weight, but I have trouble with my son wetting thru diapers and having to try different brands/sizes. As for wipes, try unscented/sensitive skin till you know how sensitive baby's skin is.

I would have infant tylenol on hand as well as gas drops. I am not a big medicator, but there were some times when my son would cry for no reason. I would give him gas drops and he would be better. I also never hesitated to give baby tylenol when he was teething. Baby would never even use a teether. He just chewed on all his other toys, so I would not buy too many teethers.

With regards to formula I would try to bring home the formula he uses currently and switch him to U.S. formula over a one to two week period.

I would buy a few different bottles to see which baby likes best. This was a big deal for us. We ended up with the playtex nurser. These are the ones with the plastic inserts. It sounds LAZY, but I liked them because I used the inserts and threw them out and then did not have to wash bottles (you can buy generic brand inserts to save a little$$$). Bottles that are good for gassy babies or babies who have lots of spitting up are Dr. Brown's and Avent.

I loved having cloth diapers to use as burp clothes and just general clean up while feeding bottles. My son spit up till he was almost one.

I would have a few different pacifiers on hand. Your child may or may not use a pacifier. If so, he/she may only like the shape of the one currently used.

I really liked having a pack n play in the downstairs of our home. When baby started crawling, etc it was nice to be able to place him in the pack n play so that I could leave the room for a moment to go to the bathroom or put in a load of laundry. I did not use the pack n play for very long periods of time, but there are moments you just need the baby to be safe on their own for a little bit. This becomes difficult once they can roll-over, scoot, crawl, or walk.

I also kept changing supplies (diapers, wipes, creams) in both the baby's room as well as in a cabinet on our first floor. This kept us from having to run up and down the stairs all the time. Now that baby is almost 2, we no longer stock the downstairs.

I bought a bunch of baby stuff and Babies r Us. They let me return anything as long as I had the receipt.

This was the most important thing, make sure you know how to use the car seat and other items!!! I had not tried it and it sounds stupid but I was so overwhelmed and tired it was just frustrating. So I suggest just trying the car seat, pack n play, etc. to be sure you know how to use before baby comes home.

Those are the biggies that I can think of. Don't worry too much, there will be things you just don't know you will need and you can always run out and get those items.

Sorry so long

Good luck, have fun!!!!

[teachamy]

Thanks to all! (Distressed is now blissfully being ignored.)
A couple of you suggested making frozen meals. I will tell DH to get on that right away! Yes ladies, prepare to be jealous...HE is the cook in our house. He also does his own laundry, most of the yard work, and the shoveling. Me, I'm stuck with cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, but overall, I have to admit I'm really lucky. I have read a ton of adoption books, always a good suggestion, and the clothes we have for him are hand-me-downs from a loving cousin with a child that had an enormous wardrobe. We didn't take anything smaller than a 12 month size, because although he is only 6 mos old (TODAY!) he is quite pleasantly a plump little boy. And since he will be between 8-10 mos. when he comes home, we knew we'd need bigger sizes.

At any rate, thanks for the suggestions, and keep them coming!

[BrandyHagz]

Guys, its better to just report and ignore

I've done some deletes to this thread (and others) if you're wondering why the convo is so messed up

[aunlanpo]

I used a baby carrier all the time with mine. It really helps with bonding, frees up your hands, and after carrying a baby around for just a short amount of time, their little bodies start to manufacture LEAD!

Aundrea

[abcolo]

Yes, meals are very helpful!

Andrea

[ahfdragonfly]

You also NEED to get everything done around the house that you may want done in the next 2 years

Everybody else has it covered, frozen meals, pack-n-play, hand me downs are great (I still haven't bought any clothes!), a few simple toys, an assortment of diapers, wipes & bottles. Baby tylenol or advil, infant cold drops, gas drops, heck, a bottle of baby benadryl, just in case.
Oh, a couple of teething rings or other easily manipulated toys to entertain on the way home from the airport. CJ was best entertained by her cousins pictures & her aunts icecream

Millie

[Shelley]

I will suggest one thing, the rest is pretty well covered. Make sure and use the bottles he comes home with for a while. SLowly transition him to new ones. He might not even like the more fancy bottles. I know our Emma didn't. Holt korea gave us 2 bottles to bring her home with, just your regular old Korean brand of even flo. It might sound silly, but everything will have changed on him in a matter of minutes, one day with foster family, the next with either a new mom and dad or with escorts, not sure if you're traveling or not. As silly as this may sound that bottle will be the only thing familiar to him, his one constant. Over time, a few weeks maybe, you can start introducing him to the new ones you have gotten for him. I also didn't wash the blanket we'd sent over to her and a few items of clothes right away. They still had the smell of korea on them and I think they brought her a little comfort. I was really to tired to start in on laundry after that long trip right away anyway, but having a familiar smell for a day or two, because the Korea smell will fade and your home smells will gradually replace those, is very comforting to, or was for our daughter. Good luck and happy planning, Shelley

[carrie965]

I second the baby carrier. We didn't have one yet when our son came home and he loved to be held (and I loved holding!), but at some point I did need use of a hand or two to get something done. Plus all of the walking back and forth to try to get him to sleep...it became easier on me to hold him for long periods of time while standing up.

Carrie

[adoptkoreablog]

Okay, at the risk of being repetitive...I agree about the carrier. My cousin put it best. She pointed out that with her baby, she got to ease up in the weight category from 5lbs to 17lbs at 6 months. Mine came at 17lbs and that is really heavy after an hour or so.

I preferred the sling because my son could sleep in it like a cradle and I had both of my hands free.

I also suggest several bed sheets. There were some days that I went through two or three a day.

Mo

[sarajean]

The only thing we really used that wasn't mentioned already was some type of white noise for the baby's room...we used a fan when H arrived because it was July/August and extremely hot out (we don't have a/c). We now use a CD player to play various lullaby CDs and even some yoga/relaxation music. Now Harrison pushes the 'play' button all on his own when he's ready for nap or bed!

We had to buy a nightlight the first week he was home bacause he's afraid of the dark, and I have heard that many babies are.

Have fun!

[teachamy]

Originally Posted by BrandyHagz

Guys, its better to just report and ignore

I've done some deletes to this thread (and others) if you're wondering why the convo is so messed up

This was my first expereince with a "troll". I reported it, and I responded. I can't help but speak my mind sometimes. At any rate, I have learned my lesson, and I appreciate your immediate response!