I received an email from a reader who’s about to become a first-time mom and has a barrage of questions, {of course! didn’t you have a million before your baby arrived?}. She doesn’t want to divulge her identity but needs some help, so I thought it’d be great to open up her questions to you, my seasoned veterans of motherhood. What do you think? Let’s be sisters in the motherhood and help *First Time Mommy* with our sage wisdom.
- What is your advice for the best baby carrier? Mobi, Baby Bjorn, Snugli?
- What about a diaper pail? Is it necessary? Do I go with the Diaper Genie, Diaper champ?
Ladies, gents? What do you think?
I don’t think a diaper pail is mandatory, personally. I just buy these little bags at the dollar store to wrap each diaper individually. It does about the same job as the sausage maker aka Diaper Genie.
Sayurisale $50
{via Polkadot Papoose}
My advice about a baby carrier depends on your personality. Are you someone who likes to be touched or are you a little hands-off? I’m personally very touchy feely, but you knew that already. I love having my babies snuggled in tight right in front of me.
Allison
Hello there! I'm Allison Czarnecki, founder + editor of Petit Elefant, a blog all about style on a budget for every part of your life: style / home / travel / family. I do a lot of how-to beauty + style tutorials, travel posts, easy recipes, home remodel projects, and cool DIY crafts you totally want to try. I'm super happily married (to a hot Polish immigrant) and am the mother of two kids, a daughter and son, all of whom are featured here on the regular. We live in the country but we're a little bit rock + roll. Welcome!
Ohhh Babywearing! My favorite!
Before I 'knew' as a new mommy I was 'supposed' to have a Bjorn, I got the Jeep carrier (my husband picked it out at Babies R Us). It's about 30 bux cheaper than the Bjorn and has great 'popability' (ie. baby is in and out super quick.) L-O-V-E it. I pretty much only use my stroller for airport travels…
I also like my Maya Sling for church and carrying my little guy on my hip (once his neck got stronger.) I tried some other carriers but these two have been my favorites. (With a sling, I would definitely recommend getting one that's adjustable…)
No diaper pail for us – but we primarily use cloth diapers (love the BumGenius) from home and disposable on the road.
Good luck!
boy, i may not be the one to ask on this. i borrowed a bjorn from a friend to try before investing in one and all it did was make me glad i didn't buy one.
i don't know what's wrong with me, but having a screaming newborn attached to me all the time about drove me nuts {however, i must interject that both my babies had colic and were far from pleasant during the first few months of life, so if you luck out and have a nice baby you might be more inclined to strap it to your body}. maybe i just like my space more than most, but it just wasn't for me.
and as for the diaper genie, don't waste your money. personally, i think the only good place for a soiled diaper is outside in the garbage can. :)
good luck my dear, being a first-time mama is such a special time in life! enjoy it. :)
I love my Ergo baby carrier. It's INCREDIBLY comfortable to wear and you can carry your child around up to age 3. http://www.ergobaby.com
It's a little more expensive than many carriers, but from the reviews and what I hear, it is well worth it. When they are newborn, you can carry them laying sideways very close to you and they don't flop around because they are tight to your body and in the carrier. As they grow, they sit in a little pocket and they are close to you. Or you can wear them on your hip or on your back. You can't, however, wear them facing front. I guess the folks at ergo baby feel that it's not good for the baby to be unable to turn away from the stimulation when they want to. My baby is able to see everything, though and snuggles against my chest when she's tired.
As for the diaper pail: we use a diaper genie "elite" (we have one in the nursery and one where we change her in the living room) and I love them. There's NO odor in the house and they are easy to change out when it comes time.
As far as babywearing goes, I loved my pouch sling with my first son. The learning curve was small and it was convenient to fold and keep in the diaper bag. With my second, I got a wrap (Gypsy Mama Bali Baby Stretch…similar to the Moby wrap), and I don't know how I ever lived without it! Both of my kids were really fussy and had bad reflux, and wearing them helped the reflux and calmed them instantly.
As far as diapers go, I prefer outside, like someone else suggested. I have heard that the diaper champ is more pet-proof, though, if that's a consideration!
ex-nay on the diaper pail. Seems a little gross to have a few days worth of diapers chained together in the room. I just put a small grocery bag in the trash, and take it out once or twice a day {getting more often now that my baby is eating solid foods :)}
My baby didn't really like any baby carrier. I am hoping she will like the sling on my hip soon.
Skip the diaper pail thing… they go through them too quickly when they are little and when they are bigger, the left over plastic grocery bags work fine. *and are free. I enjoyed my bjorn. No issues with it. My hubby even would wear it because it was manly enough. I think a sling might be nice though, and might try it with the next one.
We received a baby bjorn as a gift with our first and I do like it–my husband also uses it. I have no complaints. I liked having the baby snuggled right up to my chest. I probably would have enjoyed a sling just as much.
Diaper genie: if it's just your first baby, I'd say you don't need it. we tossed used dipes in grocery sacks, tied them off, and then tossed them in our outside trash can. immediately. However, if you someday have 2 infants in diapers, get the diaper genie.
I think diaper pails are disgusting. We just have a small trash can with a wal-mart bag in it, and tie it up with each poopy diaper and throw it in the dumpster. I do not leave dirty diapers in my house for even one minute. Gross.
I do cloth diapers, so I have a pail, but it's one that I empty out when I wash diapers and then clean with bleach water.
As for babywearing…I love it! I make and sell ring slings, so I am a bit biased (www.prairiemama.etsy.com) but I also love my Ergo, but not until they are bigger. The thing I love about the ring sling is that it can be used from birth through about 40 lbs. That is a long time.
I bought a Bjorn for a decent price at a second-hand store when my first was born. I LOVED that thing, and used it all the time. I was disappointed when my daughter grew out of it so early. So for my second I bought a Moby, thinking that I'd be able to use it longer to side or back carry when he is too big to front carry. But he's 7 months and about 17 pounds now and I'm wondering if he might be too heavy for me to carry, regardless of his position.
I never did the diaper pail. It seemed silly to spend the money for special garbage bags when I could tie up stinking dipes in plastic bags from the grocery store.
I would personally stay away from the Snugli/Bjorn type carriers due that it is bad for their hips. I adore my mei tai and have been using it since my youngest was 2 weeks old (she is 16 months now and it still gets regular use). I never personally enjoyed using a pouch or ring sling, I felt that the mei tai was more secure. (Not that one is better than the other, just personal preference.)
I used a baby bjorn because you do not need to worry about the baby falling out, but do not work for little little ones though it is a little complicated at first to get baby in and out. I never used a changing table or a diaper pail. Who wants a load of dirty diapers sitting in the house. Yes, diaper genie will keep oder away, but I would just rather through it away in the outside bin. The one thing my child did love was the viprating chair. I think that was the best $20 invested. Wishing the first time mommy all the best! Congratulations!
Love the baby bjorn! I have a cloth sling too, but it hurts my shoulder after just a little while. I hardly ever have used it. But the Baby bjorn is awesome; so easy to snap her in and out. I just went to the store and tried on all the baby carriers (with the baby) to see which one I liked best.
My baby is only 5 mo old, and nursing, so her diapers aren't too stinky yet, but we just run them outside, or we put them in a bag in the trash that gets emptied everyday.
I have a baby bjorn carrier that was given to me as a hand-me-down. I wouldn't have bought one (just because there are oodles of things to buy) but since I was given it, I have used it a ton and really love it. Look to buy it used, then you can either make (super easy) or buy a new cover for the outside to update it. I travel by myself with my 15 month old regularly, and that is the only way to travel in my opinion.
As for the diaper pail, I like the Diaper Champ because you can use regular trash bags for it. She has stinky diapers now, so I empty it about every 3-4 days so it doesn't smell up her room. It was awesome though when she was tiny. Still is great but I do have to take it out more often. I wouldn't get the Genie because you have to use their refills and that can be expensive.
I also use the little bags from the dollar store like Allison but I have found that the stink leaks through those in a few hours when I am keeping them in my diaper bag.
And my current favorite baby product if she cares is the Peg Perego Tatamia – it is a 3-in-1 high chair/toddler seat, swing, and bouncy seat. It also folds up to the size of an upright vacuum and is on wheels so it can store easily.
Good luck!!
We have had the same diaper champ since our son was born (22 months ago), and it's still great. Nice thing about it vs. the genie is that it doesn't require any special bags (just regular kitchen garbage bags). Easy to use, too. I can't imagine using a plastic garbage bag for every single poopy diaper – seriously? It's bad enough we're throwing disposable diapers in the trash, but I don't also want to add another layer of non-biodegradable plastic! We put an air freshener in the bottom of the diaper champ, plus one of those charcoal filter sticks-ons (got it at containerstore.com) to keep the smell at bay. Once a month or so, take it outside and spray it down with lysol for more disinfecting.
We have the baby bjorn (never any trouble with our son's hips nor have I heard that before), and we loved it. Nice for the option to turn inward and nap or cuddle, but once they're a few months old, he really seemed to love looking out and interacting with things around him more. The bjorn (and other similar brands) is also super-adjustable, so my husband can wear it and still feel manly. I will say it didn't fit our 300-lb nanny…. A friend of mine can even nurse when her baby's in the bjorn!
I am also considering a sling for baby #2 to make nursing & wearing around the house a little easier…thanks to everyone for the recommendations!