Nursery Essentials - (things that you wished someone had told you to buy before baby comes home!)

When I was waiting for the twins to be discharged from the NICU, I started to prepare my room for the arrival of them. I started to get confused and hyperventilated from the sheer amount of work to be done. I had to set up the crib and because I am a HDB dweller, my room had space only to fit in a queen sized bed and a cot. I wasn't able to fit in 2 unless I decided that I wouldn't be needing to open my wardrobe. I also wanted the twins to sleep together as they were kept separate from birth, having to be in different incubators. So I set about trying to prepare and soon found myself in a whirlpool of baby products and necessities. No doubt some of the information online is helpful, I needed a list that would cater to a Singaporean Chinese family. I wanted a good mix of traditional and modern items that would make caring for baby much easier. So without too much rambling, I present you, Jenny's  List of Baby's essentials for your nursery.

If you, like me live in a HDB flat, the following will help you cut down on unnecessary purchases and help you save a little.


Big Ticket Items

1. Baby Cot - If you are on a budget, you can easily buy a 2nd hand cot and just invest in a good mattress. Seahorse brand has a standard size allows you to customise if you cot is well, special. For 2nd hand items, you should go to Lovey or Preloved Baby Goods on Facebook to see if you might come across any special deals.If you have a cot, you will also need cot bedding. My advice is just to get 1 set of bedding, and then have 2 or 3 pieces of mattress sheets. There's really no need to spend so much on the bumper and comforter (which you prolly won't use for long anyway).

2. Play yard/Play Pen - Again, these are items that you can buy 2nd hand cause you don't usually use it for a long time. A play pen is good if you don't have any additional help. So you can keep 1 in the living room and put baby in while you go about doing your chores. It might not be the most comfortable place to sleep in so I suggest it for older babies or when they are starting to stand and it's no longer to leave them in the cot for more than 15 mins. I suggest not using the cot for play so babies will just solely associate the cot for sleep. Play yards have more mileage and can go a longer way but are more costly. Again, go through the Facebook Groups mentioned to see if you can grab any good deals. If you buy a play yard, you will need a play mat but I have seen people using a thin mattress. Play mats are good to cushion the knocks and bumps for baby in future.

3. Steriliser - It comes in many brands and if you are on a budget, do get a 2nd hand item. However you will need to do a good descaling if you buy a 2nd hand sterilizer. For that matter, I prefer the Pigeon brand to Avent because for the Pigeon one, you can see the build up and it's 'open' as compared to Avent where there's a hole where water accumulates and you cannot see the disgusting stuff that's in there. So you really wouldn't know how much gunk is in there as you can't see it. Some people I know use the traditional way of boiling the bottles and teats. It's probably the cheaper alternative so do whichever that you feel is more convenient for you.

4. Breast Pump - If you intend to breast feed/pump. If you decide to latch then you probably don't need this. Good to have a manual one on standby to boost the supply or for emergency use when baby is unable to latch. A good manual one that I have tried is the Avent Manual Breast Pump. Very good suction and it sometimes yield more milk than my Mustela Freestyle. I used that for emergency purposes when I forgot to charge my pump and still feel it's a good breast pump.


These are some of the items that I can think off hand which are the more expensive ones. We will now move on to Diaper Changing Essentials.

1. A cot organizer (if you don't have table space. This can be hung onto the cot thereby making your life slightly easier) I had a changing table given to me from Ikea and just used that. I have seen my friends bought the Toyogo stand with wheels as well. Practical and cheap. Below is an example of it.

 

 

 



2. Diapers / washable and dispposable- You don't have to get too many newborn sized ones as they grow out of it very quickly. Stock up on S and Medium sizes as these are easier to sell if baby grows out of it. I also bought some muslin cloths meant to fold them for nappy use but the kids were too small and the cloth was too big so I gave up. Besides, I didn't have much time after pumping and latching them to wash their nappy and hang it dry.

3. Wet wipes / cotton wool - When the kids first came home, I used only water and cotton (those that comes in a roll and you can cut it into bigger squares) to clean their butt. For poo, I will use tissue to wipe off first then wash their butt to prevent nappy rash. I only used wet wipes when we were out and after they were about 6 months old. What you don't need, is a wet wipe warmer. This is because we are not living in a country that has winter which might result in cold or frozen wet wipes. Besides, how cold can our wet wipes be?

4. Diaper cream - I recommend the Mustela Vitamin Barrier Cream or the Earth Mama Baby Bottom Balm, both of which are selling in my online shop at www.mypixiebaby.com. These are 2 very effective diaper creams which prevents rash and red butt which can be very sore for them. Reviews on the diaper creams next time.

5. Ru Yi Oil - I simply love this oil. I love the smell of this on my babies! It's supposed to help rid the baby's tummy of gas and I think it really does. If you don't burp baby properly, it might result in them having gas in their tummy which might cause a bit of discomfort. So to help them fart, you can apply a few drops of  Ru Yi Oil on your palm, rub them together to warm it up and gently place them on your baby's belly. I was told to rub it clockwise, but I followed my grandma's method of stroking downwards and LIGHTLY pinching the base of the belly as if you are trying to "pluck" out the wind. Not sure if you understand this. Hahah. I also like to apply the oil to the base of my babies' feet as it has a bit of warming feeling and I feel they always sleep better after doing that.

I think that's about what you need for home use for diaper changes. Let's move on to feeding essentials.

When the twins came back, they each had 6 bottles, 6 teats and 2 pacifiers. Honestly, It was quite crazy but it saved me ALOT of time washing and sterilizing it multiple times. After milk, I will quickly rinse out the milk, put it into a basin and then, when I am almost down to the last bottle, I will wash everything at one go and sterilize all at 1 time. I had to do whatever that kept my sanity as looking after twins with no help was really quite crazy.

1. Bottles and teats - You can choose any brand you like. For hygiene purposes I don't suggest you use preloved ones for these. I liked the NUK ortho teats series and it comes with cute Disney designs!

2. Steriliser (as mentioned above)

3. Pacifier - There are many schools of thoughts on this. I used the pacifier because the twins wanted to latch all the time and my nipples were bleeding from their latching and pumping. I initially did not want to, but I had to save my nipples as it just simply got too painful.

4. Woods Gripe Water / Dentinox Colic Drops - I had both on standby because I was afraid that my kids would be colicky. I didn't have to use it because of good burping techniques taught to me. I did however introduced the Gripe Water diluted with water when the kids were about 6 months and only gave them after their bath. They were also on Neosure to gain weight so my mom recommended to feed some water as their poo was very hard.


Bath essentials. Ah, this would cost quite a bit if you are not careful. When the kids came home, I was using the California Baby body wash for them. Later I found it to be a bit drying for my daughter so I changed it to Mustela and have been using it since then till now. Good skin care is a must. In our tropical weather, babies tend to develop heat rash easily so invest in one that doesn't dry out the skin. A good moisturizer is essential if your baby sleeps in the air con with you. What you will need:

1. Bath towels x 3
2. Bath essentials like your shampoo, body wash etc. I personally love Mustela cause it's very easy to wash off and the smell is very good. Light and very baby-ish. Exactly how a baby should smell like. I used the Mustela Dermo Cleanser and the Mustela Baby Shampoo. SInce then, I didn't have to deal with angry red rashes or dry skin.
3. Moisturizer and baby powder. (Some use powder, some don't. It's up to you.) I used the Mustela Hydra Bebe Body Lotion. It's easy to absorb and very light. Not sticky after application. You can buy these cheaper than retail on my online shop at www.mypixiebaby.com.

After bath, I basically just changed my kids on the changing table or on my bed itself. I didn't fuss around with too many things because the simplier my life was, the better for us.

Other important things to have:

1. Clothes. I recommend buying about 9 to 10 rompers for 1 child. You can decide to let baby wear the romper to bed or just to go out. At home my kids usually just wear rompers and for sleeping use, I bought the long pants from this shop near the Guan Yin Temple in Bugis. It's cheap, like $12 for 6 pairs of long pants. The address of the shop is Blk 269 Queen Street #01-246 (S) 183269, Tel: 6338 3260. The shop is just opposite the Guan Yin Temple and a few steps away from the public toilets.

2. Bath Towels and hanky (used for cleaning milk stains, bath use), muslin cloth - All can be bought from the wholesale shop too. Muslin cloth is good as a burp cloth too. =)

3. A dustbin with a lid. This is for you to throw baby's smelly diapers in and keep the smell at bay.

4. A nightlight. Just so you need not switch on all the lights just to change 1 diaper.

5. I used Aden and Anais muslin cloths as blankies as they were big and light enough for day time when I only used a fan. For night time, I swaddled the babies so I just covered them with the muslin blanket.

6. Socks x 8 - for the cold weather and for going out or wearing it at night. You don't have to buy too many at one go as they outgrow it quite quickly.

7. Digital Ear Thermometer - I used the Braun one. www.mypixiebaby.com is bringing it in soon. Watch out for it!

8. Nail cutter / nail scissors.

9. Hair brush, grooming kit.

10. Beanies (some old people like to say that before the head fuses, wind can enter through the top of the head so we must keep it covered always. I didn't do it though as I found it pretty cumbersome.)

11. Mittens and booties. Also coming soon in www.mypixiebaby.com

12. Nose Frida - I must say this was a life saver when I had to suck out the mucus when the kiddos caught the flu bug. The pigeon bulb one was a useless piece of trash that didn't do much. I think they have one similar one to the Nose Frida but I have never tried it before so I'm not sure if that works fine.

As I was typing this it suddenly occurred I should also include a list of things that were a waste of money!

1. Crib toys. Trust me, I'd rather you play with your baby peek-a-boo instead. Don't waste money buying all those crib toys said to boost eyesight whatever. You will end up throwing it away instead.

2. Cot bumpers. I don't know why I spent so much money buying those. I hardly ever used it as I was more concerned of SIDS.

3. A formula milk stirrer. Seriously. This was a waste of money. Instead of helping to dissolve the milk powder, it ended up making the formula very foamy and almost like a teh tarik. Sigh..

4. The Pigeon brand mucus sucker,. That one with the bulb thingy. It doesn't do anything and can you imagine the stuff that stays inside because you are unable to clean it! Eeewl!

I cannot think of what else was a nonsense buy for now but as I spring clean my room, I will be sure I find more items that were useless! I will add onto this list every now and then.

Till then, thank you for reading and good luck!

Lots of Love,
J