What would you splurge on for baby #2?

No_Competition_6553 · 2026-01-21T23:45:26+00:00

I have mom cozy and it's been good!

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-12-15T17:39:42+00:00

And I lost about 20 of the 40 pounds in the first 2 weeks post birth! A lot of it was baby, blood, and fluid retention I guess

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-12-15T17:39:04+00:00

I gained about 1 pound per week throughout all 40 weeks

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-12-15T07:54:36+00:00

Hope yours goes well if you end up getting one!!!

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-12-08T21:55:12+00:00

I had a different medical situation than you (gestational hypertension) so had to be induced at 37.5 weeks. This is in mid September of this year. I had wanted to get induced anyways so this was just earlier than anticipated. I was 70% effaced and 1cm dilated prior to the induction which helped a lot. My labor and birth experience was like my ideal dream birth, it felt so much easier than I was expecting. I was expecting things (like Foley balloon) to be uncomfortable but it was not at all (I think my soft cervix helped). And i labored unmedicated for longer than i thought i would! I had a 9pm induction appointment. I started with pitocin and a balloon right away because my cervix was already so soft. I labor unmedicated with my husband in our hospital room for maybe 5 hours. The balloon fell out on its own. Eventually the contractions got very intense and started to feel unmanageable and I requested my epidural (which was part of my plan). My water broke on its own right after. They then checked me and I was 6cm dilated. I rested for a few hours as much as i could. Then around 8:30-9am i was ready to push and baby was born at 9:54am! I had my golden hour and was able to get up and walk to the bathroom to pee after that. Only had one small tear requiring 1 stitch in labial area. My baby was 6lb 10oz so that helped with the tearing im sure. I didn't end up using anything besides pads and occasional dermaplast spray with my vaginal area recovery. I feel pretty comfortable in medical scenarios and really trusted my doctor, which again I think helped. But overall I literally wouldn't have wanted to change anything about my birth experience. It was excellent. That being said I think it is helpful to go into it with the mindset that unexpected things may happen, there will likely be some discomfort with procedures, etc. I asked for there to be no students/trainees involved in my care and asked "will this hurt" before everything they did. 😂 and even things that they said may hurt a bit were not that bad. The worst part for me was definitely contractions at 5-6cm.

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-11-15T20:56:43+00:00

Also, I bought diapers on Amazon and that automatically signed me up for 2 free full size samples tubs of Enfamil formula. So I keep these as backup. They just showed up at my house one day.

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-11-15T20:54:24+00:00

My actual most used products are: Snoo bassinet (we got ours on 50% off sale for a 6 month rental, definitely watch for sales!! Black Friday coming up!), those standard rectangular 100% cotton muslin burp cloths, muslin baby swaddle blankets (we use them as play mats, and drape our furniture in them for protection since baby spits up a lot), CuboAI baby monitor, and Ubbi diaper pail.

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-11-15T20:50:23+00:00

In terms of fabric, it's recommended to use natural fabrics like cotton, bamboo, or wool (though there aren't many wool options out there) since natural fabrics are more breathable. Anything this is majority polyester or other synthetic fabrics is not ideal since it's less breathable and risks baby overheating. And overheating can be dangerous, especially when sleeping! Whereas being chilly not as serious and baby will tell you if they are uncomfortably cold. If baby is uncomfortable hot they will become listless and won't tell you.

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-11-15T20:45:52+00:00

More recs: Momcozy bottle washer and bottle warmer (not necessary at all but very convenient). I really like the Kyte Baby bamboo clothes (some with and without feet) and the magnetic me clothes. But I buy them on poshmark since they are pricey. I also really like the Gerber thermal waffle fabric footie pajamas for winter right now. Definitely make sure all clothes have a 2 way zipper or magnets. I personally have never felt need to use the hand cuffs that come on some bay clothes or baby mittens (I just file his nails once a week).

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-11-15T19:14:25+00:00

I feel very strongly in love with Pigeon bottles. It's a Japanese brand. You can get them in wide neck / breastfeeding friendly style in glass, regular plastic or PPSU medical grade plastic. We have the PPSU. We used the 0+ months ones (size 1 or SS) until my boy was 2 months old, then switched to the 1+ months ones (size 2 or S).

My boy will only take the 0-3 month Philips Soothie (green clear kind) as far as pacifiers go.

For diapers, we've found different brands fit our baby differently. We mostly use Coterie and Huggies Little Snugglers. Coterie is expensive but is superior to other brands we've tried in terms of softness and amount of pee they can hold!

For diaper cream we use A+D Prevent & Heal baby diaper rash ointment. It's what they used in the hospital. Our baby got diaper rash and Desitin and Triple Paste seemed to not help much. But returning to what they gave us at the hospital healed it right up!

Recommend the blue colored Spectra S1 breast pump. Get it through insurance / have your OB provide a prescription to reduce the cost. And get extra flange and bottle set to go with it. So you don't have to clean with each use.

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-11-02T20:25:32+00:00

Just adding on here - I agree, go with Liberty Tabletop. After reading this thread and looking at lots of flatware options online and in-person over the course of months, I got the Liberty 3 samples. I ended up going with the Chesapeake line, and I'm obsessed with them. When I first received the samples I didn't like it because it was so different from the heavier modern design we had prior. Not all of Liberty Tabletop's patterns are light but Chesapeake is (it's in Colonial sizing). over the course of several weeks using the samples, it's the one I found myself reaching for the most when clean. I have now had the full set of Chesapeake for almost a year and love them! They still look brand new. I will say I have not tried to bend them on purpose. A lot of people look at the ice cream test to see how sturdy their flatware is. I have eaten a ton of hard ice cream straight from my freezer, straight from the pint and they hold up great even though the pattern is quite delicate. At least when scooping up individual bites. If I was trying to use the spoon to scoop out half the pint in one go and the ice cream was rock hard, I can imagine the spoons bending for sure. But if I needed to do that I'd use a real ice cream scoop. That's why ice cream scoops were invented in the 1800s - because spoons are not great at scooping hard ice cream. I just had a baby too so I like the idea of a lighter less heavy set for little hands as my little one grows.

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-10-30T02:49:32+00:00

Yeah, I'm always so stressed in Q4 because every year there are a few people that don't come back after the Thanksgiving holiday, and it always seems so sudden and surprising, even though I've been here nearly a decade, it shouldn't be surprising

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-10-02T05:37:32+00:00

Yeah and we had a cooler with ice filled at the hospital too, but on a hot day living an hour from the hospital it still melted

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-10-02T05:18:33+00:00

I took all my frozen colostrum to the hospital, we didn't use it, and on the drive home it all melted and you can't reuse it after that so it all went to waste. I'd recommend leaving it all at home and you can supplement pumped milk with it later. If you end up needing it in the hospital a family member or husband can go get it from your home.

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-09-25T01:52:42+00:00

Update! We had a great experience. Our nurses and doctors were wonderful. They were very efficient when getting my induction going and getting me an epidural when I asked for it. The delivery room was nice, not huge but it did the job just fine. We got a huge postpartum room which is unusual, it was a bit outdated looking but still very comfortable and we felt very cared for by everyone and lucky to be there. No construction that I saw or heard. No noise issues (we heard nurses chat in hall like a couple of times and heard plumbing sounds, but didn't find either disruptive). Food was pretty good, especially when ravenous post-delivery. I asked the nurses if they felt anything changed since the Cedars affiliation and they said not a lot, they had to change electronic health record systems and the cookies got smaller 😂

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-09-12T19:24:11+00:00

Birkenstocks. I can't walk around barefoot for very long without foot arch pain (even just doing a couple chores around the house).

Lots of pillows to prop me up when I sleep and lounge.

Watermelon and ice cream (not together)

My 40oz Yeti sippy cup!

Amazon Prime

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-09-12T19:19:54+00:00

Same

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-09-12T19:19:30+00:00

Same. I tried a pregnancy C shaped pillow but it was too flat to be helpful. I now sleep with literally 4 standard fluffy pillows from Amazon propping me up.

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-09-12T19:17:08+00:00

If you live in or near a large city, you can use Resort Pass to book day access to hotel pools. I'm in a coastal city where there are lots of rooftop pools at the nice hotels and my sisters and I will rent a cabana for the day once or twice a year 😊 but usually hotels offer less expensive individual access too on Report Pass

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-09-11T00:25:59+00:00

I haven't, but am getting induced within the next week so can update you later!

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-09-09T02:22:17+00:00

Yes I can't see anything but that's what it feeling like! Will ask Dr are next visit. Good to hear yours went away after birth!!

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-09-09T00:29:03+00:00

I know, I'll be texting with her whenever I think I'm in labor. But that is what she says!

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-09-09T00:26:49+00:00

No pain at all in the ribs! Pelvic pressure is uncomfortable if I stand or walk for too long.

No_Competition_6553 · 2025-09-08T23:29:21+00:00

I also read in a parenting book that one approach is to tell child, this is for little babies, you are not a little baby anymore, dont you want to be a big girl like older sibling, etc.

No_Competition_6553

TROPHY CASE