Shopping guide for first time parents

Being parents for the 2nd time, the biggest advantage we have, is that we are really way more experienced when comes to caring our little one, and shopping for baby is not a hassle anymore because we know exactly what we want, or rather say what baby needs, and it's not a trial and error + wasting $$ game anymore.

When we had Renzo in 2009, we came up with a shopping list after many rounds of revision and still, we had purchased certain items, which are either not practical/effective enough, or completely useless for little Renzo. But this time round, we are a lot wiser, and let me introduce some "must have" items for first time parents!!

1. Shampoo / Thermometer / Baby nose cleaner

First of all, there's this thing called "cradle cap", which is a yellowish, patchy, crusty skin layer that appears on the scalp of new born babies. Renzo had that for more than 3 months and we were not even aware of such a great remedy - Dentinox Cradle Cap shampoo, till we had Rynus this time. This could be purchased from pharmacy or pediatrician at about SGD$12. Looks like a small bottle but it's super effective and can clean up the cradle cap upon a few days of application. After that, you can just use it as a normal baby shampoo. Baby olive oil will do the same trick but I have not tried that.

Thermometer is a must have as infants fall sick easily. We bought a "Cadi Advanced Sensing Thermometer" for Renzo 3 years back for SGD$90, but we ended up chucking it aside because it's always hard to get the reading accurately from the forehead. And eventually after a few frustrating experience of not getting accurate readings, we invested on this BRAUN brand baby thermometer which is probably the most common and popular model used in clinics and hospitals. It's proven to be extremely good. It's not cheap but it lasts for years. If you think it's not necessary to invest on this, just get the most traditional type of themometer because for infants, the best reading is still from armpit with the traditional themometer, which is why if you happens to visit hospital (unfortunately), nurses use that for infants all the time.

Lastly, get a Baby nose cleaner, ours is from Pigeon brand. If your baby is having congested nose, this is the best solution and it's super efficient, give it a try!!

2. First baby toys

I used to think that babies below 6 months old do not know how to play toys, I was all wrong! Get some soft rattles for your little ones and you will be amazed by how fast they can learn to play.

A: This soft rattle is from Japan and can be found at Kiddy Palace. Small infants reflexively prefer to look at high-contrast edges and patterns. So toys in black/white/red catch their attention easily, and it's really soft so I find it most suitable for new borns since they can't grab and hold yet, hence even it it drops and hits the baby, it's not painful at all.

B: This rattle used to be Renzo's favorite, and now Rynus also loves it. So I figured that it must be the  super soothing sound the rattle makes which is very different from most other rattles.

C: Wondering what's so special about this rattle? This design is the easiest to grip for babies' small hands!

D: Kiddy Palace has this type in a big box and they are colorful and loud, serves as a teether but I find it more suitable for bigger babies who are at least about 4 months old and above.

Once baby is able to sit with a bit of support, this stacking action blocks from Fisher-Price become perfect toys for them. The blocks are educational as well as entertaining. Kids love the different colors, and they also learn about cause and effect (press a button - the wheel spins, etc..). Renzo used to spin them with his fingers and laugh non-stop at this age, Rynus is still learning to do that but I can tell he's extremely interested in these blocks.

 

3. Baby Clothes
Spoiled with too many choices? Here are a few tips:
Infant - 3 months:

A: Super easy to wear, and with such hot weather in Singapore, baby can just wear this top with diaper during day time. Problem is that when they start to move a lot, it does not cover/protect their belly button.

B: Great romper especially when you need to bring baby out. Buttons are in front so it's very easy to wear, but the size is up to 3 months of age only and if you have a chubby baby like mine, it will last for no more than 2 months.

Remember not to get too many pieces as they will outgrow super fast!

3 months and above:
A/B: Short and Long sleeves rompers for day and night from Mothercare.Slightly more expensive but they are of really great quality. I was searching high and low for such kind of front button rompers at Kiddy Palace and some other shops, but in no avail. I think Kiddy Palace has such type for 0-3 months infants, maybe they think that 3 months+ babies can support their neck well and those wide neck romper without buttons are good enough. But that's not true, front opening type is still most practical, convenient and comfortable for little babies. You can just get 2 pieces each and it can last for a very long time. I get one size bigger so they can last from 2 months till at least 9 months I believe.

C: Carter's romper set which costs only about SGD16 for 5-6 pieces. The quality is not as good but the material is somehow very cooling. Take note that this is only suitable for babies with strong neck support, or else it's not so easy to wear and might cause some discomfort to baby when you pull it through baby's head. And always remember to get at least 1-2 size bigger as Carter's is "famous" for their small cutting. This piece here for my less than 5 months old Rynus boy, is meant for 12 months old baby, LOL...

Besides the above, Rynus has been benefiting from some other good stuff we bought for Renzo before, as mentioned by Daddy Chan in Renzo's blog post here.

The baby swimming pool is a no no to us as it's time/water consuming and we rather bring him to the real pool for some real fun!

Also, remember to get a good hospitalization plan that covers deductible and co-insurance for your little one, it helps to save you a lot of money for more baby shopping if baby really gets hospitalized one day.