Stupid Question!

Ok, I didn't know where to post this but I know wherever it is it will get read...

I feel really silly but as you all know our wee one should be here in about 4 weeks and I realised that I have no idea about what kind of creams/lotions etc. I need for changing and bathing the baby... I wanted to go out and get some things so I am prepared and all the books say different things.

You guys always klnow more that the books so I thought maybe you could tell me just the essentials that I will need for a newborn. You all probably know the best brands too?

Hope you can help

Nana bought me EVERYTHING in the johnson and johnson range. I never used the bay oil. I used the lotion a couple of times when Jake had dry skin, other than that it makes a fanatstic make-up remover, and cream for shaving your legs. I have some zinc cream for nappy rash. I bought some baby bathtime stuff which smells lovely, for the bath and hair.....completley unessential, but nice, and we use baby powder in the heat. IN our bounty pack we got some neat smaples that last a while too.

we don't use much. johnson and johnson are great. we got the baby bath stuff to go in the bath, saves having to soap baby up and get it all slippery. then we usually just move up to the top to toe wash later once babys older. normal powder is good, the floral one is a bit overpowering for wee noses. and we use the johnsons anti-rash powder on bottoms. have used mustela cream which you get a sample of in the bounty pack - but it's $18 a tube to buy after that, so the anti-rash powder is much kinder on the wallet ($4) and just as good. other than that there's not alot, just baby buds etc. people make you think you need heaps of stuff. you don't, find one that works for you and stick with it. wipes aren't a must-have either, flannels are perfectly fine for cleaning baby's bottom, and probably kinder to it. just get those soft stretchy ones from tnt, i think they're about $5 for 6 of them they're great for bums faces and everywhere else. they're also easier to dry baby's creases with after a bath instead of trying to fit a bulky towel under their chin and neck creases, just grab one of them and you can fit it right in all the tricky places to dry. good luck

Edited by mum2paris

The midwife at the hospital put J&J wash in Maya's first bath, so I assume it's ok for newborns. I can't use the Bedtime Bath, I used it in my own bath when I was pregnant and even now two years later I still feel nauseous when I smell it! We used the moisturising baby wash since Maya has always been prone to dryish skin. I bought all the baby lotions, oils etc. but I still have two full bottles of baby lotion that I never used, and Willie ended up using the oil for his bald head! The lotion was good when Maya's skin was a bit dry. We also used the Curash nappy rash powder since Maya was in cloth nappies which tend to make them a bit more prone to nappy rash, and it was great. A bit more expensive than the J&J but worth it. We also found the Pams unscented wetwipes to be just as good as the more expensive ones, and so much better than some of the really cheap ones you can get which have heaps of perfume.
You should get heaps of free/discount coupons for J&J stuff in your bounty pack, and if you ring them before bubs is born and ask for advice they will post you free samples too. (The 0800 number is on the back of all their products). Same goes for baby foods too - Robinsons (Karicare) will send you free samples of baby rice etc. when your baby starts solids if you give them a call.

that's sposed to say verNix not vermix... makes it sound like vermon or something..lol

yeah, that's what i mean by top and tail. use a wet flannel, wipe the top half over completely, dry it, then do the bottom half. its a bath without all the fuss. trust me, you probably wont have the time to bath baby heaps and heaps, sometimes you just get everything sorted and they fall asleep, and if they've been awake all day you just think "they had a bath last night, there's no way i'm waking them!!!" lol

Edited by mum2paris

i bathe hannah every day (well, 6.5/7) and have since she was born, as it was part of letting her know it is bedtime. apparently babes' skin dries out if they are bathed too much, but hannah hasn't had any problems so i continue to bathe her every day. she loves it too!

i just use baby wash in the bath and powder at most nappy changes. wipes are convenient but not so good for bums. i find Hannah develops nappy rash if i use them too much so i try and limit wipes to big messes!!!
i've only ever used lotion on hannah twice so i wouldn't go too overboard with that. esp since if baby is prone to eczaema then all the perfume in the j&j lotions probably isn't the most ideal thing.

it takes a while to get used to bathing baby, i remember finding creases and crevices in her neck that i didn't know existed because they started to smell a bit funky (i think it was the vernix), that wasn't too pretty. so hard to get into their little necks when their heads are so floppy!!!!

We use aqueous cream too for Maya's exczema, if I catch it early enough it avoids the need for yucky hydrocortisone creams that are no good for their skin long term. I use it on my hands too since I get dermatitis on them.
Thought I would mention too that babies born preterm or around their due date tend to have more vernix than babies born after their due date as it absorbs into their skin. I read all about what to expect before Maya was born, but she had way more vernix than I expected. Apparantly it's one of the ways in which midwives and doctors gauge how overdue a baby was, by how much vernix they have. (sorry, I ramble on...)

i second the pams wipes, the unscented ones. but you wont need them for a while. i use flannels for newborns, and i'm not a regular bather for newborns either tho, but he gets a wipe over every time he's up. in the bath i put nothing - they dont need perfumed stuff or creams (unless really dry as is my bub being overdue). You will get some cool stuff in the bounty pack, i think my tube of mustela lasted ages - thats good for nappy rash - and also the packet of curash which i buy now and use and it clears up any nappy rash asap.
other people tho swear by other stuff, eg lucas pawpaw ointment gets mentioned lots and tui bee balm. and babies all react differently to different stuff. you will eventually find the thing that suits you and your baby best.

Yep it is a pack with heaps of samples of products.u get one when babe is 4 mnths old also which leans towards the food sied of things.New borns can get bathed every 3rd day  but i bathe Harmony every second day.same with xander and i roster it so i do one bath a day.