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Jeffie View Drop Down
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    Posted: 15 January 2011 at 9:45pm
Hi, living on a farm and being a first time mom I am in need of advice and guidance of what to buy and recommended brands. Busy collecting things for when bubs arrive in July '11,

I had a look at baby gear and it is quite overwhelming as there are so much on the market. So far I've bought a few items on Trade Me,

Also, silly question prob but what is the difference between a stroller and a pram.

Thanks
Jeffie
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busymum View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote busymum Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 January 2011 at 10:16pm
Keep an eye out for a good s/hand cot. You won't need a bassinette but if you want one, just borrow it coz your baby may only fit in it for a month or two anyway. You won't need a highchair until at least Christmas time but a rocker or bouncer is very handy. You'll need warm blankets and wraps but don't buy a lot as you will likely be given some closer to the time. Same for clothes. A few dome-under singlets and all-in-ones (include feet for newborn) and a warm hat will keep you going for a while but you will likely be given a lot of them, some s/hand, as well.

You'll need a good carseat that can rear- or front-face (rear til about 12mos then front). If you want a baby capsule (easier to carry around if you go out a lot) it's usually more cost-effective to hire/borrow than buy. As far as prams/strollers go, it depends on how much you go walking. If being on a farm means you only go walking when you go shopping, a baby sling might be better value for you in the first 6mos and by then you'll have a better idea of what suits you and your vehicle (if you take a stroller out with you a lot, it needs to fit easily into your vehicle along with groceries or whatever other things you'll have in there).

Oh - and you shouldn't need a baby monitor for your first baby unless you have a huge or two-storey home.

Hope that helps. There's a lot of marketting hype out there for all the things you "need" but it's not true LOL
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mummy_becks View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mummy_becks Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 January 2011 at 10:38pm

A bassinette is great to have so that you can have them in the area you are in when very young so that you can get them used to those everyday noises.

As you are on a farm I would ask others that are on a farm what they recommend in the way of getting about with the baby. A lot is each to their own, I hate baby slings and went with a pram that was a 3 wheeler that was able to be used daily.

A capsule is great if you are out and about alot, you can move baby without moving them.

Remember a lot is each to their own and you will learn what you like. Don't get caught up in fads.

Also a moniter, I didn't have one as the boys room when a baby was so close, however a friend how has a smallish house (not 2 story) has a moniter and I think it is great as the bedroom is a longish way from the lounge and she is outside a lot and you can't hear anything in his room if you are outside.

I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kiwi2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2011 at 1:01am
Gosh I look back at what I had with my first and what I had with my last and what a difference. First I was broke and had 2 dozen square nappies, Basic layette off clothes and a bouncer and a second hand old pram. Hired the car seat and bought a bassinette. Someone bought me a cot and an old change table. She had a few basic toys and she survived just fine.

My last one had every device you could think of. I actually don't like monitors. I could see their effectiveness on a farm though as you could pop outside whilst baby is sleeping etc but I found my daughter who had a monitor was less able to self settle. Not sure if it was the monitor or the child but the other two who I am sure I managed to sleep thru their little skirmishes were not so high maintenance.

I would get a breast pump though. Doesn't need to be flash but it is one of those things you don't know you need until you need it right then. Also some form of wind medicine and a dummy. You may not go on to use a dummy but when you have a screaming baby it is worth having it on hand to see if it works.

Have you got a bounty pack yet. Do they still even do them because I found they had books in with layettes etc. Just the basics. One idea a friend of mine had was she put a cot on layby and got people to contribute to it rather than bits and pieces.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote _SMS_ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2011 at 6:45am
You will of course need the standard things, cot, carseat, pram/baby carrier.

I loved having a bassinet, i could have dd right next to me in bed, easy for feeding etc. And more cosy for her

Change table, not everyone uses them but i loved mine and got it cheap off TM.

Capsules are good too if you go out in the car a fair bit, means you wont need to take baby out of its carseat, just take whole capsule into supermarket or a friends house etc. This could be good with a winter baby.

I didnt really use my monitor, i have a small house so could always hear dd.

A stroller is a small pram, normally just for babies to sit in, so from 6months +. If you plan on doing a decent amount of walking id invest in a good pram.

Come join us in the due july thread


Due In July 2011

Edited by _SMS_
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T_Rex View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote T_Rex Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2011 at 8:26am
I'm on a sizeable lifestyle block, not a farm, but I grew up on a farm, and work on a farm, and most of my coffee group are on farms too. So from a farm perspective, these are the things I'd recommend:

A separate pram for the farm, cos it gets animal poo all over it's wheels, and then you don't want to bring it inside or into your car. It's handy to have a pram inside for rocking a crotchety baby, but not if it leaves poo tracks all over the carpet! Also, the farm pram should have a fixed front wheel rather than a swively one so it doesn't tip as easily when it hits bumps and holes. I'd recommend one with big wheels because they handle the likes of grass and gravel much better. A pram can be handy to park the baby in when you need to hop in somewhere thats not safe for her (I'll park her beside the yards while I load stock for example).

For the most part though, a decent baby carrier is way better than a pram - it can get anywhere you can (prams are pretty hard to push up a grassy hillside or through deep mud), and if you need to beat a hasty retreat (gotta love wild cows!) then thats much easier with a carrier too. From my coffee group's experience, I'd recommend a soft-structured carrier like a manduca rather than a backpack from the likes of macpac. It keeps baby much closer to you which makes it easier for going through gates etc, and seems to be more comfy and doesn't mess with your centre of gravity or anything. I've worn DD in the cattle yards for 5 hours at a time in the manduca, just stopping to BF her and change a nappy. We were both comfy as could be. If you are on a dairy farm and will be rearing calves, one option is to make a private area in the calf shed (block off the corner of a pen if you don't have a spare pen) and hang a jolly jumper in there for baby to hang out in while you feed the calves. Obviously you shouldn't leave them in there for hours, but it's good for a half hour while you pour out the milk for example. I've also tubed sick calves no worries, with DD in the manduca.

What else... plenty of woollies and hats if you intend to take baby outside in winter. A woolly hat with earflaps is good for those biting cold winds - better than a hooded cardy, I found.

Oh, also, if you live a fair way from town and so are likely to be making long car trips, it may be better not to get a baby capsule, instead go straight to a convertible carseat. It's not recommended to keep babies in capsules for long periods because it can compress their airway in the way it hunches them over. By the time I get to town, it's time DD came out of the capsule anyway, so I didn't bother with one. Also, have a read of the extended rear facing thread thats on here because you might want to have that option too. Most of our travelling is in 100km/hr areas, so if we have a collision, it's likely to be at high speed and I want my DD as safe as possible. I bought a radian carseat and will keep her rearfacing hopefully until she's about 4 because it's much safer. The radian is quite pricey (around $500) but for us it was instead of a capsule, a convertible and then a booster so worked out not a lot more, and as DH said, if we do have an accident, it will be the best $500 we've ever spent!

Most of the rest of it is the same as for town babies

No, wait, I'd also strongly recommend cloth nappies for rural babies. Depending what you do with your rubbish, but in my coffee group the options are: burn it (sposies don't actually burn), bury it (but then the nappies will still be there, buried on the farm, probably until after the baby has died of old age - yick, not a legacy I'd want to leave for my baby); or have it collected once a fortnight or take it to the tip (both involve rubbish hanging around for quite some time, which is pretty grotty with a pile of stinky nappies!). In comparison, I use cloth, do the washing every 2-3 days, and the dirty nappies are in sealed buckets until washing, so there are no stinky nappies hanging around the place. With modern cloth, its actually quite easy to do.

Thats my input for ya
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Nutella View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nutella Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2011 at 10:59am
I had a monitor and can't say that our house is large but DS was a quiet crier! So I actually loved it, as otherwise I would have not heard him crying half the time.



Oct 11
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Jeffie View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jeffie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2011 at 1:26pm
Thanks for all the advice and ideas, muchly appreciated!

Ideas about on the farm will come in handy too, we live about 10 minutes from town and we don't run a dairy farm but have dry stock on it. I plan to raise another lot of calves in August and then off course feed the yearlings so I will be out and about at certain times a day. For this I bought a Elite frontpack so I can be mobile and bubs safe and sound with me. A friend of mine, who did dairying when she had hers, recommend I invest in a monitor for when I'm outside and want to leave bubs inside or in the truck if I'm around the animals.

I always thought cloth nappies are very hard work but they seem to be quite popular and a very handy mention about what am I going to do with dirty throw aways! Had a look at cloth nappies the other day but found it way too confusing LOL. I remember my baby sis in cloth nappies 25 years ago and the buckets around home and hard work my mom faced. They are so different now with the inserts etc.

Mom bought me a carry cot thingy (not sure what you call it) which seemed handy as we can carry bubs around when it is asleep. Currently looking at second hand cots on TM, plenty to choose from.

Not sure what a bounty pack is so no I don't have one? Prob need to get a second hand pram then for use on the farm or just around here when I;m in the garden and then one when we are out and about in town etc.

Pfew lots of think of! But like some recommended don't get too wrapped up and we would prob get some gifts so I will keep that in mind, my friends wants a list of what they can contribute so will put the thinking cap on.

Jeffie
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Plushie View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Plushie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2011 at 1:36pm
When you see your doctor or your midwife yet ask for a bounty pack they're free and stuffed with booklets, information, coupons for nappies, samples of wipes and nipple creams etc.

I was confused by cloth naps too but after some investigation brought a couple to try out. They seem really simple - you can get some that don't even have inserts, you just clip it on like a disposable!

If you can get your hands on the old school naps like your mom had they're apparently awesome for everything. I've heard people using them for changing mats, burp cloths, bassinet bedding, emergency nappies and more.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jazzy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2011 at 2:09pm
You don't need much for the basics & as time goes by you collect more than you need.
The must for me was a capsule, a bassinet that I used with at 3 babies for 6mths, then into a cot. I used disposables with all mine.

I put a high chair, portacot & a swing on lay-by for 3 mths after the baby was born.

2 of my best buys were a bouncer & an exersaucer.

When we went to the country to stay with the in-laws when the babies were little I used a front pack so I could walk around. When we moved to the country I bough a 3 wheel pram & used to go walking with some of the mums around the quieter country roads.

I bought a monitor when we lived in the country & that was a great investment.

I also liked clothes that domed or buttoned up as in the winter you will need extra layers & putting several things over baby head can be annoying when NB.

I think 1 of the best things about being pg is going to baby shops so go & have a look around, you don't need much to start of with & TM does have some good baby stuff cheaper.
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T_Rex View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote T_Rex Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2011 at 7:03pm
Just wanted to add that I bought an old pram for $15 on TM which is fine for the farm so it needn't be expensive either
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote crafty1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2011 at 9:22pm
Baby monitor is great for bigger sections, i use it all the time cos if i'm out and about i can't always hear the baby, but there are jobs to do while he sleeps.

Ditto the cheap old mountain buggys of trademe, you can get them really cheap and will be a great spot for bubs to play while you do bits and pieces.

I also had the elite frontpack, was great he loved it and would sleep in it for ages.

We do a combo of cloth and disposable, the modern cloth are dead easy, get the ones with inserts and they dry pretty quick and you can add more boosters in if needed. And you can get ones that last from baby till toddler. My baby and toddler shared theirs for a while, you just do up the domes. You can also buy flushable liners so it catches the worst of the poo, that goes in the loo and then you just rinse the nappy off and put it in the bucket then wash the nappies every second day. Easy peasy and lets face it it's no more disgusting than all the other stuff with babies (and farming!).

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kandk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 January 2011 at 10:53pm
My SIL was milking when her ids were small, and she found an old playpen really handy, just set up in a clean corner of the cow shed. Kept a sitting/crawling bubs safe and (hopefully) happy,

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Zaylah Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 January 2011 at 11:19pm
The one thing we bought which we have never used (however I did buy it for $1 on trade me so it doesnt really matter lol) is the baby bath!

I use a 99c bucket from the warehouse for my girls. I personally find it much easier to carry when it's full of water, easier to empty, and the girls seem to enjoy being submerged rather than float.

They still fit in a standard size bucket at 7 months (although they are small for their age as they were prem) - and soo I will be getting one of those Gubba Buckets from the warehouse ($7) so they will fit in there until they are probably 3!!!!
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