Garzilla's Garage

This post is aimed at soon to be parents, especially dad.  Why?  Mom needs to be concerned with just taking it easy and picking out stuff for baby.  Dad get ready to do some assembling, painting, and de-cluttering.  Now what I am about to write I either did or wish I had done.

I would say a good time to start is six months out.  First and foremost, use a unisex color in the nursery.  I do not care how certain they are about the sono.  God has a great sense of humor.  We were supposed to have a girl and ended up with a boy.  No, the room was not painted pink.  We had painted it yellow, but it was decked out in girly stuff.  We had a ton of girl clothing.  So have your baby showers be unisex.

De-clutter the room that is to become the nursery.  Paint it.  Get the furniture assembled and in place.  When picking out furniture, get something practical.  Get something that will actually work for you, not against you.  Do not buy furniture just because it looks nice.  Looking back I wish we had gone with stuff from IKEA.  There stuff is really practical.  My father-in-law offered to pay for the furniture, so we went gaga over the expensive stuff.  It was not very useful and took up a lot of space.

Now focus on the little things.  Register for practical stuff.  Don’t get lost in the land of cute.  Cute does not equal useful.  Check out the diaper bags inside  and out.  Try it on.  Avent bottles worked best for us.  If mom is breastfeeding, buy Medela pumps only.  Other breast pumps do not even come close to the quality in Medela.  Yes, they are expensive.  Check with your employer to see about benefits for discounts on Medela pumps.  DO NOT BUY A USED PUMP! It is like sharing nail clippers or a toothbrush.  Stick with Medela products for milk storage.  We used other brands and it cost us a lot of milk.  You run the risk of other bags breaking during the freezing process.  Medela bags have very good seams that resist breakage during freezing.

Do not skimp on the car seat or carrier.  You will probably use the carrier for at least the first six months or so.  The car seat will last them for a few years.  Our four year old is still using his.  Get to know this equipment before the due date.  I was pretty embarrassed when I got to the front door to pick up mom and baby and could not figure out how to slack up the seat belt in the carrier.  Read instructions and get familiar with all your products.

Bottom line, keep it simple and practical.  Brands that we would recommend:  Medela, Avent, Munchkin, Gerber, Joovy, and Graco.  Yes, go crazy with decorations and stuff.  When it comes to the stuff you will use for feeding and caring for the baby, it needs to be good quality useful stuff.

Parents please leave some advice for soon to be parents.