As I mentioned in the previous posts, the layette is separated into several categories. These are clothing, nursery (including the furniture), bedding, bath time, travelling with baby, and feeding baby. Today I am going to talk about feeding baby and in part five I will wrap up with bedding and travelling with baby. Part 6 will be the complete list but since we aren’t there yet, let’s look at feeding baby.

The Feeding Baby Layette:

• High Chair: I mentioned this first simply because I am going to tell you not to buy it, at least not yet. Baby does not need a high chair until he or she is old enough to be sitting up and eating in it. Before that time, there is no reason to purchase it since it will be one more thing in the way and something that you can save for. Don’t worry about a high chair until after your baby is about 6 months or older.
• Feeding Pillow: If you are breastfeeding, you will want to have a nursing pillow. I didn’t for my first and decided to buy one for my second. It was great! The pillow tucked up around me and I didn’t have to worry about it slipping all the time. Baby nestled right up to me on top of it and breastfeeding (at least positioning) was much easier.
• Breast Pump:Another item you only need if you are breastfeeding your baby. This is important if you want to be able to go out for longer than an hour without your baby or if you will be returning back to work. Remember that just because you are going to work does not mean that you can’t breastfeed, it just takes a little perseverance to do so.
• Nursing Bras: Have at least 2 nursing bras. These will make breastfeeding much easier and having 2 or 3 will keep your bras nice and clean.
• Disposable Breast Pads: Whether you plan on breastfeeding or not, you will want to have some breast pads to keep your bra and clothes dry.
• 6-8 4oz Bottles: You don’t need to have 8 ounce bottles until your baby is much older. Trust me 4 oz will fill her up when she is an infant and she will actually only consume between 2 to 3 oz during each feeding when she is a newborn. You can purchase larger bottles when baby gets older. Make sure you find bottles with good quality nipples.
• Bottle and Nipple Brush: If you use bottles, then you will need a bottle brush. These are fairly cheap and you can buy several so you can transfer the old one out if it gets too dirty or run down.
• 3-4 Baby Bibs: I would recommend getting a few baby bibs right from the start since some babies do spit up after nursing. My youngest burped up some whenever he ate so we had closer to a dozen bibs ready at one time. If you do use a bid during feeding, make sure it comes off before you place baby down to sleep or play.

And that is the feeding layette.

Sirena Van Schaik

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As I mentioned in post one and two, a layette is usually broken into several areas. These are clothing, nursery (including the furniture), bedding, bath time, travelling with baby, and feeding baby. I have already talked about clothing and nursery so let’s look at bath time.

The Bath time Layette:

• Plastic Infant Tub: This is a debatable necessity. Some people do not feel the need for an infant tub and prefer to give their baby a bath in either the kitchen sink or in the bathtub with only an inch or two of water in the bottom. It is perfectly fine if you do not have an infant tub and it is fine if you do. I had one for both of my kids because I felt comfortable sitting on the floor and bathing baby in the tub. It kept the baby down low, to avoid any tumbles off a high space, such as the change table, and it was a space I was comfortable with.
• Body Wash: You don’t need a lot of fancy bath washes and bubble baths for a new baby. All you need is a body and hair wash that is designed for baby. Don’t feel the need to purchase ones with lavender and a host of other natural additives since the best thing for baby’s skin is simply being clean without buildups found in some oily body washes. Find one that includes the hair as well so you can give baby a quick hair wash when he or she needs it.
• 12 Wash Cloths: An Item that you don’t really need to purchase if you already have face cloths for yourself but I would recommend them since they are smaller and usually fairly soft against baby’s skin. You only need one hand to rinse and wring them out so you will have the security of having your other hand on your baby.
• 2 Towels: Another item that you don’t need but more than likely, you will have a few laying around since they are often hot items for baby shower gifts. They come in very handy since you will have a little hood on the top of the towel for baby’s head.
• Skin Lotion: When baby comes out of the bath, it is best to rub his or her skin down with a nice infant skin lotion. My preferred lotion of choice is Aveeno but you can find many on the market.
• Baby Toiletry Set: These sets can be found everywhere and it is filled with the basic grooming necessities; hair brush, nail clippers, and a gum brush for brushing the excess milk off the gums. Don’t use any toothpaste when you do this since it isn’t best for baby.

One point that I would like to make is about bath rings. Many parents purchase these and I did for my first before I realized the hazards. Bath rings are for children that can sit on their own in a tub. It suctions to the tub and baby slides his legs under it. It keeps him sitting up without slipping but there has been a high number of injuries (and worse) related to the use of bath rings. You don’t need bath rings and if baby is fine laying in the tub, just let him do so. Don’t purchase a bath ring, even if you see it on another list for baby layettes.

Next time, I will cover feeding but until then, happy shopping.

Sirena Van Schaik

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Today, I’m going to talk about the nursery and all the wonderful items that you need in a nursery.  If you remember, layettes are usually split up into the following categories: clothing, nursery (including the furniture), bedding, bath time, travelling with baby, and feeding baby.  I have already written about clothing and diapering, so let’s move onto the second item in our list; the nursery.

The Nursery Layette:

• Crib:  Obviously you need a crib and most people know this without being told.  It is important to remember that your crib should meet all safety regulations.  The crib bars should never be wider than 6 cm apart and the corner posts should never be more than 3mm high.   When it comes to age, any crib made before 1986 should be avoided since it does not meet current standards.  Other cribs to avoid are ones with suspended mattresses held on by an S hook.
• Crib Mattress: The mattress should never be farther than 3 cm from the side of the crib and it should be firm. You can purchase foam or spring cribs and the only thing that you need to focus on is the size of the mattress and the firmness.  Also, check to make sure the crib mattress doesn’t have any little holes or tears.
• Dresser:  There really is no way around this item since you need a place to put all those wonderful clothes that I mentioned in the clothing layette.
• Change Table:  When I purchased mine, my mother looked at me and said, “why do you need that?  You’ll never use it.”  I almost didn’t get a change table but decided to anyways, turned out to be a life saver and I used it about 90% of the time.  After the baby had outgrown it, I converted it into a toy shelf.  One way to save money is to purchase a dresser/change table.  Once baby outgrows it, you slide off the changing mat and you have a nice dresser.
• Rocking Chair:  I know it might seem cliche but having a chair to rock in is another life saver.  If you can avoid purchasing one, do so.  My rocking chair was this ugly brown fabric hand me down that was the perfect height and width for rocking and breastfeeding.  It cost me nothing and although it was an eyesore, it did the trick.  For my second, I purchased a glider with a nice foot rest and found it so uncomfortable, I would often take the baby to the old eyesore that had been converted into a story time chair in my oldest’s room.
• Shelves:  Have a few shelves near the diaper area where you can store the diapers within easy reach.  I found that having the wipes up and out of the way, along with the creams made diaper changes go much faster and easier.
• Baby Monitor:  Another must have, make sure you buy one that has a good range on it.  I swear by the Angel Monitor with the pad under the mattress, the only drawback is the middle of the night alarms when baby has rolled off the pad.
• Mobile: Having a mobile is great for many reasons but I would suggest one that can be remotely turned on to avoid having to sneak in to wind it just as baby falls asleep.

There are always a few items that you can add but these are the basics of a nursery.  I also recommend purchasing a bassinet but everyone has different views on that.  I found it very comforting and much easier to handle those middle of the night feedings when baby was right beside me in the bassinet. At least for the first 3 months before he was too big for it.

Sirena Van Schaik

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But I digress and this is about that cute little bundle of joy that will soon be joining your family. That new baby will need a layette and it is important to realize that you don’t need as much as you think or will eventually have.  I know my layette for both of my kids was enough to clothe about 10 babies but most of the items were gifts or hand-me downs.  If you are purchasing a layette for yourself you can keep it things to a minimum and still survive without having to do laundry every hour of every day (don’t get me wrong though, the amount of laundry that you have to do will increase).

Generally, a layette for baby consists of several areas, not just the clothing, and these are broken into categories like clothing, nursery (including the furniture), bedding, bath time, travelling with baby, and feeding baby.  For the sake of nerves, I’m going to break the layette up into a few posts with a full checklist at the end.  This should help in keeping you from panicking and thinking, I have so much to get and so little time.  I know I suffered from this several times when I was pregnant with both of my boys.

So today, let’s look at clothing and since we are looking fabrics, I am going to mention diapers for those of you who are planning on using cloth.

The Clothing Layette:

• 6-8 onesies:  these little undershirts are a must and are great for an extra level of warmth for baby or in the hotter months as an outfit to keep cool in.
• 3-8 sleepers: I personally couldn’t have enough sleepers for my second.  He had a problem where he would push too hard to make a bowel movement and would spit up several times a day.  This ran into a lot of sleepers used during the day and night, as well as clothes for me, and I kept him in clean sleepers most of the time when we were at home to preserve his outfits from becoming stained.  You can make due with 3 but it depends on both you and your baby.
• 4-6 outfits:  You will probably have more outfits than your baby can wear so don’t fret if friends and family bump you over in the outfit quantity.  Just enjoy everything you can put him or her in.
• 4-6 pairs of socks:  Not much to explain here but try to have a few extra pairs since washing machines are notorious for devouring baby socks.
• 1-2 sweaters:  Something to put on baby when you are going out to keep him snug as a bug.
• 1 snowsuit:  If you live in colder climates, like I do, and your baby will be born in the winter or fall, you will want to purchase one of the infant snowsuits to keep her warm.  If she is born spring or summer, wait until the following fall to purchase a snowsuit so you are sure of the size.
• 1-2 scratch mitts:  I had two pairs myself, both gifts, with little rattles in them but scratch mitts are completely optional.  I kept nails trimmed and rarely had to put anything on my kids hands.  When I did, I just used a pair of infant socks (my kids hated the feel of the rattle).  This eliminates one thing from your shopping list.
• 1-2 pairs of booties:  Another optional item since babies should not wear shoes before a year of age.  I know there is a big draw for Robeez but they are not necessary and if you are interested in saving the money, don’t feel pressured to produce a pair of soft shoes for baby, socks work just fine and more often than not, your baby is going to pull off those booties anyways.
• 4-6 receiving blankets:  Like the sleepers, I couldn’t have enough of these with my second, in fact I think I had about 12 to 15, double what is recommended but again most of them were gifts.
• 1-2 blankets:  These aren’t the crib blankets but are blankets that you can use for swaddling.  This is another favorite gift purchase so before you buy any blankets look at how many you get for gifts.  I didn’t purchase a single blanket and between my first and second babies, I ended up with close to a dozen blankets, many of them going to goodwill so I would have enough space in my linen closet.

The Diapering Layette

• 24-48 cloth diapers:  This may seem like a lot but if you only buy 8 cloth diapers, you will need to launder them once or twice a day.  Have more than enough and you won’t have to worry about running out.  You will also only need to do laundry every 3 days.
• 2-4 safety pins:  This depends on the type of diapers you get.  There are some cloth diapers with snaps or Velcro and they are already pre-shaped and ready to use.
• 1 box of liners:  You can purchase disposable liners to make cleaning much easier.
• 4-8 waterproof diaper covers:  To keep the diapers from leaking, you will need these waterproof covers.
• 12-24 washcloths:  For keeping baby clean, you can use disposable wipes but if you are trying to be eco-friendly by using cloth diapers, it is better (and more cost effective) to use washcloths.

And there are the clothing and diapers.  I will have the other categories soon so please check back over the coming weeks.

Sirena Van Schaik

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