by Rena Usman

Created on: September 29, 2007

To find that you're expecting a new addition to your family is joyous. Preparing for your first little addition though may be overwhelming. With so many products out there, how do you know what to buy for your baby? I can't speak for everyone, but if I knew then what I know now, my shopping list would have been very different. Hopefully I can help give some insight on just a few of things you really do and don't need when shopping for life with a newborn.

Crib Bedding. Its adorable, colorful, brightens up the nursery....and then goes back into the packaging so I can put my daughter in the crib. I absolutely loved the way my daughters nursery looked with her carefully chosen decor. I made my husband search several expensive crib bedding patterns and themes with me. Once we finally chose one, I washed everything and had it all ready for my daughters arrival and never used it. The blanket and comforter set are a suffocation hazard for a newborn and could not stay in the crib with her. Then it wasn't long before my daughter was tossing and turning, so the bumper had to be removed too out of fear that she would roll her face into it in her sleep and not yet have the ability to intentionally roll away. The only item I could still use from our expensive crib bedding set was the fitted crib sheet. If I had it to do over again I would not have purchased the set, and would have just spent a fraction of the money on fitted crib sheets.

Then, just when I thought I had her sleeping arrangements all figured out, she would develop another ability just to keep me on my toes. She went from simply rolling a little, to rolling a lot and added arm and leg flailing with it. She would put a tiny arm or leg between the rails of her crib while sleeping, but not yet have the ability to get it out. As a paranoid first time mama I still viewed her frilly crib bumper as a suffocation hazard, but felt I needed something. Luckily I came across what is called the "breathable bumper". I had never heard of it before, but was so happy to have found it. It's a two piece bumper, made of mesh. It fits on the rails of the crib so the baby can't get through them, but has the tiny mesh holes in it so that if she sleeps with her face buried in it she can still breathe. One of the first things I did when I got the bumper home was put it up to my face to make sure I could breathe through it (yes, I am very very paranoid). My daughter slept better because she wasn't getting stuck, and I slept better

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