RR 3 Baby Supplies

My daughter is just over 4 now and my wife and I were reminiscing the other day about what a wild five years its been!

With Hurricane Sandy ravaging the north east, and reports of all sorts of shortages, the days before the hurricane remind me of how we felt before the baby came. We stocked up on all sorts of supplies, (thanks to the baby shower gifts) equipment, and even preparing a 'special room'.

We had no idea what we would need, or what to expect (despite the almost mandatory What to Expect books) and so we just stocked up, tried to listen to what everyone had to say, did our Lamaze classes (he he he, ho ho ho, he he he) packed a suitcase and thought we were ready.

And then about 4 weeks before the due date, at 3am - ish, BAM. There goes the water, and with it rational thought. I think I remember going to the hospital, to the special 'mommy to be' parking area, but really what I remember is my wife getting prepped for the C-section (long story, but we knew this was the route we were going...), her getting rushed in, having a mask strapped to my ears - blur - and the doc shows me her uterus. I think to myself as I don't pass out, Dude - you need to put that back in there I think... - Blur - We have a daughter!!

And my wife totally didn't expect "breast feeding"... Oh, we were aware of 'nipple confusion', latching, and all of that. She had a coach in the hospital; all good. See, the problem was this, she thought it was going to be "Baby. Boob. Do it. Done" (her words, not mine). Apparently though, there was/is cracking, soreness, and I'm sure a dozen other things that happened nipple-wise that I couldn't begin to imagine. She used this, or something similar. Let me tell you, in case you don't know, 'nipple butter' is not at all what it sounds like.

And stock up on diapers and wipes. The worst realization, when faced with a fully loaded diaper, is that you are out of the needed matériel. And when you do face that fully loaded diaper, be prepared. And be quick. You don't want to go into situation, lose track of what's going on or get thrown off your game plan. THAT gets you peed on.

And there about a million different types of bottles, formulas, and nipples (of varying flows). This will really be up to you and yours to decide. We went with glass bottles and the matching brand of nipples, starting low flow and graduating as needed to higher flows. We went glass because my wife said so. Something to do with sterilization and less germs.

What was the biggest surprise for you? How prepared did you think you were, and how prepared were you really? Leave a post!