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#12. Fill 'er Up

"For the first few weeks, your baby will seem like a sleeping and eating machine. Fortunately for you, the menu's pretty limited. You will need to have four to six 4-ounce and 8-ounce bottles, a bottle brush for cleaning, and four to six bibs. It's also a good idea to have about a dozen burp cloths on hand to protect your clothing. Cloth diapers make ideal burp cloths.

If you are nursing, you will also want to have two nursing bras, several nursing pads, and a breast pump so that you can keep some milk in bottles in the fridge. A nursing shawl is also nice to have if you need to feed the baby in public."

The biggest argument about baby bottles is whether to use glass or plastic. I found this article below from WebMD explaining the difference between the two. WebMD Baby Bottles

While breastfeeding is the best option, I'm not really looking forward to having little teeth near that sensitive area. I will use a pump so I will need some bottles. I’m going to opt for BPA free plastic bottles. My husband and I are both pretty clumsy so I can see us breaking glass bottles very easily. Fortunately, the top 6 manufacturers of baby bottles stopped making their bottles with BPA in 2009 so there is less to worry about.

The top 6 manufacturers of baby bottles are:

Philips Avent - You can get a 3 pack of 4 oz bottles for around $18 and a Twin Electric Breast Pump for $182. The bottles look sturdy but they are a little pricey.

The First Years - You can get a Bottle Starter Set that comes with 2 5 oz bottles and 2 9 oz bottles for $17 and a Double Electric Breast Pump for around $62. These bottles look pretty good as well, and you can get them with Disney characters if you'd like. The prices aren't as expensive as I expected them to be.

Gerber - You can get a 9 pack of 5 oz bottles for around $12. Although Gerber is a well-know name, the bottles just seem to be cheaply made. I'm not sure that I would go with Gerber for baby bottles but I might use their cups and plates during the toddler stages.

Dr. Brown's - You can get a 3 pack of 4 oz plastic bottles for around $14 or a 2 pack of 4 oz glass bottles for around $13. I've heard a few people say that Dr. Brown's is the best. The bottles look very sturdy and I like that they offer plastic bottles and glass bottles.

Playtex - You can get a Newborn Essentials Gift Set which includes 5 bottles, 4 oz to 10 oz, for around $17 and a Double Electric Breast Pump for around $68. When I hear the brand Playtex, the first thing I think of is tampons! But they do seem to make reasonably priced bottles as well.

EvenFlo - You can get a 3 pack of 4 oz glass bottles for around $8 or a 3 pack of 6 oz bottles for around $13. A Dual Electric Breast Pump is $60. I think that Evenflo is a pretty popular brand and the bottles seem sturdy. They are priced reasonably and again, I like that they offer plastic bottles and glass bottles.
**All of these prices are based off of Wal-Mart.com

I already have a few 'Grandma loves me' bibs since that's how I told my Mom. I also know that I will get a ton of bibs at the baby shower because that's just one of those gifts that people love to buy. I do have one bib that I bought to appease my husband and his baseball obsession.



You can get a pack of burp clothes at Wal-Mart for around $20.

Pink Burp Cloths

Blue Burp Cloths

I do not plan to nurse, but I figured I would show some pictures of nursing bras just in case. You can get either of these at Wal-Mart for $12.

Gray Sport Nursing Bra

Lace Nursing Bra

You will definitely want to get some nursing pads. Even if you don't plan to nurse your baby, you can still use these pads. They can be used with nursing bras or regular bras to avoid leakage. The worst they will do is give you a little extra cup size!


I think that the type of breast pump you buy will really depend on the type of bottle you choose. I am going to write a separate blog about the breast pumps, since there are so many to choose from. I will include all of the breast pumps that I mentioned earlier, all found at Wal-Mart for the prices above.

The last item on this list...a nursing shawl to cover up in public. If you plan to nurse, please buy one of these and use it in public. It's not appropriate to just whip it out and feed your baby in public so please be respectful.

Privacy Wrap

Watch for the second part of this blog dealing with breast pumps.

Next Topic: #13. In The Bag

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