Your Questions About Baby Care

The Expert answers:

We also have a Jan baby and live in Northern Ca- Honestly you don’t think that you need the winter clothes because it’s relatively warm- but you also need to remember that they aren’t as use to the cold as you/we are. When I had my dd in 07 it was 35 here- so don’t be surprised if some days get a little colder.

I personally always put onesies on my LO- not only do they keep clothes off the skin, they help to protect when they have blow outs, or leak diapers- Personally no leaky diapers but plenty of blow outs- Also in the 1st 2 months- you basically keep your LO in 1 piece outfits/ pj type- and a few outfits for special occasions or going out.

Long sleeve fleece are perfect and so are the sweat shirt material 2 piece out fits. The less snaps/buttons the better- you change them so often at this time, that zippers are best or things that you can slip over their head- I preferred the long sleeve- night gowns with draw strings at the bottom for the first month. Boy or girl-especially for night diaper changes- you just pull it up and you don’t risk waking your newborn.

I honestly never put my dd in anything short sleeve until April- for going out. I think thick cotton and fleece is perfect. I would say have enough clothes for at least 3 outfits a day-so 21 article’s of clothing a week- if you want to do wash every week. If you don’t 42 pieces. It sounds like a lot but if you have a LO like myself you will have to change them a lot. Between the spit ups and the blow outs- Also get a good pair of booties- Carter’s makes some nice knitted one’s, and Target carries a nice pair of fleece once. They are much easier to get on then shoes and stay on better then socks.

Since you should be putting your LO in a thick coat or jacket under the car seat- I suggest you get a nice fleece one piece outfit from Lands End or even Carters- then just throw a thick fleece or cotton blanket over your infant carrier for going outside- the external car seat covers are not recommended due to safety issues with the seat/when connected to the base/seat belt.

Your best bet- for ease of use for the 1st month – it 2 piece long sleeve top/bottoms, and 1 piece zip up outfits or one’s without a lot of snaps.
Also some stretchy cotton blankets- Carters makes some great ones for swaddling- Wearable fleece blankets are also really nice- some nights I would put my dd in a long sleeve onesie, long pants and the wearable blankets for bed- this was around 2 months- when she started sleeping for longer then 3 hours.
Congrats and good luck.

The Expert answers:

Try Craigslist.com, there is tons of free stuff on there!

The Expert answers:

If you can, it’s a great idea to hang the items on childen’s hangers and put them on a rack. They look really cute like that, and you can charge a little more if you inlcude the hanger.

I would group them by size first, then by boy/girl. I don’t know about the clothes you have, but some of the “neutral” colors may work for both. Let the buyers decide, though, there’s no need to mark “boy,” “girl,” “neutral.”

Write the sizes on the price tag as well, so it’s easy to do a quick re-sort at a slow point of a sale. Maybe label the hangers instead of the clothes, or if you want to be super-organized, use different colored hangers for each size, or size category.

For shoes, put them in ziplock bags. Or even better, use colored party favor bags. They don’t cost much at dollar stores, and the cuteness of the presentation may sell them!

If you have baby/toddler toys, put them out front so people will see there’s kid stuff from a distance while driving down the road.

Also, as a rule of thumb for yard sales, I try not to sell anything under one dollar. If you think something is only worth 50 cents, pair it with something else and charge more. That’s the best way to make the most money and get rid of the most stuff.

The Expert answers:

Are you actually looking for a book for the baby, or a book for the parents of a baby girl? I can help you with the first one. Look for what is known as “board books”. They are usually made of hard, thick cardboard so a baby can grab it without the pages ripping. They usually have bright pictures, or just starkly contrasting black and white images that newborns are supposed to be able to see better. Actually if you’ve noticed, babies like bright colorful objects, so go for the brightest, cheeriest pictures you can find. Most board books have little or no words, but this isn’t important at this age. The idea is bonding with baby. The parent holds the little one while showing the baby the pretty pictures and talking about them. You can even get siblings involved. Even a young child can “read” to the baby. A lot of board books have fun-to-touch surfaces with fake fur, sandpaper, etc to simulate animal pelts, or other objects. The gold standard of this last type of baby book is “Pat the Bunny” by Dorothy Kunhardt. It’s been around forever, and it’s still in print.
Here are other books you might try:

“Black on White” and “White on Black” by Tana Hoban. Features black and white silhouettes of common things.
Books by Helen Oxenbury. She has too many to list. They feature cute cartoon-like drawings of round-headed babies doing baby things.
Touch and Feel series by Dawn Sirett, for instance “Animals” (photo of cute bunnies on the cover)

Just go back to Borders and ask to see the board books. You will have a lot to select from. Or you can go online and order them. When you’ve got a collection you like, put them in a big pink basket (or tie a big pink bow on the handle). Throw in pink things like a small stuffed toy, soft washcloths, a bottle of Johnson’s baby lotion, and maybe some onesies or a little crocheted sweater.

As for the parents, I did find this on Amazon but it would be easily available at any bookstore: “Baby’s Own Book-Girl” from the Blue Lantern Studio. It’s a small baby record book, with a pink (of course) cover with pretty illustrations. There is also a book of quotations and photos called “It’s a Girl” by Ariel.

Since none of the books I’ve listed is very expensive, you might combine books for the parents and books for the baby into that gift basket.

The Expert answers:

Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Oilily, Lilly Pulitzer, Catimini, Ralph Lauren.

EDIT: And another one is called Strassburg, but they’re not so much fashionable as they are classic stuff, but it’s really comfortable and well made.