baby stuff

A bestie of mind asked me a few things on preparing for her newborn..so i might as well post it here so that she can refer to the very long list anytime..so here goes ‘gegurl’..




Baby clothes

My husband and I were very excited in buying clothes for aqil..we felt like buying everything that our baby should be needing..lots and lots of comfortable clothes..huhu..but a few of our close family members reminded us not to be too ambitious huhu..so actually..we only need to buy a few newborn suits..maybe 4 to 6 sets..buy more 3 to 6 month old baby clothes..and do keep in mind that the baby will be receiving more clothes when he or she is born..as presents from family and friends..aqil got more that 10 sets of clothes during his kenduri cukur jambul and aqiqah..and not to forget the mittens and botties..as for me..i bought quite a lot of them and had gotten quite a few too..

So; to summarize-

Newborn clothes : 4 to 6 sets

3-6 months : 3 to 5 sets

‘Barut perut’, lampin, towels

One funny thing about the ‘barut perut’. Huhu..actually..it is in our tradition that babies should be wearing the barut perut as soon as he or she is born into this world. Like my maktok said ‘takut masuk angin..kembung perut’ and etc. I remember one time when mak and darling husband brought aqil to see his paediatrician to check for his level of ‘kekuningan’ huhu..the doctor asked my mother ‘why did you have to put on this barut perut?’ so my mother told him about how that was the way things go for newborns..back since she herself had us..so..the doctor answered ‘i’m sorry but i want this thing to be taken off..angin tak masuk ikut pusat..pusat takde lubang..kalau angin nak masuk pun..angin boleh tembusi kain barut ni..babies should be wearing diapers only..’ adeh..memang kalah with his explanation..balik rumah cuba tak pakai barut..and yess..my son kembung sekejap..menangis tak selesa..kebetulan atau tak..i don’t know..huhu.. so..we as Malay mothers..let’s just follow the ‘rule’ hehe..and actually..i didn’t make any new barut perut as i was using my own barut perut when i was a baby..yes..my mom tempah khas and it was still in the best condition after 26 years!!kain putih bersih takde tompok2 or whatsoever..i was really impressed and touched huhu..and kain lampin..i bought a few just in case..and i used it for bathing the baby..before b athing..after i took his clothes and diapers off i would wrap him in kain lampin and took it off when bathing him..after bathing only i wrapped him in the towel..

So: to summarize-

‘barut perut’ : 5 to 10 pieces (bare in mind that during the day or night you may have to change the barut perut quite a few times especially when the baby mengalami ‘kebocoran’ dalam dua keadaan:pupi&wiwi..hihi)

Lampin : 5 pieces or one set

Towel : 2 to three (these are to washed selang two days macam tu after being used..huhu..babies need good hygiene!

Milk Bottles

The amount : well, basically..we’ll need two..one of the medium size (for milk) and another the smallest in size (for plain water)..two is enough especially when you are brestfeeding..but if you cannot provide enough breast milk for your baby..have two bottles for formula milk..as for me..i had quite a few as i asked my sister who was in the uk to buy some..and i also bought some here..huhu..but basically..as a start..two or three is enough..

Breast pumping

Okay..this is actually one of the things that i quite regret..we did bought a breast pump..but not a good one..one reason that my milk got dried out quickly was because i went to my induction course when aqil was 4 months old..and for me..if i had a good breast pump set i’d be able to pump my milk in the right way and my milk won’t dry up..so..for all mummies to be..buy good sets of breast pump machine huhu..insyaAllah..for my next baby..i will buy good ones..they even have milk bottles, bags, mini freezer and containers in one set together with the pump..

Brands for the above

For bottle..i so love AVENT bottles because of the big surface size where it is easy for you to scoop in the powdered milk..and the bottle susah nak jadi keruh..if you buy a set you will get two small sized and two large sized bottles including the bottle brush and a few nipples..die punye nipples banyak jenis untuk disesuaikan dengan umur and keadaan baby kita..it is up to us to suit them according to our baby..like my aqil..i am using nipple number two..if number 3 or 4 terlalu laju pengaliran susu for him..huhu..but always be reminded..mother’s milk is the best!!huhu..(my heart ache when thinking of my ‘disability’..i’m gonna do better for my other kids insyaAllah..)..and there’s also Tommy Tippee..etc..and if you are using brands like anakku ke pureen ke please buy a different type of putting untuk botol susu tu for newborns..the brand is PIGEON where milk or water will only come out if it is sucked by the baby..this is to elakkan baby tersedak which is very dangerous for newborns huhu..for breast pump ade Medela, Avent pun ade...make the best choice okay..tak rugi..it can be used for a long duration of time..

Cloth Diaper vs disposable Diapers..

Ini satu lagi benda yang i regretted huhu..i only found out about cloth diapers several months after i have given birth to aqil..so now..at this juncture of time..i am buying the CDs for my aqil..just bought two and the inserts from an online shop..CDs are more environmental and they can save cost untuk jangka masa panjang huhu..they are so awesome!!!so mommies to be..i suggest that you go for CDs..you will be pregnant for 9 months so buy a CD per month and you’ll have enough CD by the time you have your baby..no need to buy disposable diapers anymore!!Visit lunatots or other sites which offers the best price for cloth diapers!

Baby cot

Well..emm..i bought one and it can be turned into a single bed (the left and right panel can be taken off) when the our baby can sleep on his own without falling off the bed. and it can be used at two levels..mase baby kecik2 boleh guna level yang paling atas..when our baby dah pandai panjat2 sume lower down to level yang paling bawah..for safety..Some people does not like to use cots as they prefer to sleep with their babies on their bed..i used to sleep with my aqil on the bed and my husband on another bed when but only until he was like 6 months macam tu..and then i let him sleep in his cot without no pillows. It is not advisable to put pillows for babies not until they reach the age of two. Now and then aqil will get up at night for his milk and since he handles and holds his bottle brilliantly by himself since a few months back..i would just wait until he finishes the milk and gets back to sleep. And lately i’ve been telling my husband that i wanted to take off the panels and train aqil to sleep on his single bed..unfortunately he said that aqil’s a baby..no..no..bukan masanya lagi..nanti jatuh tergoleh..jatuh tingkap macam baby dalam berita..(walaupun our house satu tingkat dan window tinggi dari paras lantan dan ada grill)..bla bla..he’ll go on and on and i surrender..adeh..kate adventurous =p

my aqil's cot from IKEA

Baby changing table

Yes..!for my next baby..i will buy a changing table..why and why and why...?because it hurts so much when changing your baby’s diaper or putting his or her clothes after bathing time..my back hurts so much kalau terbongkok aje sambil duduk..so..buy one for your own comfort..i started taking care of my baby masa dalam pantang lagi so these things penting untuk our body in the future..huhu..IKEA has a good one..

Baby stroller & Baby car seat & Baby sling

All of the above is a must for me..some people prefer the baby sling than the baby stroller..well to be truthful..i find both equally useful for me..i will use them according to suitability..and the baby seat plays a great role..travelling back and forth from Pahang to Kelantan to Kedah to Pahang again..aqil can sleep for 4 hours straight on his car seat when we are travelling..there is a wide range of brands that you can choose from..i planned to buy a ‘so cool and smart’ stroller for aqil but didn’t make it a dream come true as i had one as a baby gift..i bought the sling (which i prefer most of the time) in an online shop..and the car seat at a store here in Malaysia..easy peasy..

whoaa...quite a long list hihi..i learn a lot of things from my first baby..hopefully i can do better for my second one..huhu..

*ibu loves you aqil*