Bringing Up Baby: How to Prepare Down to Last Diaper

Getting ready for a baby can be hectic and confusing, especially when it’s your first child. With so many choices, the dozens of decisions can seem overwhelming; every shopping spree a potential disaster.

For example: Should you buy undershirts that snap at the sides or those that snap at the crouch? Cloth diapers or disposable ones? Silicone bottle nipples or rubber ones?

And these are just the basics.

Expectant parents might rightfully ask: What the heck are “dry-downs?” What are they used for? And if you can’t live without them, how many do you need?

Dylan Landis has the answers. Her “Checklist for Your New Baby” (Perigee Books, $5.95) is a 109-page shopping guide for expectant parents. It covers everything from clothes to toys. It is small enough to carry in a pocket or purse; just the right size for shopping trips.

Landis, who was confined to bed during the final months of her pregnancy, says her goal was to be “perfectly prepared” for her baby’s arrival--down to the last diaper pin. By the time her son Ari was born, Landis had a list so complete, even her pediatrician wanted a copy.

The list was compiled from advice from friends, and, when Landis was safely able to get on her feet for brief periods of time, quick shopping trips to the best juvenile stores in Chicago.

“In this book, I’ve tried to do what most parents can’t find the time to do--navigate through a dizzying array of odd-looking products you never even thought about buying before, and then make the simplest, most economical choices,” she explains in the book’s introduction.

Every major type of product, including clothing, car seats, diapers, furniture, toys and more, has its own chapter and checklist. Landis doesn’t mention specific brands or models, but she does report on the best--and worst--features to look for when shopping.

Safety is stressed throughout the book, and Landis includes her recommendations for items that should not be purchased because of their potential harm to a baby.

Landis rounds things out nicely with travel tips and a list of mail-order catalogues. She also includes a timetable detailing everything expectant parents may want to do before the baby comes. “Even if you can tackle only a few of the items,” the author says, “they’ll make your life simpler after the birth.”

Landis describes the book as “the only shopping list on the market for expectant parents.”

“All of these things are for the parents, not the baby,” she explained in a telephone interview. “The baby needs love, needs someone to come when he cries, but he basically just needs diapers and being nursed. So these things are all for the mother and the father, more than for the baby. They immensely simplify your life.”

Among her suggestions:

Buy “enough clothes so that when the baby leaks--and they all leak--you can keep him clean” (the book suggests a dozen outfits for a newborn, including sleepwear); a car seat; breast pump and nursing shirt and “a place for the baby to sleep when he’s too tiny to sleep in a crib.”

Borrow as much clothing and equipment as you can from friends and family, she says, but “buy your own crib, or borrow one from a recent newborn.”

“Older cribs pose quite a few risks,” her book warns. “If you don’t know the crib’s pedigree, be careful.” The book contains a list of safety checks for cribs from the Danny Foundation, a crib-safety watchdog group.

If you borrow a crib and it’s been dismantled, she says, put it back together with screws one size larger than the originals to ensure that everything fits together tightly.

Watch out for needless expenditures, but remember, too, “it’s important to recognize the little places where you shouldn’t economize.” Two examples: baby wipes and thermometers.

“Until you’ve got the hang of changing diapers, buy wipes in boxes, not canisters. Wipes in canisters are thinner and cheaper, and require both hands: one to hold the canister, the other to yank out a wipe. Your baby will seize the chance to kick his heels into the dirty diaper you’ve just unwrapped.”

She also recommends a plastic digital rectal thermometer “which is faster, safer and easier to read than the glass thermometers you grew up with.”

Now, to answer that question about dry-downs:

Dry-downs are thin, flannel-and-rubber sheets used to protect the crib mattress from moisture and stains. Buy two. Dry-downs also come in smaller sizes for the stroller and the changing table. These are sometimes called lap pads or puddle pads. Buy four.

TIPS FOR NEW PARENTS

* Infant nightgowns are the easiest garments to open for middle-of-the-night diaper changes. For moderate warmth, buy drawstring nightgowns that tie closed at the bottom. For greater warmth, look for fuzzy gowns--sometimes called blanket sleepers--that resemble a sleeping bag with sleeves, and open with a zipper down the front.

* Buy petroleum jelly with a pull-off lid. It is easier to manage than a screw-top jar when you’re holding a squirming baby and have only one hand free. Apply the jelly to the baby’s dry bottom to help prevent diaper rash.

* Shelves are easier and safer to organize than toy chests, and are useful for years. Colorful stacking plastic crates are another alternative.

* Install a dimmer switch for the overhead light in the nursery. You’ll be able to change diapers in the middle of the night without the glare of a 100-watt bulb.

* A good diaper bag has a broad shoulder strap, three pockets with waterproof lining to hold bottles and a changing pad.

* The key features to look for in a stroller are: fully reclining seat, double wheels, swivel wheels in front, canopy, weight no greater than 16 pounds, easy steering with one hand and one-hand folding. Vinyl is easier to clean than fabric.

SOURCE: “Checklist for Your New Baby” by Dylan Landis