So, uh, babies

[Tyche]

I was praying to all that was holy that Ivve was pregnant. Damn the disappointment.

A few things.

If you are going for cloth diapers, gt the "Bum Genius" diapers. They grow with the baby and they are fucking amazing. She'll need a lot though, like 25 of them, and they aren't cheap. A newborn will go through upwards of 10 diapers a day.

Even if she does go cloth, she'll want to get some regular diapers to have in case of an emergency. I built this for a friends baby shower...

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...2009_001-1.jpg

I forgot how many diapers I used, but it was like 100 or something. You can also stick lotions, nipple creams, bath wash, etc in the cake.

Also, don't buy a diaper genie. They use proprietary bags that are absurdly overpriced. Buy a diaper champ if you go that route, they can use regular trash bags. None of them work that damn great though.

Little stuff that you can buy that's good to have...

Bumbo seat
Gift Cert. to photography studio
Video baby monitoring system
Some type of night light
some kind of music device that shuts off automatically the baby can sleep to
An electric breast pump (if she doesn't have one, they are pretty expensive)
Breast feeding bras (often overlooked)
A breast feeding cover

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

edit: If you're going expensive, an electric breast pump is a must have if noone is getting her one.

[Kiro]

A man.

[Sekundes]

Even though she may not have a car the stroller car seat combo is about what you wanted to pay and it will probably be the most help as no one else is going to be getting that. In the event where a friend or family may drive her somewhere she will need some form of carseat, I've seen far too often poor parents driving around holding their kids in the front seat. It would seem a good choice to me.

I wasn't ever a fan of forumla but if your kid decides they like to use the teeth it's an option, but basically baby eats what mommy does if she eats well they will but for a paranoid new mother who believes anything she hears and is broke that isn't likely.

[Ivve]

I was praying to all that was holy that Ivve was pregnant. Damn the disappointment.

I know, I know. As you may have inferred, I still find babies repulsive, horrible, and a terrible imposition that I have no plans to bring into my life. Sorry to disappoint. Still, thank you for the suggestions! I'll look up the diapers and I'm praying they're organic enough to meet her exceptionally high pregnant teen standards.

Did you make those tiers out of corrugated cardboard or something else? What's supporting each tier? A craft-esque project isn't out of the question but I've only got about a day and a half. Looks very pro though; really visually interesting and festive. Even though I am hating her and her stupid fucking decisions every second of every day right now, I don't want her to actually catch onto that.

Not sure on the formula suggestions. Even though they're a good idea and I can see the use, I'm not sure what the best option would be for the baby so I think I'll leave that selection up to her and hope she doesn't vegan the little fucker to death. Bottle warmer seems like a fantastic idea to go along with the breast pump and other breastfeeding-related items. What's the benefit to an electric breast pump vs. a manual one?

Are there any particular bouncy chairs or "baby capturing devices" that you recommend? Also, what exactly is a baby capturing device?

I'm going to take a trip directly to several baby stores and just look around and see what else I could add with the suggestions given. Is there anything other than clothes that people would advise against buying? Anything known to be incredibly annoying either to listen to or put together? Anything that's a known strangling/choking/other type of horrific death hazard?

[aurik]

Anything that's a known strangling/choking/other type of horrific death hazard?

So cold, but I guess it would get your point across to the pregnant teen.

[Karshe]

Headed out the door from work, but here's a bouncy chair similar to what we used: (sorry, I'm a noob and don't know how to imbed the picture).

http://www.best-baby-guide.com/Best_...uncy_Chair.bmp

You can put the baby in it while you need to do things around the house (sometimes just mother being in eye sight is enough to relax the baby), and you can rock the baby with your foot if you're preoccupied with something else. It worked really well for us, until our son learned to sit up.

[Seraph]

BABIES! THEY'RE BAAABIIIES! AUGH!

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/b...t-shredder.jpg



I can't really offer advice based on how picky the mother is. The baby bouncer seat is a fantastic idea since she sounds like she won't be leaving the house very much in those first few months/years. >_>;;;;

[Tyche]

Imagine giving your husband a handjob for 30 minutes. 15 minutes per hand. Now imagine having a machine that does it for you...that's the difference between a manual and an electric. Electric is faster and a hell of a lot easier to use. Don't go cheap though, get a good one.

As for the diaper cake, I cut white corrugated sheets down. 3 layers. It's supported by 15oz(I think?) lotion and bath wash bottles. I made that one in about 3 hours, as I procrastinated. Longest time investment is tying all the diapers with ribbons. It would have looked a hell of a lot better if I had more time. You can make them look pretty amazing and they double as a nice centerpeice for a shower.

Don't get toys or clothes. They'll have plenty. Bath toys are a maybe, some people overlook those, but kids love em.

[Sekundes]

Are there any particular bouncy chairs or "baby capturing devices" that you recommend? Also, what exactly is a baby capturing device?

This is one my wife loved, very useful especially on your back if your feeding a kid. It's just a shaped pillow that makes it easier to hold them and for various other uses.

Infant Pillow Support - Breatfeeding Pillow - Baby Nursing Pillow - Boppy Pillow

[Tyche]

Oh yeah, boppy's are pretty sweet too.

[thatwasnifty]

3. She's a conspiracy theorist hippie with typical alarmist instincts (e.g. she believes everything she reads about every little thing that can potentially go wrong and is convinced it will all happen -- she wouldn't even eat fucking peanut butter at my house even though the jar I had was bought long before the recall and I think that shit's over now.), so she's insisting on the most organic and/or sanitary bullshit available to babies. Not that anyone in her position has the right to be choosy and her audacity actually offends me, but I don't want to buy her something she just won't use.

The MMR vaccine.

[EckoGecko]

How about a "How to take care of a baby" book. hahahaaa

[Velgadess]

vibrator to keep her busy so she doesn't become a baby factory

doesn't always work.

[Stumblingdrunk]

A Diaper Service
the best thing you could possibly give her if she's using cloth and one is available in your area. Pay for a certain amount of time. Once a week they will pick up and drop off diapers, the service will launder them. It is a godsend.

[Vigilia]

Not sure on the formula suggestions. Even though they're a good idea and I can see the use, I'm not sure what the best option would be for the baby so I think I'll leave that selection up to her and hope she doesn't vegan the little fucker to death. Bottle warmer seems like a fantastic idea to go along with the breast pump and other breastfeeding-related items. What's the benefit to an electric breast pump vs. a manual one?

Aye, problem with buying formula milk stuffs as a present is that you need to research it first, lot of mums seem to have borderline religious beliefs that brand A is better than brand B and letting your kid have brand C is a horrible thing to do. (I don't understand it myself but I gave up long time ago on trying to understand other women) If your friend's a vegan don't worry, there's lot of perfectly good soya-based formula milks out there nowadays. Normal formula milk is usually based on cow's milk and some kids can be allergic to that so going with soya-based one isn't always just for vegans. Friend of mine had to go with soya for her second kid because the normal formula would not keep down. For those reasons I would also advise against buying large quantities of formula beforehand as you never know.

The major difference between electric and manual breastpump (aside from the price) is that with the manual one if you're expressing a lot of milk you will eventually develop RSI or at least a very achy hand from the constant pumping. If you're just doing it occasionally or during the very first week or two when you feel like your boobs are about to burst with all the milk then it doesn't really matter. Big brand name pumps like Philips Avent are generally interchangeable- you buy the electric pump and it comes supplied with both mains/battery bit and the manual pump. Or you can just buy the manual pump for cheap to start off with and then if you do realize later on you need the electric parts you can get those separately. I got a hand-operated one first and by day two I asked my husabnd to go buy the electric one... so much easier. Takes like half an hour to fill a bottle of milk so it's well worth it. But again, you won't really know beforehand wheter you will need a pump a lot or not.

Some of the better gift ideas have already been mentioned, stroller with a car seat is always handy wheter you have a car or not and as long as it's easily collapsible it's not too much trouble on a bus/train. Baby bouncers and swing cribs are awesome- you get ones nowadays with mp3 player docks so you can play lullabies even. Like this one for example:
Fisher Price DwellStudio cradle swing : mothercare

I don't know what a baby capture device is but I'm pretty sure this would qualify as one:
Bright Starts-Pretty In Pink Activity Jumper : mothercare

Proper Crib/Cot is always useful but again tricky ground, some mums have their minds set on blue/pink/yellow nursery and god forbid you vary from the colour scheme and get a wrong kind of furnishing. V-shaped or semicircular pillows are pure win though and you can get different colour covers so she can pick the ones she likes. You can have it behind your back or you can have it on your lap while feeding baby, the bigger the baby gets the better it is.

And yeah you can always get this in a book:
Amazon.com: Safe Baby Handling Tips: David Sopp, Kelly Sopp: Books

[archibaldcrane]

If she is that desperate, you can simply ask her what she needs.

There is no shame in that.

Well, she thought she needed a penis, and then she thought she needed to carry a baby to term.

She's about 0 for the century on knowing what she needs.

[Zilong]

Your dick in the box?

[Rockstaru]

A gun, so this wouldn't have happened?

[Dewbag]

How much do backalley abortions cost?

[Vekta]

chemical sterilization? prevent inevitable welfare dewler syndrome