i have a few questions. i will be having my baby soon and need a few suggestions.?

Question

can i use regular laundry soap or do i need to go out and buy the special baby kind? what about fabric softener?
any cute ideas for gifts to give to the people who come to my baby shower? my friends are throwing it for me, but i wanted to bring something special of my own to give the people who come. it could be something homemade or creative...just cant spend a lot of money.
also...just one last question...how safe are dogs and cats around a new born?
thank you all so much in advance for helping me. i really appreciate it! this website is such a great idea!

Answer 1

They say normal laundry soap (and especially fabric softener) take the flame resistant material out of baby clothes. I did use Dreft at first (smells so nice), but when I had to get poop out of clothes, it didn't do the trick, so I had to use Tide and sometimes Shout spray. It really depends on how sensitive your baby's skin is. Start with something like dreft (target has a generic brand), then see how your baby's skin reacts to being up against your clothes. I would recommend the scent free dye free fabric softener if you want to use that.
For gifts: Paper whites are these neat little bulbs that quickly grow and bloom into beautiful white flowers. You could paint/decorate the pots and plant the bulbs. A clever tag might be nice too...saying something about the plant growing and your baby growing.

Also for the shower, bring the envelopes for your thank you notes and have each person put their address on one...will save you time later. ( or bring labels)

There is a great book called "There's a baby in the house" which is great to evaluate if your dog had potential issues and how to solve them. No matter how good your dog is....NEVER leave the dog alone with baby. Its happened many times: the baby cries and the dog tries to "help" by bringing (dragging) baby to the mother and baby ends up hurt or killed. My baby is 7mo and is finally starting to grab at my cats and my dog. The dog doesn't seem to mind, but when he grabbed the cats tail, she turned on him and he almost got bit/scratched. I hope they both learned their lesson. Its scared them both.
http://www.amazon.com/Theres-Baby-House-Preparing-Arrival/dp/0971303304
BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!! THIS IS AN AMAZING TIME IN YOUR LIFE. ENJOY EACH SECOND.

Answer 2

1. laundry soap. This will depend on the baby. Babies skin is very sensative and the artificial colors and fragrence in laundry soap could make your child break out in a rash, itchynesss, cause eczeama, millia (little white pimples) and a range of other things. Some kids it has no effect on though. Its your choice, you could just be on the safe side and avoid the chemicals with a baby soap or you could go with regular and if she devlops something switch. Personally I used the baby soap for 1 year except for pretreating really bad stains, and ditched the fabric softener all together.

2. Just an idea, on ebay there are people who sell hand made soaps and candles (pink or blue) in the shape of duckies, baby bottles and more. They are usually pretty cheap because they make them themselves.

3. Dogs and cats are generally safe around babies. However that doesn't mean I'd just lay the baby down in front of them or let them sleep together. Cats don't really "suck the breath out of babies" or all that weird old wives tales and folk lore stuff. And they don't just randomly attack infants. I had no problem with my son and our cat. But infant crying can hurt the cats ears so she may get upset when the baby cries so try to keep her in a seperate room if this seem to be the case.
Dogs are generally ok too, however if you have a dog that has been raised to "protect the house" or has a habit of nipping/bitting then You may want to be extra cautious.
generally pets don't give any trouble until the infant is older and is running around chasing them and pulling their tails lol ;)

Aside from that don't forget to give your pet attention still, they sometimes get brushed aside just a bit to much when new babies come.

Answer 3

For laundry soap we just kept using Tide. Try your normal fabric softener and if you notice any rashes on the baby think about changing to the free and clear types. We tried the baby laundry soaps and they didn't work any better than our regular laundry stuff. I think you should just mail out thank you notes after the shower there is no need for you to give something out at your shower. Our dogs have always been good with our kids and i read somewhere that you should bring home a dirty diaper (i know gross) or something that the baby has worn, before bringing home the baby, for the dog to smell. Now our cat was not to pleased with my granddaughter when we brought her home from the hospital she checked out the baby once then after that every time we brought her into the room the cat would leave. Still 6 yrs later she doesn't want anything to do with my granddaughter the cat just leaves when she comes over.

Answer 4

The fact that the line came up so quickly just means that your hormone level was high. It doesn't mean anything else. I didn't know when my last period was either. I just guessed and they made the appointment for me. I was about 12 weeks along, though, I thought I was 14 weeks at the time. At my first visit, I had a pap smear done (it was a new doctor for me so they had to do one), I had blood taken and a urine sample was given. I was weighed, had my blood pressure taken, and was asked a ton of questions about my family history. Most of the visit was an informational visit. I also got to hear the heart beat. That made the whole visit worth it :) You might get an ultrasound to see how far along you really are. They won't be upset that you don't know the correct date. It happens all the time. Don't even stress about it. You can get books at the store to get information on what you should and shouldn't do. Basically, eat healthy, drink water, take prenatal vitamins, get lots of rest, and the rest will take care of itself. However, you want to limit the Vitamin A that you intake. It can cause problems with the baby. Otherwise, eat fruits, vegetables, meat, milk, water, wheat, basically the food pyramid. I didn't eat too well either during the first trimester. I ate small meals and often. I wouldn't eat much at lunch, but then I would have an apple as a snack and maybe even some toast. Eat a little at a time, but eat healthy. You will be fine. You can search the internet for information as well as buy a book about pregnancy. Just relax and don't worry.

Answer 5

Any kind of soaps (laundry or other) just denpend on your baby and his/her skin. Baby detergent is suppose to be more gental but I think most kids are fine with any detergent. I have also heard of people running the rinse cycle twice for little ones with sensative skin.

Dogs and cats are fine around little ones if you are there too. Feel the animal out and see how they react to the new baby. Take it slow and let them get use to each other. The new noise of crying may scare a pet and they may get excited. I was also advised to watch cats because they can smell the milk on the baby and will try to get it. Cats can climb in bed with a baby and try to lick the milk witch could cause suffication. So watch those cats close!

Small gifts, I am sure anything will be much appriciated. One thing is a cute little homemade card with baby's name and info with a thank you note;

This completely unique baby shower favor idea also makes a perfect decoration or centerpiece for your next baby shower.

Take a white, 100% cotton washcloth magically transform into a fun baby shower lollipop. Fold washcloth length wise in several small folds and then roll to become round, wrap scalloped edge white tulle around and tie with polka dot ribbon. Us long cylindar pop stick to add the final touch. Place several "pops" into a pail or vase and you have a cute baby shower centerpiece. Then, send your guests home with one for their favor. Could add a thank you tag or note.

Let's say you have good computer skills and a colored printer. In this case, you could make bookmarks, each with a sweet poem or saying on one side and the parents name and shower date on the other side. If you like, you could use a heavier stock paper or have them laminated at your local printer, which is usually very inexpensive. To complete the look, punch a single hole in the corner through which you would run ribbon.

Plastic Bottles or Glass Jars- It’s not too hard to find these types of containers. If you don’t see them locally, search online and you can order them in large quantities. Fill them with bath salts, bubble bath, shower gel or even baby powder. You can tie a tag on them that has a cute verse about showering them like they showered the mom-to-be!

Answer 6

I used regular laundry soap and fabric softner. Gift vouchers are great you can buy what you need, Hug vouchers are even better and they're free, We had a dog always around our kids before they were born. What I did I took each of my newborn babies and introduced them to my dog the dog sniffed them all over and was very protective over my babies. Gave the dog a bit more attention too otherwise they can become jealous. Cat are a bit different they tend to like baby cots to sleep in not a good idea. But my girlfriend had a cat and kept it away from the bedroom areas well before she had bub. She also found cat needed a little more attention too.

Answer 7

I always just used normal detergent and softener. They make some that are perfume and dye free.

You could make homemade cookies, candies, fudge, ect. and put it in a baby themed favor box that you can find at a party store

I have a cat and he pretty much just ignores the baby. But never leave the baby alone in a room with an animal, or if the animal could walk into the nursery when the baby's in the crib, no matter how tame an animal is. Babies like to pull tails and this could startle an otherwise friendly animal.

Answer 8

i would play it safe and use a "baby" detergent. i used the all brand baby detergent and my daughter did okay with it, it is not as expensive as some of the other ones. if you would rather not use baby detergent, then do an extra rinse cycle if your washer has that option. you want to avoid scented things because they may irritate the babies skin so i would not use fabric softener for a while unless if it is unscented. as for gifts for your baby shower, thank you cards are nice, i had someone write down every person and what gift they gave so i could personalize the cards rather than just saying "thank you for the baby stuff". it makes it seem like their gift really stood out to you. and about dogs and cats, it really depends on the animal. you really have to be careful with cats because they may try to lay on the baby because they are warm and could suffocate them. for dogs, have someone bring a blanket from the hospital that your baby has cuddled in and let the dog smell it before you bring the baby home. also make sure your dog is socialized to children, take him/her on walks when kids get out of school, you are bound to be approached by several kids who want to pet it. i have a min pin, she has done very well with my baby from birth.

Answer 9

I used Lux pure soap flakes for my baby clothes. Once they got a bit older I just used ordinary laundry powder. I did use some fabric softener in the beginning for towels, cloths etc. An idea for the presents could be some home made chocolates/shortbread in some cellophane. Introduce pets slowly to your newborn, be sure to give your pet plenty of attention and I have heard if you give your dog some of the baby's worn clothes to sniff they will get used to their smell.

Answer 10

You don't need special baby laundry soap unless your laundry soap is really harsh, or your baby has really sensitive skin. Also I would never leave a baby alone in a room with a dog or cat, even if they seem to act fine together when you do supervise them. As long as they are supervised it is fine though. I would just send people thank you cards in the mail afterwards. I don't have any ideas for anything cute though.