To all the mums?!?!?

I live in Sosua, but my guess is that you will be able to get a much better, more competitively priced selection in Santo Domingo because all the stuff I mention is available in quantity in Santiago (and some in Sosua). My advice is, just don't get carried away. You really don't need all the stuff that people say..........

Clothes - Despite expensive purchases and gifts of clothes, my girls lived practically naked or in an all in one cotton suit for the first year of their life and that was in UK! Main thing for baby is comfort, not fashion! Plus they mess it all up and grow out of everything so quickly that it's just not worth it.

Feeding - It would be great if you could breastfeed (see the current thread on this) as it is far better for the baby and cuts down drastically on costs. I've done it myself and it's a piece of cake once you get into the swing of it.

Nappies - If you're using disposable nappies, some of the cheaper brands here are as good as pampers (I use one called 'Kiddies' in a lilac pack which they also do in a large economy size) but a lot less money, so just shop carefully. If you see a bargain on nappies, buy it up because it won't be there next time you shop! Babywipes were not recommended for me at birth. Both times my midwife told me it was better to use moistened cotton wool to clean newborns as the wipes could irritate.

Carseat - very important I feel, particularly with the roads and driving here. We got a very reasonably price one in Santiago at La Sirena (?). They're not great quality by UK standards, but far better than carrying baby on your lap.

Don't get too carried away by expensive creams and lotions. A bit of baby oil (any make) in their bath will help to keep skin moist. You'll need an antispectic healing cream (such as Sudocrem) just in case of nappy rash, but a small pot lasts ages. If they have dry skin at birth Nivea Intensive Moisturising Cream was recommended by my midwife rather than expensive baby lotions. I'm sure I've seen it for sale here..... and again, it lasts for ages. I've never used talcum powder as I just think it clogs up their skin. I just try to keep baby as dry as poss.

Toys - Babies can play and learn with the simplest everyday items. If you are on a tight budget you can 'improvise' with their toys as long as you make sure they're safe. They need lots of stimulation with bright colours, textures, different noises etc. A colourful mobile above their sleeping area is a good idea. You can make a lot of this stuff if you have the energy and the creativity.......who am I trying to kid.......I didn't!.... but I may have done if the abundance of shops available in the UK hadn't made me lazy......

Bath - the sink is fine. You do not need special baby baths.

Sunscreen - High factor sunscreen (50?) is worth paying for, though obviously it's best to keep baby out of the sun, in which case a parasol, or sunshade which attaches to the pram is a good idea, along with a waterproof cover if you plan on walking much.

Everything I've mentioned is available in reasonable quantity in Santiago so I'd assume that there will be an even bigger, better priced selection in Santo Domingo. Hope this helps you cut down on your shopping list, even if I can't advise exactly where to buy for you....

Hi Laura

5Hi Laura

I agree, don't get too carried away. Although we live in the UK, half the stuff we have is hardly used!

Clothes - just buy the basics, you'll be amazed at the number of gifts you receive, Josh has barely worn some outfits twice before outgrowing them.

If you have visitors coming from UK, ask them to bring packs of the 100% cotton baby vests - they are about ?5 for 7 suits in a pack.

I have no advice on nappies or milk because I am sure what we have here in the UK is probably far cheaper. However, if you can, give breastfeeding a try, given my circumstances Josh couldn't get to grips with it so I had to resort to the bottle but I really wanted to do it and am positive of all the benefits. You'll be relieved of all the washing and sterlising

Again, for the first couple of months we also used cotton wool and water to clean his bottom, its very gentle and just as easy to use as wipes, but I guess the best think is to look into prices first.

A carseat in any country is a NECESSITY, not only for safey, but the carrying kind are great for feeding and sitting babies in later on when you move onto solids.

Another thing I couldn't be without is a bouncy chair, Josh loves his, the one he has plays music, vibrates and has flashing lights and a play arch, but thats just cause I thought he'd love playing with it, to be honest when he was younger he just slept in it lol. Only now, does he appreciate the gadgets it has but now he is about to outgrow it because he's starting to sit up lol So just go for a basic on. It was great to be able to place him somewhere secure whilst I did chores around the house.

I use a really mild baby wash cream on him. I never use talc but have lots of soft towels for him to ensure he is dry after a bath. A top tip is to use olive oil for dry skin. A tiny bit goes a long way and the health visitors here recommend it above all the lotions and potions, they also tell you to use it for craddle cap.

I've got a baby bath ... only ever used it once! I use the sink, its much easier and also Josh loves taking a bath with one of us ... think they feel more confident and enjoy the experience more in the safety of mummy or daddy's arms.

Another MUST which no-one told me before I had him, was buy LOADS of muslins ... great for burping and mopping up little bits of sick and dribble, I never go anywhere without one. Really absorbant and really soft on their skin. When josh was first born I also used them instead of bibs by wrapping them round him. The bibs were just far to big

Oh and this may sound stupid, baby NAIL clippers or scissors ... Josh's nail grow at an amazing rate ... I wish mine did! I have to cut his nails every 2 days otherwise he scratches himself and looks like a bruiser :cheeky:

How many weeks are you now?

Em xx

Not much more to add to the excellent advice from Sharlene and Saskia, but if you can't make a trip to Santo Domingo, Jumbo in La Romana is probably the next best thing.

You can also hold a baby shower, which is a common practice here, and prepare a list to help your friends and relatives choose the things you need. Also ask around to see if people have any baby equipment they are willing to lend or pass on to you.

Baby books usually have a list of things you should have ready for when the baby is born, which you can adapt to your needs and preferences.

I'd say some or all of the following:
moses basket/crib for the first couple of months
cot/travel cot
buggy
car seat
baby bath
changing mat
a few cotton all-in-ones
terry nappies/muslins
baby bath towels with hood (2 or 3)
baby lotion
baby wash
talcum powder
nappy cream
nail clippers
scratch mitts
newborn nappies
wipes (or cotton wool)
cotton receiving blanket
cotton/towelling sheets
breast pump and bottles

How could I forget breast pump! Absolutely essential in case boobs get too full and baby can't latch on causing much frustration for both of you. I don't recall seeing any breast pumps, though to be fair I haven't been 'searching them out'. With the other thread on breastfeeding and reluctance of Dominican women to breastfeed, I wonder how freely available they are? Perhaps somebody else knows.

On subject of changing mats, I bought a surprisingly pretty, well made and functional plastic lined change bag from Casa Philippe in Charamicos (cheap shop sells clothes, shoes, toys and all sorts of stuff - these sort of shops are everywhere....bound to be lots in Santo Domingo). It had a separate little plastic lined and padded change mat and a matching zip up mini bag big enough for small nappies and a matching zip up bottle bag and it was only about 350 pesos! Bargain! I actually bought it for my 2yr old to take her stuff to school!

With regard to sleeping, I used Moses Basket on a rocker for first 3 months with both. Don't know if the rocker bit is easy to get here, but it was worth it to have basket next to bed and rock girls to sleep while trying to get some sleep myself. Also handy to have them nearby for feeding. Other than that my girls hardly saw a cot. I am totally guilty of having had them sleep with me most of the time, and I loved it! I know it's not recommended for safety reasons though.......just what I felt comfortable with.......never got much sleep anyway....

I didn't buy scraps of muslin for my girls. I just used up a stack of old white napkins I had handy for 'sick-ups'. I think any old scraps of material would do providing they protect your clothes and you can wash them easily.

Just thought of something else if breastfeeding - nursing bras! Again, with all the talk about reluctance to breastfeed in DR, don't know how freely available (if at all) they are here. However, I never wore them, thought even the nicest ones were hideous. Against all advice I carried on wearing my underwired fuschia pink numbers and just dropped my bra strap to breastfeed. I'm pretty well endowed and my boobs are still firm so I don't think it did me any harm....

Alternative Mamma of two boys!

The most important necessity for me and my child was a baby sling to carry your baby, the Maya wrap is great but when they get older hurts the shoulders, ergo carrier after 6 months carry on the back. Children don't benefit much physically or mentally from being confined to a stroller plus they learn more and you bond more in mamma's arms.

I co-sleep so no need for extra bedding.

I use cloth nappies/diapers during the day, (mostly naked) but use disposable at night cause i don't want to be waking up 20 times as i did with my first to change.

TOYS TOYS with is a very interesting topic - and i have experience to know how they can affect children. Bright colors,cheap plastic toys that break all the time noisy electronics, drive you and the child crazy - they are TERRIBLY OVERSTIMULATING FOR A CHILD, my children play with wood blocks, balls, i knitt little animals, they have wood animals, wood cars, trucks etc. if you can't buy them there are so many beautiful things that nature can provide and it does so well for the imagination, my children sail boats out of bark from trees, they build houses and forts from chopped pieces of wood, they form rivers, and villages. Oh don't forget the sand pitt. and let them get dirty and connect with nature. I also don't allow TV i want them to have their own imagination not the images of spiderman or batman and other cartoon caracters, because children immitate everything, soon they will act like these crazy creatures.
Read to them, this is the foundation of their education, even if they don't understand, sing and read.
Naturally You Can Sing has amazing song books which inspire work and play to sing thoughout the day, they learn from this.


You are their immitation, smile for them, love them, speak positively to them, do housework happily and they will love to help, let them make a mess, thats all part of learning. If you are aggressive and shout they will learn to do the same. Speak sweetly in their presence and they shall be the same.

My boys are amazing, they smile all day long, yes they are children and get roudy and make a lot of noise at times but they are sweet, kind, share and play very well with others.

MOST IMPORTANTLY BOOKS! READ BOOKS
The Natural Child by Jan Hunt
Natural Family living by Peggie o marra
The mothering magazine is a must, great magazine excellent info
You Are Your Child's First Teacher (Paperback) (EXCELLENT BOOK)
by Rahima Baldwin Dancy (Author)


this site has great books, i've ordered most of them, birth to kindergarden, and her audio's are incredible, i have them all! she's an amazing woman.

Bookstore

I don't think you need a breastpump, the more you stimulate your breast the more breastmilk you will have, if pump or the baby sucks the more breastmilk you will make so i'm not sure how this would relieve a heavy flow of milk, just keep your baby at your breast and feed it whenever it wants, they will have beautiful hair, teeth, skin and never get sick. But make sure you eat healthily, it's important what you put into your body because it's your childs food.

kellymom :: Breastfeeding and Parenting is a great site. AskDrSears Homepage is good.

I did use a baby carrier in the UK when my girls were tiny and it was great to have them close to me. I'm not sure whether I would have used one here in the DR because I'd just get so hot. I know a sling would be better, but I and my youngest daughter both get very hot, very quickly and the warmth of body heat would increase this. When she was 8 months here in DR I just used to throw a white cotton sheet in the stroller and let her lie on that under a parasol to keep her cool....

I found that the breastpump was the only way of draining my breasts of milk when they got too engorged early on in breastfeeding. Also, it was a way of expressing milk so that I could have some 'time out' now and then (not very often, I hasten to add!). I never really got on with trying to express milk manually. My babies always seemed to favour one breast over the other, so the 'least favourite' breast would become too full so that they couldn't latch on. Once I got into the swing of it I just remembered to 'swap' them all the time....

My wife is expecting again and we have been loading up on all of the necessities. I would check at La Sirena as you will find the prices are reasonable for goods made in the DR.

As far as furniture and such it may pay to get an ebanista to do it for you for items such as a rocker "mesadora" and bed "cuna".

You will find out that imported diapers and formula are very expensive down here so try to go with the local stuff. It will pay to do bulk buying in El Nacional as oppose to buying the stuff in the local super.

Good luck and congrats - may this be the first of many.

BTW - I'm not a mum but have done ALL of our shopping for the last 7 years with 2 girls and another on the way.

Chirimoya said:

buggy
car seat

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i hardly ever see buggies and never even have i seen a baby car seat. why is that?

Laurajane,

Congradulations on your present condition.

I've lived here in El Seybo, 52 kilometers from you, for 11 years. We used to do all our shopping in Romana then switched to Higuey for most of the things we need. Before that we used to shop in SD but due to transportation costs Romana and Higuey proved to be cheaper in the long run.

When buying things for a baby I think you will find the prices cheaper in Santo Domingo but not a lot cheaper then Romana. The shops in Romana seem to be about even with those in Higuey depending on what you buy. As our son is now 9 I have no idea as to current prices and therefore may be talking dung as it relates to a baby.

Toys are something I still have around the house from when my son was a little baby as well as a little bit of clothing. As some of them are still good after all these years and I will never need them again you are more then welcome to anything I can find around. If you are at all interested then let me know and I could bag them up and drop them off the next time we are in Higuey. Just a thought.

Nothing to add to the items already mentioned by our other members except make sure you are taking your fair share of vitamins.

Rick

dv8 said:

i hardly ever see buggies and never even have i seen a baby car seat. why is that?

Click to expand...

Do you mean prams or pushchairs/strollers? I meant the latter. You never ever see prams, probably because of the heat, and pushchairs are not that practical in most circumstances - if you're on foot and taking public transport they're a no-no, the pavements/sidewalks in most places are not suitable, and if you have a vehicle, you rarely walk anywhere. Some people have them for use inside malls...

I'm sure the bling factor will come into it at some point - just wait until the Merc and Beamer brigade hears about those EUR600 buggies that all the celeb mums use.:cheeky:

I lived in Gazcue when my son was a baby. This is a relatively pedestrian-friendly area of Santo Domingo and we did sometimes use the buggy. It was also useful when we were travelling as he could stay in it on the beach, in restaurants, etc. for napping.

Car seats might not be so common in your part of the country, dv8, but the big stores do sell them, and some people do actually use them!

Breast pumps are probably on sale in La Sirena, but a really good place for baby things if you're coming to the capital is Prin - there's one on Avenida Mella and a more upmarket version on Paseo de los Locutores (Piantini, between Churchill and Lincoln Aves.). The UK's Avent brand is well-known here for pumps and all sorts of other feeding accessories.

i swear, never seen a baby sar seat in POP. and i even looked as at first i was pretty amazed and upset about mums riding car and conchos with kids under the armpit.
now, whenever i see "mummy" holding a small kid on a concho i just say (yes, i know it's cruel) that she well deservs it if they have accident and a kid dies. stupid b**ch. no, lack of money is not excuse.

ps sorry, i've been angry lately, i am sick again and i had an injection in my arse. not nice.

Congratulations LauraJane, may your pregnancy and delivery be easy and your child healthy.

My daughter is 22 months old. I guess I still count as a new mom , and since you already great advice I will try not to repeat things.

I had planned on using reusable nappies when I was pregnant, the environment and all that. I spent over a thousand dollars in Kushies, and then my daughter went ahead and was born almost 12 lbs and none of them fit. I recently sold the washed but never used nappies for a fraction of the money.

Another investment I loved was a Medela pump (after trying two other brands), trust me, you want nothing else if you need a pump.

I bought very few clothes for my baby before she was born, a waste of money really (see above), after she was born I bought a few cotton onesies and almost nothing else, with the exception of a few cotton t-shirts (a necessity before the baby sheds the navel).

There was something I definitely did not try to save money on: a car seat. My child left the hospital in one and has never ridden without a properly fitted car seat. The traffic here is scary enough with a good car seat I am not going to even imagine what it is without one. Thanks to Chiri, she even has a booster seat for when she outgrows her (now second) car seat.

Another thing I found useful (I bought it online, but they are available at Prin) was a swing. Unless you hire an army of nannies you will need some time off at some point. Babies like (or more accurately tolerate) a swing for short periods. They are not suitable for newborns though.

I bought a bassinet before she was born, but she quickly outgrew it, so I bought (also online) a cradle that will fit for a couple of years. If I had known what I now know I will have skipped the bassinet altogether.

As everyone has said: buy what your child will need the first couple of weeks. You don't know what will fit and what s/he will need yet. We usually need much less than we buy.

Oh, I'd also like to add that buying an expensive stroller is a waste of money. The sidewalks here are a disaster, save for a few spots here and there. I bought an umbrella-type stroller for RD$900.00 and I kept it in the car for when we went walking at the park and Ciudad Colonial. I found my Bjorn carrier (inherited from her cousins) to be more practical.