Pregnant women especially first-timers are always excited about shopping for their baby but are not sure about when to start buying baby stuff. Whenever you choose to buy your baby stuff is okay and entirely your decision to make. This article is here to help you with the tips about the different periods you can buy your baby stuff.
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Before these tips, it is important to ask the following questions:
Are you in the early or late stage of the pregnancy?
Am I having a male or a female child or both?
Do I plan on having a baby shower?
The following tips will help you decide the best time to shop for your unborn child.
The Moment You Realize You Are Pregnant
You can buy your pregnancy materials such as pregnancy journal, bump milestone stickers, prenatal vitamins, and morning sickness relief. These are not directly for the baby but are baby related.
Towards The End Of The First Trimester
The end of the first trimester is around 12 weeks in the pregnancy. It is early to buy for your baby but it is interesting to know that shopping early gives you shopping relaxation, an opportunity to pick your baby items little by little, and even time to buy forgotten items.
You might want to go for stuff that is neutral for both sexes as you do not know the gender of your baby yet. It is likely you do not know everything you need at this stage, and you buy a lot of things that are unnecessary. You also buy things that you might not like at the later stage of the pregnancy, but this not so for everyone.
Many women would prefer to wait till after their first and second trimester because of the fear of miscarriage but this shouldn’t be because till the baby is born, nothing is guaranteed and you don’t want to do your baby shopping towards your due date. Do your shopping when you want to and hope for the best.
If you feel uncomfortable shopping this early, you can wait since you still have six more months to do your baby shopping. You probably want to buy this early but you are concerned about looking at the baby clothes every day and mentally making the pregnancy seem longer. You can keep them at a trusted person’s house.
Things you can buy in this trimester are the changing table, breast pump, diaper genie (1package of newborn size), stroller/car seat, and wipes. These items are must-haves, no matter the sex of the baby. Be very careful with a newborn diapers stockpile because often a normal (around 7lbs) sized baby will only use one or two packages of newborn diapers before you get into size one.
When You Know The Sex Of The Baby Your Are Shopping For
As much as some women love to be surprised by the gender of their baby at birth, some others prefer to find out the gender of their baby before birth. If you belong to this category, you can wait till around the twentieth week when the sex of the baby is revealed by ultrasound. This is a good time because you buy exactly what you need. You know the right cloth, type, and even the color of things to buy for your baby.
Beginning To Middle Of The Third Trimester
Older women or rather more experienced women believe that this period answers the question when to start buying baby stuff. It might sound too long a wait to build up your baby wardrobe, but at this stage, you are more human. You know the sex of your baby, you also know if you would have twins so you are most likely buying the things you know you should have and would like in the later stage of your pregnancy. You are also buying them in their accurate quantity.
After Delivery
There is some baby stuff that is better tested before buying them. By this, you know what fits and what works for the baby. Such baby stuff includes:
Newborn baby shoes: while it might look beautiful and all that, you don’t want to pick your baby shoes from all corners of the house. You might want to wait till after some weeks when you can buy a befitting shoe for your baby. Stockings will serve you better at this early stage.
Baby diaper: After week one, your baby will probably change to a bigger diaper size so you do not want to stock your home with the smallest diaper size and end up not using them.
Baby formula: You really want to wait to test out the brand and type with your baby before you stockpile baby formula because some babies react differently to formulas so this is something you would want to wait on until after the baby is born to know which brand will be good for your baby.
After Baby Shower
The baby shower is always done around the seventh month, towards the middle of the third trimester. If your friends are planning to throw a baby shower for you, you might want to wait till after the shower to know the gifts you are getting and what more you need to buy. You don’t want to buy something you would receive as a gift. Some are even lucky enough to have all the baby stuff bought for them.
If the baby shower does not happen seven weeks before your due date, you can shop for your unborn child. This is because, towards your due date, you might not be strong enough to shop for your baby.
Now that you know when to start buying baby stuff, start with creating an Amazon Baby registry to get discounts on everything you need.
When to start buying baby stuff: Final Thoughts
The news of expecting a baby makes a lot of pregnant women go the extra mile in purchasing various kinds of stuff, awaiting the baby’s arrival. But most expecting mothers get confused, thinking of the perfect time to shop for their little ones. Although different periods work for different people, you must consider the options provided in this article. Hence, it is your choice to make on when to start buying baby stuff, but ensure you have all the required items ready before your due date.
