What baby stuff can she buy before the baby shower?
Sunday, July 18th, 2010 at
10:38 pm
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what i did was, started a baby registry on target.com… even though no one has really bought anything off it yet, i watch prices and stuff, so when something goes on sale, i purchase it and click that it has been purchased on my registry.
she could also start looking into buying furniture for the nursery… assume that won’t be given to you at a shower.
clothes that the baby can grow into
She can get some of the big things like a crib and baby furniture now. Other than that, she can start a baby registry. There is no telling what she’ll get at the shower, so its best to wait on most of the buying until after the shower.
You can never have too many diapers. People will mostly buy you newborn and size 1 diapers so, I recommend stock piling the size 2s and up. Same with wipes- you can never have too many… as long as you have somewhere to put them.
Is she breastfeeding or formula feeding? If she is formula feeding, go ahead and get her registered on enfamil.com and similac.com. They will send some great coupons!
I didn’t start buying things until I was about 30 weeks. THen I couldn’t help myself. I bought things I didn’t register for like a diaper cart so, I could go ahead and have it set up with all of my other baby items. I have also found that you can never have too many clothes. They are so fun to buy! By the time my son was born, I had clothes even for when he was 12 months old. It’s fun to hunt sales and buy the cheap at after season sales! Baby wash is another thing you can never buy too much of. We also ended up buying extra bottles. That comes in handy especially when traveling and unable to sterilize bottles on the road.
clothes in the bigger sizes 12-18 months to 18-24 months, you dont get alot of these at your baby shower
diapers in the bigger sizes too, also wipes, can never have enough of them
baby powder, shampoo, lotion etc… all is great and the stuff you get at the baby shower doesnt last forvever so she’ll need at some point and time
It’s really early to be buying items, regardless of how well the pregnancy is going. She’s just going to end up with a lot of baby item clutter for six more months.
Nursery furniture is one thing she should start looking into, and she might want to start researching items for her registry; but other than that, it’s best to wait until closer to or after the baby shower.
I know babies are exciting and first-time moms get excited to start shopping for baby stuff, but I recommend that your sister hold off on shopping until she reaches about 6 months. The reason I say this is that even after the first trimester passes, things can still go wrong, and she still runs a risk of losing the baby. I was one of those excited first-time moms — expecting twins with my first pregnancy — and I shopped a LOT. I ended up with complications, preterm labor, one stillborn twin at 25 weeks, and one who was born live but lived only 10 days. Now I have a nursery full of baby stuff I can’t bear to look at. I’m now 18 weeks with my second pregnancy and haven’t bought a single thing.
If your sister is excited to get started, I would suggest making lists, doing research, and even creating a registry to get prepared, but not actually BUYING too much. An outfit or two and a few rattles or something, etc won’t hurt, but I would avoid stocking a nursery with things she won’t be able to stand to see if (god forbid) something does go wrong.
I bought tons of clothing for my daughter. Not little sizes because everyone seems to get them. I calculated at the store the other day and she will be 18 months next summer. I had found an adorable little outfit in 18 months so I had to get it for her.
Since she’s having a shower, she should save big purchases until afterwards. But she can at least start saving the money for them just in case she doesn’t get the crib, playpen, carseat..etc. I would suggest buying diapers( size 2 and up) and wipes. Clothes, as long as their on clearance, is ok but it’s kind of hard to "guess" what size your child will be wearing. The child could be very large or very small for it’s age. Other than that, I would really suggest buying anything right now unless it’s an absolute steal. Have her start a baby fund and put money away each week so she’ll have enough money to buy the things she didn’t receive at the shower.
big furniture unless you know of somebody that willbuy her a crib, etc. i would honestlky wait until after the baby shower bc i got EVERYTHING for mine, including a crib, stoller, carseat, play pen. then she can go shoppng. the only thing that i have had to buy are formula, diapers and wipes. if she goes yard saling then tell her to get items there so if she gets doubles, then atleast they were not too expensive.
you can never have too many wipes. seriously! we go thru a package a week. and hand sanitizer! we got a 1/2 gallon container because we were running to the store every week to get more! maybe some mylicon drops, infant tylenol. i got a TON of baby wash (5 bottles!) and lotion (3 bottles) and a bunch other baby toiletries. i got a BILLION socks (she never even wore most of them before they were too small!) and a ton of outfits (clothes-wise i have only bought a 3pack of white onsies & one adorable dress to this day!)
also, the big items might be good to get, like a crib, bassinette (if she wants) and mattress with a couple waterproof covers & sheets (the plush ones are nice! don’t stain as easily & feel so soft!). changing pad covers. nursery decor & storage. practical stuff that others wouldn’t think of or wouldn’t know what to get. and diapers size 2 & up. we got mostly size 1s at our shower & had too many! (we’re still using diapers that were given at the shower, & my little girl is 3 months old!)
Definitely size 1 diapers. My baby is 7 weeks old, and we have already gone through 3 packs of 104 diapers.
Wipes…get the ones with no perfume (hypoallergenic). Get lots of them, and don’t bother with the discount brands. They never come out of the dispenser right.
Equally important is a BABY WIPE WARMER.
Does she know if she will breastfeed? She’ll get some free formula from the hospital, and probably some from the pediatrician, but you’ll need about 1 large can of formula per week during the first few months.
We used similac advance milk based with iron, until we found out that Walmart makes a generic version of it (parents choice brand) that costs HALF as much as similac. (walmart $11, and similac $23). It’s the same thing…just clumps and stains a teeny bit more.
I learned from my first pregnancy, that you don’t need much. Get some onesie tshirts, and a few pairs of socks, and make sure you have plenty of cheap flannel receiving blankets.
You’ll get the following at the hospital (be sure you take it with you when you leave, because they might not tell you to do that): Digital thermometer, nasal aspirator, bathing scrub brush, comb, diapers, and maybe some changing pads.
They’ll also offer you a diaper bag full of formula and coupons, compliments of one of the formula companies.
It wouldn’t hurt to get a small box of gerber baby rice cereal flakes. We had to start putting that in our babies’ formula at 2 weeks, and it was nice to have some around. It’s cheap.
Again, they will throw all that stuff away if you don’t take it with you.
If she plans to breastfeed, best for her to rent a good quality breast pump from the hospital when the baby is born, instead of buying a pump. That way, if for some reason she can’t breastfeed, she won’t have wasted the $$ on buying a pump.
If she plans to bottle feed, I like dr. brown’s bottles. She’ll need a cage that you use to put the bottle parts in so they don’t get lost in the dishwasher. OR, if she doesn’t use a dishwasher, she’ll need a drying rack for bottles and parts when she hand-washes them. (It looks like a bunch of long plastic vertical sticks).
Also, it’s important to have a bouncer seat…..even more important than a crib! Our baby has a bassinet, a crib, and a bouncer seat, and she sleeps in the bouncer 99% of the time, because she has acid reflux, and needs to sleep way up at an angle….never flat on her back.
You won’t need this quite yet, but some valuable gifts that she should ask for are infant tylenol, infant motrin, and babywash (I like aveeno babywash/shampoo and aveeno baby calming lotion…it is expensive).
Also, I’d recommend the little pillows that you attach to the baby carseat belts like shoulder pads so your infant’s head doesn’t bob side-to-side while in the carseat carrier. I got mine at babies r us in the carseat section. (although babies r us is generally a real rip off…you can get almost everything at walmart or target much cheaper)
As for buying or receiving baby clothing as a gift, here are some suggestions: Don’t get any pajamas that have the FEET in them. The baby’s feet pull up inside and get stuck up in the legs of the pajamas. You are up all night untangling your baby from her clothes.
If you have a daughter, don’t bother buying DRESSES for the ages 6-12 months. That’s the age when they start crawling, and a dress/skirt will only make them trip when trying to get around. I had to give away all my 6-12 dresses. A big waste.
NO COLLARS! After one washing, the collars flip up in the child’s face. Unless you love ironing tiny baby clothes all day long, make sure people know not to bother buying clothes with collars.
Try to not buy clothes that have snaps/buttons down the baby’s back; when a baby lies on their back, the buttons dig in. (just a hint…if your baby is crying all the time, that could be why).
Last, you really won’t need a stroller yet, but you WILL need a carseat immediately. You can’t leave the hospital without one. I think we’ve used the $150 stroller only TWICE in the 2 year life of our oldest daughter. We gave it away…what a waste.
Best wishes.
You can never have to much of something for the baby. She could just put $$ aside then after the shower get what she still needs. I know I didnt buy any diapers or wipes because I figured I’d get that stuff at the shower, and no one bought me any. I’d say she could start buying things like wipes (can never have to many they use them for many months) onesies in a bunch of different sizes for the baby to grow into (I’d even suggest size newborn even though its says only up to 8 lbs, because my daughter weighed more then 8 lbs when she was born but they fit her nicely..they werent all loose like the 0-3 month size was.) Towels, washcloths (another thing you could use alot of) buy things like extra sheets for the crib, bibs, spoons, bowls, medicine, bottles (I’d say the bigger sized ones because those are the ones that will be used the most in long run), baby detergent, blankets, the main thing people usually buy for baby showers is clothing..she could buy sleepers in a bunch of different sizes, toys (like teething rings and stuff)…basically she can buy whatever she wants (she can even keep the receipts and return anything she doesnt need after the shower, even if its just for store credit because thats still useful.) Hope that helps.
My only suggestion is don’t buy too many clothes that are the larger size. My almost 2 1/2 year old still fits the majority of her 6/9 month clothes all the way up to a size 2T depending on the cut and brand. The only problem is that all of the pants are 2 inches too short and make really cute capris now. If you are in an area that the climate is mild, I would buy shirts, but not a lot of pants/shorts/skirts/etc until baby arrives and you see the growth pattern.
My son who is almost 4 months is the exact opposite. He’s completely out of 0-3 onsies, but the 3/6′s are too big. 0-3 shorts are fine, but the pants are still way too long for him.
Things I couldn’t do without:
Boppy pillow
swing
Playtex bottles with the drop in liners (no having to try to get bottles clean…just throw away the liner)
basket for the dishwasher for bottle parts
baby Tylenol
nail clippers
LOTS OF size 2 or 3 diapers (again, my daughter can still wear the size 2′s and so does my son) personally, I prefer Luvs and have never had a leaking problem for either child