As soon as your pregnancy the 28 weeks mark, you should begin to think about shopping for your baby. That is if you haven’t done so already. In the first trimester, if you have troublesome nausea, vomiting and other symptoms of pregnancy, you may not feel up to shopping at all. You will probably feel your best just before the third trimester, hence this is a good time. You can also shop after your baby is born.
How many things should you buy?
Babies grow so fast, and newborn babies do not go out a lot, so do not buy a lot of dresses, caps, socks and footwear for newborns. By the time you know it, all those items will no longer fit. Get a lot of swaddling clothes for wrapping baby or cot sheets as you may call them. Traditionally, white is the preferred colour but nothing prevents you from being more colourful if you so wish. Babies love bright colours.
Wipes and nappies
There are some essentials you must have, though. You need a lot of wipes and diapers, if you plan to use those. Exclusively breastfeeding newborns can poo up to about 8 times a day. You can imagine how many diapers and wipes that will add up to. There are non-scented wipes, wipes for sensitive skin, wipes without alcohol etc. Babies often have delicate skin, so it is good to start with those.
Breastfeeding equipment
If you plan to exclusively breastfeed but you know that you have to spend time away from baby a lot, invest in a breast pump and milk cups for storing the breastmilk. A breast pump makes it much easier to express large volumes of milk. Electric breast pumps are more efficient than manual ones, but remember to keep within a budget, since caring for babies is expensive.
Diaper bag?
A lot of women own diaper bags, but this is not an absolute necessity, especially if you are shopping on a budget. If you have a bag big enough to hold a few diapers, wipes, a change of clothes for baby and one or two feeding bottles as well as baby’s food, you are good to go.
Cot for your cutie
You may buy a cot. However, a lot of women buy cots and find that they do not use it. so give this one some good thought.
Mind the sensitive areas
Babies have sensitive skin. So you need to buy baby soap which is much milder than regular toilet soap. This may be bar soaps or bath liquids. Baby needs some pomade. Baby sponge is also much softer than the regular sponge so you need to get one. Get a good nappy cream to prevent diaper rash.
Other things to buy
There are other things you may want to buy, depending on how much you want to spend. You may buy separate bowls and buckets for bathing baby if you will not bathe baby in a sink (yes, some people do). Separate towels for baby, baby carrier, baby car seat, a sterilizer, a water heater or a kettle. The most important thing is to keep within your budget.
Ask for help
Your baby will grow so fast in the first few months. So if there are people who are close to you who do not mind giving out stuff their babies have outgrown, once you are comfortable, you may go for them. Just wash everything and dry in the sun or iron before you start to use.
Share with us how you shopped for your baby. Happy motherhood!