A few weeks into pregnancy and you find yourself wondering what to buy for your baby—this seems to be troublesome. First you don’t know what your baby’s sex is. So I suggest don’t go shopping for baby clothes and toys too soon, not until you find out whether you’re having a baby girl or a baby boy. Ultrasound scans can determine a baby’s sex during the second trimester, around 18 months of pregnancy. If you’re relying on chance, then you have 50% chances of buying the wrong clothes and items for your baby. For instance, if it’s a baby boy, pink boots aren’t fitting.
Choosing to buy items for your upcoming baby should be done at the right time, when you still can roam around stores and find baby stuff. If you do it too late when you’re tummy has grown too big, you might find it cumbersome to walk around.
Shop for baby garments in advance. Some pregnant moms do the shopping at least 3 months before the expected date of giving birth. This is usually exciting because it’s part of your anticipation of your soon to be family member. Since babies need a good deal of stuff, you may want a little help from friends and family. Shopping several weeks before the expected delivery saves you from much hassle after childbirth, after which you would be needing lots of supplies of diapers, washcloths, towels, rompers, nightgowns, baby socks, and blankets. Once you have determined the sex of the unborn, you can decide on the right color for socks and clothes. All these items can be bought weeks before the expected childbirth date, as these are non-perishable items anyway.
For first-time would-be moms, it’s important to come up with a list of infant must-have items.
You should also have a supply of baby care products at hand beforehand. Included are baby bathtub, baby wash (shampoo and body wash), and baby lotion.
Newborns feed on milk, and you cannot always do the breastfeeding, so you need infant milk formula and feeding bottles. You also need breastfeeding pillow, sterilizer for milk bottles and pacifiers, bottle brush, and even breast pads. You can opt to purchase infant formula milk sometime later as these products come with expiry.
Other important items you should buy well before giving birth are nursery stuff. A crib is basic. Otherwise you’d have nowhere to put your baby into. Also worry about crib mattresses and beddings, and make sure you have several pieces of these because you will need to replace them several times in a day.
If you think carrying a baby in your womb is tough enough, well, caring for a newborn is even tougher. But if you have everything you need before giving birth, being a mom of a newborn is going to be easy.