Those who have babies already...

[Laura27]

...when did you start buying for baby, how much did you spend for 'setup' and what essentials did you buy?

 

[Gwen77]

We started buying, etc. once we knew that everything was ok (after three months).

The 'essentials' we bought were:
-bottles (if you plan on bottle feeding) and fomula
-Lots of burp cloth's. LOTS.
-diapers (obviously) and diaper cream
-bath soap & little tub
-plain white onesies (for underneath outfits)
-crib, change table, etc.
-Stroller & carseat
-blankets to keep baby warm in your arms

I'm sure I'm missing a ton... Anyone else?

 

[mummytobe_93]

I would say we started buying bits and bobs around 17 weeks when we found out gender. But started seriously buying the big things once I was 30 ish weeks.
I would say essentials are
Moses basket/ crib
Cot
Pram (travel system with car seat and basket)
Lots of bath stuff- cotton wool, shampoos, baby bath thins like that etc
Stacks of nappies
Lots of baby wipes
Lloyd went over board on clothes and bought up until 9-12 months I got baby grows, vests, bibs, dresses, outfits, socks, shoes, coats, snow suits etc
Blankets/swaddlers
Cot bedding etc for bed room
Swing
Baby bouncer
Sling
Breast pump
Steriliser just incase and a few bottles
Angel care monitor
Lots of other things

I honestly have no idea what I spent but it was ridiculous probably 3-4 grand?

This time we are being less ridiculous as I've realised baby doesn't really need all the high tech equipment etc so we are getting
Co sleeper cot
Unisex clothes baby grows/vests/bibs
Unisex blankets
New breast pump
New bath stuff and baby bath
And a new seat for my pram I have one that can go to a double and I think that's pretty much it.

I would say it depends on budget because it depends on what type of pram you want? You can get one for over a grand but then you can get some for a few hundred so that's a big part of the budget.
Also depends on how much you are spending on cot and doing up the bedroom etc xx

 

[starnicole]

With my son I was around 30 weeks when I bought everything. This time will probably start buying after 25 weeks.

 

[Lirpa11]

https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/pregnancy-first-trimester/2270839-things-buy.html

The ladies on this thread provided some helpful info

 

[greats]

I refused to buy anything until we found out the gender at our 20 week scan. Then I went nuts! Bought all the big items myself as well as clothes. Bottles and all the other necessities my family bought.

 

[DaisyAnne]

We started buying probably after the first trimester. I think we bought the crib at 14 weeks- which was crazy early, but I found a good deal on one I liked on Craigslist, so we went for it. We didn't get most of the stuff until after the halfway mark, but I did my research throughout the months earlier to figure out what we needed and what brands, etc. for the big stuff we should go for.

Honestly, before baby comes, you really just need to be prepared to:

Feed baby (BFing supplies and/or formula & bottles)
Change some diapers (I'm glad I didn't stockpile them much, bc I couldn't predict how much of each size we needed)
Keep baby warm (swaddle blankets, some simple clothes, blanket, cold weather gear for winter babes)
Have somewhere safe to put baby down (our son liked the bouncy chair, he never liked the swings- some babies are the opposite, maybe just be prepared to return one if it doesn't work out, and you really don't need a swing immediately IMO. For us, we tried and returned 3 different kinds of swings)
Have somewhere for baby to sleep (bassinet, crib, or pack n play, etc.)
Oh! and you need an infant car seat, of course!


For us, I did a ton of research and wanted to have practically everything done before our son came. It didn't happen that way because I was put on bed rest at the end of my pregnancy, then baby came slightly before his due date. But it couldn't have worked out better, because then once we had him we were able to buy exactly what we wanted to use right as we saw what worked/what wasn't working (like clothes. I would have bought all the wrong kind of clothes had I bought all of them before he came). GL!

 

[confused87com]

i have gotten rid/ lent out most of my stuff, as this baby wasnt planned we thought we were done. I seriously am buying the bare minimum, after having2 already i really know what money was wasted on. im lucky and getting given a cot , 2 moses basket type things, car set from friends, aslo i gave out my boy adn girl clothes to different friends. each still have them so will get them back depending on gender.
all i need is a new breast pump,
cot mattress,
muslin clothes,
nappies,
a few clothes to begin with, cotton wool...thats about it. I realsied i never used al the powders and lotions ( just binned them from the first two!) and people buy you loads of that!
i will breastfeed and normally co sleep so as long as baby has some clothes, nappies and a boob(or two) it will need nothing else to start with.

also its nice to have things to go and get when you are going insane at home

 

[Longl3gz]

I think we started buying stuff towards the end of my 2nd trimester.

We bought:

Crib and set it up
Dresser drawer
Nightstand

Then we didn't buy anything else till after my baby shower, which was 5 weeks before my due date.

Including the stuff we got from our shower:
Angel Care baby monitor
Infant car seat
Cloth diapers for burping
Swing
Bouncer
Nipple cream
Disposable diapers/one small pack of nb diapers and one big pack of size 1s
Shampoo and body wash
Bathtub
Bathtowels and wash clothes
Lotion
Receiving blankets
Pack n play
Infant toys (my LO loved all his toys, some say don't bother b/c they don't play with them), get a gym!
First aid kit (starters kit)
Crib sheets
Clothes (most were hand me downs)
Those mittens so baby won't scratch face
Bottles

For stuff for me I got nursing bras, breast pump, breast pads, nursing pillow, nursing top...

 

[tryn4]

I don't buy until at least 25 weeks. Then after I usually have a baby shower then buy the rest of things. I don't spend too much on clothes pre birth because I like to see my baby to see how big he/she is. I had a million 0-3 useless things because my daughter was tiny I had to go and get newborn size. She's 11 months and I'm still using most of my 3 month onesies. We spent about $1500 roughly on crib dresser bedding travel system (stroller, car seat, play yard ) high chair & swing. Staples I buy are pampers wipes bottles (I don't breastfeed ) receiving blankets and other bits n bobs but I get a lot of those things at my baby shower.

 

[babytots]

I tend to buy things after 24 week when I know that should the worst happen my baby has a fighting chance.

We already have a cot and baby monitors from my son and have bought crib bedding and a carry cot. so we just need to buy a crib, cot bedding if a girl, baby clothes, pram, sling and breast pump/bottles. Nappies and wipes I tend to buy with my weekly shopping so we have a build up of them.

Best buys were a bouncer chair and a jumperoo so they will be on my to buy list as and when I need them x

 

[mummytobe_93]

Also really recommend isofix for car seat!

 

[Tristansmom]

I bought very little for my son prior to about 30 weeks. Honestly, so much of the "must have" stuff is garbage. And the teeny bitty clothes (NB and 3 mo) never even fit him, he started in 6 mo clothes and was in 24 months before his first birthday!

The things I suggest having at home already:

Feeding - if nursing, have a pump and a few bottles at home. Check out a bottle brand with different nipple options - one size DEFINITELY does not fit all! If you're not nursing, don't overstock on formula - again, every baby is different and you don't want a whole pile of formula your baby can't eat!

Sleeping - I coslept, but I was also really nervous about baby falling off the bed, etc. so I just used one of those change pads with the curve in the middle. You can get sheets for them and I just lay it down on top of my bed and got used to sleeping with only a sheet and no blankets or pillows. If you're not cosleeping, I DO suggest having baby sleep in your room in a bassinet or whatever for the first few weeks. Way easier than setting up a crib, especially if you have limited space.

Going out - I love babywearing, but I don't recommend buying a wrap or sling till your baby is born. Then you can try a few different types out and see what works for you! Most shops that sell babywearing items love having moms test them out before buying. If you're not babywearing, I recommend a stroller that works with your car seat. You won't even have to wake up your LO to get out of the car. *** Note on carseats: check the weight ratings. If you think your baby might be particularly small (eg. preemie), you might want to put off buying until you know the birth weight! If your family runs to bigger babies, I suggest an infant seat that goes to 30 lbs or more. My son outgrew his (22 lb) carseat at 4 months.

Clothes: Don't buy much before baby is born, other than a few onesies/sleepers. They grow SO MUCH FASTER than you're expecting!! Also, if there's a buy/swap/trade website or facebook page for your area, babies outgrow their clothes WAY faster than they wear them out. You can save a lot of money!

 

[spunky84]

We bought a couple of things here and there. I only bought 1 item shortly after finding out, and a couple neutral outfits around 16 weeks. I wanted to at least wait until we found out what we were having.

We did a registry for the baby shower, but at that point we started slowly buying things that we needed that wasn't on there (though I put a couple things on there for the completion discount afterwards...).

I honestly can't even remember what we bought and when. We bought some clothes here and there, but we also had a lot given to us.

With this one we're waiting until, at the very least, we know everything should be okay, but not really until we find out what we're having. If another girl, there isn't much I think we need to get. If it's a boy, we need to figure it out.