Buying baby stuff: where to start?
March 12, 2020 3:54 PM Subscribe
I am a little over halfway into my first pregnancy and have been putting off buying stuff because it all seemed so overwhelming to me but now with the words "coronavirus" and "supply chain disruption" swirling around in my head, I think it's time for me to get off my butt and start acquiring some essentials.
The problem is, I have no idea what to buy. Like, I know diapers and wipes and car seat and stroller and crib but do I have to buy ALL of those now? I feel like I have to because of the pandemic but what are the essentials?
And then even before the virus, I was wary of buying potentially harmful products from China, a lot of which I suspect is sold on Amazon, where I do a lot of shopping. Is there a review site for baby products out there that has recommendations or wisdom about types of baby products and where they originate?
The problem is, I have no idea what to buy. Like, I know diapers and wipes and car seat and stroller and crib but do I have to buy ALL of those now? I feel like I have to because of the pandemic but what are the essentials?
And then even before the virus, I was wary of buying potentially harmful products from China, a lot of which I suspect is sold on Amazon, where I do a lot of shopping. Is there a review site for baby products out there that has recommendations or wisdom about types of baby products and where they originate?
Onesies. Many, many onesies. You have no idea how many times a day you will need to change all of baby's clothes, not just the diaper. And buy three-month sizes as well as newborn; babies grow fast.
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 4:50 PM on March 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 4:50 PM on March 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
I just had my first baby and I bought way more stuff than I needed and regret it. You need a carseat and someplace safe for the baby to sleep. You will want to carry the baby in something. Diapers. You will need clothes you can nurse in if you plan to breastfeed (but don't buy bras ahead of time! You don't know what size you'll need). But in any case, not much more than that. I even wish I didn't buy onesies because I got so many hand-me-downs - will you be getting things through your networks?
I recommend babygearlab.com - their essentials lists are pretty good and all the lists are very thorough. I didn't need all of that, but it gave me a place to start.
posted by epanalepsis at 5:36 PM on March 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
I recommend babygearlab.com - their essentials lists are pretty good and all the lists are very thorough. I didn't need all of that, but it gave me a place to start.
posted by epanalepsis at 5:36 PM on March 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
Whatever you feel you need, do not feel the need to buy it new (other than the car seat). Wherever you live likely has a Facebook page where they offer free stuff. Look there. So many people are looking to unload gently used baby stuff for free. And you don’t want to spend a bunch on it yourself.
posted by fso at 6:37 PM on March 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by fso at 6:37 PM on March 12, 2020 [2 favorites]
You might want to consider getting a combination playard/bassinet/changing table and put off buying a crib for now. If you have a bassinet, you won't need a crib for quite a while.
I agree that a stroller is not essential. If I were doing it over, I probably wouldn't bother to get one until my baby was old enough to use a cheap umbrella stroller. My babies were much happier in a sling, and there are so many places you can't easily take a stroller (unpaved ground, stairs, small crowded stores.)
I would say the essentials are car seat, somewhere for baby to sleep, sling or other carrier, diapers, clothes, and a few bottles. Even if you're going to breastfeed, you may need to do some pumping and bottlefeeding or some supplementing with formula as some point (for instance if baby is having trouble nursing or if you want someone else to be able to feed baby while you nap or go out.) If you're using cloth diapers, you also need a diaper pail.
A nursing pillow and footrest were pretty essential for me. Normally I would say you could wait on those things but if you're pretty sure you want to breastfeed and you want to make sure you don't have trouble finding things when you need them it might not be a bad idea to get some type of nursing pillow now.
posted by Redstart at 7:02 PM on March 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
I agree that a stroller is not essential. If I were doing it over, I probably wouldn't bother to get one until my baby was old enough to use a cheap umbrella stroller. My babies were much happier in a sling, and there are so many places you can't easily take a stroller (unpaved ground, stairs, small crowded stores.)
I would say the essentials are car seat, somewhere for baby to sleep, sling or other carrier, diapers, clothes, and a few bottles. Even if you're going to breastfeed, you may need to do some pumping and bottlefeeding or some supplementing with formula as some point (for instance if baby is having trouble nursing or if you want someone else to be able to feed baby while you nap or go out.) If you're using cloth diapers, you also need a diaper pail.
A nursing pillow and footrest were pretty essential for me. Normally I would say you could wait on those things but if you're pretty sure you want to breastfeed and you want to make sure you don't have trouble finding things when you need them it might not be a bad idea to get some type of nursing pillow now.
posted by Redstart at 7:02 PM on March 12, 2020 [1 favorite]
Lucie's List is popular and well-regarded for this.
posted by Syllepsis at 10:31 PM on March 12, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by Syllepsis at 10:31 PM on March 12, 2020 [3 favorites]
Now, you can buy the legendary Finnish Baby Box online. That has all you need at first, except for the car seat. I wouldn't even buy the stroller/pram or sling/carrier before the baby is born. My daughter recently had a baby and he is so big that all the things they had thought they would do regarding transportation were turned upside-down.
If you are over halfway, you'll be having the baby in the heart of summer, which is great, and it means you won't need very much of anything.
If you know already you won't be nursing, you can prepare for that, but otherwise don't think about it.
posted by mumimor at 1:01 AM on March 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you are over halfway, you'll be having the baby in the heart of summer, which is great, and it means you won't need very much of anything.
If you know already you won't be nursing, you can prepare for that, but otherwise don't think about it.
posted by mumimor at 1:01 AM on March 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
Here's the googlesheet list I developed for my two kids for the first few months, and then circulated to all of my friends when they started having kids. We are minimalist-ish (also semi-urban setting with small home), but willing to invest in high-quality gear when it reduced labor and/or increased sleep and/or significantly increased happy baby times.
posted by Jaclyn at 11:15 AM on March 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Jaclyn at 11:15 AM on March 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
As muminor notes, I think the Finnish baby box, which the Finnish gov't. sends to all families of new babies, is very well thought out. We were broke, and didn't have a lot more than that, and it was fine. Used baby clothes have been laundered a lot, so they don't have any fabric finishes left, which I thought was a bonus. I liked having a stack of cotton flannel 'receiving' blankets, and in a pinch they can be used as an emergency diaper. That's also what I used as a bit of cover when nursing in public. A stack of cheap washcloths. Breast shells for nursing helped me adapt and were useful for milk collection, as one side will leak as you nurse on the other side. I used soft paper towels as nursing pads. Nursing bras are useful, and you might need the larger size already. We kept the diaper changing stuff in a basket (hand made by a kind auntie) and a flannelized, washable rubber mat, and changed the baby on the bed or couch. Diaper bag was a canvas tote bag.
People love to give stuffed animals, and I admit I grew to hate them; they take up a ton of space, my kid only cared about a couple of them, and my broke, frugal self looked at them as wasted money, when there was stuff we actually needed. Congratulations!
posted by theora55 at 2:23 PM on March 13, 2020
People love to give stuffed animals, and I admit I grew to hate them; they take up a ton of space, my kid only cared about a couple of them, and my broke, frugal self looked at them as wasted money, when there was stuff we actually needed. Congratulations!
posted by theora55 at 2:23 PM on March 13, 2020
We bought most of that stuff around month 8. If you delivered early, you'd dispatch someone to get those products. Don't need to panic.
You are correct in what you think you need. We never did a stroller (we just did the baby Bjorn thing) but you can get car seat/stroller combos so you just drop the car seat in the stroller. Depends on how much room you have in your car and your patience with finagling that sort of thing.Advantages to both.
But yeah, diapers, onesies. Sounds like a summer baby? Onesies are were fine for our kid born in July. There are also these fleecy sleeper zipper bags that are like a sleeping blanket with a zipper that lets kiddo squirm to hearts content at night. Those were really nice. Stuff that is easy on you is super important especially early on. Anything complicated is a no-go.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:03 PM on March 13, 2020
You are correct in what you think you need. We never did a stroller (we just did the baby Bjorn thing) but you can get car seat/stroller combos so you just drop the car seat in the stroller. Depends on how much room you have in your car and your patience with finagling that sort of thing.Advantages to both.
But yeah, diapers, onesies. Sounds like a summer baby? Onesies are were fine for our kid born in July. There are also these fleecy sleeper zipper bags that are like a sleeping blanket with a zipper that lets kiddo squirm to hearts content at night. Those were really nice. Stuff that is easy on you is super important especially early on. Anything complicated is a no-go.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:03 PM on March 13, 2020
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Some kind of carrier is essential - I highly recommend the Ergo carrier with newborn insert. I cannot speak to sling type carriers, but would not recommend the Baby Bjorn because it can cause hip problems for babies. You don't need a stroller right away if you have a good carrier. If you want one, fine, but you can live without it with the right carrier, too. I am not particularly a baby-wearing zealot, but transitioned right from carrier to jogging stroller around 10 months (and then still used the carrier).
I would recommend more flannel receiving blankets than you think you need. These get used for everything from changing-station-on-the-go to nursing cover to baby warmer to spit-up towel. They are invaluable.
I didn't need too many baby clothes. I got a lot as gifts and hand-me-downs and started buying second hand clothes. Babies grow so fast that clothes in second hand stores are often barely used. I wouldn't make baby clothes a priority if you are worried about getting ahead of supply chain disruption. Maybe hats and little socks if you live somewhere where it will still be cool when your baby is born. You typically want a baby to be wearing one more layer than you're wearing.
Baby bathtubs are fairly useful. So is a bouncy seat (I don't mean a jolly jumper or an exersaucer - I mean a fabric seat that they are strapped into and lay on their back in).
Think about what you will wear home from the hospital. Your maternity clothes may not fit, nor will your pre-pregnancy clothes. You will probably want to wear around what you were wearing at 18-20 weeks or something shapeless and soft. I wore a jersey cotton sundress.
By 26 weeks, I would recommend at minimum having a carseat and receiving blankets and a coming home from hospital outfit for you and baby. Those are the bare minimum. Try to have a carrier, diapers, wipes, and some baby clothes by 30 weeks. Wash all the baby clothes in hypoallergenic soap by around 30 weeks too. You'll want to have nursing pads (for leaking breastmilk) in your hospital bag. Get fitted for a nursing bra when your milk comes in, not before. I wear a 34A bra in my regular life and was a 38DD when my milk came in, for context.
posted by unstrungharp at 4:12 PM on March 12, 2020 [4 favorites]