When you’re expecting a baby, it can be really temping to go out and buy absolutely everything. After all, you’re never going to be able to go to the shops in peace again! And how cute are those tiny baby clothes?
However, baby stuff isn’t cheap, so it’s a good idea to space out some of your purchases until after the baby’s born so as not to bankrupt yourself. Plus, you may find that there are some baby items that you don’t even need so buying those would be throwing money down the drain.
Read on to find out which thing you shouldn’t buy until after your baby gets here.
Breast pump
Breast pumps can be an absolute life-saver for those who can’t breastfeed, choose not to, or like to share some of the feeding with baby’s dad.
However, not everyone needs to use a breast pump. You may decide that you’re happy to feed your baby straight from the breast at every feed. And even if you do need to use a breast pump in the case of difficulty with getting baby to latch, you may find that your health visitor or breast-feeding support worker is able to lend you a hospital grade breast pump free of charge. Or, you may be lucky to receive an offer of a second-hand pump from a friend.
After your baby is born, if you do decide that you want to invest in a breast pump you can do so. You’ll have a better idea of the type of breast pump you want too, whether it’s electric or manual, single or double.
Lots of baby bottles
Even if you plan to breastfeed, it’s certainly a good idea to have a few baby bottles at home before your baby is born. Even with the best intentions, there’s no guarantee that breastfeeding will work out for you and the last thing you want is to arrive home from hospital with a hungry baby and no way to feed him.
That said, don’t buy lots of the same type of bottle. Some babies can be very fussy about the type of teat they’ll take and so you may need to experiment with a few different brands to find which one works best.
Dummies / pacifiers
It’s recommended to wait until your baby is a few weeks old before introducing a dummy. Some babies need them more than others and you may find that your baby is quite content without one. If that’s the case, then there’s no point in buying one. Just wait and see if you need it.
Tiny baby clothes
Clothes in tiny baby and newborn sizes are just the cutest and it’s so tempting to buy them. The issue is, you don’t know how big your baby will be!
Very few babies actually need a size smaller than newborn. Even if your baby is premature and needs small clothes, there’ll be time to send your partner to the supermarket to buy some whilst you’re in the hospital.
If you have a baby that’s on the large side, they may not need newborn sized clothes at all and go straight into the 0-3 month size.
You definitely don’t need to be buying lots of pretty dresses or trousers and shirts for newborns. They’ll be happiest in comfy babygrows for a good while.
Clothes for older babies
Similarly, don’t buy clothes in older baby sizes. Babies all grow at different rates and you won’t know what size they’ll be in each season. They last thing you want is to buy a snowsuit that’s age 3-6 months but find that when winter arrives your large three-month-old baby has already outgrown it.
Lots of nappies / diapers
The same stands true of nappies. Of course, you’ll need to get a few, but you might not need any size one nappies so don’t buy more than a pack. It’s best to get no more than a couple of packs of nappies in the smallest sizes as babies can zoom through them pretty quickly.
So, there you have some things that you don’t really need to buy until after your baby is born. Some people prefer to buy hardly anything at all until after the baby is born. There’s not a lot that they need straight away. And you may be surprised at the things that friends and relatives offer to pass on to you once your bundle of joy is here.
This post was written by Jenni Fielding who is a mum of two.
You give out such great tips, shows just how much knowledge you have on the subject. Thank you for this!
Rose Ann recently posted…Things To Do To Bond With Your Baby
I 100% agree that you don’t need to buy a lot of tiny clothes. Most of the time friends and relatives give new born clothes as gifts and these clothes last no more than 2 months. after that your baby out grow of those little clothes.
I love these tips! For my first baby I didn’t buy a lot of nappies because I was so unsure about what to buy! I got loads of nappies for my baby shower and through trial and error using those all up I found the best diaper for my baby. When my second baby was born I was confident that I would be using the same diapers and bought loads and when anyone asked me what nappies I wanted I told them the brand. Then when my son was born I found that those diapers just did not work well for him and I switched to another brand. Thankfully the store that I bought from let me exchange the unopened packs.
When it came to pacifiers I bought some for my daughter and she refused them all as did my son a few years later.
Regarding the small baby clothing – spot on! Both my babies were born too big to fit into newborn baby clothing and all those sizes went to waste. I gave it all away brand new!
You give out such great tips, shows just how much knowledge you have on the subject. Thank you for this!
Tahmid Nowaz recently posted…Hello world!