When I was expecting my first child, I printed off one of those checklists that you can find online, and hung it on the fridge. I am a perfectionist, and when I was pregnant I was a crazy perfectionist. I made it a goal to get everything that was listed on that list. Du ring, as well as after my pregnancy, I began to realize that there were a lot of things on that list that I didn’t need to buy right away. This is a list of the top five things that you will not need to purchase before your baby is born.
A Crib:
I know that this is normally the first purchase that you make when expecting a child, at least it was mine. However, my daughter is four months old now, and she has never slept in her crib. She has slept in her bassinet every night since she has came home, and she will continue to, until she can roll over.
Stroller:
When we were expecting, people would ask us when we were going to buy a stroller, and our answer was, “When are we going to use one”. Our daughter is four months old and we have never needed to use a stroller, every where we go, we usually carry her, or keep her in her car seat. This is not something that you will need right away. For the first few months, you won’t really have time to go or do anything anyway.
Crib Toys:
For the first few months of your child’s life they don’t really focus on anything. You won’t need to purchase these until they are at least a couple months old.
Swing:
This is actually one of the very last things that I purchased. My baby did not like being in it until she was two months old.
Breast Pump:
I was planning on breast feeding, and had on my list to purchase a breast pump along with every thing to go with it. At the very last minute, my husband and I decided to wait, just to make sure that I could breast feed. I am thankful that we did, because I was unable to breast feed my child.
Newborn Diapers:
On this one, we made the honest mistake of purchasing too much. My baby was born premature, but she weighed 7lbs, so we did not need to use newborn diapers for very long. My husband and I took back around six packages of these to the store.
When planning for your new bundle of joy, just take a minute to sit back and think about things that you will not need right away. Having a baby is expensive, but if you buy things as you need them, or when you have the money, it will make the transition into parenthood less stressful, and easier on your wallet.