Buying baby stuff - Mum is trying to put me off

[LizzyMathsWhizzy]

I've seen the pram I want on ebay, and I really want to buy it, as its half price and I haven't seen it come up at all before. I've been looking for a couple of weeks, and I can't find any discounts anywhere else. This comes with loads of extras, so I'm finding it hard to resist the temptation. Its in a convenient place for me to pick it up, so I don't see any reason not to buy it now. I'm 23 weeks, and my mum is trying really hard to stop me, I know she just doesn't want me to get carried away, but the way I see it, things are unlikely to go wrong at this stage, and certainly no more likely in 6 weeks. I always said I wanted to get everything by the end of the school holidays anyway, so whats the difference?

What I'm really asking is, does anyone have any superstitions about buying stuff before a certain date/milestone, and when did you all buy the necessaries?

I mean its not like I'm buying nappies!

[CBear6]

I started buying things once I'd had my 20 week scan. I ordered my pushchair the day after my 12 week scan because it was on special offer.

I don't believe in superstitions about not having baby things in the house before the birth, there's no fact to them and it makes no difference to the outcome of the pregnancy. I have a DS who was roughly 16 months old when I conceived (he's 2 next month) so my house is already full of baby stuff - how does that work if it's bad luck to have baby things?

If you want to start buying things then start. The way I see it by starting early it's easier to spread the cost and you know you're unlikely to be caught off-guard by baby arriving before you're fully ready.

I'm starting to buy in nappies this week :o

[ToriaPumpkinPasty]

We bought our car seat at 18 weeks, pram at 22 weeks, DH is making the cot and has been since 16 weeks and I currently have a baby bath full of clothes/blankets etc waiting to be washed.

We have had a few people, most notably the MIL, telling us it's bad luck but the way I look at it is what are we to do if we have a second child. Have it all taken away again?

Oh, and I've had nappies in since about 13 weeks as I got a voucher in my first Bounty pack

[ineedalcohol]

Hi,

I brought my pram at 23 weeks, that too was on offer, me and DH had huge row in shop me mainly saying it was too early, then I stormed out, realised it was a good offer then ordered it online and found a discount code and had even more money off! (Told DH later I knew there was an offer online, so I wasnt wrong )

The way I see things anything can go wrong right up to birthdate, and its very unlikely you wouldnt have brought anything by then!

If it's that good an offer then just buy it!

[moomin156]

The superstition is often abouthaving a pram in the house. Would she keepit for you or do you have a friend that would put it in their garage for you. My dd was born at 29weeks and the stress of having to then buy everything was worse than having it in the house before hand

[Isthreetoomany]

I bought things from around about 23/24 weeks too, certainly anything big that has a time limited discount. My mum didn't like it much either, but in the end she was happy to keep the items at her house, as her superstitious brain was happy as long as I hadn't actually de-boxed them and set them up in the baby's room. Could try suggesting some kind of compromise along those lines?

[LizzyMathsWhizzy]

Thanks for the responses ladies, I feel a lot more normal now! I'm going to buy the pram for sure, its too good an opportunity to miss. I will talk to my mum, and she can keep it at her house if it means that much to her, that's a good idea as a compromise.

Its odd because my mum is not generally a superstitious person. My aunt did have a baby who died at one day old of meningitis contracted in the hospital, so I (and my mum) are very aware that things can still go wrong, but I am not leaving buying stuff until the baby is home just in case, I can't imagine the stress!

[Eskarina]

Buy the pram! We left ours on the late side (ordered it at 32 weeks as John Lewis assured me they'd have stock within the week, didn't get it til 35 weeks when I was getting jittery about not having a car seat on hand)
And unless you live with your mum what on earth does it have to do with her?

[ToriaPumpkinPasty]

Oh, as a follow up to Eskarina's story, friends of ours decided to leave it until after 30 weeks to order their travel system. Their DD was born two days before her due date and due to similar issues with John Lewis they had no car seat to bring her home! So yes, being organised infinitely preferable IMO

[FakePlasticTrees]

Oh buy it! My parents were similarly rediculous trying to convince me to get nothing and they would go out (picking everything!) and get all I needed after the baby arrived/before I came home - I pointed out to them as kindly as I could that a) these days you aren't in hospital for 10 days, sometimes not even 10 hours, that's not a lot of time to go shopping in, b) my DS was due around Christmas, it would be snowing (it was) and they would be trying to shop for essentials in the start of the sales/on bank holidays c) if I didn't have a car seat I couldn't go home and d) I knew what I wanted, it was my money, they could bugger off and let me get on line and get it all ordered.

If it will make her happier, can you promise to keep it in the garage/shed before the baby arrives so it's not 'in the house'?

[eaglewings]

Buying a pram and having it in the house will make no difference to your baby, but will leave space free in your mind to think about other things even if does not leave space in your nursery!

So many babies are born safely months after the pram has been brought home.

[babylove80]

I am really superstitious. I think it's fine to buy after 20 week scan but I kept things in the garage or boot of my car till about 34 weeks. Maybe your mum could keep the pram at hers till later on in the pregnancy...I just think it's better just to keep it out the home as long as possible, but that's just me x

[goodnightmoon]

ugh, i hate superstitions like that! as if it's going to soften the blow of a tragedy that at least the pram wasn't in the house.

[wompoopigeon]

Buy it.
I listened to my superstitious mother. Went to an NCT sale at 25 weeks and saw all the stuff I wanted. In her wisdom, she decided 30 weeks was the magic number, so walked behind me all the time muttering about bad luck. I didn't buy anything. Cue me at 30 weeks having to buy it all full price in John Lewis, and DH hadn't evenhad a chance to build the crib when DD arrived early.

[FakePlasticTrees]

BTW - do you think when you have a second DC you throw it all out and don't bring baby stuff back in to the house until they arrive? Sod waiting until 30 weeks, the pram will be in the house before the DC2 is concieved.

[msbuggywinkle]

The superstitions are daft. I don't get anything until 20 weeks ish because sooner than that and it sits around annoying me, but I get everything done by 35 weeks because DD1 was early and we weren't ready!

[ToriaPumpkinPasty]

Did you know it's also supposedly bad luck to wash a baby's head for the first twelve months, babies born with teeth will grow up to be selfish, a baby born between the old and new moon will die young, if you cut their nails before twelve months they will grow up to be a thief and if a newborn sees it's reflection in a mirror before twelve months they will die?

Just a few of the superstitions I found when looking early on...

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

Buy the pram. I've got a house full of stuff from dd including two prams in my dining room. If there was anything in the superstition, all second time + would be buggered!

[notcitrus]

My BIL told us not to buy anything until 7 months - on the grounds that that's when random friends/neighbours/people who've met your neighbours and colleagues all come out of the woodwork and start giving you stuff!

Given that I was born at 28 weeks I wanted a few things first - and we got offered a lovely cot earlier, but we got very little until shortly before ds was born.

Have to admit that I've just been offered a lovely rocking chair with footstool by a friend, but having not even got to 12 weeks I'm too superstitious to accept at the moment!

[LoopyLoopsTootyFroots]

I bought lots of stuff quite early. DTD1 was stillborn. The double pushchair was a horribly frightening thought, and the in-laws had to take it away before DTD2 and I came home. Having said that, I don't blame the pushchair or my shopping for what happened!

[FairyArmadillo]

Buy it. I had no idea about superstitions. I just wanted to be prepared. Had the pram, cot, small amount of clothes well before my due date. I would have bought more clothes but our hospital at the time did not tell you the sex. I was really annoyed because I then couldn't take advantage of January sales.

[ellmum]

We bought most stuff after DD had arrived. I think we had a car seat and moses basket before she was born (bought a couple of weeks before). To be honest, it wasn't that stressful doing it that way round. I picked out stuff on t'internet, then sat at home watching telly and eating biscuits bf'ing and watching DD sleep while DH went off and bought the stuff. But if you're going to miss out on a huge bargain, then it does seem a shame not to get the pram now.

[Cattleprod]

The superstitions probably date back to the days where there were no scans, c-sections, proper control of pre-eclampsia, diabetes, pph and various other pregnancy and birth related conditions and problems, so fetal and infant mortality was sadly much more common.

Most people I have come across who have lost pregnancies at any stage have gone on to have subsequent healthy babies, so anything they might have bought gets used anyway.

Buy the pram!

[memphis83]

I got the pram at 12 weeks pg as it was £200 cheaper in the sales, but had to keep it out of the house until the baby arrived due to the whole family being superstitious

[LizzyMathsWhizzy]

I bought the pram!!!

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

Good woman! What is it?