Baby shopping while ttc

[Nutfreepeanutter]

I think there's an old wife's tale about this but...

Am I crazy to start picking up bargains on neutral things while ttc?
I don't mean massive things like cots but things that'd fit in the loft/nursey to be.
Earlier I seen a starter kit of bottles reduced quite a bit because the box was damaged (bottles n contents were fine just someone's been playing footie with the box in the delivery room)
I don't plan on having a hoard of stuff either but I don't see the harm in getting some of the expense out of the way while we wait.

[OiWithThePoodlesAlready]

I think it's crazy! Sorry.

For one thing you never know what season the potential baby will be born in so half the clothes could prove useless.

You really don't need so much stuff that you need more than 9 months to buy it. An afternoon in a shopping centre is long enough to be honest.

[TheMidnightHour]

Don't do it to save money - it's too bloody difficult to predict what you'll need. Even when you have the baby you can't guarantee they won't skip a size ruining your careful shopping

Do it if it gives you hope or joy. I knit baby things for about 5 years before I had my daughter. Initially they were all gifts, then some spares in case I needed gifts, then in the years we were ttc they were a hope chest. I wouldn't get any joy from bottles, plus that sort of bulk adds up and you may not even be able to use it (we've been given loads of stuff that's been badly stored and gone mouldy). I'd buy tiny socks, a vest that highlighted a fandom or hobby, a souvenir from a holiday. Special things.

Finally, the cheapest way to get stuff is be given it and loads of people will be getting rid of excellent quality baby stuff. Heck, for postage you can have a load of mixed boys and girls clothes age 0-4 years

[TheLittlestBear]

I really wouldn't. I didn't buy anything until I was well past the 2nd scan at 20 weeks, and mine was a low-risk pregnancy. But if you are really desperate, you could just get one beautiful thing to save. :)

And the last few months of pregnancy are fun to shop with because everyone is nice to you!

[PGPsabitch]

I wouldn't. I did during my first pregnancy and when I lost the baby I can't tell you how much it hurts to see those clothes. Can't bring myself to get rid of them though even if I'll never use them.

[michy27]

I bought a couple of bits before I miscarried in April. They're in a cupboard with loads of things in was given. It doesn't bother me when I see them. It will just save me buying them when I do get pregnant again.
If I don't manage to get pregnant, then someone else can have them :)

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Small babies need you and a car seat if you drive. Somewhere to sleep and nappies. Is anything else actually essential?

If I had my time again I wouldn't have bought anything early. The only things worth a decent coin are my breast pump and my sling. And they were both bought when I knew I needed them.

[milpool]

I wouldn't. You don't actually need that much stuff. Sales come and go all the time. If you want to be prepared you've got 40 weeks of pregnancy for that!

My ex-SIL was like this, kept buying and buying stuff. Has enough baby stuff to fill a shop easily. And sadly no baby (already has an older daughter but TTC #2). I'm not saying this will happen to you, I hope you fall pregnant quickly without issues, but...you just never know what might happen.

Plus, shops will still be open when the baby is born! All you really need in the early days is somewhere for it to sleep, clothes, and something to transport it in. They really don't need much to begin with.

[enchantmentandlove]

Personally I wouldn't, but then we are all different. I definitely had the urge to buy things before I was pregnant, but glad I didn't as shopping for dd while I was pregnant really lifted me up in those times when I felt rubbish. Even if you don't like shopping usually, there is something lovely about buying things for your little baby growing inside of you I think.

Also, as others have said I would have found it so hard to have lots of items if I was unable to get pregnant/lost my baby. I actually only brought a couple of things in the first half of my pregnancy.

[SquedgieBeckenheim]

I did A LOT of research while TTC, planning what items to buy if we did conceive and how much they cost in various shops. It was a distraction, but no actual purchasing happened until I was about 18 weeks with DD. If things hadn't worked out I'd have been devastated to have to dispose of baby items.

[2014newme]

It took us five years to conceive.
I would advise against baby shopping until you are pregnant.

[StrongTeaHotShower]

Oh op, I understand wanting to but I wouldn't. TTC was crushing. Once I was pg I still felt too scared to baby shop till after the anomaly scan. Good luck with ttc.

[Poocatcherchampion]

For someone who doesn't like shopping you seem to be walking past quite a lot of shops.

[CharminglyGawky]

I found ttc pretty soul destroying, knowing that I had baby stuff in the house but wasn't being successful in actually having a baby would have hurt beyond belief. on one particularly hormonal day i almost cried walking into asda and seeing their baby event in full swing...

I'm about 21 weeks pregnant now, and so far I have bought 3 sleep suits. That is it. I have done research and am pretty sure I know what car seat, pram ect I would like to buy but I'm not rushing out yet. Other than a few things like the pram which i want to play see in store to make sure it isn't too fiddly or just a pain in the bum I am intending to buy everything online. I can do that when I am over 30 weeks easily enough. I can also shop around online and still get bargains... of course if i walked back into an asda baby event now I'd pick up a few bits!

[ImYourMama]

I started shopping as soon as I hit 10 weeks pregnant, there's not that much you need! I really wouldn't, there's sales every 6 months as well as baby and toddler events etc regularly - the bargains will come up again

[whywonthedgehogssharethehedge]

It is a very personal thing but I couldn't do it. I could not cope with TTC for months on end with baby things sat in my house. I wouldn't be prepared to take that chance.

Ditto shopping too soon, I MC at 9 weeks with my second pregnancy. I couldn't have coped with having things around the place and don't think I could have used them for another baby.

[Piffyonarockbun]

My dh and i did what you are doing. We just picked up odd little things when we saw them. Little outfits, a breastpump!?! and lots of other little bits. It made me happy to do it. I had 2 miscarriages and struggled to fall pregnant with those. I finally managed to conceive again and we both agreed that if i miscarried again then we would not try again. Luckily we had our lovely dd. Even through miscarriages and struggling to fall pregnant the little items didnt upset me. They brought me comfort. I dont know why they did, i expected to react the way other posters have said, that the outfits etc would make it harder but they didnt. When i finally got to bring dd home it was lovely putting her in stuff we had picked up as much as 4 years before. My items werent even hidden in the attic. They were in the drawers in the spare bedroom.

Do what makes you happy. I didnt miscarry or struggle to conceive because i bought a few bits, nor did they make it any harder. It was upsetting enough all on its own, the fact i had bought stuff couldnt have made it worse. I didnt buy the items to save money particularly although i did get a few bargains. I just loved getting the odd cute little sleepsuit

[OwlinaTree]

See that happened to me Cray and I can honestly say having all the stuff made no difference to my feelings of loss.

for your friend, hope she's OK.

[OwlinaTree]

Sorry to hear that Anna. Glad it happened for you.

[passingthrough1]

I didn't do shopping until after 20 weeks. Before then I busied myself writing a list of what we needed and comparing lots of different makes / models / styles. There's a lot to decide (if you want to spend a lot of time thinking about it) and I wouldn't bother starting now.

I second the bottle thing. If you absolutely don't want to BF fine, get bottles and a perfect prep but if you even plan on trying don't. Having loads of formula kit in the house takes up space and is a waste of money. Also BF is not easy for anyone and in the middle of the night when you're thinking "the baby can't still be hungry can it?! Am I doing something wrong???" Having the formula kit on stand by will just give you a reason to quit when in the cold light of day it's all fine. Anyway BF vs FF isn't a big deal, it's 100% your decision but don't bother with that stuff unless you know for sure.

[kierenthecommunity]

You might not even need bottles anyway if you decide to BF and it goes well. Nothing is a bargain if you don't use it

There are baby events on in the supermarkets every other month, you honestly don't need to start stocking up yet

[crayfish]

Me too witharms I have a friend who suffered a stillbirth and she said one of the worst things was coming home to a house full of baby stuff without her baby. I bought the bare minimum with DS, DH even had to go buy a crib when I was in hospital the day after having him, which was probably a bit extreme but he was a couple of weeks early.

That's just my view but even if I was more relaxed about things I would still wait. Pregnancy drags, it really does, and buying things can be a little treat on the long days so I would save it until then.

[Safarichick]

I wouldn't purely because when you are pregnant you'll not have much to shop for and that's the time where it's more fun. You might find you want blue/pink bottles so I just wouldn't. I'm not superstitious at all so that's my only reason.

[PeachBellini123]

There's always sales and discounts in the shops. I'm nearly 6 months pregnant and have only bought one piece of clothing! I don't feel the need to rush.

[RaeSkywalker]

I wouldn't risk the unnecessary pain. There are very regular sales on baby things, or you can find bargains on eBay/ gumtree.

[witharmswideopen]

I wouldn't. I can't imagine having baby things around when I was TTC. It took 2 years and a miscarriage. I thought it would happen straightaway.

When I did get pregnant I waited until 30 weeks and at that it was only the buggy as it needed to be ordered. Couldn't even set up the Moses basket until we came home from the hospital with him. I'm a bit superstitious about having baby things in the house with no baby.