When shall I start shopping?

[Starburst12]

I’m almost 16 weeks at the moment and I’ve been wondering when I should start buying things for the baby? Obviously, anything I buy now will have to be online so I’m not sure if it’s better to wait a while and be able to go into shops to have a look around? But then I’m worried that these lockdown measures might be in place for a while and I may leave it too late.

Also! What are the most important things to buy? I’m a FTM and I’m worried I’m going to end up buying everything that I don’t need and nothing that I do need

Thanks in advance

Congratulations on your pregnancy.

I've spend hours on end researching stuff that I needed and it kept me occupied and got me excited. We only started buying stuff after the 20 weeks scan.

I'd wait until the shops are open again to decide on things like a pushchair.

Things I was greatly grateful for having right from the start was a breast pump, a few bottles and a sterilisier as we had an unexpected stay in hospital at 5 days old.

You can find lots of lists with things that you need online. Tons of vests, clothes that are easy to put on and take off (sleepsuits). We couldn't have enough muslin cloths as our little boy had reflux and we went through 10 a day.
Comfy clothes for yourself, maternity pads (when you think you have enough, get more!)

Things like Moses basket never worked for us, we ended up with a sleepyhead to have a secure place to put him down in the lounge or wherever we were.

Also look into slings, my boy wasn't happy to be anywhere but on me and I was so glad I had a good sling/carrier that I could easily put on myself. (I had the marsupi)

You just need somewhere for baby to sleep, a few items of clothing and a means of getting them home from the hospital. And if you're planning on formula feeding then bottles and steriliser.

I didnt buy a thing until after my 20 week scan.
You’ll need a car seat, pram, somewhere for the baby to sleep. I have a cheap moses basket (£30 from aldi for downstairs and a next to me in our bedroom).I’ve only just started looking at cribs and baby monitors (DS is 5 months) for when he goes into his own room so you don’t need these before baby comes. Depending on how you plan to feed baby you’ll need a steriliser, bottles and although not necessary a perfect prep machine is a god send.
Baby will probably be in sleepsuits for the first wee while. You can get ones with built in scratch mitts which are useful as babies don’t like keeping the gloves style ones on.
I bought too many size one nappies for my DS he could have actually started in size 2 so don’t make my mistake if you do buy nappies buy a some bigger sizes as you’ll need them eventually.
You might want to get a bath, change mat, wipes, thermometer to take babies temp is useful too.

oh and muslins you ACTUALLY can’t have too many muslins

I wouldn’t worry too much at this point . It’s still pretty early on . Hopefully this passes by Summer 😩!!

It’s sooooo much fun to buy stuff though so if you see something you want then no harm done.

I waited until I was in third trimester to shop . Baby was born in February and I knew we would get a lot over Christmas. Plus I wanted to wait for the sales. I know lots of people who had everything bought before the start of the third trimester though .

I suggest not going too crazy as you can always buy stuff after the baby is born . Go easy on clothes, blankets and stuff animals because we got soooooooo many as gifts after baby was born!!

My top essentials:

Moses basket or cot. Plus sheets.
Car seat
Baby carrier or stroller ( or both)
Nappies
Cotton wool or cotton balls for wiping
Clothing
Pram Suit
Hat
Mitts ( for scratching )
Socks
Muslim clothes
sleeping bag/swaddle ( something for them to sleep in. I would buy at least two )

Geez, I’m sure I’m missing stuff but in all honesty a newborn doesn’t need a lot .

Then within the first week we were like OMG WE “NEED” THIS OR THAT . But this stuff was more convenient stuff . We bought a changing table and a nappy bin. We bought a white noise machine and a sleepy head . We bought newborn clothes because our 0-3 months clothing were drowning our boy . We bought a nursing pillow and breast pads . Thank goodness we are near a John Lewis and Boots !

Thank you so much everyone! I think waiting until 20 week scan is definitely a good idea. I’m starting to prepare a list now so everything you’ve suggested is very helpful!
I think if shops don’t start opening by the time I’m 25 weeks I’ll start shopping online for the little bits and pieces. I’m fairly certain they should be open by the end of summer (surely!?) so hopefully I will have time to get the pram and things like that.
MIL has bought a few things for the baby and I just had a little panic that maybe I should’ve already been buying! But I’m 20 weeks sounds ideal as I’ll have extra reassurance that everything is going ok.
Thanks again

We also waited till after our 20 week scan to buy anything, with the exception of a set of star wars sleepsuits!

That was a personal preference though - you can really look to start buying stuff whenever you feel comfortable doing so. There can be lots to buy so it might be helpful to start sooner to help spread the costs.

However, as noted above, key things you 'need' immediately are somewhere for baby to sleep, something for them to wear, and a means of getting them home, plus bottles / steriliser / formula if you're not planning to breastfeed. Things like a pram / travel system will depend on your particular situation.

I'm 26w now and feel like we've got all the 'big' stuff - big stuff for us included:
new car as our old one wasn't big enough! :(
car seats
pram
nursery furniture set [cotbed /wardrobe / drawers]
bouncy chairs
breast pump

We've also started on some of the smaller stuff inc:
Nappies & Wipes (disposable & reusable)
Muslins
Feeding pillows
Breast pump

I've separated my 'to buy' list into three sections: baby; mum; household. So on the baby list I still have:

Scratch mitts
[More] muslins
Bottles & steriliser [I'm hoping to breastfeed but also express so DH can feed]
Changing mat/s
Bath & towels
Blankets / bedding
Mobile for the cot
Room thermometer
Baby toiletries [e.g nappy cream, baby wash/soapy stuff]
Bibs
Nail clippers / thermometer / baby first aid kit
Baby monitor
Couple sets of sleepsuits [we're not planning on buying many clothes as we've both had friends recently have babies and we'll get plenty given, which we're very grateful for - every little helps etc. Though the stupid pandemic is making the logistics a bit difficult.]

Mum list is stuff for my hospital bag, e.g.:
Nursing jammies & bras
Maternity pads
Nipple cream
Breast pads
Slippers
Toiletries
Simple snacks / drinks

Household list is where things like the furniture and stuff for the nursery went, plus plans for pre-arrival meal prepping.

Hopefully that was helpful! A lot of things will depend on you and your personal needs / wants - I am sure we've got plenty of stuff on our list we could manage without. But these are the things we're planning on getting. So we're just slowly working our way through the lists, some stuff will be fine after babies arrive [e.g. we don't plan to get a baby monitor until they move into their own room] but it helps me to keep a track that we can tick off as we go as I was getting totally overwhelmed trying to keep everything in my head.

@thethirdbar thank you! There are a few things on your list that I hadn’t thought of. Including anything for me!
I will wait until 20 week scan and then I can start slowly shopping so I have 4 weeks to look around and compile my list.
It’s so exciting!

I keep wondering this too, I'm 23 weeks but haven't bought anything. Since the 20 week scan I've been doing research and deciding on what I want to buy and have started a spreadsheet to keep track. I wasn't quite organised enough to make use of the Easter sales. I'm hoping there will be some may bank holiday sales to get some bits and pieces.

I'm 17 weeks now. So far only things I've bought are a baby gym, baby bath And baby health care kit, a wallaboo blanket and changing mat. Going to buy more after 20 week scan. Will probs leave clothes until last minute lol x

I waited till around the 20 week scan too....the only thing I bought before that was around 19 weeks when I saw a really good deal on a pram which I couldn't resist as it was right before lockdown so I knew the shops would probably close very soon.

i'm 18w4d now and i've literally just started buying stuff! i bought my nursery furniture yesterday while i still have the money! but besides that i've got about 4 outfits that i bought for the announcement we did!

x

I wouldn’t bother buying bigger items such as the cot/crib/Moses basket (whichever you choose), car seat and pram until you’re at least 32 weeks. Only reason is they’re bulky and take up pointless space before then.

Smaller items such as clothing, blankets and nappies can be bought from the first scan onwards imo, just start building up a stash.

I had planned to wait until after my 20 week scan, but went to the baby show at 18 weeks and choose a travel system, good thing we did as we were in lockdown 2 weeks later and with the wait times, I would have had to choosen one online. Have got most things now, wouldn't have done it this early in normal circumstances but we are in strange times and so much seems to be out of stock Ive bought stuff when I see it.