How Soon Is Too Soon To Buy Baby Stuff?

dneeliya

Hello All! 

I am entering my second trimester this week with our first pregnancy.  We found out this weekend that the Sears in our city is having a huge closing down sale, with baby stuff selling for 50% off.  This would be a huge savings for us in terms of furniture for the nursery and we were considering having a look at what they have left.  My mom and my aunt advised us that it is too soon to buy anything for the baby, and that we should wait until I'm at my third trimester.  While I understand their caution, I feel like if we were to wait that long, we would miss out on some great deals.  

Does anyone else agree with me or do you think it's too soon?  I'd love to hear some opinions on this.  Thanks! 

P.s. We are not finding out the sex of the baby so we would only be buying furniture if we were to give into our temptations. 

cnchavez69

Its a personal decision.  If you want to go look go look!  If i find something I like I grab a thing or two here or there.  There is no harm in looking.  And if it saves money I say go for it.  Happy hunting!

oughtonk

Definitely a personal decision like PP said...for me as soon as I saw the twins heartbeats we started buying diapers and clothes.  I'd rather spread out the spending over time than try to stock up at the very end.  If there's a big sale then I would say check it out and see what you find.

ADC1979

Go for it.  It's not much, but I already bought a little dragon-shaped winter hat for baby (it was on sale AND adorable) so if I saw more good stuff on sale, I'd definitely be jumping on it.  I would rather do my shopping in the 2nd trimester (where the literature assures me I have more energy, which I have yet to experience...) than in the 3rd trimester when I feel like the Goodyear Blimp.  

mcgeeva

Shoot if it is a really good sale..I would go ahead and buy the items you "Need" vs want. So not clothes but a PNP, or crib etc.

curlylocks3

Its all about your personal comfort. I don't feel comfortable buying stuff- especially big stuff like furniture- yet but my BFF had her nursery totally set up by 20 weeks. 

ktwils2010

I think a lot of people start preparing during their second trimester - especially if it's your first baby. There is so much to get and I remember wanting to spread out the big purchases so we weren't dropping a ton of money all at one time. If you are comfortable with it I'd go ahead and take advantage of the deal and get the furniture.

ETA I'll add that we waited until a good anatomy scan with my daughter before making any big purchases. But again it's your comfort level!

Shelleybell

do what you feel comfortable with.  if its a good sale and its furniture go for it

kalette

Before you are pregnant is probably too soon. Any time after that? Fine IMO.

veetveet

I'm 25 weeks.... and I started collecting things from about 8 weeks. Pretty much done.

dneeliya

Thanks everyone! I went and checked Sears out, and sadly, THEIR ENTIRE BABY DEPARTMENT WAS SOLD OUT!!! Just my luck!! But now that I'm not the only one that feels a good deal is worth not waiting, I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for any more sales!!! 

cristykaye

I bought my crib at like 12 weeks I think. Found it on sale and loved it! I'm 22 weeks now and have started buying clothes and other nessecities. I don't mind buying used so when I find use clothes I just wash and put away. I don't wash the new ones right away though. I leave the tags on, I really don't even know why.

MommaG1111

I bought stuff the day I found out I was pregnant- I was 2 months along....I think you should go for it.

LadyMacaron

I started buying necessities (bouncer, rock n play) at 13 weeks. I felt comfortable waiting until the first tri was over. I only bought stuff that were amazing deals. I started buying everything else at 16 weeks, when we found out the sex. I think you can start!

khaalid00

Started buying baby things after my 20 week scan, to make sure everything is good and progressing with baby. For now bought great preowned baby clothes on ebay even new tag clothes for a great deal too! Making a baby first aid box kit and other small items. The further I go along, than we will buy more.

rlraney

I have known I was pregnant from very early on due to fertility issues and thus with the great after holiday sales, I have been stocking up on neutral baby clothes and gear.  My mom is coming out for my birthday in March and I will be 20 weeks so we are going to register for gifts and pick out a crib, bedding etc.  We have our big ultrasound scheduled for 2/18 and plan to find out the gender of our little bean if possible!!

YTLCNURSE

I'm all for a sale and bargain shopping. It really is your personal preference. If you see something and it's a steal I say GO FOR IT!

momthatlifts

I have very little for this baby. So far I have a swing, tub, tubside stool, 1 box of diapers, baby wipes, one bottle of head-to-toe wash, a travel system, bottles, and clothes. I'm so lost and have no idea what I am actually going to NEED.

PinkKEL9

I started buying stuff as soon as I found out I was pregnant. But thats just me. It helped me connect in those early days when I didn't have a bump and couldn't feel baby at all. Plus I am always on the lookout for a good deal.

Nuclearcupcake

In my first tri I found a moby wrap for a good deal so I got that and. Mei tai carrier. Hubby also got super excited and picked one girl outfit and one boy outfit but he kept the receipt to return the one we won't be using. This isn't our first it's our third so we don't need to much this time around.

veetveet

I pretty much had everything at 25 weeks as mentioned. Final recall of my anatomy scan indicated we will not be needed any of the items we purchased.

Devastated. You really never know.

dneeliya

I am so sorry for your loss veetveet I can't imagine the pain you feel.  I hope things work out eventually and that you will find comfort in those around you. 

Pepper6

I'm holding off on all the small stuff until after my baby shower because I don't know what people will buy for us, but for bigger items that we'd always planned to buy ourselves, if you find a great deal, go for it.  We bought our travel system around 16 weeks when it was like $150 off.  It'll be sitting in a closet for a few months, but we would have had to buy it eventually so it was totally worth it to buy early.

cecilyandgautam

Well it's never too early to start piecing together a collection of stuff that's on major sale IMO. I'm on a local moms listserve and people sell second hand stuff all the time for a fraction of the original price. If you keep your eyes on freecycle, you can pick up a free bouncy seat. Anything you'll need in the first three months, I think it's fair to start bargain hunting early. You can wait til the last couple months to take stock what's missing from your collection and do your final round of shopping. 

LegalLadyBug

I am pretty much done buying all the major items and I'm only 22 weeks. I'm trying to spread out the cost and it's not going to get any more comfortable or easier to get around so in my head, the sooner the better. Buying a crib isn't going to do anything to your baby.

KAGPowell

It's up to you.  I'm pregnant with my first and I bought a bib and tshirt when I found out I was pregnant at 5 weeks .  I was in Spain at the time and thought it would be nice to commemorate my baby's first tag-along trip.  I'm now 17 weeks pregnant and off to Baby Depot after my OB appt later today.   Some people advise waiting until after 20-26 weeks because then you are halfway through your pregnancy and your baby has the greatest chance of survival outside the womb.  Other people  say to only wait until the end of your first trimester since that's when the risk of miscarriage begins to drop signiicantly. 

kristiedh

I'm just barely 16 weeks, but I just put together our crib and dresser. That stuff is expensive!! If there's a sale, I'd go for it. I've been apprehensive to buy things, too. But given that I've heard the heartbeat twice and everything seems to be going well--all the normal symptoms are still around--and we've passed that "safe" 16 week mark, why not?

Truth be told, the only reason we just got it and I put it together is that I work in a school and this is spring break. And I'm not sure how much free time I'll have when a more "appropriate" time comes. Heck, I even registered this week for a shower in 3 months because I had the time now.

melaniedel

With my first, I bought the crib at 13 weeks bc it was on sale.

KochavKatan

I started buying the big ticket items (furniture, stroller, car seat) as well as some decorations for the room since I was about 12 weeks.  I am avoiding buying any clothes/gender specific things until we know for sure.

 

kareik01

We bought our crib very early...probably around 10 weeks. My husband has wanted to be a daddy for a long time and was so excited that he insisted we buy it AND put it together I couldn't tell him no. But him wanting the crib made me want to start getting the other things, too. We plan to buy all the expensive things and only put really cheap stuff on our registry. We just bought our pack and play yesterday because it was on sale.
I'm at 19 weeks and we probably have half our "big" things.

ang2016

We've been snagging up things on sale. So far we have stroller, car seat, crib, dresser and changing table. We saved almost $100 on the crib alone! I am a major planner though... I would say it's a personal decision. I want to get the nursery done before it's 90 degrees and humid and I can't see my toes!

Amberxo

I'm 26 weeks and more or less have everything minus little bits and bobs and started buying as soon as we found out simply because everything is so expensive it's easier to spread out the cost !! But I suppose it's just a personal choice ☺️Xx

darkangel42

It's a personal thing.

I'm part squirrel so have been picking up the odd bit since early on 2nd tri. Some of that was spending 2+ months waiting for the nursery furniture I wanted to be in stock AND on sale because we don't have a lot of money or space so needed something inexpensive of a specific size. I also bought a pack of baby socks during the first tri because I had a feeling I knew which team we'd be (I was right). MiL announced there would be a baby shower and banned me from buying anything else til after that but left to my own devices, I'd be picking up odds and ends as I came across what I wanted between 2nd tri and the very end rather than waiting til the end to get everything.

boymomstrong

For me anything before 30 weeks was too soon! I even resisted maternity clothes... But you have to do what feels right to you...
I will say everything always goes on sale again...
Good luck!

Maymk

I did it! Carter's is having a 50% off sale online now and we know we're having a boy so I figured, why not? I highly doubt buying things will make me more at risk for bad things but...do try and think about how you'd feel if you did buy some things and something does happen, or you end up having the opposite gender you were told. That can be tricky but you can save receipts and wait to wash clothes. Enjoy it if you choose to do it! I know I can't wait for the stuff to arrive!

Ylvelill

Planning to start when I hit 27 weeks