Buying stuff?

buggerfly12

I was just looking around my house and realizing how much baby stuff we have... And how much we've gotten rid of. Just wondering, for those of you who foster(ed), what kind of stuff did you buy before placement? We've got diapers (we CD) for newborn to about 30 lbs; We'll either buy some larges or get sposies unless/until we have a placement that big in diapers.. We have a bassinet, but we know we're open to sibling sets up to age 3 or 5 or something... So we're definitely looking at beds. But what else do you have on hand? I know that with DS so many of the things we bought were never used. He hated being worn, almost never used bottles, cried if he was in a baby tub instead of the big tub or sink.... So with our next kid we plan on kind of buying as little as possible until we get to know personalities (or learn about their past comforts and routines). What I'm wondering is, what is considered necessary and what can really be bought after you have a placement with foster care? Just curious about this stuff... Thanks for any input

wille2b

to be honest you can probably wait on a lot of stuff till after you get a call about a placement. in our county you have at least a few hours or days sometimes before you need to pick up the child. i woul have a carseat on hand and maybe some generic bottles, blankets... a bed obviously. but most of the items can wait until you specifically know what child/ren you will be taking care of!

HTH

Cissi64

We were required to have  beds and a carseat on hand while waiting for placements.   Our  DCFS office actually keeps carseats that you can "borrow" for a few days until you can get one.They have to have them anyway for when they go to pick up children being removed. I didn't buy a baby bath tub until we got our thrid placement ( a  12 day old) and even then I gave him a sponge bath for a few days until we could purchase one at a consignment store. 

I would get a couple of bottles and sippy cups, a few toys and maybe one gender neutral out fit in each size.   If the are things like knit shirts and pants, they can double as pajamas. Also  underwear in various sizes or pull-ups. Personal hygiene products (comb/brush, toothbrush, kid tooth paste, kids shampoo )would be a plus, too.  These are just suggestions to keep you from having to make the late night run to Walmart/Target /Kmart  if you get an emergency placement. You can always ask friends and family for hand-me-downs or shop at thrift/ consignments stores