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Buying for Baby... when to start and what to get...
When did you start buying baby gear? I'm not ready just yet, but we've been talking about a bunch of different things we would need and ideas that we like. It seems very overwhelming. How did you narrow down what you should really buy and what you will really need/use? I'm a planner so I'm just trying to figure out what my next step should be and what to start with. Any ideas/suggestions would be great! 
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Re: Buying for Baby... when to start and what to get...
We made lists of the things we wanted (and wanted to register for) based a lot on what was in the Baby Bargains book. There are also some fairly good lists online about what you need and how many of each thing. BeckO has a master list that she emailed me as well; I think she calls it her OCD Baby List, lol.
Honestly we didn't buy anything except for furniture until after my showers. I wanted to see what we got for gifts before investing in a lot of stuff. And much to my excitement, almost all our family/friends bought us stuff off our registry! So we really didn't need a whole lot after that. What we DID end up going back for after the baby was born were more receiving blankets, diapers (since she was too small for her CDs), and clothes (since she ended up being too small for most of her newborn sized clothes/sleepers. So I guess I'd say you can't really go wrong buying clothes/blankets, furniture, and bedding early on. We most definitely waited until I was past 12 weeks, though.
I think I was 16 or 18 weeks when we ordered furniture.
I don't think I'm going to start till after we find out the sex. I'm a planner too and it's killing me but I don't want to do gender neutral so we decided to wait as long as possible.Plus our only guest room is going to be the baby's room we kinda want to leave that up as long as possible and we aren't painting so that kinda helps. I'd rather have the crib at home and in a box vs. in a store on a wait list.
I'm sure the clothes and cute things will pile in shortly after though. It's getting harder and harder to resist now.
As for strollers and seats we're not sure. We talked about getting a jogging stroller earlier than most so we can train the dog to run/walk next to it (he's stubborn when it comes to training while running).
I'm not sure how much I'll want to leave my nice air conditioned house come August.
I also don't really want a shower so that might change the timeline on purchases. I think most wait till after their shower for a lot of the little things.
I've spent a lot of time through the years babysitting and taking care of children, so I have a pretty good idea of what I want and what I think is necessary.
A looong time ago, I made a big list of what I need, dividing it into categories based on cost (major/expensive items like crib, car seat, stroller, then big items that cost $50 to $100, then $50 or less items, then supplies like wipes, and finally clothing). The categories are not exact--just sort of a general price range.
As I registered for things, I marked an "R" next to each item. As I acquire an item, I mark it off the list.
I was too afraid to buy anything until about 10 days ago. Now I have started shopping. I have bought clothing and we have the crib, mattress, and car seat.
I am having (to the best of my knowledge) only one smallish shower, so I feel comfortable buying things. While we will be getting some gifts, there is still plenty that will need to be purchased.
I was a bit paranoid, so we didn't start buying anything until after the 20 wk ultrasound where we could confirm everything was a-ok with the baby. After that, we ordered furniture & registered for the rest .
I relied a lot on Baby Bargains & Amazon reviews for stuff (as well as friend recommendations).
I also put together a spreadsheet of the stuff we needed & the age range when we would need it. That way we could prioritize buying items that we did not receive as gifts. For the most part, we got nearly everything we needed as a gift (or bought with a gift card).
I know it is totally early for me to start shopping... I'm just curious! I just want to start with some lists and such. I just wanted to clarify so people don't think I'm crazy!
I also just realized that I think my ticker is wrong. Going by my LMP I am further along. 8 weeks 4 days. I'll wait until my doctor appt. on Monday to find out for sure.
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