When did you?

Jbruce7612 · December 2013

I am almost 6 months preggers and my first shower isnt until february, and by then ill be 8 months. So my question is when did you decide to start buying your baby stuff? My parents already said they wont be able to do much (not that i expected them to) , and my in laws (who told my pregnant SIL that they were gonna buy almost everything for them and have only bought a bottle and she is due in Jan.) will not even be asked because you just cant depend on their word lol. So should we go ahead and get the "big stuff"? Since most people buy just clothes or blankets for a shower?

staceynh · December 2013

I would make a list of big items you want and watch the prices. A lot of places are having sales since it's the holidays. We got our mattress and stroller last week both for $60 cheaper than it's been for the last few months that I've been looking. That way you can buy one item at a time as it goes on sale. But I don't think it's too early to buy the big stuff. I'm 26 weeks and we have the crib mattress and stroller for big items. Also have some clothes, and the bedding/curtains for the room.

tbmadeamistake · December 2013

You might also be surprised at who decides to buy the "big" stuff. My husband's cousin's fiance, a woman I had never met, bought my entire car seat system and extra base. Totally unexpected and a super nice surprise. If you do buy the big things yourself due to sales/needing peace of mind, just make sure to keep all receipts in case you do get a second set. I think anytime you feel ready is the right time to start buying things. I think we started at 25 weeks or so last time.

FemShep · December 2013

The crib is really the only thing you need to order now; they can take 4-12 weeks to come in, depending on where you order from. Keep in mind, however, you may not use a crib right away. DD2 slept in her RNP for the first three months.

You might also want to get a car seat installed and inspected before your due date, and wash a few newborn clothes (not too many, since you don't know how big baby will be) before your due date.

Everything else can be found at a local store or online. Join Amazon Mom, get a year of Prime for free, and you can order anything else you need on your way to the hospital.

Seriously, don't stress-you have plenty of time and I'd suggest waiting until after your shower (and using your completion discount for your registry) unless you see a fantastic sale.

HobokensFury · December 2013

I'm not buying anything until after my shower because as PP stayed you never know what you're going to get.

ThereBeDragons · December 2013

We're assuming we will be buying the things that are on the expensive end for the item. We've already got our $$ crib, and since we are drawn to high end strollers- Preparing to buy that too. Lots of stuff we don't care as much about and will wait to see if someone decides to be generous. And if they're not- no big deal.

Will be waiting until after the shower to buy, but there's nothing on our want/need list that takes more than a week to arrive. I wouldn't want to wait too late to buy the crib (Ours was bought for a previous pregnancy and took a long while to come in) or any other furniture item that needs to be special ordered.

NBA0703 · December 2013

I just ordered a changing table and 2 cribs! : ) I know we are getting money for christmas from family soo that paid for all of these items !! I wanted to get the big things out of the way and I was excited to order them and I got a good deal on the cribs!! I would just buy whenever you are ready!

Cosmolove · December 2013

I'm only 13 weeks and we have already started buying a little here and there. It's actually only giraffe print stuff we keep buying lol. I have an obsession with giraffes so any giraffe baby stuff I buy lol

bumpuser260585 · December 2013

The only big thing I bought before my shower was the crib. My mom's best friend bought the mattress though. We got a swing super cheap at a consignment sale.
I agree with PPs, you never know who will buy the big stuff, but you might also get tons of gift cards that you can use toward your big stuff too and combine them with the registry completion coupon.

If you'd feel better though, go ahead and buy what you want now to ease your mind.

LEIGHLOVE09 · December 2013

Definitely order all your furniture as that is really on you and your DH to buy anyways. I also bought my own stroller as it was expensive. Everything else i registered for and if it wasn't bought I just bought myself after the shower and used the registry completion discount.

nikkib92487 · December 2013

My shower will be in March. I hope to get things, but the big stuff is on us. I'm waiting til after Christmas, just in case but then will start watching furniture prices, I figure there's also plenty of stuff we need otherwise so it's not like I won't have any "gifts" left to pick from by my shower.

jenb_99 · December 2013

I probably bought the bulk of DS's gear between 30-36 weeks, then a few more things in the final month, after gifts stopped coming in and I had a better idea of what we needed. But honestly I wouldn't do it that way again. Obviously we have quite a few things left over from DS so we won't need to buy so much with this one anyway, but I'm going to try to hold off on unimportant things and accessories (like decor) till well after the baby gets here. S/he'll be sleeping in our room for the first few months, so I don't feel an urgent need to set up a nursery anytime soon. We set up DS's nursery when I was 36w pregnant and he slept in our room till we moved to a new house when he was 6 months old, so his nursery sat completely unused all that time. What a waste of space.

BleubirdOnAWire · December 2013

20 weeks, won't buy anything until month 8. Not having a shower. I will, however, buy one piece of baby clothing for Christmas in lieu of presents for my partner (and sam for him with me). I've decided to not buy/buy into every made-for-baby item just because someone invented it. All around me in China are mothers who are raising healthy babies with very little extras and I do believe I can at least cut back on expectations of the must-haves.

NewMrsMacC · December 2013

A lot of people at showers chip in to get the mom to be her "big" stuff.. And a lot of places have layaway as well. Hubby and I are kind of picky, so we are buying most of our big ticket items ourselves, and have put them on layaway (B.O.B stroller for 500$, and nursery furniture for 2300$).

So, pick out a few of your big items that are "must haves" for you- and ask if the store has layway, pay on them over the next several months. Leave the big items that are just likes and wants for the shower and you will most likely get at least ONE of them.

Avion22 · December 2013

We plan on buying all the big stuff. We've already bought a carseat, glider, and PNP (not doing a crib right away). Will do the stroller after christmas. We'll do a small registry for clothes, linens, etc because people have asked us to. So far I haven't heard any plans for a shower, but I suspect my family might be planning something for when we're home for the holidays.

LoveyFNR · December 2013

Unless you know for absolute certain you will be getting specific items from people than I would just go ahead and buy the big things. You can keep the receipt until after the shower in case you get something else you'd prefer.

I had a few "rich" people at my shower and still didn't get a whole lot. Mostly used garage sale items and dollar store things. My H and I were left to scramble for the last of everything (on a VERY tight budget) because I had gotten my hopes up. We didn't get anything big from the shower.

With my next child we obviously didn't have a shower but I bought things right away for her that were a must-need. Didn't want to worry about them later.

So yeah, buy the big things unless you already know someone has gotten you something you need. Never depend on showers. Every shower I've been to they have gotten bedding sets, strollers, car seats, cribs, etc. Mine did not go that way, haha. Better to be safe than sorry.

dragossoul84 · December 2013

I bought our big ticket items before my shower with DS. I didn't want to even chance my friends or family paying for them.

RebeccaY1 · December 2013

We didn't intend to make many purchases before Christmas, but we ended up making purchases way earlier.

My in-laws got the travel system stroller for us quite awhile ago. Our shower happened a few weeks ago and we got clothes, towels, blankets, books, and the pack n play.

Wal-mart had a fantastic cyber monday sale on the crib, dresser, and changing table. It came last week and we already set it up.

We've asked for more items off the registry for Christmas, so hopefully we'll get the crib mattress and infant carrier.

In January we'll start making our own purchases based upon what we still need.

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When did you?

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