If you thought preparing for pregnancy could be frustrating and challenging enough, then just wait until the new family member is here to stay. Then, you can find your patience and your wallet getting stretched thing. While the tips below might not help your bank balance any, they can certainly make caring for a new baby a little less stressful by making sure that you’re equipped with everything that you’re going to need. These are some of the areas that your shopping list should be focusing a little more closely on.
Clothes shopping for your baby
If you have a lot of family members who are willing to pitch in and likely to get your baby presents, then you might be surprised by how often you’re going to receive clothes, often to the point that you’re getting more outfits than you’re likely to use for them. Yes, you want to make sure that you get clothes for your baby but you should also keep in mind that they grow very fast and, as a result, are likely to outgrow some of those outfits in months, if not weeks. As such, you want to plan ahead when clothes shopping for babies, trying to provide for them a few months down the line, rather than just for now.
Furniture for the nursery
You should be trying to prep your nursery as far in advance as you can. After all, you need to prepare a whole room for the new arrival and that’s going to take time. When it comes to picking out the different furniture you need, as well as what’s actually necessary, then you might want to stick to guides like the Baby Furniture Buying Guide: What Do You Really Need For The Nursery? It can be very useful for choosing furniture based on key questions such as how much space you actually have, how much storage space you’re going to use and whether you’re aiming to get furniture that you can keep for longer as your baby grows.
Toys for the baby
You might think that a newborn baby is too young to get a lot of enjoyment out of toys and, to some degree, you’re right. They’re not exactly developed enough to play with them a lot just yet, but that doesn’t mean that those toys don’t have some benefits for them. This Toys for Newborns Guide from Babycentre looks into a range of the most popular options and how, exactly, they can be beneficial even from a young age. For instance, most babies are going to gravitate towards soft things, as they offer them real comfort that they can feel even at that young age, so it’s worth getting some. You might want to stock ahead with things like teething rings, as well.
The supplies you need
You are going to need plenty of supplies to keep your baby fed, clean, and happy, and you might be surprised at just how quickly you’re going to start running through things like nappies and cleaning wipes. Aside from those two essentials, other baby supplies you should consider buying in bulk include things like baby formula, baby shampoo, sunscreen (since their delicate skin needs protection any time they’re outside, not just when it’s really sunny outside), baby food, as well as snacks that you can grab and run with when you don’t have a lot of time. Otherwise, it’s very easy indeed to find yourself constantly running out of and needing to get more of something or other.
Do you need a baby monitor?
The question of whether to buy a baby monitor has been one that’s seen more debate than you might think over the recent years. There are some people that assert that making use of a baby monitor and being overly sensitive to it can make parents more anxious and can lead to overreacting behaviour. However, there’s no denying that there is a real utility to the device when your baby starts sleeping in a different room for you. If you do, then consider getting one that offers video and not just audio. It’s a lot easier to stay relaxed when you can actually see what your baby is doing rather than jumping into action at every little sound.
Be mindful when you read online as, when it comes to babies, there are plenty of different products that might sound helpful, but in reality, you’re not likely to make a whole ton of use out of them. Stick to the essentials when you can.
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