When Do You Start? (Baby ?)

[Impish]

When do you start getting ready for a new baby?

 

By that I mean, start buying clothing, diapers, etc.

 

I'm 24 wks, almost 25. Wolf's made comments about starting to stock up on diapers now. Usually, I wait until after 28 wks...

 

We still have a basinette from Princess, a swing, and high chair. Need to get clothing, car seat, sling (which I've never used before, but being 1 armed has made that something of a need, rather than want), receiving blankets, odds and sods.

 

We'll need another crib too, but not right away.

 

Just curious if I'm the only one that waits, or if others do as well.

[Mama Geek]

We waited. People gave us some stuff early, but we were buying the car seat about 2 weeks before so that if dd came a little early we would have been able to get her home. A lot of the clothes came after she was born because we didn't find out the sex of the baby. None of our family was thrilled about that one.

[Veritaserum]

Third trimester is when I kick into high gear. My babies have all come early, so I try to be done by 36 weeks.

[BakersDozen]

I used to wait and by that I mean until about 36 weeks (although with two babies I was a day away from having them when I got a carseat and one baby I never did buy diapers until the day she was born and we were on our way home from the hospital!).

 

My policy now is to be completely ready by 30 weeks. This is so I know my to-do/gather list is done and I can mentally relax at least as far as the busy work is concerned.

 

Diapers I stock up on continuously as I stalk craigslist/ebay and buy when I find a great deal.

[meggie]

Diapers, we stock up early. Not too much though, as you never know how long it's going to take them to go through sizes. The rest, I'm usually in denial about even being pregnant and that the baby will someday have to come out, so I delay getting stuff. I think we got the carseat a week before Pigby came, the bassinet a few days AFTER he came, clothes-just had what people gave us, everything else-after he came.

[Impish]

See, I'm weird.

 

Even without the benefit of u/s, I've always 'known' the gender of the baby. Always :lol:

 

So, having the u/s prove me right wasn't a ruining of a surprise. We know that Tummy is a boy, so we can shop appropriately.

 

Thank heavens, really...Wolf has his bmom's First Nation colouring, and mint green or yellow would make a baby with the same colouring look awful! :lol:

[clarkacademy]

The day I find out I am pregnant! I know that is suppose to be bad luck but that is how we did it. All the babies had an entire nursery set up car seat to match the theme, diapers everything but clothes until the ultra-sound. We found out each time so Jack always took those days off from work to go clothes shopping for baby! That is how we did it with the first. when the second came he said what theme what store do we get it? And on and on till the last. He was a bit angry that when we had two boys in a row I had gotten rid of everything.

 

He felt I could have used the clothes of course but I hate clutter, hate boxes packed in closets. Our girls were like 8 years apart but I am major into themes so all their stuff matched their themes. Whatever we couldn't find my mom would make. We couldn't find baby care bear car seat for the youngest so she made that. She made alot of stuff.

 

I am so jealous I won't get to do it again! My mom said most people wait until 30 weeks to pass the safety point. I am really OCD so I had to have everything figured out. Have fun shopping and with your new little baby!

[BakersDozen]

 

The rest, I'm usually in denial about even being pregnant and that the baby will someday have to come out, so I delay getting stuff.

Glad I'm not the only one who has felt this way! ;) I'm in double denial this time around, lol.

[Emmy]

I wait until very late, 3rd trimester usually. I think with my twins (for whom I had to rebuy everything because we had given it all away) I bought a first outfit for them when I was maybe 26 or 28 weeks. Right before I went on bedrest. :) I typically do it all near the end and we set up the baby "stuff" a couple weeks before.

[Impish]

Glad I'm not the only one who has felt this way! ;) I'm in double denial this time around, lol.

Include me in that one too!

 

Honestly, twins run in my family. I was *terrified* that I'd have twins this go 'round. Solely b/c of being one armed. One baby is going to be a challenge, two scared the bejabbers out of me!

 

Thankfully, there's just one.

[PIE!]

I'm 38 weeks today - and haven't done a thing to get ready. We've got most everything from the previous three kids. All I really need to do is get stuff out and wash it (including the cloth diapers). I'll probably buy a couple of things on my first trip to the store after she's born.

[happypamama]

Whenever you want! I just kind of work at it all a little at a time -- getting the clothes ready, getting the house ready (enough that I won't mind having company), getting the stuff for the birth ready. . .

 

I remember pulling out the teeny-tiny newborn clothes pretty much right after I found out I was pregnant with baby number two, but I know it wasn't quite that early other times.

 

I do breathe a huge sigh of relief at 24 weeks, because while nothing is ever guaranteed, that's the point at which the baby has a chance, however small, of living if it's born. (And then there's another sigh of relief when I hit 36.5 weeks, which is when homebirthing is okay.)

 

This time around, I didn't do a lot until the third trimester. We had a busy spring, and it was wet and rainy for a long time = no sun for getting spots out of the clothes. So a lot happened in May and June, and then I worked really hard the weekend after July 4th -- sewed a bunch of wipes, got the last few birthing items together, scrubbed the bathtub, stocked the freezer really well, etc. I wasn't due until the 23rd of July and didn't figure I'd actually have the baby until about today, actually, since my first three were all after 40 weeks, so I figured that big burst of nesting energy would net me a couple of relaxing weeks. Hahahaha. Baby was born on July 12. Obviously my unconscious mind knew something I didn't and gave me that push to get the rest of the stuff ready. (And with my other labors, I've had several hours during which I would have been able to tidy up, get stuff together etc., but not this time -- labor was only four hours, and I wasn't even sure it was real labor for the first two. If I hadn't had stuff ready, it wouldn't have been ready when the baby was born!)

 

I think I was slightly in denial this time. Not that I wasn't happy about the baby -- I was, for sure. No, I was concerned about something going wrong; I'd had a pervasive thought that something was not quite right with the baby, so I'm wondering if my mind was trying to protect my heart or something. Like, I didn't gather all my homebirth stuff early because I wasn't sure I'd get the homebirth. (My feelings were wrong, fwiw; I got the homebirth, and the baby is just fine.)

 

Anyway, funny thing: my friend borrowed my infant carseat between my two younger boys, and she brought it back in April. We bought the van Memorial Day weekend, and I put the infant seat in it just to see how it would fit (I remember installing the seat at around 36 or 37 weeks with my other babies). It ended up just sitting in the van, and when we went to take the baby and the big kids out for our first outing as a family of six when DS3 was five days old, I realized that I'd never adjusted the straps back to newborn height. Oy. So much for having done it early, LOL.

 

Have fun nesting and getting ready for your new little one!

[Lara in Colo]

I guess I am the most practical. I wait until the MOM's sale (2x/yr) so whatever is closest to the birth (hopefully after the ultrsound-because I have been wrong about the gender 4 times), I buy then. After that I buy something everytime I go out to a thrift store. I buy the new stuff that I need a couple of weeks before the due date, (pacifiers,).

[Impish]

For me, the huge sigh of relief comes at 28 wks. And again at 35-36 wks.

 

I need to get Wolf to dig through the stuff downstairs. I honestly don't know what we have, and what he got rid of. I know for sure that the car seat is gone (needed to replace that anyways, too old) but I've no idea what, if any clothes still exist. Pretty sure we still have some from Princess, but Wolf is pretty against dressing his son in frills and lace :lol:

 

I know I won't start washing the basinette, etc until at least 32, 34 wks. We just don't have a whole heck of a lot of room for extra gear to get hauled out and situated. We actually need to tear our room apart and reorganize so that there's room for everything.

 

Still hoping and praying a move is in our soon future. No idea where the heck we'll fit a crib into this house once baby outgrows the basinette!

[texasmama]

I was always an early starter. That is part of the fun of it, in addition to being a person who likes to plan ahead. Have fun!

[tabrizia]

With newbie we really didn't need anything. I think we picked up a package of diapers for him a few days before he was born, we normally do cloth but like having some sposies on hand just in case. I know my Mom and I bought him 3 or 4 new outfits, he gets mostly hand-me-downs since he is the third, probably around 30 weeks, but that was more because she was visiting then because I needed them then. Oh I bought a couple of pacifiers around the same time we got the diapers. Seriously the few things we ended needing for him we got after he was born.

 

That being said he was my third in 4 years, so I had all my baby stuff still so it wasn't a big not to prepare ahead of time. Oh I bought his car seat about 6 weeks before he was born as well, I forgot about that one. Since I only needed a few diapers, and a car seat for him he was easy to buy for. With my first I think I had everything ready 4 weeks before he arrived.

[Impish]

Yeah, with Princess, following 19 mths, 7 days after Tazzie, all we needed was girl clothes and diapers. I even had a 2nd high chair from running a dayhome, and a tandem stroller.

 

Stroller! We'll need one of those too! Not that *I* can use the dang thing...discovered its flipping impossible to manage a stroller one handed with Princess. :glare:

 

There's going to be 5 yrs btwn Princess and Tummy, so yeah, stuff needs replacing.

[swellmomma]

I was always too excited to wait. I hit the stores on the way home from the Dr confirming the pregnancy lol After my first I was usually completely set up and ready to go by 27 weeks. Now that said 3 out of 4 of kids were preemies so it made sense to have things ready to a) go on bed rest like I always did between 25-28 weeks and b) be ready to bring the little one home a month early.

 

I would start stocking up on diapers (especially if you want to do cloth because you want to be able to find good prices), and watching the flyers for the baby days specials which usually are right before or right after back to school stuff.

[Impish]

We've decided against cloth.

 

Being 1 armed now, adding more carrying, etc just doesn't sound like a good idea.

 

Also, the forecast for postnatal RSD is pretty dark. There's a good chance I'll end up if not completely incapacitated, then close to it, for at least several wks. Worse if a csection happens. Keeping things as simple as possible seems like a matter of survival :lol:

[NCJessieRN]

I'll be 24 wks tomorrow. I haven't done a thing. I just finished potty training boot camp this week with my youngest two. So, now the only thing I will do is continue to buy diapers when I go to the store to stock up. We pretty much have everything else except I need a highchair which I will buy on craigslist at some point. My friend, who had a baby girl in January, passed all of her baby girl stuff to me since they are done having kids.

[Impish]

That's one relief.

 

When Princess was born, Tazzie was still in diapers. At least there'll only be one bum to change this time around! :lol:

[kesmom]

We have never had to buy much (I had a shower with #1 and reused much of it for the rest, plus 3 sets of generous grandparents) but I probably bought most things in the 3rd trimester. I made exceptions to that rule for amazing deals, like the double stroller off craigslist (like new and 1/4 of retail price) when I was about 16 weeks along.

 

I do always buy something cute right after the pregnancy test. :) We lost our first baby right before my due date and so the concept of when things are "safe" isn't really part of my thinking.

[NCJessieRN]

That's one relief.

 

When Princess was born, Tazzie was still in diapers. At least there'll only be one bum to change this time around! :lol:

 

I couldn't agree more!

[swellmomma]

We've decided against cloth.

 

Being 1 armed now, adding more carrying, etc just doesn't sound like a good idea.

 

Also, the forecast for postnatal RSD is pretty dark. There's a good chance I'll end up if not completely incapacitated, then close to it, for at least several wks. Worse if a csection happens. Keeping things as simple as possible seems like a matter of survival :lol:

 

Yikes, then definitely no cloth.

[Annie]

At 37 weeks, pretty much the only clue that there would be a baby at our house was the giant horse trough in my dining room waiting for me to labor in it.

 

I'm apparently missing the nesting gene. My mom drove down from WI at 38 weeks, and she brought things from my baby shower (which took place up there). Luckily, she seems to have a hyperactive nesting gene. She happily spent two weeks cleaning baseboards and folding tiny clothes while I napped. :tongue_smilie:

[Impish]

We have never had to buy much (I had a shower with #1 and reused much of it for the rest, plus 3 sets of generous grandparents) but I probably bought most things in the 3rd trimester. I made exceptions to that rule for amazing deals, like the double stroller off craigslist (like new and 1/4 of retail price) when I was about 16 weeks along.

 

I do always buy something cute right after the pregnancy test. :) We lost our first baby right before my due date and so the concept of when things are "safe" isn't really part of my thinking.

I've only had one attempt at a baby shower, out of 5 children.

 

Wolf's cousin tried to throw one for Princess. They gave us the basinette. A grand total of 3 other ppl showed up, incl MIL, who gave us a pkg of travel wipes. Seriously. 20 wipes.

 

Poor cousin. She felt so crappy about the turn out, and the obvious disinterest. I don't think she'll host another baby shower, ever.

[athena1277]

I started buying a few clothes after the ultrasound when we found out if baby was a boy or girl. We saved everything from when dd was a baby, so even though ds was born 4.5 years later, all we really needed was clothes and to give everything a good washing.

[vonfirmath]

I don't buy clothes, for the most part. I've been SO blessed with gifts!

 

For this baby (due august 5th) we put the crib up, etc in early June -- because that was when we had the help. We sorted the clothes we had leftover from DS into what was usable and what wasn't. We cleared out storage and made room for the baby, etc. I don't know when/if this would have happened without help. I'm just too exhausted to do it!

 

Of course now we are tearing it all down because we have to move out of the house. So its kind of pointless

 

I've been gathering cloth diapers/boppy/etc stuff since we found out she was a girl. But My husband just went to the store two days ago to get the "last things we need when baby comes home" stuff. Including a jumbo of Newborn diapers (I have some size 1 I bought as gifts and ended up not giving). We have fenugreek coming from Amazon then I think I am done/ready. I'll pack my hospital bag this weekend. (We are trying to do cloth diapers -- but starting with disposables while the grandparents are here because (1) they don't want to deal with cloth and (2) they don't want to deal so stringently they offered to pay for disposables!)

Edited July 29, 2011 by vonfirmath

[Impish]

I started buying a few clothes after the ultrasound when we found out if baby was a boy or girl. We saved everything from when dd was a baby, so even though ds was born 4.5 years later, all we really needed was clothes and to give everything a good washing.

See, I *tried* to do this. Explained to Wolf repeatedly that getting rid of baby gear = another baby. He didn't completely believe me. Agreed to keep the basinette, the swing, and high chair, but ditched pretty much everything else.

 

Six months later...

 

:lol:

 

I think he'll be willing to keep everything until grandchildren come along now :lol:

[RahRah]

With DS (almost 7) we waited and then it was the mad rush to get everything done in the month before he was due.

 

We used hindsight for baby-DS who arrived in January though - here are the things we realized in looking back:

 

1. We didn't need a high chair right away - not for at least six months....so with baby-DS we didn't bother with one until recently, and it's still to have him sitting with us than to use for feeding him.

 

2. For us, a nursery was a total waste of space with DS. Until DS was ten months old, he was in the bedroom with us anyway, co-sleeping and nursing on demand. Then he started sleeping all the way through the night, so we moved him to his crib in the nursery (room across the hall from our bedroom) and he made it through the night without nursing - so that worked out well since he didn't need to nurse at night, so that's when we started to actually use the nursery. With baby-DS, we just didn't set up a nursery - just the crib in our bedroom, which still is really just holding stuff since baby-DS co-sleeps with me still to nurse on demand overnight without totally waking me up. DH and I figure at some point in the ocming months he'll go to the crib, but we can keep him in our room until he's ready to go to his own room rather than furnish a nursery to have to change it to a toddler/kid room shortly thereafter.

 

3. Wearing baby - awesome option, highly recommend having some type of carrier or sling.

 

4. Never did use the baby-bop with DS, so with baby-DS didn't get one this time - a regular 'ole pillow did it for me when I was nursing and needed some relief on my arm. But that's just me....if you want a boppy, they're cute.

 

5. With DS it seemed we were always running low on diapers (we use disposables), so with baby-DS, I started the diaper ordering early - I think around 28-weeks.....case shipment of newborn, then changed that to size 1 for a couple of cases, then to size 2 by the time baby-DS was born....and then changed it to size 3 deliveries and now size 4 is arriving even though baby-DS is really a size 3 adn I'll switch that to size 5 in another month after this last delivery arrives. I have NEVER had to buy diapers since baby-DS was born and have only had to put away like a half-dozen of the newborn size, maybe a dozen of the size 1's and none of the 2's. I also have more baby wipes than one can imagine since I had them delivered along with the diapers in cases - in another month or so, I'll likely stop the wipe shipments since I'll know when I'll be good until baby-DS potty trains I think! Diapers and wipes are a lot cheaper to order by the case, on auto-delivery online, than trying to buy as needed IMO.

 

6. I had way too many clothes for DS....everyone gave me clothes and I bought many too. You really can have too many! I kept all the good outfits though, so with baby-DS, I haven't had to buy any clothes yet (other than baby-DS's going home outfit), even though DS was a summer baby and baby-DS was a winter baby....just had way too much that it worked out anyway!

 

7. Barely used the "baby gym" mat with DS....he was rolling and moving on his tummy pretty early....so with baby-DS, we opted just for a big blanket and lots of little toys to pick up, hold, look at and play with. Worked well, he's already almost crawling now, so the baby gym thing would have had a really limited shelf-life - glad we opted not to get one for baby-DS!

[Impish]

See, we have never had help with anything, so the thought of anyone buying us anything is totally odd :lol: I mentioned the attempt at the baby shower earlier in the thread.

[vonfirmath]

PS with baby 1 (DS), the crib was in a box in the back of the car when we found out he was coming, um... TOMORROW. We had just picked it up from the baby store a couple of days before. My husband went and got a friend's son to help him carry it upstairs (it did not get put together until 6 weeks later, after all the guests cycled through). We set up the pack and play with bassinet that DS was going to be sleeping in at first THAT NIGHT. Then, once the box was out of the car, installed the infant car seat

 

Luckily they sent diapers home with the baby (and I got wipes as baby shower gifts). And DH had to go out and buy a few things afterwards -- gas drops, baby tylenol, more diapers, more diaper creme (We liked Aquaphor). I bought a changing table (Craigslist $10) within the baby's first 2 weeks because we just could not handle changing the baby on the floor.

 

We managed.

[I.Dup.]

I just started in the last week. I am 36 weeks today. We packed our hospital bag about a week ago when I was struggling with a lot of pre-term stuff. I usually have my babies early. We are planning on a home birth, but I cannot do that until 37 weeks, so I packed a bag just in case baby comes before then.

 

Now that I have ONE week until I am in the all-clear to birth at home (last time I made it by one day!) I have a major motivation to get things in order. I will be doing the baby's laundry and cleaning more around the house this week.

[myfunnybunch]

First baby: As soon as I saw the plus sign.

Second: Around 24 weeks.

Third baby: 30 weeks.

Fourth baby: Gosh, the baby is going to be here any minute, maybe I should get the baby things out of the attic.... :lol::lol::lol: (That's not much of an exaggeration, btw)

 

Not sure that's helpful.

 

Cat

[SweetMissMagnolia]

hmmmmm not sure---but I probably waited till I was in second trimester? if everything has gone ok with the pregnancy I don't see how starting early could hurt--as long as you have room for everything......

[ChristusG]

I'm currently 27 weeks. About a month ago I stopped at a consignment store and saw a swing and I got that. And I stopped at a few garage sales and found a changing pad, extra covers, and a floor gym for a very good price. I didn't want to pass those up for that price so I went ahead and bought them.

 

Earlier this week, I ordered the infant car seat....it just arrived from Amazon yesterday.

 

Yesterday we had a girl's day out and went shopping. JC Penny has some great mark downs on newborn clothing so I spent about $50 and got 10 outfits and 2 pair of shoes.

 

About a month ago, I saw the *perfect* diaper bag with so many pockets, so I went ahead and bought that.

 

I really don't have a time schedule or anything....if I see a great deal, I jump on it. I'm not purchasing too many clothes though because I will get some at my shower.

[Impish]

Am I the only one that finds the hospital bag to be somewhat useless?

 

I never bother wearing the pjs I pack...may as well use the hospital stuff, and save on laundry. They give robes at our hospital as well as personal products.

 

Other than an outfit for the baby to come home in, I'm struggling to remember what, if anything, I actually used from the hospital bag I packed. Hair brush, tooth brush...

[RahRah]

Am I the only one that finds the hospital bag to be somewhat useless?

 

I never bother wearing the pjs I pack...may as well use the hospital stuff, and save on laundry. They give robes at our hospital as well as personal products.

 

Other than an outfit for the baby to come home in, I'm struggling to remember what, if anything, I actually used from the hospital bag I packed. Hair brush, tooth brush...

 

Oh yeah - bag to the hospital with DS...total waste - didn't use what I'd packed and I'd packed way, way too much stuff.

 

With baby-DS, I was more picky about what I packed.....baby outfit to go home, winter bunting since it was darn cold and he'd need it in the car.....for me, a pair of socks with rubber thingies on the bottom for walking around on slick floors and keeping my feet warm in bed, my iPad and iPad/iPhone charger, my iPad and iPhone....toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, ponytail holder (because, let's face it, I wasn't going to do much more than pull my hair back anyway)....and my own robe since the whole hospital gown on right then one on backward thing looks cheesy. The outfit I went to the hospital in was the one I wore home....worked just fine since I'd just put it on to go to the hospital, arrived and had to change out of it anyway. Oh, I did pack a pair of clean underwear for going home and a nursing bra.

 

I knew the food would suck, so packed a couple of snacks and bottles of water (chlorine taste in hospital water is strong) and some iced tea "sticks" of drink mix to make the water into iced tea....knew they'd not give me any vitamins to supplement the crappy food, so I packed my multi and some b-complex and D (doc was fully apprised I was taking my vitamins and okay with me doing it) and my one 'medical food' prescription I take so as not to be charged ridiculous $ for it to be dispensed by the nurse (seriously - one tablet costs me $2....it is were dispensed on my chart, it'd be $25) that doc knew I was taking (he prescribed it) so he didn't add it to my chart of meds to dispense, but knew I was taking my supply. (helps that doc is a friend too).

 

I did bring 3 of my own pillows - with colored pillow cases to be sure they didn't get mixed into the hospital supply of cases - because hospital pillows stink - plastic covered and thin....DH was in charge of those when we were heading in for the delivery. We had the car seat and base into DH's car about a month before I was due so he'd not have to worry about it if I went in early or have to remember it when I was released after having baby...it was just there.

[RainbowSprinkles]

When do you start getting ready for a new baby?

 

By that I mean, start buying clothing, diapers, etc.

 

I'm 24 wks, almost 25. Wolf's made comments about starting to stock up on diapers now. Usually, I wait until after 28 wks...

 

We still have a basinette from Princess, a swing, and high chair. Need to get clothing, car seat, sling (which I've never used before, but being 1 armed has made that something of a need, rather than want), receiving blankets, odds and sods.

 

We'll need another crib too, but not right away.

 

Just curious if I'm the only one that waits, or if others do as well.

 

I try to get stuff that I will need if it was a boy or girl either way, early on because I have to budget and can't buy everything else at once or in a short period of time.

 

I start to buy clothes and more gender specific things after we find out the sex.

 

For things I will need like nursing bras and things like that, I wait until about a month before the due date.

 

Things that are not needed within a month or two after birth, I'll buy later on.

Edited July 29, 2011 by RainbowSprinkles

[Jennifer3141]

I started about 20 minutes after that first positive. :D

[twoforjoy]

All I've bought for this baby (due next week) is a package of newborn diapers and a 5-pack of onesies. DD is only 16 months old, so we've got all the baby gear already out, and he's going to use her old infant carseat. We've still got a bunch of DS's baby clothes in the basement, and my parents are coming with some outfits, so we think he'll be fine on clothes. I really couldn't think of anything we needed. I feel very ill-prepared, though, just because we've had so little preparation to do.

[SweetBean]

I think I started getting ready pretty soon after I learned that I was pregnant with my each of my children by birth. We also have two children who came to us by adoption. We had 22 hours notice that DS was coming to us, and only 16 hours with DD. So, I don't think there is any harm if you wait until last minute.

[UnsinkableKristen]

I pack my hospital bag at 30 wks (after some preterm labor with earlier babies) and start putting things up and around the house at about 34 weeks.

 

I LOVED everything I put in my hospital bag and used almost all of it. I hated wearing the hospital gown any longer than I had to (and I never had any issues "messing" my stuff up) and I hated the toiletry stuff they supplied. It made me so much more comfortable to have my own things to use.

 

With my first, I hadn't planned on packing until 38wks and I had her at 37 wks - surprise! My FIL went to our house and threw a bunch of stuff in a bag for me, which meant I had red lipstick, glittery nail polish, some old shampoo and one of my husbands hairbrushes :lol:. He also picked up size 1 diapers (for our 5 lb baby) and toddler flushable wipes :lol::lol:.

 

 

After that, I've always made sure we have just what we need ready to go, much earlier than we expect to need it. I like being over-prepared much better than under-prepared :)

Edited July 29, 2011 by UnsinkableKristen

[vonfirmath]

Am I the only one that finds the hospital bag to be somewhat useless?

 

I never bother wearing the pjs I pack...may as well use the hospital stuff, and save on laundry. They give robes at our hospital as well as personal products.

 

Other than an outfit for the baby to come home in, I'm struggling to remember what, if anything, I actually used from the hospital bag I packed. Hair brush, tooth brush...

 

I didn't use everything in the hospital bag. But I did miss some of the stuff I forgot to pack! :)

[FaithManor]

Imp, this is how it went for me. It shows that I am, well, baby crazy.

 

Baby #1 - Pregnancy test positive. Ran out and bought a maternity shirt that I would not need for at least five months (lots of vomitting and weight loss at the beginning). Bought a package of diapers and a receiving blanket as well...just to make myself feel REALLY good. Made the mistake of wearing said maternity shirt to dh's workplace to have lunch with him only to be accosted by people I did not think would be paying a lick of attention and they were all shocked that we'd kept the secret so long. Had to tell everyone I was only six weeks along. Got VERY weird glances from other women...you know..."Why on earth are you wearing maternity clothes if you don't need to??????" looks! Continued to collect month by month as our budget was tight and I took advantage of garage sales.

 

Baby #2 - Didn't know the gender, but knew two things. All of my maternity clothes were mostly summerish and this one was going to be born in February in a lovely Michigan winter - dd was born in very southern Indiana...not quite so cold and she was a summer baby to boot. So, new maternity clothes needed. Started shopping resale stores right away. Newborn and 0-3 months clothes on hand were all summer season - it was 105 degrees the day dd was born. So I also began looking for winter baby clothes because, again, I'm cheap and hate to pay full price for things my kids will outgrow overnight!

 

Baby #3 - Miserably ill, didn't do much planning until one day, about two weeks before ds was due, I realized I'd have two in diapers....yikes! Ran out and bought diapers, wipes, etc. Good thing too! Went into labor the next day.

 

Baby #4 - That was actually a traumatic pregnancy. There was planning going on of the magnitude that mom's here have never experienced. So, I won't regale you with that.

 

I was very glad with the last one to have two months of diapers and such in the house plus all of the freezer meals I had made up in advance.

 

Faith

[Aubrey]

You know...it never really occurred to me to buy more than a package of diapers before the baby. So I guess that makes me a waiter, too.

[Impish]

Here it tends to be what I call the 'birth and turf'. Princess was born at 744 pm, and I was home before noon the next day, so that's likely a chunk of why I find the hospital bag pretty useless. Plus, with the health care system we have, taking meds from home is useless as well, since all hospital stay stuff is free.

 

We don't have a deep freezer, so prepping meals, etc is out.

 

I hit consignment stores too...except for things like a car seat and crib. Just don't trust it. I may buy a 2nd hand stroller this go around, but haven't decided. Since I don't drive, I tend to be pretty hard on them.

 

Our budget is tightening up, so buying a bit at a time is what we need to do too.

 

Aubrey, with the move happening, I don't think I'd be buying stuff either! Just more to move!

[FaithManor]

Here it tends to be what I call the 'birth and turf'.

 

 

We have that too! It's called insurance companies and they rule the roost. I got turfed when ds #3 was born and I still needed another pint of blood. Insurance didn't want me to stay any longer (and we had good insurance compared to most people) and the nurse manager/on call OBGYN didn't feel like arguing with them so they figured...well, maybe she'll be okay!

 

But, actually in this country, the hospital does provide personal care items. LOOK OUT THOUGH! A travel bottle of shampoo - $5.00, $10.00 for a toothbrush, $5.00 per tablet for OTC tylenol, $2.00 each for every sanitary napkin, etc. I always packed my own and forced the nurse to remove ALL of it from my room and then note it in the chart so I could prove I didn't use any of it. Otherwise, the insurance would have only paid for a percentage and left us with the rest.

 

Birth and Turf! Yep, that's it.

 

Faith

[Impish]

We have that too! It's called insurance companies and they rule the roost. I got turfed when ds #3 was born and I still needed another pint of blood. Insurance didn't want me to stay any longer (and we had good insurance compared to most people) and the nurse manager/on call OBGYN didn't feel like arguing with them so they figured...well, maybe she'll be okay!

 

But, actually in this country, the hospital does provide personal care items. LOOK OUT THOUGH! A travel bottle of shampoo - $5.00, $10.00 for a toothbrush, $5.00 per tablet for OTC tylenol, $2.00 each for every sanitary napkin, etc. I always packed my own and forced the nurse to remove ALL of it from my room and then note it in the chart so I could prove I didn't use any of it. Otherwise, the insurance would have only paid for a percentage and left us with the rest.

 

Birth and Turf! Yep, that's it.

 

Faith

Here they encourage you to clear out the diapers, vaseline, etc. And no charge for any of it. They don't supply shampoo, hair brush, tooth brush, paste, but everything else...diapers, pads, meds, peri bottles to take home...And believe it or not, the food is actually GOOD! Meals and 2 snacks!

[Hwin]

As soon as I found out the gender, I started staking out yard sales. My baby is due in December, and I'd like to have all the big stuff by September... after that point I will have to buy it new or find it on CL. I have a lot of stuff coming from friends, too.

 

There will be a 5+ year gap between kids, so I am almost starting from scratch.