Getting ready for Baby
What an immense time of preparation it is...pregnancy! There seems to be an overwhelming list of things that you are encouraged to regard as "must-haves" when you are expecting your first baby and considered ripe for spending! A whole range of baby products inevitably pile up in what will soon be the nursery and many a mum is probably left wondering whether there will actually be any room left for the baby by the end of it. In hindsight of course we realise that we didn't really need half of the stuff
that we were coaxed to buy, whether it be by an enthusiastic granny-to-be or more likely from the vast amount of baby literature that we throw ourselves into when we are expecting our first.
But the pressures of the recession means that now more than ever it pays to be a little bit more savvy about what we really will need, and indeed where we buy it from. If you have any friends who already have children have a good chat with them about what you really will need. I am sure that they will have plenty of advice. I can remember being seduced by things I saw in the store only to find out 6 months later that it never left the wardrobe or storage unit in the nursery.
Clothes seems to be the biggest trap that people fall into. I expected my first baby to need an enormous amount of clothes, surely all little ones did was poop and be sick so there would be plenty of changes... but that wasn't the case at all really. I was surprised just how "clean" babies are.
It really is better to keep things practical in the first couple of months. Newborn babies are surprisingly small (!!) so dressing them up in fancy outfits probably won't kick in til they are at least 8 weeks old. My advice would be you can't have enough babygros or two piece sleepsuits! Something easy to button up and easy to wash. I had all white for my newborn and they still looked like new when I sold them three years later! But of course you can go for any colour you want. Having all white meant for me it was easy to throw everything in the machine and of course, you can't beat a newborn baby in white!
I mention 2 piece sleepsuits because babies grow at an alarming rate and just one centimetre can be the difference between a baby being able to stretch out comfortably in their cot, and not! Having 2 piece suits - so leggings with a long sleeved top or vest - were so practical and lasted much longer than babygros.
So that's my little nugget of wisdom! If you are already a mum share your tips when it comes to buying, from choosing a travel system to whether or not you need a moses basket, we'd love to read your comments.
