If you are expecting a baby, first of all congratulations! This is such an exciting and important journey for you to take and you’re definitely in for some of the best times of your life. Secondly, you will no doubt be aware that there is an awful lot of preparation involved with having a child. There are so many things you need to know and put in place before the arrival of your little one, and there are seemingly endless numbers of things you need to buy.
It can be easy to feel overwhelmed, both by the excitement of having a child but also by the generally quite long shopping list of things you need to buy in preparation for your baby’s birth. It can seem like a lot of work, especially when you have so much on your plate throughout pregnancy. Where possible, you should start getting everything together as early as you can.
Not only will this mean you have less to worry about as your due date gets closer, it also means you can more effectively spread the costs of your purchases - baby gear can get expensive! You should aim to focus on getting everything you need for your baby’s first 6 month of life first, and can get the other necessary bits and pieces as they grow.
What to buy to prepare for your baby’s first 6 months of life
This is a brief overview of the kinds of things you might want to consider using throughout the first 6 months of your precious bundle’s life. You may find that you don’t strictly need everything on this list, but they are some of the more important things that most parents will make a priority when shopping for their new baby.
Babies need a lot of sleep, but their sleep schedules very rarely match our own and it can be difficult to get them to drift off at naptime or night time. A white noise machine is something that many parents feel is absolutely necessary to help their little one drift off more easily into a restful sleep. You can get these well in advance of the birth and play sounds for your baby while they’re still in the womb. This gets them accustomed to the sound and makes it easier for them to associate it with the comfort of their mother.
Baby cribs are high on the list of newborn essentials because your little one will need somewhere suitable for them to sleep. Cribs are considered one of the safest options for little ones, and can also be good for babies who are slightly older too. A crib differs from a bassinet in that cribs will have taller sides. Bassinets are adorable but as your baby grows they will likely get too big for a newborn bassinet pretty quickly.
If your baby will be sleeping in a separate room to the parents then you will want to get a decent baby monitor. Baby monitors give parents extra peace of mind and also make it easier to know when your baby has woken in the night and is in need of a feed. Some models use wi-fi and others don’t, it’s up to you which kind of monitor you prefer.
Whether you are getting a taxi or driving your own car back from the hospital or birth centre you will need something to safely transport your little babe in. You will need a car seat that is suitable for newborns if you’re going anywhere by car, but if you’re catching public transport then you’ll need a pram that allows your little one to lie completely flat for their first months of life. Once they can reliably support their own heads then you can think about switching over to a stroller. The best systems are ones that are designed for all these early life stages and can be adapted with various seating options.
Whether you plan to bottle or breastfeed your baby, you might like to invest in a nursing pillow. These are specially designed to keep you both comfortable and properly supported as your baby feeds, and most parents find they are an inexpensive piece of equipment that adds a lot of value to the parenting experience early on.
Resources:
- Buggies - Boosty
- Baby Cribs - Journo Portfolio
- Pram - Hype.News
- Newborn Stroller - Matters
- Baby Cot in Singapore - HackMD