How prepared are we?

[first_time_mummy]

Okay, so i guess im only 18 weeks, but how prepared should i be.
my family and friends said im too prepared, but i dont think you can ever be too prepared.

I have bought a cot, pram, bouncer and changetable/drawers and nursery set (ie sheets, bumper, lamp, mat etc)

And ive ought about 20 bonds wondersuits, 10 pair socks, 4 beanies, 9 bibs, and a set of 4 flanalette wraps.

It sounds a lot but i am seriously doubting it will ever be too much.

Can you shed some light on the ammounts of stuff you had for bub. especially in regard to clothes. How much clothing will be required to confortably accomodate for a baby?

[Stevie]

your alot more prepared than I, thats for sure, but DH and i decided not to really go into buying much until we knew what we were having, i guess then it can be a bit more personalised for us if that makes sense.
We've brought a cot and our pram is on layby. we know what car seat we are getting, we just havent gotten around to getting it yet (still plenty of time)
DH wants everything (toys,blankets, things like that) to be reptile based. LOL. We breed snakes and lizards and are both in love with reptiles, so another reason of not having much stuff is coz we're searching for those things (so if anyone has any ideas feel free to let me kow :P ) Stuff like snakes, lizards/geckos, crocodiles, frogs and turtles hehe.
First_time_mummy: you sound super organised. Either that or i am hopelessly unorganised haha.

[NaeNae]

OMG you sound just like me when I was preggy with Niki.

I would say singlets, and muslin wraps (afterall we are having end of Spring babies with Summer just around the corner so flanelette wraps could be good for spew rags).

Start looking into car seats, breast pumps (at least find out where you can hire them JIC), create a list for your hossy stay, collect nappies, baby monitor, night light, nursing chair, portable cot, high chair ..... I could go on but it depends on what you think you'll need and whats just a luxury item.

Don't forget though that friends and family will want to buy you and baby gifts as well so maybe create a wish list and do some research on different products then create a gift registery so people can see what you need and what they can get. Particularly big ticket items, some people might like to chip in togetehr to get something big.


So have you set up your nursery yet? may want to look into removable wall decorations etc and have a theme.

Nae x

[M22]

all that srtuff sounds fine, just matrerial stuff really though- how bout some infacol or similare in case you need it. honestly though- you can have all the stuff in teh world and not really be prepared for hte change!!

[Taurean]

You're doing really well and don't listen to those that say 'you're too prepared' - what a stupid thing to say! I've had a few friends comment on how prepared I am and I just say 'I'd prefer to get it all organised while I'm healthy and still mobile, I'm a very organised person so it's just normal for me and I'm excited about the baby so I'm organising baby stuff'. I'm amazed at how some people react - does it really matter?!

I had all my nursery stuff on layby at 14 weeks and we setup the nursery at 23 weeks. It's pretty much done, just waiting for the bookcase to arrive. We have our carseats (got them both on sale), pram, bassinet, manchester (cot set, sheets, towels, washers), a weeks worth of newborn nappies (which I've already put in the nappy stacker) and other various items. I used a list available at Target and one from a pregnancy magazine to help me work out what I needed. Target had a big nursery sale recently so I even bought all the bath goodies, nappy cream, moisturiser, comb set, newborn dummies, bottles, medical kit, etc. I feel great that we're pretty much all organised. We only have a few more small things left on the list to buy!

I only have 7 grow suits (in 0000) which I think is plenty for the beginning. We don't know what we're having so we have white and lemon suits and we'll get more in the suitable colour and size once Tarko arrives. Keep in mind what Nae said too, you will most likely get loads of pressies once your baby arrives, probably heaps of clothes, so don't go nuts on clothing. They grow so quickly too so they may not end up wearing some things at all. Toys are another fave gift so don't worry about many toys.

Well done for being organised hon and enjoy that time. Everyone tackles the baby 'to do' list at different stages and just ignore those people who say you're 'too prepared'. How can you ever be too prepared for a new baby?!

[Emitob]

I was pretty organised with my first child, and agree that it is much easier to do all this stuff while you are mobile. But just remember that warranty periods will be running out before you even get to use the stuff. We had a problem with the pram we had bought, and as we had bought it so early, we almost missed out on having it fixed under warranty!

[Taurean]

I was pretty organised with my first child, and agree that it is much easier to do all this stuff while you are mobile. But just remember that warranty periods will be running out before you even get to use the stuff. We had a problem with the pram we had bought, and as we had bought it so early, we almost missed out on having it fixed under warranty!

Warranties - that is a good point! Our pram has a lifetime guarantee and the car seats are 5 years but I think all our other stuff have the standard one or two years. You would hope that the minimum warranty on baby goods would be 1 year but I totally agree with you, that is definitely something to consider! Oh, and keep all your receipts FTM!

[alioops]

I started having issues with my pelvis at 18 weeks this pregnancy and DH had some time away for work so we pretty much had everything of the big things by 18 weeks. After the scan I bought some clothes and washed and sorted the clothes we had for our other 2 and ditched what was not good anymore. The only thing that I am freaking out about now at 38 weeks is that DD2 is not quite ready to move out of the cot, but I have been lucky enough to be given a cot with a brand new inner spring matress for DD3. DH should be collecting that and setting it up sidecar style next to our bed tomorrow!!

[Willow]

Sheesh...I wish. I'm 33wks and apart from the room being cleared and painted and the cot put up (minus the mattress etc which is still on layby, along with the carseat, bassinette etc etc ) nothing has been done.

There's no way I would personally set up a nursery before 30+ weeks, I'm too superstitious/paranoid after our loss, but have probably left my run a bit late now because I am extremely uncomfortable and tired already. But my mum will be down for the birth and is always happy to help me finish off the last minute things like washing clothes etc.

I wouldn't buy any more clothing, you'll be amazed how much people buy for you, particularly if it's your first baby.

[PinkPalace]

i had a june and a oct baby.
I hardly ever used socks and beanies for the oct baby - too hot.

what type of bonds suits did you get also?

i had about 3 in each size 00000 0000 000 and that was heaps, and about 2 pairs of socks in case.

Bibs you may not even use for 6 months.

so i would say you are very prepared! good work

[BekZ]

Wow you are organised!!! although I was really organised with DD1, a little less with DD2 and I find myself at 34wls pregnant and not at all organised with DD3 yet. Although I have organised myself in other ways like I've done a meal plan for the month after bub is born, I've cleaned out my pantry, linen cupboard, laundry. I have washed all of the families winter cloths and cleaned out their cupboards.

Other things that you may like to think about is organising a membership to the Australian Breastfeeding Association (if you are planning to bf) and attending some bfing classes. Reading some good books about birthing. Think about your support network after bub is born and organise help. Will your partner have time off work? Do you have family member's to come and help you for your babymoon?

I found with my first pregnancy getting ready was all about buying the things I needed, which you need to do, however, I really didn't think about the "other" things that come along with a baby.

Are you planning a babyshower? if so don't buy much more until you've seen what others have purchased you.

All the best

[skybie]

wow hun very organised!!
I was the same with DD everything was done well before the halfway mark!
this time around, not so much lol, the thought of cleaning out the closet in baby's room scares me lol.
i think there's a difference between being prepared with the material factor and being prepared mentally for a child, i think your question was for the material side of things and you've done really well, the other thing i'll suggest is stock up on washing powder whenever its on special, your gonna need a ton of the stuff!!grab some bottles and teats when u do your grocery shopping, just so there's no big rush. and get some bigger sized clothes too, not a whole heap but just a few incase bubz has a big growth spurt all of the sudden and u have no bigger sized clothes!
in my opinoin i dont think anyone could possibly be prepared for having a child, im not and this is my second and it all feels new again! its a great big (but wonderful) shock to the system!

[Nicolette.dacosta]

WOW, you have done a great job so far! I was fairly similar to you with all the furniture and bits and pieces but as we didnt know what we were having we couldnt buy too many clothes. My nursery was finished at about 24 weeks!! However one thing that my MIL bought me which was the best gift ever was a pack of cloth nappies that i still use now - 6 months on as spew rags!! They are the perfect size and easy to throw in the wash! it also keeps you reasonably clean!

Good Luck!!

[Fleur]

Very prepared and is there any such thing as too prepared? pfft. Don't listen to your family
We had most stuff sorted by 24 weeks and now I am glad we did. I don't want to be mucking with it now, I want to be focusing on other things.

One thing though - as PPs have mentioned - think about whether you will have a baby shower or not - mine was a late decision and people are now asking me what do you need...and I am saying nothing, really

- also with the clothing, not sure what sizes you have, but i am leaving the tags on mine until bub is here in case we have wrong sizes (or colour...maybe it won't be a pink baby ) I figure it will not be too hard for DH to throw it through the wash after bubs is born, before we come home. Maybe have a couple of outfits ready and keep the rest JIC until you know if they are what you need or not.

[GoingtobebiginAsia]

Wow, now I feel hopelessly disorganized.
We have not got anything. We've had a chat about which room to put the baby in and that's about all our preparations so far.
I'd better get a wriggle on!

[turtlejane]

I haven't really bought anything yet either, but mainly that's cos we only just moved back to Sydney so previously all our stuff was in storage

I can't wait to go shopping for baby stuff, just seems like there is soooo much to think about though! But I'm keen to at least get the main stuff like a car seat and cot etc sorted very soon. And if we get to find out the sex at the scan this weekend then I'm sure I'll be off buying cute little onesies very soon!

There's soooo many gorgeous bedding sets out there to choose from too! Gosh I could cluck over this stuff all day! LOL

[chickenlittle]

I reckon it's fab that you're so prepared...
Pretty soon you'll be tired and glad you got it all!
I do agree with Pink Palace tho in that for a baby due early November there probably won't be much need for beanies and loads of warm things... my 3rd baby is due mid oct and I'm imagining I'll be buying lots of singlets and singlet suits and muslin wraps. I didn't use beanies for my newborn girls at all, even in winter, but they had lots of hair!
But you can always sell stuff online if you don't need it, so doesn't really matter!
Good on you for getting stuck into it.

[pash]

DH wants everything (toys,blankets, things like that) to be reptile based. LOL. We breed snakes and lizards and are both in love with reptiles, so another reason of not having much stuff is coz we're searching for those things (so if anyone has any ideas feel free to let me kow :P ) Stuff like snakes, lizards/geckos, crocodiles, frogs and turtles hehe.

SteveW have you checked out Ikea? I think there are some cute green frog things.