Pregnancy – What I wish someone had told me!
Trying to find out the things you need when your little one arrives? You are likely somewhere in your pregnancy (so YAY!! Congratulations!!) and realize you need a shopping list. There are plenty of “nice to have’s” but here I focus on a list of what I found essential both for me and for little my little boy, Kai. Like everything ‘mom’ we go about getting our essentials slightly differently (you will soon find out no two moms ever do anything quite the same way). I am a bit of a planner when it comes to things that will make my life easier in the long run. It drives my husband Carl mad sometimes, but that’s OK for me, so long as we have everything we need, I am pretty sure he will thank me later!
So, I got started on my list pretty early in my pregnancy. In the first trimester early. A friend who had recently had a baby, gave me her list as a starting place. I was a bit weary of the lists I had seen on retailer sites (they are trying to sell their products after all) so it was nice to get a list from another mother. When going through the items it still seemed a little over-the-top. Our theory was “if our parents did not need it then we probably don’t need it either”. My friend also used disposable nappies full time and I was quite keen to use cloth part time. I adjusted and worked out a rough budget which helped us stay on top of things. It’s easy to get carried away in a world of heavy baby marketing so be careful!
If working on a tight budget, I suggest holding out for the baby shows. They are completely overcrowded, loud and intense so be prepared! The best is to go through first thing in the morning before it gets too busy. The first two hours are the quietest so if you don’t like crowds, focus on the things you need and get out before 11h00. I found nothing worse than being pregnant, hot, tired, with immense pressure on my bladder in a crowded space. The shows are quite big and there is a lot of things you will definitely not need. Sticking to your list is a great way to not overspend on unnecessary items.
By the end of the second trimester we had bought all of the essentials. The things we would need if little Kai decided to arrive early (did I mention I was a planner?). We created our baby shower request items from what was left and also included some a few ‘nice to have’s’. We had the baby shower early enough in the third trimester, so any remaining items we needed we could still purchase a few weeks before Kai’s arrival date. It’s worth it to just be able to relax in those last few weeks instead of rushing around. A big life change is coming and it is really great to get some rest before then and boy does your tummy get heavy!
Once Kai was a few months old I realised that there were a lot of things on the list that I never used or that I only needed when he was much older. Keeping that in mind I have adjusted the list even further for the essentials for when you baby is born and what you need to get when your baby gets a little older
Here’s my recommended list. Hope you find it helpful! Let us know if there is anything you did not use, or something you found really helpful that is not included here. Happy shopping!
Baby and Mommy Shopping List
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