I'm a FTM but don't really see the point in stocking up. There will still be stores and opportunities to run out and grab supplies after baby. I'm going to get a big box of NB diapers and take it from there. I have a few of the Avent bottles you get as samples and will pick up 1 each of a few other brands. Clothes are a who knows kind of thing. I have a bunch of 3mo, maybe 1 or 2 NB things, and 1 or 2 6mo things. My motto is there will ALWAYS be cute baby clothes so no need to over shop before we know how big he is. Grab a few really special pieces and some basics and go from there. I would rather have to shop for more later than feel guilty for not using everything I buy now.
The answer is not too many of each of those until you figure out your and your baby's preferences and others may gift you a lot of stuff anyway. You can always buy more after the baby is born. Some sites like Amazon and diapers.com ship quickly if you don't want to go to a store.
For newborn stuff...I wouldn't stock up too much. DS was pretty much only in newborn clothes in the hospital (he was 8lbs and 21in), so a lot of our newborn clothes we had gotten as gifts didn't even get worn. Newborn diapers, he wasn't in for more than a week before we had to go up to size 1.
For bottles, if you're going to BF, you probably only need to start out with a few until you know what kind is going to work for LO.
Post by billyhorrible on Mar 12, 2015 8:51:40 GMT -5
Diapers - I always caution not stocking up because different brands work for different babies. And it's easy to grab more since they sell diapers everywhere (not like you need to go to a specialty baby store)
Bottles - I likewise recommend not stocking up until you find the kind your child will take. You really only need one or two "in case of emergency" and can add from there. I think we started out with a 3 pack. Slow flow nipple, 4oz. size if you're planning on breastfeeding. (One of these days I'll do a write-up about why you don't need bigger bottles)
Newborn clothing - The thing about newborn clothing is that most babies go through several changes of clothing in a day due to spit ups and blowouts. Like I've said before, I had some kind of miracle baby that didn't do those things, but he was in newborn clothes for at least a month, if not longer (he was 7lbs 6oz at birth and even the newborn stuff was a little big at first.) I'd have at least a weeks worth of clothes in newborn size to save you on laundry. I like kimono shirts at first, especially since we're having summer babies who can hang out in shirts and diapers at home (making diaper changes easier)
I'm sure that a lot of FTM can relate this this question: How much do we buy? I'm buying clothes, bottles and other things that the baby will need and I'm questioning how much of each I will need. I don't want to spend money on things that will never get worn or used. Can any STM provide some insight on how much of the following to stock up on:
- newborn diapers - bottles (I plan to BF but I want to be prepared just in case it doesn't work out) - clothes (the toughest one for me because they grow so fast but I also don't want to be doing laundry everyday)
Thanks ladies!
1 package of NB diapers. 2-3 of size 1. IME the hospital sends you home with all of the diapers in your room, AND my DS was out of NB dipes in like 4 days anyway. He was 8lb9oz and 22in.
1 of 2-3 different kinds of bottles, bc you don't know which your baby will prefer. Then you can get more of what works.
I'd say 8-10 footed sleepers would last 3-4 days, in 0-3mo size (ppl will inundate you with clothing, so). Again, DS was out of NB sized clothes within the first week, so I'm not even going to bother. How frequently do you want to do laundry?
Post by wifedeangel on Mar 12, 2015 9:43:35 GMT -5
For newborn stuff, I just have a few pieces of clothing and a small pack of newborn diapers. You can always buy more if you need them. On the month-sized clothes, I like to have about 10 "outfits", and that would last 3-5 days usually. Babies are full of spit up and leaky diapers, so it's better to have more than enough. For bottles, maybe just one pack to start with if you're breastfeeding.
Clothes are a crap shoot. DS was fine in out outfit a day and wearing a bib to help keep them clean. He wasn't a big spitter upper and had maybe 2-3 blow outs his entire first year. I've heard other moms say their infant went through 3-4 outfits in a day. It's going to depend on the kid.
I'm sure that a lot of FTM can relate this this question: How much do we buy? I'm buying clothes, bottles and other things that the baby will need and I'm questioning how much of each I will need. I don't want to spend money on things that will never get worn or used. Can any STM provide some insight on how much of the following to stock up on:
- newborn diapers - bottles (I plan to BF but I want to be prepared just in case it doesn't work out) - clothes (the toughest one for me because they grow so fast but I also don't want to be doing laundry everyday)
Thanks ladies!
1) So with my first baby, I didn't even buy any newborn size diapers or clothes (wtf was I thinking??). My mom had to go out and buy some newborn stuff for him after he was born. Long story short, my first baby was in Newborn sizes for 2-3 weeks. I'm planning on having 2 large boxes of Newborn sized diapers (@160 diapers total) and when they're gone we'll switch to size 1, or I'll buy more Newborn size if need be.
2) I am exclusively FF and I had 15 bottles with the first, and I have purchased 15 for this one. I will be running the dishwasher every day even with this amount.
3) Clothes are hard. Despite your intentions of not wanting to do laundry everyday, you will be doing laundry everyday for the first month or so. I swear I was running the washer 3x a day for the first few weeks with my first. I shoot for about 10 outfits in each size, except Newborn I'll just have a big stack of onesies since I know he won't be in that size very long and he'll be swaddled in blankets most of the time.
NB diapers- we're overstocked on these, I know. But, DD fit into hers for plenty long enough (several boxes worth, she was 6lbs at birth), so I think you'd be okay with the box of 150, assuming they work for the baby. We started with the Pamper's sensitives, and then moved into regular Pamper's.
Bottles- I think we did 3 sample packs of 3 different brands to start (Tommie Tippie, Dr. Browns and Born Free), but then when DD had her bottle aversion, we ended up with at least one of at least 5 different brands. So, I'd say start with a few bottles from a few brands before committing. Once she went to DC, we were doing 4-6 bottles per day at the start.
Clothes- I guess DD was a magical baby because she wasn't that messy. Not much spit up, about 3 diaper blowouts in her entire diaper career, lol. So, for us, 3 NB and 0-3m outfits per day were more than plenty. I've never in my life done a load of laundry each day. (that may be tempting fate, lol)
Diapers: 1 pack of newborn diapers and 1 pack of size 1. That way you are prepared for any size baby. Ds was born 8 pounds 4 oz so he grew out of NB diapers fast. I agree w pp not to buy a case of NB diapers until you know what size baby will be.
Bottles. I exclusively BF for 3 months before returning to work and pumping. So we just had 4 bottles 5 oz size in the house for the first 3 months to experiment w DH or family testing the bottle out. I also bought 1 bottle each of a few other brands in case baby did not like the other brands.
Clothes: I guess it depends on where you live and how cold it will be at night in June. We started out w 4 cotton gauze swaddle blankets 2 newborn swaddle me wraps 3 nb cotton kimono snap tops long sleeve 3 nb cotton kimono snap tops short sleeve 3 nb cotton footie pants 2 knit beanies
But we also did laundry every other day and I don't mind doing laundry frequently.
For the first month I preferred not doing Pajamas sleepers or pullover the head onesies. the snap separates made it easier to change diapers and to go gentle on the healing belly button area.
Post by PurpleIris on Mar 12, 2015 18:05:42 GMT -5
Agree about the diapers; I don't think we used NB diapers much at all (9 lb 5oz). And he never fit into NB sized clothes, he was too long. I will get a pack of NB this time, it's easy enough to pick up more.
I have mostly onesies/sleepers for the early weeks, they go through multiple changes of clothes (particularly when you're figuring out which diapers work!) and it wasn't worth putting nice clothes on to be pooped on after 10 minutes.
One thing we needed that we didn't have enough of was burp cloths. My son was a very spitty baby from the beginning and my husband had to make an emergency run out for these. I am well stocked already for this little one.
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