Quote:
Originally Posted by Eff-1
We just passed the first trimester. Still in shock lol.
We're starting the long process of buying all the gear.
I'm sure people here have done endless research. Tell me everything haha.
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Congratulations!
Some tips from my (somewhat) recent experience:
For buying stuff, at least until the kid is ~1 year old, you want to buy things that make YOUR (ie. the parents, but more-so the mom) life easier/more comfortable. The baby won't give a fuck, s/he doesn't need a wipe warmer or any of that stuff. There's lots of lists online, but most of the stuff will be for your comfort. You can figure out what you need/want. Infants literally just need you to feed them, burp them, wash them every once in a while and the other times they'll sleep.
Get your wife a wedge pillow for when the belly starts to grow, and there's a whole line of post-natal products that are actually useful. I know it's a few months off but recovery from birth is pretty horrendous. Breastfeeding pillow helped us a lot as well.
As your comfort allows, buy used if possible, except (imo):
- Car seat. Many if not all of them need to be replaced even if you were in the smallest of smallest accidents, and with used stuff there's just no way of knowing. Plus they also have expiry dates so if you buy one that's used for 5 years you may only get a few years use out of it.
- Crib. We got a hand me down crib from a family friend, and it was really nice, until we picked it up and saw that the previous kid chewed the entire front railing and there were splinters and paint flaking. We took it anyway but it was an entire afternoon of sanding and painting, difficult to do in a condo. Cribs are something they will use for years and years and can store easily if you want more kids, so I suggest just getting new. You don't need the $3k carbon fibre crib, just any basic one will do.
- Mattress. Bed bugs, nasty shit from other kids, just get a new one.
Lastly, both during pregnancy and after birth, don't feel the need to listen to everyone around you. Everyone will have some sort of anecdotal experience they'll share, especially grandparents (they won't care that their experience was 30+ years ago, in a different era). If you have questions during the pregnancy, don't google it, call your doctor or 811. Your kid is your own, and what worked/didn't work with others may not with yours. It's sleepless and stressful because suddenly you're fully responsible for every single aspect of another (tiny) human being, but it's also pretty damn great. 10/10 would do it again.