[waitingforanangel]

Hello,

We are now waiting to be matched and are preparing the nursery and getting some necessities for a newborn baby. For those of you who have adopted or are in the process of waiting to be matched, what have you bought? It is a little bit overwhelming thinking of all that we need, and it's hard to figure out exactly what we should be buying.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Thanks so much!

Cathy

[sbaglio]

Here are some suggestions (we have a 3 month old):

Diaper pail
Changing table
Crib (only need this when the baby is 2-3 months old; we used a bassinet until that time)
Wardrobe
For the wardrobe: Brush/comb, nail clippers and file, medicine kit (Infant Tylenol, Trivisol, Mylicon), many bibs, burp cloths, receiving blankets (we've only used a few of these; rather get larger blankets)
Rocking chair/recliner/glider (we don't use the accompanying ottoman that much)
CD player/stereo (to play the baby's bedtime music)
Mobile for crib, mirror for crib

I'll add more as I think of them!

[kelceesmom]

Early on we just go the necessities:

Unisex onesies
Baby wipes
Newborn diapers
Diaper cream
Blankets
Washclothes
Burp towels
Bottles
Socks
Depending on when your baby might arrive after you match maybe a few outfits if you aren't going to the sex make them unisex.

I also made sure my camera and video camera was ready to go.

Good luck in your journey.

[Fran27]

About receiving blankets - everyone told me we would never have enough of them. Frankly, i find most of them useless - unless you get the bigger kind (40x40 at least - the biggest ones I've found are from walmart and they're 42x42 or something - we still use them at 3 months). Otherwise, the common size is 30x30 and I used almost none of those (only to swaddle them at first but they were preemie and outgrew them really fast).

Other things...

towels
washcloths
laundry detergent (I never used dreft - target has a generic version or personally I just used unscented tide)

About clothes - unless you feel like doing laundry a lot I would get at least 6 - maybe 8ish. We used sleepers and not short sleeves onesies, but it was winter. My favorites are the Gerber sleepers with a zipper but I'm not sure many stores cary them (target does online). They're 3 for $10 and the zipper is very convenient (even if putting the legs in is kinda a pain when the babies are bigger). I've never used the long sleeve/pantless kind because if it's chilly enough for long sleeves I want them to have pants too! I love the carter's 5 packs of onesies too (they're on 5 hangers - kind of). Lisa is just about to outgrow the newborn size at 3 months.

You can always buy more later.

Hats, too, as newborn lose heat through their head. I stopped using them at one month or so.

And I would definitely get a lot of bibs.

My last advice - check ebay for lots of newborn clothes deals.

[michellef1]

I was a chicken about getting much in advance. Looking back, it would have been nice to have had some of the things as mentioned above. We had about 12 hours notice before we got to pick up DS. Whirlwind shopping trip to say the least!
Diapers and wipes are something you could buy, just pick up a package evertime you shop. I really don't think there is such thing as too many. Start with size 1 instead of newborn in case you have a bigger baby. I am a nurse in L&D, we put size 1's on everone from 5 pounders to 11 pounders. If people give diapers for gifts they often give the NB size.

[mommamarci]

It is so funny to read other's responses. I just threw away all of our bibs yesterday! They sat in a basket through one kid and have now sat for 2 1/2 months. So far, bibs have been useless for us. I have some bigger ones I am hanging onto in case we have drooling from teething and for when we start food.

Personally, I would get the big stuff: crib, changing table, rocker, etc. Then get all baby care stuff (pack of diapers, lotions, soap, etc.) I would hold off on buying most clothes or linens. For me, I had a lot, but never used it because I had to run out and buy boy stuff and blue! Even the towels and wash cloths!

Good luck!

[babydubs5]

CAR SEAT!!! I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but having your carseat is definitely a smart move. Especially if you get a call about a baby born situation.

aside from that, we had:
stroller
crib and mattress
dresser
book case (not needed, just wanted)
some basic onesies

basic sleepers


after we were matched, we bought more gender specific stuff (curtains, some more clothes, etc.)
However, that match fell through, so we just held onto everything and we were blessed to be matched with an Emom expecting a boy the 2nd time.

After our 2nd match (she was due in 3 weeks) we bought the swing, a pack n play, some more weather related clothes, basics like towels, wash cloths, bottles, a few diapers, wipes, formula, etc.

Of course, after he was born almost 3 weeks early, we ended up going shopping a lot, still.

[waitingforanangel]

Oh my gosh - thank you so much!! I feel much better now, with the help of all of you. If you think of anything else, please feel free to add it! I'll be checking back regularly!

I can't wait to go out today and do some shopping!!!

Thank you all SO much!

Cathy

[Lilly's Mommy]

Definitely agree on the car seat!

We had the nursery furniture (crib, changing table, dresser, glider) and had chosen to decorate the nursery in a non-gender-specific theme. I had WAY too many unisex clothes (onesies, socks, sleepers) and pitched most of them for pink once we found out we had a baby girl.

Diapers and wipes - you can't have enough!

[ourdreamcametru]

Mom of three here....
Sleepers with feet, no matter what season 8-12 of them.

burp clothes 8-12- I laughed at this advice with our third because our first two never even spit up, the third was a PUCKER and we used these more than anything else!

two boxes of newborn diapers to start

wipes

Cradle for newborn

bottles but don't buy formula until the baby is born or you bring it home because you won't know what kind it takes. Hospital will usually send a started supply home.

Swing-this was a must have for us with all three.

Carseat and stroller

Just a few blankets and sheets for crib or cradle

infant tylonel

Pacifiers if your baby will take one--four years into my third who is a thumb sucker I can tell you to encourage the passy! Thumb suckers are darling but you can't break the habit!

[devildogwife]

You know, we are probably the only family on the forum that couldn't use the carseat they had purchased! Our son went home in a car bed; but we are definitely an exception.

My son was tiny when he was born and ended up wearing newborn diapers until he was 3 months old. We needed a boppy pillow to safely hold him the first month. Couldn't have lived without mylicon drops, infant tylenol and gripe water (for colic that was really an MSPI). Baby nail clippers, aquaphor, soothies pacifiers, a really comfy recliner (glider and ottoman didn't work for me), a diaper champ, night light, soft baby wash cloths, I have never used a bib with my son, baby socks, unisex onesies for underneath his clothes (born in winter and gets really cold), a humidifier, fisher price soothing motions glider and the best one of all: The Fisher Price Rainforest Mobile. My son LOVES this and just stares at the orange monkey.

[4everwaiting]

As for us we haven't bought a thing-we didnt want to walk into a fully furnished nursery with no baby. Had we gotten the nursery all fixed up and waited for a long time it would have been very depressing and made the wating that much harder... We will buy everything when we are matched or after the baby is home.

I think its a great idea for those that know there wait will be short, but for those that don't know such as us- it would be too emotional.

Sandra

[Fran27]

Just an advice for diapers - in my experience store brands are just as good as brands, and much cheaper. We used mainly size 1's right away, even though ours were preemies.

For the clothes, I agree that it's impossible if you get a girl to put her in that unisex clothing - unless you're really running out of clean stuff, you will want pink/purple/girly stuff. You will want some clean clothes to pack with you in case you get an emergency placement though so I would get a few things.

For bibs, get a few, they won't be needed if you don't get a spitter. I ended up getting a lot of 31 on ebay for my DD though, lol.

Things you can get if you want to be ahead some - mobile, baby tub, swing/bouncer (they're lifesavers IMO).

And for the record - our nursery is still not done yet We're going to start working on it...

[mom2justynsarah]

I agree with the other posters on everything they recommended. I am not sure if this was already included, but make sure you also have a nasal aspirator, and nail clippers. Also tons of burp clothes, and liners for the changing table.

[mom2justynsarah]

I couldn't agree more! We used Walmart brand diapers which have the same exact code numbers as "Huggies.." Also, we used generic brand baby formula which was exactly the same as "Enfamil."

[quote=Fran27]Just an advice for diapers - in my experience store brands are just as good as brands, and much cheaper. We used mainly size 1's right away, even though ours were preemies.