A child is the most valuable treasure that any parents have, but raising a son or a daughter might not be easy especially when it comes to financial side. It is very important to be prepared for such big event in life like welcoming a baby in the family, know what to expect, and how plan your budget. In the first few month newborns normally do not need lots of things and only initially important stuff should be purchased. Below is the list of common things that need to be acquired for 0 - 3 months babies:
How baby will sleep - crib, mattress, pad, bedding, blankets, crib toys, and baby monitor
When shopping for a crib, it is important to check the distance between railings; it should not exceed 2 3/8 in. When it comes to baby mattresses, usually it is not wise to save on that. Cost of decent crib mattresses vary from about $80 to $200, but you can find new one even for $40. However, such cheap mattress might have plastic materials at its top layer and your baby may not feel comfortable sleeping on it. In addition, your child might sweat because of that plastic.
Usually parents do not need to invest in expensive blankets much because 2 years old or younger kids do not like to be covered and might not even let you to do it anyway. It is nothing wrong with that, dressing child better always helps stay warm at night. If you have big house, then a baby monitor is essentially necessary thing to get.
How child will eat - bottles and breast pump
Typically babies before 3 months old do not consume anything except breast milk or formula, so parents can purchase sippy cups, baby spoons and bowls later. If a mother plans to breastfeed then she will need a good breast pump. Cheap breast pump might create all the conditions that you lose your milk supply in very short period of time the same as a manual (hand) breast pump. However, the manual breast pump might be good for pumping milk somewhere outdoors when you cannot be with your child.
What baby will wear - onesies, socks, hats, pajamas, receiving blankets, bibs, no scratch mittens, and snowsuit (if you baby will be born in cold period of the year)
Usually in the first three months of life, babies do not go much out. That’s why mothers do not need to buy lots of expensive baby clothing unless they want to. However, it is important to buy lots of simple and easy changeable first time baby clothes because mothers have to change it more than 20 times a day because of spit ups.
Toiletries - baby bathtub, no tears baby wash and shampoo, baby lotion, towels, and hair brush
Changing - diapers, wipes, butt cream, powder (may not be necessary), diaper changing bag
In order to avoid or minimize baby skin rashes, change diapers very often. To save on the changing, buy diapers in biggest packages. However, be careful at the periods when you need to switch sizes. Some baby wipes dry skin, so read review about any product before purchasing.
Toys - rattles, teethers, squeeze toys, stuffed toys, baby play gyms, CDs
It is necessary to purchase some toys for your baby not only for entertainment purposes, but for education as well. Through play and tough your child will learn.
Carrying - stroller, car seat, non-breakable back seat mirror, and baby bouncer
A stroller is usually the second most expensive item after the crib which you need to acquire. On the other hand, commonly in first 3 months of babies live, the newborn is not that heavy and you potentially can carry your child in a car seat. But later on, you will have to buy it anyway. In order not to make too much pressure on your budget in one time, parents might choose to get strollers later.
If you drive, a car seat is must have thing in your car. Safety should be on the first place while choosing between new and used car seats. In order to reduce pressure on your back, it might be necessary to buy a baby bouncer. That way, your baby won’t be constantly on your arms or in a crib.
Additional stuff - pacifier, nasal bulb, baby thermometer, and some medicine
Sometimes your baby might cry just because he wants to suck something. So, pacifiers are among necessary things to buy. If you won’t get a nasal bulb in your newborn kit from a hospital, then it might be necessary to purchase one. The nasal bulb will help you to clean baby’s nose. All newborns have stuffy nose, it is different from regular runny nose because initially it happens when a baby learn breathing. However, you still might want to pull out that mucus in order to ease your baby eating and sleeping.
It is also important to watch constantly for your baby’s temperature. Of course, you can feel it by hand whether your child is hot or not, but sometimes newborns may get hot from wearing too many clothes on or from environment. That’s why the thermometer will help you to determine whether your kid having cold or not. Usually in the first year of life, children have fevers pretty often, so it is better to be prepared and have baby’s Tylenol or some other medicine that can reduce baby’s temperature. Even after regular vaccination your little one might have fever.