Shopping for Your Unborn Baby: Learning the Basics

Do you have your essentials for welcoming Baby home? Here are a few more tips to help you prepare for your precious newborn.

• Be sure you have purchased a car seat. A car seat is the one piece of equipment absolutely necessary to take your baby home from the hospital.
• Make sure you have a place set up for your baby to sleep. Be prepared in case your newborn decides to make an early entrance into the world.

• Aim to have your basic layette items on hand before your 38th week of pregnancy. The last thing you'll want to deal with when easing into your new role as a mom is clothes shopping.
• Newborns outgrow clothes so quickly—remember not to go overboard when buying those tiny onesies and PJs. While it's recommended that items be purchased in size zero to three months, you may consider including items in the three to six months size if you don't mind rolled up sleeves and want to get more wear out of your purchases.

• Figure out how you will organize your baby's wardrobe before your due date. It's a wonderful task for when you are in the nesting stage and it will save you from having to rifle through gift boxes, shopping bags, and dresser drawers looking for a change of clothes in your early days of motherhood.
• Nobody likes scratchy new clothes—least of all a baby. Using a baby-friendly detergent, wash a few newly opened onesies, sleepers, and blankets so they are ready to go once baby comes home from the hospital.
• Many new moms receive exquisite baby clothes that go unworn because they are the wrong size, are out of season, or are simply not practical for a newborn's wardrobe. Be sure to keep all gift receipts and keep tags intact in case you find that there are items among your baby gifts that you would prefer to exchange for something that you really need.