Buy and Not to Buy for Newborns

Soon-to-be parents and new parents are the most susceptible dupes when it comes to buy what is best for their child. They get very emotional while shopping and often end up spending a fat bundle of bucks on things and those who are having firstborns may buy things such as baby clothes, furniture, toys and nursery decor items that they or their baby never use. While salesperson can go on and on about their products and how they boost child’s health, growth, welfare and mental & physical development, their real purpose is to help their baby store make profit. So, you will still need help of an experienced parent to decide what products you will really need and t save you from falling into promotion gimmicks and spending unnecessarily:

Convertible cribs and much more expensive in reality than what the salesperson lead us to believe. Though you can convert them to ‘youth’ bed and later to twin or queen bed at additional costs, when children grow up, they don’t need a transitional step and can just use a regular bed well enough. Moreover, you will have to buy another crib if you are planning to have another baby in future. So, wisdom guides us to buy an ordinary crib for the baby while he is young and then move him to a regular bed, when he is old enough.

Fancy crib-bedding sets with comforters and baby pillows and bedding accessories make your nursery look beautiful but are of little use and are even dangerous. Soft bedding can put the baby at risk of being suffocated in the crib while sleeping. So, best option is to use only a fitted sheet with deep corner pockets until the child is six months old and make him wear pj’s to keep him warm. If you must buy beautiful pillows and fluffy quilts, make sure that you remove them from the crib while the baby is sleeping.

For expensive formal dresses, it is better to buy clothe sizes that will fit the baby until he is six months old and you can just roll up the sleeves and legs.

Life insurance for babies is senseless as life insurance means to replace the income of a family member who dies for his or her dependents. Chances of child’s death at a young age are so minuscule that it makes no sense pay anything for protection against it.

Life insurance as college savings is to make you a fool too. You will do much better if you invest in mutual funds or good college-savings plan instead.

Miniature outfits for newborns look very cute and lure new parents to buy dozens. However, parents should keep in mind that babies grow at a very fast rate and what fits a newborn won’t fit him in a month and clothes for one-month old won’t fit him in another two months. So, stick to few dresses, t-shirts and overalls and buy clothes for the baby, as the need arises.

Nothing has yet been found that can reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) including baby mattresses, crib sheets, sleep positioners and nursery monitors being advertised by the big baby stores. So, don’t fall for them. They may even make you feel safe and you may get slack for baby’s safety. There is only one thing you can do protect your baby from SIDS and it is to always to make your baby sleep on her back.

Shoes or infant size footwear for the babies are expensive and useless until the child starts walking. You can buy beautiful socks and booties instead to keep the baby’s feet warm.