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We all know that buying less baby gear is one way for you to save money before having your baby, but I’ll tell you about some ways that you might not have thought of below.
Meal Prep
Unless you have people sending you meals, are looking forward to going out with your baby or getting your partner to cook or pickup takeout, you probably will want to meal prep so you can just grab something out of the freezer, stick it in the oven, and call it a day.
This will also help you make sure that you are eating healthy foods, which is especially important if you are breastfeeding. Before having your baby, you should also consider making some of those breastfeeding oatmeal bars or just buy some oatmeal bars and oatmeal to make for a quick breakfast.
This will be especially important if you are breastfeeding because breastfeeding makes you very hungry. Just be sure to pick out meals that are easy to put together and don’t require much grocery shopping should you decide not to go. Some good meal ideas are: lasagna, quiche, casseroles, baked chicken, and dump and go crockpot meals. If you are able to get your freezer packed with some great meals before having your baby, you will be able to rest up some more
Keep Your Car Maintained
Getting stranded somewhere because your car broken down really sucks, it doesn’t suck nearly as bad as being stranded with a baby, especially during bad weather.
Make sure to check the car’s fluids, get an oil change, get new tires, and get any other repairs needed before having your baby if possible.
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Get a Couple Good Water Bottles
You should drink plenty of water during your pregnancy, especially if you have a summer pregnancy. I’m pretty sure that I got stretch marks because I didn’t drink as much water during the summer months as I should have been. It could have also been because I was in my third trimester, but either way, it is important to drink plenty of water before having your baby.
If you don’t already have a water bottle that you like, you will need to find a good water bottle before having your baby, especially if you are planning on breast feeding, you will be so incredibly thirsty while breastfeeding. You should be able to figure out what kind of water bottle you prefer and what kind of drinker your are. Do you like straws or an open mouth? Do you guzzle a bunch of water all at once or do you sip frequently throughout the day?
Finding a good water bottle will prevent you from buying a bunch of disposable water bottles. You will save your wallet and the Earth if you just buy a couple reusable water bottles and keep them clean. The odds of you leaving one in the car, bedroom, kitchen, and living room are high, so having plenty of bottles on hand will help ensure you will always have some clean water around.
Go Through All Your Baby Registry Items
If you only got items that you put on your baby registry, then great, you might not have to double check what you have. However, if you are missing anything from your baby registry or if you got a bunch of things that you didn’t put on your registry, you will probably want to go through everything before having your baby. I would check for duplicates that you don’t need, outfits that don’t match, items you are sure you won’t use, and anything else you just don’t want. Now is the best time to return these things since you won’t have to worry about lugging large baby gear to a return desk and a baby too.
The weeks leading up to your due date are going to be your last chance to get the baby items you will need while they are on sale. You don’t want to be at home with your newborn and need to go out for something. You might not want to go or might not feel comfortable with your baby going out in public. Even if you order the things you need, it will still take some time if you aren’t planning on paying for expedited shipping. So make sure that you double check that you have everything you need off your baby registry before having your baby.
Stock Up the House
You will want to take advantage of the sales and deals for your basic supplies in the weeks and months before having your baby. Before having your baby, make sure that you are stocked up on toilet paper, personal items, groceries, and anything else that your family regularly needs.
Shop Amazon – Create an Amazon Baby RegistryGet the Car Seat
I installed the car seat in my car during my third trimester and I’m really glad I did. It’s nice to have time to practice getting the baby in and out even before having your baby. It’s also great because it helps you know whether or not you like the car seat so you can have time to return it if you don’t like it. This is the infant carrier I got, I really like it because it comes as a system with the jogging stroller. This is the car seat I switched my son to once outgrew the infant carrier.
Order Your Breast Pump and Other Items
I ordered my breast pump during my third trimester just a couple days after my doctor gave me the prescription for it. Depending on your health insurance and the breast pump your pick, you might be able to get your breast pump for free. I’ve used this company before and I would use them again.
You might also be able to get some belly bands and other support wear depending on your insurance. I would also get these items from this site.
I was told that it is best to wait a couple weeks before pumping so your supply can regulate. I have also heard that other women have been told different things. I knew that I wanted to primarily breast feed and that the pumped milk was so my husband could feed our son and so if I was sick and wasn’t supplying much, I would still be able to feed our son.
I would still recommend you get your breast pump sooner than later and open it up immediately and make sure it works before having your baby. The last thing you need is a hungry baby and a broken breast pump.
Pack Your Hospital Bag
I had my diaper bag and hospital bag packed when I was 22 weeks. I did this because I wanted to make sure that should I go into early labor, I would have everything we would need. I kept changing what was in the bag even about a month before I had my baby.
I wouldn’t wait until the last minute to pack the bags because you never know when you will go into labor. Even if you don’t have everything you want to go into the bag yet, still pack what you have and you can add it in later. I also would suggest that you keep it in your car instead of at the door like some people suggest. You might end up forgetting it if you leave it at the door, or if you leave the house, you will have to remember to put in the car every time.
I really liked that I brought a book bag for my husband and I wish I would have brought a book bag myself instead of a duffel bag. I didn’t mind that the baby’s things were in a duffel bag, but I think next time I will just bring the diaper bag with a couple extra outfits in it instead.
I did really like that I brought a snack bag for my husband, although I ended up eating more from it than he did, so make sure you pack some things you like too. Breastfeeding makes you very hungry and although they allow you to order more food because you are breastfeeding, I still needed snacks between meals too. So we saved money just because I didn’t need to send my husband to the vending machine for me.
But…Don’t Bring Everything to the Hospital
At the very least, you are going to want some clean items at home, but also you probably won’t use everything you bring to the hospital. You will want to make sure there are two outfits to leave in for yourself, your partner, and for your baby in case of accidents. Other than that, you might want your diaper bag, phone chargers and your personal care items.
I plan on using the hospital gown again so I don’t get blood and slew of other things on my gown. I’m glad I left my gown at home so I could lounge in it when we got back from the hospital instead of destroying it during the delivery.
If you are planning on having visitors and really want to look dressed up, then bring a few things to help you feel human again, but just know that you probably won’t be interested in being dressed to the nines.
If you are interested in using a breast pump while you are in the hospital, they generally have some available. It might not be the same brand or model that you have at home, but it should still get the job done.
Wear Your Normal Shoe Size After Leaving the Hospital
The hormone Relaxin (I’m not making it up), will make your feet larger because the Relaxin hormone will not only relax your pelvic joints to make it easier to give birth, but every other joint in your body.
It is okay to go up a half shoe size while you are pregnant because the increased blood flow and amount while pregnant. I wore these shoes religiously during my pregnancy and they were great because I could slip my foot in and go. As they wore down, I still didn’t even need the pull tab on the back of the heel, but I was glad that it was there in case I needed it.
With my next pregnancy, I plan on wearing my normal shoes after I get home from the hospital so that my feet can compress back down to their normal pre-pregnancy size. I did this with my first pregnancy and it worked very well. I didn’t want to have to buy new shoes again, especially since my feet have been the same size for years and I have so many nice shoes now.
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