Congrats man. My practical tip for well wishing family and friends… The best gifts honestly were freezer meals, nappies and wipes. The sentiment behind anything else was sweet, but we still have boxes of shit that was never worn.
The marketplace/parenting groups on FB are great also. We were looking for mulberry trees for a silkworm situation we’ve got happening and within 5 minutes of posting about it we were given locations of every single tree in the inner west.
Get a rubber bib.
Not a bad idea. I’ve done this before, and considering we need to buy a few different things it probably makes sense.
Congrats mate, we’re expecting our first on either the 23rd or the 30th (depends if the stubborn kid turns, although unlikely). We went and bought a Reds detachable pram with the basinet and capsule. It was on special so got a decent price.
I’d stay away from the Bugaboo, they’re overpriced purely due to the name and go for a different brand. It’s definitely ridiculously hard as there’s a lot of companies that only do demonstrations at baby expos etc. Just make sure the thing is relatively easy to fold, has a handle that reaches to a comfortable length and actually fits into your boot… Plus cup holder, always buy a cup holder.
How have you guys found the Covid pregnancy? We’ve found it hard just to buy all the stuff we need as we’ve been avoiding the ships where possible. Also a lot of interesting developments in the hospital. They’re pushing for dads to stay, massively limiting visitors and, at North Shore Private, they’ve gotten rid of the nursery so baby stays in the room at all times.
Yes - the advise I would give is to ask people not to buy clothes or baby items, do that yourself on a need to use basis (you will find those few weeks you will need nappies and wipes and singlets and wondersuits only really) and as someone said above - the best thing well wishers can do is bring some meals, maybe help with washing up or something… that is the real stuff you will need that first 6 weeks or so…
I didn’t realise hospitals still did the nursery thing… both my boys never left my wifes side… which was standard in both the hospitals we used… interesting
Too late for a rubber, she’s already pregnant!
My tip is that hold off on trying to buy absolutely everything in advance. There is a temptation that you need to buy X, Y and Z, but the reality is you have time to do this and choose what works for you rather than being marketed at into thinking all your problems can be solved by throwing money at them.
I echo the advice on using Choice for the big ticket items cot, car seats etc) and gumtree for anything where hygiene is essential, and reach out to any friends who’ve had kids in the past few years as they’ll be delighted to offload stuff which will save you forking out, creating new landfill etc. You’ll solve yours, theirs and the environment’s problems in one go.
in my experience - you will need about 1/4 of the stuff that you are lead to believe you will need.
If anyone asks what they should get you, nothing beats a Target or KMart gift card just so you can keep buying cheap, expendable, every day clothing that they will grow out of super quickly and/or make an inevitable absolute mess of…
We had friends and family buy super expensive clothes for both of my kids and they barely got to wear them, and when they did, we were super paranoid that they’d spew all over it, or we’d end up with a number 3 leak.
It’s been completely shut down at North Shore due to Covid. Apparently it’s more dependent on the mother we were told. If she needs a rest, then the nurses will take baby away, if not, they keep baby there.
They’ve also changed nursing classes so that everything is one on one with consults and the limit is 1 visitor per day for 1 hr. The midwives have said that it’s actually made a huge difference with the restrictions. Babies are losing less wait, mums are less stressed and everyone is happier in general.
Also whatever you do, don’t buy expensive machines that add a shit load of monitoring/technology. There’s monitors with heart rate and movement pads that go under the mattress. All they do is add to your stress when you’re constantly checking on little one.
The best thing I did was the hospital classes. Teaches you a shit load, especially the basics on what the guy should be doing etc. The midwives we had doing it, were very down to earth and awesome on info.
The movement pads aren’t too bad, particularly if you’re both heavy sleepers, but get rid of it when they start rolling around, because that mother fucker will go off multiple times a night! If you’re light sleepers, a monitor will suffice.
Also you will get tons of unsolicited advice on what to do and buy 
And I can almost guarantee that you and your partners ‘natural instinct’ will be right much more than the unsolicited advice. We made this mistake a few times with our first child (around things like routine, home remedies etc)
My youngest is nine, so I’m well past all of the baby drama. One point I will make is, in the midst of the panic and sleepless nights and puke and shit, try to take the time to enjoy it. Whilst you’re in the middle of it, you’re consumed by it and it’s like it’s never going to end.
Neck minnit, she’s walking and a few days after that, she’s going to school. They really are babies for such a short time and you’ll be wistful about that time in a very short while.
Also, your life will be changed utterly!
crap didn’t realize you were 14 weeks in and not 14 weeks away!
Do yourself a favor, if buying a feeding chair, but it straight away. There’s a massive wait, we’re looking at 2 months!
Also, my boss is married to one of the head obstetrics doctors in Prince Alfred (I think). The best advice we got given for finding an obstetrician, is find one that’s an amazing surgeon. At then end of the day, the obstetrician does barely anything and if it’s a smooth pregnancy/birth they rock up to catch the baby and go on. If shit hits the fan, they’re the ones in middle of it all.
Wouldn’t Redders be the best option then? Flawless hands this season…
Cheers. We’ve found an obstetrician that we’re quite happy with (not sure about her surgery skills).
Thanks to everyone that has commented. I think we’re pretty much aligned with the advice that has been given. We’re planning on buying a few things new, some stuff from Gumtree and we have friends who are happy to offload/sell some of the other stuff. Cashflow isn’t too much of an issue, but the reason I’m starting now is so that we can put together a budget (easy to just want the best for every item), and so that we can buy when things are on special and when we see good stuff on Gumtree at a good price. Also means we’re spreading out the purchases so we’re not spending loads in month 8.