So you have found out you are pregnant, it’s all quite exciting and you can’t wait to go out and buy baby stuff, this has given you a whole new reason to investigate products, go shopping and find bargains. By the time the baby is actually born, you are drowning in equipment and you are not quite sure where to put it, or in some cases what and if you actually need it for. It is only when your baby reaches the age of 4 and the amount of baby stuff you have for your child gradually disappears, that you realise that your house wasn’t that small after all!

Key things to remember when buying baby stuff are that you only actually need to buy a few items for your baby before they are actually born i.e. car seat, so you can bring baby home from hospital and a pram so you can get out and about straight away. Other items are not essential straight away, you can buy them after the baby is born or even several months later.

Highchairs are not needed for a few months, you may want to wait and decide how and where you will use the highchair. I bought a travel highchair for my baby, which fixes to a normal dining chair. It wasn’t very expensive and it doesn’t take up anymore room than a chair. Because I went to stay with friends and family regularly, I was easily able to fold it up and take it with me.

Another item you may not need straight away is a cot, if you are using a Moses basket when the baby is first born. You can then decide if a cot or cot bed suits you best, a cot is great for smaller spaces but you will need to move them to a bed when they become to big. A cot bed is larger, but converts into a bed when needed so will last much longer

Lots of my friends have recommended fantastic products they found useful for their babies, some of them I knew I would find useful, but some just didn’t fit in with the way I lived. It is great to see or hear about a product before you buy, then you have an idea as to whether you would be wasting your money. You might find it useful to join baby forums or read reviews from parents who have actually used products. Most people I know never used their baby bath or only used it once, they wished that someone had told them not to buy one

Another advantage of giving yourself time and not filling your whole house with baby stuff, is that friends and family have an opportunity to buy or contribute to items for your baby. This way you can get presents that you really want and that are useful to you.