One of my biggest struggles in preparing for our baby was figuring out what to buy when. Should I go ahead and buy that beautiful crib while it is on sale, or should I wait to buy a crib until we are matched with a placing mother? When should I buy and read parenting books? Should I keep some formula on hand in case we have a last-minute match? What about a car seat?

Ultimately, I decided to wait on purchasing most items until we were matched with a placing mother. I did this for a few reasons:

Grief over Unused Items

My husband forbade me to buy any nursery furniture until we were matched. I would sometimes walk into the room that we had set aside to be a nursery and cry because it sat unused for so many years. The last thing my husband wanted was to add baby furniture for me to cry over. He thought that it would be even more painful for me to look at unused baby furniture collecting dust in our nursery.

As far as perishable items went, we did not want to risk formula going bad, and seeing unused formula in my cabinets, with the expiration date approaching, would have been extremely painful.

Safety Issues

Some items, such as car seats, are improved each year to make them safer. For example, when my sister’s son was born in 1999, she had to look long and hard to find a five-point harness on an infant seat. By the time my son was born in 2001, it was hard to find one without this safety feature.

Manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to improve the safety of their products. Waiting to purchase items like car seats can be safer for your child.

Improvements

Manufacturers are always looking for ways to make their products more appealing. They listen to what consumers want, and they find ways to improve their products to meet those needs.

A good example is the travel system in which your child’s infant carrier can snap into a base to become a car seat and into a stroller for transporting the child. Travel systems were not always available, and they can be more cost-effective than buying a separate car seat, infant carrier, and stroller.

You never know what improvements are around the bend, so waiting to purchase some items until your child’s arrival is imminent can help you to take advantage of these improvements.

For items that are unlikely to have modifications for safety or improvement purposes, follow your heart. If it will cause you pain to see these items in your house, then wait to buy them. However, if it brings you joy to start planning for your child now, then purchase the items. You will need them eventually.

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