It may seem a little bit early now that I’m only in my 24^th week (16 weeks to go *gasp*) but we already started shopping to prepare for baby’s arrival. One, because I am still pretty mobile and don’t have crazy aches if I stand or walk for long hours and two, it’s the Malaysia Year End Sale so everything is pretty much on a discount. Last Friday was a Selangor public holiday and we took the opportunity to head out to Midvalley to shop! We Malaysians are serious shopaholics too; the crowd had already built up although we got there pretty early.

I prepared my shopping list after weeks of tweaking (from speaking with mothers, reading blogs, and general web research). Having a baby is seriously not cheap, check-up and hospitalization costs aside, the start up cost of preparing for the baby’s arrival can seriously burn a huge hole in your pocket. Not forgetting purchasing insurance plans, paying for babysitting fees, vaccinations and pediatrician’s visits. Thankfully, as we had planned to have the baby, we also had a head start in saving for Muffin. And I think naturally as parents we’d want the best for our child, so not matter how tough it gets we would try to provide the best care and growing up environment for our lil’ Muffin.

So here’s some of the stuff we’ve bought as we prepare for Muffin’s arrival

• Stroller and car seat
• Changing mats, cleaning utensils, hygiene care products and towels
• Traditional lampins, diaper covers, hankies, booties, mittens
• Daywear, pajamas and swaddle blankets

That’s about 50% of the list crossed out! We hope to get all the rest of the stuff before the sale is over. Some items I’ll need to purchase online such as:

• Baby bag organizer and baby sling carrier
• Feeding bottles and pacifier
• One-size pocket diapers (am attempting to go GREEN)
• Waterproof bedpads

And some items will need to get it physically such as:

• Baby cot, mattress, sheets and bumpers
• Bouncer
• Baby bag and a short list of hygiene care products that we missed out during the 1^st shopping stint
• Nursing equipment and supporting hardware
• Diaper pails!

So all in all I think we’re pretty much covered for the 1^st couple of months. I’d like to give a big thank you shout out to all the moms out there who’ve given me endless advice and guidance as I prepare for motherhood. I love y’all.