Buying baby gear… what a hassle!

At 18 weeks pregnant with our first child, I decided it was time to start buying everything we’d need for the baby. As the organised person I am, I made an Excel sheet listing all the items we had to get — with a column for where to buy each one. I was ready to go!

At the top of the list: baby bath. Google kindly showed me 224,000 results, complete with glossy pictures. Yikes… how on earth do you choose? After half an hour of scrolling, I was completely overwhelmed. And since this was only item number one on my list, I decided it was time for a different approach.

That Saturday, we set off full of good intentions to Babypark — a massive warehouse on a dull industrial estate, boasting 4,000 square metres (yes, 4,000!) of baby products. The plan was to work through our list. So… straight to the baby baths. The section was enormous. Okay, not 224,000 options — but still far too many.

The sales assistant was lovely and extremely helpful. Each bath seemed to have its own clever, unique, and “exclusive” feature. But how do you choose when you’ve never actually bathed a baby before? How important is a drain hose longer than one metre? Do you really need a built-in thermometer? As first-time parents, we had no idea what was smart marketing and what was genuinely useful.

After 30 minutes of baby-bath talk, we were both desperate for coffee. Sitting in the café corner, we looked around in quiet overwhelm. At the next table sat a mum with two children, clearly heavily pregnant with her third. She must have recognised the dazed look in our eyes, because she smiled and said, “Overwhelming, isn’t it — all these choices?”

The ten minutes that followed were more valuable than all the websites and sales pitches combined.

Her golden tips:

1. Email your friends with kids and ask them for their three best and three worst baby purchases. Within no time, you’ll have the most reliable reviews imaginable.
2. Ask in that same email if anyone is willing to lend you items from their “best buys” list. Most baby gear is only useful for a few weeks or months anyway. Borrowing saves money — and the best part is, you can return it when you’re done instead of storing it somewhere (which, let’s be honest, most Amsterdammers can’t anyway).
3. If borrowing isn’t an option, check Marktplaats! Nobody in Amsterdam has storage space, so people sell things as soon as they’re done using them. Or visit one of the many great second-hand baby shops.
4. Keep a few items on your list to suggest as gifts from friends or family. People often ask what to buy only after the baby is born. For the generous giver, it’s much more fun to know they’re buying something truly useful!
5. Some things can wait — like a baby carrier, a music mobile, or a pram toy. You’ll only start using those weeks after the birth anyway, so they’re perfect as gifts later on.

By now, I’ve had four children — and gathered, borrowed, and bought a complete baby kit four times over. From all that experience, we’ve put together our five best baby purchases and a list of things we don’t recommend buying.