Teen Mother & Babys First Christmas Did I Get Her Enough Stuff?

Question

I am not sure I am a new mother only 19 and I dont know if I did it right. My daughter is 7 months and I got her the following:

Baby Einstein Exersaucer
Evenflo Convertable Carseat
Leap Frog Musical Drum
Melissa & Doug Wooden Puzzle
Roxy Summer Clothes
10 Green Dog Outfits
Melissa & Doug Stacker
Leap Frog Fridge Farm Magnetic Animal Set
Melissa & Doug Pull Along Stacking Zoo
Amazing Baby Developemental Bunny
Eric Carle Puppet
Noahs Ark Bath Tub Play Thing
Leap Frog Flash Cards



Stocking:
Rubber Duckies
Baby Books
Socks
Baby Einstein Feeding Set
Avent Sippy Cups
Earths Best Teething Biscuits
Teething Pacifier


I am new at this and I just want to give my baby a great Christmas that way when she lloks back on the pictures she will see.

TO THOSE WHOM LEFT COMMENTS:
Exersaucer Goes To 30lbs My Daughters Only 18lbs

I Started Buying Stuff When It Was August So I Didnt Buy It All At Once. When A Good Deal Comes By I Purchased It.

Answer 1

I think thats a great list. I got about the same amount of stuff for my 5 month old too but it was all stuff i would have bought anyways (carseat, feeding stuff) so its just a good excuse to buy it. They may not remember it, and they aren't going to be able to unwrap anything but atleast they'll be really entertained on christmas morning, and seeing them enjoying their new stuff will make mommy happy too. I hope you and your baby have a happy christmas.
And about the excersaucer, my niece still uses hers at 18 months (and loves it) so its deffinately not to late to start using it.

Answer 2

OH, you did a great job, new mother! Now, remember, she will love the boxes and the wrappings and that will be what she plays with. Still, you will have all these wonderful things ready for her when she is ready. The rubber duckies are wonderful, the socks and feeding sets are adroable, the teething biscuits will get used and the pacifier will, I'm sure. The leap frog things will be great for her in a couple of years, so keep them up high, and don't lose them. Bath tub toys are great, always! Keep those coming, as she gets older, too! You did a great job, buying when the prices were down, and buying at different times, so you wouldn't go broke! You did just great! Now, remember, the boxes are going to really fascinate her, so, let her play with them. Good going!

Answer 3

Your daughter won't need to look back at pictures of the mountains of gifts she got for her first Christmas to know that she was loved and well cared for. Do you want her to measure how good a holiday it is by the gifts she received? Giving is one thing, but moderation is something to consider as well.

She can't understand what Christmas is this year, and she won't be able to open her gifts or be kept interested in opening so many gifts. I'm not saying that you shouldn't get her anything, but I'm sure you realize that you are doing this for yourself this year, and not her. Her birthday will be coming up a few months after Christmas as well, so space it out a bit. She won't even be using some of the gifts you purchased for quite awhile.

My daughter will be nearly 1 year old this Christmas. I plan on just enjoying the holiday as a family, take lots of cute pictures and forget about a bunch of gifts. I don't feel the need to load up at Christmas, because I will buy clothes, books and toys throughout the year as needed. We have a few gifts but the only thing I really wanted was a keepsake ornament. We will be able to use it every year, and it is a first ornament for her collection.

It sounds like you really care about your daughter and she will have a great Christmas because she gets to spend it with you.

ETA - Side note about the exersaucer... I think what people mean is that most people start using them around 4-5 months, and that babies only use them for a limited time, so it might not be useful for that much longer. My daughter lost interest in using it around 8-9 months. She is still less less than 18 lbs, so nowhere near any weight or height limit there may have been. Of course, some babies use them for longer, but you never know.

Answer 4

Gosh! Stop bragging about how much stuff you bought your daughter! You can't honestly be asking "did I get her enough stuff." You bought her some toys that she won't be using for several months to a year away, summer clothes that she may or may not fit into in the summer, a car seat (since when is that a gift - and yay, how much fun will it be for a baby to who has no conception of Christmas to open a car seat... maybe he'll like the box!). But yes, you've proven what a great young mother you are by buying her so many gifts. She will surely look back with great joy at the pictures to know that she had so many possessions at 7 months old.

Answer 5

Honestly, you say they are married correct. If they go off again and they do not want to listen then maybe she needs to discuss the options with her husband about putting them into boot-camp, most of those programs work and they will learn respect. being that her husband is in the military he would know that boot-camp would straighten them out for sure. I have five children and four of them are half siblings and because they are from me that makes them blood not whole but part and that makes them real siblings. don't let that side of the family talk you down or around your kids. I would seriously tell her to look into a boot camp and when they got married those teens were brought into the marriage which make her have a say, especially if they are living under the marital roof if you know what I mean. but boot-camp is a for sure way of dealing with teens that don't know how to listen. or a scared straight program but watching them go through the whole eight weeks would actually be amusing

Answer 6

Your daughter is a baby! She doesn't know what Christmas is or what presents are. She doesn't need anything except lots of love, having her basic needs met and a few toys to keep her entertained.
I've bought my 10 month old daughter 3 inexpensive presents. She doesn't need anything and I know I've bought them for my own fulfillment rather than hers - buying toys is so much fun!
Your daughter will probably enjoy the toys, but she would be equally happy spending time with you and unwrapping empty boxes.
Having too many toys can overstimulate a baby. It is better for her to have a few toys that she can explore, become familiar with and interact with.
Put away most of your daughter's toys and rotate them every few days to keep her interested without being overstimulated.
My daughter also loves cardboard boxes and safe, plastic containers and utensils.
You don't have to buy your daughter lots of things to show people you are a good parent. It's the things you do rather than what you buy that makes you a good parent. Don't be so concerned with what other people think and focus on your child. Your child will grow up knowing that you love her and it won't be looking at photos of toys that shows her the extent of your love.
Enjoy being a mum!

Answer 7

I think you went overboard!!! My little girl will be 8 months old at the end of December and I didn't do all that. It was hard not too go crazy but I had to remember that everyone else would be getting stuff for her too. Also in 4-5 months she will have a birthday. I got her 5 toys, 1 outfit and a shirt. They can only play with one thing at a time and what will you do if she doesn't play with any of that???

I would save some of it for her birthday!!!

Answer 8

How does a teen mother afford a couple of hundred dollars' worth of stuff? My husband and I are both 30. He's a grad student with a work-study job and an interm pastorate job on Sundays. I'm a stay at home mom. Even if we could afford that much stuff, I wouldn't want to buy it for my daughter. I do not want her to think that Christmas is about getting stuff. (We're not going to do Santa Claus, either.) I also don't want her to think that stuff does not equate happiness. (As it is, I'm on a personal mission to move from here with less stuff than with what I brought.) I think your key phrase is, "...when she [looks] back on the pictures she will see." Now, regardless of whether or not she is eleven months or eleven minutes old, she will not have much interest in Christmas. She doesn't even know what Christmas is. I do not know what my husband and I will get for our daughter for Christmas. I do know that I want it to have more meaning than a bunch of stuff for which she will neither have use nor interest in a year. I want to start something with meaning, like a Christmas ornament collection and annual Christmas photos (which we've already done.)

Personally, I think that much stuff (and that's all it is is just stuff) is rather extravagant and overdone for a kid of any age. The gifts might be of some interest to your daughter in later years when she looks at the photos, but by then they will be long gone. I don't think I got 19 gifts when I was in high school for birthday and Christmas combined, let alone for my first Christmas.

Answer 9

A lot of that is just stuff you probably would have gotten anyway so it's fine (like a car seat and sippy cups etc)
For pictures, it will look good.
Don't overdo Christmas, seriously. It isn't about that and she'll remember what you do, not what she gets

Answer 10

Gezz. I think that is waaaaaaay more than enough. Merry Christmas!

But, I do believe it is a little too late for an exerciser.

I may get a thumbs down for saying this, but to me it sounds as if you are bragging, lol. O well. Have a good Christmas.

***EDIT*** Exercisers may go up to 30 pounds, but will a crawler really want to be in it? It is ok though. I would have let her use it a while back anyways.