Fast-tracking Baby preparations – The Finnish Baby Box

(This is not a sponsored post)

Last week I had the most wonderful surprise waiting for me at home – a special delivery from Finland full of tiny little baby clothes and other essentials!

Whilst every expectant mother in Finland receives the so called “Baby Box” (or “maternity package”) as part of the state support for families, I knew that as a Finn living permanently outside Finland I would not be eligible for this wonderful starter kit. The Baby Box and its contents are not only highly practical and very helpful especially for a young families with no existing stock of baby necessities, but also a cultural rite to motherhood, in my mind at least.

I felt quite sad when I realised I would miss out on it to be honest. However, nowadays there are a handful of companies replicating this Baby Box and selling them internationally! Obviously it’s not equivalent of receiving a boxful of free stuff by courtesy of the government, but nevertheless it’s possible to get your hands on one despite living outside Finland!

I was fortunate enough to receive the Baby Box as a gift from my father <3 I was so excited receiving it that my partner was surprised I had the patience to sit down for dinner before opening it. In reality I just wanted to savour the moment and take my time to go through the contents rather than letting hunger disturb me, haha!

So what is the Finnish Baby Box?

You may or may not know, but my country is celebrating its 100th Independence Day this year (independence from Russia). Even after gaining independence in 1918 the wars continued until 1940’s leaving our country very poor and infant mortality high – peak in 1040 at 88 deaths/1000 live births vs. 1.7/1000 in 2015 (source: Statistics Finland). The tradition of the Baby Box dates back to 1938, intended to support families during their baby’s first year. It initially contained fabric for baby clothes but was replaced by ready-made clothes in the 1950’s. It’s pretty cold up in the Nordics and dressing your baby warmly was and continues to be very important! The box itself can be used as a Moses basket and still to the date comes with a fitted mattress and bed sheets!

Below is a list of the contents of my Baby Box which can be categorised as

1) Sleeping products

2) Hygiene products

3) Indoor clothing

4) Outdoor clothing

5) Other baby necessities.

Source of above picture: www.finnishbabybox.com

And this is how it all looked like spread all over my sofa 😀

The clothes come in different sizes reflecting the time of the year your baby is born – for winter babies the sizes of warmer clothes are smaller and summer clothes come is larger sizes. Overall the size range in my box was 50-74cm. The colours and patterns are meant to be suitable for both boys and girls and I absolutely love them! All of the clothes are Finnish design (Reima, Martinex, Jutta).

So my big moment finally arrived and I opened by very own Baby Box, of course getting all emotional (must be those pregnancy hormones!!). We had decided to wait until our 5-month scan before buying anything for the baby so I did not own a single baby item until the day I received the box. All those adorable, tiny things… I feel so much more prepared now.

I’ve started imagining how it will feel to hold our child and dress him/her in these little clothes – my heart is bursting with love already! I cannot wait to meet him/her!

Below is me and my bump admiring the pile of tiny clothes 🙂

Today I’m 20 weeks and 5 days pregnant and tomorrow is THE day – our mid-pregnancy scan! I’ve been feeling well and the baby is moving everyday so I’m not too nervous, but still… you never know about these things. Fingers crossed no anomalies will be found! I’m also hoping to find out the sex of the baby. I think knowing the gender could help me to mentally prepare for the child and to bond with him/her prior to birth. Strangely enough, despite having a visible baby bump and being able to feel the baby wiggle around, I still find the whole concept of having a baby in my belly somehow difficult to comprehend. I’m hoping it’ll feel a bit more real after tomorrow <3

xoxoxo,

Sini

PS. No gym today, cannot concentrate on anything but what’s happening tomorrow!