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Who knew that baby’s needed sooooo much stuff! I mean all the fancy gear and cute accessories might not be necessities per se, but nothing can stop a pregnant woman from nesting! Am I right? Can I get an Amen?
It happened early for me, around the fourth month. All of a sudden,
I had an irrational urge to ensure everything was in place for baby’s arrival even though there was still potentially five more months of pregnancy left. My husband, bless his heart, just rolled with it. As to him, nothing in pregnancy made sense! LOL So, I began researching online for top recommended products, safety recalls, best this, most useful that etc. It seemed that there was a direct correlation between the safety rating of an item and the price. (At least for the big ticket items) Having gotten married, bought a house, adopting two rescue greyhounds and getting pregnant, we weren’t exactly rolling in the dough. But by the grace of God, loving family and friends and a little research baby Bubbs had everything he needed for his arrival! So, here are a few tips for preparing for baby so you actually have some money left for his piggy bank.
Do your research
There really is no substitution for doing your research. Manufacturers will always market to sell but do you really need a padded kneeling mat for bath time? Wouldn’t a rolled up towel do? Try and read as many mommy blog reviews as possible to get an informed decision on a product. What’s even better, is if you can test the product at a mom expo and have your important questions answered. We shopped around for strollers for multifunction and easiest to fold. We wanted one that was compatible with the infant car seat for easy transfers and travel. What we didn’t think about was storage capacity under the seat, comfort for baby in the seat, etc.
*Tip- feel where your baby’s head will rest in the stroller/car seat. There might be slight padding but often there is a hard plastic piece underneath. We didn’t realize this and wondered why our son’s head was beginning to look lop sided! Thankfully we noticed early enough and added ample padding to the head rest of the seat in the stroller! (not recommended for car seat though) We had something like this! Emerald Safari Cush ‘n’ Go Stroller Cushion
You’ve researched and registered
We were so blessed and had not one, not two but three baby showers! We honestly have never felt so much love and support in our lives! There were so many heart felt gifts that we never would have dreamt of receiving! And that’s just it! Registries, in our experience, are never really used. Not to really read into it but I think people would much rather get you something from their heart. So, that humidifier you asked for might be something you will need to get on your own. But that’s okay, it’s not as fun as receiving a hand painted giraffe painting!
Frugal Baby Finds!
So, for everything else we still needed, we looked to used items. Preloved…whatever makes you feel better. Some people turn their noses up at the idea. But think about it. A baby literally grows so fast in one year that an item is only used maybe once or twice before growing out or tired of it. We weren’t shy about it and looked on kijiji.ca, garage sales, and local mom Facebook groups for buying and selling very gently used baby items. (clothing, toys) We also graciously received some basically brand new hand me downs. I am convinced we saved over $1000 doing it this way and once our guy was done with what he needed, we turned around and did the same. This kept the clutter out and a little extra cash in our pockets for the next milestones.
Being a little frugal for the first year paid off! All of the extra savings that we managed to acquire along with the baby bonus checks we received, we were able to be deposit in an RESP for baby. It is a no-brainer investment.
Comment below with your frugal baby finds!
Until next time,
Jessie Stracener
January 13, 2015 at 10:00 am (2 months ago)I definitely love research. I am clueless about car seats and strollers and so on, but there is a lot of info out there.
ReplyBrandNewMom
January 13, 2015 at 6:13 pm (2 months ago)There are sooo many different makes and models it can be a little daunting!
ReplyBrittany
January 13, 2015 at 9:11 pm (2 months ago)Great post! I basically lived on facebook during my maternity leave… buying used items off of a local facebook group. It was the best thing I could’ve done. Especially since I live in Korea, all baby products are so much more expensive than back home.
ReplySusannah
January 15, 2015 at 6:29 pm (2 months ago)Oh goodness, it’s so true that baby’s can be expensive! You’ve got great points! I think we spent about $300 total on our little guy’s stuff thanks to generous friends and family.
ReplySusannah
January 15, 2015 at 6:29 pm (2 months ago)Oh, and thanks for linking up with the Faith and Fellowship Blog Hop.
Replylydiaritchie1
January 16, 2015 at 5:58 pm (2 months ago)Full of great tips and advice for the first time Mum. There are so many things out there and you don’t always know what you are looking for – things like storage in the stroller and comfort behind their little heads.
Thanks for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop
Lydia xx
ReplyBrandyn
January 20, 2015 at 12:28 am (2 months ago)Great advice! I remember spending hours looking at different products when I was pregnant with my daughter. However, we wound up with tons of things that turned out to be unnecessary! Next time around I don’t foresee making a lot of purchases and will definitely be better prepared to save more money!
Thank you for sharing with us at #MommyMeetupMondays!
ReplyBrandNewMom
January 20, 2015 at 1:07 am (2 months ago)It’s so true! You do end up with things you don’t need or in some cases forget to use. But that crazy nesting feeling sometimes gets the best of you lol!
ReplyDanica
January 20, 2015 at 2:00 am (2 months ago)Hi Cathy! We saved a lot of money through receiving a lot of hand me downs!
ReplyBrandNewMom
January 20, 2015 at 9:57 am (2 months ago)That’s awesome Danica! Isn’t such a blessing to receive hand me downs? When I was growing up (being the youngest of 3) I looked forward to being able to dress like my big sister lol
Replybashfulbeauty13
January 20, 2015 at 8:02 am (2 months ago)So true baby stuff is so adorable and can be expensive. I think it’s hardest to resist all the cute clothes,tiny shoes, cute diaper bags when it’s your first child. In my case i had a crazy obsession with diaper bags i always wanted a new one there is so many cute ones. How can a women choose just one lol !!.
ReplyBrandNewMom
January 20, 2015 at 9:41 am (2 months ago)lol My weakness was baby carriers! What was your favourite diaper bag?
ReplyThebashfulbeautys
January 20, 2015 at 10:05 am (2 months ago)Oh my gosh!!
I stuck with the skip hop brand from target but i really wanted one from (Ju Ju Be brand)
ReplyBrandNewMom
January 20, 2015 at 10:37 am (2 months ago)I liked the look of the 31 bags but stuck w my free nestle one lol it was so convenient
ReplyThebashfulbeautys
January 20, 2015 at 12:22 pm (2 months ago)Mine was a baby shower gift but yes free is always better !!
BrandNewMom
January 20, 2015 at 12:23 pm (2 months ago)I like the one shoulder style but admit is it a bit small.
Thebashfulbeautys
January 20, 2015 at 12:25 pm (2 months ago)Yes thats true
Mrs. AOK
January 20, 2015 at 7:47 pm (2 months ago)Great tips! Have you shopped at ThredUp? I don’t turn my nose up at smart shopping :)]
ReplyKudos to you, Mama!
XOXO
BrandNewMom
January 21, 2015 at 7:05 pm (2 months ago)Thank you! I have actually never heard of it but am going to check it out now! Cheers for smart shopping!!
Replycolchambers
January 21, 2015 at 8:52 am (2 months ago)Great tips. We had a similar plan preparing for our little one and I’m really glad we did. Everything you describe here worked really well for us.
What they don’t tell you about is that the outlay is continuous throughout their lives so you must always keep some cash spare. Spend on a few key items, for us it was bed/cot and wordrobe, car seat and stroller/buggy.
#MMBH
ReplyBrandNewMom
January 21, 2015 at 6:57 pm (2 months ago)So true! Children are expensive in general lol. Did you find you used your buggy as much as you thought you would?
Replycolchambers
January 23, 2015 at 11:47 am (2 months ago)We did because we got something that covered all areas. It was cheap and practical.
ReplyLeesha
January 21, 2015 at 10:29 am (2 months ago)Great tips! When you need so much for baby, you definitely have to be frugal about it. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyBrandNewMom
January 21, 2015 at 6:56 pm (2 months ago)Definitely! There are some things you just can’t get around…like the car seat. But even then, big box stores sometimes have major sales on these because of the expiry dates. Thanks for reading again, Leesha!
ReplyLynda Hardy
January 29, 2015 at 2:50 pm (2 months ago)Excellent tips! First time parents especially tend to way overpurchase that first year! Thanks so much for linking up to Awesome Life Friday! http://rchreviews.blogspot.com
Reply