Frugal planning and pregnancy

[Deleted]

So I just figured out I am pregnant and giving that I am a planner, need to start planning. A lot is up in the air though, I am still waiting to here if I get into grad school or not. If not, I'll be staying home, if so our child will be in daycare. I am going to call the obgyn for the blood test on tuesday, anything else I should be doing this early?
And when do I start buying stuff?

[Wisconsin Beth]

When the urge (and money) works! lol.

Congratulations.

I'd start with a list of baby stuff you know you'll need. There's a book that I can't recall the name of about what you need, what you probably don't and what depends on you and your DH's parenting style. it's a really odd sized book and the edition I had was purple. But crib/sleeping spot for the baby, car seat, diapers and clothes are the main things you'll need right off the bat. After that, it's up to you guys and your life. I didn't want a changing table, DH did. We bought one and it was awesome. But the floor, dressertop and any flat surface work fine for a lot of people.

Then start on a list of wants. Do you expect to have a shower? If so, what kind of people are they? My family tends to join up for a more expensive item on the list. My shower list included a high chair, swing, rocker thing for the baby, diaper bag, baby tub, play mat, car seats and a bunch of smaller stuff like a first aid kit, thermometers, etc. I didn't register for clothes but got a ton anyway. And family loaned me a bassinet and I inherited 3 pack n plays and a crib.

We've got a few expecting moms on the Pregnancy thread that I assume are going to be better able to discuss this than me, as my kids are 4 and 2.5 and I've been dumping baby gear for a year already. ;D

[Deleted]

We are 3000 miles away from friends and family so likelyhood of getting stuff, even hand me downs is very low. I'll try to find that book, if you remember the name, let me know.

[973beachbum]

May 27, 2012 11:22:53 GMT -5 @gin1984 said:

We are 3000 miles away from friends and family so likelyhood of getting stuff, even hand me downs is very low. I'll try to find that book, if you remember the name, let me know.

When I had my DD, back in 1995 , I was 2700 miles away from all my family. They actually got together and bought stuff and mailed it to me. They called it a "shower in a box". It wasn't as nice maybe as a regular shower but it did make me feel nice that they cared so much.

I agree with Beth babies actually need very little. They need a safe place to sleep. An actual crib is the cheapest way to go with this. If you get a bassinet you actually end up needing to buy that and then a crib for when they get a few months old. They will need diapers of some sort. If you really want cloth just be careful to check that the daycare you will use will allow them. By me I have never heard of a day care allowing them. Then they need some clothes and sheets for the crib. The nice looking blanket/bumper sets are purely for decoration. They have to be removed before the baby goes in the crib anyway. Plus a car seat.
My list would be:

Car seat
Crib with 2 or 3 fitted sheets plus a water proof mattress pad.
Diapers and wipes.
breastfeeding stuff like nursing pads and pump if nursing.
Formula plus bottles and such if bottle feeding.
3-4 baby "bags" or nightgowns for sleeping in.
4-5 onesies
3-4 day time outfits with maybe a few burp pad type things.

A "medical" kit with things like bulb syringe, baby nail clippers,infant Tylenol etc type things.

If I think of anything else I will post it later but for now Congratulations!

[Pants]

Gin, some things that have helped me (DD is 15 days old)

- Decide whether you would like to cloth diaper or paper diaper. If you want to paper diaper, start shopping sales now and stock up on a few boxes of size 1s, multiple size 2, etc. Sam814 can probably help you with specific quantities, she did a whole year of diaper-buying before her DD was born.
- Get some old-fashioned cloth diapers from Gerber or similar. Use these as burp cloths, vomit-catchers, emergency poop rags, etc. Seriously, they have been the BEST.
- Waterproof pads - use them to cover me, the bed, the couch, etc. while nursing, changing, etc. You can get 3 for like $5, I would get 10 or so. Use these every day.
- Receiving blankets - we like the large muslin ones since it's summer and they are lighter-weight. We use these instead of clothes for the most part.
- Plain onesies, short or long sleeves depending on when you are due. 5 or so in 0-3 months, a couple newborn size in case baby is small.
- Crib or pack n play w/ bassinet feature.
- Medical stuff, nail clippers, emery boards. Diaper cream!!
- Boppy nursing pillow for breast-feeding plus extra cover. Lanolin for nipples.

[Sam_2.0]

Now that DD is 10 months old, here are some things we actually used (vs. what we thought we would use):

Bottles (I BF, but she gets bottles at daycare - we use the Playtex drop-ins so the milk bags go from the freezer to the bottle)
Pump & milk bags
Crib
PnP (for grandma's house - we used the bassinet feature in our room until I went back to work)
Clothes - I would say 10-15 onesies and 3-4 pairs of pants in each size. I let her sleep in them too (less laundry), but she's not a spitter and she does not have blowouts often
Diaper burp cloths that BSB mentioned
Playgym and various toys
Highchair (FP convertible chair)
Diapers - I stocked up on drugstore deals, ended up around $10/month for diapers & wipes.
Carseat - she's still in the infant carrier since she's so small
Stroller - Jeep jogger

What we have not really used: swing, bouncy seat, bumbo. She just didn't really like them. The boppy - I could never figure out how to use it right.

Consignment sales are a great place to start stocking up on things. If it can be washed/sterilized, you are good to go. With that & hand-me-downs, I would say we've spent less than $1000 on DD so far for everything.

[regina24601]

May 27, 2012 11:22:53 GMT -5 @gin1984 said:

We are 3000 miles away from friends and family so likelyhood of getting stuff, even hand me downs is very low. I'll try to find that book, if you remember the name, let me know.

It's called Baby Bargains. They update it every year. I have a copy from 2-3 years ago. You should be able to find it pretty cheaply on amazon.

Don't buy anything yet!! It's all so tempting, but just wait it out and only buy the minimum. The stores will all still be there after baby is born, and you can get more stuff later. The "stuff" mates at night and reproduces. You've never seen so much "stuff" in your life - even if you try to manage it, it still takes over your life.

Congratulations again!!

[muttleynfelix]

Like everyone else said, stick to the basics for now. No need to go too crazy at the moment (I know you want to, heck I want right now with #2 and we don't even need anything for that baby). I read through the baby bargains book, but take some of it with a grain of salt.

Honestly, what works for other people may or may not work for you. I hate onsies and I thought beforehand that they were a must have, but with a winter baby, I preferred one-piece sleepers, but I know other people hated those.

For bargain shopping, I prefer consignment sales (just between friends and trading hands are two of the big ones you can google) over consignment shops just for a big selection at one time. Things like high chairs, strollers, bouncy seats, and swings are very common on craigslist and can be gotten dirt cheap. So, keep your eye out about a month or two before your due date for things like that after you have a good idea what you are going to be given and what you need to get.

If you are going to cloth diaper, you can sign up for newsletters from the manufactures to find out when their seconds sales are (or at least you can at Cottonbabies if you plan on going with bum genius).

Black Friday/cyber monday can save you a TON of money on car seats (and we also stocked up on cloth diaper supplies those days). Comparison shop using sites like albeebaby.com, diapers.com and amazon.com.

Basically, make a list and check it twice and then do your research and you can do things pretty cheap. Since I cloth diapered and breastfed DS, I spent very little out of pocket every month the first 8 months or so(maybe $20). After that, he needed shoes so that costs a little bit more (they outgrow shoes about every 3 months), but we get 95% of his clothes either as gifts or second hand (mostly given to us).

[savecents]

We recently purchased most of our baby gear and I used this site to help me plan:

www.babycenter.com/baby-cost-calculator

The prices (especially for disposable diapers) seem a bit high, but there is a range for most of the baby gear that will help you estimate. You don't need everything on the site but it is a good list to get started with.

For some reason clothes aren't on this list -- well they are but they're in the "monthly cost" section not the "one time cost section" -- we were able to pick up things for about $30/per size (about 14 onesies or similarly simple outfits). We bought these new, if you go to consignment stores you can get things cheaper but there wasn't one in our area.

I would try to budget maybe $100-$200 for "not necessities" -- for example a monitor isn't strictly a necessity but a lot of people like them. As you research baby things you'll probably find something you really want even if it isn't strictly a need. If you have a little extra money set aside you can buy a few things without breaking the bank or feeling bad about it.

[Sam_2.0]

Another thing to remember - all formula has to meet FDA standards, so the generic is just as safe as the name brand (its just the extra ingredients that might be different & kids will tolerate different ones). The same is true with carseats - all have to meet the same safety standards. We got a really expensive infant carrier for DD and now I almost wish we hadn't. One of the best reviewed convertible seats is the Cosco Scenera from Walmart - $39 vs. the Britax seats for $200 +.

Babies can be as expensive or as frugal as you allow them to be

[Martivir]

Garages Sales! It also seems to be church rummage sale season around here. I'm over by Kenmore Mercy. I needed more than the minimum recommended clothes for DS because he was a volcano in those early months. I ended up using those cheapie receiving blankets for burp clothes because the standard size cloth diaper was just not big enough. I had to change his clothes after just about every single feeding. Another thing that I would suggest is not getting a travel system unless you need it for some reason. We have one but DH is too tall for the standard strollers. You can get a frame to snap the infant seat into and then go to lightweight stroller.

And I agree that baby stuff breeds and multiplies on it's own.

[Wisconsin Beth]

May 28, 2012 13:30:20 GMT -5 regina24601 said:

May 27, 2012 11:22:53 GMT -5 @gin1984 said:

We are 3000 miles away from friends and family so likelyhood of getting stuff, even hand me downs is very low. I'll try to find that book, if you remember the name, let me know.

It's called Baby Bargains. They update it every year. I have a copy from 2-3 years ago. You should be able to find it pretty cheaply on amazon.

YES! That was it.

You want a mesh laundry bag for the itty bitty baby socks too.

[Jaguar]

[Peace77]

Go to the library and get the book, "What to Expect When You're Expecting".

Sign up for Freecycle and ask for baby things that are offered.

Ceck out yard sales and garage sales for great deals. I found some baby clothes for 25 cents apiece that way.

Check out diaper sales and buy a few boxes. Even if you use cloth diapers most of the time, it"s good to have a few disposables. Sometimes, the best prices for diapers and wipes are at Toys R US.

Be careful not to buy a recalled crib.

[formerroomate99]

If you live in a decent sized town, you might be able to get a lot of baby gear and toys at consignment shops. There are several advantages of doing things this way. Stores generally don't take stuff that has been recalled. If your baby doesn't like the swing/bouncy seat/bumbo you get, you can return it for store credit. And it is a fairly drama free compared to trolling Craigslist and garage sales (travel, mind games).

[formerroomate99]

I got most of my maternity clothes and a truckload of baby gear and clothes from coworkers who were done with kids.

[Deleted]

Don't buy it. Any of it.

[tcu2003]

We didn't buy anything until we found out the gender, and even then, we (okay, I - DH basically left all the shopping/decisions up to me on baby stuff) didn't go crazy. One of my best friends gave me a couple of boxes of baby boy clothes in NB through 9 months, plus we got a ton of clothes at my baby showers. We also borrowed a lot of stuff - my sis loaned me a bouncer, bumbo, exersaucer, boppy and mybrestfriend, plus gave me unisex clothes that she has from my niece (we're having a boy, so most of her clothes won't work). We were gifted a swing and high chair, and we bought the PnP, crib, car seat and stroller ourselves, so those items, we spaced out a little over the last few months.

Also, I second the recommendations on garage sales, consignment sales, and consignment stores. We got a Dutailier rockerand ottoman at a garage sale for $50 - score! My MIL is going to make us covers for the cushions since the ones that came with aren't removeable, but other than that, we it's in great condition. We also got brand new safety gates at a consignment sale (still in the box) for at least 50% less than we could have purchased them in a store for. I also got some maternity clothes at a consignment sale near me, which was great, plus I had two friends loan me their stash, so I haven't had to buy too many maternity clothes.

Also, go ahead and let friends and family know you're okay with loaners/hand-me-downs. I'm not sure if you're in driving distance from your friends and family, but my sister and some of my friends who loaned/gave me stuff all live 6-8 hours away, and they just gave me all the stuff on a couple of trips when we had driven back to our home state for visits.

When you do get new clothes (with tags still on them), don't wash them until you're near the end of your pregnancy. I got way too many newborn and 0-3 months outfits, so I've taken a lot back and exchanged for bigger sizes or other stuff we needed. And even now, after finding out at my 39-week appointment earlier this week that I'm most likely delivering a big baby, I'm not sure any newborn clothes will fit our little one.

[Deleted]

May 31, 2012 19:49:55 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

We didn't buy anything until we found out the gender, and even then, we (okay, I - DH basically left all the shopping/decisions up to me on baby stuff) didn't go crazy. One of my best friends gave me a couple of boxes of baby boy clothes in NB through 9 months, plus we got a ton of clothes at my baby showers. We also borrowed a lot of stuff - my sis loaned me a bouncer, bumbo, exersaucer, boppy and mybrestfriend, plus gave me unisex clothes that she has from my niece (we're having a boy, so most of her clothes won't work). We were gifted a swing and high chair, and we bought the PnP, crib, car seat and stroller ourselves, so those items, we spaced out a little over the last few months.

Also, I second the recommendations on garage sales, consignment sales, and consignment stores. We got a Dutailier rockerand ottoman at a garage sale for $50 - score! My MIL is going to make us covers for the cushions since the ones that came with aren't removeable, but other than that, we it's in great condition. We also got brand new safety gates at a consignment sale (still in the box) for at least 50% less than we could have purchased them in a store for. I also got some maternity clothes at a consignment sale near me, which was great, plus I had two friends loan me their stash, so I haven't had to buy too many maternity clothes.

Also, go ahead and let friends and family know you're okay with loaners/hand-me-downs. I'm not sure if you're in driving distance from your friends and family, but my sister and some of my friends who loaned/gave me stuff all live 6-8 hours away, and they just gave me all the stuff on a couple of trips when we had driven back to our home state for visits.

When you do get new clothes (with tags still on them), don't wash them until you're near the end of your pregnancy. I got way too many newborn and 0-3 months outfits, so I've taken a lot back and exchanged for bigger sizes or other stuff we needed. And even now, after finding out at my 39-week appointment earlier this week that I'm most likely delivering a big baby, I'm not sure any newborn clothes will fit our little one.

I am 3000 miles away from friends/family. The friends we have made through school have not had kids. We will not be flying back to our home town before the baby is born. Well, my husband might, there is a conference he wants to go to there.

[raeoflyte]

We have friends you have shipped us several boxes of really nice hand me downs. We send target gift cards back in the thank you card to offset shipping costs.

[redwagon]

I'm doing a mix of new stuff and hand-me-downs, but we need some special stuff because it's twins. That said, between my two showers and our generous families, I'm not sure how much we'll need to buy ourselves... good luck!

[MittenKitten]

I HATED "What to Expect When you are Expecting" If you are the perfect person with the perfect pregnancy cool. I preferred "The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy"

Congrats!

Our first child was a TERRIBLE sleeper so the swing was a necessity, in fact we wore it out. The other two didn't need it as much. So each kiddo is different. The Boppys are nice but check Craigslist you can throw them in the washer. They can be nice just to rest your arm while holding the baby as they get heavy! We used the pack n play as our basinet for the first 3 months THEN bought a crib. With the crib make sure you have TWO waterproof mattress pads. If the kiddo urps or blows out a diaper you will need to change the whole set of bedding. And whomever said the gerber diapers are great urpies and burp clothes is completely correct. In fact I know use mine to clean up spills around the house instead of paper towels. I liked having both the thicker ones and the thinner ones.

Some type of diaper pail or figure out what you are going to do with the diapers as they do get stinky and plentyful.

Also depending on your income you may qualify for WIC (Women Infant Child) right now while you are pregnant (for a family of 3 including the baby you qualify if you make under $34,280 a year.) They will give you vouchers for milk, fruit, cereal with iron, juice, eggs, beans and other items. Once you have the baby they will continue to give you vouchers if you breastfeed. If you do both formula and breastfeed they will give you vouchers for some formula. That helps the budget since formula gets REALLY expensive. I mostly breastfed but did do some formula with my 1st and 3rd.

[Apple]

My mom found a very sturdy hand-made wood desk for $5 at a yard sale, stripped the icky paint off it then stained it herself and installed new handles. She put a foam topper and water-proof cover on the top and that was our changing table. Now that DS is older, we can still use the desk for it's original purpose. Point is, don't be afraid to get creative and double-purpose things.

[muttleynfelix]

Jun 2, 2012 23:08:06 GMT -5 MittenKitten said:

Also depending on your income you may qualify for WIC (Women Infant Child) right now while you are pregnant (for a family of 3 including the baby you qualify if you make under $34,280 a year.) They will give you vouchers for milk, fruit, cereal with iron, juice, eggs, beans and other items. Once you have the baby they will continue to give you vouchers if you breastfeed. If you do both formula and breastfeed they will give you vouchers for some formula. That helps the budget since formula gets REALLY expensive. I mostly breastfed but did do some formula with my 1st and 3rd.

Something else to check out if you qualify for WIC. Our local doula organization offer all their services for free if you qualify for WIC. I don't know if other ones throughout the country do the same, but even if you do not want a doula. They do childbirth classes, prenatal yoga, and breastfeeding classes. So, something else to look into.

[WholeLottaNothin]

Gin- I'm not sure where you are from, but I live in upstate NY and if you are anywhere near me, I am more than willing to give you some stuff. I have way more than I need for one child, or even three lol. If you are interested just send me a message!

[mizbear]

Congrats gin!

[Deleted]

Aug 1, 2012 13:06:21 GMT -5 WholeLottaNothin said:

Gin- I'm not sure where you are from, but I live in upstate NY and if you are anywhere near me, I am more than willing to give you some stuff. I have way more than I need for one child, or even three lol. If you are interested just send me a message!

I am in western NY, a bit far from you, but thank you.