Planning-Having a baby on a budget

[hambirg]

I'm in the wait until you are actually pregnant camp too. But I think it would be a great idea to start putting the money away for the things you will need.

Just to add to what others have said. . .I wouldn't invest in any 0-3month clothes. All 3 of mine were in 3-6mo from the time they were born. Same with the diapers. . .wait. I used very few size 1s. . .some people have preemies and need those and lots of the smaller clothes. You just never know until the time comes.

My coworkers bought me the few bigger items at my shower. . .a swing which all of my kids loved, but some friends kids never liked, a bassinet, and a high chair. One other thing I got at a shower that was great was this little feeding seat thing. . it was perfect for when they were too small for the high chair and a great place to put baby quickly if you needed to do something. It's what I always buy for showers now and it looked something like this one:

One more thing. . .they make these pads, they are like rubber with a flannel covering that go in the crib. They are a Godsend for when you are sleep deprived and baby has a blowout in the middle of the night. You don't have to change the whole sheet then, just the pad. I picked up mine at a garage sale, but they are something like this:

 

[Piecey]

Like a previous poster said, don't buy a lot of the smaller sizes. That is what almost everyone is going to give you and they outgrow them way too quickly.

I did stock up on diapers and wipes though. All the local stores said they would swap them out if needed so I bought all the brands in really random sizes. A pack everytime I went to the store, or a thing of wipes. I have been blessed that neither of my boys have had a problem with any type of diaper. Now I coupon to get them dirt cheap- I hAve enough diapers to get my oldest covered until he is potty trained and my youngest is covered forthe next two sizes and part of the third (my oldest is in that size though so not sure how much more of my stockpile he will deplete before going up haha)

I wouldn't buy any newbornsize at all. Someone will most likely give you some and the hospital sends some home with you... My boys never wore them. DS1 (18 months) was 9 lbs 5oz and DS2 (3 months) was 10 lbs 15oz.... So I'm all about bigger sizes haha

We did the gift card thing too.. It was very nice to have them.

Our boys both loved their swing. Another poster mentioned their kid hated it... But the swing is my saving grace. Only way I get anything done, both boys were\are happy as can be in there.
They have also both slept in their crib since night 1... And ds1 nAps there daily. They know that is their area (ds1 does at least) and we have no sleeping issues. Ds1 slept through the night at 6 weeks and ds2 started at 11 weeks. Crib might not have anything to do with it, just sharing how we did it.

Good luck with everything!

 

[sherry7]

I wouldn't start buying things until you are actually pregnant. I have a 21 year old son in college and a 7 month old daughter. If you do the math, you can see that baby #2 didn't come easily for me.

Definitely buy the current edition of the book Baby Bargains after you get pregnant. It costs about $11, and probably saved me a few hundred dollars.

Breast feeding is cheaper of course, even figuring in the cost of a breast pump. However, not everyone is successful at breast feeding. If you do have to end up formula feeding, the generic brands are just the same as the name brand, and a fraction of the price. I buy it at Sam's Club, and the savings on the formula more than makes up for the cost of my membership. Don't invest in a bunch of bottles at first, and don't automatically assume that you need the most expensive bottles (Dr. Browns, Avent, etc). I bought one each of several different brands, so I could see what my baby liked. The only one she would take was the 99 cent Gerber bottles from Target. Go figure, LOL.

I've heard that cloth diapers can be less expensive in the long term, but I don't want the mess or aggravation. I manage to get disposable diapers for fairly cheap though. I belong to Amazon Mom now (30% off diapers), but before that I bought them at Sam's Club, or at other places using coupons. With my baby, I can't see that any particular brand works better than the others, so I buy whatever I can get the best deal on. However, my son was allergic to Luvs diapers, leaked terribly with Huggies, so we only used Pampers. But, it all depends on the baby, their skin, and the shape of their bottom!

Sign up for coupons for all baby related stuff...diaper companies, formula companies, baby food companies, etc. Sign up your family members too, so they can share the coupons with you. Do a google search and see if there is a children's consignment sale near you. You can find some great bargains on gently used clothes, and various baby equipment. If you have a Carter's store near you, sign up for their email coupons. By using a combination of sales and a coupon, I can usually buy Carter's brand clothes for less than half of what I'd pay at a department store. The quality is good too.

Do you have a washer and dryer in your house? If so, you really don't need a ton of clothes, as long as you don't mind doing a small load of laundry every 3 or 4 days. Babies outgrow stuff in the blink of an eye. Ditto on crib sheets. I've managed just fine with only 2 sheets, mostly because my 7 month old baby has only had one diaper leak at night so far.

Don't skimp on a car seat. Used seats can be expired, recalled, etc. I economized on many things, but my baby is in the best rated car seat that I know of.

Also, be careful of used baby beds. There have been LOTS of recalled baby beds in the last year or so, mostly on the drop side models. Don't feel like you need to buy a super expensive baby bed though. I found a $350 one (3 in 1 convertible) at Babies R Us that I liked. I wrote down the model number and did a web search when I got home. I found it at Walmart.com for almost half the price, with free shipping to the local store.

The pretty white wicker bassinettes (sp?) are pretty, but you'll only use them for a couple of months. Most Pack n Plays have a bassinette attachment, which is much more versatile. Or, just start the baby off in the crib from the beginning.

Do you really need a baby monitor? We have a 2 story house, so I bought one. I've only used it a handful of times though.

Think long and hard about your stroller purchase. Most people buy "stroller systems" where the car seat snaps into the stroller. The problem is, most of those strollers are very heavy and so big that they monopolize your trunk. Start off with a stroller frame that holds an infant car seat (about $60), and buy a smaller and lighter stroller after the baby grows out of the infant car seat.

I bought a Fisher Price Space Saver high chair, which straps onto one of our existing kitchen chairs. It takes up a lot less space than a traditional high chair. Plus, it converts to a booster for when the baby is older.


Other things to skip:

Fancy bedding set. You can't use the comforter or the bumpers because of the SIDS risk. I bought a beautiful set, and don't use anything except for the bed skirt and sheet.

Bottle warmer. It's quicker to microwave a cup of water, and then sit the bottle in the cup to get warm. Or, just get the baby used to cold bottles from the beginning.

Wipes warmer. Dries out the wipes faster.

Baby shoes. They're purely for looks only until the baby starts walking. I must admit that I don't follow my own advice though, since my Olivia has several pair of cute shoes.

 

[mamaLori05]

Babies can wet sheets like no ones business. Plan on having at least 8 or 10 fitted sheets. Also remember you will also need sheets for the pack and play.

Plan on changing a lot of sheets.

I would hold off on buying a ton of sheets unless you find you are actually having the problem mentioned above. I have 2 kids with a 3rd on the way and we have two crib sheets. My kids rarely leaked out of their diapers and I found two sheets to work just fine for us. I probably could have even gotten away with just one sheet, but it was nice put a new sheet on, wash the other and save it for the next week.

If you are finding your diapers are leaking a lot, either you need to try another brand, or you are using the wrong size. Every child is different as far as diapers go, so again that's not something I would stock up on until you know which brand works best for your baby. I tried a bunch of brands in the beginning and found Pampers baby dry to work best for my kids. The other brands (Huggies, Luvs, Target and walmart store brand, and even pampers cruisers), all leaked or just didn't fit right for us so I didn't use them anymore. I know friends however that swore by some of the other brands, so it really depends on the baby. I also know some friends who's babies would get diaper rash every time she used a certain brand, so there is that to be careful of as well.

I also agree with holding off on buying stuff until you are pregnant. Half the fun of being pregnant is going out and looking at all the baby stuff and finding what you think will work best. Every year they always come out with new and improved things for baby, and trust me, once the baby is born you will want the new and improved version. Plus you will get overwhelmed with baby items at your shower, so really no need to stock up ahead of time.

 

[aprilgail2]

Just to add to what others have said. . .I wouldn't invest in any 0-3month clothes. All 3 of mine were in 3-6mo from the time they were born. Same with the diapers. . .wait. I used very few size 1s. . .some people have preemies and need those and lots of the smaller clothes. You just never know until the time comes.

My coworkers bought me the few bigger items at my shower. . .a swing which all of my kids loved, but some friends kids never liked, a bassinet, and a high chair.
One more thing. . .they make these pads, they are like rubber with a flannel covering that go in the crib. They are a Godsend for when you are sleep deprived and baby has a blowout in the middle of the night. You don't have to change the whole sheet then, just the pad. I picked up mine at a garage sale, but they are something like this:

I bought some 0-3 clothes figuring that was what my daughter would come home from the hospital with but they were to big on her--my friend ran out and got me some preemie clothes that fit to take her home in- she didn't wear the 0-3 until she was about 2 months old!
I used those pad type things under the sheet- but what I did was a pad, a sheet, a pad a sheet---if there was a blowout I just ripped one layer of sheets off and there was a nice fresh one right under it...worked great!
My daughter would never use the swing, that was a waste of money for us. She never could use that walker type thing or the jumper that you hang in the doorway because she couldn't go in anything that would put pressure on her hips until she was almost a year old and by then she wanted to get up and go not be stuck in a walker or jumper. There are some things you can not plan for- sort of just go with the flow. My daughter lived in the bouncy seat, she even ate in that thing--19.99 LOL....so worth the money for us!
We also never used any type of sling or wrap...had it but never used it- big waste of money for us.

 

[Pigeon]

About 90% of stuff that is marketed for babies is totally unnecessary. I would hold off on non-essentials.

If you have friends or family who have had babies in the last couple of years, you may find that people offer to give you baby stuff. Things like nicer clothing may have only been worn a time or two, given how fast babies grow. I don't think I bought any baby clothes, between what slightly used stuff I was given and what I got at my showers.

 

[hulagirl87]

I just had a baby who is 4 weeks old. He outgrew newborn clothes already and is about to outgrow newborn diapers. He was 7lbs 10oz when born, came home at 7lbs 4oz. Some people have 9 lb babies who never fit in newborn clothes or diapers.

So, my point is not to stock up on smaller clothes or diapers.

I had the opposite problem! I was sure that we were going to have a bigger baby as I was over 9 lbs when I was born and DH was a bigger baby as well. So I didn't buy any newborn clothes and only had 3mo and 6mo things. DD ended up being 6 lbs and even the outfit we had to bring her home in was ginormous on her! so I had to invest in so newborn sizes. not what I was expecting at all.

But I don't think you are ever really financially ready for a baby, in all honesty. I never really expected how much we would be spending! How many diapers we would be going through and how much formula. After the Similac recall on the powder now we are buying the liquid ready to feed and that is $4 a day! crazy!

I try to buy clothes on clearance whenever I can. Pants for $1? Who can pass that up! Even if she won't wear them til next year. I have them labeled in a bin in the basement and every time I get something on sale I throw it in there.

We do have a savings account set up for her and all the loose change we have gets rolled and put in there. It's amazing how quickly that adds up! I know it doesn't sound like a lot but it really is!

There are definitely a lot of things that you use in the first 6 months that you don't use again. They slowly make their way into your garage/basement or in my case my laundry room. A swing, a bouncy, an activity mat. See if you can borrow those things from friends. It would definitely save you money in the long run. Mine are in perfect condition and I don't know what to do with them. Where do you live?

 

[TLuvsD]

I'd recommend the store gift cards for Target or Wal Mart. Save up for the best car seat that works in your car, it's worth every penny.
I did the sheet/pad/sheet for D's crib, we had about 4 sheets which were more than enough for us.

No bottle warmer, D was on formula after about 3 months. DH would heat water to boiling before coming to bed, put it in a thermos. Bottle with formula on the tray next to the thermos. When D woke up, the water was the right temp, mixed the bottle and fed her without wandering around the house. Worked great, and we are still using the thermos (she's 16 now).

Loved the sling, but my mom was in a wheelchair. You can't push a wheelchair and a stroller. Mom couldn't hold the baby....I really needed a solution so we tried the sling. It worked for our D, but that doesn't mean every baby would like it. I had to fiddle with it so she could see out.

Never used a playpen, pack n play was at my parents house, didn't use one at home. I will say that pack n play is amazing, it's still going strong, we use it for the cousins kids now.

Booster seat style high chair is the best thing. Easy to use and store. We had a big deal, super cushy high chair that had adjustable height. It was great, but took up a lot of space.

On strollers, go to the store and actually push one around. Have your DH do the same thing. We bought the stroller because the handles "extended" when you pushed a button or something. DH is a foot taller than I am. It makes a big difference in how comfortable you are using the stroller.

Look for a Carter's store. They have amazing deals, for after your shower. And they are good about returns, too. Buy one going home outfit in 0-3 months and one premmie...our D was 7lbs+ and wore the premmie outfit home and for a couple of weeks when people came to see the baby. She was swimming in the 0-3 for a while. Buy them at a store with a good return policy, you can return the premmie if you don't need it.

Start saving for college NOW. Take it from someone who is facing tuition bills for a kid who wants to be a lawyer, you can't start saving too soon.
Best wishes, and good idea on the early planning.

 

[mjkacmom]

What is a unisex crib?

 

[crisi]

All women are different, all babies are different, meaning you need different things. Then they grow up into different children, with different expenses.

In my case.

We had a difficult time getting pregnant as well. And dropped five figures on an adoption (a long time ago, they are more expensive now), then got pregnant as well.

I had one crib sheet - and two "oversheets" for each kid - my kids never leaked their diapers.

I couldn't breastfeed my adopted son, and I didn't breastfeed my daughter long - she rejected the breast.

We had $1600 in daycare expenses per month with two kids. Daycare was more than our mortgage.

If you choose cloth diapers, the diaper covers and extra laundry can add to the expense - it STILL comes out cheaper than disposibles, but the people I know who have done it were surprised at how expensive it still was.

The vast majority of stuff I got was hand me downs. They did fine - save your money for when they go through shoes and jeans every six weeks and no one is buying things because they are so delighted your son is twelve.

On the topic of twelve - when you get done with the diapers and preschool stage, you get the activities stage. Whether its gymnastics or dance or football or hockey or Scouts - most of it vaccuums money out of your pocket.

Financially, short of college, the worst years were the early elementary years, where we hadn't gotten rid of childcare expenses (or can't yet justify going back to work) and started to get the activities costs.

Remember that a lot of stuff gets more expensive. We are at the four adult Disney tickets stage of our kids lives

And plan long term. College is expensive. Insurance for a teenager is expensive. Milk for a teenager to pour over the expensive cereal that is inhaled on an hourly basis is expensive.

For us, we went from fairly risky people (my husband had four jobs in three years the year before the kids arrived and I consulted without knowing from month to month if I'd be working), to people who literally can't fall asleep at night with worry about finances. Then I fixed those. When it was me and him, we could live together in a not nice apartment in a not nice part of town and live off very little. The kids raised what the minimal accepted standard of living was for us - considerably - and lowered the amount of financial risk we were willing to tolerate.

You are still in the thinking about cribs point. Cribs are easy temporary things that your neighbor will give you to get it out of her basement. Twelve years of hockey fees and four years of college are the tough ones.

Good luck on conceiving when you start trying. May you get pregnant easily and have a safe and healthy pregnancy.

 

[mhsjax]

I also would not buy anything until the big event happens. Even then, if you decide not to BF I wouldn't but too many of one type of bottle. I went through about 3 on each of my 3 before I found one they liked. They all used different kinds.

Diapers, same thing. my kiddos' couldn't were Huggies, they would pee right out of them, but papers were great. I can't say that I would ever used cloth diapers. YOu have enough laundry to do and washing out poopy diapers just isn't something that I would ever add to that list. Plus is looks like so much more work, first the diaper then the cover. That is just me, but give me disposables any day. Other people love them, no way for me.

If you do have a girl, don't waste your time on anything too fancy They just aren't comfortable. I can't tell you how many little girls I watched, including mine, struggle to crawl with a dress on. Their little knees get caught on the dress.

Good luck, they are a lot of fun, and a lot of money. You are very smart in planning.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I would just save up money. Like someone else just said....every baby is different and what every mommy things they need is different.

For example, my children needed me to make premixed formula by the pitcher, because they had reflux. Because their bottles were coming from the fridge, I needed a bottle warmer. If you go the formula route, you might be able to mix w/ room temp water and not need it.

I have 3 sheets for my DS crib. All I need. I did buy sheet savers to use too when he was little and spitting up.

My DD could wear any diaper but Huggies. My DS wears pampers during the day and Huggies overnights at night. Both NEVER wore a NB diaper.

My DD wwas 9.5lbs and wore 3-6 home, my DS was 9lbs and 0-3 were big on him for awhile?!?!?!

I agree w/ others the travel system was a HUGE waste! I had one w/ DD and sold it by the time she was 6 mos old. I bought her a Peg Perego P3 (look online, you can get it way cheaper). I bought my son a new one because I found one SUPER cheap (the TRU floor model for $100). It's truely the all in one stroller!

Overall, you're going to figure out what you do and don't need

 

[Keke]

My 2 pieces of advice.

1. CONSIGNMENT SALES - Look online to find all the ones in your area. Look into helping volunteer or seeing what you can do to get in the door earlier than others. When I was pregnant I went to everyone I could find. My packnplay cost $20 (and was brand new, never used). My Bjorn sling cost me $8. My mom got a crib for $50. They are also great when you are ready to get rid of some of your stuff. I made $150 off one sale recently.

2. MAKE YOUR OWN BABY FOOD - This is not as hard as you might think, and will save you tons. I could make a month's worth of meals for her in just an hour or two. Put it in ice cube trays to make individual servings for the freezer. DD ate green beans straight from her grandparent's backyard. When they start eating meat it really starts saving you money. There are tons of websites online with recipes and information on making your own food.

 

[MissBritt]

Expecting my first in April, but just to add... I registered at Target. They had everything I needed/wanted. They sent me a $20 gift card and in the store you can pick up a bag of tons of coupons, samples of diapers and wipes, and other freebies. They also offer a % off all items on your registry after your due date/shower date (whichever you claim).

 

[smilie]

Haven't had a chance to read through the replies yet, but this is what we experienced:
*The crib sat empty for many, many months. If need be you can wait to purchase this after the baby is born.
*High chairs are the same way. A newborn will not have a use for a high chair.
*We used our swing daily, espeically for naps.
*Be prepared for any kind of medical issues. I was planning on nursing my DD but she had colic and needed a special formula. Cost about $100 a weeek for it. Just be prepared for anything.
*Onesies. You go through these like candy! I never had enough onesies.

Maybe start shopping around for daycare pricing, if you plan on going back to work after the baby is born. It's good to see what the price range is in your area.

 

[LuLuO]

I buy almost all of my kids clothes (they are 3 and 1) at thrift stores, resale shops and yard sales. These are nice clothes too and often name brand. Sometimes I splurge and shop at the outlet mall or target for their clothes.

I cloth diapered my first until she was about a year and then cloth diapered my son about half the time until he was about a year and a half.

Breastfeed if you can. I formula fed DD3 and I estimate that it cost us about $40 a week average. Good Start was the only brand formula she tolerated well and I found it cheapest at Target. I nursed DS1 and he was one of those kids that flat out refused bottles. So he was exclusively nursed until he started solids and he continued to nurse until he finally learned to use a sippy. He was 16 months when he weaned.

I would skip the crib bedding, unless you want to hang the quilt on the wall. Neither of my kids slept with a bumper. Well, around a year old I put a bumper in for DD because she kept banging her head but we wound up putting her in a big girl bed at 16 months so it didnt' get much use.

I wouldn't buy too much in advance. Baby stuff takes up a lot of space. You'll probably have a baby shower or two so you'll be able to get lots of things that way. Maybe set aside some money each month to help with expenses instead of buying things. Anything would be good, but if you can swing it, maybe $100-200.

 

[Golf4food]

Don't forget it will cost money to actually carry and deliver the baby. We have good insurance and are currently 8 week s pregnant but already know that just the OB visits and delivery will cost us $1,000 out of pocket after all insurance is paid out. Our OB takes payments broken down over the 9 months so we pay them roughly $150 per month as we go in for regular visits, but go ahead and start setting aside an actual pregnancy fund. Then you have higher food costs (DW is the cook but so far has been fighting fatigue and morning sickness so we haven't cooked in weeks, meaning we have to spend more on eating out for lunch and dinner, and it is hard to plan ahead since she doesn't know from one hour to the next what she might be able to eat). Then you'll need extra maternity clothing as you get bigger.

So all the tips about baby stuff once the baby is here are great, but don't foget the extra costs for the actual pregnancy.

 

[cseca]

Like everybody says, just stick with saving as much $ as possible and look at lists of baby gears and loosely make a budget on the stuff you "think" you might need.
That'll give you an idea of how much you might need up front.

Now as for the day to day stuff, as you know
diapers,
milk,
or if you breastfeed think about pumps and the accessories (milk bags, etc.), new bras (trust me you'll need them),
a good chunk of burp cloth/receiving blanket (get aden & anais stuff from target, they're awesome. Can be used for burp cloths/receiving blanket/swaddling blanket),
lots of shirts for mommy/daddy (trust me you'll get burped/peed/pooped/puked more than you want to even imagine)
Trash bags

and this is for the parents
COMFY CHAIR (or place)!!!! You will want to have a comfy place to feed the baby at 3am in the morning after only 2hrs of sleep.

And for insurance stuff
If you or DH has flex spending, look into it and ask around people who've just recently had a baby on how much $ they think they spent for the hospital. Save a chunk of $ right there.

Good luck!!!

 

[malibuconlee]

Are you planning to stay at home? Then now is the time to start living off of one income.

Look at your health plan and figure what your deductible is because you'll need that for you and the baby saved plus co-insurance after that. Just as a ballpark, before insurance discounts the total for my pregnancy, delivery, hospital stay, baby hospital stay, ped charges for hospital visits, anesthesia, etc. was about $20,000, but I did have a c-section. So you can use that as a rough number to figure how much your co-insurance would be ex: 10%, 20% whatever your insurance is.

Our final bills were much less than that, I just remember adding up the "billed" amounts off of my EOB's. I believe the financial lady at my OB/GYN said a "perfect" pregnancy meaning no complications the total runs around $12,000. But that was 3 years ago.

I don't recommend stockpiling diapers because diapers fit all kids differently. I was given some Huggies at my shower and they always leaked, Pampers worked better for her.

 

[Ava]

Just to add to what others have said. . .I wouldn't invest in any 0-3month clothes. All 3 of mine were in 3-6mo from the time they were born. Same with the diapers. . .wait. I used very few size 1s. . .some people have preemies and need those and lots of the smaller clothes. You just never know until the time comes.

It's funny, everyone always says not to get the tiny clothes but you really just never know. We had very few things in 0-3mo, and nothing in newborn size, and our DD ended up being small. She was 6lbs 15oz at birth and came home at around 6lbs 10oz. The coming home outfit we'd brought to the hospital was 0-3mo size and it was ridiculously huge on her. Same with all the 0-3 sleepers. Our best friend went out & bought a few sleepers & onesies in newborn size just so the kid didn't have to look like a clown in giant clothes. She only wore the newborn things for a few weeks but I was glad we had them.