Pregnant and not realizing how much baby furniture cost

[jennifer293]

If I had it to do all over again I would buy everything at consignment sales and then I would be careful about the things I bought because there were soooo many things that I got or bought that I really thought I would use and they never even got put together.

 

[jennifer293]

I thought of a possibly inexpensive way to get an infant car seat. The hospital I work at will give you an infant car seat if you sign up and take one of their infant safety courses. The course is $20 and you get the free car seat. Check with the hospital you are going to deliver at and see if they offer this. I think now many hospitals ofer some type of program like this.

My cousin told me about car seats having an "expiration date" and I laughed at her. I bought a really nice infant seat/stroller combo when we were TTC, and then she told me this, hope it really isn't true, because if we are ever successful, I don't want to get rid of it.

Suzanne

Carseats do have an expiration date (on mine it is located on a sticker under the carseat), but in my opinion if the seat has never been in a collision then it is fine for use if you have it belted in the correct way. I used the same carseat for both of my girls, but it expired the year my second one was born.

 

[zoemurr]

I thought of a possibly inexpensive way to get an infant car seat. The hospital I work at will give you an infant car seat if you sign up and take one of their infant safety courses. The course is $20 and you get the free car seat. Check with the hospital you are going to deliver at and see if they offer this. I think now many hospitals ofer some type of program like this.

My cousin told me about car seats having an "expiration date" and I laughed at her. I bought a really nice infant seat/stroller combo when we were TTC, and then she told me this, hope it really isn't true, because if we are ever successful, I don't want to get rid of it.

Suzanne

They most certainly do expire. (6 years from date on seat.) For an infant seat you will probably be fine since you usually use it less than 6 mos anyway. I agree with the PP that in most cases you would be fine.. but it's not a risk I would be willing to take. We live in a climate that gets very hot and very cold. That can be rough on plastic. Good luck on the TTC!

 

[taximomfor4]

we bought the basic, no frills crib from Toys R Us. Less than $300. Basic crib mattress was like $59. No other baby furniture. Oh wait, we got a cheap chest of drawers at Value City Furniture for $39. No changing table: used the changing pad from the diaper bag, on the carpet. Baby can't fall off a floor! For an infant seat, we bought a basic one. TOys R US does carseat coupons pretty regularly, or at least they used to. High chair, same thing. A plain, basic one by Graco...but we didn't even bother getting that for the first 6 months.

We saved a LOT of money, once we figured out that babies don't really need most of what baby stores will sell you.

 

[PinkRhombus]

I bought a crib and changing table at a yardsale for $50. Beautiful and white. Sold it 5 years later for the same $50!!!

I had a chest from a furniture set I had when I was younger. Painted it and put new hardware on it. That's all I really needed in there.

But seriously, just buy stuff as you need it. Because their toys and stuff will run you over soon enough and you'll need the room.


....I wanted to add something....If you have a two story house, try to get a pack and play with the changing table piece. That really made things much easier for me. That thing stayed up in our living room for 9 months at least.

 

[ckoncurat]

Why do you need that? I never spent a lot on baby stuff. (And I had six babies). Our first crib was a hand me down from the grandparents, then we traded up to one we found in the pennysaver. It was wonderful. We used an Ikea dresser/changing table. Our older childrens furniture is all from the pennysaver or thrift stores. Baby clothes are either gifts, consignment store or clearance rack. What makes a baby (or kids) room cute is the decorating- bedding, paint, etc. A $700 crib will make no difference to the baby!

 

[HelenePA]

I never used a changing table either.. was easier to change em on the floor where they can't fall off.. I have a crib for Anthony but still haven't used it..

 

[tonilea]

We don't need all the expensive stuff or even just stuff the baby manufacturers would have us believe we "need". In reality, babies all over the world have the same needs. A place to sleep, clean clothing, healthy food and shelter. I know at least one of my uncles slept in a drawer.

The rise of baby "needs" is a recent event. Fifty years ago, I doubt that jarred baby food and disposible diapers even existed.

I needed and used my changing table all the time. But rather than buy a new one, I repurposed my grandmother's desk. She was born in 1902. My son was born on the exact same day 102 years later. So I always felt a special connection with my Grandma when I changed Thomas on that table. Now it is a lovely antique desk again.

I don't know if anyone mentioned it, but I would spend more money on a nice dresser than a fancy baby bed. Our son used our baby bed (bought at Wal-Mart) for the first three months and then from about 18 months to 3 years old. Then we converted it to a toddler bed. It has held up quite well, though it does have some scarring from teething, something that might be sickening on a very expensive crib that looks adorable on one that didn't cost nearly so much.

 

[HGD24]

First of all - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Being a parent is amazing!

We bought an entire set; a crib that will turn into a toddler bed, a changing table that can be used as a dresser later and a tall dresser on sale for about $700 through JCPenney. Shop around and you'd be surprised what you can find for reasonable prices. BRU is usually priced pretty high on everything that they sell. It's a great place to be able to look at different items and what's available, but we don't usually buy much there.

I would advise against buying anything at a garage sale. You don't know how the furniture was treated by the previous owner or if it has any little missing pieces that could affect it's safety.

Prices on baby furniture really do range from $100 to over $1000 for a crib. It's all in what you want to spend and what you think you'll get out of the piece. We can use our DD's crib as a toddler bed for her or if we have another baby, we'll use the crib for that baby, so either way, it's worth the $350 that we spent on it. She's been in her crib since she was 3 weeks old so we've already gotten over a year's worth of use out of it.

Good luck and have fun shopping!

 

[DisTwix]

Hi there and congrats!

Don't be afraid of Craigslist... there are some fantastic deals on there from all the folks that spent $600 on a crib, then never used it! My girlfriend just got a GORGEOUS crib that lists @ Baby's R Us for almost $600 AND a matching glider rocker with ottoman for $150 for BOTH. They are in perfect condition and the seller said the crib was almost never used. If going with Craigslist, it's pretty easy to get the manufacturer's name and check for recalls.

And - I know it works fabulously for some folks, but the only kid I know that didn't sleep in a crib is 7 years old and still has trouble falling asleep by himself.... and my girlfriend who has four girls had them all in a crib and those kids can sleep ANYWHERE. But - like all the posters say - different things work for different people!!

Again - congrats!

 

[mjkacmom]

I learned that I liked having a changing table - but in the living room. I could store clothing there, too, which made my life easier, especially with my twins. I also learned, with my twins (when I wanted 2 of some things, and I only had one) that garage sales are stocked with baby items - people were giving me things!

 

[MomToARedhead]

We drove 600 miles roundtrip to buy our baby furniture at the nearest IKEA. We have the Leksvik collection and LOVE IT! We bought the crib, small dresser (planned to hang most of her clothes) and toy chest and it was $400. The crib converts to a toddler bed and putting them all together was super easy, just time consuming. We just moved to a bigger house now and the baby's room is much larger than at the old place, so we're going to get a couple of more pieces from the Leksvik collection to fill her room up. I will say that the IKEA furniture is nothing fancy, but the collection we have looks very nice, albeit simple, as IKEA's furniture is simple in general. We may even get the Leksvik collection for our bedroom when we redo it!

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

 

[dyna]

1. The rails on cribs have been baby friendly since the early 50's about if not then the mid 50's. One reason I know this is because I had a little cousin who did get caught in the crib rails in an older crib in about 1950.

With the internet esp an being able to check on recalls an even signing up for recalls I would not be afraid to use used baby stuff the car seat might be the exception. Tho we do have a used one that is used sometimes in auntys car but I also knew the person who used it an knew it had not been in an accident an that it wasn't to old to use.

DD's cribs was all used 1st 2 DD's the matress cover it's self was bad but I bought a zip on vinyl cover for it at Kmart for next to nothing an it lasted thru the 2 older DD's. DD#3 came along 12 yrs later an I'd gotten rid of all baby stuff her crib was another handme down that was given to me for free. Not a bad bed the catch at one end did not work on the drop rail I knew it an kept a box under the rail at that end to hold it up. Everyone in house knew it was like that an that they was to slide box out with foot to lower rail an slide it back in with foot when they raised rail DD survived.

With DD #3 if it had not been for yard sales she would not be here as she was planned an I knew I could get everything but car seats an disposible diapers used. I spent $300.00 DD had over 50 newborn sized dresses by the time she was born I had clothes here 10 times the amount needed in sizes up thru 18 months which she out grew by the time she was 9 months old. As DD out grew her clothes an baby things it was yard saled back out an I actually clothed her for $300.00 for the 1st 10 yrs of her life because as I sold her stuff I put it in my fund to go out an by more at yard sales.

As DD got bigger an moved into the bigger car seats I had 1 an a stroller in every vehicle we owned 5 at the time including motor home an boat. Wait the boat only had a stroller.

Changing table had 3 of those 1 in baby room, 1 in my kitchen an another in family room in basement.

Gsons being raised the same way only with them we had OLD car seat/ infant carriers that was given to us that we used to feed them in an kept their car seat/infant carrier NICE. Did not use the old car seats as car seats tho KNEW better than that.

 

[kboyertcu]

Ask around.. Friends are always looking to get rid og stuff their not using.. we have a second hand baby store where the prices are almost 25% of the regular cost!

 

[Ava]

CONGRATULATIONS!!

We're expecting our first DB in April, so I feel your pain on the cost of baby items. But as everyone else has said, you can get nice furniture without breaking the bank. We bought this crib from Wal-Mart: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8466714

We just set it up last weekend and it looks really nice. For a changing table, we decided to just get a nice dresser and put a changing pad on top. We spent a little $$ on it, but its nice solid wood and she'll be able to use it for many many years. Those two pieces are the only furniture we've bought so far. Eventually we'll probably buy a bookcase and some shelving to hold her toys/books, but she won't need those for a while.

As for all the other stuff, we were lucky to get a lot of it as gifts. Just wait until after your baby shower (if you have one) or until closer to your due date to see what you've gotten and what you still need. Babies 'R Us also gives you a 10% discount on everything left on your registery beginning 2 weeks before your due date, if you have a BRU in your area.

Also, don't even bother buying any clothes. You will most likely get a lot of clothes as gifts, whether you ask for them or not. People just love picking out cute little baby clothes! LOL.

We've also gotten a lot of items - clothes, carriers, and even some gear - for free or cheap from neighborhood parents on a local listserv that my partner belongs to. Check out YahooGroups to see if there is a parents/families group in your area, or look on Craigslist. The only thing I would not take second-hand is a car seat, because you can't be sure of it's history.

Good luck, and HAVE FUN! Buying baby things is my new favorite pasttime, lol.

 

[crisi]

Beg and borrow as much baby stuff as you can get. People are tripping over themselves to get rid of it once the last kid is gone. Second hand what you can't borrow or just outright get from friends. Do check - things like crib bars have changed over the years - but those changed before MY kids were babies - and my oldest is ten - so unless its a really old crib, its probably fine - and anything manufacturered within the decade will have recall notices available on the internet.

Car seats are worth buying new, simply because they get trashed easily AND are unsafe if they've been in an accident - which you can't tell. If a good friend has a baby just a little older than yours and you know the carseat is good, that's borrowable.

There will be so much to spend money on in the future that will be important to the health, safety and education of your kids - or that your kids will care about (as they get older, they will actually care about what color their room is and if they have sparkly hair binders - as babies, not so much) - that you don't want to break the bank now. And you won't be able to afford to do everything you want and everything they want and everything you both need - so you might as well get used to telling yourself no now.

 

[SeansMom]

None of my kids slept in a crib. I had one for the first couple, it looked pretty, but we never used it and it was really a waste of space. By the time the last baby came alone I didn't even buy one. We used a pack-n-play and co-sleeper, and all of my babies slept with me. Not saying thats for you, but for now just get a basinette or a pack-n-play until you see what kind of equipment you will really need. Try consignment stores, thats where I got our pack-n-play.

I was just thinking the same thing. I wish we hadn't invested in a crib. We used our bassinet and co-sleeping. (Just a note, this isn't recommended for water beds or beds with foam mattress toppers added after market, or if you use drugs and alcohol...duh, but it has to be said!).

My second mistake, after buying a crib, was NOT buying one that converted to a twin bed. Somebody already mentioned IKEA, and that's what I would have done before I figured out the above.

Personally, I don't think buying second-hand is a bad idea, especially if you'd rather start saving for college instead of buying furniture that is used for such a small space of time. You can google for standards that need to met as far as bars width goes, and for many recalls.

Congratulations!

 

[cseca]

We drove 600 miles roundtrip to buy our baby furniture at the nearest IKEA. We have the Leksvik collection and LOVE IT! We bought the crib, small dresser (planned to hang most of her clothes) and toy chest and it was $400. The crib converts to a toddler bed and putting them all together was super easy, just time consuming. We just moved to a bigger house now and the baby's room is much larger than at the old place, so we're going to get a couple of more pieces from the Leksvik collection to fill her room up. I will say that the IKEA furniture is nothing fancy, but the collection we have looks very nice, albeit simple, as IKEA's furniture is simple in general. We may even get the Leksvik collection for our bedroom when we redo it!

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Hi, just curious about your Leksvik. We are planning to purchase that as well but saw some reviews online that had concerns about a gap between the mattress and railing. Do you have that problem with yours?
http://baby411.typepad.com/babybarg...ety-issue-mattress-gap-with-leksvik-crib.html

Did you use IKEA mattress also?

Thanks so much!

 

[bizzer1]

Do not splurge on high end furniture or bedding! I speak from my own experience - it is so easy to get sucked in. Check out Babies R Us or mass merchandise stores. Lots of reasonable sets if you look around.

 

[MrsPete]

Another vote for DON"T GO OVERBOARD on baby furniture (or any other infant needs). Whether you spend $100 or $1000 outfitting the nursery, the baby will still outgrow all that furniture in two years. At most you'll use it for a sibling or two, and then it'll be yard sale fodder.

Instead buy something nice from a consignment store -- there are amazing deals to be had there! -- and save the difference. Assuming your baby is easy on the furniture, a couple years down the road you can re-sell it for the same price you paid and essentially have used it for free.

What really matters in a crib: 1) It must be safe; it's very easy to find crib safety information on the internet. 2) You must be able to raise/lower the side with your foot -- you'll be very glad of this when you're holding a squirmy baby in your arms.

Since other people are sharing their baby furniture experiences, I will too:

My grandfather had terminal cancer when I found out I was expecting, and he forced me to pick a crib way early. I chose a moderately-priced crib from the JC Penny's catalog, and he ordered it for me. I think he thought he wouldn't live to see the baby (he did see her, but only twice). I loved that crib and thought of him often when I was laying my daughters in it.

I bought a yard sale child-sized dresser for $5. It had holes on the side, but I painted it white, changed the knobs, and covered the holes with Pooh-themed wooden wall decorations. We had that thing FOR YEARS. I think I might've sold it at a consignment store, but I'm not really sure.

I bought a white changing table at a yard sale for $15. It needed a can of white spray paint to bring it back to life, but I loved it for the storage.

My husband bought me a lovely glider rocker as a gift, and I used it all the time.