Monday Q&A |How Much Baby Stuff Do I Need?
Every Monday I answer questions sent in by you, my readers. If you have a question you'd like me to answer in an upcoming Q&A post, leave me a comment or send me an email (thefrugalgirl {at} gmail {dot} com) with "Q&A" in the subject line.
This question is from Jill, and since my answer got so long, hers is the only question I'll answer this week.
My husband and I are expecting our first child at the end of October. Can you give some frugal tips for a first time parent (cloth diapers, what you really need and don't need for baby, food, etc.)
This is a good question, as the baby paraphernalia marketers would like you to believe that you need a plethora of stuff in order to properly take care of a the smallest person in your household!
And while babies do require a certain amount of new purchases, I think you can get by without most of the stuff that's sold at Babies R Us. Some baby products are helpful, to be sure, but it's good to remember that people raised babies for years and years without exersaucers, baby manicure kits, and potty chairs that sing.
This post is not going to be exhaustive (though it's long enough that you may get exhausted reading it!), but it will give you an idea of how I approached this.
Food
(can you tell this is an old picture?? I'm slightly embarrassed by how dependent I was on flash when my kids were babies!)
One of the best and most frugal things you can do as a new parent is to breastfeed. The health benefits for you and your baby are numerous, and breastmilk could hardly be less expensive. In addition, it's a no-waste way to feed your baby. I breastfed all of my babies, but one week when my son was a baby, I had to be on some medicine that precluded breastfeeding. I pumped and dumped and used formula instead, and I was astounded by how much was wasted. It was so hard to predict how much my son was going to drink, and more times than not, he only partially finished a bottle.
There are a number of accessories sold for breastfeeding, of course, but I didn't find many of them to be necessary. I even managed to forgo nursing bras with my last few kids, opting instead for a stretchy traditional one. I used a blanket to cover up while nursing in public (special covers are certainly not necessary).
I did use nursing pads (you can buy washable ones) and Lansinoh for those first painful weeks of nursing. Since I wasn't returning to work full-time after the birth of any of my babies, I bought a simple motorized pump, but if you need to return to work, you'll probably want a nicer model than what I had.
I know breastfeeding doesn't work out for some moms, but if you need advice on formula feeding frugally, I'm not the person to ask! My experience with formula and bottles is exceedingly limited. I know I have some readers who formula feed, though, so maybe they can share some tips in the comments.
Once your baby is ready for solids, the baby marketing machine is there waiting for you with all sorts of specialty baby feeding products.
I wrote a blog post on feeding your baby frugally a while back, so instead of reiterating all of that, I'll just link you to it: Homemade Baby Food for Busy Parents
Baby Equipment
When it comes to this sort of thing I'm hesitant to make specific recommendations because each baby and each family varies so greatly. I've used a crib for all of my kids, but co-sleeping families probably won't need one. I didn't find a walker to be very helpful (they don't work well on carpet!), but families who live in homes with hardwood floors throughout might feel differently. I loved having a baby swing, but some families might not have room for one.
I think two things are important to keep in mind when shopping for baby equipment.
First, it's usually a good idea to look for used baby stuff (just check for recalls). You can save a lot of money this way, and since babies don't usually wear stuff out, you can find items in very good condition.
Secondly, you probably don't need a piece of equipment with lots of special features. Your baby will probably be just as happy in a swing with three speed settings as in one with 7 (and music! and vibrations!). And your baby likely won't mind if the baby bathtub you buy is the one without the aquarium theme.
An awful lot of this stuff is just thought up by marketers who are trying to sell something, not by people who saw a need and manufactured a product to fill it.
That said, here's a list of equipment that I liked:
-a crib (we used a port-a-crib for our first because of space issues in our tiny apartment)
-a baby bathtub. It's not necessary, but it makes bathing a slippery baby so much easier. Mine was second hand, no frills one that fit into a kitchen sink.
-a baby swing. I bought mine used from the PennySaver, and it lasted through all of our children.
-a Bumbo. I only had this for Zoe, but I LOVED it. So portable and sturdy, and it let her sit up and watch what was going on before she could sit up on her own.
-a bouncy seat. I bought mine off of Ebay, and though it had no motors or music, my babies loved sitting in it. It's the one you see in the photo above (which, though flashy, totally cracks me up).
Diapers and Wipes
(I'm just interjecting here to say, "Yay!" because I found a baby picture that wasn't taken with the flash. Ahh, much better.)
When we had our first baby, we lived in a basement apartment with no washer and dryer. Once a week, we had access to the upstairs laundry room, and so I decided that cloth diapers were not going to work out. And for various reasons, I never did get onto the cloth diaper wagon. I kept thinking we were done having kids or were almost done and thus was hesitant to make the initial investment.
Anyways, I think cloth diapers can save money, especially if you use them for multiple children, but I don't have enough experience with them to be helpful. Readers, you can chime in here!
For disposables, I adored the Luvs brand. They're much better than the store brand diapers, but not expensive, and I found they worked much better for my kids than the expensive brands.
You can make your own wipes or use cloth ones, but somehow, I never got around to that. I did not, however, fork over a bunch of money for fancy quilted wipes with aloe. 😉 None of my babies had particularly sensitive skin, and so I used whatever wipes I could obtain cheaply whether they were store brand wipes or name-brand ones on sale (with a coupon!).
Clothes
You'll probably receive a lot of baby clothes as gifts, so I'd be surprised if you had to buy a lot of these, at least at first! If you do end up needing to purchase something, check a consignment store or Ebay before paying full price.
Newborns outgrow their clothes so quickly, they hardly have a chance to wear them out, which means that consignment stores usually have a ton of newborn/baby clothing items for sale in good condition.
A Frugal Mindset
I think the most important thing to remember as you register for gifts and shop for your baby is that babies need a lot less stuff than we (and the marketers) think they need.
Babies just don't know the difference between a Pottery Barn nursery and a nursery outfitted in second-hand items, or between a Tommy Hilfiger undershirt and a Gerber undershirt.
Buy second-hand, think simple, and save your money. You could put it into a college fund and someday when your baby is 18, you'll probably be really glad you forewent most of the fancy baby stuff in the stores.
________________________
Readers, if you have any helpful advice for Jill, please share in the comments! I'm sure I've forgotten something, and I'm also positive that some of you can help out with cloth diaper or formula advice.
What a timely Q&A for me!! I am just about to start registering for my first child, and I actually just posted on this the other day.
http://jessieimproved.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/the-lure-of-the-barcode-scanner-part-1-it-beckons/
Also, as for the cost of cloth diapers, here's a great link that breaks it all down. It looks like that even for one child, cloth always comes out cheaper, which is great news for me! It looks like with the "old school" pre-folds you can save a *ton* of money.
http://www.diaperdecisions.com/cost_of_cloth_diapers.htm
I have to chime in on the formula bit. I formula fed both of mine, (and I have to say that they're both happy, extremely healthy - my 4 year old has never been on antibiotics - and both know I love them) and while it is expensive, it's not hard to be wise about it.
1. Before you give birth, sign up for every brand of formula out there. They ALL have mailing lists and they ALL send free stuff. Once the baby comes and you and your doctor decide which formula to use, don't throw away the other stuff or the mail from them. MANY baby/parenting websites have swap areas just for this kind of thing. Or, check within your own community or circle of friends. At the very least, find a pregnancy center or food bank to give the freebies and coupons to.
2. When making formula, I made it in a larger container and filled bottles as needed. By the end of the first week or so, you can pretty much guess how much your baby will eat at each feeding, and this route eliminates much of the waste Kristen was talking about. I can't say it eliminates ALL of the waste, obviously, but when you're exclusively formula feeding, it's not as wasteful as if you're trying to do it on the fly. 😉 It becomes second nature and you can figure out what works and what doesn't. Pouring bottles from a larger container also eliminates the need to throw away a LOT of formula because the baby started to drink it and then fell asleep or whatever. (Once a baby starts to drink a bottle, you cannot save that formula longer than about an hour, refrigerated or not, because of bacteria.)
3. During that first year, we received formula as gifts for most holidays. With my youngest, we also had a "Diaper and formula shower" after she was born. (We had lots of baby stuff and didn't really need anything but diapers and formula.) The hostesses sent the information about the formula we were using, the types of bottles, diapers and wipes I liked and asked people to pass on the cute outfits and buy the necessities. Christmas (she was born in July so she really had no clue she wasn't getting toys) was some cute stuff, but mostly formula and diapers. I found that most people want to buy stuff you'll actually use, so don't be shy in telling them what that is!!
My strongest recommendation to Jill is to ask a trusted friend who's had a baby what they would recommend. And make sure it's someone who will tell you the truth! (One thing I did for my sister's shower was to ask everyone to think about the one thing they could not live without, and the one thing they had but never used and write down the item and the reason. She got GREAT advice -- and since I told them about it in the invitation, many of them actually bought the items they couldn't live without as her gift. Win-Win!!)
Oh, but my one piece of advice to all new mothers is this: the one piece of baby equipment that I used the longest was the port-a-crib. In the beginning, I used it in my room instead of a bassinet, and as they got older, I used it as a play-pen so I could take a shower or cook a meal. Even if you never go anywhere, it is much more useful than a bassinet simply because you can use it for much longer. Now that my youngest is 4, the port-a-crib is at my parents house, and when she spends the night there, she still sleeps in it. My sister just had a baby, and she can also use it when she is at their house. Mine cost about $75 new, but it is still in perfect condition 4 years later. This is the one thing you can use for YEARS and really get your money's worth.
--as an aside, I would NOT buy a used carseat. They are too important, and if they have been in an accident they might not work properly. I would only purchase these new, but check with your car insurance company. Sometimes they have a voucher or coupon program that could get you a significant discount on a new one.
I just had my first baby in June, and when my husband and I were doing our baby registry, I was appalled by all the unnecessary stuff on the market! We tried to go as simple as possible and think about what our baby really needed. No changing table (I'm short and my husband has a bad arm, so it would have been purely aesthetic for us--we use a plastic pad on the bed and it works just fine!), cloth diapers (better for the environment--something like 5% of landfill waste is made up of disposable diapers), hardly any newborn-sized clothes (since she grew out of them in about two weeks anyway), breastfeeding (so much cheaper and more convenient! I'm staying at home so I bought a simple manual pump that has been helpful for the couple occasions I've had to be away. I also invested in a few nursing bras, washable nursing pads, and some Lanolin for those first few weeks).
We have found a swing to be helpful, as our baby is picky and doesn't really like sleeping unless she's being held or rocked, and we simply can't hold her every second of the day. We're co-sleeping, but our baby's grandpa made her a beautiful crib that she naps in, and she LOVES her mobile--seriously worth it! Instead of buying an umbrella stroller and a big, fancy stroller, we found one that was kind of in-between the two models: it's sturdy, but it folds easily. We also have a cloth wrap that hugs her to our body, which has been nice for when we go out and don't want to use the stroller (like in the grocery store).
Overall, we've preferred to spend our money on things she would actually like than things we're supposed to "need"--she has lots of books and interactive toys that serve her much better than the $60 baby scale (seriously?) or the hanging diaper stacker.
Also, we do plan to make our own baby food when the time comes. I can't believe how expensive store bought baby food is!
So for my $0.02... I have a 5 month old, and we're on a limited budget (grad school for my husband). We've also decided not to buy too much stuff since we'll be moving in a month and didn't want to move a ton of baby stuff. We also have been creative with some stuff for our baby.
When babies are little they like the high contrast between black and white, so I made some cards using white card stock (which I already had) and a sharpie. I just used basic shapes and labeled what they were as well.
Currently I just made him some noise makers - I washed the empty prescription bottles (from my pre-natal vitamins, my insurance covers them so I don't have to pay as much out of pocket as if I bought them in the store) and put different items in them: rice, dry beans, nuts, pasta and some old keys (note: some keys have lead in them so you don't want your baby to play with real keys). I used a glue gun to make sure the lids stayed on. Our baby loves playing with them. We're kind of minimalist with toys, but our baby is happy. He may need more of our attention to play with him (he uses us as a baby gym sometimes, but it is great bonding time with your child.)
The other thing to keep in mind is that not all baby items are necessarily safe or good for baby development. Mirrors used in the car to see a baby can be dangerous if you were to get in a car accident. Walkers can give your baby a little too much mobility (think of banging into book shelves, or other such items.)
We also have a doorway jumper that he loves and before that we had a bouncy seat (they are both the cheapest models about $20 a piece). We did co-sleeping and tried using a snuggle nest, but didn't end up using very often (hard to use unless you have a king sized bed - we have a queen.) Now we have a pack and play because our baby sleeps better on his own now (it has a changing station on it so it is dual-purpose). We chose to get a pack and play since we'll be moving and we wanted something more portable (size is also an issue since we're doing the whole grad school thing and have limited space.)
Most of our clothes are hand-me-down from his cousin who is a year older than him. That said, when we buy clothes we get them on clearance, mostly at Toys R Us because they sometimes have sales where you get up to 20% more off their clearance items. We've found a onsie for $0.70! We don't buy anything that is over $5 (we usually find items cheaper than the second-hand store). Stores also have deals on buying diapers, like get a $10 gift card when you buy two boxes of 'X' brand. You can also sign up for coupons with most non-store brands. We also aren't doing cloth diapers due to living in an apartment and having to pay to do each load of laundry, so it wouldn't be cheaper. If you want to do cloth diapers for environmental reasons - it isn't actually any more environmental due to the hot water and chemicals needed to clean them.
We bought our mobile at Burlington Coat Factory for about $15, the cheapest we'd seen them anywhere. We were given all the blankets and bath stuff we needed as well as a few toys. The tub we got compacts for easy storage, but can leak and at the bottom where it snaps together has a bump which I feel cannot be comfortable for our baby to have in his back. I would go with a simple one if I were to buy it (but hey, I love free stuff).
We have also decided to make our own baby food, all you have to do is search for homemade baby food and you can find a lot of sites that give advise on how to make it (thus saving you $$ from buying a book.)
We had to supplement our baby for about 1 month due to issues with breastfeeding (only one bottle per day), and our doctor gave us samples of formula so we didn't end up buying any. We have a friend who has to use formula and they signed up for free samples and coupons through the brand they are using. They also got free samples from the doctors office when they first started using formula.
I used cloth diapers for my youngest and if I had it to do all over again I would have used them for all 4! I love cloth diapers. We went a while without a dryer and I could just hang them up around the house to dry them. I ended up getting everything I needed to start from a diaper delivery business that was closing. She set me up with 2 or 3 dozen diapers, plastic pants, a pail, and pins. I only paid about $25. I found the main issue with cloth diapers is leakage and that was prevented by making sure the diaper was all the way in the plastic pants and check for holes every time I washed. I went to the thrift store when I was short on plastic pants and bought what I needed used. Also, I used washcloths for all of my kids. You can get a pack of 25 or so for $5 most stores if you don't have enough. And you don't need soap, warm water works just fine. Once we got used to using cloth I liked them much more then disposable.
And one thing I did not see mentioned was a front pack or sling. I loved mine but I did not get it until my 3rd child. It made it so much easier to do things around the house. And when I was at the store with baby I was able to nurse and still do my shopping pretty discreetly.
As a labor and delivery nurse, I am constantly flabbergasted by what new parents are convinced that they "need."
The point I try and get across to my patients is that it's okay to buy less than you think you need, because you can actually leave the house (shock, gasp!) to pick stuff up after the baby's born.
Plus you'll get a thousand hand-me-downs as babies rarely if ever wear out their stuff.
Good question!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
I completely agree with everyone. I did not join the frugal side until my oldest was two. We bought everything out there, and I have to say what a waste! If I had to do it over again, I would buy everything second hand, use coupons and save a bundle. If you don't love it, don't buy it! I did also want to mention, don't forget to resell the items you have and put the money towards the next items or clothes your little one will need as they grow. Once we started this we reduce our clothing allowance dramatically.
I'll keep it short and simple, because you can get overwhelmed when looking into cloth (okay, I did). We use the bumGenius 3.0 cloth diapers w/our 18-month-old daughter. They go on and off just like a disposable diaper. No leaking...okay, rarely any leaking. They're simple to use and easy to wash. I paid about $350 or so for 20 diapers, a diaper pail (just a simple plastic trash can from Wal Mart w/a lid), and a small wet bag for when we were out and about. I wash diapers every day to every other day. (Much easier than it sounds!) IF I were to have another baby, I'd do cloth. So worth the small amount of effort I have to put into it, when you consider how much money we're saving by not buying disposable diapers.
I'll chime in on the cloth diapering. Ours are all out of diapers now and the main reason we started cloth diapering was how much cheaper it was. Basically, I washed 1x per week (unless there was more than one in diapers) and spent around $600 (total) to diaper 3 children birth to potty training.
Here's the "dissertation" I wrote last year when asked about what I would buy today if I was starting out with cloth.
First of all you really CANNOT buy anything worthwhile to cloth diaper you baby in a store (unless it's a natural parenting type etc. store)
Motherease.com These are FANTASTIC diapers. they are expensive, but work just about as easy as disposables, you just add a cover. Plus ones husband/babysitter/grandma etc. can do them without complaint. They run around $550 for the convenience package of "Dry" diapers. Which is most of what you need to diaper 1 baby from about 10lbs-35lbs. and wash about every 5-6 days depending on your routine. So almost birth to potty training for the price, which sounds expensive until you do the math on disposables which generally runs $2000 plus for the total (not including Pullups). Additionally you can use the diapers on your next children as well.
I would still buy 3 Doz. Newborn prefolds for the 7-12 lbs stage as motherease are quite large until then. I then used these inside the Motherease diaper as an additional doubler for heavy night wetting. Additionally the Conveneince pkg includes 6 covers and you need aprox. 16 (to get all sizes birth to potty training). So the Motherease option truly is:
$550 for Motherease dry diapers
$51 newborn diapers
$113 additional covers=
$714
We initially went the "prefold" route which is much cheaper, but not quite as easy. To diaper from birth to potty training you need:
4x8x4 (refers to layers of cotton) these are the aprox. weights I used them for
36 "newborn" diapers 5-12 lbs. 4x6x4 $17/doz x3= $51
36 "baby" diapers 12-22 lbs. 4x8x4 $31/doz X3=$93
24 "toddler" diapers 20-36 lbs. 4x8x4 $39/doz x2= $78
http://www.babycottonbottoms.com/dsqcottonprefolds.htm is a good website for prefolds and general info.
4 covers in each size (motherease makes the BEST covers I used in our career) 4 covers for $45
SM 6-12 lbs.
M 10-20 lbs
ML 20-27 lbs.
L 27-35 lbs.
XL 35-45 lbs. (if you need this size before potty training)
Cover Total: $180
Diaper Total: $ 222
Cloth wipes/wipes warmer w/ water/soap/tea tree solution.
Approx. total $402
We use a "baby" sized prefold inside training pants with a cover over the top for "pullups" day or night.
My "baby" sized diapers were worn thin (after 5 year use) when Lydia was about a year old and a friend introduced me to Motherease. I bought 18 to supplement my stash. John loved them. Their "dry" diaper is MUCH heavier than their regular diaper. You can get an "introductory" package to see what they are like. You have to call Motherease to get the "dry diaper" package (1-800-416-1475)
So if I was to start from scratch today, knowing what I know now I would buy:
36 Newborn prefold diapers $51 (Birth to 12 lbs.)
12 Baby prefold diapers $31 (for nighttime)
Complete motherease dry diaper pkg (24 dry diapers, 12 liners, 4 covers) aprox. $350
24 Toddler prefold diapers $78 (work well from about 25 lbs on)
Additional Covers (12) $135
For an approx. grand total of $645 for birth to potty training (including pullups) which would probably last through at least 3 children. And you don't have to buy it all at once. As you can wait until the baby grows into the next size cover or is big enough for motherease.
I polled lots of mothers in Elkton at CPC who had tried (and all given up) cloth diapering. What I learned was that they had 2 problems: 1. leakage (do to poor quality diapers and covers) and 2. Diapers soaking in the toilet.
Quality issues are easily solved today.
Washing: When I was pregnant with Abigail I ran across a website: weebees.com (no longer around) and her theory was that we should consider washing the way the professional diaper services do it. Once a week and dry pail. So the system I used for 7 years was a 2 pail dry system where you dump solids in the potty (not the diaper) and "soiled" diapers in one pail and "wet" in another and washed with this specific system whey you are running out of diapers. (for me about every 5-7 days). If you would like the specific details about this method, I would be happy to send them. (It's very easy)
Testimonial: Cloth (contrary to popular belief in the disposable world) rarely leaks. I was always afraid to cloth diaper a night. As our babies slept 10-12 hours at night fairly early, I thought they would, leak and I would be changing the bed in the middle of the night. So I used disposables at night until Emma Grace was about 20 months old. At this time she began taking the disposable off at night. (If it's off her body I'm going to be changing a lot of sheets!) So I bought some "toddler" sized prefolds and pinned them. They NEVER leaked. (and she could not get them off) Lydia was a much heavier wetter than Emma Grace, so I took the toddler diaper and doubled it with the newborn sized and she has NEVER leaked at night. My sister Jennifer with the twins Lydia's age has been double disposable diapering them at night since at least about 18 mo. old. That's got to be expensive.
There are so many cloth diaper resources, and one thing if you knit is wool soaker covers. Real wool is breatheable and a naturally moisture resistant. There are free patterns here http://diaperpages.com/soaker.php
Not related to the topic but sometimes I think the best thing I ever did was give up my flash units and instead just start shooting wide open indoors. Sure my fastest lens is an f/1.7 (and I have one f/1.8) but still, it's a lot better than the flash which washes faces out.
A little fill flash now and then never hurt nobody, though.
Thank you everyone for your formula and diaper input!
Battra, I hardly EVER shoot with flash anymore. My 50/1.4 is wide enough to shoot without flash in most conditions. And I know fill flash is considered to be acceptable, but it just doesn't fit my personal tastes! lol
Some of these pictures are from as long ago as 2004, when I knew very, very little about photography (and when I just had a point and shoot). I'm so bummed that I didn't learn about photography until I already had had all my babies...I'd do so many shots differently if I could go back.
Oh well. I will content myself with taking non-flashy pictures of my children's childhoods instead of their babyhoods! And I also have been taking a ridiculous number of photos of my new nephew. 😉
For some reason, people keep asking me this. This is a compilation of what's worked before for most of them.
- FREECYCLE! On my local freecycle list, baby clothes & toys are two of the most popular items to give away. Just don't get a car seat from there, eh? It's also a good idea to get shoes new.
- Babies, unless they have really sensitive tummies, can generally safely drink from a partly-used bottle. I suspect the "throw away unused formula" mantra was started by the formula makers.
- If you're of a mind to, bathing *with* your child has many benefits. You don't need a baby washtub, you get good one-on-one time with your kid (nonSAH parents, take note), your child gets to play in a lot more water than if s/he were in the tub alone, it's very safe.
- Consensus opinion is that walkers impede kids' learning to walk. Bouncy seats, both stationary and the type that hang from doorways, are still awesome.
- Little kids *love* simple toys. The old canard about a 2 year old enjoying the box more than the toy? It's true. I saw it at my 2 yo niece's birthday party. The big boxes to crawl through were the hit of the party, not the small furry animals to pet. Start saving big boxes now.
- Infants outgrow diaper sizes at an alarming rate so don't stock up unless your store will let you exchange. Wipes, on the other hand, don't come in sizes. Stock up madly, you'll be using them for years.
- The big brand diapers (Huggies, Pampers) do hold more than Luvs, Luvs holds more than store brands. Yes, I ran the experiment first with water and then with cranberry juice.
- Having a spot at waist level to change your kid is a backsaver. A changing pad on top of a dresser is fine, you do NOT need a specialized changing table. Set it up with your kid's tush facing the wall, just in case.
- Get furniture that will last your kid. S/He doesn't need a special kid's dresser, a grown-up's will probably be less and will last a lot longer. (Obviously this doesn't apply to cribs.) I recomment either a convertable crib (that grows into a bed frame) or moving your kid directly from crib to mattress on the floor.
As my mother would say: another county heard from.
Good luck!
PS - disposables can leak, too.
@Melissa
Yes, I think when you have always bottle-fed, there isn't much waste, because you start with very little and work your way up. There is no guess work all of a sudden when they are 4 months old and you have no idea how much they actually eat, since you obviously can't see it. 🙂 Also, once I found the formula that worked for us, I took all the sample packs for the others to the pediatrics office and they traded me for ones I used.
@WilliamB
I don't believe the walker "myth". My kids both used them, my son walked at 10 months and my daughter right before her first birthday. They both had a blast, however we have a house with all open hard floors, and no stairs...
Melissa and Stephanie-that is true. I am an admitted novice at bottlefeeding, so I probably would have gotten better at not wasting formula over time.
My kids just were never big fans of the bottle, so we never got into a routine with it. I think I waited too long to introduce it and then they were all like, "What the heck?? Why would I want that?" lol
William B-do you have kids? Or have you just picked up baby wisdom along the way? You're right too..disposables certainly can leak!
@Stephanie
On the walker myth...my second kiddo didn't use a walker and she didn't walk until she was almost 18 months!
Of course, I wasn't complaining too hard...I kind of was happy that she wasn't so mobile so early. 😉
This was my question and I would like to thank everyone for chimming in! I was amazed (like Cate pointed out) by all the unnecessary stuff that is pushed towards new moms. I do plan on breastfeeding and thankfully my brother and his wife gave me all of their baby clothes. I have been asking anyone and everyone because I wanted to form a well round opinion about what is really needed for a new baby. I am very grateful for everyone who replied. I loved reading the tips on diapers, FREECYCLE (never would have thought of that), formula, shower tips, etc. We would like to use cloth diapers to save money and because it is good for the environment. The information everyone gave me was wonderful! Thank you so much!
I have a lot of nieces and nephews, I listen when parents talk, my friends tend to come to me for myth debunking, and running experiments is fun. I collected diaper samples, poured water into them, then weighed them.
William, you should go work on mythbusters. lol
I had to formula feed both my kids and the best deal is the largest canisters of formula you can find--Costco prices are pretty good. Smaller packages of formula cost more and have too much packaging to boot. Sometimes you can't change formulas just for the best price because of sensitive tummies.
Almost every town I've ever been in has at least one used children's consignment store, and you can get really good deals on used clothing and equipment (including materinity clothes and nursing tops) if you shop carefully. So if you have a specific need and freecycle isn't forthcoming, look for those stores. Friends and relatives, as you've already discovered, are great sources of used baby equipment and clothes. We had TOO MUCH clothing, just from the hand-me-downs from my husband's sibling's kids.
The only clothing item you can never have enough of is "onsies". They are indispensible and in the beginning when the baby is spitting up a lot you will need to change them constantly. With all those clothes, we were able to wash baby clothes less frequently and in big loads to save water (we're in California) and electricity.
My kids had sensitive skin and we couldn't use commercial wipes. I bought soft cotton washcloths by the dozen at one of the "Mart" stores, cut them into quarters, and we washed those after use. We used cloth diapers for the first child (our friends gave us many months of diaper service as a gift), but had all sorts of problems due to her sensitive skin. Eventually we put the older one in disposables at night and that helped. I gave up and put the younger one in disposables all the time and her skin was much better. Those disposables in the landfill bother me, but not as immediate as a screaming kid with a cherry red bottom. We bought them by the case at Costco too, for the best price. Luckily, they used to be by the front, so I could run in, grab a big can of formula and a case of diapers and get out of there in 20 minutes flat.
Never bought much baby food. Too expensive and wasteful. At first they only eat a teaspoon or two at a time. A food processor or a baby food grinder is enough to make your own. You can puree table food and freeze it in ice cube trays for future use. My kids never wanted to be spoon fed, so we mostly gave them very easy finger food (unsweetened cheerios, very soft cooked vegies and mushy bananas)almost from the very beginning.
When it's OK for your baby to have it, you should look online for how to make your own yogurt at home. It's very inexpensive and delicious (No special equipment needed--just a crock pot or a wide mouth thermos will do), and you can control what goes in it for your baby. The little packages of yogurt just for baby's are outrageously expensive and wasteful.
For my first son we bought a travel system (the pushchair with car seat which goes on top) which in retrospect was a waste of money. The car seat got loads of use in the car but I never put it on the pushchair part! It was also an enormous, cumbersome thing - although comfy - and I stopped using it before 12mths in favour of a smaller, cheaper buggy. It also came with lots of useless accessories - padded bits on the straps, head cushions, footmuff etc.
Second time round I bought a cheap double folding buggy off ebay (which I resold for a good price!) and a 2nd hand pram also from ebay. I used the pram as a crib when baby slept in the day.
Third time round I bought a very lightweight stroller which folds up very small, and a sling which I have used far more than the stroller!
On cloth nappies - I have only had them for my daughter but I love them. They are easy to cope with, and do not leak!! I knitted some wool soakers for pennies and got many of my nappies second hand, and sold on the ones she grew out of or I didn't like. I would be wary of committing to one brand - buy a few and see what works for you instead of shelling out for a huge starter pack of something you might not get on with.
REALLY HELPFUL !!!
"g diapers" offer the best of both worlds. They use disposable, biodegradable inserts. So the worst of the mess can be thrown out and the rest of the diaper can be easily washed. The diaper covers go on with velcro and are very cute!
My son is 14 months old, a scooter, and not walking yet. 🙂
Due to massive breastfeeding issues (don't ask, it's a long story involving a lactation consultant, pumps, supplementation, and blood), we started formula feeding at 3 weeks. The munchkin couldn't tolerate milk-based formula, so we had to buy soy (which doesn't go on sale very often!).
My biggest piece of advice: Buy Target brand formula. It's been great for us, and it costs just over half of what Enfamil and Similac cost ($13.50 per cannister of powder vs. $25 in our area). It has the same DHA/ADA compounds that are important for brain development (yeah, biochemist for a hubby means we pay attention to stuff like that!).
As for what you actually "need" for a baby, I'll list what we purchased or were given. We live in a 1-BR apartment, so space is a premium.
- Changing pad to place on top of 4-drawer dresser (you really don't need a changing table, just a pad to place on an appropriate-height flat surface)
- Hamper to place next to dresser
- White plastic drawers to stack on other side of dresser to hold diapers, children's medicine, and changing supplies (you don't need a specific diaper pail if you're using disposables - just throw them in your covered kitchen or bathroom trash and empty the trash every other day or so)
- portable crib that we used in our bedroom for the first few months, now a full-size crib in the living room
- Storage bins for clothing (stuff he's grown out of to use on future kids, stuff that's given to us that's too big to be used in future) that fit under full-size crib
- Stroller with ample under-seat storage for long walks and trips to the local parks
- Carseats (infant for when he was under 25 lb, now one that goes up to 50 lb - keep the kid facing backwards as long as possible, not just till 1 year; ours only lasted until last week because he's so heavy - his carseat is only rated for rear-facing up to 35 lb, and he's already at 30, so we turned it around)
- Exersaucer - the modern version of a walker, doesn't move, definitely buy used (they're pricey), the munchkin loved this because it allowed him to be up higher
- play "gym" - those things you can place over your still-prone baby so he has something to look at and reach for
- random soft books, soft toys, and things that light up and make sounds - I bought a whole collection of used toys from a former coworker for $25 (included the exersaucer and gym) We keep them in repurposed diaper boxes under the coffeetable
- Trifold cloth diapers - BEST BURP RAGS EVER. Don't bother with the "official" burp rags - just buy about 2 dozen of the cloth diapers, and you'll be set. Much more absorbant than any of the "official" burprags I got!
- Nursing pillow, something rounded or boomerang shaped - I actually sat on mine when we went out (third degree tears do a serious number on your sitting bits!), but apparently they're good for nursing, too. 😉
- Rocking chair - my dad made one for us. Definitely get one that you can fall asleep in - so very helpful on those tough nights when kiddo will only sleep on you and not in the crib!
That's it. No official fancy-shmancy matching crib-changing table-dresser set. Kids don't have to be expensive. I decorated our nursery area (since he was sharing our bedroom!) with framed cutouts from the gift bags and paper I received at the shower. I bought a set of matching frames from Target for around $20 (10 frames). It looked very cute and put-together, and took about 2 hours on one of those exceedingly long days in the two weeks before delivery.
From an older (way older) mom: my daughters walked at 8 mo. (first one)and 11 mo. (second). It seemed to be genetically determined. (My husband walked at 8 mo. and I walked at 12 mo.)
I never had a walker and don't think it would have mattered. It really seemed unnecessary to me and according to several sources at the time would have perhaps had a negative impact on leg/bone development.
I second the breastfeeding and homemade baby food. Although I did end up needing formula for baby number one. Costco or Sam's had the best prices for formula and diapers. I loved using luvs. Cheap and effective. Even my sensative kids had no problem with them while store brnds often caused a rash.
I also used my bouncy seat. It was a dual purpose one that doubled as the seat of the baby swing. I purchased it at a garage sale. One child loved the swing, while the other loved the bouncy seat.
I, unlike another commenter, loved having a travel system. It was so nice to be able to transport a sleeping infant without moving them to and from the carseat.
As for breastfeeding, I never used bottles or pumps. I am still using lanolin samples from the hospital and never needed pads. I did however purchase nursing bras. So very cost effective for me.
I never seem to find good deals on used clothing at places like once upon a child. I prefer to shop the clearence racks with my coupons to buy brand new clothes for cheaper than resale prices.it is worth the time for me. I do find good deals on baby gear and toys at resale shops though.
Garage sales!!! And do you have any friends with children a few months older? Gender doesn't really matter, especially for onesies and sleepers. I always had plenty of clothes from garage sales and hand-me-downs, but I always purchased a "special" outfit or two each size. ShopKo is awesome because they sell "sets" like 2 onesies and a pair of pants. Plus, they have the "grow it out before they wore it out" guarantee.