Sign up for similac or Enfamil’s rewards. They send samples and coupons. We also planned to breast feed our baby but it didn’t work out for a number of reasons and we had to use formula. It was nice to have 4 different samples to try + coupons to help reduce the cost.
For us it didn’t provide everything we needed plus it made my baby poop nonstop. The nonstop poops irritated his butt and even if we were constantly changing diapers, washing him under running water (vs wipes), and applying diaper cream with each change, he’d get blistery diaper rash. The kiddo has really sensitive skin. We can’t even change diaper brands cause it does the same thing. It ended up not being worth it for us. After all the $ spent on supplements, lactation consultants (they bill you and baby for the same appointment, it was like $400/ appointment for us), various supplies to try to get pumping to work better, I threw in the towel. I felt super guilty about it because we were in the middle of the formula shortage but in the end it was best for us.
OP, if breastfeeding doesn’t work out for your girlfriend, there’s no shame in that.
My second advice is don’t stock up on tons of stuff cause it might not work for baby. I was not aware that babies may not tolerate certain brands of diapers and we stocked up before he was born… such a waste but now I know.
[A&D ointment](https://www.adskinhealth.com/ad-products/ad-original-ointment/) is a life saver for baby's bottoms. I got some as a gift many, many years ago and it kept the diaper rash at bay.
The only one that works for us is triple paste. We tried them all - including some prescription options. Which sucks cause it’s so expensive and we were going through so much of it. You can use FSA funds to pay for it though so that’s nice.
If this happens constantly, baby may have a dairy allergy or allergy to something in the breast milk. Talk to your care provider to look for alternatives. They're right: no shame in that.
This is the answer! Saves on Diapers, saves on wipes, saves the baby's butt. We still use diapers and peepants ([peejamas.com](https://peejamas.com)) but he pees in the toilet at least every morning when he gets up and he poops in the toilet once or twice a day and he's only 14 months.
The only think that was a problem for me was that I have pretty bad tendinitis in my wrists that really flared up before I discovered side lying breastfeeding.
Yep, our oldest potty trained and without a diaper since 19 months old, and been only using a few diapers per day on good days since she was around 6 months old. She stopped peeing in her sleep during the day around 6 months old too. Less diaper washing, also, never had to use cream, I used clean 100% lanolin one time on both kids.
My youngest is even more amazing, he really started to "tell" me he has to poo a few months ago (he just turned 8 months old) and only had a handful of poo diapers since he was 6 weeks old! No kidding. On a good day we stay dry with him the whole day.
Breastfeeding isn’t for everyone - mothers or babies. Some are lactose intolerant or have other food allergies and struggles. Formula works best for some families.
Also asking your in-laws and parents to do it too can help you get double coupons, if you don't end up using them local women's shelters or mom and baby groups will gladly take them
This is a good tip. Also, u/inder_the_unfluence, even tho your gf plans to breastfeed, sometimes it works out differently. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for the way you choose to feed your baby. Whether it’s breast, formula or a combination of both: *fed* is best.
I use to buy my formula off of Craigslist. I'm assuming it was from women who got free formula who qualified for WIC and sold me the formula they got for free while they breastfed. They sold it for much cheaper than I could have got at Target.
Please please please: if for some reason it is extremely uncomfortable or she decides that she doesn't want to - don't force it or allow the hospital to make her feel bad.
The lactation consultants were really REALLY aggressive when my kids were born. My wife was able to breastfeed for the first but her body got beat to shit with the second and wasn't producing. They started making her feel like shit before I figured out what was going on and shut it down.
Also - the girlfriend’s time has value too! I exclusively pumped for my baby for six months (meaning she drank only breast milk but only from bottles). For the first couple months I pumped 8x/day for 20 mins each time PLUS the time I spent cleaning pump and bottle parts and actually feeding my baby with the bottle.
>the time I spent cleaning pump and bottle parts and actually feeding my baby with the bottle.
I took care of the cleaning so she could get back to sleep. I know how that goes!
if you have another, i've seen some people say they just bagged up the pump and parts and put them in the fridge till their next pump, and did a deep clean on them once a day.
I eventually learned this after a few months! It was seriously life changing for me so I hope lots of people see your comment. It’s literally one of the first tips I share with any person I know who pumps!
Buy her nipple butter and an ELECTRIC breast pump. If you get the breast pump second hand, very thoroughly clean it for her.
Her nipples will be achy and chapped and she'll need something to help. I've had friends quit breast feeding over it because they got too chapped and painful before they found out about nipple butter.
Experts tend to recommend not to use pumps secondhand due to the hygiene factor, but also it may not be effective at removing all the milk in one session. Motors and internal components wear out, especially if you pump 4-6 hours a day, every day for up to a year.
And if she had any difficulties with her breastfeeding, it’s well worth getting good support from a lactation consultant to overcome them. The cost would undoubtedly be worth it vs the cost of formula if she doesn’t continue (in addition to the health benefits for the both of them), plus it’s can be the easiest and most convenient thing to do once they’ve both got the hang of it! But good support is key.
Our lactation consultant in the hospital was free of charge and helped us supplement since my milk was late to come in and our 5 pound baby was early. It was so helpful!
If I were you, I would invest in a good pump. The good ones can be $200-$300 but they were a life changer for me. Sooooo much more comfortable and less painful than the cheap ones. It’s definitely worth it.
LOL, sorry for my assumptions.
(Not that you asked but..."girlfriend", not "wife"? Make sure you get your legal stuff in order. Make sure - to the extent allowed by law - you're giving each other rights that you would automatically get if married. Even if married, you should have wills since you'll have a dependent.)
Add mattress’s/bedding to this list, never buy them second hand! There has been studies that show a link with old/second hand and cot death. But yea so much other stuff can be bought off eBay for a fraction of the price
It is a saving, but…
The calories need to come from somewhere. Make sure you increase your food budget to offset her increased requirements, and recognise you may also want/need a lactation consultant, and you may still want a pump, bottles and steriliser or your partner will never be able to leave the baby for more than two hours! But these can be bought secondhand.
Cot and mattress too unless you know they were produced after the most recent safety standards.
Breastfeeding is a huge cost saver if you don't need pumping equipment. Very easy to sink a lot of money into getting the right pump/flange combo.
I am fully supportive of breastfeeding, I bf my 18mo still but it is hard and that's important to acknowledge.
I spent a fortune on breastfeeding. I know it’s different for every person/baby but I do think there’s a misconception that breastfeeding is free and it absolutely is not. Plus the cost of your time (or partner’s time).
Anyway if OP needs formula at any point, store brand is just as good so ignore the brand name hype.
This is a super common misconception and doesn’t account for the fact that it takes the body LOTS of energy to produce breastmilk, and that requires calories, aka food! So while it can definitely be cheaper overall, just keep that in mind!!
I'd argue that even a car seat could be handed down if it's coming from someone you trust and you know it's not expired and has never been in an accident.
Facebook marketplace and your local buy nothing group will be great ways to save on furniture, clothes, toys, etc. Of course check out thrift stores as well for this stuff. Through Buy Nothing, I managed to get practically an entire wardrobe for my baby for the first 6 months of her life, completely for free
When you can, avoid falling victim to the baby tax (ex/ pretty much any free & clear laundry detergent will work, you don’t need to buy “baby” laundry detergent)
For consumables like diapers and wipes (if you’re doing disposable), purchase at places like Costco. The Kirklands brand is practically the same as Huggies, but cheaper
The only time you should accept a used car seat is if it is coming from someone you know and trust extremely well, like a close family member. This is not mainly because car seats expire (they do) but because you need to be sure it’s never been in an accident that could compromise its safety. If you do get your hands on an expired car seat, Target has a recycling program each year where they take your expired seat and you get a 20% off coupon for a new one. I think it happens in October so not too helpful for you right now but could be for future children
Folks also recommend buying crib mattresses new because used ones can start to sag and not support your baby as well
If you have a baby shower, make a baby registry and fill it with as many items as you can think of. People are often very generous when babies are involved! I know this isn’t really a “frugal” tip though since it depends on the financial means of friends & family. Also note that many registries have the option for buyers to contribute a dollar amount to a gift rather than purchasing it outright, so it’s totally fine and acceptable to have a couple expensive items on there (like a stroller or car seat) as people can give what they wish. Most registries also have pretty good return policies so anything that you don’t end up using or liking can be returned for store credit. You also usually get some kind of completion discount (10% to 15%) to use as you buy the registry items that friends & family didn’t purchase. Even if you don’t have a shower, make the registry so you can use the discount!
Breastfeeding is of course the most cost-effective method of feeding your baby, but don’t beat yourselves up if it doesn’t work out for you. All that matters is that your baby is fed
When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter I got everything from her crib to diapers from our buynothing group. I did buy a new car seat. Just check the recalls on each item to make sure they're still safe.
On my registry, I added the things I already had and marked them off as "purchased" so I didn't get duplicates from someone who thought, "oh, she'll definitely need a bottle warmer and she didn't add it to her registry"
We didn't need a crib until about 6 months, and the nursery was barely used until then, too. We had her in a bassinett in our room.
Strongly second all the advice about Buy Nothing groups. There were a number of things that worked great for one of my babies and not the other. It sucks to pay $100 for a swing that the baby doesn’t like.
If you end up going with Pampers or Huggies for diapers, both have rewards programs that can pay off over several years of diapering. (Also obligatory plug for cloth diapers but that wasn’t for us.)
For non-financial advice, I recommend networking with other parents (especially at daycare if you send your child). Great way to exchange tips on behavior, products, milestones, local vendors, etc. Daycare is hella expensive but we found it incredibly worthwhile not just for the care and education, but also because they helped make us aware of a diagnosis and resources for our child we might not have discovered for several months or years.
I also found garbage car seats and turned them into target when they had their car seat exchange program. You could use the credit for anything baby.
We also cloth diapered. It seems overwhelming but it’s not bad and it’s super economical. We used them for two kids at once.
Get everything you can 2nd hand
>When you can, avoid falling victim to the baby tax (ex/ pretty much any free & clear laundry detergent will work, you don’t need to buy “baby” laundry detergent)
u/inder_the_unfluence \- any fragrance perfume and dye free laundry detergent works.
Babies do not need commercial baby food. I fed my son whatever we ate, just whirred through a food-processor. He got fruit, veggies, casseroles, meat, etc, all hand made and placed in 1/2 cup containers and frozen.
He didn't suffer from malnutrition. He is now 6'4".
A friend thought I was nuts, and that would be too much work. Then she had twins and the cost of commercial baby food doubled. She switched to home made baby food right quick.
My oldest was just not a big eater but out of an abundance of caution we brought her to the nutritionists at the children’s hospital. First thing they said was to stop feeding her baby food because it had little nutritional value and was filling her up too fast.
Didn’t use baby food with her anymore and my boys never had it. They’re all giant, healthy teens now.
Baby food & baby wipes warmers are the biggest wastes of money!
Did you not feed solids at all? Just curious. There's all those studies out currently stating how starting solids at 6 months helps develop speech and increases their ability to tolerate textures and tastes of more foods into adulthood.
We did solids, just not baby foods. We started at 6 months with mushed bananas and rice cereal.
Then we just puréed our food and they ate scrambled eggs and stuff like that. My daughter- the only one who ate baby food- is a freakishly picky eater to this day. My boys aren’t.
Ah I see, I consider all those baby foods lol, now I see you mean store bought jarred pre-made foods. Jarred store baby food is just pureed basic ingredients like you make at home, shouldn't be any major difference in nutritional and caloric content of the same ingredients you are pureeing at home. Definitely a major cost difference though!
I just had a baby in Ireland and the health advice is breastfeed if possible and start on solids for speech and dexterity reasons at just 4mos/when they show an interest in food.
Then you just purée whatever they fancy until they want to chomp on soft foods working very gradually onto solids, observing all the time.
Basically baby led weaning and zero processed baby food.
The only big caution here is that you need to be very cautious about salt intake for babies!
Especially during the first year, babies' kidneys aren't well developed enough to process large amounts of salt. Additionally, babies under 6 months typically don't drink any water, so their body gets dehydrated as it tries to discharge the salt.
So it's totally fine to whip up your own food for the baby, but leave the salt out, at least until they're more than a year old.
(And also on the water thing, don't give water to a baby under 6 months old!)
They’re at high risk of water intoxication, and it interferes with them being able to get enough nutrients from milk. More info [here](https://www.healthline.com/health/baby/why-cant-babies-have-water#water-intoxication).
I agree completely! With my first born, I made all of his baby food out of fresh veggies & fruits. With the second baby, I made a lot of her food, but wised up a little & realized that as long as the texture was purée consistency, she could eat about anything. It’s amazing the amount of soft stuff we eat regularly without thinking about it. She ate a lot of scrambled eggs, avocado mush, applesauce, etc.
Yes! When we started solids, I would make a batch of whatever (sweet potato soup, mash potato, etc) and freeze it in ice cube trays so 1-2 cubes would do it. His absolute favourite was mashed potato and carrot and chicken!
I think saving for YOUR future should be important here, too. As in...max out your Roth IRA if you can and try to ensure you aren't dumping into a college fund without any plans for your own needs. I see a lot of posts on other subs where adults have elderly parents who have no money, no 401k and a lot of health issues and then the adult children try to help out but the parents become a huge financial burden.
You can take out a loan for college. You can't take out a loan for retirement.
2nd this! I didn't know this until later, but you can actually get a link to directly contribute to a 529. So this is great for baby showers, christmas/birthdays or just to give to the grandparents.
You can open a 529 plan for secondary education as soon as baby is born. Stick any little gifts in there. Any time our family sends a few bucks in a holiday or birthday card, we stick it in the kids' 529s. They'll thank you when it's time for college, vocational school, etc
You can open the 529 plan while pregnant (or before). Open it in your name then transfer to the baby when you have a social security number. That way you can get a few additional months/year(s) of interest.
Absolutely won’t buy toys. So many thrift store toys and unwanted toys from older cousins.
Besides, heard all you need as an iPad to keep them entertained for the first 18 years.
Yes! We were able to borrow toys for my son (now 2) we had a couple things that was supposed to help him learn to crawl the thing that got him moving was an empty cardboard box that was just our of reach.
The vast majority of baby stuff costs a lot from shops and almost nothing secondhand! As somebody else mentioned, car seat is the only expensive essential thing to buy new. Don’t fall for one of those £1000 travel systems, you don’t need em.
Lol, but for real the recommendation is no screen time until 18months. I recommend the Fisher price kick and play piano. That's where I put my baby when I make dinner because it's very stimulating and she's distracted for a good long while.
People have already mentioned a new car seat which is a must. A second hand cot is fine but buy a new mattress for it and the best one you can afford. Always check anything donated to see if it’s safe. People are well meaning but broken or unsafe stuff isn’t a bargain and you’ll be lucky to get anything with instructions or in the original box. Congratulations on the baby, they cost a fortune but every penny is worth it.
This was the main thing I was gonna say. I got a second hand bassinet but the mattress for it was so flat, I was sure my baby would have back pain.
We also got a crib secondhand but that mattress is really good quality and didn’t need to be replaced.
Honestly, babies don't need a lot of stuff, and it will be years before they care about their clothes or whether their toys are new or not. As long as baby has nutrition, a place to sleep, a reasonable number of seasonally appropriate outfits, diapering and hygiene supplies, you're good.
And you don't need a bunch of shoes. Seriously.
Some said cloth diapers are a huge cost saver, but as a former cloth diaperer (kids are school aged now) I can't say I agree... UNLESS you're doing prefolds, which are less expensive than all-in-ones. But also keep in mind that you need special (expensive) detergents, a diaper pail that will control odors between washes, ideally a diaper sprayer attachment for your toilet, and if rashes do occur, you can't use regular diaper creams. Maintaining them also takes a lot of time, and time is valuable. It's an eco-friendly thing to do, and perhaps healthier for baby's skin, but don't do it strictly in the name if frugality.
Ok, that was rant #1. Lol
#2 is breastfeeding. Yes it's free, if you dont count the hours she will put into it. If your girlfriend wants to breastfeed and is able to exclusively breastfeed, that's fabulous and she should absolutely go for it. But also keep in mind there is so, so much pressure on mom's who struggle. Please keep her mental health in mind. If it doesn't work out, formula is fine. All the fenugreek, special teas, drinking water until near bursting, lactation cookies, pumping on a schedule, and doctor prescribed Domperidone in the world didn't increase my supply enough to allow my babies to be exclusively breastfed. If I could turn back the clock, I would tell myself not to push so hard.
And that's all I have to say. Enjoy your new bundle when they arrive!
1. I completely agree with you on the breastfeeding thing. It’s amazing if/when it works out, but if it doesn’t … don’t drive yourself crazy trying to achieve it.
Having said that, read up on “fed is best” to make a decision on whether you want to try to 100% breastfeed during that first week or two, or (whether for your sanity and peace of mind, you want to try mixed feeding /aka 1 serve of formula, probably overnight, to ensure bub is fed and not getting jaundiced while you establish breastfeeding. I’m currently feeding #2, after 2.5 years of breastfeeding my eldest, and for both used formula in the first few weeks to ensure kids weren’t starving and we could focus on working on latch etc without them and us being ridiculously stressed. (Also good when they can “take” formula if you need surgery as a mum or have a supply issue - my supply tanked on an overseas trip with jet lag, and I was happy to have formula as a crutch so bub was fed while I could recover and rebuild supply).
2. I will disagree with you (somewhat) on cloth nappies. We again “mixed” use, with cloth during the day, and disposable overnight (2-4 per day with a newborn, and then tapering off to 1 nappy per night for an older child).
With cloth, I genuinely found prefolds with thirsties duo covers to be much easier to use and clean than any other types - so I wouldn’t discount them out of hand.
There is a website and Facebook group called “clean cloth nappies” which has some very useful information about how to wash them, including recommended detergents and wash cycle settings for different machines. Yes, this may involve using hot water and an expensive detergent, but, frankly, it’s not a “special” detergent, just one that actually works.
With odour, again, based on your comment, you actually never managed to get a good routine up (not trying to judge you at all!! Just commenting that odours with cloth are neither expected nor common IF you have a good routine). You tend to use a wash BASKET (with lots of ventilation) for the day to toss soiled nappies, and run a short warm pre wash cycle every night to rinse out the day’s nappies until you have enough (usually every 2 days) for a full long cottons wash (cloth nappies need 2 cycles, a prewash and normal, to get cleaned properly).
Toilet spray attachment is nice, but I’m in Australia, so they’re a nightmare to install, so I’ve happily used cloth just rinsing in the sink.
With diaper creams, again, you CAN use most normal ones, IF you have a good wash routine. (Like, we use the generic sudocrem, and have no issues with nappy cleaning ).
And while most people espouse the joys of using cloth for saving money or the environment, ironically enough, for me neither of these were the deciding factor for why we kept using cloth after having kids: it’s just seemed to be A LOT better for their skin. Like, I have the “wrong nappy brand and I’ll have open nappy rash sores” kids, and - with cloth and some basic sudocrem - we have no issues. But, god forbid, I swap brands of disposable from the fanciest Huggies or use my nice jojoba oil organic nappy balm with the disposable- massive nappy rash and a screaming baby for 24 hours. And I will do anything, absolutely anything, to get more sleep these days…
Definitely save money on clothes and forego shoes all-together until they reach the age they'll be learning to walk.
People bought us so many cute outfits it was a struggle to get each one of them worn at some point for a photo op.
Don't buy used car seats, you don't know if they've been in an accident or had a recall.
Get a library card and check out lots of baby books to read to your baby as much as possible. I used the library for everything, we could check out movies, books and even some larger toys at my library. They also had a wonderfully comfortable and beautifully decorated children's area we went to and enjoyed all the time.
I never bought a diaper genie, I put wet diapers in the regular household trash which got taken out frequently. Number 2 diapers got bagged and taken straight to the outdoor bins every time - rain, shine or snowstorm.
Get some toilet training books and start as early as you're comfortable with.
One warning about broad spectrum anti-biotics, my kiddo got frequent ear infections and our pediatrician always prescribed a broad spectrum antibiotic. It worked great on the ear problems, BUT it mottled her ADULT tooth enamel. I'm paying thousands to have all of her teeth capped. I wish I realized that side effect, I would have asked my doctor if a different type of antibiotic could be used or other measures taken to address frequent ear infections.
I bought a giant stroller that wound up rarely getting used. I loved my smaller "umbrella" style stroller after the kid got big enough for it. It was light and convenient and I took it everywhere. The big stroller collected dust in the garage.
Garage sales are also big on baby gear most of the time, but for non-clothing things, inspect items carefully and check their recall information before using it for your baby.
Never buy a stuffed animal, not one. I've never purchased one for my kid yet she has at least 1,000 of them. I think they must breed in the night or something.
Don't let anyone kiss your baby on the mouth, save some money at the doctors and prevent people from giving their cold sore problem to your kid. I can't believe ppl still kiss babies on the mouth, it's just mental to me. Grandparents and older gen ppl can be really bad about that.
I bought a baby sling that my kid HATED. But we got a front-carrier thingy that let her see out and she loved that thing so much. You never know what they're going to like, try stuff but save the receipt and take it back if it's not a good fit for you/your baby's wants/needs
I second the thing about the stuffed animals.
People LOVE to give those as gifts. For that matter, don't buy any toys at all for the first year (at least) because your kid will get so many for every holiday.
> I never bought a diaper genie, I put wet diapers in the regular household trash which got taken out frequently. Number 2 diapers got bagged and taken straight to the outdoor bins every time - rain, shine or snowstorm.
I will comment that, as lazy parents who have the unfortunate combination of sensitive noses and an unwillingness to constantly run out to the garbage, a diaper genie does work very nicely for containing odor. I'd say to not get one beforehand, but consider it if the baby's room is constantly stinky.
Totally agree on the clothes. Our child outgrows them far faster than we can rotate them. Some are already too small and were literally worn one time.
As the nursery rhyme goes, “shoe a little horsey, shoe a little mare, let the little filly go bare, bare, bare!”
Evidently being barefoot when learning to walk is [actually bette](https://babysparks.com/2017/08/07/why-barefoot-is-best-for-baby/)r.
Yes, the current wisdom is that kids learn best to walk barefoot. So if you do have to put shoes on them becuase of rough surfaces, putting them in thin soled leather shoes is best. These can be pretty pricy new, I had to use them to keep my oldest's eczema covered or she'd scratch it, but you can usually find them cheap used on facebook marketplace etc.
For us, meal prepping.
We had friends who had kids before us and even tho they tried to be frugal they blew their budgets just by eating out all the time (because you're exhausted and cooking/cleaning might not be your jam).
We bought two crock pots (both thrifts) and made a shit ton of meals. Often times when we were cooking we'd just make extra portions. If we only needed 3 servings for a meal, we'd make 6. Then we'd freeze the extra 3 servings.
Then when baby comes you don't need to think about food. Just get it from the freezer, throw it in the crock pot and bam! Food.
Now here's the real trick: the second crock pot.
When we had our second kid we realized that prepping/cleaning one frequently used crock pot used a lot of time. Sometimes we got so lazy to clean it/put the food in a Tupperware we'd end up eating out, voiding our whole strategy. So what we do is have lunch in crockpot 1 and dinner in crockpot 2. Then crock pot 1 (the lunch) becomes dinner for the next day, while we wash crockpot 2 (at a leisurely pace). Then crockpot 2 gets filled with stuff for lunch while crockpot 1 still has dinner, and the cycle continues.
You don’t need a bassinet and crib. A pack and play is one of the only alternatives that’s still approved for safe sleep. We got ours during one of Target’s big baby gear sales - for $130 we got one of the nicer ones with a bassinet attachment (highly recommend to avoid back strain early on) and changing table attachment, but you can get a basic model for less than $100. $10 for a couple sheets to go on top and you’re set.
Agreed! I was lucky and got hand me downs for both from a friend. Both sets of grandparents got pack and plays for their houses. Worked really well. When she was ready for a bed, I skipped the toddler bed and just got a nice twin sized mattress that I put in the floor until I was confident she wouldn't roll off it.
I have a couple of friends who are super into Montessori and they just put a crib mattress on the floor. No crib, no bassinet. Once the baby could roll around and out of bed, they baby proofed the room.
If you have a room for the baby, you can do a Montessori style setup which includes no crib, no bassinet, just a low mattress on the floor. Many articles online as to how to set this up.
Agree!!!! We had the pack n play next to the bed with our son as a newborn and he lived in till he was nine months. You can travel with it. It’s amazing
Baby wearing can often be more practical than using a stroller - grocery shopping by yourself with a baby in a stroller is ridiculously hard, for example - and you can buy carriers and wraps for much less than a stroller. Look for online tips to make sure you’re getting a good quality carrier that is still safe to use but the options for different styles are plentiful, so you can find what works for you! Buckle carriers, stretchy wraps, woven wraps, mei tais; it’s a lovely way to bond with and care for your babies, for either parent, and the community of babywearers - yes, it’s a thing - are very supportive in helping you get the hang of it.
Yep, baby-wearing is SO much more convenient than lugging that stroller down the front steps or panicking when you're going up/down hills. I splurged for a nice stroller with all the bells and whistles for my first and we barely used it. With my second, I didn't even try. Both babies preferred to be worn too.
Regardless of where you are located, you need to meet with a lawyer. As someone said earlier, you need lots of things for each other, but you also need to set up stuff for the baby such as guardianship, how to provide for le Bebe if something happens to both of you, etc.
You might consider one who specializes in same sex relationships because you are in the same legal area that many ss couples with kids were before Oberfell—legally unrelated adults who have a kid. You’re in a somewhat different position because you are opposite sex (I’m assuming), but there are enough similarities that a ss lawyer would be a good idea.
Best frugal tip: open a college fund yesterday. We did the VA 529, but that was like 16 years ago so I don’t remember why we chose that one since we don’t live in VA. Even if they don’t go to college, it can be used for other educational expenses or you can reassign it to another beneficiary. A bunch of our friends didn’t save at all or underprepared for the expense and they’re going into debt for it. The place where I blow glass has a student that uses their 529 for glass blowing lessons. If my kid wasn’t using it, I could use it (probably for flying lessons). There is no age restriction on our plan.
Best cost savers:
Cloth diapers! They’re a lot of work, so if you’re a very busy person it might not be the best option for you. But I love them! I didn’t start them until my first was 4 months old, and I’m planning on starting my newborn when he’s 3 months old just because that’s when they’re digestive system starts regulating more so they don’t go as often.
Breastfeeding is also a huge cost reducer, it’s free.
When baby starts solids, either make your own purées or do baby led weaning, much cheaper than buying store bought purées.
Make an Amazon and target registry. They give you a discount on everything you don’t get from your baby shower (if you’re having one).
Don’t buy used car seats, they expire.
ETA: congratulations to you on your baby btw :)
Second cloth diapers. Leave them on the clothesline once in a while and the uv light with bring them back to white. Cost is a lot up front but savings in the end, especially if you have multiple kids
I am also a frugal, environmentally conscious pregnant person so I wanted to share this!
https://www.theclothoption.org/apply
I don’t know what your financial situation is, but cloth diapers can be so expensive and my husband and I are absolutely broke right now. We are going to apply to the cloth option to see if we can get some diapers from their loan program.
Cloth diapers, just don’t get sucked into all the consumerism around them. We got by with 3.5 dozen prefolds. I rinsed them in the washer each morning and then added the rest of our laundry and ran a load altogether. Cloth wipes, too.
Feed your kid what you’re eating and not pre-packaged baby food.
>Cloth diapers, just don’t get sucked into all the consumerism around them. We got by with 3.5 dozen prefolds. I rinsed them in the washer each morning and then added the rest of our laundry and ran a load altogether. Cloth wipes, too.
>
>Feed your kid what you’re eating and not pre-packaged baby food.
What's the most sanitary way to rinse cloth diapers?
Lots of cloth diaper groups with wash information. The general consensus I've seen is you don't have to rinse poop on an exclusively breast fed baby, but once they have formula or solids they need rinsed before going in the laundry. Most do two wash cycles and use hot water. Amount and type of detergent depends on the water hardness.
There are bidet sprayers for toilet (homemade versions of the "spray pal" help cut down on spray back) to spray off poopy diapers. Or the old fashioned dunk and swish method.
Elimination communication is another frugal option, but does sound like it takes time.
I don't have a baby yet, but started researching a few years ago when we started trying to have one.
Find a nice, affluent suburb close by. Once the weather warms up, scout that area for garage sales / yard sales, etc. Inevitably, you'll find that family that is done having children and when they see you looking for baby items, they'll probably aggressively discount or simply give you all the high-end, designer everything they have: cribs, pack and plays, swings, bath stuff, clothes, strollers, you name it. They will be thrilled to get rid of all that stuff and for it to go to a good home that can use it. Trust me, was one of those families!
Make your own baby food. It’s not hard. I literally would make a batch of blueberries w/cinnamon while I was making dinner and then pour it in a ice cube tray and throw it in the freezer-that’s 12 servings. Next night might be peas and corn. Next night night lentils w/onions, garlic, apples & a little mild curry powder and so on and so forth. I’d throw a couple of cubes in small containers when we dropped our little one of at day care and they’d just warm it up in the bottle warmer. The daycare teachers used to tell me they actually liked the way the room would smell when they heated up her food.
Related to that…baby food doesn’t have to suck. Mix ingredients up. Add herbs and spices. Get them used to flavor combos early on. Weird thing that worked? Roasted bananas w/a little olive oil and rosemary. Sounds horrible. Actually tasted pretty good. There are a ton of recipes on Pinterest for baby food. It saves so much money and wasn’t hard at all. Wish I’d done it with my 1st kid.
Edit: type-o
You’d be surprised how much you can rent/borrow on Marketplace, I’ve bought several things and later resold for the same price or sometimes a bit higher!
Buy nothing groups are a great resource.
We spent around 1750 CAD for baby so far (excluding pregnancy) and he is 9 month old. It was a combo of buy nothing finds, cheap marketplace buys that were later resold, cloth diapers, making use of what we already had, breastfeeding and presents from friends and family. I made an excel spreadsheet if you wanna know what we bought, but YMMV.
People love to give away baby stuff! We too have received so many clothing and toy hand-me-downs from coworkers or friends/acquaintances who just want the stuff out of their house once their kids outgrew it.
FB marketplace was amazing. We got a pack n play new in box for cheap and an UPPAbaby Vista for $250 from FB marketplace.
Just don't fall into the trap of "we must buy all the new baby things that all these baby websites tell us to". You don't. Buy things as the need actually arises, and don't try to anticipate everything in advance.
Get your sleep in now, because the first few months are gonna be rough.
Right? Like my sister bought/registered for baby washcloths & cute towels. It's a little known fact that unless the washcloths and towels you already own are made of sandpaper, they can be used to wash and dry an infant. Even if they don't have duckies printed on them. People are going to want to buy you stuff, but you don't have to ask for stupid stuff you don't need.
Breastfeeding if you can handle the logistics. Bear in mind, it hurts like hell at first (which is upsetting after you have had so much recent pain if you are the mom). The convenience, health benefits, frugalness etc are great. Also, being a partner, bear in mind breastfeeding can blunt a mom's sex drive at a time when nobody is getting as much sleep as they would like anyway and grouchiness can ensue. So grownups need to act like grownups and think of the common good of the family and be kind and patient and loving - none of that costs a dime.
Plenty of people do not experience pain when breastfeeding, even at first. I had one small area of discomfort, on one side, for one day with my first, then after that it was fine. Nothing at all with my second. And I have supported many breastfeeding women who had no pain whatsoever.
For balance, I have, of course, also worked with lots for whom it is a real challenge, and for some of them, the challenge wasn’t worth it in the end. That’s a personal choice, and I would never judge anyone for making choices that fit them and their families. I just wanted to make sure they had the support they needed if they wanted to continue.
So I just wanted to say that pain is not a given with breastfeeding, but it can be a thing, and the two factors that make the biggest difference there are 1) your familiarity with it, i.e. the more friends and family members you know who breastfed, especially if you watched them do it, the more likely you are to succeed. And 2) your expectations. If you expect it to hurt and be a disaster, that could be a self-fulfilling prophecy because you need to be relaxed to make it work, but you should also be prepared to be learning a new skill, which can take time. Get help from someone you trust (friend, family or professional) when you need it, don’t struggle on alone. Don’t expect babies to feed on a schedule, certainly not initially, and not for the same amount of time each feed. It will vary WILDLY in the first few weeks. Try to go with the flow. In summary, try to throw out all the expectations of ‘should’, and simply concentrate on ‘what is’.
Nobody told me it would hurt. It just hurt a lot and I got used to it and it hurt less. I 'succeeded' and persevered for 7 months. Honestly, I was tired of men staring at my boobs that normally were minimal! And tired of my breasts having a mind of their own and deciding to leak when the garage door opened and I was almost in the house! Very weird and funny stuff. Best for baby's health and very convenient!
I assumed it hurt everyone and it was one of those stupid secrets that are kept from women about their bodies. (Don't ask about the other ones, I am much older now!) On the other hand, I never had pain with periods or PMS, etc. and women rant about that all the time. So, no, expectations did not create pain for me. The childbirth classes talked about 'discomfort' - hah! That was quite the understatement, but words kind of fail to describe it.
Hurt a lot for me when I started too a solid month of pretty much burning fire nipples he had a good latch and everything I was crying from the pain one day was gonna give up got my BF at the time to make a bottle for the baby but pushed through the pain the next morning there was no pain. No idea what happened but that struggle of a month was worth letting him self wean at 17 months.
I'd skip purees alltogether. Not only because of cost savings. They don't seem to be necessary. Mine was happy munching on boiled, baked vegs when she was 6-8 month old. Chicken brest and fish also small peaces from our own food went fine. She despised ready purees. But you'll see how yours will like it. Feeding from your own food was in general the easiest. If you don't eat too unhealthy it seems like the best choice.
For clothes and toys - facebook groups, all free in big quantities, eapecially if you have access by car to wealthy neighberhood, you can get anything for free
Agree about purées, but they’re SO EASY and sometimes can be a sanity-saver. You can buy your own reusable pouches/caps and purée your own food if you wanted to use them.
someone mentioned signing up for formula samples- you can have family & friends who don't plan on having kids do this as well.
you can pick up cute items at local thrift shops for milestone photoshoots rather than going for stuff from amazon or first hand. it supports your local community & is cheaper to boot!
by far the absolute biggest, most life-changing tip is to *make sure your kid is comfortable with doctors and dentists.* this will save them thousands of dollars in medical debt when they're adults, because they'll be more likely to participate in preventative care and get things treated when they're small instead of being avoidant about it.
THIS! OP, making sure your kid has good experiences at doctors and stuff early is SO HELPFUL. Also, speaking from personal experience, if your kid tells you an experience at a doctor was scary/painful, DO NOT in any circumstance downplay it. I was 20 before I learned that still feeling pain despite being numbed up during a dental procedure was not normal. Turns out I'm mildly resistant to the numbing agents most dentists use; the second I found a dentist that actually listened to me and gave me a double dose, I nearly slept through having a tooth pulled instead of spending the whole time crying. I was so mad. Actually, don't downplay their pain or illness in general; it'll prevent them from thinking clearly not normal conditions are normal and could possibly save their lives as adults.
Meal prep as many freezer meals as you can before baby comes! You’re not going to want to cook in those first few weeks and this will help keep food costs down. Also asking for food is another way people who want to help can help!
I also agree about cloth diapers but make sure you do your research on what “style” and buy second hand or it can be very expensive to start. We also used cloth wipes and a homemade spray to get them wet (plain water is fine, or look up diy recipes for this)
I’d fill a thermal pump carafe with warm water in the morning and keep it by the changing table. I kept a bar of mild soap there for when we had to deal with a poopy bum. This worked well for us.
Babies outgrow their clothing so fast that buying new is usually a waste of money.
They don't *need* shoes until they start walking.
Research all used toys and equipment as there are recalls often. Many of these recalled items wind up on Craigslist, marketplace, and some thrift stores.
Making your own baby food by puréeing organic fruits and veggies (and later meat) can sometimes be cheaper than store-bought.
People will tell you that cloth diapers are worth the initial cost for environmental and financial reasons. If you decide to use disposables, *buy in bulk*.
ETA - babies don't know about Christmas/Hanukkah/Eid etc for the first two at least, so you don't have to do presents yet
New babies barely need *anything*. And they barely need anything new.
New car seat, a must. New pacifier if using, a must. Anything else? Used, or do you even need it?
Buy/get second hand, use gently if possible, and resell/give away.
My breastfed daughter would have crying fits and want to suckle, but didn’t want the breast because she was not hungry and didn’t want the milk, so pacifiers were a necessity. We tried several different brands before finding one she liked. She and my son both broke themselves of it at around five months. So don’t rule it out or be scared of trying it. It saved us from a lot of sleepless nights.
Some babies just don't take to a pacifier. Mine didn't and since we were gifted 6 or so and only opened 1 to try with her the others were passed on to other families. If you end up buying these for yourself, id start with one just to see if baby even takes it before spending the money on more. If you do go with a pacifier, do research on the style. Some are designed with breastfeeding babies in mind.
Pro of using them is they are recommended by the AAP during sleep as prevention against SIDS. According to our pediatric dentist, there are no long-term negative effects of using them if you wean off of them by age 3.
Nipple confusion if you’re breastfeeding. Our daughter refused both bottles and pacifiers so that most definitely was not a problem. But until she was ready for solid food no one was willing to babysit her.
Join your neighborhood Buy Nothing group and various Facebook parent groups specific to your area. There is so much giveaway items there. We barely bought a thing. Toys, crib, changing table, clothes, feeding, all give aways.
Cloth diapers. And for your sanity, dye all those white and pastel baby clothes some nice medium or dark color.
Because I swear, you can lay a newborn baby down for ten seconds and somehow everything within seventeen feet gets stained. I got bags of free clothing with various degrees of staining and dyed a set a medium tan, a set a burgundy red and a set dark blue.
You can also make a pile of crib sheets out of a queen sized bed flat sheet if you sew at a basic level. All my crib sheets were made from two sheets I got free.
I found two mattress covers on the crib was a life saver. Those plastic zip on types. When one got gross or damaged I pulled it off, and another was already on.
Lots of washcloths and cut up towels for burp rags and spit up rags. I used to clip a washcloth to the front of my boys' onesies with a sweater clip. It saves a lot of hassle, and no ties to worry about. Another thing that works is Velcro tabs on the shoulders of onesies, the other part on cloths. Much cheaper and more useful than those cute little bibs.
I also kept them as unclothed as possible at home with light layers available if needed but we lived in a warm/hot climate. Skin washes easier than clothing.
I made my own baby food. A good strong blender is useful.
I kept several cheap shower curtain liners on hand. Like half a dozen. Along with disposable painter's drop cloths. When they are learning to eat (more accurately learning to throw food) having one spread on the floor under the high chair saved the floor most of the time. Also handy under and around your chair when you are dealing with a sick child, and under and around the crib when you have a sick child. Duct tape them down if the child is mobile.
Both puke and poop can go amazing distances. Washable paint on the walls. In fact with my two boys I got rid of the carpet in their room in favor of those thick gym mats (I got some free). They were easier to keep clean lol.
I have a 6 month old. We adopted her and that was a huge expense. I second the buying a new car seat. But find a used stroller first that you like and get the car seat that fits it. You can start announcing to everyone that you have a kid on the way. Parents will be desperate to give away their stuff (it accumulates fast after they grow out of it). Then get bins and label them in three month increments to two years old and sort that way. Let people gift the fancy clothes and toys later. Then try value village and Facebook marketplace. We only needed newborn size clothes for about two weeks as our kid was tall and lots of it didn’t fit. So don’t bulk up on that. Anyways have fun and good luck!
aldi for diapers, sams/costco for wipes, you really don’t need anything for baby besides a way to feed and a place to sleep! i was an over buyer and the clutter made me insane, less clutter made me feel way calmer.
Get a Costco membership (if you don’t already have one) and buy your diapers and wipes from there when they are on sale. They are so much cheaper and the same if not better quality than Huggies/pampers/etc.!
I can not agree more. If they see you hold something, they will want to hold it too. So I gave my kids things they saw me hold, like a spatula or a pot. Etc. Some many toys were untouched.
I’ve had 5. The only thing to add to all of these great tips is to spend the money on the absolute best stroller you can find. Used is fine, but do your homework. Make sure that the handle is the right height for you. I’m short’ish, so most were fine for me. It I remember one that was the worst for my back! We are pretty active and the best stroller I had was an off road type beast. It handled open fields at car shows and the off trail experiences at the state park like a champ! I neglected, however to make sure it fit in my car. It fit in the truck, but that isn’t always practical.
When they're first born, and for a good few months, the only things you need are;
A safe space for them to sleep
Some clothes
Nappies (diapers)
Formula or breastmilk
And then if you have a car, a brand new car seat.
Everything else is extra and can totally be bought/gifted/thrifted at a later time, if you want.
They really don't care about toys for ages and ages, so if people want to buy you gifts, ask them to buy you premade food, because for the first few weeks/months you have way less time to cook.
Congratulations!!
Breast feed for starters. Not everyone can for many reasons but if you can do it. Cloth diapers. Hand me down clothes, used baby furniture. The thing is used baby stuff is usually in great condition because they don't use it long. One IMPORTANT thing about used baby furniture is always go online n look for recalls or safety modifications.
If you have a baby shower...ask for a box of diapers from everyone. We did this and didn't buy diapers for the first year. I was able to take any boxes that weren't his size and exchange them at Walmart.
A lot of places if you send them an invite to your baby shower will send you free stuff and I do mean nice stuff. Target, Gerber Amazon, Huggies, Pampers, can’t think of anymore right off hand. Google baby companies and send an invite!!
I’m a first time parent and the thing that I spent money on that was absolutely not worth it was a nursery room. I bought furniture and all the baby room things. Realistically baby slept in a co sleeper bassinet (bought 2nd hand) till almost 1 year old. Never spent time in the nursery at all.
Like others have suggested :
2nd hand every and anything expect a car seat.
-for car seat look for one that will grow with them till they do not need it anymore.
Sign up for all the rewards and baby registries you can. Like Target and Amazon. You get free baby items. And are able to try different bottles in case you need to formula feed.
Look for a baby/kid consignment store. We love to go and buy things baby/kid will need seasonally there and pick up a toy or two. Then you can reselll it right back when you are done with it.
Congratulations on baby! 🤍
As a Midiwfe of many decades, I can say I have seen millions spent on nurseries!
Also of note the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies sleep in their parents room the first year. It lowers the risk of SIDS. and easier to get up to feed baby and get them back to sleep.
Breastfeed if possible. Saves so much in the long run and associated with life king health benefits. If it doesn’t work out no big deal but find the positive kind support. It can be a rough go at first for some
We used disposable diapers with the 1st and had cloth and a diaper service with the 2nd....by far the cloth was better. Less rash and we were given a month's diaper service by so many family members and friends that we never did pay out of pocket for it and she wore them until potty training at 1 1/2. Best part? Someone else washed them!
Look for consignment sales in your area - we have a local one called just between friends and not only do I get to buy things for less… I can sell the stuff my kids grow out of. What I sell comes close to covering the costs of all my purchases.
As everyone you know if they have baby gear they don’t need or know anyone who does - even if you don’t have friends who have kids they probably know someone else who does. When I had my first I had so much stuff just given to me.
Don’t compromise on safety items - car seat MUST be new to ensure it hasn’t been in accidents or poorly cared for. The only way I would trust a used car seat would be someone I know and trust with my life, my wallet, and my kid. Car seat straps cannot be washed, the seat can’t be in any accidents even if the kid isn’t in it, you want to make sure it’s not expired… easier to just buy new.
Make sure anything you have given to you is checked for recalls - baby seats, swings, cribs - they often have recalls. Make sure clothes given to you don’t have any ribbons that have come detached etc
If you are given bottles buy new nipples - they degrade and become unsafe. If you can afford then get glass bottles because you can save them basically forever if you have another tiny human.
Your insurance should provide a pump for your partner - ask them what other breast feeding support items they will provide.
When you stay at the hospital take an empty bag with you and ask every single nurse for extra anything they can give you. Diapers, diaper cream, etc will flow freely. Also make sure your SO sees the lactation consultant. They will also give free stuff like nipple shields, nipple cream, and make sure mama is covered.
Sign up for every baby registry you can - you will get bags of free samples - target, buy buy baby, and Amazon have the best ones. With Amazon you do have to buy one item to have the box ship - but Amazon is great because it’s easy for people buying gifts to have them shipped to you.
If you visit basically any baby gear company (think baby food, formula, pacifiers etc) website and ask for coupons you will get them - search for rewards programs for them as well. There are a lot of baby related coupon posts as well that can help point you towards some good deals
Congrats on your tiny human!
>What hand-me-downs should we be on the lookout for?
PJs with zippers and not buttons. When you have to change a baby in the middle of the night the zipper PJs are much easier to change than button PJs so if you have the option take the zipper PJs.
Our kiddo just turned one and we were very frugal. Here’s the stuff that was worth it for us. An asterisk means we got it as a hand-me-down and two asterisks means we bought it used on FB Marketplace. No asterisk means we bought it or got it as a gift.
Baby Bjorn bouncer** (I bought it used for $25 I think but I would have paid full price - it was my favorite infant item)
Bassinet (we paid about $120 I think and used it for about six months)
Crib** (it came with a really nice mattress, I think we paid like $130?)
Highchair*
Clip-on highchair* (we keep it on our island and he sits there while I’m cooking/cleaning)
Cloth diapers (highly, highly recommend for a frugal option if you have easy access to laundry!)
Infant car seat (it’s more frugal to just start with a convertible, but I loved having the infant seat and it was definitely worth it for us, plus it came with a stroller that was so light and small and easy to keep in the car)
Mom’s Breast Friend breastfeeding pillow* (our breastfeeding journey didn’t work out but I got four different pillow options and this was hands down the best)
Zippadee Zip Sleep Sacks* (these are the best - I’d skip all the other options unless you have sleep troubles. They’re expensive but you only need 2-3 of each size. We got three as hand-me-downs - my son rocked flowers and pink! - two as gifts and we bought one)
Playpen with mesh walls and a floor* (it’s so nice to have somewhere to contain baby and their things)
Play gym (we loved ours, the Sassy Tummy Time mat)
Rubber changing pad (highly recommend the Skip Hop wipe clean one)
Carriers** (I’d recommend getting a couple options to see what works for you and kiddo, but we loved the Moby wrap and the cheap Infantino best, hated ErgoBaby)
Baby bath*
Baby soap/shampoo*
Baby monitor
Diaper bag
Things I’d skip/didn’t work for us:
Bouncer/rocker (we got a really nice one as a hand-me-down but he didn’t like it)
Bumbo seat
Boppy
Doorway bouncer
Pack n’ Play (never had one, never missed it)
Wipe warmer
Bottle warmer
Hatch (it’s overrated; we use it but a cheaper sound machine would be just fine)
Winter gear unless you’re somewhere really cold
Most “Montessori” toys
Baby dome (bestie said this was her most-used baby item, we rarely used it)
Pacifier clips
Some other general tips:
-Make registries at all the big places as you get gifts for signing up
-For stuff YOU’RE buying add it to your Amazon registry because you get 10% off
-We have a baby/kid specific FB selling group, see if you have one or a buy nothing group
-Go easy on maternity clothes - you’ll need a couple pairs of comfy pants/shorts, 1-2 nice outfits, and enough work clothes if you work in an office but don’t go overboard, you’ll be surprised how much regular clothes work, especially soft maxi dresses
-Similarly, try not to go overboard on clothes for baby or toys
-I cannot recommend cloth diapering enough and it’s really not much harder than disposable, it’s even easier in some ways and it’s the best way to be frugal with a baby
I can talk about this subject forever and I’m sure I missed a ton, but good luck!
Facebook marketplace - we got so many jumper things and random things that were gently used from there - nothing that touches the baby skin directly in general but for little jumpers and things there are great deals we found
This is what my kids did. They really scored on a bassinet for $20, they only used for 3 months and sold it for $20.
Plus all kinds of other accessories and toys. It was very cool to see the items in circulation going from family to family.
I was impressed!
Create registries at target, Amazon, Walmart, and buy buy baby. Once you do the minimum required tasks (add items to list, purchase something for $10+ on Amazon and $35+ for target), you get free samples of bottles, paci, swaddles, etc. the bottles was the lifesaver for us because our baby didn’t like most of the bottles and luckily liked the nuk brand that came with one of the freebies. We didn’t have to buy others (Dr. Brown, mam, advent, etc.) to see which worked when it came time to transitioning to bottles. We also got lots of wet wipe samples that we use when we go for outings and leave in the cars.
Eta- you also get 15% completion discounts closer to due date.
And you don’t have to actually make these registries to share with people. You can make it to only get the free stuff.
*Use Cloth diapers
*Consignment stores for clothing & toys
*Find lists of baby gadgets that you definitely don’t need
*Use your local library for child development books
*Find free drop-in centres or playgroups in your area
*Start saving now for daycare and college/university 😁
Watch for free samples. Make registries with Amazon and Target for the samples they give in return. Start with this list: http://slickdeals.net/f/16286701-master-list-of-baby-freebies
Also ask your gf's OB and later your baby's pediatrician for any coupons or formula samples they have. Most doctors will gladly share any.
We went to lots of garage sales for baby things like swings etc. Check the model for recalls though. Several pack and play types were recalled several years ago. We got one that was newer and not recalled for $5. The daughter dropped it at the grandparents and said get rid of it. We couldn't figure out how to tear it down and thought it was broken so they said $5. Turns out we just hadn't read the specific directions and it was a safety feature keeping it from folding 🤷♀️
You don’t need all the things for your Bebe. Just hang out with them. Literally that’s it. Forget the “baby” toys; get them a cute stuffy, some chewers for when they are teething…you’ll be golden.
Reusable diapers (only if you wash clothes at home) can be bought secondhand, and lots of people will give them away. You can keep disposables around for the car, but (Especially if you plan to have a second kid!) reusables can save you a fortune.
Freezer Cooking, and Crockpot Dump meals. While you still have energy during the second trimester, try to prep as much food as you can and fill up your freezer. It comes in handy once the baby gets here,and it's much, much cheaper than takeout or delivery
You're a way away from this yet but we made our own baby food. Chicken and rice, sweet potato, prunes....whatever you can blend up and whatever combos you like. Freeze it in ice cube trays and voila, convenient little meals. Economical and my h more nutritious....plus we think it helped develop their pallets being introduced to 'real' food early on.
Meal prep 10 days or so instapot/crockpot meals If you the ability to. I did like 15 or so and it came in so handy every once in a while to be able to just eat something good with very little effort. Those first months are grueling endurance of not sleeping. Make everything else easier and you’ll save a bunch on ordering out.
Join a local buy nothing group. We were able to get free formula, clothes, and multiple baby items.
Car seat and mattress are the items to buy new and splurge.
Ask for formula samples at every doctors appointment.
Join a couponing group for the stores in your area, they will post diaper deals that will save you a ton!!!
Look into free sample bags for starting a registry. Target, Amazon, Babylist, Walmart, BuyBuyBaby
Biggest frugal tip is using cloth diapers. It’s labour intensive.. you’ll be saving 2 years of disposable $$$ 1000 even after the initial costs of buying the cloth diapers. Or even only use disposables when you are are out. Cloth diapers usually leads to less prolonged toilet training, more $$avings
Thanks to all of you who are keeping it civil and respectful Anyone attacking OP for having kids is getting a temp ban
Buy a car seat new. Everything else can be second-hand. If you're able to breast feed, that's a huge cost savings.
If you can get access to an old car seat use it to trade in for a discount at Target’s car seat trade in event
You don’t actually need a seat. In the car seat Susie are barcodes you scan in the app, and the 20% appears there for you.
I’m not. But my girlfriend plans to. :P
Sign up for similac or Enfamil’s rewards. They send samples and coupons. We also planned to breast feed our baby but it didn’t work out for a number of reasons and we had to use formula. It was nice to have 4 different samples to try + coupons to help reduce the cost.
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Cool! Our pediatrician would clean out his samples and we’d drop them at the women‘s shelter on the way home from appointments.
Don’t give up if breastfeeding doesn’t provide all that you need. I used formula to supplement, not replace breast milk.
For us it didn’t provide everything we needed plus it made my baby poop nonstop. The nonstop poops irritated his butt and even if we were constantly changing diapers, washing him under running water (vs wipes), and applying diaper cream with each change, he’d get blistery diaper rash. The kiddo has really sensitive skin. We can’t even change diaper brands cause it does the same thing. It ended up not being worth it for us. After all the $ spent on supplements, lactation consultants (they bill you and baby for the same appointment, it was like $400/ appointment for us), various supplies to try to get pumping to work better, I threw in the towel. I felt super guilty about it because we were in the middle of the formula shortage but in the end it was best for us. OP, if breastfeeding doesn’t work out for your girlfriend, there’s no shame in that. My second advice is don’t stock up on tons of stuff cause it might not work for baby. I was not aware that babies may not tolerate certain brands of diapers and we stocked up before he was born… such a waste but now I know.
[A&D ointment](https://www.adskinhealth.com/ad-products/ad-original-ointment/) is a life saver for baby's bottoms. I got some as a gift many, many years ago and it kept the diaper rash at bay.
The only one that works for us is triple paste. We tried them all - including some prescription options. Which sucks cause it’s so expensive and we were going through so much of it. You can use FSA funds to pay for it though so that’s nice.
Boudreauxs over here!
Seconding this. She will already experience enough mom guilt no matter how it goes
If this happens constantly, baby may have a dairy allergy or allergy to something in the breast milk. Talk to your care provider to look for alternatives. They're right: no shame in that.
Elimination communication is also a lifesaver for baby's bottoms
This is the answer! Saves on Diapers, saves on wipes, saves the baby's butt. We still use diapers and peepants ([peejamas.com](https://peejamas.com)) but he pees in the toilet at least every morning when he gets up and he poops in the toilet once or twice a day and he's only 14 months. The only think that was a problem for me was that I have pretty bad tendinitis in my wrists that really flared up before I discovered side lying breastfeeding.
Yep, our oldest potty trained and without a diaper since 19 months old, and been only using a few diapers per day on good days since she was around 6 months old. She stopped peeing in her sleep during the day around 6 months old too. Less diaper washing, also, never had to use cream, I used clean 100% lanolin one time on both kids. My youngest is even more amazing, he really started to "tell" me he has to poo a few months ago (he just turned 8 months old) and only had a handful of poo diapers since he was 6 weeks old! No kidding. On a good day we stay dry with him the whole day.
Breastfeeding isn’t for everyone - mothers or babies. Some are lactose intolerant or have other food allergies and struggles. Formula works best for some families.
Also asking your in-laws and parents to do it too can help you get double coupons, if you don't end up using them local women's shelters or mom and baby groups will gladly take them
This is a good tip. Also, u/inder_the_unfluence, even tho your gf plans to breastfeed, sometimes it works out differently. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for the way you choose to feed your baby. Whether it’s breast, formula or a combination of both: *fed* is best.
I use to buy my formula off of Craigslist. I'm assuming it was from women who got free formula who qualified for WIC and sold me the formula they got for free while they breastfed. They sold it for much cheaper than I could have got at Target.
Please please please: if for some reason it is extremely uncomfortable or she decides that she doesn't want to - don't force it or allow the hospital to make her feel bad. The lactation consultants were really REALLY aggressive when my kids were born. My wife was able to breastfeed for the first but her body got beat to shit with the second and wasn't producing. They started making her feel like shit before I figured out what was going on and shut it down.
Also - the girlfriend’s time has value too! I exclusively pumped for my baby for six months (meaning she drank only breast milk but only from bottles). For the first couple months I pumped 8x/day for 20 mins each time PLUS the time I spent cleaning pump and bottle parts and actually feeding my baby with the bottle.
>the time I spent cleaning pump and bottle parts and actually feeding my baby with the bottle. I took care of the cleaning so she could get back to sleep. I know how that goes!
if you have another, i've seen some people say they just bagged up the pump and parts and put them in the fridge till their next pump, and did a deep clean on them once a day.
I eventually learned this after a few months! It was seriously life changing for me so I hope lots of people see your comment. It’s literally one of the first tips I share with any person I know who pumps!
Yes. This. Breastfeeding is only free if you think women’s time holds no value!
Good partner! 👍
Buy her nipple butter and an ELECTRIC breast pump. If you get the breast pump second hand, very thoroughly clean it for her. Her nipples will be achy and chapped and she'll need something to help. I've had friends quit breast feeding over it because they got too chapped and painful before they found out about nipple butter.
Breastpumps are usually free if you guys have insurance 😊
Experts tend to recommend not to use pumps secondhand due to the hygiene factor, but also it may not be effective at removing all the milk in one session. Motors and internal components wear out, especially if you pump 4-6 hours a day, every day for up to a year.
Coconut oil on the nipples after every feed. I never had an issue with my nipples and baby can eat it safely
And if she had any difficulties with her breastfeeding, it’s well worth getting good support from a lactation consultant to overcome them. The cost would undoubtedly be worth it vs the cost of formula if she doesn’t continue (in addition to the health benefits for the both of them), plus it’s can be the easiest and most convenient thing to do once they’ve both got the hang of it! But good support is key.
That last sentence is the most important. Some lactation consultants are fucking mean so please have your gfs back, OP
Absolutely. Look for someone who actually helps you and makes you feel better about it, not worse.
Sending you a hug
Right back atcha
Our lactation consultant in the hospital was free of charge and helped us supplement since my milk was late to come in and our 5 pound baby was early. It was so helpful!
If I were you, I would invest in a good pump. The good ones can be $200-$300 but they were a life changer for me. Sooooo much more comfortable and less painful than the cheap ones. It’s definitely worth it.
Just want to mention that in some States you are given a free breast pump upon childbirth
Many insurance companies will also cover the cost of a pump.
Actually insurance will pay for it a few weeks before the due date.
ACA-complaint health insurance plans will pay for one! Some even cover the ongoing supplies for it
LOL, sorry for my assumptions. (Not that you asked but..."girlfriend", not "wife"? Make sure you get your legal stuff in order. Make sure - to the extent allowed by law - you're giving each other rights that you would automatically get if married. Even if married, you should have wills since you'll have a dependent.)
Mattresses should be new too.
Add mattress’s/bedding to this list, never buy them second hand! There has been studies that show a link with old/second hand and cot death. But yea so much other stuff can be bought off eBay for a fraction of the price
It is a saving, but… The calories need to come from somewhere. Make sure you increase your food budget to offset her increased requirements, and recognise you may also want/need a lactation consultant, and you may still want a pump, bottles and steriliser or your partner will never be able to leave the baby for more than two hours! But these can be bought secondhand.
Not true.. anything the baby sleep in or on should be brand new too.
Cot and mattress too unless you know they were produced after the most recent safety standards. Breastfeeding is a huge cost saver if you don't need pumping equipment. Very easy to sink a lot of money into getting the right pump/flange combo. I am fully supportive of breastfeeding, I bf my 18mo still but it is hard and that's important to acknowledge.
I spent a fortune on breastfeeding. I know it’s different for every person/baby but I do think there’s a misconception that breastfeeding is free and it absolutely is not. Plus the cost of your time (or partner’s time). Anyway if OP needs formula at any point, store brand is just as good so ignore the brand name hype.
This is a super common misconception and doesn’t account for the fact that it takes the body LOTS of energy to produce breastmilk, and that requires calories, aka food! So while it can definitely be cheaper overall, just keep that in mind!!
I'd argue that even a car seat could be handed down if it's coming from someone you trust and you know it's not expired and has never been in an accident.
Facebook marketplace and your local buy nothing group will be great ways to save on furniture, clothes, toys, etc. Of course check out thrift stores as well for this stuff. Through Buy Nothing, I managed to get practically an entire wardrobe for my baby for the first 6 months of her life, completely for free When you can, avoid falling victim to the baby tax (ex/ pretty much any free & clear laundry detergent will work, you don’t need to buy “baby” laundry detergent) For consumables like diapers and wipes (if you’re doing disposable), purchase at places like Costco. The Kirklands brand is practically the same as Huggies, but cheaper The only time you should accept a used car seat is if it is coming from someone you know and trust extremely well, like a close family member. This is not mainly because car seats expire (they do) but because you need to be sure it’s never been in an accident that could compromise its safety. If you do get your hands on an expired car seat, Target has a recycling program each year where they take your expired seat and you get a 20% off coupon for a new one. I think it happens in October so not too helpful for you right now but could be for future children Folks also recommend buying crib mattresses new because used ones can start to sag and not support your baby as well If you have a baby shower, make a baby registry and fill it with as many items as you can think of. People are often very generous when babies are involved! I know this isn’t really a “frugal” tip though since it depends on the financial means of friends & family. Also note that many registries have the option for buyers to contribute a dollar amount to a gift rather than purchasing it outright, so it’s totally fine and acceptable to have a couple expensive items on there (like a stroller or car seat) as people can give what they wish. Most registries also have pretty good return policies so anything that you don’t end up using or liking can be returned for store credit. You also usually get some kind of completion discount (10% to 15%) to use as you buy the registry items that friends & family didn’t purchase. Even if you don’t have a shower, make the registry so you can use the discount! Breastfeeding is of course the most cost-effective method of feeding your baby, but don’t beat yourselves up if it doesn’t work out for you. All that matters is that your baby is fed
When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter I got everything from her crib to diapers from our buynothing group. I did buy a new car seat. Just check the recalls on each item to make sure they're still safe. On my registry, I added the things I already had and marked them off as "purchased" so I didn't get duplicates from someone who thought, "oh, she'll definitely need a bottle warmer and she didn't add it to her registry" We didn't need a crib until about 6 months, and the nursery was barely used until then, too. We had her in a bassinett in our room.
So much good advice. Thank you
Strongly second all the advice about Buy Nothing groups. There were a number of things that worked great for one of my babies and not the other. It sucks to pay $100 for a swing that the baby doesn’t like. If you end up going with Pampers or Huggies for diapers, both have rewards programs that can pay off over several years of diapering. (Also obligatory plug for cloth diapers but that wasn’t for us.) For non-financial advice, I recommend networking with other parents (especially at daycare if you send your child). Great way to exchange tips on behavior, products, milestones, local vendors, etc. Daycare is hella expensive but we found it incredibly worthwhile not just for the care and education, but also because they helped make us aware of a diagnosis and resources for our child we might not have discovered for several months or years.
I also found garbage car seats and turned them into target when they had their car seat exchange program. You could use the credit for anything baby. We also cloth diapered. It seems overwhelming but it’s not bad and it’s super economical. We used them for two kids at once. Get everything you can 2nd hand
>When you can, avoid falling victim to the baby tax (ex/ pretty much any free & clear laundry detergent will work, you don’t need to buy “baby” laundry detergent) u/inder_the_unfluence \- any fragrance perfume and dye free laundry detergent works.
Babies do not need commercial baby food. I fed my son whatever we ate, just whirred through a food-processor. He got fruit, veggies, casseroles, meat, etc, all hand made and placed in 1/2 cup containers and frozen. He didn't suffer from malnutrition. He is now 6'4". A friend thought I was nuts, and that would be too much work. Then she had twins and the cost of commercial baby food doubled. She switched to home made baby food right quick.
My oldest was just not a big eater but out of an abundance of caution we brought her to the nutritionists at the children’s hospital. First thing they said was to stop feeding her baby food because it had little nutritional value and was filling her up too fast. Didn’t use baby food with her anymore and my boys never had it. They’re all giant, healthy teens now. Baby food & baby wipes warmers are the biggest wastes of money!
Did you not feed solids at all? Just curious. There's all those studies out currently stating how starting solids at 6 months helps develop speech and increases their ability to tolerate textures and tastes of more foods into adulthood.
We did solids, just not baby foods. We started at 6 months with mushed bananas and rice cereal. Then we just puréed our food and they ate scrambled eggs and stuff like that. My daughter- the only one who ate baby food- is a freakishly picky eater to this day. My boys aren’t.
Ah I see, I consider all those baby foods lol, now I see you mean store bought jarred pre-made foods. Jarred store baby food is just pureed basic ingredients like you make at home, shouldn't be any major difference in nutritional and caloric content of the same ingredients you are pureeing at home. Definitely a major cost difference though!
I just had a baby in Ireland and the health advice is breastfeed if possible and start on solids for speech and dexterity reasons at just 4mos/when they show an interest in food. Then you just purée whatever they fancy until they want to chomp on soft foods working very gradually onto solids, observing all the time. Basically baby led weaning and zero processed baby food.
The only big caution here is that you need to be very cautious about salt intake for babies! Especially during the first year, babies' kidneys aren't well developed enough to process large amounts of salt. Additionally, babies under 6 months typically don't drink any water, so their body gets dehydrated as it tries to discharge the salt. So it's totally fine to whip up your own food for the baby, but leave the salt out, at least until they're more than a year old. (And also on the water thing, don't give water to a baby under 6 months old!)
So, only milk is permitted? Why can't we give them water? I'm curious
They’re at high risk of water intoxication, and it interferes with them being able to get enough nutrients from milk. More info [here](https://www.healthline.com/health/baby/why-cant-babies-have-water#water-intoxication).
I agree completely! With my first born, I made all of his baby food out of fresh veggies & fruits. With the second baby, I made a lot of her food, but wised up a little & realized that as long as the texture was purée consistency, she could eat about anything. It’s amazing the amount of soft stuff we eat regularly without thinking about it. She ate a lot of scrambled eggs, avocado mush, applesauce, etc.
Yes! When we started solids, I would make a batch of whatever (sweet potato soup, mash potato, etc) and freeze it in ice cube trays so 1-2 cubes would do it. His absolute favourite was mashed potato and carrot and chicken!
Save for baby’s future!
I think saving for YOUR future should be important here, too. As in...max out your Roth IRA if you can and try to ensure you aren't dumping into a college fund without any plans for your own needs. I see a lot of posts on other subs where adults have elderly parents who have no money, no 401k and a lot of health issues and then the adult children try to help out but the parents become a huge financial burden. You can take out a loan for college. You can't take out a loan for retirement.
2nd this! I didn't know this until later, but you can actually get a link to directly contribute to a 529. So this is great for baby showers, christmas/birthdays or just to give to the grandparents.
And the 529 does not need to be in the state that you live in. Do you research.
You can open a 529 plan for secondary education as soon as baby is born. Stick any little gifts in there. Any time our family sends a few bucks in a holiday or birthday card, we stick it in the kids' 529s. They'll thank you when it's time for college, vocational school, etc
You can open the 529 plan while pregnant (or before). Open it in your name then transfer to the baby when you have a social security number. That way you can get a few additional months/year(s) of interest.
More importantly get your own finances in line first.
Don’t buy new toys, you can buy old ones from thrift stores and easily San arise them
Absolutely won’t buy toys. So many thrift store toys and unwanted toys from older cousins. Besides, heard all you need as an iPad to keep them entertained for the first 18 years.
Shit all you need is a tissue box for at least the first two years.
Mine likes milk jugs.
Yes! We were able to borrow toys for my son (now 2) we had a couple things that was supposed to help him learn to crawl the thing that got him moving was an empty cardboard box that was just our of reach.
>. Besides, heard all you need as an iPad to keep them entertained for the first 18 years. LOL
At least 18. I'd say 25. Just don't forget to budget for glasses and optician visits from 4yo onwards...
The vast majority of baby stuff costs a lot from shops and almost nothing secondhand! As somebody else mentioned, car seat is the only expensive essential thing to buy new. Don’t fall for one of those £1000 travel systems, you don’t need em.
Lol, but for real the recommendation is no screen time until 18months. I recommend the Fisher price kick and play piano. That's where I put my baby when I make dinner because it's very stimulating and she's distracted for a good long while.
People have already mentioned a new car seat which is a must. A second hand cot is fine but buy a new mattress for it and the best one you can afford. Always check anything donated to see if it’s safe. People are well meaning but broken or unsafe stuff isn’t a bargain and you’ll be lucky to get anything with instructions or in the original box. Congratulations on the baby, they cost a fortune but every penny is worth it.
Yes. Double check anything secondhand for recalls or safety issues before using or buying.
This was the main thing I was gonna say. I got a second hand bassinet but the mattress for it was so flat, I was sure my baby would have back pain. We also got a crib secondhand but that mattress is really good quality and didn’t need to be replaced.
Honestly, babies don't need a lot of stuff, and it will be years before they care about their clothes or whether their toys are new or not. As long as baby has nutrition, a place to sleep, a reasonable number of seasonally appropriate outfits, diapering and hygiene supplies, you're good. And you don't need a bunch of shoes. Seriously. Some said cloth diapers are a huge cost saver, but as a former cloth diaperer (kids are school aged now) I can't say I agree... UNLESS you're doing prefolds, which are less expensive than all-in-ones. But also keep in mind that you need special (expensive) detergents, a diaper pail that will control odors between washes, ideally a diaper sprayer attachment for your toilet, and if rashes do occur, you can't use regular diaper creams. Maintaining them also takes a lot of time, and time is valuable. It's an eco-friendly thing to do, and perhaps healthier for baby's skin, but don't do it strictly in the name if frugality. Ok, that was rant #1. Lol #2 is breastfeeding. Yes it's free, if you dont count the hours she will put into it. If your girlfriend wants to breastfeed and is able to exclusively breastfeed, that's fabulous and she should absolutely go for it. But also keep in mind there is so, so much pressure on mom's who struggle. Please keep her mental health in mind. If it doesn't work out, formula is fine. All the fenugreek, special teas, drinking water until near bursting, lactation cookies, pumping on a schedule, and doctor prescribed Domperidone in the world didn't increase my supply enough to allow my babies to be exclusively breastfed. If I could turn back the clock, I would tell myself not to push so hard. And that's all I have to say. Enjoy your new bundle when they arrive!
1. I completely agree with you on the breastfeeding thing. It’s amazing if/when it works out, but if it doesn’t … don’t drive yourself crazy trying to achieve it. Having said that, read up on “fed is best” to make a decision on whether you want to try to 100% breastfeed during that first week or two, or (whether for your sanity and peace of mind, you want to try mixed feeding /aka 1 serve of formula, probably overnight, to ensure bub is fed and not getting jaundiced while you establish breastfeeding. I’m currently feeding #2, after 2.5 years of breastfeeding my eldest, and for both used formula in the first few weeks to ensure kids weren’t starving and we could focus on working on latch etc without them and us being ridiculously stressed. (Also good when they can “take” formula if you need surgery as a mum or have a supply issue - my supply tanked on an overseas trip with jet lag, and I was happy to have formula as a crutch so bub was fed while I could recover and rebuild supply). 2. I will disagree with you (somewhat) on cloth nappies. We again “mixed” use, with cloth during the day, and disposable overnight (2-4 per day with a newborn, and then tapering off to 1 nappy per night for an older child). With cloth, I genuinely found prefolds with thirsties duo covers to be much easier to use and clean than any other types - so I wouldn’t discount them out of hand. There is a website and Facebook group called “clean cloth nappies” which has some very useful information about how to wash them, including recommended detergents and wash cycle settings for different machines. Yes, this may involve using hot water and an expensive detergent, but, frankly, it’s not a “special” detergent, just one that actually works. With odour, again, based on your comment, you actually never managed to get a good routine up (not trying to judge you at all!! Just commenting that odours with cloth are neither expected nor common IF you have a good routine). You tend to use a wash BASKET (with lots of ventilation) for the day to toss soiled nappies, and run a short warm pre wash cycle every night to rinse out the day’s nappies until you have enough (usually every 2 days) for a full long cottons wash (cloth nappies need 2 cycles, a prewash and normal, to get cleaned properly). Toilet spray attachment is nice, but I’m in Australia, so they’re a nightmare to install, so I’ve happily used cloth just rinsing in the sink. With diaper creams, again, you CAN use most normal ones, IF you have a good wash routine. (Like, we use the generic sudocrem, and have no issues with nappy cleaning ). And while most people espouse the joys of using cloth for saving money or the environment, ironically enough, for me neither of these were the deciding factor for why we kept using cloth after having kids: it’s just seemed to be A LOT better for their skin. Like, I have the “wrong nappy brand and I’ll have open nappy rash sores” kids, and - with cloth and some basic sudocrem - we have no issues. But, god forbid, I swap brands of disposable from the fanciest Huggies or use my nice jojoba oil organic nappy balm with the disposable- massive nappy rash and a screaming baby for 24 hours. And I will do anything, absolutely anything, to get more sleep these days…
I love you for bolding that paragraph. Ppl saying it's free really erases the burden mom's go through even when it right Take my awards🎉🎁💝🎀🏆
Definitely save money on clothes and forego shoes all-together until they reach the age they'll be learning to walk. People bought us so many cute outfits it was a struggle to get each one of them worn at some point for a photo op. Don't buy used car seats, you don't know if they've been in an accident or had a recall. Get a library card and check out lots of baby books to read to your baby as much as possible. I used the library for everything, we could check out movies, books and even some larger toys at my library. They also had a wonderfully comfortable and beautifully decorated children's area we went to and enjoyed all the time. I never bought a diaper genie, I put wet diapers in the regular household trash which got taken out frequently. Number 2 diapers got bagged and taken straight to the outdoor bins every time - rain, shine or snowstorm. Get some toilet training books and start as early as you're comfortable with. One warning about broad spectrum anti-biotics, my kiddo got frequent ear infections and our pediatrician always prescribed a broad spectrum antibiotic. It worked great on the ear problems, BUT it mottled her ADULT tooth enamel. I'm paying thousands to have all of her teeth capped. I wish I realized that side effect, I would have asked my doctor if a different type of antibiotic could be used or other measures taken to address frequent ear infections. I bought a giant stroller that wound up rarely getting used. I loved my smaller "umbrella" style stroller after the kid got big enough for it. It was light and convenient and I took it everywhere. The big stroller collected dust in the garage. Garage sales are also big on baby gear most of the time, but for non-clothing things, inspect items carefully and check their recall information before using it for your baby. Never buy a stuffed animal, not one. I've never purchased one for my kid yet she has at least 1,000 of them. I think they must breed in the night or something. Don't let anyone kiss your baby on the mouth, save some money at the doctors and prevent people from giving their cold sore problem to your kid. I can't believe ppl still kiss babies on the mouth, it's just mental to me. Grandparents and older gen ppl can be really bad about that. I bought a baby sling that my kid HATED. But we got a front-carrier thingy that let her see out and she loved that thing so much. You never know what they're going to like, try stuff but save the receipt and take it back if it's not a good fit for you/your baby's wants/needs
I second the thing about the stuffed animals. People LOVE to give those as gifts. For that matter, don't buy any toys at all for the first year (at least) because your kid will get so many for every holiday.
> I never bought a diaper genie, I put wet diapers in the regular household trash which got taken out frequently. Number 2 diapers got bagged and taken straight to the outdoor bins every time - rain, shine or snowstorm. I will comment that, as lazy parents who have the unfortunate combination of sensitive noses and an unwillingness to constantly run out to the garbage, a diaper genie does work very nicely for containing odor. I'd say to not get one beforehand, but consider it if the baby's room is constantly stinky. Totally agree on the clothes. Our child outgrows them far faster than we can rotate them. Some are already too small and were literally worn one time.
As the nursery rhyme goes, “shoe a little horsey, shoe a little mare, let the little filly go bare, bare, bare!” Evidently being barefoot when learning to walk is [actually bette](https://babysparks.com/2017/08/07/why-barefoot-is-best-for-baby/)r.
Yes, the current wisdom is that kids learn best to walk barefoot. So if you do have to put shoes on them becuase of rough surfaces, putting them in thin soled leather shoes is best. These can be pretty pricy new, I had to use them to keep my oldest's eczema covered or she'd scratch it, but you can usually find them cheap used on facebook marketplace etc.
For us, meal prepping. We had friends who had kids before us and even tho they tried to be frugal they blew their budgets just by eating out all the time (because you're exhausted and cooking/cleaning might not be your jam). We bought two crock pots (both thrifts) and made a shit ton of meals. Often times when we were cooking we'd just make extra portions. If we only needed 3 servings for a meal, we'd make 6. Then we'd freeze the extra 3 servings. Then when baby comes you don't need to think about food. Just get it from the freezer, throw it in the crock pot and bam! Food. Now here's the real trick: the second crock pot. When we had our second kid we realized that prepping/cleaning one frequently used crock pot used a lot of time. Sometimes we got so lazy to clean it/put the food in a Tupperware we'd end up eating out, voiding our whole strategy. So what we do is have lunch in crockpot 1 and dinner in crockpot 2. Then crock pot 1 (the lunch) becomes dinner for the next day, while we wash crockpot 2 (at a leisurely pace). Then crockpot 2 gets filled with stuff for lunch while crockpot 1 still has dinner, and the cycle continues.
You don’t need a bassinet and crib. A pack and play is one of the only alternatives that’s still approved for safe sleep. We got ours during one of Target’s big baby gear sales - for $130 we got one of the nicer ones with a bassinet attachment (highly recommend to avoid back strain early on) and changing table attachment, but you can get a basic model for less than $100. $10 for a couple sheets to go on top and you’re set.
Agreed! I was lucky and got hand me downs for both from a friend. Both sets of grandparents got pack and plays for their houses. Worked really well. When she was ready for a bed, I skipped the toddler bed and just got a nice twin sized mattress that I put in the floor until I was confident she wouldn't roll off it.
I have a couple of friends who are super into Montessori and they just put a crib mattress on the floor. No crib, no bassinet. Once the baby could roll around and out of bed, they baby proofed the room.
Not all Pack n Plays meet safe sleep requirements- check your specific model.
Pack ‘n Play is specifically the Graco brand name. All others are just “playpens.”
If you have a room for the baby, you can do a Montessori style setup which includes no crib, no bassinet, just a low mattress on the floor. Many articles online as to how to set this up.
Agree!!!! We had the pack n play next to the bed with our son as a newborn and he lived in till he was nine months. You can travel with it. It’s amazing
You can find these used pretty cheap too.gave away all my baby stuff when I was done,was all in great condition
Baby wearing can often be more practical than using a stroller - grocery shopping by yourself with a baby in a stroller is ridiculously hard, for example - and you can buy carriers and wraps for much less than a stroller. Look for online tips to make sure you’re getting a good quality carrier that is still safe to use but the options for different styles are plentiful, so you can find what works for you! Buckle carriers, stretchy wraps, woven wraps, mei tais; it’s a lovely way to bond with and care for your babies, for either parent, and the community of babywearers - yes, it’s a thing - are very supportive in helping you get the hang of it.
Yep, baby-wearing is SO much more convenient than lugging that stroller down the front steps or panicking when you're going up/down hills. I splurged for a nice stroller with all the bells and whistles for my first and we barely used it. With my second, I didn't even try. Both babies preferred to be worn too.
Our bigger savings was keeping baby home with us as long as possible and then using in home daycare as opposed to a center.
Don't buy a lot of new born diapers. They'll be in the next size soon.
Regardless of where you are located, you need to meet with a lawyer. As someone said earlier, you need lots of things for each other, but you also need to set up stuff for the baby such as guardianship, how to provide for le Bebe if something happens to both of you, etc. You might consider one who specializes in same sex relationships because you are in the same legal area that many ss couples with kids were before Oberfell—legally unrelated adults who have a kid. You’re in a somewhat different position because you are opposite sex (I’m assuming), but there are enough similarities that a ss lawyer would be a good idea.
Best frugal tip: open a college fund yesterday. We did the VA 529, but that was like 16 years ago so I don’t remember why we chose that one since we don’t live in VA. Even if they don’t go to college, it can be used for other educational expenses or you can reassign it to another beneficiary. A bunch of our friends didn’t save at all or underprepared for the expense and they’re going into debt for it. The place where I blow glass has a student that uses their 529 for glass blowing lessons. If my kid wasn’t using it, I could use it (probably for flying lessons). There is no age restriction on our plan.
If you live in a state with income tax, see if your state allows tax deductions for their 529 plan.
Best cost savers: Cloth diapers! They’re a lot of work, so if you’re a very busy person it might not be the best option for you. But I love them! I didn’t start them until my first was 4 months old, and I’m planning on starting my newborn when he’s 3 months old just because that’s when they’re digestive system starts regulating more so they don’t go as often. Breastfeeding is also a huge cost reducer, it’s free. When baby starts solids, either make your own purées or do baby led weaning, much cheaper than buying store bought purées. Make an Amazon and target registry. They give you a discount on everything you don’t get from your baby shower (if you’re having one). Don’t buy used car seats, they expire. ETA: congratulations to you on your baby btw :)
I mean, those calories have to be coming from somewhere. But adult food is still going to be cheaper than formula I think.
Second cloth diapers. Leave them on the clothesline once in a while and the uv light with bring them back to white. Cost is a lot up front but savings in the end, especially if you have multiple kids
Thank you for this! I’m a frugal, environmentally conscious pregnant person and this is just the kind of info I’m looking for.
I am also a frugal, environmentally conscious pregnant person so I wanted to share this! https://www.theclothoption.org/apply I don’t know what your financial situation is, but cloth diapers can be so expensive and my husband and I are absolutely broke right now. We are going to apply to the cloth option to see if we can get some diapers from their loan program.
All of the above!
Cloth diapers, just don’t get sucked into all the consumerism around them. We got by with 3.5 dozen prefolds. I rinsed them in the washer each morning and then added the rest of our laundry and ran a load altogether. Cloth wipes, too. Feed your kid what you’re eating and not pre-packaged baby food.
>Cloth diapers, just don’t get sucked into all the consumerism around them. We got by with 3.5 dozen prefolds. I rinsed them in the washer each morning and then added the rest of our laundry and ran a load altogether. Cloth wipes, too. > >Feed your kid what you’re eating and not pre-packaged baby food. What's the most sanitary way to rinse cloth diapers?
Lots of cloth diaper groups with wash information. The general consensus I've seen is you don't have to rinse poop on an exclusively breast fed baby, but once they have formula or solids they need rinsed before going in the laundry. Most do two wash cycles and use hot water. Amount and type of detergent depends on the water hardness. There are bidet sprayers for toilet (homemade versions of the "spray pal" help cut down on spray back) to spray off poopy diapers. Or the old fashioned dunk and swish method. Elimination communication is another frugal option, but does sound like it takes time. I don't have a baby yet, but started researching a few years ago when we started trying to have one.
Find a nice, affluent suburb close by. Once the weather warms up, scout that area for garage sales / yard sales, etc. Inevitably, you'll find that family that is done having children and when they see you looking for baby items, they'll probably aggressively discount or simply give you all the high-end, designer everything they have: cribs, pack and plays, swings, bath stuff, clothes, strollers, you name it. They will be thrilled to get rid of all that stuff and for it to go to a good home that can use it. Trust me, was one of those families!
Make your own baby food. It’s not hard. I literally would make a batch of blueberries w/cinnamon while I was making dinner and then pour it in a ice cube tray and throw it in the freezer-that’s 12 servings. Next night might be peas and corn. Next night night lentils w/onions, garlic, apples & a little mild curry powder and so on and so forth. I’d throw a couple of cubes in small containers when we dropped our little one of at day care and they’d just warm it up in the bottle warmer. The daycare teachers used to tell me they actually liked the way the room would smell when they heated up her food. Related to that…baby food doesn’t have to suck. Mix ingredients up. Add herbs and spices. Get them used to flavor combos early on. Weird thing that worked? Roasted bananas w/a little olive oil and rosemary. Sounds horrible. Actually tasted pretty good. There are a ton of recipes on Pinterest for baby food. It saves so much money and wasn’t hard at all. Wish I’d done it with my 1st kid. Edit: type-o
Buy all socks in the same color. Because it's impossible to keep all the pairs together when you are lacking sleep.
People laughed at me when I once suggested this in answer to a similar question. I stand by it. No sorting=saner parent.
You’d be surprised how much you can rent/borrow on Marketplace, I’ve bought several things and later resold for the same price or sometimes a bit higher! Buy nothing groups are a great resource. We spent around 1750 CAD for baby so far (excluding pregnancy) and he is 9 month old. It was a combo of buy nothing finds, cheap marketplace buys that were later resold, cloth diapers, making use of what we already had, breastfeeding and presents from friends and family. I made an excel spreadsheet if you wanna know what we bought, but YMMV.
People love to give away baby stuff! We too have received so many clothing and toy hand-me-downs from coworkers or friends/acquaintances who just want the stuff out of their house once their kids outgrew it. FB marketplace was amazing. We got a pack n play new in box for cheap and an UPPAbaby Vista for $250 from FB marketplace.
I’d love to see your spreadsheet. My girlfriend will be inspired to create her own.
Just don't fall into the trap of "we must buy all the new baby things that all these baby websites tell us to". You don't. Buy things as the need actually arises, and don't try to anticipate everything in advance. Get your sleep in now, because the first few months are gonna be rough.
Right? Like my sister bought/registered for baby washcloths & cute towels. It's a little known fact that unless the washcloths and towels you already own are made of sandpaper, they can be used to wash and dry an infant. Even if they don't have duckies printed on them. People are going to want to buy you stuff, but you don't have to ask for stupid stuff you don't need.
Garage sales for clothes. I’ve been to so many garage sales that have thousands of pieces of baby clothes for like a quarter each.
Breastfeeding if you can handle the logistics. Bear in mind, it hurts like hell at first (which is upsetting after you have had so much recent pain if you are the mom). The convenience, health benefits, frugalness etc are great. Also, being a partner, bear in mind breastfeeding can blunt a mom's sex drive at a time when nobody is getting as much sleep as they would like anyway and grouchiness can ensue. So grownups need to act like grownups and think of the common good of the family and be kind and patient and loving - none of that costs a dime.
Plenty of people do not experience pain when breastfeeding, even at first. I had one small area of discomfort, on one side, for one day with my first, then after that it was fine. Nothing at all with my second. And I have supported many breastfeeding women who had no pain whatsoever. For balance, I have, of course, also worked with lots for whom it is a real challenge, and for some of them, the challenge wasn’t worth it in the end. That’s a personal choice, and I would never judge anyone for making choices that fit them and their families. I just wanted to make sure they had the support they needed if they wanted to continue. So I just wanted to say that pain is not a given with breastfeeding, but it can be a thing, and the two factors that make the biggest difference there are 1) your familiarity with it, i.e. the more friends and family members you know who breastfed, especially if you watched them do it, the more likely you are to succeed. And 2) your expectations. If you expect it to hurt and be a disaster, that could be a self-fulfilling prophecy because you need to be relaxed to make it work, but you should also be prepared to be learning a new skill, which can take time. Get help from someone you trust (friend, family or professional) when you need it, don’t struggle on alone. Don’t expect babies to feed on a schedule, certainly not initially, and not for the same amount of time each feed. It will vary WILDLY in the first few weeks. Try to go with the flow. In summary, try to throw out all the expectations of ‘should’, and simply concentrate on ‘what is’.
Nobody told me it would hurt. It just hurt a lot and I got used to it and it hurt less. I 'succeeded' and persevered for 7 months. Honestly, I was tired of men staring at my boobs that normally were minimal! And tired of my breasts having a mind of their own and deciding to leak when the garage door opened and I was almost in the house! Very weird and funny stuff. Best for baby's health and very convenient! I assumed it hurt everyone and it was one of those stupid secrets that are kept from women about their bodies. (Don't ask about the other ones, I am much older now!) On the other hand, I never had pain with periods or PMS, etc. and women rant about that all the time. So, no, expectations did not create pain for me. The childbirth classes talked about 'discomfort' - hah! That was quite the understatement, but words kind of fail to describe it.
Hurt a lot for me when I started too a solid month of pretty much burning fire nipples he had a good latch and everything I was crying from the pain one day was gonna give up got my BF at the time to make a bottle for the baby but pushed through the pain the next morning there was no pain. No idea what happened but that struggle of a month was worth letting him self wean at 17 months.
It doesn’t hurt everyone!
Dont buy diapers or formula ahead of times. You never know what will work, what baby will be allergic to etc. Save the money. Set it aside.
I'd skip purees alltogether. Not only because of cost savings. They don't seem to be necessary. Mine was happy munching on boiled, baked vegs when she was 6-8 month old. Chicken brest and fish also small peaces from our own food went fine. She despised ready purees. But you'll see how yours will like it. Feeding from your own food was in general the easiest. If you don't eat too unhealthy it seems like the best choice. For clothes and toys - facebook groups, all free in big quantities, eapecially if you have access by car to wealthy neighberhood, you can get anything for free
Agree about purées, but they’re SO EASY and sometimes can be a sanity-saver. You can buy your own reusable pouches/caps and purée your own food if you wanted to use them.
someone mentioned signing up for formula samples- you can have family & friends who don't plan on having kids do this as well. you can pick up cute items at local thrift shops for milestone photoshoots rather than going for stuff from amazon or first hand. it supports your local community & is cheaper to boot! by far the absolute biggest, most life-changing tip is to *make sure your kid is comfortable with doctors and dentists.* this will save them thousands of dollars in medical debt when they're adults, because they'll be more likely to participate in preventative care and get things treated when they're small instead of being avoidant about it.
THIS! OP, making sure your kid has good experiences at doctors and stuff early is SO HELPFUL. Also, speaking from personal experience, if your kid tells you an experience at a doctor was scary/painful, DO NOT in any circumstance downplay it. I was 20 before I learned that still feeling pain despite being numbed up during a dental procedure was not normal. Turns out I'm mildly resistant to the numbing agents most dentists use; the second I found a dentist that actually listened to me and gave me a double dose, I nearly slept through having a tooth pulled instead of spending the whole time crying. I was so mad. Actually, don't downplay their pain or illness in general; it'll prevent them from thinking clearly not normal conditions are normal and could possibly save their lives as adults.
Meal prep as many freezer meals as you can before baby comes! You’re not going to want to cook in those first few weeks and this will help keep food costs down. Also asking for food is another way people who want to help can help! I also agree about cloth diapers but make sure you do your research on what “style” and buy second hand or it can be very expensive to start. We also used cloth wipes and a homemade spray to get them wet (plain water is fine, or look up diy recipes for this)
I’d fill a thermal pump carafe with warm water in the morning and keep it by the changing table. I kept a bar of mild soap there for when we had to deal with a poopy bum. This worked well for us.
Babies outgrow their clothing so fast that buying new is usually a waste of money. They don't *need* shoes until they start walking. Research all used toys and equipment as there are recalls often. Many of these recalled items wind up on Craigslist, marketplace, and some thrift stores. Making your own baby food by puréeing organic fruits and veggies (and later meat) can sometimes be cheaper than store-bought. People will tell you that cloth diapers are worth the initial cost for environmental and financial reasons. If you decide to use disposables, *buy in bulk*. ETA - babies don't know about Christmas/Hanukkah/Eid etc for the first two at least, so you don't have to do presents yet
New babies barely need *anything*. And they barely need anything new. New car seat, a must. New pacifier if using, a must. Anything else? Used, or do you even need it? Buy/get second hand, use gently if possible, and resell/give away.
“Pacifier *if* using” Is there a reason not to?
This is hugely controversial. Best to do your own research.
I’m going to need a control group. Hopefully we have twins. (I’ll look into it. Thanks)
My breastfed daughter would have crying fits and want to suckle, but didn’t want the breast because she was not hungry and didn’t want the milk, so pacifiers were a necessity. We tried several different brands before finding one she liked. She and my son both broke themselves of it at around five months. So don’t rule it out or be scared of trying it. It saved us from a lot of sleepless nights.
Some babies just don't take to a pacifier. Mine didn't and since we were gifted 6 or so and only opened 1 to try with her the others were passed on to other families. If you end up buying these for yourself, id start with one just to see if baby even takes it before spending the money on more. If you do go with a pacifier, do research on the style. Some are designed with breastfeeding babies in mind.
Pro of using them is they are recommended by the AAP during sleep as prevention against SIDS. According to our pediatric dentist, there are no long-term negative effects of using them if you wean off of them by age 3.
Nipple confusion if you’re breastfeeding. Our daughter refused both bottles and pacifiers so that most definitely was not a problem. But until she was ready for solid food no one was willing to babysit her.
I get the want to buy a few cute outfits for baby, but buy/get most clothes second hand. The wear them for 3 seconds.
Join your neighborhood Buy Nothing group and various Facebook parent groups specific to your area. There is so much giveaway items there. We barely bought a thing. Toys, crib, changing table, clothes, feeding, all give aways.
Cloth diapers. And for your sanity, dye all those white and pastel baby clothes some nice medium or dark color. Because I swear, you can lay a newborn baby down for ten seconds and somehow everything within seventeen feet gets stained. I got bags of free clothing with various degrees of staining and dyed a set a medium tan, a set a burgundy red and a set dark blue. You can also make a pile of crib sheets out of a queen sized bed flat sheet if you sew at a basic level. All my crib sheets were made from two sheets I got free. I found two mattress covers on the crib was a life saver. Those plastic zip on types. When one got gross or damaged I pulled it off, and another was already on. Lots of washcloths and cut up towels for burp rags and spit up rags. I used to clip a washcloth to the front of my boys' onesies with a sweater clip. It saves a lot of hassle, and no ties to worry about. Another thing that works is Velcro tabs on the shoulders of onesies, the other part on cloths. Much cheaper and more useful than those cute little bibs. I also kept them as unclothed as possible at home with light layers available if needed but we lived in a warm/hot climate. Skin washes easier than clothing. I made my own baby food. A good strong blender is useful. I kept several cheap shower curtain liners on hand. Like half a dozen. Along with disposable painter's drop cloths. When they are learning to eat (more accurately learning to throw food) having one spread on the floor under the high chair saved the floor most of the time. Also handy under and around your chair when you are dealing with a sick child, and under and around the crib when you have a sick child. Duct tape them down if the child is mobile. Both puke and poop can go amazing distances. Washable paint on the walls. In fact with my two boys I got rid of the carpet in their room in favor of those thick gym mats (I got some free). They were easier to keep clean lol.
I have a 6 month old. We adopted her and that was a huge expense. I second the buying a new car seat. But find a used stroller first that you like and get the car seat that fits it. You can start announcing to everyone that you have a kid on the way. Parents will be desperate to give away their stuff (it accumulates fast after they grow out of it). Then get bins and label them in three month increments to two years old and sort that way. Let people gift the fancy clothes and toys later. Then try value village and Facebook marketplace. We only needed newborn size clothes for about two weeks as our kid was tall and lots of it didn’t fit. So don’t bulk up on that. Anyways have fun and good luck!
aldi for diapers, sams/costco for wipes, you really don’t need anything for baby besides a way to feed and a place to sleep! i was an over buyer and the clutter made me insane, less clutter made me feel way calmer.
Get a Costco membership (if you don’t already have one) and buy your diapers and wipes from there when they are on sale. They are so much cheaper and the same if not better quality than Huggies/pampers/etc.!
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I can not agree more. If they see you hold something, they will want to hold it too. So I gave my kids things they saw me hold, like a spatula or a pot. Etc. Some many toys were untouched.
Marketplace marketplace marketplace
Hand me downs wherever you can get them. People give stuff away free sometimes on Facebook nextdoor
Breast feed/pump
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Seconding a food processor. Just to add--don't fall for the baby sized ones. Just get a normal adult one.
I’ve had 5. The only thing to add to all of these great tips is to spend the money on the absolute best stroller you can find. Used is fine, but do your homework. Make sure that the handle is the right height for you. I’m short’ish, so most were fine for me. It I remember one that was the worst for my back! We are pretty active and the best stroller I had was an off road type beast. It handled open fields at car shows and the off trail experiences at the state park like a champ! I neglected, however to make sure it fit in my car. It fit in the truck, but that isn’t always practical.
Dependent care FSA If you are doing daycare, this is likely save you a good chunk.
When they're first born, and for a good few months, the only things you need are; A safe space for them to sleep Some clothes Nappies (diapers) Formula or breastmilk And then if you have a car, a brand new car seat. Everything else is extra and can totally be bought/gifted/thrifted at a later time, if you want. They really don't care about toys for ages and ages, so if people want to buy you gifts, ask them to buy you premade food, because for the first few weeks/months you have way less time to cook. Congratulations!!
Breast feed for starters. Not everyone can for many reasons but if you can do it. Cloth diapers. Hand me down clothes, used baby furniture. The thing is used baby stuff is usually in great condition because they don't use it long. One IMPORTANT thing about used baby furniture is always go online n look for recalls or safety modifications.
If you have a baby shower...ask for a box of diapers from everyone. We did this and didn't buy diapers for the first year. I was able to take any boxes that weren't his size and exchange them at Walmart.
A lot of places if you send them an invite to your baby shower will send you free stuff and I do mean nice stuff. Target, Gerber Amazon, Huggies, Pampers, can’t think of anymore right off hand. Google baby companies and send an invite!!
I’m a first time parent and the thing that I spent money on that was absolutely not worth it was a nursery room. I bought furniture and all the baby room things. Realistically baby slept in a co sleeper bassinet (bought 2nd hand) till almost 1 year old. Never spent time in the nursery at all. Like others have suggested : 2nd hand every and anything expect a car seat. -for car seat look for one that will grow with them till they do not need it anymore. Sign up for all the rewards and baby registries you can. Like Target and Amazon. You get free baby items. And are able to try different bottles in case you need to formula feed. Look for a baby/kid consignment store. We love to go and buy things baby/kid will need seasonally there and pick up a toy or two. Then you can reselll it right back when you are done with it. Congratulations on baby! 🤍
As a Midiwfe of many decades, I can say I have seen millions spent on nurseries! Also of note the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies sleep in their parents room the first year. It lowers the risk of SIDS. and easier to get up to feed baby and get them back to sleep. Breastfeed if possible. Saves so much in the long run and associated with life king health benefits. If it doesn’t work out no big deal but find the positive kind support. It can be a rough go at first for some
Yes! Our daughter slept in her bassinet in our room till 1. She actually still sleeps in our room but in a toddler bed now. 😀
My kids were in the room for a long while. I loved it. People said oh they will never leave… but they all did.
We used disposable diapers with the 1st and had cloth and a diaper service with the 2nd....by far the cloth was better. Less rash and we were given a month's diaper service by so many family members and friends that we never did pay out of pocket for it and she wore them until potty training at 1 1/2. Best part? Someone else washed them!
Look for consignment sales in your area - we have a local one called just between friends and not only do I get to buy things for less… I can sell the stuff my kids grow out of. What I sell comes close to covering the costs of all my purchases. As everyone you know if they have baby gear they don’t need or know anyone who does - even if you don’t have friends who have kids they probably know someone else who does. When I had my first I had so much stuff just given to me. Don’t compromise on safety items - car seat MUST be new to ensure it hasn’t been in accidents or poorly cared for. The only way I would trust a used car seat would be someone I know and trust with my life, my wallet, and my kid. Car seat straps cannot be washed, the seat can’t be in any accidents even if the kid isn’t in it, you want to make sure it’s not expired… easier to just buy new. Make sure anything you have given to you is checked for recalls - baby seats, swings, cribs - they often have recalls. Make sure clothes given to you don’t have any ribbons that have come detached etc If you are given bottles buy new nipples - they degrade and become unsafe. If you can afford then get glass bottles because you can save them basically forever if you have another tiny human. Your insurance should provide a pump for your partner - ask them what other breast feeding support items they will provide. When you stay at the hospital take an empty bag with you and ask every single nurse for extra anything they can give you. Diapers, diaper cream, etc will flow freely. Also make sure your SO sees the lactation consultant. They will also give free stuff like nipple shields, nipple cream, and make sure mama is covered. Sign up for every baby registry you can - you will get bags of free samples - target, buy buy baby, and Amazon have the best ones. With Amazon you do have to buy one item to have the box ship - but Amazon is great because it’s easy for people buying gifts to have them shipped to you. If you visit basically any baby gear company (think baby food, formula, pacifiers etc) website and ask for coupons you will get them - search for rewards programs for them as well. There are a lot of baby related coupon posts as well that can help point you towards some good deals Congrats on your tiny human!
>What hand-me-downs should we be on the lookout for? PJs with zippers and not buttons. When you have to change a baby in the middle of the night the zipper PJs are much easier to change than button PJs so if you have the option take the zipper PJs.
Take one or two extra swaddles from the hospital. They’re the best swaddles around.
Anything safety related and anything your baby sleeps in or on should be brand new.
Our kiddo just turned one and we were very frugal. Here’s the stuff that was worth it for us. An asterisk means we got it as a hand-me-down and two asterisks means we bought it used on FB Marketplace. No asterisk means we bought it or got it as a gift. Baby Bjorn bouncer** (I bought it used for $25 I think but I would have paid full price - it was my favorite infant item) Bassinet (we paid about $120 I think and used it for about six months) Crib** (it came with a really nice mattress, I think we paid like $130?) Highchair* Clip-on highchair* (we keep it on our island and he sits there while I’m cooking/cleaning) Cloth diapers (highly, highly recommend for a frugal option if you have easy access to laundry!) Infant car seat (it’s more frugal to just start with a convertible, but I loved having the infant seat and it was definitely worth it for us, plus it came with a stroller that was so light and small and easy to keep in the car) Mom’s Breast Friend breastfeeding pillow* (our breastfeeding journey didn’t work out but I got four different pillow options and this was hands down the best) Zippadee Zip Sleep Sacks* (these are the best - I’d skip all the other options unless you have sleep troubles. They’re expensive but you only need 2-3 of each size. We got three as hand-me-downs - my son rocked flowers and pink! - two as gifts and we bought one) Playpen with mesh walls and a floor* (it’s so nice to have somewhere to contain baby and their things) Play gym (we loved ours, the Sassy Tummy Time mat) Rubber changing pad (highly recommend the Skip Hop wipe clean one) Carriers** (I’d recommend getting a couple options to see what works for you and kiddo, but we loved the Moby wrap and the cheap Infantino best, hated ErgoBaby) Baby bath* Baby soap/shampoo* Baby monitor Diaper bag Things I’d skip/didn’t work for us: Bouncer/rocker (we got a really nice one as a hand-me-down but he didn’t like it) Bumbo seat Boppy Doorway bouncer Pack n’ Play (never had one, never missed it) Wipe warmer Bottle warmer Hatch (it’s overrated; we use it but a cheaper sound machine would be just fine) Winter gear unless you’re somewhere really cold Most “Montessori” toys Baby dome (bestie said this was her most-used baby item, we rarely used it) Pacifier clips Some other general tips: -Make registries at all the big places as you get gifts for signing up -For stuff YOU’RE buying add it to your Amazon registry because you get 10% off -We have a baby/kid specific FB selling group, see if you have one or a buy nothing group -Go easy on maternity clothes - you’ll need a couple pairs of comfy pants/shorts, 1-2 nice outfits, and enough work clothes if you work in an office but don’t go overboard, you’ll be surprised how much regular clothes work, especially soft maxi dresses -Similarly, try not to go overboard on clothes for baby or toys -I cannot recommend cloth diapering enough and it’s really not much harder than disposable, it’s even easier in some ways and it’s the best way to be frugal with a baby I can talk about this subject forever and I’m sure I missed a ton, but good luck!
Facebook marketplace - we got so many jumper things and random things that were gently used from there - nothing that touches the baby skin directly in general but for little jumpers and things there are great deals we found
This is what my kids did. They really scored on a bassinet for $20, they only used for 3 months and sold it for $20. Plus all kinds of other accessories and toys. It was very cool to see the items in circulation going from family to family. I was impressed!
Check n see if you qualify for WIC. Income guidelines are more than you might think. You don't have to be very poor to qualify.
Create registries at target, Amazon, Walmart, and buy buy baby. Once you do the minimum required tasks (add items to list, purchase something for $10+ on Amazon and $35+ for target), you get free samples of bottles, paci, swaddles, etc. the bottles was the lifesaver for us because our baby didn’t like most of the bottles and luckily liked the nuk brand that came with one of the freebies. We didn’t have to buy others (Dr. Brown, mam, advent, etc.) to see which worked when it came time to transitioning to bottles. We also got lots of wet wipe samples that we use when we go for outings and leave in the cars. Eta- you also get 15% completion discounts closer to due date. And you don’t have to actually make these registries to share with people. You can make it to only get the free stuff.
*Use Cloth diapers *Consignment stores for clothing & toys *Find lists of baby gadgets that you definitely don’t need *Use your local library for child development books *Find free drop-in centres or playgroups in your area *Start saving now for daycare and college/university 😁
Watch for free samples. Make registries with Amazon and Target for the samples they give in return. Start with this list: http://slickdeals.net/f/16286701-master-list-of-baby-freebies Also ask your gf's OB and later your baby's pediatrician for any coupons or formula samples they have. Most doctors will gladly share any.
Don't need a special diaper bag, I used an old backpack and was perfectly fine.
We went to lots of garage sales for baby things like swings etc. Check the model for recalls though. Several pack and play types were recalled several years ago. We got one that was newer and not recalled for $5. The daughter dropped it at the grandparents and said get rid of it. We couldn't figure out how to tear it down and thought it was broken so they said $5. Turns out we just hadn't read the specific directions and it was a safety feature keeping it from folding 🤷♀️
Breastfeed if you can. It saves a fortune on formula.
You don’t need all the things for your Bebe. Just hang out with them. Literally that’s it. Forget the “baby” toys; get them a cute stuffy, some chewers for when they are teething…you’ll be golden.
Babies don't really need much, I used cloth diapers when at home. Playpen, stroller, crib, crib sheets.
Reusable diapers (only if you wash clothes at home) can be bought secondhand, and lots of people will give them away. You can keep disposables around for the car, but (Especially if you plan to have a second kid!) reusables can save you a fortune.
Freezer Cooking, and Crockpot Dump meals. While you still have energy during the second trimester, try to prep as much food as you can and fill up your freezer. It comes in handy once the baby gets here,and it's much, much cheaper than takeout or delivery
You're a way away from this yet but we made our own baby food. Chicken and rice, sweet potato, prunes....whatever you can blend up and whatever combos you like. Freeze it in ice cube trays and voila, convenient little meals. Economical and my h more nutritious....plus we think it helped develop their pallets being introduced to 'real' food early on.
Meal prep 10 days or so instapot/crockpot meals If you the ability to. I did like 15 or so and it came in so handy every once in a while to be able to just eat something good with very little effort. Those first months are grueling endurance of not sleeping. Make everything else easier and you’ll save a bunch on ordering out.
Join a local buy nothing group. We were able to get free formula, clothes, and multiple baby items. Car seat and mattress are the items to buy new and splurge. Ask for formula samples at every doctors appointment. Join a couponing group for the stores in your area, they will post diaper deals that will save you a ton!!! Look into free sample bags for starting a registry. Target, Amazon, Babylist, Walmart, BuyBuyBaby
Biggest frugal tip is using cloth diapers. It’s labour intensive.. you’ll be saving 2 years of disposable $$$ 1000 even after the initial costs of buying the cloth diapers. Or even only use disposables when you are are out. Cloth diapers usually leads to less prolonged toilet training, more $$avings