Frugally Preparing for Baby

So obviously something that is likely to come up on every new mother or father’s mind is how they are going to be able to afford all the new stuff for the baby. Unfortunately for us, most of our baby things from when Benjamin was a little tiny thing are long gone, due to the fact that we had to move pretty much everything into storage at one point and a lot of it just couldn’t fit. So, no crib, no baby clothes (who’s to say we’re having another boy anyway?), none of that little tiny baby stuff. Unless I’m forgetting that we have some stored somewhere, anyway. I know we have a few things here and there, but there’s obviously quite a bit that we’re going to have to get for this new baby.

Right now, we have 25 weeks (and a few days) to have what we need before the baby gets here. Of course, there are a few things that I’m still unsure of as to when we will need it… such as the crib. The baby will be staying in our room for a while after it’s born, for different reasons, the main one being it will be easier for me during recovery. So, there’s a possibility that the crib can be one of the last purchases, really…

There are a few things that I know I would spend the money on if I couldn’t find the stuff at a yardsale or consignment sale, or something like that, the stroller I mentioned the other day being one of those, and I guess that’s because I have my heart set on it! – and as a side note, there have been very few things I have actually had my heart set on recently for this baby, I guess because I have had a lot of other things to think about besides baby stuff the past month… and then before that I was too sick to think of anything. So this one thing that I do have my heart set on – because I would love to go on family walks with Benjamin and the baby and Carl and Zoe – I think I’m going to allow myself to splurge on if need be.

But I will be trying to save money in other ways. Here are the few that I have thought of so far, so if you have any suggestions to add, please do so in the comments!

• Feeding: I plan on breastfeeding as long as everything goes well, and for as long as I can. Benjamin nursed until he was 12 months. Of course, that wasn’t exclusive, but I do think it saved money anyway. And I know that not having to spend money on formula is really going to help.
• Diapering: I still have all of Benjamin’s cloth diapers and I intend to use them for this baby as well. I really need to fix some of the leg gussets – by the way, if I have any sewing friends in the area who want to help me do that, I would be forever grateful! I really am not the best at sewing – but other than that, they are just perfect still. I would like to buy some small sizes just so we don’t have to wait a few months to start using the diapers, but in the scheme of things, that will also be saving money, and lots of it!
• Travel: We have a carseat already, but depending on the condition of the cover we may have to buy a new one – cover that is. Not completely sure yet though!
• Sleeping: We have Benjamin’s pack-n-play still so that will do fine for as long as the baby is sleeping in our room. As for like crib bedding and stuff, once we have a crib, I’m going to skip all that because not only is it unnecessary to have in the baby’s bed, but it’s not particularly safe either {and I mean like the bumper and the cute little quilt and all that}. There’s no real need for all of that so I don’t really want to spend the money on it.
• Clothing & Toys: We look for deals for these and this is also what everyone loves to buy for the baby so I think we’ll probably be set on all this. Besides, the baby is going to have plenty of entertainment with Benjamin around, I assure you.

For the bigger things that we inevitably will need to buy, we’re going to do our best to space out the purchases so we’re not spending a ton all at once and wracking up a huge bill. We’re trying to cut out the nonsense stuff that we don’t have to buy, and instead focus on the things that we will need. Like a dresser. That’s one thing that we need to get.

I feel pretty good about the ways we plan on saving, actually. It helps a lot to put it all down in front of me instead of just having it going around in my head. Like I said, if you have anything to add, please do!