Q: You guys are so good with money I wondered if you’d consider sharing some of the ways you kept from bleeding money once you had Clara. I’ve heard that having a baby and buying all the baby stuff can set you back a few years’ worth of savings and I’m scared! But I’m sure you have figured out a few ways to be frugal without skipping a beat when it comes to providing everything that Clara needs. As you love to say, do tell! – Megan
A: The good news is that we actually expected that having a baby (and setting up the house for one) would be a lot pricier than it actually was. Of course every parent’s experience is different (especially when it comes to how many hand-me-downs you might get lucky enough to inherit, or how many registry items you’ll be fortunate enough to receive) but after lots of expert-mom-&-dad-interviewing we definitively concluded that we didn’t need every baby gadget on the market. Not even close. And with a little bit of strategy you can hopefully figure out what you really need, what you can skip, and what you’ll likely receive from others (so you don’t end up with too much of one thing and not enough of another).
Of course parenting is an extremely personal thing, and what works for us won’t necessarily work for everyone, but here’s the rundown of all the things that we did to save money without sacrificing an ounce of fun or comfort for Clara.
We Resisted The Baby Clothing Draw- We heard time and time again from pro moms & dads (we’re talking 3+ kids) that clothing is such an easy thing to go overboard on and that many (many) friends and relatives will buy you cute outfits of all sizes- so many that there’s little need to stock up for yourself. Of course we couldn’t resist a few adorable outlet onesies (or this cute 4th of July outfit from Old Navy) but for the most part we tried insanely hard to dodge the baby shopping spree bullet. And all that willpower was worth it. Those expert parents were 100% correct. Clara ended up with more outfits than Mariah Carey thanks to hand-me-downs from relatives and an astronomical amount of adorable clothing from generous friends and family members who wanted to welcome her to the world. Seriously, the girl’s clothing cup runneth over.
We Registered For The Biggies- We crossed our fingers that friends and family members would go in on some of the larger items on our registry together, so we resisted the urge to scan every cute onesie, sleeper, book, and stuffed animal that we saw in the hopes that we’d receive more “needs” than “wants,” which are always higher up on the priority list. Amazingly, we got our Ergo carrier, our swing, our stroller, our car seat and our Angelcare Monitor from our registry! Seriously, we could not have been more thrilled. So our tip would be to register for big things because you’ll inevitably get clothes and books and toys anyway- but it feels amazing to check the big expensive things off your list. And you’ll think of all your generous friends and family members who came together to get those necessities for you every time you use that stroller or that car seat (we do!). See which specific stroller and other items we chose for Clara by perusing this post.
We Accepted Hand Me Downs (With Caution)- There definitely aren’t any shortage of baby toys and gear to be seen at Babies R Us or Buy Buy Baby, but what surprised us most was how many friends and family members came out of the woodwork to offer us Bumbos, Boppys, and bouncy seats galore! In fact, our tip would be to see what hand-me-downs might present themselves (before registering for things or buying them for yourself) since that’s a super easy way to save some major moolah. But our second tip would be to use restraint when it comes to accepting freebies from those kind friends and relatives (to avoid having a house full of every single contraption imaginable with no room for the actual baby!). While we were offered many amazing items, we thought long and hard about what would most likely work for our lifestyle and reminded ourselves that we could always request things after Clara came home if the need for them later arose. In the end, aside from hand me down clothing, we only accepted one hand-me-down sling (which Clara loves by the way), one gently used Boppy (so convenient), one nearly-new Bumbo (where Clara loves to sit and “read”) and a doorway jumper (check out how much she adores that here). And those four items alone would have set us back over $150, so we’re glad to have them!
We Bucked Conventional Baby Gear- One way to keep our small house from getting overrun with baby stuff and to keep money in our pockets was to go back to interviewing those expert moms and dads about what they learned that they could live without. Time and time again they told us that big expensive highchairs were no more effective than a smaller (and much cheaper!) booster seat with a tray. Duly noted. We also heard that investing in one do-it-all stroller was a lot more space efficient and cost effective than getting a string of strollers for each stage of baby development. These two tips alone saved us at least two to four hundred bucks (!) because they enabled us to confidently pick up a $25 booster seat and a single one-size-fits-all stroller that will last until Clara is done with it (which we were lucky enough to receive as a gift from our registry). See which specific stroller and other items we chose for Clara by perusing this post. Update: We later invested in a jogging stroller since our do-it-all-stroller couldn’t fill that function, but never bought/needed a snap n go stroller or an umbrella stroller, so it’s helpful to really consider what you’ll use before buying them all.
We Saved Every Penny With Clara’s Name On It- We set up a 529 fund within two weeks of taking Clara home from the hospital and we’ve diligently been investing every single welcome-to-the-world check that she’s received. We’ve also decided that we’ll save a set amount of money each month for her there, which will help to pay for her education after years of tax-free interest collecting.
We Returned The Surplus- We learned that to best provide for Clara without breaking the bank we couldn’t be shy about returning extra clothes and repeat toys and books that we received for necessities like wipes and disposable diapers (before Clara was big enough to fit into her cloth dipes). We learned that diapers and wipes are two things that are rarely given as gifts but you use them the most so they’re super high on the necessity list! We also considered the season of clothes that we received before removing the tags. For example, summer dresses labeled “six months” won’t be useful to Clara since she’ll be six months old in the dead of winter- so we exchanged them for some heavier clothing that she’ll really get some use out of).
We Try Before We Buy- We weren’t sure if the small travel swing that we received from our registry would be enough since we heard that some babies just go ga-ga for bouncy seats. So we borrowed one from a friend only to learn that Clara was not interested (as in she cried immediately upon being placed in the thing). Thank goodness we tried it before we sprung for one! And for those who might not have items as readily available from friends and family members, don’t forget that sources like freecycle.org, craigslist.org and even local thrift stores are a great way to score something that’s gently used for a lot less.
We Skipped The Bassinet- Of course this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but thanks to a tiny bedroom that wouldn’t safely accommodate any type of bassinet and a nursery that’s located extremely close by (just six steps from our bed) Clara has been sleeping in her crib since day one (well, technically day four since we were in the hospital for days one through three). We even snapped this picture of her at her first “bedtime” after we took her home. They grow up so fast (sniffle).
Thanks to this crib-only phenomenon, we were able to save the cash that would have been put towards a bassinet and save the room that we would have devoted to storing it after she later transitioned to her crib. And we don’t know if it’s a coincidence but she’s a phenomenal sleeper. She slept through the night as soon as we were allowed to let her, at about 4 weeks, and currently sleeps 9+ hours straight (last night was an all time record from 9:30pm to 8:30am). We definitely believe that we just got lucky and ended up with a sleepy baby, but it also might help that she doesn’t get awakened by lights going on and off, parental tossing and turning, or Burger’s snoring since she has her own little haven across the hall.
We Milked Mother Nature- I know that not everyone chooses- or is even physically able- to breastfeed, but I really hoped I could make it happen. So months before Clara was born I spent time reading up on the subject online and even took a free class at my local hospital so I’d have the best possible chance. Thankfully it worked out! And Clara and I very much enjoy that time together (every few hours during the day- she’s a hungry girl!). Not only is it some pretty great mommy-beanette time, it’s also a fantastic way to save about $140 a month (which is roughly the average cost of formula). We also plan to make as much of our own organic baby food as we can when the time comes. Should be interesting!
We Saved Our Butts (And Covered Clara’s) With Cloth Diapers- Read all about that decision (and how much we saved) right here. Oh and we switched detergents so there’s an update on that in the post as well.
We Pared Down- We actually bought a video monitor and also received the Angelcare monitor that we registered for, but we quickly realized that we only needed the Angelcare monitor and happily returned the $200 (!) video one since we could hear her so well thanks to the audio function of the other monitor (and the sound of her breathing was more assuring to us than squinting at the video monitor and trying to see her chest rise and fall (which was pretty much impossible). Of course some other parents love video monitors more, so it’s not really about one type being better than the other, the point is that we definitely didn’t need both! And after some great advice from John’s sister (master momma of three) I got a single breast pump instead of double pump to save over $200 (especially since two of my friends with a double one confessed that they usually only use one pump at a time anyway). Little adjustments like one monitor instead of two and a slight downgrade in the pump department happily didn’t interfere with our lifestyle at all, but these two changes alone kept $400 in our pockets!
We Bought Three Bottles- Yup, three. Not three of one size and three of the next size and a bunch of different nipples. Just three with newborn nipples. And sure enough we’ve only needed those three. In fact we probably could have gotten by with two. Since Clara’s on an 100% mommy’s milk diet, we just use bottles for the very rare occasions when I pump (which I only do when we’ll be traveling for hours in the car and want to avoid having to stop for a feeding). Of course those who don’t work from home may need a ton more bottles on hand, but the idea is to evaluate what you can skimp on and give it a try, even if it’s something else.
We Got Our Coupon On- This is a simple one. Never buy anything at Babies R Us or Buy Buy Baby without a coupon. Buy Buy Baby takes those ubiquitous Bed Bath & Beyond coupons (they’re owned by the same company) and Babies R Us usually has coupons circulating (we even got a $5 gift card by friending them on Facebook a while back). Plus nearly every time you buy something at Babies R Us you get a 20% off coupon for the next time you need something, so keep those close and use them for large items to save a bundle.
We Remembered That The Store Would Still Be There- One of the hardest urges to ignore is this one: “I should buy this now, even though the baby’s not here yet, just so I’m prepared.” The truth is that people come out of the woodwork after the baby’s born, so if you desperately need anything you’ll have a relative or friend who’d be happy to save you a trip to the store since you’re so obviously busy at home. And the odds are that for every 20 items that you resist getting beforehand, you might end up needing two or three of them after the fact. So you can see how it’ll save you money and sanity by fighting the urge to buy twenty things and just going back for the two or three that you actually need once you’re sure that you need them. We’re so glad we didn’t cave and register for/buy things like a pacifier case or a a wipe warmer since we have happily learned to live quite well without them (although some people find those items to be amazingly valuable and could easily have lived without other things). The stuff that you end up “needing” is different for every family, so just wait it out a bit to see what those things will be for you! In our house Burger is by far the most amusing “toy” around anyway… Clara can hang out next to him for hours.
So to sum things up we just tried to take it slow, resist the urge to buy every single baby item that we saw, tried as many things as we could before we bought them, accepted hand me downs (with restraint), and registered for the big stuff that we needed instead of the cute stuff that was in the “nice to have” category. We opted to get one stroller instead of three and also snagged a booster seat instead of a big pricey (and tough to store) highchair. And we realized we couldn’t avoid diapers but we found a way to make it more affordable (and, dare we say it, fun). Of course we’re only four months into parenthood so we’re hardly experts – especially on a subject that’s so subjective and personal – but those are a few of the approaches that worked for us. Now we’d love to know how you guys save money when it comes to kiddos. Do you DIY anything? Or forgo purchasing certain items that you’ve learned you don’t need? We’d love to hear what works for you.
Psst- Want to read our Save It series (about all things non-baby) from the very beginning? See how we save cash whenever we can here, here, and here. And for even more penny pinching ideas, visit our Projects page and scroll down to the Money Saving Tips category.
Pssssssst- Don’t forget to check out our weekly BabyCenter post right here, which is all about how the heck we sort, store, and keep baby clothes under control.
sarah says
This post was extremeley informative, thank you! It just confirms that you don’t always have to follow the norm and stock up on every baby gadget known to man. I love that you got by with 3 bottles and “mommy” juice.
Amanda says
Great post. We are expecting our first child and I don’t know a thing about cloth vs. disposable. Did you hire the service to wash your cloth diapers or are you doing it at home as well? and is there any special functions your washer dryer needs to be able to do this?
Thanks-Amanda
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Amanda,
We wash them ourselves in our front-loading machine. You can read more about how we wash them in the link included in the post above (when we mention our cloth diapers). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
D says
great post!
Michele Daggar says
Hey Sherry,
I totally relate to having a non-napper!!
I stayed home with my kids and my second (a girl) was awake ALL DAY!! With a busy toddler and an infant who didn’t nap the day seemed very long. (She did take little cat naps of about 20 minutes.)
Luckily my girl was pretty easygoing (much like your Clara seems to be!) and as long as we kept moving her around from a blanket on the floor, the swing, her bouncy seat etc. she was very good.
On the upside that baby is now 9 years old (it really does go so quickly) and she’s always been very adaptable and able to play by herself (much better than her brother, the king of the 3 hour nap!)
Maybe Clara’s next sibling will be a champion napper!
Jessie P. says
thanks so much for this post! i love seeing how clara is affecting your every day life, and enjoy these posts immensely!!
Katie says
We have a 3 month old daughter, so I’ve enjoyed reading your Clara posts as she’s just ahead of our Charlotte. My FAVORITE thing are Mom 2 Mom sales. We don’t have a lot of people to get hand-me-downs from, but we have gotten a number of big ticket items like our swing at Mom 2 Mom sales for less than half the price of new. This is also a good way to satisfy your urge to buy baby clothes without growing broke- I can buy her stuff that is barely used for about $1/item, it’s great! This is especially helpful now that she’s growing bigger, since most of the clothes we received as gifts were either 0-3 mo or newborn size.
Camberley, The Bella Life says
My husband and I don’t have any kids yet; but, we’re thinking of jumping on the bandwagon sometime in the near future. I’ve been on Babycenter trying to calculate costs and there are a lot of items I think are more “wants” than “needs” when it comes to children. I absolutely loved your above post and read every word with eager anticipation. Thanks for the tips. It was a HUGE help.
-C
Hyeson says
I agree with all of your recommendations. Despite the fact that our baby arrived 6 1/2 weeks early, before we were prepared for her, we were actually not in a bad shape. Friends and family purchased necessities for us as gifts, including preemie clothing, and because it was weeks before she was a regular-sized infant, we had plenty of time to get other items.
One thing I would strongly recommend is not to skimp on safety for the baby, especially a carseat. Used carseats are not safe, and they do have a time period after which they are not deemed safe (something to keep in mind if you plan to reuse your carseats for subsequent children). And while I am a fan of buying from Craigslist or thrift shops, just make sure you check the items thoroughly to ensure the items will be safe for you to reuse on your baby.
As for strollers, I agree you don’t need to get several, but I purchased a $25 umbrella stroller for flights, and that has saved me a lot of wear and tear on our regular stroller. If you plan to walk a lot (e.g. Disney World), then a full-size stroller is a must, but for shorter trips, a cheap umbrella stroller with a decent sunshade works fine. It’s also much easier to haul in and out of a trunk. I don’t feel badly about dings or losing cupholders off my good stroller, and it lasts longer. (We also used a $60 stroller frame that accommodated our infant seat when our baby was too small to fit in our regular stroller. Doing so gave us time to shop around for a stroller that we really wanted to keep.)
The booster seat that we have loved is the Fisher-Price Space Saver booster seat. It accommodates infants to toddlers through several stages. It has a comfortable cushioned seat, fully adjustable/reclining seat, and dishwasher-safe tray. It attaches to any chair, and takes up very little room. For $55, it’s well worth it – all the nice features of a regular high chair without the price or footprint.
Mike and McGee says
As far as conventional baby gear goes, I have to admit that we’ve gotten more than our money’s worth from a lot of ours. Both of our kids loved the vibrating bouncy seat, and they used their swing until they couldn’t fit in it anymore (Alex just passed the weight limit and no longer really fits in it). The jumparoo and the Around We Go (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3904494) are wonderful ways to keep a mobile baby occupied and out of trouble when you’re cooking dinner or finishing up a renovation project. They take up space, of course, and we know space is at a premium at your house, but to us some of those items are worth their weight in gold.
We also found that a regular high chair worked really well for us because we could wheel Meredith (and later Alex) into the kitchen while we cooked or pull the chair up to our dining room table and have baby with us during dinner without using a valuable seat at the table that could be filled by a dinner guest.
We were fortunate to receive a lot of our baby gear as gifts or gently used hand-me-downs, so they didn’t break the bank either.
katevp says
Hey you guys! Great post! Just curious, if you didn’t use a basinette or pack’n play, what do you use when you are traveling?
Kate
YoungHouseLove says
We actually do use a pack n’ play when we travel. We got a simple/inexpensive one as a gift from John’s mom so that’s what we travel with, and we actually keep it in the trunk of the car so we don’t have to store it inside!
xo,
s
Ange says
HI
All those looking for the booster high chair, like Georgia, the one I know of in Australia is the Fisher Price Space Saver High Chair and Booster. I found it on a Walmart page-it seems the same colour description as John & Sherry’s too! Hope this helps all. I have 3 kids and would definitely recommend the booster option, a full high chair takes up too much space and is not easily transportable like these booster types. (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/detail.gsp?image=http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/02/70/84/58/0002708458894_500X500.jpg&product_id=10099840&iIndex=1&isVariant=false&corpCard=false&type=-9223372036854775808)
Carolyn says
Hi again, I just reread this post and my previous comment (not sure if what I said was particularly helpful) anyway, I wanted to add that the Ikea highchair is really good. Very easy to clean, store and transport when required. Also for anyone considering purchasing baby items, see if you can borrow from a friend or failing that, HIRE baby equipment. It’s possible to hire all sorts of baby equipment (e.g baby swing, bouncer, play pen etc) for a very reasonable price, plus you don’t have to find somewhere to store the item when baby has finished with it. I hasten to add that the only items I would purchase new are an infant car seat and a cot mattress. Baby won’t care if it is not surrounded by the latest and greatest designer baby gear. Hope this info is helpful to any new/expecting parents out there.
YoungHouseLove says
Another great idea! Thanks for sharing Carolyn!
xo,
s
Natalie says
i love this post! it’s really similar to our baby philosophy. and don’t worry- the baby food thing is super easy! my baby is 6 months, so we just started, and it’s been really simple to just steam and puree whatever we’re eating and freeze the rest in cube trays for later. anyways, great advice!
Jane says
Great post! As a young (ish!) couple it is hard not to get carried away with all the “stuff”. I love the shout out for cloth diapers and breast-feeding too, both are cheap and environmentally friendly!
julie says
Great great great blog – I love it. Just wanted to chime in that babies r us and buybuybaby take competitors coupons, so you can use coupons for babies r us, buybuybaby, bed bath and beyond, etc. at each other’s stores! happy saving….
RACHEL says
Hey guys!
Awesome post! I’m of the same mind when it comes to baby gear: less is definitely more. Here’s one cool thing I did with my mommy friends that really saved cash: the temporary toy swap. Every couple months or so, a few of us mommies would “swap” our babies’ toys with each other. That way, each baby gets to play with new (well, new to them!)toys, and everyone saved a boatload of cash :) When the two months were over, we’d send on the freshly cleaned toys to the next friend, and we received a new bag of swapped goodies. It was also a great way to teach the idea of sharing at an early age ;)
BTW, I’d love to know where you scored that green minky blanket with the satin binding. Who makes it? I’ve been trying to find one in green for a while now.
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Rachel,
We wish we had more info for you but it was a gift and it only has washing instructions on the tag (no brand name).
xo,
s
katie.kindness says
Thank you so much for this blog!! My husband and I are just celebrated our third year of marriage and baby talk has taken over meal conversations. I ReAlly appreciated all of your helpful and money saving ideas. It has only gotten us more excited to start growing!! :)
kristin says
so wishing that i was just pregnant instead of already possessing three kids of my own (3, 2 and 10m). all great advice! :)
Leanna says
This might be too personal (and if so, feel free to ignore!) but do you and John have an “ideal” number of children that you would like to have? And is that number the same for both of you? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Leanna,
We change our minds all the time! Sometimes we want a gaggle and sometimes one more is all we desire. I guess time will tell…
xo,
s
Erin says
Great post. We’re kid-free over here, but that may change. I didn’t hear any mention of Dr.’s bills. I’ve heard the cost going into the hospital to have a baby is expensive. One of our friends said their bill was $10,000! And that was with health insucrance. What about the cost of vaccinations, and pediatrician visits? I would think it would add up. Just curious.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Erin,
We upgraded our insurance with a rider that covers well and sick doctor visits along with 100% of vaccinations without any copay. It’s definitely not cheap, but it’s coming in handy since there are so many visits this year (so in the end we’re still saving money). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Katie says
Hey guys! Love this post… Any chance you could do another version of this post? A post like: “Save It: The new home owner/newly married” edition? I would love to hear what you would suggest to purchase/register for… and what you would skip.
Thanks!
Katie
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Katie,
Love the idea! We’ll add that request to our to-do list. Admittedly it’s a very long list, but here’s hoping we get to it soon!
xo,
s
Averill (Odi et Amo) says
Guys, this was SUPER helpful. I’m due in early March and already feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of all that baby stuff. And sure the money is an issue, but it’s also that I just don’t want all that gear cluttering up our house. As always you’ve shown great wisdom, restraint and practicality and I’ll be referring to this post often.
Hugs and kisses,
Averill
PS – I was thinking of going with cloth diapers, too. Just hate the idea of all that (stinky!) trash.
marlena says
This post is just great and really helpful for future parents. I’m not expecting to be a mom yet, but i’ll definitely use your advices in future ;). I remember when one of my friends was pregnant and her girlfriends made for her a “Baby Shower Party” as you guys know for this kind of party you are making a wish list what would you like to get for your baby. My friend made a list, and i must say it was the worst list ever, she wanted for example “Teddy Bear” from Toys r u which cost 50$!! and other useless things… When you are pregnant it is really important to focuse on “what you need, and what you thing you need”. I’ll recommand this post for my friends who are pregnant. :)
By the way i love your page! :))
Chrystal-Adorn on a Shoestring says
What a great article for new parents! When I had my first child I bought so much useless crap! That was 13 years ago, and it now seems like there’s five times the amount of useless baby crap available now. I had my 5th child two years ago, and took a much different approach to preparing for her. The only things we bought before she was born was a car seat, a swing, a snuggli, sleepers and onesies and a stroller, and they were ALL second hand. We didn’t buy a crib or bassinet, because we normally co-sleep until the baby is about 6 months old. I was given a moses basket by a friend, so whenever I wanted the baby out of our bed for a while, I could pop her in there.
One thing I always tell new parents is that you do not need a bouncy seat and a swing…. it’s redundant!
jean says
My sis used a strong cardboard box, well padded, in lieu of a bassinet. My mom was appalled (as if the baby’s a puppy!) but I thought, why not? It worked fine and baby didn’t mind. (She’s now a fabulous, well-adjusted young woman.) It’s easily decorated with some cute stickers, if you feel the need!
sharon says
when my son was a baby I never used wipes except when we were out of the house.
I purchased several odd colored wash cloths & each morning I would wet at least 5, put them in the warmer & they were always nice & warm when needed. For the poo times I had purchased some waterless cleanser used by old people who have bladder control issues, apply just a tad on the damp cloth and his butt would shine. I always kept his butt cloths separate from my other laundry.
The very best part – even better than the saved $$ – my boy NEVER got a butt rash. NEVER! I think it was because of not using the wipes.
Mysara says
Hi Sherry
Since you are using cloth diapers on Clara – may I know whether you usually wash them together with the rest of Clara’s cloths in the machine?
Thanks
YoungHouseLove says
We wash them separately (just because we toss a whole load of 12 of them in at once every day and a half or so). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Grace says
I haven’t read through all the comments, so you might have already answered this question but: what kinds of bottles/nipples/bottle covers are those?
YoungHouseLove says
They’re made by Lifefactory. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sara at Keeth Ink says
And for those of us using disposable diapers – you really don’t need a Diaper Genie or anything special, as long as you don’t mind taking the trash out once or twice a day. We just tie the diaper up in a plastic bag. I do buy the plastic bags made for this purpose from the baby store, but only because they are so inexpensive and one box lasts forever!
Totally agree about hand-me-downs. Everyone has been so generous. We got a jogging stroller, bouncer, swing, crib, and more. And we have enough hand-me-down clothes for an army–I had to give some away! I received clothes and coats up through size 5T when my first son was born. It’s amazing. I just put them in bins in the attic and get down the next one when he needs it. :) WE LOVE HAND-ME-DOWNS!!
Danielle says
Great post!
I was just wondering who makes that multi-colored wooden tree in Clara’s room? Also where did you purchase it? (picture 3)
Thanks so much!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Danielle,
That’s from Plan Toys so you can find it at Buy Buy Baby or on Amazon.com (just search “plan toys tree”). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Crystal says
Great post! You mentioned that diapers are one of those things that people don’t gift, which is quite true… unless you ask! We got really lucky in the hand-me-down and big-ticket-registry department so anytime friends or family asked what we wanted – we told them diapers. All told, we made it nearly a full year without buying diapers ourselves. Something to consider :o)
Gina says
This is a fantastic post! We’re expecting our first in Jan, and are also forgoing many of the ubiquitous plastic items which so many people (retailers!) seem to hype as necessities. Thanks for sharing how you’ve made it work.
Tara says
Great post! We got tons of hand-me-downs and secondhand stuff for our baby. Good luck with the baby food. My baby preferred purees of adult meals to my baby concoctions (i.e. apple-pear sauce, or peas with mint). He switched to self-feeding chopped versions of our meals after about a month of purees. Much easier. Anyone can puree food for one month!
Neyir says
Hey folks, I am a great fan of your site but have been out of town the last few weeks with nearly no internet access. Our first son was born overseas so we were very tight on money and space and definitely subscribe to many of the same baby-gear philosophies. In terms of feeding I would also suggest the ‘booster’ Handy sitt which is fantastic as it doesn’t stand out, being wood, and folds super flat, also we have the Badger Baskett adjustable chair which allows our son to stay at the table for up to an hour (when there are guests) as it has an integral foot rest (like tripp trapp but way cheaper). Finally (and this is long sorry) have you hear of Baby Led Weaning, it is amazing and much more typical in the UK where you give finger foods and don’t need to be making purees, it is pretty amazing and seems to lead to happier and less fussy eaters.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the tips and the advice! We have heard of Baby Led Weaning and plan to do a bit more research to see if it’ll work for our family!
xo,
s
molly says
I go to library sales whenever I can and end up finding great classic children’s books for next to nothing. I highly recommend hitting up your local library, it’s good for you and good for your library. Love your website!
Rachel R says
I just wanted to add something that might be painfully obvious to others, but as a new coupon user/mommy (6 weeks old!) is really helpful to me – I have a flat pocket on the back side of my diaper bag and keep coupons for baby stuff there. I got this nice plastic sleeve from someone in the hospital and it’s perfect for keeping coupons! I always have them with me if I happen to stop at BRU or wherever. Also, since she is going to daycare in two weeks (boo) and they won’t cloth diaper my grandparents, parents and family friends are coupon clipping for me too!!!
Oh and I have purchased all of my 9 cloth diapers (AIO one size) from half-off and seconds sales!
Also there was a book called “Baby Bargains” that I bought that helped me skip past all the baby gear hype!
Love the post! Great ideas! :)
katie says
Hey Guys, Clara is a bit older now. Have you tried making your own food for her? If so, any cookbooks you’d recommend?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re doing “Baby Led Weaning” and making all of her food ourselves. No baby food at all has been purchased yet! We love it. Just check out the book on amazon.com or at the library for more info!
xo,
s
Katie says
Cool – thanks so much, I’ll check it out!
Liz says
Hi guys,
Love your invaluable posts about baby gear and keeping it real when it comes to cost and “need”. This is our first and as I’m looking at some of the items you’ve recommended, I see that they are not available (bottles, diapers) at the big box baby stores. Can I ask where you registered? Thanks so much!
YoungHouseLove says
We got our diapers from a local place but have heard cottonbabies.com has them for cheap in bulk (a dozen at a time) and we got the bottles on amazon.com!
xo,
s
Travelstovegas says
Hi! Not sure if you’ll read this as it’s rather late chiming in, but I was wondering – since your Joovy Kooper stroller doesn’t seem to have the front bar to accomodate an infant car seat/carrier/travel system, did you use a seat/carrier/travel system at all, or just rely on a car seat that can grow with Clara?
My husband and I are debating the Joovy Kooper, but I’m wondering if we’ll miss being able to put on an infant carrier – like if the baby falls asleep in the car seat, we’ll have to actually take them out of it & resettle them into the stroller. Whereas if you have a combination car seat/carrier/travel system stroller, this might not be a problem. Have you noticed any inconvenience with this?
Thanks in advance!
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, we just rely on an infant car seat (which will work up to 30lbs) which would be snapped into a snap n go, but we just thought it seemed simpler to get one stroller that would work the whole time instead of a snap n go and a stroller. It did mean occasionally pulling her out of the car seat to put her into the stroller, but we think she’s a nice solid sleeper because of that (she sleeps right through those transfers). It’s definitely one of those personal preference things though and it probably depends on the baby too! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
abby says
hey guys, love the blog. i am a relatively new follower and have never left a comment before…so let me start by saying, pleased to meet you!
so, i am preg. due in sept. and my husband and i are trying to be eco-friendly/cost effective in our planning. anyway..wondering if you will share what kind of baby products: soaps, lotions, etc. you use to pamper clara?
also, on a related note but not necessarily baby related…do you ever make your own cleaning supplies? if so, would you mind posting recipes someday?
cheers!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Abby,
Nice to meet you too! And congrats on your little one on the way! Here’s a post about DIY cleaning supplies for ya. And as for what baby products we use, we’ve learned that we don’t need much! They even tell you at the hospital that just a bath with water is all that’s necessary in the beginning (no soap or anything that could irritate). Clara’s already 10 months old and all we’ve used is Calendula Cream by California Baby (for dry skin, diaper rash, etc) and California Baby shampoo (it’s eco and very mild and Clara seems to love it). That’s it! No powder or other creams. So far, so good!
xo,
s
erin says
I know this is a DIY blog, and I love it! But now that you are almost 1 whole year into being parents, I am wondering if there has a been a sleep method, book or tips given to you from “varsity parents” that have continued to be helpful and aid in Clara being a good sleeper as she has gotten older (both naps & night time). There just seems to be too much advice, books, etc. on the subject to sort through! (hope i don’t invoke a major sleep training debate). Just wondering what worked for you guys… thank you!
YoungHouseLove says
We actually didn’t have to do much (I know, feel free to virtually toss tomatoes at us) since Clara has been a great sleeper pretty much since birth (we had to wake her up to feed her in the very beginning since she kept trying to sleep through the night as a newborn). What has worked for us is to stick to a pretty reliable routine (naptime at 10 and 2, bedtime at 7:30, etc) and to have the same routine before putting her down to sleep for the night (put her in her sleeper, close the blinds, put on her sound machine, say goodnight, turn off light, close door). I know that’s not rocket scientist advice though, so maybe others can chime in on their experience? It’s definitely different with every baby since they’re such individual little creatures.
xo,
s
Sarah says
I love all of the advice! What types of bottles did you purchase?
YoungHouseLove says
We registered for glass ones with silicon sleeves by LifeFactory. They were expensive but we only needed two and we used those two for around 10 months (now Clara has graduated to a sippy cup). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Erwin Reckers says
I was looking for this kind of the other day. i won’t usually post in forums but i needed to say thank you!
Katie says
We’re pregnant with our first (Yippee!!!) and getting tons of inspiration from you both when it comes to baby “necessities.” Do you have any tips for choosing a car seat? There are so many, it’s hard to know where to even start!
YoungHouseLove says
We went with a Chicco Keyfit 30 because it had some great reviews. It’s heavy as all heck, but it’s safe and Clara seems to like it (still uses it now and will probably continue until she’s around 30 lbs).
xo,
s
Lauren says
This post is great, but it’s been a while now since you posted it! Now that Clara is almost a year old, have you thought about doing a “one year later” post and updating your list of necessary baby stuff? Or was there anything you didn’t think you’d need that you did end up eventually getting?
Also, are you still happy with the reusable diapers?
Lauren says
Oops, I meant to leave this comment under the “baby gear” post! Sorry :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we love our cloth diapers! There’s an update at the bottom of that post for everyone (best things we ever bought, we still use the same 12 and they still look mint). As for stuff we use all the time, Clara is bigger so she loves to play with nearly anything we give her (wooden blocks, cardboard boxes, puzzles, over mitts – the girl loves everything we touch). A few favorite items these days are Melissa & Doug puzzles and anything by Plan Toys (on amazon.com) and B Toys (at Target) since they’re all eco companies who make nice looking quality wooden and PVC free plastic stuff. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Nicole B says
I have those same bottles! we love them!
Kelly Nolan says
We shop at an awesome local consignment store for cute bows, headbands and clothes to fill in the gaps from hand me downs. There is also an AWESOME consignment sale from The Kids Exchange (http://kidsexchange.net/) that we have gone to. When we went there we got two carseat bases and a stroller system w/ the carseat for $100. Gotta go early but you can find anything there!
Jessica says
I know this is an old post, but I just came across your blog via some Pinterest pins that led me here. My husband and I already love the blog. I just wanted to make a note on buying a single vs double pump, that might be helpful to your readers. I had my son in March and planned on exclusively BFing him. And wouldn’t you know, the kid came out and screamed bloody murder every time we tried to get him to latch. We worked with LCs for weeks and months. I finally was able to switch over to fully breast feeding him when he was about 12 weeks old (though I do still give a bottle overnight so the hubby can help share in that task). Needless to say, when my son was busy rejecting my breast, I had to keep the girls flowing. And that meant that I pumped at least 8 times a day, every single day…for at least 30 minutes a pumping session. Had I only had a single pump, I would have given up after a week, costing much more than the $200 with the formula expenses over the year. But what my mommy friends told me, which was the most helpful advice I wound up getting, was to rent a hospital grade pump first. Then, you can take a few weeks with that to decide if you are going to be pumping a little, a lot, or none at all. And from that point, you can judge what model (if any) will be best for your needs. If anyone is facing this dilemma, researching eping (exclusive pumping) will bring them a wealth of information on the subject. It is decidedly more expensive than just nursing a baby (bottles, pump, hands free pumping equipment, etc), but we haven’t put anywhere near $1500 into it. And another helpful hint…a law just passed in February that Pumps now count as an expense that can be purchased with your HSA. So for those who have a Health Savings Account type insurance, this is a way to pay for your pump without having to take it out of your household budget.
Anyway, I didn’t read all the 200+ comments, so hopefully this wasn’t already discussed. But I thought that my experience might help some of your readers make an informed decision there.
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip! Thanks for sharing.
xo,
s
Ryan Elizabeth says
I am so seriously inspired by your frugalness and your home makeover, that I have decided to embark on a money saving lifestyle quite like yours and I have nudged the boyfriend along with me, too. :) Keep up the amazing work.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Ryan! Good luck with everything!
xo,
s