How to Save Money When Buying Baby Stuff
Saving your budget and avoiding runaway expenses when having a baby is not an easy task. All of us are targets of ads that offer a great variety of baby stuff and want us to believe it’s all so fine and vitally necessary. It’s often hard to know where the truth is, especially if you’re a first-time parent.
I’d like to share with you some money-saving tips and to list the items which are most likely to be unnecessary. This is based both on my own experience as a father of two and on the experience of many other parents I research as a baby care and parenting blogger.
Stuff We Hardly Need
Today, there are many baby care accessories on the market, such as diaper bags, diaper pails, wipe warmers, bottle sterilizers, bottle warmers, formula mixers, and so on. Maybe some people really need almost all of that. But you can use an ordinary bag instead of a diaper bag, a trash can instead of a diaper pail. If you need to warm up the milk, you can use a bowl with hot water or run the bottle under the tap instead of using a bottle warmer. Of course, a bottle warmer makes the process some easier. But that doesn’t mean it’s really worth your money.
To prepare a portion of formula, you can just pour water into the baby bottle, add the needed amount of formula, and shake it. As for bottle sterilizers, first of all, it’s not necessary to sterilize the baby bottles after every use. Just clean them. And the sterilization itself is necessary only for the first three months or so. You can sterilize the bottles in boiling water or in the dishwasher setting the hottest cycle but not spending your money on extra gear. So all the items of that kind are just nice-to-haves, not must-haves.
The item that’s usually completely unnecessary is a changing table. A changing pad is the same. Maybe it’s useful for some moms. But you can easily change diapers on the bed, on the sofa, or on any soft-covered flat surface. I bought a changing pad after my first son was born and my wife told me very soon it’s a waste item.
A Few Words About Clothes and Toys
Of course, we need to mention baby clothes. Don’t buy too many clothes! Keep in mind: babies grow very fast! So don’t clutter up! Just a few of each type is enough. A few bodysuits, a few sleepsuits, onesies, a few pairs of pants, and so on.
There’s no point in buying expensive clothes! We all love our babies and we want to see them looking nice. But baby clothes get messy catastrophically quickly and have to be laundered very often. And babies grow out of it very quickly.
The same is for toys. No point in buying too many toys and expensive toys. Just buy age-appropriate toys. I’m a proponent of buying educative toys such as toys for fine motor skills development and perceptual development. For instance, baby blocks, stacking and sorting toys, baby activity gyms, construction toy sets, etc.
And I don’t recommend you to buy too many electronic interactive toys. There are lots of them on the market and they are usually more expensive. I can tell you, based on my own experience, this is almost always a waste of money. Your kid will play with them for a very short time, will get bored with them very soon, and they will be broken and thrown away.
Baby Cribs and Alternatives
One of the main items to buy for a baby is a crib. For newborns, there are some alternatives: rocking cradles, bassinets, Moses baskets. They are nice looking, compact, lightweight, cheaper, and more portable than cribs. But you cannot use them for long. Cradles are usually okay for up to 5 or 6 months. Bassinets and Moses baskets are okay for up to 4 months or so. Then they become too small for your growing baby and unsafe since your baby starts rolling over. And you have to throw it away and buy a crib. So, it’s money-saving just to buy a crib at the very beginning.
A crib serves for 2 or 3 years. Then it should be replaced with a toddler bed. To save your money, you can buy a convertible crib that turns into a toddler bed. There are also so-called lifetime cribs that turn into a full-size kid’s bed. There’s only such a nuance that convertible cribs are a bit bulkier, more expensive, and those equipped with a changer require more room.
Strollers and Baby Carriages
The next thing to talk about is a stroller. It doesn’t make much sense to focus on the brand or price when buying a stroller. The right choice of a stroller is essential, the right type of it. Mind the details such as the storage room at your home, are there stairs, your car trunk dimensions. What are the walkways and climate in the place you live? Do you need a stroller with big wheels? Or small wheels are okay? Do you need a warm-covered stroller or a lightweight summer stroller will be okay? Keeping in mind all that details helps you make the right choice at once and saves your money this way.
Here is one detail about classical baby carriages. Many parents buy them for newborns. Of course, baby carriages have pros. They are safe, comfortable, and provide your baby’s spine flat position the best way. But you can use a baby carriage of this conventional type only about half a year. Then your baby will grow out of it and you’ll have to buy a stroller. Therefore, it’s money-saving to buy a transformable stroller or a travel system from the very beginning.
Used Stuff vs New Stuff
When we talk about no point in buying expensive stuff, the topical issue we come to is the issue of buying used stuff. As for me, I’m a proponent of buying used cause almost all you buy for your baby or kid is short-term.
As for buying second-hand baby clothes, it’s a matter of your personal choice. If you feel squeamish about it, then buy new. But many parents buy second-hand or even get some for free and that’s okay. My wife and I have many friends with small children and we often exchange used baby clothing with them. As for other baby stuff, my wife and I, when our first child was born, we bought everything new for him. But now we realize it was mostly a big mistake. For our next child, we use a lot of stuff we used earlier for the first one. And all the other baby stuff we buy only used. We’ve got a nice used highchair with a swing function about 80% cheaper than the new one costs. We’ve got a nice infant car seat more than twice cheaper than the new one.
Of course, you should be attentive, especially when buying a used car seat. Examine it for cracks and chipping. Examine every moving element, check the harness, check the label for the expiration date. If it’s out of date, you better not buy it. It’s the same about strollers, highchairs, bouncers, and any other gear.
There’s Something to Say About Diapers
The today’s trend that has some followers is buying reusable cloth diapers. No doubt, this is the way to save money. It reduces your diaper costs by several times. And cloth diaper adepts say cloth diapers are more natural, chemical free, and their using is more eco-friendly. But think twice: are you really ready for continual poop scooping and laundering? And it’s proved that cloth diapers are less absorbent and more likely to cause diaper rash.
There are also hybrid cloth diapers on the market. They have disposable liners you insert and then throw away. It makes their using a bit easier but it still doesn’t improve the overall so much. Anyway, disposable diapers are much easier to use. To save your money, just watch for sales and discounts, join loyal customer rewards programs by diaper brands, and buy diapers online at lower prices.
Is Breastfeeding Money-Saving?
There’s one more issue that can be discussed in the context of saving money: breastfeeding versus formula feeding. Actually, this is not a question of money. This is the issue of your health, circumstances, lifestyle, and personal wish. Anyway, breastfeeding is much cheaper than formula feeding. Though it’s not free too. You still have to buy a breast pump, a nursing pillow, nursing bras. But no one makes you buy an expensive electric breast pump. Manual pumps are handy and cheaper. Nursing bras and nursing pillows are more of a kind of nice-to-haves than must-haves.
When your baby switches from breastfeeding to baby foods, you can reduce your expenses by making homemade baby foods instead of store-bought. You just need a blender, vegetables, fruits, and some amount of your time and willingness. Or you can practice so-called baby-led weaning that means introducing adult foods to your baby starting with micro doses. This is the specific way of solid foods introduction that requires following a certain system and your wish to do it this way. But it’s money-saving too.
So, the above is my list of money-saving ways and tips to avoid waste expenses. Of course, this is the issue of personal preferences and experiences. What can you say from your own experience? What baby items are worth saving on, and what are not?
