Preparing For A Newborn On A Budget!

Hey y’all!

I’m sure everyone hears how expensive babies are all the time. If you’re a first time mama or haven’t had a baby in years and need to buy all the stuff again, it can get really expensive to get everything. Walking through Babies R Us and seeing all the cutesy baby stuff and then looking at the price tag might give you a heart attack. I was able to get $1000 worth of practically new baby essentials for around $200ish! I’m gonna go over how to get your baby the stuff he/she needs, with the actual items you want for dirt cheap! No one can even tell that they are second hand items!

Parents whose babies that have grown into toddlers have SO much crap they are ready to give away! It’s taking up space and they’re probably done reproducing. These people are so helpful when it comes to getting free baby stuff. I was able to get a crib that looks brand spankin’ new for FREE! Easton’s Mimi had a friend who didn’t expect to have another child at 40. He just moved up into a big boy toddler bed and was more than happy to give us the crib! If I were to have a girl, I would have painted it white (another great way to get the look you want without blowing money) and if it was a boy, I was gonna leave it as it was (dark brown). Colton’s mom still had her rocking chair from when they first got his sister. I cleaned it up with a upholstery cleaner vacuum thing and made it look white again. Another older mom who was friends with the mom that gave us the crib, gave us a high chair, swing, and exersaucer! So, I took that to my mom’s house so she didn’t have to worry about getting baby stuff. We got a bassinet that was over $100 for free from a family member. Clothes…. Everyone loves giving you baby clothes! So if you know someone who is done having kids and they have outgrown their items, ask if they mind giving it away! People are amazing and are more than happy to help.

Next, Facebook is actually useful for something more than starting drama. I noticed that the big thing going on was virtual yardsales! The annoying thing was having to scroll through random shit to find baby items. It hit me then that I should create my own page! I made my own local virtual baby/children yard sale site. I shared the new site on all of the yard sale pages I was a part of. Now I have over 4000 members and it’s always got stuff for sale! There was a specific swing, rocker, and seat set that I wanted. I posted an ISO (in search of) ad with the picture of the items I wanted. Within 2 weeks, I bought all 3 items for less than the price of the swing brand new! WHAT A DEAL! I would never buy my baby something that looks dingy or gross. I made sure it was all gently used. My goal was to buy the pricier items for an unbeatable price so that people at my baby shower could buy more of the cheaper items. Get what I mean? Why have someone spend $160 on a swing that I paid $50 for? That just makes no sense to me. ESPECIALLY with the chance that your child might not even like the swing! Easton HATED his swing once he was over a month old. That would have been such a waste of money if it had been bought new. I also got a changing table in amazing condition that was originally $90 for $25! It matched the crib perfect. I bought the Genie Elite Diaper Pail for $10 instead of $35 or $40. I got his carseat with 2 bases for maybe $75 and an extra base costs $90 by itself. I chose a very specific carseat though because I knew I wanted the Chicco Urban stroller brand new. So make sure your carseat is compatible with the stroller you want.

Getting ready for your baby shower. I’m probably gonna write a seperate post for this about what you should register for, but I’ll go over it a little bit. It’s a MUST to do a diaper raffle!!! Easton is almost 6 months old and I still have diapers from his baby shower I’m using. I only bought 2 packs while I was pregnant and we just bought 1 small pack of size 2’s before I switch him into 3’s next week. When you mail out invitiations, add a seperate note that says there is a diaper raffle. They can enter their name for EACH pack they bring (any size) and winner gets a prize. Everyone loves winning something! So almost everyone will bring you a pack of diapers and any size pack is helpful!

Baby consignment shops. I have checked a few out shops. They are great for stocking up on clothes! They also have other items but I got most of mine on the yard sale site. Easton got SOOO many clothes from the baby shower and being the first grandchild on both sides, and having the best godmama and godgrandma ever. So I didn’t really go clothes shopping for him. It’s best to wait til after your shower to see which sizes you got the most clothes in and if you need to exchange it for a bigger size. Easton is almost 6 months old and has been in 6 months sizes for about a month or so and is slowly growing into a 9 month size already!

Go to real yard sales! You can really negotiate prices there! People just want it gone and you’re there to haul it off. So y’all can meet somewhere in the middle and get a great price!

Lastly, think about the items your baby really doesn’t need. Easton didn’t really need the bassinet or the rocker. He would have been fine going straight into his crib (which I highly recommend doing from day 1!). Some people don’t get a changing table. They jsut get the pad and set it on the dresser. That works too. Not everyone feels the need to have a rocking chair, I do. It’s a must for me. Some people are happy using a regular trash can instead of a diaper pale. The key thing about buying items on the virtual yardsale, is to buy it at a price that someone else will buy it for when you go to sell it! Keep that in mind if you don’t end up liking a certain item!

Don’t feel guilty or ashamed to ask people if they would mind giving something away or giving them a little bit of cash for it! Make a baby/children yardsale site on Facebook if your area doesn’t have one. Check out baby consignment shops and yard sales. And figure out what you truly need and what y’all can live without!