It is hard to believe but we are almost into the third trimester for our second baby. It is amazing how different this pregnancy has been over the first, it isn’t every second about the coming baby and up until last week the only evidence around the house of the coming child was my wife’s increasing belly. As I covered in my last update we have only been prepaying for the doctor’s fees for delivery, at which time we had spent $599.43. Before I get into what we have spent since then I would like to talk about a few of the items you probably need for a baby. I say probably because everyone’s situation is different.
Baby Monitor – Unless you have a very small house and are never outside while your baby is sleeping you are going to want a monitor. You don’t need the super fancy motion sensing alarm monitor (we have that one) but just a monitor that works. At night they aren’t necessary because we are just down the hall, but we spend a lot of our evenings outside.
Diapers – There is now way around it, you need diapers. You can get disposable or cloth but babies poop and pee alot. If you are getting disposable diapers you can start picking up some diapers early I would get 1’s though and not newborn. The newborn diapers don’t usually last very long.
Crib/Bassinette – Aside from peeing, pooping, and eating, babies sleep. You are going to need a place for them to do that.
Bottles – You need a few bottles, even if you choose to breastfeed. Unless you are going to ALWAYS be around to feed you need a few bottles to fill with expressed milk for when you are away. If you are bottle feeding you need quite a few bottles of varying sizes. We had fancy bottles with like six parts and that sucked. We also had some cheap like $1 Gerber bottles, they were the only thing he would drink from for the first 1-2 months.
Receiving Blankets – These little blankets are awesome for swaddling unhappy babies, and they are relatively inexpensive so pick up a few.
A few things you don’t need:
Burp Cloths – You don’t need a bunch of fancy pretty burp cloths, but you do need something. We use 1 package of the thicker cloth diapers for burp cloths. The best part is when the baby gets older you can use those same cloths for cleaning around the house.
Wipe Warmer – Your baby is probably not going to like being changed, having a warm cloth on his bum isn’t going to make it better so leave it at the store.
Fancy Thermometer – Those fancy, and expensive, temporal thermometers do not provide the level of accuracy you want for your infant. Invest in a decent rectal thermometer that reads fast. While your baby doesn’t like being changed, they are going to hate having a stick in their bum even more.
Walker – My son never used a walker and frankly I don’t see how it could possibly help anything.
Diaper Pail – Poop stinks! But it stinks just as much in a fancy trash can as it does in a regular one. Skip the expensive container and just change the trash regularly.
Baby Detergent – I have sensitive skin, so does my son. But why pay a premium for Dreft when you can use All Free and Clear with the same effect. Skip the fancy detergent and use a Free and Clear, and to save use it for everyone in the house.
Shopping Cart Cover – If you just said a What? That is good. You touch these dirty things all day long, then your baby. It isn’t going to help to throw a peice of fabric from your trunk on the cart.
What We Have Bought So Far
Last week we started getting the babies room ready for it’s new occupant. We (meaning I) painted the room Jalapeno Jelly, it is a shade of green that matches a blanket we picked up from Target. With our first child we bought one of those $400+ dollar crib bedding sets, we spent a lot less this time around. I am a frugal guy but when it comes to baby furniture I am a firm believer in buying something that will last from birth till they get out of the house. To that end we buy convertible crib sets to use all the way up to High School Graduation. We really lucked out because my son’s crib got recalled and we got a rebate off the purchase of a new crib. My son is almost three and he is already in a full size bed so we didn’t have to get rid of the old one. Here is a list of what we have spent since my last update:
Comforter – $21.99
Sheet – $6.99
Bumper – $19.99
Blanket – $9.99
Crib – $399.99 – $369.99 Coupon from Recall = $30.00
Chiffarobe – $549.99
Dresser – $499.99
Medical Expenses – $149.99
Total Since Last Update: $1,288.93
Previous Total: $599.43
Cumulative Total: $1,888.36
So what do you think? Did I go overboard on the furniture?
Photo: (Jenn_Jenn)
{ 13 comments }
Wow SD, that is a ton on of money on furniture.
I think we only bought a second hanging closet insert, a blanky, some new outfits and bibs, and some diapers. Both boys are in the same room and we reused almost everything. The new babe slept in a mini pack and play for for a long time.
I also disagree. Wipes warmer = invaluable. The number and decibel of screams is drastically reduced with a wipes warmer in the fall and winter.
I know, it is quality furniture and we paid cash. It should last forever, hopefully. See we never had a problem with the wipes. I guess he just wasn’t that fussy. Glad to see they aren’t totally useless.
I also have to agree with The Happy Rock regarding wipe warmers. My littlest one would be fine if it was a warm wipe but a cold wipe would lead to a crying jag. It was worth every penny.
We never bought furniture for the baby’s room since we knew down the road things might change. I preferred buying the crib just once and then all the kids used it. We co-slept anyway so it wasn’t used a ton. and I just used baskets in the changing table for clothes.
As the new baby came the older kid got a bigger bed, but again we spent very little on these, and often got things gently used. I probably have spent about half what you spent on furniture for all the kids furniture we’ve used combined. That said, if you feel it’s worth it and you have the money saved then heck yeah go for it! I’ve seen people spend thousands for JUST baby furniture.
My wife & I just started trying for a baby about a month ago. When the time comes, I’m going to need some help figuring out what is necessary & what is not…so thank you for this list!
I have to say the wipe warmers is nice.
I try out all my baby’s stuff to know what my baby is eating or how the soap feels or reacts to my skin etcc..
I was pleasantly surprised about the wipe warmer. It just fees soooooo Gooooodddd on my bum.
Nice article–we are in the 3rd trimester for baby #2 also. I second your recommendation about All Free and Clear–love that stuff.
If the budget allows–12.00 for a “SwaddleMe” is worth it in my opinion–easier to keep swaddled than with the regular receiving blankets.
We have a dresser and a crib. I’ve found the dresser is not a necessity if you have a closet.
One last thing–generic disposable diapers are worth a shot. I was a bit of a diaper snob at first, but I’m totally over it.
We couldn’t do the generic diapers, not sure what it was but they made my son break out in a horrible rash. Couldn’t use pampers either. Only ones that worked w/ out the rash were Huggies.
Just found your site (I think I have been living under a rock), and wow is this post applicable.
Today, literally today, we just got the little positive on “The Stick”
Overall I loved the list. The crib bumper should be a no go thought. It makes the crib look pretty, but if it’s soft/fluffy it could cause SIDS. Check out number 5 on the list. Sorry I couldn’t figure out how to make a small link. http://www.firstcandle.org/new_exp_parents/new_exp_safesleeptips.html
My son is almost 6 months old and I’m seeing a lot on your list that we don’t really use.
He doesn’t use his crib (though sometimes I wish he would!). He sleeps in my bed next to me. It was the only way we could both get some sleep in those early days, and that’s how it ended up. So, unused crib, mattress, bedding (for now, anyway). It’ll also work as a toddler bed though, so it isn’t a total waste.
We don’t use bottles or a pump. I missed the golden window to introduce a bottle but not have to deal with nipple confusion. He truly seems to prefer the ‘source.’ That’s fine with me, as it’s less work. No pumping, no bottles to sterilize.
We don’t know what we would do without our baby swing. That thing has saved my sanity and helped our baby fall asleep countless times.
Also, we wear our baby in slings/carriers, and that helps keep our hands free so we can do chores if we can’t put them off any longer.
We didn’t get him good furniture yet. For one, we’re kinda transient right now, and for two, if he colors or ruins the cheapo furniture in his room now, it’s not a big deal.
I think the bumpers are wonderful after about 4 months! Other wise they could hurt them selves pretty bad but thats just my opinion!
It’s so crazy to think about all the things you need when a new baby is coming into the picture. They’re a lot more expensive then you would first think. But they’re worth it!
I recently had a son and he doesn’t use a lot of that stuff. I learned very quickly that diapers and a few other things were more important than some of those other items.
For any parent it is really up to you what you want and need, but some babies won’t need everything on the list, it is just a good idea to have most of it.
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