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Thread: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

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    God/dess RoseWhite's Avatar
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    Default How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    For all you mamas and papas to be out there. I just thought this was a fabulous article. We really are all socialized in this consumer culture to think we MUST buy piles upon piles of baby merchandise, and the truth is you can get by with so much less.

    How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    I was psyched to see that a lot of things I want to do just on principle also happen to be economical - i.e. cloth diapering, breastfeeding, non-circing and such. Not often thought of in a financial context, but yay!
    "Before I conceived you, I wanted you. Before you were born, I loved you. Before you were here an hour, I would die for you. This is the miracle of life." -- Maureen Hawkins

    "I just can't get over how much babies cry. I really had no idea what I was getting into. To tell you the truth, I thought it would be more like getting a cat." -- Anne Lamott

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    Veteran Member SweetMelissa's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Thanks for posting that.

    My mom sent me an e-mail the other day asking me what I had and what I needed. I haven't had the time to respond yet and ..um..lol she decided to go ahead and buy me one of those pack-n-play 3-in-1 things or whatever they're called.

    I'm like Mommmmmmm *whiny tone* because I really don't need that, ya know? My mom bought one when she had a baby 5 years ago and I never used it. I always had my sis on the floor on a blanket with me since we didn't have any pets or tons of kids running around.

    Ohhhh well! My husband is excited about having one so I guess that's all that matters.

    All I really need right now is a car seat so I can take my baby home with me from the hospital!

  3. #3
    AlexxaHex
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Look in the Penny Saver (or craigslist) for used stuff! I was just looking in there today for a bookshelf but I ended up seeing baby strollers, car seats and swings and all kinds of shit for under $30.

    Another thing to mention would be co-sleeping. Not only does it cut down on the cost of buying a crib, which can be wickedly expensive, but it makes nighttime feedings so easy, plus you can snuggle and be close to your baby. It can also be safer than putting a baby in a crib (people usually don't roll over on babies unless they are drunk or heavily medicated).

    Not to get back on the breastfeeding topic, but I swear that the cost of buying books so that it becomes understandable and manageable instead of being a complicated mystery is HUGELY important and a lot cheaper than formula (giving up because you aren't aware of options or remedies). The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding should be given to every new mother.

  4. #4
    Lola Rose
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    you can also sling instead of getting big expensive strollers and 1001 toys.

    good article!

  5. #5
    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    But... but... who's gonna support the baby industry? Those CEO's have second and third homes to pay for!

  6. #6
    Lola Rose
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    anyone in this thread should read

  7. #7
    High_Heel_Lover
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    The one thing I do say every parent must absolutely make sure they get new, unless you know the person you are getting it from and not even then! is a car seat. Do research, learn how to install it properly, know if there are any recalls because those things keep the little ones safe.

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    God/dess RoseWhite's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Quote Originally Posted by AlexxaHex View Post
    Another thing to mention would be co-sleeping. Not only does it cut down on the cost of buying a crib, which can be wickedly expensive, but it makes nighttime feedings so easy, plus you can snuggle and be close to your baby. It can also be safer than putting a baby in a crib (people usually don't roll over on babies unless they are drunk or heavily medicated).
    Great minds, great minds . . . I was totally going to add this myself, actually. Not that co-sleeping works for everyone, but if that's the plan, it's good to think about whether you really need the crib or not. A co-sleeping friend of mine got one only because she felt like she just, well, SHOULD, and has regretted it since. Her daughter has literally napped in it twice (she's now 10). So she wound up with, as she puts it, a $400 stuffed animal holder.

    Lola, thanks for the link! I'm intrigued by the diaper-free/EC concept - but not for this time around, I think, just cloth. And I agree on the slings vs. souped-up strollers too. I'd like to get a jogging stroller, I think, but that's it - I want to rely more on babywearing anyway.

    HHL, I agree on the new car seat thing too, definitely, for safety reasons, though I think inheriting a very recent one when & if you know the previous owners well could be an exception. But yeah, I wouldn't want to get one from a thrift shop, though I support thrift & consignment for lots of other things fer sher.
    "Before I conceived you, I wanted you. Before you were born, I loved you. Before you were here an hour, I would die for you. This is the miracle of life." -- Maureen Hawkins

    "I just can't get over how much babies cry. I really had no idea what I was getting into. To tell you the truth, I thought it would be more like getting a cat." -- Anne Lamott

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    God/dess phillyvixen's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    I bought a mini co sleeper and i think it will work well for us. We have a very squishy mattress and i just don't trust my husband when he gets into a deep sleep. Plus i think i read you can't use pillows or blankets and thats just not going to fly. This co sleeper thing looked good because it butts right up against our mattress so she is within arms reach but still in her own space.

    I also plan on buying a peanut shell sling once i can get a proper measurement.

    I would also like to make my own organic baby food. I plan on joining a farm co op and buying a food processor. My reasons aren't financial but more that i have the time and the resources to do what i feel is best for her.



    Quote Originally Posted by Hatshepsut View Post
    Tell him that he's a load his mom should have swallowed.

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    God/dess RoseWhite's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    I'e heard good things about the co-sleeper sidecar deal! I strongly considered it too. Hope you guys love it!

    Right ON on the baby food! That rules, I'm hoping to do the same! We can swap recipes.

    (Though I think calling them 'recipes' may be a bit of a stretch at first. "Ingredients: 1 banana. Mash with fork. Serves 1.")
    "Before I conceived you, I wanted you. Before you were born, I loved you. Before you were here an hour, I would die for you. This is the miracle of life." -- Maureen Hawkins

    "I just can't get over how much babies cry. I really had no idea what I was getting into. To tell you the truth, I thought it would be more like getting a cat." -- Anne Lamott

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    God/dess phillyvixen's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Hahaha you made a funny RW!

    I'll let you know about the side car co sleeper! We also have a crib and a pack and play so she has lots of sleeping options lol.
    We are such the typical over spending Americans fueling the babysrus CEO jet.



    Quote Originally Posted by Hatshepsut View Post
    Tell him that he's a load his mom should have swallowed.

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    Banned Blade's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    let us not forget the best way to prepare for a baby and not go broke: Wear a condom!then you have years to save up for a kid and when ya finally have the money to spend raising one for 18+years, you can go on vacation instead, lol.
    seriously my dad bought diapers for the first year, that alone saved us large amounts of cash...and we shopped at thrift stores for the crib, stroller, playpen clothes etc.

  13. #13
    AudreyLeigh
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Honestly. All I needed was a crib, a swing, some onesies, diapers and wipes. All the other crap you can get along the way on an as needed basis...

  14. #14
    AlexxaHex
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    I have never heard of this "elimination communication" thing. I am really curious about this book now!

    About the mini co-sleeper - we had one but Kembra slept in it only a few times. Although it's cheaper than a crib I felt it was pretty much the same thing and a waste of money. The mattress is REALLY hard and she always just wanted to be next to us. It would break my heart to see her reaching out for us, even as a newborn so I'd scoop her up and hold her next to me in the bed, always. We'd keep only 2 harder (not super-squishy) pillows and a light blanket or sheet on the bed and put her head at "boob-level". We just had to be vigilant about not putting the blanket near her shoulders. It's a very individual thing and it's really a matter of parental judgement. If you've got a big labrador and a cat that likes to lie on your face, or a super thick comforter then co-sleeping might not be the best thing.

    A stroller- well...I thought I wouldn't need one but for taking long walks and going to the mall and stuff, it really saves your back and arms. You want to carry a newborn in the sling everywhere, especially when they are unable to hold their heads up but there is no way I can carry Kembra forever in the wrap now. She's just too damn heavy and always wanting to grab things.

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    God/dess NinaDaisy's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Now, I don't have any children (though I would very much like to someday), but while the co-sleeping thing sounds like a good idea, you can't sleep with your kids in the same bed forever.

    When my parents were divorcing when I was very young, I slept in the bed with whatever respective parent I'd be staying with at the time. In time, they both remarried and it became very, very hard for me to sleep alone, to the point where it wasn't until I was almost TEN (years later) that I could fall asleep by myself.

    This might sound extreme, but it almost seems like by the time you'd try to get your kids to sleep alone they'd be aware of what was happening on some level and it might likely not sit well with them.

    I'm sure there are plenty of manuals and advice out there for how to "properly" work co-sleeping into child care, and it really does sounds like a lovely idea, but just a few caveats to consider.
    "She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer...But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers"

    Ernest Hemingway on writer, aviation pioneer and horse trainer Beryl Markham


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    God/dess MrChristopher's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    I'll have to ask MrsC to jump in on this one. We co-slept, mainly out of convenience. She nursed the kidlets, and it was just too exhausting getting up and down so often. We had a bassinet by the bedside for awhile but they more often then not were in bed with us. We have a set of twins though and that made a big difference. If you're planning on nursing I would highly recommend one of those Boppie nursing pillow things that go around your waist. MrsC was a huge fan of hers. Making baby food is pretty damned easy, for the most part. You always know exactly what's in it, too. Oh, MrsC makes cloth diapers and slings!. Her site is down due to some annoying credit card issue with the host but I'm sure I could talk her into sending you a couple, or at the very least some mommy links you might not have.
    waffles are just pancakes with little squares on them.

  17. #17
    Lola Rose
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    I'm planning on co-sleeping till my children request their own beds.

    I may have a twin in our bedroom at some point, depending, say if we have a 4yo, 2, and an infant, then the 4yo can sleep in the twin.

    oh, and elim comm is anazing, I'll post some good links. you can just think about it, or maybe do it part time. It certainly will also help with toilot training much easier and earlier.



    "Elimination Communication is how unindustrialized tribal peoples and evolving humans cared for their babies WITHOUT diapers. Babies come into the world with the tools to tell us when they need to nurse, when they need to be held and also when the need to pee and poop. All you have to do is get in touch
    This link also includes a really cute photo!

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    God/dess NinaDaisy's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lola Rose View Post
    I'm planning on co-sleeping till my children request their own beds.

    I may have a twin in our bedroom at some point, depending, say if we have a 4yo, 2, and an infant, then the 4yo can sleep in the twin.
    But what about when you want to have sex?
    "She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer...But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers"

    Ernest Hemingway on writer, aviation pioneer and horse trainer Beryl Markham


  19. #19
    Lola Rose
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Quote Originally Posted by NinaDaisy View Post
    But what about when you want to have sex?
    I hope noone is going to flame me, but I really don't think it would hurt a baby or a toddler emotionally to be in the room (sleeping) while their parents were doing it. Co-sleeping children are usually sound sleepers, and it's pretty doubtful they'd notice at all.

    People have been doing that for centuries. not everyone has a large enough house, or even wants to have a seperate bedroom from their kids.

    co-sleeping parents can also have sex while their children are napping or playing in another room.

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    God/dess NinaDaisy's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lola Rose View Post
    I hope noone is going to flame me, but I really don't think it would hurt a baby or a toddler emotionally to be in the room (sleeping) while their parents were doing it. Co-sleeping children are usually sound sleepers, and it's pretty doubtful they'd notice at all.

    People have been doing that for centuries. not everyone has a large enough house, or even wants to have a seperate bedroom from their kids.

    co-sleeping parents can also have sex while their children are napping or playing in another room.
    Not flaming, but I personally wouldn't have sex with a toddler in the room. An infant, maybe. But probably not. I tend to be a little noisy when I'm enjoying myself.

    I'd personally go the "do it in another room" route. For lots of reasons.
    "She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer...But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers"

    Ernest Hemingway on writer, aviation pioneer and horse trainer Beryl Markham


  21. #21
    AlexxaHex
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Quote Originally Posted by NinaDaisy View Post
    But what about when you want to have sex?
    We wait until she's asleep and pull out the futon in the living room. Or we wait until a relative is watching her. I am also one of those people who can't do it with a sleeping baby in the same room, although I know of people who can and have. I can't even do it with the cat in the room.

    We are also going to let Kembra (and any future kids) choose when she wants to leave the family bed. I love having her there, to cuddle with her and be right there if she wakes in the night. Not only does it seem to be making her more secure with us but we are more secure knowing she is safe too!

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    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Well, I've found that the more you have, they cheaper they are. LOL

    I'm on my 3rd one and am not buying anything. I have a crib (which is never used) a co-sleeper, a Sleep Nest, a breast feeding pillow, a boppy, 2 wraps, a ton of baby girl and boy clothes (so I'm covered either way). I've already got the cloth and disposable diapers. Most of the money was spent with Makayla. I'm totally getting my monies worth.

    We co-sleep with the kids. When they're infants, we put them in the crib and then go to town...we make sure we're not too noisy...we save those nights for when we have a night out. But, we don't have any sex with the toddlers in the room at all.

  23. #23
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Quote Originally Posted by Blade View Post
    let us not forget the best way to prepare for a baby and not go broke: Wear a condom!then you have years to save up for a kid and when ya finally have the money to spend raising one for 18+years, you can go on vacation instead, lol.
    seriously my dad bought diapers for the first year, that alone saved us large amounts of cash...and we shopped at thrift stores for the crib, stroller, playpen clothes etc.
    Uh, actually I got pregnant FROM using condoms before. Condom broke and the emergency contraception pill failed and that was that. If we didn't use condoms, we would have been more conscious of pulling out. Condoms are still good though, but just wanted to remind that nothing is foolproof.

  24. #24
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lola Rose View Post
    I hope noone is going to flame me, but I really don't think it would hurt a baby or a toddler emotionally to be in the room (sleeping) while their parents were doing it. Co-sleeping children are usually sound sleepers, and it's pretty doubtful they'd notice at all.

    People have been doing that for centuries. not everyone has a large enough house, or even wants to have a seperate bedroom from their kids.

    co-sleeping parents can also have sex while their children are napping or playing in another room.
    Dude if people think it's bad to have sex in the same room as sleeping toddlers...I wonder what everyone would think when I tell them about my friends Abbie and Vince, who had sex in the same queen-sized bed that I was (seemingly) napping on?(or so they thought...and trust me I TRIED MY HARDEST to fall asleep once I caught gist of what was going on!) And this wasn't a 3some or anything I was participating in, either. I was 22 at the time but apparently they didn't think anything of it!

    LOL didn't we have this discussion in a different thread not that long ago? Although it is an interesting discussion though...

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    God/dess Silverback's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to Prepare for a Baby (Without Going Broke)

    Quote Originally Posted by NinaDaisy View Post
    Now, I don't have any children (though I would very much like to someday), but while the co-sleeping thing sounds like a good idea, you can't sleep with your kids in the same bed forever.
    What I found is that you can't actually sleep with your kid, ever. A separate bed is a great investment and not going to make you broke. Just keep them in it!
    "He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!"

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