January 2012 Moms

What do you estimate you've spent on baby so far?

We just placed a massive order to Amazon for a few remaining things we need for baby, and I just did a mental tally of how much we've spent on baby/nursery items....and was surprised to find it is just over 1000 dollars!

We've tried to be SO good about expenses--hitting up consignment stores and big local baby sales, etc---and have gotten a lot of gifts, but my goodness babies are expensive!

I'm curious: how much have you all spent so far (especially first time mammas like me)? And if you've spent just a little, how did you do it? What did you deliberately save money on? 

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Re: What do you estimate you've spent on baby so far?

  • Shockingly about $150 and I only need diapers now. I bought everything from consignment sales and the rest was family hand me downs.

    The 100 was spent on the car seat.

    oh i got lucky and played games for boutiques in my home town and won certificates and prizes.

    Edit* forgot about some small items.


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  • We've been incredibly blessed and gotten so many things as gifts, but I would say we've spent around $900. That would include our car seat, crib, dresser, book shelves, decor, and some clothes. We have our shower this Saturday, so whatever we don't get then we'll need to purchase, so that number will definitely change. 
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  • We've spent about $300 so far, and $200 of that was for her cloth diapers.  We've been lucky and have gotten most of our stuff as hand-me-downs or gifts.
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  • Wow... all you ladies seem to have a lot of good consignment shops and big families to help out.

    My parents got our co sleeper and SIL got our bedding.

    Crib, Dressers, Travel System, and everything else (not including gifts from the shower obvi. but the only big thing we got at the shower was the high chair... we wanted to get all the big stuff on our own)...   We've spent about 3K.  This includes ALL furniture, paint, supplies, toys, clothes... everything that we didn't get off our registry that we still needed... etc. 

    I have an issue w/hand me downs though... because he's our first I wanted all new stuff for him (DH did too)... we took hand me down clothes (i got rid of anything that was too used and stained and whatnot) but I really did not want hand me down big items for safety reasons.  and like I said before... we wanted to take care of all the big stuff ourselves because our families aren't huge and a lot of them aren't as financially stable as we are. 

    In all I'm happy though and so is DH... just finished the nursery actually and it looks AWESOME.  lol 

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  • Including clothes, estimate about $600. I still have to get a crib mattress, a moby wrap, and a bundle me, and I am done for the first few months at least. 

    Thank goodness for Craig's List, mom2mom sales,and hand me downs.  I got a lot of clothing and bedding from my mom friends. I scoured Craigs list for weeks looking for the perfect deal on furniture and scored huge.  A family was moving and didn't want to move infant furniture for their now 3 year old.  I got a pottery barn crib and changing table, and a dutelier glider for $100 total.  I found my travel system on clearance @ target.  I hit up burlington coat factory once a month for closeout bargains (my boppy there was $24 with cover).  I got a lot from my shower too. I have not purchased a lot for LO that I won't need until after 4 or 6 mos.  I'm saving that for later.  I try to keep in mind that most everything in the nursery is going to be peed/pooped/vomited on in the near future.  And although a $50 receiving blanket is soft, lovely, good quality; I don't want to be pissed off that it got ruined when his diaper leaked. 

    If I wasn't on a strict budget, I probably would be pickier and go crazy on the shopping. 

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  • I think about $1700.  And I thought I was doing good!

    $700 on crib, armoire and mattress (got the crib half price)

    $300 on clothes (I am powerless to the Baby Gap, even though I was given 2 huge bags of clothes from my friends with twin girls and lots of clothes at the shower...about $75 of that on shoes)

    $275 on Quinny Buzz stroller on craigslist (about 1/3 retail)

    $100 on her vintage prints from Z Gallerie

    $300 on misc things not received at shower...sheets, bottles, mobile, blankets, etc.

    I still need a glider, maybe a swing if I decide to get one and some more small things and more art for her walls.

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  • I really haven't spent much at all. The only big thing I purchased was the glider with ottoman and I got it for $50 off Craigslist (it's in perfect condition). Other than that I bought a couple onsies, a froggie nightlight and wall decals. I say all together I've spent about $150. I had two showers, one here with my family and one out of state with dh's family. Everyone has been very generous and there is only a few things I need left on the registry. If I spend $500 total I think it will be a lot. 

    *edit* I forgot I purchased the bedding so I probably spent closer to $250. I got the majority of the bedding from pottery barn's clearance sale and the out of stock pieces were new/unopened off ebay.  

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  • For this baby so far:  about $25, but we still need a few things (like disposable diapers for the first few weeks and med stuff that we got rid off since it expired between the two kids) so in total it will probably be about $100.

    For our first baby, including diapers and maternity clothes for me, it was about $1200.  We bought pretty much everything on sale, including the cloth diapers on ebay, so that helped.  We also didn't buy everything that they say you need.  Before baby came we had: travel system, crib, a couple of sheets, about 10 sleepers, some receiving blankets and diapers.  We got a ton of clothes for our shower (held after baby came and planned that way) so we didn't have a whole lot of expenses, aside from formula, afterward either.

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  • The big things we have bought so far are the rug for his room, closet organizer, and contractor to fix the closet doors.  The cirb and dresser are on order and we haven't paid for them yet, and the only other big thing left to do after that is the double stroller.

    I'd say we spent $800 so far.

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  • Probably around $900.  We bought all of the furniture in his room and some odds and ends (not to mention a ton of clothes). We were so lucky that we got just about everything we needed from our shower or it would have been a lot more.
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  • Probably around $600-700. Thankfully $400 of that was on a visa gift card I was saving! I feel like I've hardly spent anything at all, we've gotten so many gifts, both our families are very, very generous.

    I still need a breast pump and a few things for the nursery and I should be good to go!

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  • We set aside about $2,000 for baby nursery stuff and other first year items. This doesn't include the crib or travel system/car seat because my sister and parents took care of that for us. I still need to get a glider, which will be a little pricey. I am waiting on a lot of stuff until after my shower (next weekend) to see what I actually need. I kinda doubt we will actually need all of the money we saved, but I wanted to have it available.
  • Crib - 220

    Dresser - 130

    Decal and sign - 100

    Random clothes/babylegs - 100

    Glider (craigslist) - 150

    Diaper bag - 200

    = $900 so far.  

    We've been lucky that most of our big items (stroller, video monitor, car seats, PNP, swing, etc) and even random things were given at our shower or gifts.  And some things we bought with gift cards we received, like my Medela pump, crib mattress, books from amazon. 

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  • I'm SO impressed with all you thrifty ladies out there. WOW! 
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  • I think we are around the 500 range. Our parents bought all the furniture and the room was already "ready" as far as living goes. We did repaint but that was free to us (dh's dad owns a construction company). I think the biggest thing I bought was her custom rag quilt off etsy and the stroller/carseat combo. I've bought a few clothes here and there but our family and friends did sooo much for us.. Way too much! They are super amazing and I'm thankful we have them. I even have a decent size diaper stash to last us awhile. 
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  • including my insurance deductible, probably around 1500
  • Ok scratch that....I just remembered we bought our Pack and Play the other day for $170 and I spent about $100 tonight at Target on a little shelving unit to go next to the dresser/changing table and I bought the baby's toiletries.

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    Layla 01.08.12

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  • $900~Orbit Baby Travel System (the *only* thing Hubby was absolutely set on getting)

    $500~Glider and Ottomen to be used in the living room (I bought a nicer one since I plan to use it daily for years to come)

    $200~Coach diaper bag to double as my purse

    $200~Consignment sale where I got tons of clothes, an exersaucer and a couple of toys

    $300~51 cloth diapers off of CL that will last from birth to potty training (and can be used on future children)

    $100~Misc things from various shopping trips

    So, $2,200 so far.  At my first shower I received nice gifts but not a ton of things that I really need.  I'm having another shower the first weekend of Jan but I don't expect to get any of my big ticket items (PNP, high chair, swing) as almost everyone I know is on a budget or limited income. 

    My in-laws did buy our crib and I have a feeling they may buy our swing as a Christmas gift based on questions Hubby was asking me over the weekend.  I suspect I'll still have to spend another $1,000 on misc things after my second shower.

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  • No shower for us (we have a 6 yr old, thought we were one-and-done so got rid of all things baby related, and I felt really funny asking for a second shower, one wasn't offered, and so we're doing it ourselves!) ....so far we've spent just over $1000 and have another $300 worth of stuff that we're about to order, in addition to the $1000 worth of merchandise my parents have bought for us/our baby.  By the time the baby arrives I'm guessing it will be about $1500-1600 out of pocket for us and another $1000-1200 from my parents.  I know my husband's siblings are spending $300 (together, as a collective gift).  

     There is more we will need down the road, but at least we'll be set for the newborn and infancy stage....we'll see what we do/don't receive as gifts and then continue to buy as we need to.  

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  • In the nursery- about $1700. This includes the crib, dresser, glider, side table, monitor, baskets to hold clothes/diapers, curtains and any other decor stuff.

    Outside of the nursery- $350 ($300 on cloth diapers, and $50 on assorted onesies I thought were cute).

    We splurged on nursery furniture, so that is why that tally is so high. The rest is so low because our family and friends have been very generous with gifts! 

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  • Wow.. I didn't think we'd done that bad considering all we bought. Boy was I wrong :)
    DD 1.18.2012
  • We started saving for a baby when DH decided he wanted a LO. (Which was July 2010)

    So we had a detailed budget worked out and then we started to purchase things. So far we have spent $6340.15  MH keeps up with it all. Stick out tongue

     

    edit: added date

  • I'm also impressed with everyone's budgeting AND generous families.  We're a bit older (31 and 35), and this is our first.

    I feel like our families did not contribute as much given our age and economy.  My husband's family is out of the country and did not contribute anything due to the distance - which is 100% ok!

    Nursery:  Crib, Bassinet, sheets, bedding, rug - $2,000

    Still need:  Dresser, Glider, Side Table - budget $500

    Clothing, etc:  Estimated $200?

    Diapers: We're going cloth and still need the newborn stash - $300 is my budget

    Shower gifts:  I really did not get any big items, bottles/ 1 sling/ clothes/ tub/ all smaller items.

    Car seat:   Gift from my parents!  $180

    Stroller:  The First Years Wave $335 (we were this close to buying a Bugaboo and just couldn't do it - and I'm glad we didn't!)

     

  • about $550 and I only need to spend about $200 more (and there are some luxury wants in that need).
    i've done really well on not over doing it- it'll be AFTER he's born where I'll probably get into trouble!
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  • We either have most items from our DD or they have been handed down to us from friends sp we haven't had to buy much.  For the nursery we did buy a crib and changing table but they were used and we bought from Craigslist and only cost us $150 total.  The decor for the baby's room has totaled $250 and that has included curtains, crib skirt, sheets, changing pad cover, wall graphics and paint.  We also bought another (brand new) changing table for downstairs and that was $130.  We need to get a few more items this weekend (new nipples for the bottles we have, diaper champ, pacis) but all of that should be less than $100.

    Adding that up we are at $630.  Wow, it does add up fast and we haven't really bought much!

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  • I feel really lucky.  Our families have literally spoiled us.  My mother bought us really expensive furniture for the nursery including a crib, dresser w/hutch, and glider w/ottomon.  My dad bought the crib mattress and bedding, my little brother bought the swing, my sister bought the pack and play, and my mother in law bought the stroller, car seat, and bassinet (actually she gave us a $500 check to buy those things with and we were able to also buy alot of little necessities with the extra money).  

    We had our shower on Saturday, and I expected to get alot of little things like blankets, bottles, etc..., but instead most of the people bought us our bigger items.  Also, I have some out of town relatives who've said that they will get us a large gift off of the registry after the shower when they see what's left.

     On top of that my cousin just had a baby boy in the spring and he is growing out of clothes faster than he can wear them so along with an exersaucer and some other items she's given us 3 full garbage bags of clothes (many of them unworn, and all in perfect condition).  The closet is already full, and I haven't even hung up any of the non-hand me down outfits yet.

    All together, I have spent $15 on a cute fleece hoodie from Old Navy because I was sick of waiting to purchase things for the baby.  Now I'm just going to wait a bit longer and then get the remainder of the small items that we need like mattress pads, burp cloths, and a moby wrap if it isn't purchased by one of my relatives.

    I'm the first of my siblings to get married and have a baby, so this will be the first grandchild for both my parents as well as my in laws.  I guess that's why people feel so keen to buy us everything.  Granted, I would have been more than happy to purchase everything on my own, but that's not really the way things are done at my house.  I guess I get to spend all of my money on diapers in the future.  You all are proof though that it can be done on a budget so when the next baby comes, I'll know what to expect cost wise. 

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  • Wow, everyone is being so thrifty.  Dh and I have probable spent around 5k but I am really just enjoying buying to buy for this LO.  I always joke that LO is the best investment I have ever made because we had to go through IVF to get here so it cost us 35k OOP just to get LO in my belly lol so this one is really causing me to go broke, but it is all worth it for the end result!
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  • Probably close to $2000 if not over. We've bought everything ourselves.

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