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Nurseries and Baby Gear
MBush4
member
Too soon to start buying gear?
MBush4
member
DH and I are on a relatively tight budget. Once LO comes along we will be on a tighter budget because I will be working PT so that we don't have to pay for daycare. I would like to start buying gear over the next 3-4 months we have left so that we aren't hit with last minute trips to plop down a few hundred dollars... But is it too soon to start buying stuff? What stuff should we start buying? I realize that the main things we'll need first are a carseat and a place for LO to sleep (we're using a PNP), but I was wondering if, in your experiences, you found that people at showers tended to give certain gifts and you really only needed to buy some things. Any tips are useful. Thanks so much!
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Re: Too soon to start buying gear?
Do you have a registry already? You can always put things on there and if someone buys them for you, you can cross them off your list. In my experience, close family bought bigger things (e.g., crib, crib mattress, stroller) and most everyone else went with bundles of smaller things (clothes, toys, books, etc).
If I were you, I wouldn't buy a lot of clothes, towels, etc because you'll get those. (And baby towels are a waste, in my opinion). I'd put aside money for the pnp, the carseat you'll use for the first months, a stroller, and maybe one swing/chair type thing. If you buy a swing, I'd put a bouncer chair on the registry or vice versa because you won't know if your kiddo will like it, but you'll definitely want a place to put your LO down. We couldn't live without our swaddles because right out of the womb he needed to be swaddled cozy to sleep. I'm glad we had those before he was born so we didn't have to run out and get them.
If you put things like a baby bath (you don't really need one, but it's a nice to have) and baby shampoo and washcloths on your registry, I bet people would buy it for you. And blankets. People love giving blankets, so I wouldn't save your money for that.
It all depends on your circle. When my friend was expecting, her whole family put on a dib on somthing before she started to register for things, like her parents got the crib, her sister got the stroller, etc. But she had three showers, her family is a very large family and they are into giving very large/expensive gifts for baby showers. She had to add more stuff to her registery a week before her first shower.
We are planning to buy the essentials ourselves, both our families don't live near us, although I have wonderful and generous friends, but I am not going to ask for big ticket items from them.
I am a bargain hunter, so when things on my registry went on sale or there were great offers, I would buy the items then. For instance, BRU often does themed discounts like BOGO feeding items, special coupon savings on a brand or a category like furniture. Otherwise you can expect many people to get you a lot of clothes and smaller items from your registry.
I also got some really great bargains from Amazon warehouse deals.
Emily 8.8.08
Madeline 1.2.11
William 8.5.12
When I was pregnant with my daughter my family bought me everything I needed. If you have your baby shower early enough you can go from there. I would say start buying things now if you don't think you will get them. Have fun shopping!
I don't get the gift card thing. Start a savings account! If you're not PT now, start saving money as if you were (I.e. only live off of what you will bring in). Then make a registry at Amazon even if you don't hand it out then all you have to do is buy online, there's no tax and free shipping.
No one but your mom or family will buy the big stuff, don't worry! See that your mom joke hidden there?
Hahaha Thank you!
My MIL bought us the crib as a gift. Other than that the biggest item we got was the bouncy seat. We bought our own PNP, travel system, changing table and glider. This widely varies between social circles though. You know your friends and family better than we do.
If nothing else, just starting saving the money as if you were going to have to buy everything yourself and go shopping after your shower. Most registry places will give you a coupon to buy everything left on your registry after you shower anyway, so you could save some money there.
I would stalk amazon for good deals on necessities. Use camelcamel.com.
I'm pretty sure that I got our chicco key fit 30 car seat for $150 and it retails for $189. Random deal.
Also I found great deals on bigger items on Craig's list... A dutailer glider and matching ottoman for $120 (retails $700) and a snugabunny swing for $65 (retails $180). You don't have to buy everything used but just a few purchases could save you hundreds of dollars
I think this is a great idea!!
What you get from your baby shower really depends on your friends and family. My friends and family love having a reason to celebrate and get togehter and most people give nice gifts. We were fortunate that with DD the only thing we had to buy was her bedding (which I didn't register for anyways) and a glider, which gave us the ability to splurge on a nice photography package for her first year. However, I've heard a lot of girls on here mention that in their experience they only get clothes and other things they didn't even register for.
The good thing is you really dont need all that much to welcome a baby to your home. A lot of the stuff you register for is stuff that would be nice to have or things you will need further down the road (like a toddler car seat).
The only things we bought for LO were a crib, dresser, and glider. Everything else we received as shower gifts, in addition to about $800 worth of BRU and BBB GCs.
I would not buy anything until after your showers, but also be prepared to purchase what you need.