I havent had a baby shower..Please Read!!

[hbranson]

Hi my name is Heather. Im 35wks pregnant will be 36wks pg Thursday. Im having a little boy naming him Kaiden Maddox. Now, my cousing was suppose to give me a baby shower Jan 28th and then decided to move it to Feb 4th and a couple of days ago said she would rather do it Feb 11th and I was ok with it. I called her last night to discuss were we would have it and what games,food etc.. we would have. I got some shocking news, she wasn't going to be able to do my baby shower anymore because she don't have the money. Neither do I. My little man has nothing and when I say nothing I mean absolutely nothing, he has 1 outfit and a bassinette and bathtub, and thats all. We have no clothes,blankets,bottles,diapers or anything else for him. I have 2 other children a girl thats 3 and boy thats 1. We are buying a Town and Country Mini Van this week because right now we have a Honda Accord and it just isnt big enough for me hubby and 3 car seats in the back seat, that leaves no room except the trunk so we have to get a Van. Plus, our money is tied up in so many bills right now. So, I was wondering if you ladies do the "Cyber Baby Showers?" If so how would I go about joining that?? If you do those I am registered at Babies R Us, Target and Wal-Mart under Heather Branson. Any gifts would be appreciated and who ever decides to get me anything, I will gladly get them something for their little one as well. Thanks in advance, and I would greatly appreciate replies to this thread. Thanks ladies!! Hopefully you can help me out..

[Mom2-4Gs]

You might try thrift stores in your area. I found all sorts of cute clothes for
.39 cents at the Salvation Army store. Every Friday they have this sell in my area. I would also let friends, relatives, and other people know you would be glad to take their used baby clothes and other items.
By breastfeeding you would'nt need bottles right away and maybe after you have your baby, people you know will give baby presents. That is pretty much how I'm planning on taking care of baby needs.

Allison
Mom to 4 daughters and ? due end of April

[brownay2]

Couple of things. Babies need very little. I would check into your area's salvation army, good will, or thrift store. ANd check what days which tags are reduced. Around here on Wendsdays at our local Salvation army things are 50% off all colored tags. Also you could join freecycle in your area, and post what you need. Churches also have clothing drives too.

Alot of us are strapped for money, most people are whne they have children, and are expecting but you can work around it.

Hth,
Renee

[mamachandi]

what happened to the items from your 1 yr old? Yes I agree with the op that resale is the way to go. do you belong to a church or other religious org? they may be able to help you and can you apply for wic? that might help to offset food costs to free up money for the things you need. good luck mama

[winnie]

Hi Heather,

I don't know of any cyber showers going on, but just wanted to say that my partner and I are expecting and don't really have any money either. Like Allison, I have been finding a few things at salvation army or value village, usually around $1 for an outfit. We have just bought some newborn and 0-3mo sized sleepers - I figure it will be a little while before the baby actually needs cute outfits to go out in!
Also, I've been making cloth diapers out of old material (so won't have to buy disposables), plus knitting lots of things for baby because it's so cold here. I plan on breastfeeding so that takes care of the bottle/formula cost.

Just remember that all baby really needs is loving parent(s), your boobs, and outfits to last in between washes!

I'm curious, what part of throwing the shower can your friend not afford? I've thrown showers for friends, and the only thing that really cost me was the stamps to send out invitations, and the ingredients to make snacks & drinks.

Good luck!

winn

[afishwithabike]

I used thrift stores and hand me downs for DD. With DS nobody gave me a shower because he was my second ( I guess they expected him to wear pink and dresses) I had some gender neutral clothes because I didn't find out the sex with either babe. Both families threw group showers for me. DH is #3 of four DC and I am #3 of three DC. We both have big families and did it this way so that no one person was paying for everything. It was really easy to do and everybody felt like they were contributing in supporting us in the birth of our beautiful DD. When DS was born a few people just got us stuff for him. I am still having to buy clothes for him though because in the scheme of things there are no boys that can hand down clothes to him.

[Tofu the Geek]

No one threw a baby shower for my DD, yet relatives still sent gift of cute outfits, blankets, money etc. Are your relatives the same way? or do they only give gifts if they are explicitly invited to a baby shower?

Also a baby shower doesn't have to be a big, extravagant event. Homemade cookies, muffins and lemonade would suffice. Your friend or you may have ingredients on hand already.

[charmcitymama]

I would check www.craigslist.com
Make a post about what you need in the baby and kids section

[Lolafanana]

i agree. go to www.craigslist.com and click on the area closest to where you live. people are always putting their baby items up for sale that are extremely cheap or many times, free. i just got a brand new solid oak changing table for $20 and lots of great fun stuff for baby for free. you don't need much money at all to give a baby all he/she needs.

hope it works out for you

[Dreaming]

You may want to check your local Freecycle program as well.
To join, you have to post an offer of something free first (but it can be something as simple as a dozen ice cream pails). If you don't see an offer for what you need, post a request.

We are having a boy after our first being a girl and there will be no shower around here (nor would I ever expect one). I went through DD's old clothes and took out all of the gender neutral stuff and supplimented with a few extra onesies and sleepers. Other than that, I bought some small diapers and that was it. Babies don't need much.

[MomBirthmomStepmom]

Originally Posted by hbranson

Any gifts would be appreciated and who ever decides to get me anything, I will gladly get them something for their little one as well.

No offense, but if you can afford to get gifts for other people's babies, why not use that to get things for your own baby instead?

The posters here have given you good suggestions already.

[hbranson]

Thanks everyone for your post. Actually, the reason my family isnt getting me anything or doing anything is because they are upset with me for having another baby, they said I didnt need anymore because I already had a boy and a girl. The only people that were gonna be there was me, hubby, and my cousin who was throwing the baby shower and his mom and sister. His mom and sister do NOT like me at all, they already got us a gift, and it was a snotty one because I know they were being rude, they got is 1 pacifier and thats all and this is their grandchild/nephew. What I meant by getting someone something that got my baby something was, after I got financial able to around the middle of March I would gladly get them something. Maybe this wasnt a good place to post this. I guess I will just have to deal with what is going on and not ask poeple for help. Thanks for all the post though ladies and I will be looking around at where you told me thanks again.

[winnie]

Heather,

I hope this doesn't come off sounding rude at all, but I think the responses everyone gave you were really helpful. A lot of us are in the same (or similar) situations money-wise, and we were just sharing what we are doing to make sure we are ready for baby without breaking the bank.

Personally I wouldn't ever go online to ask for donations before exhausting all other possibilities (including cancelling my internet service and selling my computer to save money, etc).

I do hope you can get together a few things for baby.

winn