New mama seeking help

[michelle524]

1

[Hobacks2001]

I've just bought a pack of 18 white washcloths from Walmart. I think I paid $3 or $4 for the pack. I also make wipes from paper towels if you are interested.

[michelle524]

very interested!

1

[MOM2ANSLEY]

IMO buy store brand dipes...they work just as well....and if they do leak MIL has to clean it up kwim
Don't spend lots of $$$$ on unnecessary baby items
buy used things you need incl clothes.
I just used water for ds's bottom...ditto on washcloths idea

[thriftyqueen]

Buy the Miserly Moms book. You can get it on half.com for next to nothing. It has been such a good reference for me. It has a "recipe" for making wipes. I second the store brand dipes. They work just fine.

You don't need every baby items that comes out. It seems like such a convenience, but it adds tons of clutter. Garage sale now if you can. You can get great deals on high chair, stroller, pack n play, swing, etc.

[M&Mmama]

You can save a lot on baby stuff if you remember that babies most like to be hold and comforted by you and other humans, not IMO by swings, exersaucers, etc.

I think that the only true necessities are baby clothes, a car seat, diapers, and a sling. Depending upon your lifestyle and family choices, you be able to do without a crib, stroller (maybe a cheap umbrella type for certain uses when DC is older), plastic baby crap. Our second DS didn't ever even you use a regular high chair, just a chair that clipped onto the table but often perferred to have someone hold him instead of being strapped down. We love books and for babies you don't always want library ones because they chew 'em so much, but certainly you can get lots of used board or cloth books cheap. Oh, and a high qualhttp://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/icons/icon7.gifity breast pump is great if you're working, could get used one, also sometimes health insurance will cover part of the cost.

Good luck!

[soladeo]

I so agree with the tips in this thread!! Esp:

*Buy store dipes--we CD except when traveling and overnight--I found the Meijers brand (has Garfield) on it, and Kroger brands to be EXCELLENT! If you don't have those two, Walmart (*shudder*) has a White Cloud brand that is cheap and very good. And you can go half disposable half cloth.

*Babies DON'T need much. Seriously. My son didn't use half the crap we were given-and I felt bad because they spent money on the stuff. High chair-probably not. Bouncy chair-maybe-I found a cheapy at Once Upon a Child that my son used while I was in the shower, which was worth it's weight. I wouldn't spend much on it. Stroller- yes, go for an umbrella when they're older. Changing table- nah, my son ended up being changed on the floor, the bed or the couch more often than not!
A sling or other type of carrier like a mei tei is VERY helpful, and can be pretty cheap if you get them used. They last and last too- my son at 2 has been "worn" since he was born, and continues to be.
Go thrift and consignment. Why not? It's frugal and more enviromentally friendly than buying new stuff. If you do, get toys that will convert as he/she gets older-for instance, a family member bought this little "gym"-as a baby he could lay on the floor and kick it and it would do stuff, then as he could sit, he could play with it in a different way, and now as a toddler, it's his "car." Also, someone got us a chair that was at one point an infant seat with a vibrating element, which was very helpful at some points, and now it's a rocking chair.
I would strongly suggest NOT subscribing to all the free magazines, like American Baby, and free giveaways/coupons/ etc. It's easy to get sucked in to thinking you "need" something, esp. as a new mom.
It's hard to be sure if you "need" something, but I wish I would have not had so much stuff when my son was born. But I was raised in a family, and my husband was too, of getting the conventional stuff, and so I bought in to it. Now I wish I would have thought instead, "Let's see if we need it, and if so, we'll get it." That's what we do now.

[ju-cee]

Hi, I agree, no need for everything they have in "babies-r-us......just the
basics ...we got caught up w/"everything" for the first one but rarely used it all and i send it off to consignment.....which BTW is a great place for infant clothes...ALOT are NWT's or barely worn and CHEAP!! I have bought 99% of my girls clothes at consignment since day 1. Plus it keeps me out of the mall and then I have less tendency to overspend, LOL

As far as diapers go ....I primarily bought Pampers and Huggies : depending which was on sale that week and ONLY when they were on sale and WITH a coupon! I usually shop at the same grocery store so by the time I had dd#2 I would get coupons for $3-4 off so i would save those till the sales came around and got Pampers for as low as $4.99!!!!

Moral of my rambles.......USE COUPONS!!!!!

[EmsMom]

As far as "wipes" go, the easiest thing is just to use cloth, washcloths or rags or something, and wet them as you go. I tried keeping some water handy to the changing table for wiping, but I quickly found that it is just as easy, and more sanitary, to grab a couple of wipes and wet them with warm water on my way to the changing table. I rarely need for than three even for the messiest poop. If you explain to you MIL that she can basically treat the cloth diapers just as she would a disposable and that YOU will take them home every day and rinse them, maybe she would change her mind? In fact, it might actually be better for her, because when you take the bag of stinky diapers it will actually be gone from her house every night, as opposed to filling up her garbage with them to hang around until garbage day, and then having the bears, racoons, etc. strew them all around her driveway. All she would need to do is take off the dirty diaper, plunk it in a bag and put on a clean one. You take home the bag with you every day, rinse the poopy ones and do a laundry of them when needed. Plus, I never got the super messy "blow-outs" with cloth that I did with sposies. That means LESS mess in her house. Good luck with your mission to be frugal! Sometimes it is fun and sometimes it is a drag, but it is always a comfort to be on top of your finaances -- and it does pay off.

[LEAW]

Old t-shirts make GREAT wipes. You just cut them into 9" squares, no sewing required. Old soft worn tshirts are softer imo on baby butt than washcloths, and they don't unravel because of the knit.

I used to put 3 in a regular wipes box w/water at night when I went to bed so I could wipe up the first morning poo w/o getting out of bed... now we just grab a wipe/cloth and get it wet when we know we need it. There has been a box of disposable wipes on the changing table for months, just in case I need more than I wet, and it's lasted FOREVER.

We've also gotten about 95% of dd's wardrobe at resale - the local school districts here have early childhood PTA groups that host baby sales in the spring and fall, much easier than hunting all the thrift stores all the time.

We did get a car seat new (don't get used car seats please!), we had a crib handed down, and the changing table as well (the crib is sidecarred to our bed, the changing table is used all the time), we borrowed an exersaucer from a friend for a few months when dd was at the age that I NEEDED to shower and she couldn't be left safely anywhere. We do have a highchair as well, and it has been well used.

Otherwise, a sling, carrier of some sort, or a few (I have a collection of them that I love), we never used a stroller except for carrying bags/coats, and once in a while we use it now (though mostly for carrying stuff!), etc.

Babies don't need much.