What A New Baby Really Needs

I was talking to a friend about two weeks away from giving birth. She was crying over something. (At her stage of my pregnancy, I remember crying over a grocery store commercial.) After she could tell me what was bothering her, she said that she felt like an unfit parent.

This was her first child, she and the baby were both healthy, and she only gained about 20 lbs. (At her stage of pregnancy, the doctor told me that I was gaining too much weight. It probably did not help that I came into my appointment with a large chocolate shake and whopper). I told her that she was doing great.

She then said that she was not done with the nursery and there was so much she wanted to buy but could not afford. I then told her what I wished all moms would have told me: a nursery is the biggest waste of money. The cost of a nursery can easily get as high as $6,000, which is a little much for an 8 pound baby that can’t even see colors.

The only thing the baby cares about is his or her food source and a clean diaper. They are not going to evaluate your décor and make commentary. Most babies sleep in the same room with parents for the first 0-6 months anyway and many spend the majority of the time outside of the nursery. By the time your child does care about the décor, they typically have strong opinions as to how they want it decorated.

Below are some of the real baby essentials:

Infant car seat. I cannot overstate the importance of buying a quality infant car seat. I was involved in a head-on collision with my family when my daughter was only 9 months old. The infant car seat protected her so much that she did not even wake up from the impact.

Consider using websites like consumer reports or  Carseat blog to evaluate car seats. I am as frugal as they come, but this is the one item I would say to consider buying new. Estimated cost of a car seat is about $60-$150.

Baby carrier/sling. I remember when I got one as a baby shower present and I thought I would never use it. Boy was I wrong. I used it all the time to keep my hands free while cooking, cleaning and walking around. Estimated cost is about $29-$60.

Some strollers take almost a PhD to operate. I found the “snap in” strollers (you can snap in a car seat directly into a stroller frame) worked great for me and they were cheaper, ranging from about $40-90. Also, using a stroller for a while gave me a better idea of the kind of stroller I wanted and I was able to make a much better choice in my stroller, which I bought from a consignment shop.

Crib and/or bassinet. I got a bassinet for the first three months while our daughter slept with us. It’s easier to fit in our master bedroom (she shared a room with us for the first three months), it was easy for me to feed her and it was inexpensive. I got it for about $10 at a garage sale. We also got a crib for the nursery. If you are tight on space or money, start with a bassinet and shop consignment shops for a crib.

These are some of the basic necessities, but everyone has to determine what they need based on their situation. Checklists like the one on Today’s Parent can help you figure out what to buy and calculators like the one on babycenter.com can make sure that your list does not blow your budget.  Also, if you spend less on the nursery, the extra money could go toward things to help you spend more time with your baby such as maid service or prepared food delivery services. Thinking through your baby’s needs vs. wants can go a long way in driving down costs.

 

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