Getting baby stuff the Mustachian way?

[2Cent]

Don't buy anything except maybe one cute dress for the first few pictures. For the rest just let it be known in your circles that you are looking for baby stuff. You have no idea how many woman can't bear to throw away any of their kid's baby stuff and would love for it to find a nice home. Plus ofcourse all the friends and family who will give clothes will fill their wardrobe for the first year at least. I have some things still unworn which are already too small.

[I'm a red panda]

Because everyone around me has school aged children, i'm not expecting much in the way of hand me downs.

So I hit the garage sales.

I got 12 newborn outfits (mostly jammies) and 12 3-month outfits, as well as 5 different types of name brand swaddles and sleep sacks, 5 pairs of legwarmers, and 5 hats.  All of this cost me $45. Retail the sleepsacks alone would have cost $100; and since a lot of the outfits are licensed collegiate- they would be like $15 a piece.

I was SHOCKED at how much sold at garage sales was "like new" quality. Often I suspect it IS still new.

I know I still need a lot of "stuff"; but for clothes, based on the lists given to me by friends, I only need an outfit for photos, and for that I need to wait to see if it is a boy or a girl.  I also couldn't find used socks, so I need to buy those new.  They told me 12, and I may end up buying more, but I didn't want to overbuy before the baby gets here. I have laundry in my house, so I can run small, low water loads whenever I want.

[forummm]

I've been pretty excited about how we haven't spent anything so far. I think we'll get a carseat and stroller from a baby shower too. So really just diapers (and daycare--ouch!). We have a bunch of friends with new/recent babies, so clothes should be available for borrowing as well.

[2Cent]

I've been pretty excited about how we haven't spent anything so far. I think we'll get a carseat and stroller from a baby shower too. So really just diapers (and daycare--ouch!). We have a bunch of friends with new/recent babies, so clothes should be available for borrowing as well.

If it's just one baby, and your friends are also having just one, maybe you could save big money on daycare if you babysit each other's baby one day a week.

[forummm]

I've been pretty excited about how we haven't spent anything so far. I think we'll get a carseat and stroller from a baby shower too. So really just diapers (and daycare--ouch!). We have a bunch of friends with new/recent babies, so clothes should be available for borrowing as well.

If it's just one baby, and your friends are also having just one, maybe you could save big money on daycare if you babysit each other's baby one day a week.

I was actually thinking about this. The problem is we'd all have to take a vacation day each week. And we don't get 52 vacation days. So we'd have to take unpaid leave, and I'm not sure the other spendy people would go for that. In the end, maybe a 20% pay cut is similar to what daycare costs here anyway.

[asiljoy]

5. If you have any control over what people give you for the baby, ZIP UP SLEEPERS, NOT SNAP UP. You do not want to be doing up 17,000 doll sized snaps at every diaper change.

I so wish someone had told me this before I owned 20 of these in various sizes. Lesson learned.

[FLBiker]

Great advice here!  We've got a 4 month old, so here's my take.

Consignment sales were GREAT for clothes.  We have several largescale ones each year.  Also, living in FL, we didn't really need much in the 0-3 sizes -- she was mostly in a diaper / swaddle in those first few months.

We use cloth diapers -- prefolds with covers (various brands) but we've got some pockets, too.  We got all of them used, mostly through a cloth diapering facebook group.  Speaking of which, my wife swears by Fluff Love University (http://www.fluffloveuniversity.com/) for diaper laundering tips.

We have a Britax stroller, but we mostly wear -- a woven wrap was the easiest, now we mostly use a Maya ring sling (gotten as a gift), and we have an ergo for when she's a bit bigger.

Swaddles are good, and I strongly recommend "The Happiest Baby on the Block" for soothing techniques.  Really worked well in those first few months.

Breastfeeding (for us) wasn't super easy, so getting lactation support is a great idea.  We also got a pump from ACA which has been very useful.  And (as was said) be gentle with yourself if it doesn't go according to plan.  Our daughter was still @ birthweight after 1 month (of very frequent breastfeeding) so we ended up supplementing.  At first, my wife was very distraught about this, but everyone is now doing great.

Our hospital gave us an infant carseat for free, so you might look into that.

For a crib, I wanted to go low toxicity, and we went with Davinci (which isn't crazy expensive).  We also got a naturepedic mattress.

I also want to echo communicating what you want to your friends/family.  I've been really impressed by how thoughtful grandparents have been with their gifts -- both in terms of thrifting stuff and in terms of getting stuff that is non-toxic.

Best of luck!

[Merrie]

I have had great luck getting secondhand kids clothes. I sort them by size and gender, catalog them in a spreadsheet, and put away larger ones for future. My kids are now 4 and 1 1/2. Next month I will go to rummage sales and get 24 month and 2T clothes for my younger one to grow into. He has a limited number of hand-me-downs from his older sister but a lot of her stuff is/was pretty girly. My daughter has a friend who is 3 years older and we have boxes of her hand-me-downs sitting in the basement waiting for my daughter to grow into them, so she doesn't need much. I'll also check the rummage sales for the spendier stuff like snow boots, coats, and so on. I buy shoes new mostly (they have wide feet and shoes are something they wear all the time and I don't want to skimp; I'll buy them secondhand if I find a good-condition pair but usually I can't), along with stuff like socks and underwear.

We went straight to a convertible seat with our older one, but I realized that convertible seats may not fit newborns well, depending on their size. Our daughter was just barely big enough for the convertible and she was average sized. So in advance of our son's birth we bought an infant seat off a friend of a friend, just in case he came out small and wouldn't fit in the convertible. Having the seat to cart around was nice (he was born in February, and it was nice to be able to get him bundled up in the house and then take him out and snap him in) but we would have adjusted if not. My best-case scenario would be to borrow an infant seat for the first month and buy a convertible.

We got an IKEA crib. Bought cloth diapers when on sale/seconds.

I wouldn't buy a carrier or a stroller ahead of time. If someone gave me one I'd take it. You don't know what you'll end up liking or finding comfortable. We bought 2 carriers before having our daughter, barely used one and pretty much never used the other. I took her to a store eventually and tried on multiple carriers and bought the one I liked best. It was fairly spendy but I have used the heck out of it. We didn't buy a stroller until she was 8 months old because we just didn't feel the need for one.

I got a double electric breast pump for free on my insurance with my second kid (post-ACA). It never hurts to see what is available.

[CanuckExpat]

The one thing I really recommend and buy for most of my close friends who are expecting is an Ergo baby carrier. They aren't cheap, but my first one lasted 7 years and 4 babies before I, tragically, lost it.

1. I would not go out and buy an Ergo. Try to get every free or very cheap baby carrier you can, and go to a babywearing meetup or clinic once your baby is born and THEN buy a baby carrier. I found the Ergo too big for both me and Babytooth and wound up with a Beco Gemini. I think I tried out 4 or 5 different carriers before I found one I liked. That said, the Ergo is a very nice carrier.

I want to second what sepants tooth said. Check if you have a local chapter of Babywearing International. That might sound silly and like something I made up, but it is a real organization. Our local chapter had some really helpful and informative people, let me try out different carriers, and let me learn how to wear the random free sling we got better.

We had ended up using some small no-name structured carrier from a consignment sale when he was very young, switched to a Baby Bjorn carrier from a consignment sale when he was a bit bigger, and just recently upgraded to an Ergo we found on Craigslist for cheap. The ergo is a good carrier, but I don't think it's needed when the child is very small, and this saved us the trouble of having to find the newborn/infant insert. Because I went to the meetings, I realized the Beco might have been a slightly better carrier for us, but I happened to find the Ergo extremely cheap ($20) on Craigslist, so couldn't turn it down.

But ya, like Serpant said, baby wearing is awesome: Our son loves it, it calms him down, gets him to sleep and it lets me get work done at the same time. Also, if you are used to wearing him around regularly, when you need to do it for a hike you are already used to it :)

[wordnerd]

Since today is my due date (though BabyNerd has not graced us with his presence yet), I thought I would update how we did.

We ended up buying practically nothing, and we're generally overwhelmed by offers of hand-me-downs that people wanted out of their houses. From this alone we got:

Two types of high chair
A very expensive bassinet (the Halo), which we never would've purchased or registered for, but may end up liking
2 rock-n-plays
Crib mattress
Daybed (for when the kid's a toddler)
2 large totes of clothes for up until the baby is 12 months (probably more outfits than I own for myself)
Training toilet
Playmat
Swaddle
Sleep sacks


And from gifts we got a bunch of other things (two baby carriers, pack-n-play, diapers, wipes), though we're returning a few things that we either don't need it or already got a used version of for free. We got a breast pump for free through insurance (thanks, ACA!). Some of the hand-me-downs may end up being excessive, but we can always pay them forward, return them to their owners (if they have more kids), or donate the excess.

The only baby items we ended up buying for ourselves were two car seats (we got a Black Friday deal on Amazon) and a few odds and ends, but between gift cards and returning items to Target, we're still coming out ahead.

I also ended up spending a grand total of $12 on maternity clothes. I got a few hand-me-downs, used a Schoola deal that was posted on the forum earlier this year, and managed to continue to use a fair amount of my regular wardrobe until the last few weeks.

We'll see what we need after the baby comes, but so far, it's been extremely Mustachian.

[2Cent]

Since today is my due date (though BabyNerd has not graced us with his presence yet), I thought I would update how we did.

We ended up buying practically nothing, and we're generally overwhelmed by offers of hand-me-downs that people wanted out of their houses. From this alone we got:

Two types of high chair
A very expensive bassinet (the Halo), which we never would've purchased or registered for, but may end up liking
2 rock-n-plays
Crib mattress
Daybed (for when the kid's a toddler)
2 large totes of clothes for up until the baby is 12 months (probably more outfits than I own for myself)
Training toilet
Playmat
Swaddle
Sleep sacks


And from gifts we got a bunch of other things (two baby carriers, pack-n-play, diapers, wipes), though we're returning a few things that we either don't need it or already got a used version of for free. We got a breast pump for free through insurance (thanks, ACA!). Some of the hand-me-downs may end up being excessive, but we can always pay them forward, return them to their owners (if they have more kids), or donate the excess.

The only baby items we ended up buying for ourselves were two car seats (we got a Black Friday deal on Amazon) and a few odds and ends, but between gift cards and returning items to Target, we're still coming out ahead.

I also ended up spending a grand total of $12 on maternity clothes. I got a few hand-me-downs, used a Schoola deal that was posted on the forum earlier this year, and managed to continue to use a fair amount of my regular wardrobe until the last few weeks.

We'll see what we need after the baby comes, but so far, it's been extremely Mustachian.

Ah, great. You didn't fall for the overbuying trap. From my experience, the free stuff will keep coming for at least the first year, and that's good because they grow out of their things every 3 months or so. After that the kids grow slower and play harder, so the hand me downs are not as much and more worn out.

One thing I got new which has been a great investment is a big play pen. When your kid starts crawling that will give your house a safe play area where you can leave him without worrying. In retrospect I should have got this earlier instead of the small one, which became useless after about 2 months of use.

[Kitsunegari]

One thing I got new which has been a great investment is a big play pen. When your kid starts crawling that will give your house a safe play area where you can leave him without worrying. In retrospect I should have got this earlier instead of the small one, which became useless after about 2 months of use.

Would put a gate on the door and have a completely child-proofed baby bedroom work? Or do you need a different installation?

[harshalpatel]

Two reco's; one not quite mustachian

1) Look for give aways or contests. Reddit has a thread for active sweepstakes. Many times there will Baby Items like Wipes, etc.
https://www.reddit.com/r/sweepstakes/search?q=baby&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all

*The majority of the sweepstakes are not baby / parent related.

2) Go Private label; Kirkland Diapers are actually Huggies Diapers. Kimberly Clark even makes them for Costco (Kirkland is Costco's private label)

3) More for consumables, but Jet.com is often way cheaper than Amazon for household goods. Jet is like an online Costco but no annual fee. If you're willing to buy bulk quantities of wipes, diapers, etc. you can save a pretty penny with Jet.

 

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

One thing I got new which has been a great investment is a big play pen. When your kid starts crawling that will give your house a safe play area where you can leave him without worrying. In retrospect I should have got this earlier instead of the small one, which became useless after about 2 months of use.

Would put a gate on the door and have a completely child-proofed baby bedroom work? Or do you need a different installation?

Baby may want to be where you are, so it depends on the floor plan of your house. We had a childproofed dining room gated at both sides and kids could see me in the kitchen. They did not like to be on their own in a different part of the house.

[Merrie]

We never used a play pen all that much and instead had everything about 98% childproofed (still spent a lot of time pulling my son out from behind the entertainment unit since I couldn't figure out how to childproof that).

[AZDude]

We had a "playroom" that was completely baby proof. That way you could sit in there and relax while the LO roamed all over, falling down and grabbing anything in site. It was also a "saferoom", where we could put her for a moment if we needed to do something. We only needed it for maybe a year, and then I turned back into an office. But during the early walking months, it was invaluable to have someplace with a soft landing(we had hard tile in most of the house).

[alwayslearning]

2) baby wrap like the moby or make one yourself until 6ish months old, then the ergo
5) love love love modern cloth diapers- our favorites are pocket diapers. You can get them cheap on diaperswappers, register for them, even make them if you are crafty.  If you're going cloth might as well use cloth wipes too :)

+1 We are expecting our first baby in May and we just bought an Ergo and cloth diapers from Craigslist. They were so much cheaper than buying them new. We got the Ergo for $20 (retails $120) and the 23 barely used bumgenius and rumparoos both with inserts for $50. (Each bumgenius retails for just under $20 each.)

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

We never used a play pen all that much and instead had everything about 98% childproofed (still spent a lot of time pulling my son out from behind the entertainment unit since I couldn't figure out how to childproof that).

If one really, really wants to childproof the entertainment center, I have heard of people using fireplace surrounds or extendable gates. I just said "no" and moved the baby.

[Venturing]

Where I am most people hire a capsule car seat to start with. Once baby outgrows that they buy a car seat. The capsules are safest for new babies but they do outgrow them very quickly.

Also bear in mind that all car seats have an expiry date. As a general rule the more expensive ones last longer, worth considering if you're likely to have multiple children. Also always check the expiry date when purchasing, some of them can use a good portion of their lifespan sitting on a shelf before being bought.

My daughters car seat is one of very few items that we have purchased new, everything else has been second hand. Good quality baby products are designed to last for multiple children and can be picked up second hand for a fraction of the retail price.

[Ukelkoy]

Sorry for disturbing...just my 2 cents

As the father of a 3 year old girl and a 17 month boy I can speak from recent experience.

Clothes, don't bother, we got so many I forget who got what. Of course a full football kit of his dad's team wouldn't go amiss if they follow one. If you must, get them for at least 6 months plus so they have something for the future.

Sophie la girafe is a must have, but someone may have already got one of those. A soothing night light/lullaby machine is good, they don't work for all kids but can be a real help when they do work.

Silver is a great idea, though we got more of that at christenings. I like the idea of a wine for putting down, or even shares or premium bonds.

Someone has already mentioned personalised items, and the best ones we got for the boy where a really nice blanket and a neckerchief/bib with his name on them.

My favourite though was a baby blanket a friend of mine when our daughter was born. My wife is Greek Cypriot and my friend made us a blanket with a Union Jack on it, but in the colours of the Cypriot flag. It's awesome because its unique.

[I'm a red panda]

The capsules are safest for new babies but they do outgrow them very quickly.

Do you have a citation?
At least in the US, all carseats have to meet the same standard, and there are no strong studies (just very limited ones) ranking relatively safety of different models.

 Capsules are generally considered better for convienece, but really they are easier because people leave baby sleeping in them, and you shouldn't do that.