Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 5039
advice
6/5/2017 at 3:01 PM
Where ever you buy stuff, don't buy a lot. Babies don't need much, and sometimes you'll spend money on things that you'll never need, especially if this is your first go at parenting.
A newborn needs a carseat, a place to sleep, a way to manage elimination, a way to eat, basic clothing, some blankets... and really not much else. Those can mean different things for different families, and different prices depending on the choices you make and whether you buy new or gently used.
I personally would buy a car seat and crib new, simply for safety reasons because there's so many recalls on those things and never know if they're damaged (unless you're getting from someone you know and trust). We have a cheap IKEA crib and it works great, but some people chose to use playpens, bassinets, or even bed share. IKEA actually has tons of neat baby stuff if you can make the trip into Winnipeg.
Generally Wal-Mart is your best bet for little items like change pads, pacifiers if you're using, crib sheets, etc, although I really like the IKEA crib sheets too.
But clothes and everyday blankets... buy used. Yard sales or buy group lots of ebrandon. I have a circle of family/friends that we pass around clothing, which is a great time and money saver. Waste management... cloth or disposables. Both are usually cheaper online. If your place is small, do you really need a monitor? I usually just left the bedroom door open so I could hear them. If you're room-sharing (which is what's recommended the fist 6 months) you're unlikely to need one. I own one but rarely use it (you can often get them at yard sales too). Burp cloths can be old t-shirts cut up. You could buy a swing, but you might want to wait until you know if they're okay with being in a carseat, etc, my experience has been if they hate it they will likely hate the swing.
They don't need toys until they're older, the first 6-8 weeks they pretty much eat, sleep and poop. Watch yard sales for toys, they outgrow them so quickly that it's not worth spending tons on them. Do you need bottles if you're planning on breastfeeding? If you're planning on nursing, your energy is better spent going to La Leche League meetings while still pregnant to learn and get support (having those things in the house initially when learning to nurse can be self-defeating, only buy them once it's clear nursing isn't working if that's your plan). Buying nursing bras might be a good idea, the Bravado ones are fairly reasonable and the fit is designed to adapt to your changing body those first few months.
To decorate their nurseries, with our first we bought all the fancy stuff online at Sears.ca, but with subsequent we didn't worry too much about it. I'll go the dollar store and buy wall decals so they have something to look at (put it above the crib and changing area), and maybe paint a room (not with the last 2, as they roomed in with us).
My point is that a lot of the time we're told we "need" this and that for baby, but really we need very little. Babies have simple needs, and it's only once we're in the thick of it that we really know what we actually need. Also, there's so much used stuff out there it really isn't a big deal to find something for 1/2 price or less over new.