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This may be slightly OT, but DH and I are almost too organized sometimes and we're doing our household budget for the 2nd half of the year. He asked me for a list with estimated costs of what we will need to spend when we bring our child home. :confused: :confused: :confused: I suddenly realized that I have absolutely no idea! I'm wondering if anyone knows of websites or has a list of the basics for the child that you needed to buy, what items are critical for what ages, etc. Our child will most likely be almost or just over 2, so I'm not sure what that rules out. I suppose I'm also curious what items are worth splurging on and what to go as cheap as possible. Some things seem obvious, but others (like that cool $300 stroller from Italy) leave me wondering if I'm turning into that statusy mom I said I'd never be. :p Yuck! Are all 1st time mom's this clueless? :fish:
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depending on the age of your child some VERY basics will be:
diapers (6 or more a day)
wipes
formula (when our daughter was only on formula we'd go thru a large canister in a week) Depending on the brand these can run about 25.00 per can (we've not bought any for nearly 2 years so I might be wrong on the price).
infant foods. You can figure this out with regular foods and mash them up. Some people buy baby foods and use them. We never used jars of baby food. You can also get some crackers that are for infants/toddlers as well as cereals. We'd go thru a large canister of the cereal in a week, maybe 2 weeks (I forget).
baby bath items, OTC baby meds... If your child's skin is sensitive you may spend more $$ on a particular brand of lotions or bath soaps...
laundry soap for infants (for our oldest we used this for a looonnggg time cuase her skin was sensitive)
You'll also go thru more paper towels and wash your own clothes and towels more often cause you'll get spit up on you and dirt from playing on the ground with your child. and you'll do more dish washing than before!
ALOT of toys, videos, strollers etc can be bought at yard sales, consignment stores, thru craigs list or freecycle if you are wondering about costs and the value of certain things. You can but the fanciest 100.00 toy or 'gizmo' only to have your child be completely uninterested in it or outgrow it in 2 months.
We always got toys that had multi purposes early on so the girls would 'grow' with the toys.
Also 'rotating' toys works wonders in getting away with 'less is more'.
Books: library and yard sales can be a great source. For a young toddler/ infant board books will last much longer than one with paper pages. And pop up books are destroyed by most toddlers. They are pretty books but little hands can easily rip the pages.
If you know you're going to have more than 1 child investing in a good stroller can be worth while.
some people swear by a changing table, we never had one. Depending on the child's age you may want a crib that converts to a bed.
Car seats can run anywhere up to 200.00. I personally decided that was one thing we were going to buy 'top line' since that's our girl's safety we're talking about.
safety things for your house: door knob 'thingies', cabinet locks, baby gates, electric socket covers, possibly a baby monitor for the child's room. (these are 1 time costs usually).
If you have the storage space stores like Costco, Sams club. can be a great place to buy diapers, wipes, formula, laundry soap, paper towels etc in bulk if you can use the brands they have.
A carton of 150-200 diapers can last about a month depending on a chlid's age (depending on brands diapers run at least 20 cents a piece).
The baby laundry soap. A huge container is at least 20.00 (again I forget).
Not sure that was what you're getting at?
Joanne
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I wouldn't get a Diaper Geenie. We could have done without it. If the child is still in diapers-and they go number two...flush the stuff down the toilet and throw away the diaper. Easy. Diaper Geenie's are smelly when you take out the liner. That stuff has usually been fermenting. Same thing with a diaper changer. You will probably never use it. I had one for my bio son, and never did.We found it useful to have a diaper hanger. We hang hers outside of the closet because it is actually very beautiful. It rests high on the wall so she can't grab them. You can also keep them in the closet, hanging on the pole.We would get an easy cleaning high chair again. We would get a nice rocking chair again. We keep ours in the family room and it is the place to read books at night. Caution though, if you decide to keep it in the child's bedroom, she will most likely decide to test the boundaries of the rocking chair's rocking ability.If you really like boutique clothes, or even if you just like the not-so-boutique clothes, but expensive ones, try going to eBay, and type in "boutique 2t lot girls" or a variation for sizes. You have time now to look, and you would be surprised what you will find that is either NEW or LIKE NEW condition, for really good deals. Cady still has a closet full of clothes that we'll be able to save for Melody, that still look barely worn. I honestly do not think that she will be able to wear all the clothes that we have for her. And I've gotten so many compliments about them, asking where I got them. When I tell people eBay, sometimes they scoff and that's the end of the conversation. Do I really care if they've been worn once or twice? Heck no. Children usually outgrow clothes before they wear them out, before age 3. Especially the higher quality clothes. A lot of the clothes could easily still be on new clothing racks.That's all I could think of for now. If I think of more I'll post it.
Our daughter's 19 months and we've been home 2 months. Here are things I could think of for your list:
*carseat - we got Britax ($270) and Evenflo Triumph
($125). You have to check what'll fit in your vehicle. The Britax doesn't fit in our truck. I like the Evenflo better.
*crib/bed - the children who were 2 in our SWI didn't sleep in cribs so you may want a toddler bed instead. I have a crib that turns into a toddler bed and don't like it. In the toddler bed mode, even at the lowest rung, the mattress is too high for her to get in and out of easily and I'm afraid of her falling out.
*highchair - if you're not dealing with an infant, we found the feeding seat which straps onto a regular chair to be better than a regular highchair. (about $30)
*toys - the best thing we got Jess was the laugh & learn stride to ride learning car from Babies R Us. It helped with gross and fine motor skills. I also like sorting toys. Toys that make music are great (although they can drive the parent crazy).
*exersaucer- this is great to have if you're alone and have to take a shower. I personally hate walkers; I think they're dangerous. Exersaucers don't move around the room. I only use it when I'm taking a shower when Mike's not home since our daughter needs floor time more than containment.
*diapers - we buy the large boxes at BJ's. Jess goes through 5-7 a day. (about $35)
*wipes - we buy a large box at BJ's (about 13)
*formula/pediasure - we signed up for formula programs with Enfamil and Similac where you get some free samples and discount coupons. Jess won't touch formula so we donated all that we got. The doctor did recommend pediasure which runs $11 for 6 8 oz cans.
*baby food - don't bother with the infant food. We get some of the toddler food but Jess eats what we eat mostly.
*detergent - we don't buy special detergent because we use All Free and Clear since I have sensitive skin and it hasn't given her any problems
*baby wash - we use Aveeno which is more expensive but Johnson's caused a breakout.
*clothes - Jess can go through 1-2 outfits a day. I buy most of her clothes on clearance and sales.
Hope this helps.
Paula
Lissa
A really good book is the baby bargains book.
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We had the newer DG too, and the problem was not while it was in the container, the problem was emptying the container bags. Also, if your child comes home with giardia (a common parasite in China because of the water), it will smell much worse and the parasite needs OUT of my house, and in the sewer.
I just found it to be much simpler to empty the diaper in the toilet and throw it away.
KarenInCa
We had the newer DG too, and the problem was not while it was in the container, the problem was emptying the container bags. Also, if your child comes home with giardia (a common parasite in China because of the water), it will smell much worse and the parasite needs OUT of my house, and in the sewer.
I just found it to be much simpler to empty the diaper in the toilet and throw it away.