How do you stock up?

Wow!! You are SO prepared!!! Just reading all that made my head spin (I have HUGE storage issues with my little apartment!).

If you dont mind, what kind is it? I would def be interested in looking into a stroller like that for us as well. Thanks. Alina

Hello, We have stocked up on several items that we will need for children age 0-4. I agree with others that local baby and children resale shops are excellent. We've found several items at prices that allowed us to get more for our $. I think it is great to stock up to a point, but I know that, as the children arrive, we will want to purchase clothing, etc. for them individually. I wanted to be prepared for a child (children) who arrive with nothing so we could have something to start with and go from there...

Some excellent advice here I think! I totally forgot about freecycle! And strangely...I didn't think of baby toys??? I mean, I'm constantly tripping over toys, so I didnt even consider that....but Im tripping over toys for a 4, 6 and 8 year old.... oopps. ALso, Someone said that they just get the basics so if a kid arrives with nothing, they have something for them...I just worry if they came at a time when things were a little tight, before we got any reimbursements, Id wanna have a few things for them to hold us over till payday...you know what i mean?

We have bunk beds, a crib and a bassinette (sp), several umbrella strollers, a double jogger, a single stroller that an infant car seat can sit in, two infant car seats, two convertable car seats, a backless booster and a booster with a back, a baby swing, exersaucer, high chair, toddler booster for the table, bouncy seat, boys clothing from newborn to 2t and girls size 2t and two bins of winter outerwear (unisex) for new born to 3t. My mother has started collecting girls clothing for us at her house as she has more room, my sil is keeping bins of 3and 4 boys for us and has one girl and three boys of varing sizes 9 and up, who would be willing to share. We have gotten a lot from friends and family as hand me downs and from freecycle.com and I go to e-bay and type in the size and season I need when I have the need and usually can get a ton for about $1 to $2 each. We receive a clothing stipend when they come to us only if they have just come into placement so it helps when you have someone come with inappropriate clothing or with nothing as our last placement had. Do what you are confortable with and have the money and space for. Plus when our little guy came to us some friends and family went out and bought stuff for him and even bought for him when he left. he came with nothing and left with a full to bulging 21 inch duffle bag, a huge box stuffed full and a large shopping bag full.

We have a great local goodwill and I go a couple of times a month usually. If I see something cute and in great shape I just grab it and hope it fits someone eventually. I agree with the other person that said tell everyone you are going to foster. I used to work full time at a local store and now only work one or two days a week well a lot of regular customers ask me where I've been and I say well I'm a foster mom now so cut down to part time. Usually, either immediately or within the next couple of weeks they say hey I'm cleaning out closets you want the clothes or toys for your foster kids? I always say yes I figure if it is stuff I don't end up wanting I'll just cart it to goodwill myself (I'm there all the time anyway..lol). I've gotten so many nice clothes this way and they love giving it to me because they feel like they are also helping the children.

I am now transferring each bag into a vacuumn bag to decrease the space needed to store them. Do these work ok? I've been thinking about putting all my baby clothes in them I am quickly running out of room.

A combination of: Freecycle friends' babies' outgrown clothing/toys Craigslist thrift stores free offers online I got a crib, bassinet and bouncer off Craigslist. Freecycle provided clothes, bottles, toys, books, and a carrier. Thrift stores provided more clothes (Wednesdays were 1/2 off!) and a stroller. Friends loaded me up with clothes, burp cloths, baby towels, receiving blankets... I think the only thing I bought new to start with was the convertible car seat! Also keep an eye out on store clearance racks. I got a bunch of cheap but still good formula from Publix and Walgreens that way. There's a blog called babycheapskate which keeps me abreast of the latest deals.

we stocked up on clothing by telling all of our friends we wanted any of their old clothing. many were glad to help us get started in foster care. we had SO much stuff we were able to go through it all, keep the best stuff, and still ended up with one boy and one girl box size newborn to 16!!!! we labeled them and stuck them in a closet. it was so easy, and my only expense was the boxes! we also got out first crib free from a foster care support agency. it was very helpful in the beginning!

I thought I'd address the cloth diaper issue since not too many do. I started when one of my FS's had diaper rashes I couldn't get rid of. I made some cloth diapers from a kit I found on line. You can also buy them from work at home moms on line if you don't sew, but be careful about e-bay.They are pocket style and look like a sposie except much cuter. When I make them they cost $5.00 or less each and I do send them with the child if the family wants to use them. Once you get the hang of making them, they are quite easy. I make one sized ones that fit 8-40 pounds, which is probably best if you are making or collecting them ahead. Mine are waterproof and actually stay drier at night than the sposies. I stuff them with microfiber auto towels from Costco. The SW's love them and seem shocked many times at how easy to use they are. I think I get a few brownie points too. :clap: As far as keeping them sanitary I wash them quite thouroughly and use a bit of bleach or time in the sun if they retain and smell.If you are up for it, I say go for it. HTH"s Becki

Would it horribly disturb everyone if I said I made my own sanitary napkins??? *ducks head* I had to figure out my own pattern for those...where did you find the pattern you used for the diapers? This is a challenge I would love! Are they the old-style ones or are they newer like BumGenius, Fuzzi Bunz, etc....?

There is a webgroup called diaper divas and it's on proboards. That group has listings for tons of different patterns that are free or low cost. They also can tell you what fabrics to buy. Yahoo has a sewyourown diaper group. I have found diaper making quite addictive. They are fast to make and they are practical to use. I use the material PUL which is a laminated fabric. It's soft and flexible but waterproof. It can only be bought online though. The pattern I use is similar to bum genius but was designed by a WAHM and cost me a whopping $5.00. I make 12-14 diapers per kid and wash every other day as the least. I figure that I save $40-60 per month and the fact that I'm not adding another diaper that takes 100+ years to decompose makes it well worth the little bit of hassle. Not to mention all the savings on diaper rash cream!! My little ones don't get them anymore. The only exception is if they have a visit. Transporters generally don't want to deal with cloth so that's a battle I choose not to fight. PM me if you want exact websites. I don't mind sharing the info, my pennance for all of the sposies my Bio son used. :cheer: Cloth pads aren't my thing but hey, less waste is great for the planet. Becki

Not me, I have made and used them for years! Here's a link to a few patterns: [url=http://www.borntolove.com/d-list7-make.shtml]Make your own reusable menstrual pads[/url]

I, too use cloth diapers, but I use a diaper service. It costs about $40 per month per child, but that is so much less than disposables and they don't go into the landfill.

I am a HUGE fan of free cycle! We did buy a crib off of craig's list but i wish I hadn't. If I had waited 1 week I would have gotten a freeon one on freecycle! I also got a few things from my sister in law but basically I take any kids stuff I can find on freecycle to be prepared. The really nice thing is when I tell people why I am taking the stuff, they usually say "oh well I have stuff from my other kids too do you want that as well???" We have gotten HUGE bags full of clothes, books and toys. Now when we actually have a placement, we have to go buy them some things but at least we can get through a couple days. I do keep a stock of a couple daipers in a few different sizes though...just in case.