baby registry

When we first started accepting babies, (we prefer 4-10 year olds or so) I had nothing because our youngest child, at that time, was way outside of babyhood. ;) I searched Craigslist for some good bargains and stocked up through there. I remember getting a glider chair and ottoman, sit and stand stroller (fits three) new carseat and base, bathtub, pack and play, and a bunch of blankets for only 75 dollars. I found two new looking exersaucers at a yard sale for 10 bucks each, and stocked up on baby clothes via yardsales as well. The only things I purchased new was a baby crib and mattress. I bought these from walmart for a hundred bucks for both. I also splurged with one of my drug addicted babies and went to BabiesRUs and bought a swing. It was overpriced and a ridiculous buy, but it saved my sanity and, now, has been well worth the money spent. My advice would be to buy used. You can get some super nice, very gently used baby items for very cheap.

I have been looking on Craigslist so should I start getting random items now?

I would. Collect things bit by bit and look for the super awesome buys.

Wishfulthinking- I had a dear friend throw my DH and I a foster/adoption baby shower. If you look back at my threads you will see the idea stressed me out, but at the same time I wanted to experience celebrating the child or children that would come with my family and friends- and you need stuff! In the end- we called it a "Prep for Parenthood Party" and on the cute- gender neutral invitations, my friend put "We invite you to help BS and DH celebrate and prepare for "The Call" for a newborn-1 year old baby boy or girl. The people invited were close family and friends and they all knew our plan, so it was the farthest thing from awkward- it was just a fun party with lots of baby stuff. We registered for the general things you need- diapers in different sizes- WIPES- you can NEVER have enough wipes, pacis, basic care items, baby moniter, sound machine, boppy pillow, bottles, bibs (never too many bibs either). I think it is good if you know your age range to register for toys and books too. About the only thing we avoided was clothing- and you will get a small clothing reimbursement if it is the way my state works. Gift cards are great- I did go and get a few gender neutral onsies. If there is someone who wants to shower you let them! New foster/adoptive parents need things just as much as birth parents! And it is fun to prepare!

Ask friends. People are normally happy to get rid of baby stuff. We did that and for clothes we thrift store shop. You can get some really nice clothes dirt cheap.

I LOVE this idea! I am doing foster to adopt for 0-2 and I have no bio kids. I would love this!

I found out 2 days before our first placement (the day of "the call") that we got a voucher for baby items (only certain things). It was awesome to go fill up 2 carts at Target (including an infant carrier, baby bathtub, bottles, clothes, bouncy chair, diapers.) I had already gotten a crib off Craigslist (as my first one was broke after 4 boys) as I knew I did not want to assemble a crib in the time between a call and the child coming. And I had stocked some clothes, just to have a few onesies and pjs in a variety of sizes.

Hi! We just went thru the prepping and have our first placement now. We are foster/adopt 0-2 and our fd is a 5 month old. If your home study is anything like ours was we had to have the room for our intended fk's fully outfitted as though they would be pulling a baby out of the trunk as soon as they were done with the inspection. In fact the only action item we had on our home study correction plan was that I needed to take the baby clothes out of the crib. I would second (or would that be 3rd) Craigslist as a resource. One of the things I did was place an ad letting folks know of my intentions as a future foster parent and offering to trade my professional photography services for some of the larger ticket items I needed. Also be sure to check the free stuff section regularly and be ready to run when something good turns up. Also, if you do buy or receive any used items be sure to check the Internet for any recall notices. Oh and another tip, check with your local highway patrol as most offer free car seat checks to ensure that your car seat is safely installed and some even have car seats available free of charge. As for the clothes, you don't need to have an entire wardrobe available for every age and gender but if you can get about a weeks worth of each size/gender especially night clothes so you don't have to rush out when a child shows up unexpectedly. You might also want to have some diapers, a can of formula and some baby bottles in a couple of different styles. Hope that helps! Take care, help lots of people and have a wonderful day!

We bought everything we needed for ourselves. We got an infant and a convertible carseat, strollers, crib, dresser, bed and highchairs. Toys, bath stuff, bottles, clothes, blankets etc. As we fostered different ages we added more toys, another carseat, potties, etc. It was hard and I was a little jealous of people whoget showers for their newborns. This felt best for us because we didn't know when or if we would be adopting. Fostering can be so unpredictable that we didn't want t have a big shower for a child that might only stay a few weeks. I think if you were matched with a specific child or sibling group it would be fine to register and have a shower. After our adoptions were completed we did have a party thrown for us and were given some gifts that were mostly sentimental, for example engraved picture frames and monogrammed blankets.

Hi! We just went thru the prepping and have our first placement now. We are foster/adopt 0-2 and our fd is a 5 month old. If your home study is anything like ours was we had to have the room for our intended fk's fully outfitted as though they would be pulling a baby out of the trunk as soon as they were done with the inspection. In fact the only action item we had on our home study correction plan was that I needed to take the baby clothes out of the crib. I would second (or would that be 3rd) Craigslist as a resource. One of the things I did was place an ad letting folks know of my intentions as a future foster parent and offering to trade my professional photography services for some of the larger ticket items I needed. Also be sure to check the free stuff section regularly and be ready to run when something good turns up. Also, if you do buy or receive any used items be sure to check the Internet for any recall notices. Oh and another tip, check with your local highway patrol as most offer free car seat checks to ensure that your car seat is safely installed and some even have car seats available free of charge. As for the clothes, you don't need to have an entire wardrobe available for every age and gender but if you can get about a weeks worth of each size/gender especially night clothes so you don't have to rush out when a child shows up unexpectedly. You might also want to have some diapers, a can of formula and some baby bottles in a couple of different styles. Hope that helps! Take care, help lots of people and have a wonderful day!

We did Foster-to-adopt for lower legal risk. Once we had met our DS, we had a few months of visits before he moved in. During that time, since we then knew more of what he needed, we did make a registry, and my mom did a baby shower for us, with the understanding that it could be for "any" baby.... thankfully it ended up being him! ;) Now that we are doing straight foster for a while, I am going to stock up at consignment sales, I have gotten some hand-me-downs from friends and family, and we will buy a new crib.