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As far as formula goes, check to see if you can qualify for WIC (women, infant, and children) if you do end up needing to use formula. You can get on it while you are pregnant and stay on it until the child is at least 2. You get cereals, milk, peanut butter, legumes, juices, cheese and several other food items while you are preganant. Then after baby is born they will add formula and baby cereals to the list.
I know WIC is a gov. funded program and some people don't like the idea of taking Gov. money. But it is a needed and useful program for many a parent or family and at least around here where I lived it almost became unavailable because not enough folks were going on it. If it were to have stopped a lot of folks who desperately needed it would not have been able to recieve it. If you don't know where your WIC office is located contact your local family services or county health nurse and they can tell you where it is at.
You can also get a lot of good nutrtional advice for both you and your baby.
Check around and see if you have consignment sales in your area. Where I used to live, we had none, but here in the Denver area, there are several sales in the spring and fall. clothes, swings, strollers, room decor, toys, books.... everything.
Oh - and if you have a Publix - sign up for the baby and then toddler program - all you do is sign up...they mail you kid-related coupons for fairly substantial savings and occasionally FREE items...even if baby goes nowhere near a gallon of milk, a dollar off for your morning coffee doesn't hurt!
If not Publix, check other grocers - most likely will have a similar program.
Just enjoy the bonding you'll have with your baby--they grow up so fast! It'll be a life-altering experience, for sure. And I'd rather you focus on the little moments and getting to know him/her than the outside-- the most expensive clothes, toys, baby accessories, etc.
Everyone, THANK YOU SO MUCH. You are so valuable.You can see that you all know what you are talking about. If nothing changes, I would probably stay at home at least for the first two years, while my husband is working. Also, wyoquilter, thank you for the WIC insight. I have never heard of that before. I don't think that we will need it, but if we would, I would definitely try to apply. I will research them just in case. For us, the biggest thing is that we will have good health insurance if they accept him for a new job that he has interviewed for. I know that delivery can cost a lot of money if you don't have an insurance. Thank you all for your advice. If you remember anything, add it on.
I also wanted to mention how I make my own baby toys.
empty water bottles with pennies inside. Perfect rattle.
I cut out cardboard and felt into shapes and paste them together.
I do the same with numbers.
I cut out pics of animals from magazines and paste them to carboard and cut them out.
I get really cheap puzzles from the dollar store
I let my little girl play with whole newspapers
Blocks and boxes do wonders for filling time
I also wanted to mention how I make my own baby toys.
empty water bottles with pennies inside. Perfect rattle.
I cut out cardboard and felt into shapes and paste them together.
I do the same with numbers.
I cut out pics of animals from magazines and paste them to carboard and cut them out.
I get really cheap puzzles from the dollar store
I let my little girl play with whole newspapers
Blocks and boxes do wonders for filling time
Thank you so much for these links. They are very useful. I guess kids like "simple" toys as well!!!That is good to know!!!
OMG-to the point of frustration! LOL. Know what I got my 1 year old godson for Christmas? A set of coasters! His mother gets so mad that those are what he plays with all the time totally ignoring the Fisher Price kingdom in the corner of the room.
My main "trick" is that I get almost everything second hand or as a gift. I buy very little new. I bought the carseats new, and the crib this time (the first crib was the one my sister used to sleep in). But I buy almost all clothing, toys, and gear second-hand. We have these big consignment sales in our area that happen twice a year and you can get everything for very cheap. So I spend $1-2 on clothing items typically, I got an exersaucer for $5, etc.
I am going to use cloth diapers this time around and I am also buying them used. Some from craigslist and consignment, and others from DiaperSwappers. If you are interested in cloth diapers, DiaperSwappers is a great website for buying and selling used diapers and for asking questions about which kind to use and how to wash them and everything related. There are huge variations in prices, from the basic prefolds for like $1-2 each to the expensive diapers with snap closures, cute prints, and special organic fabrics for like $35 each. But even if you go with new, expensive cloth diapers, you still usually get out cheaper than using disposables, because you can re-sell your cloth diapers when you are done, but nobody wants to buy your used Pampers! I didn't do cloth diapers for my first because I was kinda intimidated and thought it would be a lot of work, but it's really not bad.
Another thing I'm doing this time is learning to sew. I've started by making some fleece pants, a hat, a diaper, and wipes. You can make stuff out of old clothes and blankets that you don't use anymore and then you even have free fabric. You'd be surprised how you can get enough material for a baby hat, pair of pants, AND a diaper from one old shirt!
I also breastfeed and have never bought formula, which has saved me a lot of money. Though I would do that anyway, even if breastfeeding was more expensive, so that wasn't my motivation. I use an electric pump at work, and though people often complain at the cost of electric pumps, it's still a lot cheaper than buying formula would be!
I also made my own baby food and used the same website as provided above. It's way cheaper and you know exactly what goes into it.
Another thing I wanted to mention was that some people have suggested skipping the smaller sizes and going straight to a little bigger ones. And if you have a big baby, that works fine because your baby doesn't use small sizes for very long. But some of us have small babies who DO use the small sizes for a long time. A great "advantage" to having a small kid is that they stay in the same size for longer and don't outgrow their clothes so quick! Not that you can know in advance if you will have a big or small baby, but I'd still get some small clothes in case baby is small.
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