First Baby Furniture Purchase

What I'm about to say probably isn't what most of the experts, or even anyone with kids, would suggest for a first piece of furniture for Baby. Let me say first that I'm generally a pretty easy-going guy. I let my wife pick most of the decorations in our house. I'll throw in my two cents once in a while and she'll try to take that into account if it doesn't completely ruin what she was already planning to do.

The one item I strongly felt would be a good purchase for the nursery was a glider that reclined. I think kicking back after Baby has just nursed and snoozing for a while will be quite convenient for my wife. She didn't exactly disagree so we've been keeping an eye out for a comfortable glider with good back support (for dear ol' dad - I've got a tricky back sometimes) that would recline.

It wasn't exactly planned, but we were strolling around Babies R Us one day and ran across a great rocker/glider. It was pretty pricey. Easily the most expensive thing that will go in the nursery, but I think it'll get a lot of use. And it can always be used in other rooms later so it is multi-purpose.

Wasting Money On Baby

I was getting dressed for work recently and my wife was watching the Today show. Savannah Guthrie was interviewing a guest who had brought a bunch of baby clothes that they were praising as great deals. "Check this one out!" the guest breathlessly announced. "This cute baby outfit normally retails for $73! You can get it now for just $22! You can't pass this up!" Yes, she really seemed to be speaking with exclamation points in every sentence she spoke.

I was shocked by the price, of course. You can see my thoughts on affordable baby clothes and how much should really be spent on them. But I was also surprised at what the Today show thinks is a good deal for the average parent.

I'm sure hordes of sheeple will run out and buy these expensive clothes for their precious babies, but is it really worth it? Can they really afford it? Do they put as much money towards their emergency fund, college fund, or retirement account as they do towards making sure Baby has the hippest clothes?

The Baby Industry is much like the Wedding Industry. Both allow you to spend as much as you want... whether you can afford it or not. Its up to us to be smart. To research costs and products prior to shopping. To think about whether we really need to buy the products at all. Let's face it: the Baby Industry is marketing its wares non-stop. They'll make you feel like you just have to buy Item X or you're a bad parent. Or your child will be dumb. Or fat. Or whatever.

Do your due diligence before you buy your next 'baby necessity'. Keep in mind that you are setting an example for your baby, too. If you spend money frivolously, your child may come to have the same feelings about money.

Baby Clothes

As we are just preparing for Baby to arrive, we aren’t delving too much into clothes yet. My wife is very savvy with Craigslist and other online pursuits. And we are very cost conscious. Me, especially. So we decided not to buy a lot of clothes for Baby that will only get worn a few times before they are outgrown.

We took a Friday off work and hit some garage sales that advertised baby items.  Since we are waiting to learn the sex of Baby, we had to search a little harder to find gender-neutral things, but it wasn’t too bad. We did have to pass up some super-cute things, though.

As far as cost, the baby clothes (sometimes with the tags still on them!) were selling for $1 to $2. Same for baby board books – in perfect condition. We estimate that we got well over $500 worth of essentials for $100.

There may come a time when we need special clothing for an event that we’ll have to hit the stores for, but for day-to-day stuff, garage sales are the way to go. I would imagine we’ll get some other clothes at baby showers and such. After that, we’ll see what items we still need. 

Welcome to First Baby Infomation!

Hi, My name is MJ. My wife is pregnant with our first baby and we are very excited about it. We are also both readers (especially my wife). So when we decided to start our family, we began researching everything baby. From how they grow in the womb, to how my wife’s hormones will take her on a wild ride, to how to make baby smarter. Some information we found very easily, but much of it took an inordinate amount of research just to find out where to get the information we were after!

So, I thought I’d do my good deed by telling other parents (and soon-to-be parents) what we found, what we liked, and what we didn't like. If possible, I’ll post a picture or link for you to find out more about a product or possibly jump straight to purchasing it if you find my thoughts helpful.

And as Baby grows up, I'll continue to share what we learn with you. This is our first baby and I'm pretty sure all the other new parents out there will have some of the same questions we do. I'm new to blogging like this, too, so I'll learn about this as I go as well.

If you have questions or comments, feel free to submit. I'll answer what I can or try to find out if I don't know. Or if you just have an answer to something I'm struggling with, I'd love to hear that, too.

I hope I can make your search for all your baby accessories a little easier to find than it was for us. Have a look around and thanks for reading!