Don't Over Buy for Baby

The moment your household is welcoming a baby, get ready to "ooh" and "ahh" over everything. Baby clothes, tiny shoes and 3 inch socks are so cute. I could spend all day in the baby clothing section.

The I will haphazardly wonder over to the nursery decor then bottles and diapers. The choices, the colors and the designs just capture my attention lie a kid in a candy store. I was hooked on the baby section as soon as Hubby said "let's have a baby"!

But baby items can quickly over take your life. These companies know how to catch our eyes dont they? But that is the problem! They are all out to get you to spend your money and all of it. Babies often do not need all the items that we buy for them. If you are like me, I was determined not to buy a ton of items for my baby boy. So I learned to closed my eyes through the stores and kept the following ideas in mind.

1. Pause! Don't Shop for clothes!

It might be hard to not shop like crazy, but re-frame from shopping for clothes in the first trimester. You could end of purchasing a size that baby wont ever wear, or in a season that is completely off. You could end up buying items that you may receive later, causing to you take items back to the store. I had a baby shower one month before my son was born and I have a bag in the trunk of my car full of item that I want to take back. Just Slow down.

2. Baby Showers Bring Items

If it's your first baby, you are likely to receive a baby shower. If this is your second, third or even tenth, you might receive a Baby Sprinkle. Look it up, it's a thing!

This wonderful celebration often drowns the new parents in clothes, diapers, towels and more. See what you receive first before going shopping crazy. A complete registrar can also help with better gifts. We bought two lotions, two shampoos and 5 outfits in 4 different sizes before any baby shower. After the showers, we received over 5 bottles of lotion and shampoo each.  Then we got more than enough clothes in almost every size from 0-3 until 18 months!!! We really only need to shop for 3 months pants and 12 month shorts in the future.

The baby/guest room after our baby shower! Took days to find a home for everything.

3. Sizes and Quantity

You can never have too many diapers, bottles, lotion and soap. So buy away. But what about clothing? Babies go through sizes so quickly. They may zip through the first couple of sizes before slowing down or grow slowly only to speed through older sizes. You never know, so make sure not to over buy in one particular size. Quantity per size will vary based on your principals, your budget and your space for storage.

As for us, we have stuck to the 20 item rule. We try to keep 10 footed one pieces and 10 outfits. This allows us to wash less and actually get some wear out of the clothes. We wash weekly and are able to replace too small items with the next size much easily.

4. Think and Re-think

The baby market is huge! Billions of dollars are spent every year on baby products and many items are unused and unwanted. Many in my opinion are unless. When you register for baby products, really evaluate rather you have the space for the items, and rather you need it before birth. For example, we needed a car seat before birth, but we didn't need a stroller until he was two months. We just bought the stroller last week to use around Christmas time. If we got it earlier, it would have just sat around. Perhaps you would need a stroller well before we did.

Re-thinking the use of baby products will really curbed your spending habit. Use this simple question:

 "What did the previous generations do?" 

Babies have been around as long as the sun. To really evaluate rather the products you are about to buy are useful or just a money sucker, think about how the previous generations handled it. Babies have always needed rocking, but the previous generations didn't buy a swing, a rocker, a bouncer and a vibrating seat. I saved my money and the space in my house and only requested a swing.

I had a co-worker that had two high-end bassinets and an expensive crib. She wanted there to be a place to lay baby no matter where she was in her house. She didn't live in a mansion, just a regular two story, 2,000 square foot home. After the baby was 3 months old, she realized that she only used one bassinet. It took her another month to fully use the crib. By time her child was 5 months old, she was trying to sell the two bassinets. Hundreds of dollars were wasted! Previous generations had three places for babies to lie... right?

Without rethinking, you can think every little item is "cool" and "inventive". I hope these tips help you with overspending on baby products. I purposefully kept dollar values off the table, because what is expensive for me might not be for you. It isn't always how much to spend, but overwhelming your life with more than one could ever use!

Good Luck to you and your family as you welcome a little bundle of joy!