Here’s the scoop from babytalk magazine (free at the local drs office)…
1. Crib– Buying one at a designer baby store won’t get you any more safety-all cribs sold in the US meet the same safety criteria, they’re just going to be fancier and pricier. Bottom line: Save your cash for other baby essentials and spend half the price at a discount store. It’s just as safe.
2. Changing Table– Instead of forking over $300 for a fancy dresser/changing table combo, get a kit for $25 (from Target) to attach a changing pad to your own dresser (see if mom kept your old one at home), and in the meantime check with other family members to see if you can get a rocker while you’re at it. Don’t borrow a crib unless you can verify it does not have any safety recalls on it. Bottom line–borrow and modify furniture to save big $$.
3. Decorating– Don’t go with pastel pink or baby blue on your walls, unless you are willing to move into the room later. Stick with a fun green, yellow, blue or red (ask a 10 year olds advice on the color) or take it totally neutral with a beige or cream and stock up on fun accessories like baskets and toys in colors to complete your theme. That way, you’ll have a room that grows with your child into the pre-teen years, when they’ll ask to paint their room anyway! Don’t spend a bunch of money on carpet that will be ruined or borders you’ll have to take down. Toss down a throw rug for cushioned play time and put up some framed pages from your favorite childhood books or invest in wall decals that peel off when the time is right. Bottom line: Keep it simple for a room that will grow with your child(ren), who knows you may have more than one child and use the same room. Do you REALLY want to repaint over cotton candy pink and tear down ballerina borders for your little boy’s imminent arrival with a 2 year old running loose in the house? Stick to the basics and keep accessories fun and bright (and removeable).
4. Sleep nekkid — Skip the $150 crib set that includes bumpers and a blanket you can’t use for the first year anyway. Doctors state that a safe crib is just a mattress, a tight fitting mattress pad and a crib sheet. Oh and don’t warranty that mattress, it’s not worth it. Bottom line: Use the crib sheets as a way to bring color and theme into the room. Skip the frills and put that money towards diapers, or new soft sheets for your own bed!
If I can find it again, I have a whole spread sheet on some “cost savings” tips and other ideas that I put together shortly after my son was born – we did yellowish walls and added color with his sheets and the curtains, which have already been changed out to something more toddlerish –
Clearly, I am far behind. For that? I’m SO SO SO sorry!!
Congrats, first and foremost 🙂 I couldn’t be happier for you guys!!
When I was looking at furniture for Morgan, I opted to drop a little over 2 grand. I went with a crib that converts to a toddler bed and then to a full size bed. This way, I’m not buying beds throughout the years, just mattresses. One dresser is, obviously, a dresser and the top is used as the changing table. When the child outgrows that, you put away the pad and tra-la…it’s a normal dresser top. Her other dresser has 4 drawers on one side and the other is an cabinet with shelves. Sure, it was a lot of money, but again…it’s a set that will grow with her during the years and I won’t be faced with the “Morgan needs a new bed/dresser” situation down the road.
I bought the crib set—her blanket hung on the wall in her room and the bumper pad….well, if it’s secure and doesn’t flop around, it’s fine. No stuffed animals/pillows/blankets.
We played neutral on the walls. Her walls are a pale yellow and there’s yellow in her crib set.
I think I shall shut up now 🙂
Again, congrats!!
🙂 🙂 🙂