The Dirt on Diapers and Other Baby Gear

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Having a baby on a budget. The essentials. The frills n Baby clothes. Maternity and nursing wear. Where the bargains are.
Tips on shopping second-hand.

The Dirt on Diapers and Other Baby Gear

The U.S. juvenile products business manages to rack up $3.7 billion in sales each year. It's no wonder that the industry's sales figures are so healthy. Their marketing messages are everywhere. You'll find baby-product catalogs tucked in the prenatal magazines you pick up in your doctor's office, and you'll probably leave the hospital or birthing center with even more slick marketing materials designed to put a dent in your dwindling baby-equipment budget.

If you've got the financial means to buy one of everything in the FAO Schwartz catalog, then you might as well skip this chapter; it's not for you. If, however, you are looking for some guidance on what is and isn't essential before you hit the baby-gear smorgasbord at Toys R Us, then read on. We'll tell you what's essential, what's not, and what items you might like to have, budget permitting. Then we'll tell you where to find the bargains and what you need to know about shopping second-hand.

Having a baby on a budget
It's easy to drop a bundle of cash when you're shopping for your baby. According to Denise and Alan Fields, authors of the best-selling book Baby Bargains, it's not unusual for parents to spend $6,400 on baby-related expenses during baby's first year. (See Table 13.1.)

TABLE 13.1: THE AVERAGE COST OF BABY'S FIRST YEAR—TAKE ONE!

Crib, mattress, dresser, and rocker	$1,500

Bedding/decor	$300

Baby clothes	$500

Disposable diapers	$600

Maternity/nursing clothes	$1,200

Nursery items, high chairs, toys	$400

Baby food	$100

Bottle-feeding	$1,000

Stroller, car seat, baby carrier	$300

Miscellaneous	$500

Total	$6,400

Source: Industry estimates as quoted in Baby Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields. Boulder Creek, CO: Windsor Peak Press, 1997.

" There's plenty of baby stuff out there, but only a few items are essential. I mean, do you really need a baby wipe warmer? What's wrong with warming up the wipe in your hands?
—Marie, 34, mother of four "

Does this mean that you should rush out and see your banker as soon as the pregnancy test comes back positive? That you should resign yourself to the fact that you're going to be saddled with a baby-equipment loan that may still be hanging around when it's time for junior to head off to college?

Hardly.

If you look at this table carefully, you'll see that there are some items that can come right off the top, if you've got a little less cash to spend on baby than the average Fortune 500 company executive but still want to buy everything new:

Crib, mattress, dresser, and rocker: The only items in this category that are really essential are the crib and the mattress—unless, of course, you decide to have your baby sleep with you. The dresser is nice to have, but you can probably get away with some other method of storage (for example, a plastic container with a lid that slides under your baby's crib, an old desk, or even a laundry basket). The rocking chair is another frill—something that's nice to have, but not essential. Assuming that you decide to stick with the crib and the mattress and forgo the other two items for now, you've chopped your expenditure down to under $300.