Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

trying to figure out how much money we'll be laying out in the coming months and figured I'd ask the experts. especially if like me, you are doubling up on some major items.

if you could hazard a guess (or perhaps you will be a nut like me and have cold hard facts in a spreadsheet ) as to how much you will spend or did spend for newborn essentials that were NOT picked up by the generousity of family and friends, where would your ballpark figure be?

I am talking strollers, cribs, bottles, clothes, etc.

NOT food/diapers etc. not every day stuff...the big ticket things.

I hope you understand me. I have this thing called preggo brain. maybe you've heard of it

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

We spent under $500. I had no shower because I was out of state, but our families were VERY generous. The big things, ie:cribs, PNP, swings etc were bought by family. I just had the changing table and clothes, baby stuff. When we move into the house, the boy will need a dresser and a rocker in his room. IF I play my cards right maybe I can get one of the grandmas to get that too.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

We purchased the following:

-stroller (180 (greco - which fell apart after 16 months use, and 160 peg perego - still using)

-both infant and convertible car seat (160 and 350)

- dutalier glider and ottoman (600)

- PNP (160)

So for just what I call basics we spent: 1610.

My parents/in-laws got us the crib, changing table, mattress, and bedding. For gifts from others we got tons of clothing and toys. None of the "big" items were given. DS did get a lot of $$$$, but that is in the bank for him.

ets: I recognize that we could have purchased a less expensive glider and ottoman but even without that we would have still spent $1000, not including the electric pump which to me was a necessity.

I suppose that we could have used some of the $ that DS received as gifts towards the purchase of baby items, however, for extremely personal reasons I feel like I can never touch my child's money b/c loosing what you think is your $ as a child is not a fun experience.

Message edited 7/15/2009 4:34:08 PM.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

I did not have a shower, I fall into your last category! We bought everything! And I mean EVERYTHING with the exception of DD's activity playmat and rainforest jungle aquairum thingy that we don't even have on her crib anymore! I'd have to add up all my receipts from her first month home to give you an exact number, but I think if I were to do that, I'd have to send out my 5 1/2 month daughter to start working at this young age!!!

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

Hmmmm....I guess we are in the $1000 range right now. We bought the crib, dresser, glider (I really wanted an upolstered one) and bookshelf ourselves.

Our parents offered, but I feel weird taking stuff from them. It's an issue I have always had, I just tend to go out and do it on my own...

I already got lots of clothes and stuff from people when we announced that we were pregnant, so I am kind of expecting that will continue, and haven't bought anything but big ticket stuff.

Our shower is in a couple weeks so we'll see how things pan out after that. I am figuring we have to be ready to go about another $500 just in case.

Message edited 7/15/2009 4:32:44 PM.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

Although everything on our registry was purchased for us we did not register for DS's nursery furniture and accessories (baskets, etc.) - I didn't feel right doing so b/c what we picked out was somewhat on the expensive side. DH's parents split the cost with us however, it still cost us way over $500 for the crib, bookshelf, changing table/dresser, glider and to decorate his room. Other than that - most of the big ticket items were taken care of for the first few months.

ETA: My parents did offer to pay the other half but we didn't feel right - we have the money and they had already spent so much b/w the shower, the bassinet, diaper bag and a million other things they bought for us - we told them instead to give money to the baby toward the 529.

Message edited 7/15/2009 4:32:54 PM.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

You always wind up needing something you didn't register for. Some things are just too hard to predict, such as if you have a large baby who might not fit into items you received.

So from my experience, DON"T throw out any boxes for large items in case they need to be returned.

I wound up spending $500 on a stroller that I really should have/would have registered for...and I could not return the one I registered for b/c we got rid of all the boxes. Dummy me.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

We were truly blessed by the generosity of our friends and family.

I selected "one major thing", being my stroller, but that was only because I couldn't decide what I wanted at the time I registered. Had I put my stroller on the registry, I know it would have been purchased.

Also, DH and I purchased our own nursery furniture which came close to $2000, but that was because we made the decision that we should pay for that ourselves and were not comfortable putting that as part of our registry.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

We bought the furniture (we did not register for it). Pretty much everything else was bought for us and we had a ton of gift cards for the incidentals.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

I don't think we bought any of the big ticket items. It was a combination of getting it at my shower, other gifts, and borrowing. I am the last of my family and friends to have a baby and people were VERY generous with us.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

While I did have a shower with limited family/friends we were VERY frugal.

Crib, changing table/armoire: ALL on sale for a total of $499. That was a pretty good deal.

Crib mattress: $120

Crib Sheets/bumper/bedroom curtains/mattress pads: $110-$120

Stroller: On sale Graco passage travel system $140

PNP: gift
high chair: gift
second carseat: gift

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

I chose the $250-$499 category. However, I got everything I needed at my shower, the money we spent was just on things I wanted for Nina. Little outfits, decor for her walls, hair bows, shoes, etc. I could have done without all of it if we didn't have the money to spend. We didn't have to spend a dime of our own money on big ticket things. Everything was taken care of by family and friends.

Message edited 7/15/2009 4:40:46 PM.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

I think we are gonna be over $1000. We are buying part of the furniture. In laws are buying crib but we are getting changing table and dresser

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

I havent a friggin clue. I just opened my pocketbook and the money flew out. Sorry, I am no help. DH with his fancy schmancy MBA and Excel charts tries to teach me about budgeting, but I am my mother's daughter in many ways.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

I don't really know how much we spent. I know I had to buy a few things that I didn't get from my registry (like the crib mattress) but I also got so many gift cards and duplicates that were returned for credit that I don't think we laid out all that much $$.

I had enough gift cards that I actually used the last of them recently - like 2 wks ago.

I would def. wait until after the shower and when baby is first born to stock up - a lot you can buy as you go along, and then of course there are some must haves for immediately.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

We had a shower and everyone was very generous (both sets of parents chipped in for his furniture and we got most of our big ticket items). But we still ended up having to spend another $500 or so on what was left on the registry.

To be honest, although a lot of people bought items from the registry, MOST people bought us clothes, toys, and other "cutesie" items that were not necessities. So we were left buying the bassinet, the swing, the Snap n' Go, and all the feeding necessities (like bottles, diapers, bottle warmer, burp cloths, etc.).

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

We got almost all of the big ticket items we registered for. We didn't get the 2 convertible car seats (Britax Marathon), which we bought. My mom threw me a shower and my parents bought us tons of clothes. They also paid for half of the furniture. We got an expensive set though so it added up. After DS was born, I decided to get a BOB stroller, which is pretty expensive.

I didn't get a lot of clothes at my shower. I assume that's b/c I didn't know what I was having. We got a lot of clothes after DS was born. I don't think I needed to buy any NB or 0-3 month clothes.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

We were very lucky and didnt' really have to spend a lot out of pocket. We got the big registry items and the furniture as a gift. We also received a lot of gift cards and money at the shower so we were able to buy what we needed. The odds and end things I am getting now for the nursery and bottles/breast feeding stuff.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

Thanks to the generosity of friends and family, I don't think we spent $100 on the "major" stuff with DS1! I did buy my own pump but that is pretty much it. Oh, and this is without having a shower. I did have a bris though and that is when I got almost all the gifts

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

We spent well over $1000 on DS. I got most of the little things on my registry, but the only "big ticket" items I got were my pack n play and high chair. I had to go out and buy my car seat/stroller system, bedding for DS (in fairness I didn't register for it because I didn't find anythig I liked in the baby stores), breast pump and we payed for most of the furniture. What really pizzed me off about that last one was that my MIL put a picture of the furniture we ordered in a frame and had me open it in front of all of my guests- making it look like she had bought it for us- when in actuality, she and FIL only contributed, we payed the bulk.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

Our families have been exceptionally generous, but we are spending quite a bit ourselves, as well.

We ended up having to have our carpet ripped up and our floors redone, in addition to all the other baby-related expenses because of the possibility of allergies that may inherit from her father. That was a few thousand. Then there's furniture that we split with the grandparents, a car seat (for when she outgrows the infant carrier), and all the little things that I won't realize we need until she arrives.
It's all worth it though.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

$0

We are SO BLESSED to have such amazingly generous friends and family.

Not only were all the big ticket items and furniture purchased for us, but we received enough in cash and gift cards to pay for anything else we could possibly need in the first few months at the very least.

We truly are blessed

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

we were also very blessed and received almost everything from family and friends (stroller, 2 britax carseats, highchair, PNP... all of it). Also our parents and grandparents bought our crib and changing table, so that was even covered. But I now need stuff for #2 (double stroller, baby carrier, another car seat, etc) and I will not be having another shower so we will prob have to purchase all of it ourselves. I will prob make a registry anyway, in case people decide to give a gift, but I am not expecting anything this time around.

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

Re: Money. how much of it did/will you PERSONALLY spend on the "must haves" for jr.?

My shower will not be until December, but my guess is that based on the number of people I expect to be there (around 60) and the generosity of our family and friends, I suspect that we will not have much left on our registry.

It is my full intention to buy all of the furniture, i.e. crib, dresser, glider, etc. for the baby's room. I am not sure how much that will cost. Also, my plan is for my mom to watch our baby when I go back to work. I know I am going to need doubles on certain things for her house. I don't want to register for doubles and am expecting to buy a lot of that stuff. However, I am going to try to get some hand-me downs and/or good deals on the Parenting buy/swap/sell thread