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

We spent a lot but we were very specific in what we wanted for furniture. I wanted a set she could grow with that was real wood and not made in China. We got a fantastic deal on a floor sample set from bellinni made in Canada. My parents gave us some money toward the set but it was still $$. After that there were all the little odds and ends you forget you need and neglect to put on the registry. They add up in the end.

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

People came out of the woodwork buying us things.

I don't think we bought anything other then cute outfits here and there.

I am a minimalist though.

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

You know what - I picked the wrong answer. I put 0 because my registry was stripped clean, I added to it and then it was wiped out again. I've never been more (pleasantly) surprised.

But we didn't put furniture on our registry and the set we chose was pricey (which is precisely why we didn't put it on there).

Everything else was covered by my friends and family at the shower and whatever wasn't I was able to pick up without laying out any cash - I got A LOT of BRU gc's - enough to buy my breast pump (no one wants to buy that for you) and still have some $$ left over.

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

I spent under $400 but close to that. I ended up having to buy the pack n' play, the bassinet, the bouncer and the high chair and crib. The only big ticket item we received was the infant swing. It got real quick.

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

We are def. $500 and up.. while I did have a shower, nobody bought off the registry but my mother and grandma. We got alot of clothes, and most of which went to waste because they were wrong sizes for wrong seasons. Our families were great, and I think just way to excited to be shopping for a baby, because it was the first in our families in years, so they bought a lot of cute things lol

My mom bought the crib, dresser, carseat, and PNP, and my grandma bought our stroller. We bought everything else.

Between bedding, breast pump, swing, jumper, clothes, bath, everything else that I can't think of right off the top of my head, we spent a few thousand dollars getting all the big and little things.

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

We've been pretty lucky. My MIL bought the furniture and my parents bought the whole bedding set. Our family/friends have already purchased all our big items from the registry. So we only had to pick up the basics.

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

We had about 2000-2500 credit after my shower - we got so many doubles and whatnot - that it lasted me through, I want to say the first nine months. That included diapers, clothes, random things that I needed etc.

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

We received a great deal at our shower, but there were things that were still on the registry that we wanted to get, plus I needed to purchase a breastpump. So I think we were somewhere around $500.

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

I really dont think I bought anything other than a few outfits I HAD to have cause I knew she was a girl.

I got EVERYTHING I put on my registry and then when she was born I got a TON of clothes and gcs at the hospirtal

ETA

Even the stuff we didnt get...we used GC that we got to buy. As a matter of fact I didnt even buy diapers until THIS MONTH with my own money and she is almost 6 months old.

Message edited 7/15/2009 6:27:31 PM.

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

We got a lot of gift cards for our shower, but I bought some stuff myself that wasn't available where we registered, or that I saw on sale before my shower. We wound up buying the bassinet, glider, high chair, tub, soothing motions glider, assorted other small items like portable swing and infant to toddler rocker...We registered for bottles, but wound up having to buy a lot more once we found out what he liked...I'd say we probably spent $500 or so. We still have a ton of BRU gift cards left, but I'll use them for formula and diapers.

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

Definitely over $500 for us, well over. We had a registry and got a lot from that, but we bought his furniture, a rocker, and that alone was well over $1500. Plus a few more clothes, some books, sheets, formula, it all adds up.

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

We got all the big ticket items off our registry. Including the bedding, our families were incredibly generous.

Most of what we got were the little things, bottle brush, etc. I don't even think we spent $100.

We are very lucky.

ETA: we did buy a breast pump, but it was not on my registry. it was a last minute decision after DD was born.

Message edited 7/15/2009 7:49:52 PM.

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

we were lucky all the big items were bought off the regitry (2 strollers car seats video monitor etc) my parent bought us our furniture set. and we returned alot so we have over $1000 in credit between bru and bbb

the one thing i have to buy is the is bedding which is pretty pricey but that was my choice b/c we are team i dont like anything nuetral

Message edited 7/15/2009 7:54:51 PM.

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

We got everything on our registry at our shower and yet still spent way over the highest amount you have posted...Its a LOT of stuff for a baby!!

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

I don't think I've spent $500 on my DS and he is two...we have very generous family who helps a lot.

We got the esstenials at our shower and then we got a ton of clothes after DS was born. In addition, I have a good a friend who sends me her DS' clothes.

Our nursery has an inexpensive crib, still in perfect shape two years later, and hand me down furniture.

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

my shower is this weekend, and based on what is still left, we will be spending at least $1000 on our own. that being said, i only invited 18 people to the shower - we both have very small families. also, the ILs bought us our furniture, so that was a huge expense taken care of. the big things we'll need to buy (if nothing else is purchased from the registry) is the PNP, glider w/ ottoman and my pump. plus we bought all the bedding already since it was discontinued at BRU. if we get any of it we will return it. we also need things that we didn't register for like a 2nd car seat base, convertible car seat, high chair. but since we don't need them right away, we figured we'd buy them when they're needed.

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

i spent about $100 on extra clothes at tjmaxx...
but thats really it
i am not counting the nursery furniture, rocket +glider, and mattress that we spent 2,000 on

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

I'm not even sure I want to think about the total. We did get major things off our registry. We purchased the crib dresser glider changing table bumper set and everything else in his room.

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

We didn't register for our furniture so right off the top, we paid over 1k for that. Our friends were VERY generous though (paying back our generosity over the years when THEY had their children). Our registry was picked clean and we still had a few hundred dollars of purchases outside of the furniture.

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

With both DD's we were lucky. The generosity of our family and friends was amazing--probably due to my horrible pregnancies At least that was DH's explaination when I said I wanted the Stokke stroller (didnt get but he was willing lol)

We had to buy one of our strollers b/c I felt uncomfortable putting it on the registry due to its cost. We bought a 2nd pack n play and 2nd card seat for convenience.

Its a crapshoot...I have friends that get everything and others who get CLOTHES especially if its a girl. So you may just have to wait and see.

Message edited 7/16/2009 6:15:54 AM.

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

Well the crib was about $400-500. We bought the bedroom set. I'd say it was over $1000. If you throw in a christening party, that's hundreds for the party & the church donation.

Almost everything else was a gift from my shower. I think the first item of clothes I bought was at 9 months.

Message edited 7/16/2009 6:39:16 AM.

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

We definately are over the $1000 range but that is bc we bought part of the furniture. My parents were generous enough to pay for the crib & mattress but we still had to pay for the dresser.

I had a shower & everyone was generous but I was missing a couple of my big ticket items. I had to buy the following big ticket items but was able to use cash that I received from my godmother & also GC's.

-infant car seat
-FP Cradle Swing
-Video Monitor
-sheets
-hamper set

We still have $$ leftover from our shower that people gave us which we are using for the essentials that are still missing. In the end, we know it is all worth it & know that people that gave us GC's or Cash, just wanted us to get something that we truly wanted/needed then just picking from our registry & it not be the "exact" item we need. Right now, I am holding off on buying anything else besides sheets & essentials like that until our little guy gets here, just bc I want to see what I truly need.

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

hard to say b/c i havent had my shower yet.
MY MIL is buying the crib. Im not sure if she is also purchasing the dresser as well..so im anticipating a few hundred dollars for that.

Im figuring no one will buy the glider/ottoman so i'll probably have to buy that as well.

im pretty sure the stroller, pack and play and other big items will be taken care of by family at the shower (or at least my MIL keeps saying im going to reap the rewards of her generosity to the tons of baby showers she's given to.)

we'll see...

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

I think it really depends on the person.

For me, since I had such a huge credit at BBB and BRU I wanted every little gadget out there that I saw. I bought him every little piece of clothing that was even remotelely cute. I never had to think twice about it.

Would I have shopped that way if I didn't have the credits? Probably - but I was just at a place that I wanted my son to have everything new and anything that came out.

Will I be doing that for the second child, absolutely not. You get a feel for what's a waste, and what is really useful!

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