$5000!? How much did you spend?

[Devon]

Thank you all so much for all that feedback.

I am really going to try not to spend $5000, and I only did a preliminary estimate last night (mostly using the Babyland catalogue and trying to remember other prices I've seen and from BB discussions), so I really need to decide what I actually want and then get real prices for it. I'm sure lots of my figures are overestimates, but then I'm also sure some are underestimates and I've forgotten some things too, so I figured it would probably even out.

I'm not set on buying everything new, but I'm a bit of a worryer and am starting to get fixated on safety. My mum has a cot from when my younger sister was born (1990) and has offered that to us, but then that was before the new Australian Standard came in so I'm not sure if I should use it. I think I might check it against the standard to see if it's OK, and then buy a new mattress.

Lis - $500 for cloth nappies!! I think I guessed about $300, and I thought that was generous, so I might need to bump that up a bit.

I'll post my list when I get home from work (don't have it here). I haven't even thought about what we might spend on decorating the nursery.

I know what I've done is to want brand new, expensive items for most things, and I will be able to revise my expectations downwards if needs be.

I do know that my mum is itching to buy us things for the baby, so I'm sure a couple of the big items will come from the grandparents-to-be. My PIL bought DH's brother a tumbledryer when they were having their baby, so I hope they might do the same for us (that's another cost that's not included on my list).

Thanks again, it's great to be able to see what everyone paid for each item and give me ideas how to cut it back a bit.

Devon
xxxx

[briggsy's girl]

It's no longer called the baby bonus, it is maternity payment, it will be paid in installment for everybody as of Jan 2009 and if you and your partner have a combined income of 75,000 in the six months after bub is born you will not be eligible to recieve it. Have a look in the finances sections there was quite a bit of debate about it around the time the new budget was handed down in government.

just want to correct this one - Ash - it is currently named the baby bonus, and has been for quite a while. the name is bound to change in January though

at this point, it's available to everyone who has a bub before Jan 1 2009, and is paid in a lump sum (unless you are under 18, or request installments). after Jan 1 2009, it will be means tested (so if you earn more than 75k in the six months after bub is born, you don't get it) and will be paid in 13 installments for everyone

[AnyDream]

I'm with Trish on this - no need to spend a fortune.

First time round things were very tight so we made do with whatever we could, ie $20 chest of drawers, $20 change mat (used it on the floor/kitchen bench/bed and therefore never needed a change table), did without the baby bath, were given an old cot which I checked against the Australian Standard and it was compliant. The most I paid was $150 for a safensound capsule, $60 for a tetra snuggle bed, $40 for an onkaparinga wool blanket (from the factory), $120 for a babyco pram (which was actually quite useful as it was light, yet had features like the longer handle that you could flip over so bub was facing me), and $30 for an ABA sling. Other things like a rocker, bouncinette, picked up for $10 here or there. They don't really need a high chair until they are sitting up and eating which is over 6 months old, we paid less than $100 for one that folds down for storage which was really useful even after DD1 outgrew it for all the little people who come and visit us for lunches/dinners!

This time round, we added a few more luxuries, namely a Boori Matilda cradle (which I loved because of the rocking action) which was $300 on ebay, and several hundred dollars for furniture (shelves, chest of drawers, toy/blanket box) from the pine warehouse place. We also bought a nearly-new Emmaljunga on eBAy for under $400. And I splurged on new slings too. Picked everything else up on ebay/at the baby & kid's markets, most of it was second hand and unused or nearly new. People buy/are given heaps of stuff that they barely even use so there's always masses of good stuff floating around on the second hand market. I'm very picky and everything we got was nice.

[lestyrox]

Wow we didn't spend anywhere near that much!
We bought just about everything second hand and saved a HEAP! My DS is now 2 and i think i would have only ever bought about 10 new things for him which included socks, a couple of tops on special and his birthdays presents. Its great because i have another little boy on the way and i have all the stuff i need. I don't know why more mums don't buy second hand- everything i bought for my son is in great condition and i was always very careful to make sure the major things were in excellent conditions eg pram,cot, car seat etc.
I shop at Vinnies,lifeline etc more than i do at the big retail shops like Big w etc.
Here's my list
Cot- $100 bought from a friend
Mattress $40- had clark rubber cut a peice of foam to size- just as good as a more expensive one.
Pram- The first one we got for $5 from a garage sale. We are currently using a 3wheel Valco that we picked up for $15 on ebay
Car seat- $50 Bought from a friend
Booster seat (for DS1)- $30 from garage sale
Bassinette- $130 on ebay- this is probably the most expensive thing we bought!
Clothes and shoes (from birth till now- 2yrs) Around $150 i guess. All from op shops or ebay
Sheets/curtains/doonas/nappy stackers/wraps/blankets- all up $100 from op shops
Breat pump and bottle steriliser- $40 off ebay
Toys- $250 (my son has too many toys!) Most from Vinnies. Recently i picked up a Fisher Price good vibrations rocker for $5!! They retail for around $60 new.

Have i missed anything?
Honestly you really don't need to spend more than a few hundred dollars on bub and you would never guess that the things i've bought are second hand- Honest!
I buy all my clothes (including all my maternity gear- except for underwear of course- although i have picked up a few good bras second hand) from op shops or ebay. I would honestly say that $80 of the content of our house is second hand- from furniture to cutlery- and yet all my friends complement me on how lovely my home is- if only they new

[~Trish~]

Ha ha Lestyrox, a woman after my own heart

[MissWingBat]

LestyRox,
Definitely a woman after my own heart. I 'do' the auctions and pick up cheap furniture.
Is there a thread where we can chat about our "Vintage" Finds and other Op-shopping Ideas & Designing tricks??

[~Trish~]

We've bought some great furniture from the auctions too MissWingBat, maybe we should start a thread somewhere on swapping/sharing ideas on bargain shopping, etc? Not sure what category to put it under...

[MissWingBat]

Sorry to hijack this thread, so here is a new thread to discuss our bargains!!
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...ting-tips.html

[fionas]

It's really tempting to buy expensive stuff and lots of it but there's really no need. When I got the urge I just told myself that if I spent $x that equated to an extra week or so that I could afford to take off as maternity leave and DD would get much more benefit by me staying home longer than having the fanciest cot or pram.

This is what I spent:

$380 on Strider pram with bassinette (brand new but from a discount shop so saved about $140)
$230 on Mali Euro cot - brand new but from Graysonline auctions. Retails for $700 so saved about $500. Didn't bother getting that until DD was 6 months old as she slept in the bassinette till then.
$600 or thereabouts on a car seat (left this decision to DP)
$30 on a change mat that goes on top of a chest of drawers.
$50ish on a high chair from IKEA
$200 on breast pump and steriliser
$30 on baby bath that we haven't used - DD goes in the shower with dad
$0 on lotions and potions. Not necessary IMO.
$300ish on clothes for her first year (obviously not all in one go). Don't spend much on the first few months of clothes as it's not until they hit 6 months and the 0 size that it's really worth spending much. Once they hit 0, they'll be in that for about 6 months so worth spending a bit more then but I get all my stuff end of season sales for the next season and I rarely pay full price for anything.

So about $1800 - nowhere near $5000 - but we didn't spend all that before she was born anyway.

[*charmalea*]

after spending a heaps of cash on things i soooo did not need , i have gone basic for #2 ...

biggest croc was a high chair , it was sooo big and bulky and in the end ds worked out how to flip the tray off .... so when we went camping i bougt a $40 on sale at kmart and we ended up usuing that , much better that the exe one we asked my mil to buy and same with prams ... the bigger the pram , the more likely you are to want to downsize when bubs starts to get a bit bigger ...

we saw a 3 wheeler one we liked on special , and got mil to buy it , then a while later i got a pegperago ( brilliant wonderful stroller ) but still broght an even smalller one , and now have a phil and teds .... so really think about the pram situation ...

[~clover~]

Get into Big W now. They are having their big baby sale.
$198 Cradle
$198 Serenity Cot
$268 Balmoral Cot Bed
$114 up 0-4 Car Seats
$98 Tetra Snuggle Bed
$118 up Prams
$78 Baby Carrier
$118 Balmoral Change Table
$98 Swing
$37.43 Nappy wrapper bin
Plus rockers, play mats, bottles, sterilisers, toys etc
Heaps of maternity clothes & bra's.
Get the catalogue & have a look. There's everything you need & more.

[Cassius2]

hhmm think i have been one of the ones guilty of high spending.... Also we lived in canberra at the time and it was a desert of good baby store competition! LOL! (at least this is what i want to tell myself!)
we got our cot given to us (we checked it against the safety req's as it was a late 80s number...

chest of drawers: $120 (antique dealer)

pram: bugaboo $850 (bought when in italy...sooo much cheaper there!)

change-table: $189

cloth nappies: bum genius, full-time pack $599

mattress: $50 (made up at clark rubber)

manchester: all up I bought 4 sets (2 cotton and 2 flanelette) $18 each (target)

bouncer: $25 (one of the string ones)

wallart: $45 (stick on motifs)

mobile: $25 (markets)

nappy bag: oioi nappy bag $140

newborn disposable nappies x4: $100 (safeties nature nappies- 100% biodegradble...hence the steep price!)

clothes: estimate around $200. we had to buy EVERYTHING! no family and few friends as we were only new to town. so this includes singlets, mittens, socks etc. we bought up until 00 size. but when DD was born also had to buy 00000 for the first month.

nappy cream and massage oil and bath wash: $55 (innossential - aloe vera based) def splurge, but a year on and still have them all and using everyday so goes a loong way!

moses basket and stand: 'gertie and me' $399. loved it. used it for around 2 months. then never again. lots to spend for such a short time, but you do what ya gotta do to get through those early weeks LOL! (we bought this 5 days after she was born).

newborn toys (soft rattles and some black and white soft animal things): $20

playmat: playgro: $70 we shopped around for this post birth as we didnt put 2 and 2 together and realise how much time they are on the floor...especially when going to parent group.

baby bath and insert: $50 (baby chain store)

nappy bucket: $25 (baby chain store)

breast pump and steriliser: tommee tippee $85

high chair (we only bought this when she started to sit and eat solids...so maybe can be budgetted as a later expense ITH): stokke highchair $299 with baby insert. the beauty of this chair is that it doesn't take up too much room, is easy to clean and grows with the child. my niece has been using hers since she was six months old and is still using it at the dinner table at the age of six.

car seat: safe and sound (the skinny one for smaller cars...we have a honda civic and the others were too bulky) $349 from BabyCo

baby gate: lindam: $50 on special from babyco

baby sling: ellaroo ring sling (for me) $130

ergo baby carrier (for DH) $130

maternity bras: i bought 3 initially...one triumph, bonds and bendon (the last one was bought one size bigger for when my milk came in and they were busting out everywhere! LOL!): $120 (i went on to buy cheaper hestia ones once my BBs settled down around 6 months...i like the strong support of the triumph in the early months when everything is leaking and being silly!).

maternity clothes: 1 pair of work pants $45, 3 mat/nursing tops $180, 3 bonds maternity singlets (AMAZING AWESOME STUFF!!): @ $36 each, 1 skirt $35. then i bought 2 metalicus tops at $40 each. they are great as they are one size and stretch out and back again. wore them up until DD was born and still wear them now!

wowsers, we bought loads!! and have bought more since (ie clothes, accessories and toys!). i think we may have gone over that 5000...but we bought stuff before and after...so it has been a spread out cost.

good luck with the gathering!!

[Jas]

Hi!

Well I don't actually know how much we spent so I'll go through and see what i can remember...

Cot and Change table $400 on sale from $1100 (check out online toyrus catalogues and if you see a good sale get in immediately they sell out quick)
Mattress - $100 got as gift
Pram Stellcraft $180 on sale from $300
bookcase $10 on sale from $60 got as gift
toy box $60 got as gift
Qulit and sheets etc $100 got a lot of this on sale too
Clothes and shoes etc $250 approx goodness who knows probably spent even more
Carseat $200 on sale from $300 we have since bought another the same so we don't have to swap the car seat from car to car sounds lazy and unneccessary but once Noah was here we decided it was worth it
Baby Carrier $110didn't use it hardly at all
Baby bath $30 hardly used this either mainly showered Noah with us
Toys $200 Probably spent more than this
Highchair $300 We didn't buy this until Noah was 6months old and needed it
bottles etc $80
Breastpump $100
cot mobile $50
nursery decorations $150 approx
blankets $80
nappy bag $50

So only $2660 all up if I added properly there are probably more bits and pieces but if you buy it as you go and watch out for sales and pounce when you see them...take advantage of laybys a lot of baby shops have 9month laybys however the prieces can be more expensive

[SunnyRain]

Change Table - $40 (bunnings)

What's this? This is the cheapest change table ever! Do you mean you made one yourself, or do Bunnings sell a cheap change table?

$5000 sounds crazy! Here are some ways to save money and still buy new stuff (you can save a lot more buying on eBay etc):

Change Table from Ikea: $60
High chair / baby insert / tray from Ikea: $59
Ikea Cot plus mattress: $195
Wardrobe hangers 5 shelves from Ikea: $9
Nappy buckets from Toys R Us: $15 each
Rent-a-capsule (e.g. from QLD Ambulence): ?$60 for 6 months
Microfleece Peanut Shell Sling Carrier from babes in arms: $60

You can easily buy a decent stroller priced between $300 - $400.

Check out Toys R Us for specials, because they have surprisingly cheap items.

[*MRS M*]

even know im not pg yet (but hoping in the n/y)i was sitting down trying to work out what we need want and it came to 6ooo.oo

[briggsy's girl]

i have no issue admitting to having spent a fair bit already - it's not super exxy, but we haven't gone cheap either. my outlook was to buy well once, and then after that, each child will only need to replace some small things (cot mattress, some linen maybe)

we've spent maybe $3k on nursery funiture, capsule/pram, glider etc, as well as cloth nappies etc. but we've also spent a hell of a lot getting to where we are, so figure we want to do it our way. i am very picky about second hand items - nothing against anyone that uses them, but if i don't personally know the people i've received them from, i struggle to trust that they are in great condition. and even though some may be, it's just more comforting to me to buy new...

our nursery furniture is Boori - which i know is more exxy, but it fits with the rest of our house. we've mostly furnished with antique (or repro antique) furniture, and the Boori stuff just fits better with our house. nothing else worked for the look we wanted unless we went super exxy. having said that, we got our manchester at Target - it was so inexpensive it's not funny!

[Pandora]

I think we spent around $3000 - somet hings we recieved as gifts my my parents and MIL
cot, chest of dwarers with change table top and matress $1200
Pram (emmaljunga) got on sale for $600 (gift)
Amby Hammock - gift. Unsure of price
Nappies $400+
Manchester - 1 "set" that cost $150, plus maybe 150 for fitted mattress protectors (s) and fitted sheets (3)
Breastpumps (electric and manual, plus extra bottles) $260
Hug a bub $95
ABA Membership $50
Maternity bras 4 @ 39.95 each = 159.80
Car seat $395

I cant remember everything, there were lots of smaller things like muslin wraps (which I'd recommmend to anyone, at least 1mx1m),bunny rugs and that sort of thing.

Who knows how much on consumables like wipes and maternity pads and htings like that. I remember DH went out every day for a week to buy more of that sort of thing, it really is well worth stocking up early.

Our maternity payment was spent on things lots of people wouldnt consider baby related but I did - we bought a new washing machine (sadly we got a dud and are haing to replace it ) and had our ducted heating serviced and parts of it replaced. The remainder went to buy normal day to day things so that I could have an extra month off work on maternity leave.

Dont buy toys - you will get too many for other people
If you can get people to not buy you clothes and buy things like wraps or wipes, or nappy services (I know someone who was bought, for two people, 2 weeks worth of lean cuisine lunches and dinners - on the highest calorie level - so that she didnt have to cook for the fortnight after having a bub.

You can always freeze pre cooked meals, but I thought that it was a really thoughtful gift idea.

[JellyBean01]

We went to Just Kidding and put the BIG stuff on layby and got $303 discount:
Boori Cot & Mattress $870
Boori Change Table $310
Bertini Pram $740
Safe n Sound Car Seat $305

I've also bought all the Newborn disposable nappies i will need, cost:
Nappies $80
Wipes $45
Nappy Sacks & Disposable Change Mats $15

Clothes & socks $200
Dummies, Bottles $40
Wraps $15
Nursery Decorations $170

Total spent so far: $2620

This weekend i'm buying the following:
King Parrot Bassinet $189
Change Mat (for the table) $45
Sheet sets for Bassinet $30

So that'll take us to $2884

Gifts so far:
Blankets $100
Bertini Nappy Bag $100
Baby Wash, moisturisers, shampoo etc $100
and i haven't had my baby shower yet!

I can see us spending another $500 or so in the first few months. Later on we'll need a highchair and bigger clothes, shoes, bigger nappies and then when he moves into the cot we'll need some more manchester etc.

We're not big on getting second hand stuff plus this is our first baby so we bought all new equipment and furniture so we can use it for the second baby. We can afford it too so it's not like we went into debt. We all need to leave according to our own means

Few of our friends bought prams around $200/$300 mark and they all fell apart and had to replace them. Most spent $600 second time around so in the end they spent around $1000 on a pram. That's not to say all $200 prams fall apart but that's just what our friends experienced. So we have made sure we bought excellent quality pieces.

Do whatever you like, if you like second hand - buy second hand, if you like brand new, buy brand new. It's totally your decision and no one can criticize you for it.