Save vs. Splurge: Newborn Edition
So many new moms find their way to my page and I am always being asked what baby products are worth the price and which ones they can pass on. I am three kids deep and the biggest thing I have learned it to minimize the amount of baby products and clothes I bring into our home, as much as possible. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking you need every little contraption and that the more you have, the easier your life will be, blah, blah, blah. When in reality, everything adds up and it can become way more expensive than it ever needed to be. Plus, you have to find a place to store it all!
It’s so important to remember that the newborn stage literally flies by and I think you will be happier in the end by being a bit more conservative with your baby products. Below are some items I found were “must haves” for my babies, but not all needed to be “high end” or have all the bells and whistles, so hopefully this helps make your decisions a bit easier!
SLEEP CONSULTANT
Splurge now, save later. There are a lot of sleep gadgets out there and I have fell for most of them. So my advice is go the sleep consultant route, and save on all those gadgets and then no stress about storing it all. Again, if this is your first you will have learned so much you can use these techniques for your other babes. Buy yourself the book “Baby wise” start your routine and good sleep habits as soon as you bring that little one home and then when they get big enough for sleep training you will have a great foundation to go off of. With any luck the book Baby Wise will be enough and your littles will be sleeping through the night by 3 months. If that is not the case (it never was for me) then we have used and love WeeSleep.
Splurge || WeeSleep Consultants
Save || BabyWise Book
BABY SWING
Save. Swing can be so expensive and I would say about 50% of babies don’t even like it. It is a lot cheaper to find an alternative from Fisher Price or another well known brand. It doesn’t look as good sitting in your living room, but you will be using this for such a short time.
Splurge || 4Moms MamaRoo
Save || Fisher Price Swing & Seat
BREAST PUMP
Splurge!
If you are going to breast feed, then a good breast pump is well worth the money. Your breast milk is literally liquid gold and you will appreciate anything that makes extracting that easier, more efficient and convenient. It will be worth every single penny. I loved the Medlea free style pump for all my littles.
Splurge || Medela Freestyle Breast Pump
CRIB MATTRESS
Splurge. Your baby spends sooooo much time in their crib and will be exposed to any chemicals or toxins in their crib on a daily basis. It’s worth the research and the money to make sure your baby is safe.
PACK ‘N PLAY
Save. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my expensive 4Moms Pack ‘n Play, but I use my Amazon one way more often. The more expensive ones are nice and high quality, but you know what that also means? That it is heavy as heck! I prefer our cheaper one that I can carry while carrying 8 other bags and it only takes a few extra seconds to put together.
Splurge || 4Moms Breeze GO
Save || Graco Pack ‘n Play from Amazon
STROLLER
This one is a toss up - my vote? Save. I thought I would be using a stroller a lot more than I ever did and the nice ones always seem to be the less convenient ones! I hate when you have to literally take the entire thing apart to fit it in the trunk. They also get you with all the add ons and guess what? I never once used the bassinet option, not once! It is currently sitting in my basement taking up space! If you have multiples I would definitely suggest you go the wagon route vs a double stroller. This is just my advice. If you are going to be on the go with your kids all the time, then maybe a nice stroller with all the options is something you need. In that case, I would for sure recommend the City Select stroller. It has all the bells and whistles, but within a reasonable budget.
Splurge || City Select Eco Stroller
Save || Graco Nimblelite Stroller
CAR SEAT
Splurge. Never cheap out when it comes to safety or your health! Make sure you buy the lightest one you can to save your back. As your little one grows, those seats gets heavy fast. If you really want to splurge, I finally splurged and bought the Doona car seat stroller in one, and WOW! It’s definitely everything they claim it to be, just be prepared to dish out some cash!
Splurge || Doona Car Seat & Stroller
Save || Graco Nimblelite Travel System
BABY CARRIER
Splurge!
Your back will thank you and you can rest assured it’s great quality that will hold your baby in snug. We loved the Nuna baby carrier!
Splurge || Nuna Baby Carrier
Save || Inknu 4 in 1 Carrier
BABY BATH
Save. Not only do these things get super expensive, but also keep storage in mind - when it’s not in use you do have to keep it somewhere! We used this $30 bath seat for all the kids and we loved it.
Splurge || OXO Splash and Store
Save || Amazon Bath Seat
HIGH CHAIR
This is another toss up for me. We have the Tripp Trapp chair from Stokk (we actually have two) and we love them! Starting from new born to the age of 6 your kids will get so much use out of these chairs, which makes the splurge worth it to me. BUT if you are not interested in a chair that will grow with your little, then I think you should save on a traditional high chair. Sure, they can look really chic and cool, but most of those things are a pain in the ass to clean. We LOVE the $30 IKEA high chair. It’s all white, so easy to clean and the price is unbeatable!
Splurge || Tripp Trapp
Save || IKEA High Chair
baby lounger
Splurge.
They can be a little on the expensive side, but it makes your life so much easier. Not only can you use them in the crib, but you can take them with you around the house to keep baby comfortable and cozy while you get things done. I also love the fact that if you travel with an infant, they are easy to pack for a sleeping option!
Splurge || Snuggle Me
Splurge || Dock a Tot
Save || Cozy Nest Lounger
CHANGING MAT
A toss up, but I would suggest splurge (kind of). You just need something comfortable enough for baby to lay on for a few seconds at the time and it’s important to remember this thing will get pee and poop on it . . .constantly! For that reason only, I do recommend one you can just wipe down compared to something with a cover that you have throw in the wash. Luckily, there are more of these on the market now and you can find ones starting around $50. Taking looks into consideration, I really like the gumbo changing pad. Although, I suggest you pass on the ones with the scales and all the extras, you wont need all that!
Splurge || Bumbo Changing Pad
Save || Jool Baby Changing Pad
diaper bag
Save.
These things can get CRAZY expensive. Now that I am a mom of three, I literally use a $30 tote bag from Zara! Although, I totally get wanting a cute diaper bag. I always recommend the Fawn Design bag. It’s a little on the expensive side, but it in no way looks like a “baby bag”, so we have used ours long after the baby stage. It’s a must when we are traveling with the littles!
Splurge || Fawn Design
Save || Zara Tote Bag
I know that whether you’re becoming a first time parent or you’re trying to figure out what to buy for baby number three, it’s never easy to make your way through the sea of newborn products. I hope this helps as I’ve tested and tried so many things with all three of our kids and I hope my advice makes things a bit easier for you! Leave your save or splurge items in the comments below, all moms have different experiences and opinions and I’d love to hear them all!
Much Love,
