How to Save on the Cost of a Newborn

You have a newborn, and you want this baby to have everything. But you have a newborn, so you can't afford everything. Here are some tips on how to save money on the cost of caring for your new baby.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Blender, food processor, or electric coffee grinder
• Plastic cups with tight fitting lids.
• Ability to force yourself to resist temptatation

1. Buy clothes one size larger than your baby's age. Don't buy many newborn size clothes because babies grow very fast. Buy three to six month sizes. As your baby gets older, buy a size ahead. Most six month old babies wear nine to twelve month sizes, and most one year olds wear size two.
2. Make your own baby food. It's cheaper and healthier than the cute little jars in the store, and it's easy. Use a food processor, blender, or an electric coffee grinder to puree cooked carrots or peas or canned fruit in its own juice. When your child is older, you can puree whatever you're having to eat. To save time, pick up small plastic cups with tight fitting lids at garage sales or dollar stores and make large batches ahead of time.
3. Don't buy baby shoes. They're cute, but pediatricians usually suggest letting babies go barefoot so their feet can develop. When older babies do need shoes, pick soft, flexible ones with soles that won't slip. Don't pay much for shoes, because your little one will outgrow them soon after you leave the store.
4. Don't buy a high chair. Infants can be fed in their car seats in an upright position, or in a parent's lap. When your baby begins eating solid food and can sit upright, you may want to buy an inexpensive three-in-one booster seat. This can be strapped onto a kitchen chair, has a seat belt and a removable tray. Or wrap an old phone book in an old pillowcase if your baby can't quite reach the table.
5. Toys are getting more expensive and more dangerous. The China-made toy lead scare is making a lot of parents wonder what to buy their children. The truth is, babies need something soft and non-toxic to chew on, since it seems they're always teething. And I have yet to see a small child who isn't more fascinated with the box rather than the toy that came in it. The years before a child begins school are the years parents can get through birthdays and Christmas the cheapest.