Since our bean was a surprise, it wasn't as though we had been financially planning for an addition to our family. We have been overwhelmingly thankful to all that have lent us things, given us their hand-me-downs and showered us with gifts. We feel pretty ready for the bean's arrival as a result. Here's the nest that we've feathered:
We were thrilled to be able to borrow this crib from Our coworker. Though the bean's dad participated in taking it apart, but we had to call in the big guns (the bean's granddad) to put it back together. The suitcase if full of clothes for when the bean gets bigger. It's vintage and was owned by my grandparents.
We got the glider and change table/dresser from Craigslist for $100 (including delivery). I may spend the money to get a new cushion made for it, but we'll see.
We were incredibly lucky to get a lot of clothes as hand-me-downs or as gifts. We used some of the money that family and friends gifted us to fill in the gaps for newborn winter wear. The diaper pail was a shower gift. We bought the cloth diapers and the diaper sprayer.
Wish us luck as we enter the realm of cloth diapering. I wanted to buy these new, so after careful research, I wound up spending about $450 on 18 BumGenius cloth diapers and a sprayer. Here's hoping that they were a worthwhile investment.
We got a BabyBjorn and a Snuggli from Craigslist for $50. The sleep sacks were shower gifts.
Here is the view from the Bean's room at dawn. The room faces south, so it gets lots of natural light. The Slinky on the window sill was mine from childhood. The sheep was a gift to me from a friend. We bought the bean an energy saving LED nightlight that comes on at dusk and goes out at dawn. That was $8 well spent at Canadian Tire.
We repurposed a bookshelf and lamp from downstairs to hold all the bean's books. Most of the picture books are from my school collection. The baby board books were shower gifts and the cloth books I bought at Winners for $6 each. The donkey puppet and finger puppets were shower gifts for the bean, if they can be wrestled away from me. The receiving blankets and the bin of toys were given to us by a variety of folks. Grandma supplied the noise-machine and the baby monitor.
Well, the midwife thinks that these are the last few days before the bean arrives, so it's been a flurry of activity around our house. Though the plan is to deliver the bean at home, the hospital bag is packed and the car seat is installed, just in case. I managed to get out and get one last hair cut too.
The bean's grandparents were here over the weekend for one last visit before the anticipated arrival. During their visit, I enlisted them to help us with some of the final details. The first was to purchase a breast pump. Wanting this one meant that there was a substantial investment to be made. Luckily, our coworkers (yes, the bean's dad and I worked at the same place together for six years) had taken up a collection for us and presented me with with what every new parent really needs: cash. We used some to top up our cloth diaper supply, some for wipes and a snowsuit and the rest went to chip in for the pump. My parents put in the rest as an early Christmas gift for me, which I very much appreciated.
Next, we needed to set up the swing that we borrowed from another coworker. Some parents have told me that this is an invaluable item, so we are happy to have one. A colleague of my mine slipped me a lovely gift on my last day of work that included a Sophie, who I hear is THE toy of the 0-2 year old set, a bath towel and a fantastic stuffed giraffe who is keeping the swing warm until the bean arrives.
Lastly, we needed to set up the bassinet. As a cost saving measure, I chose a stroller that had a bassinet included with it, rather than purchasing one separately. My thinking was that it's something you only use for a few months anyway. After an extensive Craigslist search, I found this new stroller. Because it was a floor model, it was dramatically reduced. The bean's grandparents generously purchased us the stroller (which comes with a another seat option for when the bean is older). The bean's great auntie (on dad's side) sent us the money for the car seat that can also fit onto the stroller frame, which is a life saver. So, this is where the bean will sleep on those first nights.
The bean's grandma and I had learned how to use the stroller when we first purchased it, but since that was August, we quickly forgot. It was quite a session as both my parents and I struggled to figure out how to unfold the stroller and then how to attach the bassinet at the right angle. YouTube to the rescue! We gathered around the laptop to view this video which helped. I joked later that even with three adults, and four university degrees between us, it took the internet to get the job done.
We got the glider and change table/dresser from Craigslist for $100 (including delivery). I may spend the money to get a new cushion made for it, but we'll see.
We were incredibly lucky to get a lot of clothes as hand-me-downs or as gifts. We used some of the money that family and friends gifted us to fill in the gaps for newborn winter wear. The diaper pail was a shower gift. We bought the cloth diapers and the diaper sprayer.
Wish us luck as we enter the realm of cloth diapering. I wanted to buy these new, so after careful research, I wound up spending about $450 on 18 BumGenius cloth diapers and a sprayer. Here's hoping that they were a worthwhile investment.
We got a BabyBjorn and a Snuggli from Craigslist for $50. The sleep sacks were shower gifts.
Here is the view from the Bean's room at dawn. The room faces south, so it gets lots of natural light. The Slinky on the window sill was mine from childhood. The sheep was a gift to me from a friend. We bought the bean an energy saving LED nightlight that comes on at dusk and goes out at dawn. That was $8 well spent at Canadian Tire.
We repurposed a bookshelf and lamp from downstairs to hold all the bean's books. Most of the picture books are from my school collection. The baby board books were shower gifts and the cloth books I bought at Winners for $6 each. The donkey puppet and finger puppets were shower gifts for the bean, if they can be wrestled away from me. The receiving blankets and the bin of toys were given to us by a variety of folks. Grandma supplied the noise-machine and the baby monitor.
