Money Grubbing Babies...

Having a third baby has (so far) been wonderful. Newborn babies are so easy to care for compared to demanding toddlers and preschoolers- they just need love, sleep, nourishment and diaper changes.

Our third baby has also been exponentially cheaper than the previous two children. We already had everything we needed as far as baby gear goes and I only had to buy a few clothing items here and there (the baby was born in November whereas my daughter was born in June). Diapers and wipes were all bought on sale for super cheap and thanks to my mom, who I will call the diaper angel, my stockpile is huge.

Another biggie in the saving money department is that I am breastfeeding. Not only does this allow me to avoid paying for expensive formula but it also means that my kids are rarely sick so less doctor's visits. I have a high end breast pump that I got for free when I had my son (he was having tons of issues with nursing so the lactation consultant at the hospital wrote me a prescription for a pump of which my insurance company covered the full cost of) and already have bottles and milk storage containers. I do give my breastfed kids a vitamin D supplement but found a great deal on this brand- one bottle has 900 doses! When it comes to nursing pads I am using reusable ones- they cost more upfront than disposables but pay for themselves quickly as I just wash them with our normal laundry. I was also smart enough to buy Medela nursing bras whwn I had my first child- they were expensive but are still like new and will definetly hold up through the next year of breastfeeding. And remember, breastfeeding supplies are eligible expenditures for your flexible spending account.

Something that we did have to shell out some money for though was a new car seat- the one we used for our other two kids expired (yes, car seats expire- please do not use one that is past its date). I ended up buying a Britax Chaperone Infant Car Seat with a matching stroller after much research because Britax is the top of the line. I don't consider spending a lot of money on car seats a splurge as you can't put a price on safety but the stroller was definetly a splurge- at least I'll be able to sell the stroller for some decent money when we are done with it.

If you are planning on having more than one child and even if you're not, the lesson here is to save everything! Save all of the baby stuff because if you get rid of it and then have another baby you are going to be annoyed at having to buy all of the stuff you had all over again. Babies are as expensive as you make them. Kids and teenagers are a whole other story!

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