Re: Baby Essentials on a budget
One advice I can give is that when the time comes, don’t buy the high chair. Get the booster seat instead (on a side note, we just bought Fisher-price booster delux seat which got pretty good reviews..) – high chair occupy a lot of space and is pretty much an eye sore in the corner.
You must also have at least one piano or other instrument like toy when your baby is of the age.. it might sound silly now but trust me, toys that have music are baby magnets and instrumental (no pun) in giving parents some break from baby care.
Also, don’t buy anything until you really need it. That means no potty trainer purchase until you know your baby would like to poop in one.
Generally speaking Wal-mart has good prices. But do subscribe to babies r us mailing list and some of the stuff you can get pretty discounted prices using their coupons.
Oh, and you don’t need basinet. Basinet is really for about 6 months and more of a convenience than utility so you’ll end up with basinet + crib after 6 months. Babies can sleep in crib just as well. Just make sure you take off the railing of the crib on the side of the bed you’re going to be sleeping so that at night when baby needs milk/wakes up, you won’t have to get up and have easy access to baby. We took off the railing/wall and it was kinda like an extension to the bed and very convenient for my wife.
One thing you’ll love eventually when babies is out of receiving blankets etc and/or when you got to travel etc is the sleeping sack. We took it to Pakistan in our last trip when our daughter was around a year old and it was so convenient covering her up at bed time in the cold weather.
Good luck! :k: