Happy Wednesday everyone!!
You know I am a huge shopping addict but also that I am a couponer and I love to save money. I am so excited to purchase all the baby girl items but I also don't want to break the bank so I thought I would share what I've gotten so far for our sweet girl and how I'm trying to save money.
If you haven't already heard our baby girls name will be Ellie. I ordered this cute name puzzle off of Amazon because I had one as a child and I just think it's so adorable. This was $34.18 on Amazon and I think it was completely worth it. I also used it for our name and gender reveal so we were able to share her name with the world!
Another Amazon purchase was this bookshelf for $34.38 which I would not recommend. It's pretty flimsy honestly and I wish I had held out for a more sturdy bookshelf but since I rushed into it this what we have!
So far the only books I've put on this shelf have either been on clearance, were books I already owned or were gifted to us. I had several of my childhood books still so I love that I can pass those down to Ellie. I've also done a ton of scanning at Walmart to get books for less than $1 each. We've also been gifted a few books and I of course had to put them in rainbow order :)
The stroller was gifted to us by my mom! She has been so unbelievably generous and I know she is so excited for her first grandchild. I will point out several items she's purchased for us and I can already see how spoiled this little girl is going to be.
The dresser in the background was mine as a baby so that was completely free. You can also see the wooden toy that my friend Brittni gave us to borrow. The Huggies diapers were all purchased for less than $12 total for three packs at Dollar General. I have been couponing diapers whenever I get a chance! I am working on building up a big diaper stockpile and getting an array of diapers.
I couldn't help myself picking up this Doodle on Amazon for $20.64. With two big sister doodles Ellie needs to represent them!
My mom purchased the crib for us which was so generous. The crib mattress was passed down to us from my friend Brittni. I did purchase a mattress protector at Walmart to keep it safe, I can't remember the exact price of the mattress protector but it was cheap.
The wallpaper was my major splurge.... I purchased this off Etsy and it was very pricey for the four panels we needed. I think it was totally worth it though.
This rug will not be staying, we will be purchasing a new rug. I am looking for a pink rug but I haven't found anything I love yet for a price I'd like to pay. I'm going to keep looking though!
I have a fun project that Tim will be doing and this closet should look totally different soon! I've been storing things we will gift Ellie for future holidays on the top shelf (all clearance items). I ordered a Belle dress for her from Disney, which again... couldn't help myself! I also picked up a cute robe at HomeGoods for her.
On the floor I have a bunch of toys that Brittni has passed down to us. We have two little seats we purchased for $9 a piece when we thought we'd be having twins. Since we got such a great deal on them we will send one to my moms house since she will be watching Ellie two days a week. We have an outdoor shade area that Rachel passed to us which has never been used. I also have a ton of diapers, wipes, bottles, etc that I've gotten for free with all the registry boxes/bags I had signed up for. I will be sorting through everything soon and getting this much more organized so I will share that later on.
I've started organizing her drawers as well. Everything in these drawers was either purchased on clearance or purchased for us. My mom of course bought the Minnie Mouse sunhat and the Carters sunglasses. I have purchased a ton of bows and hats for her- all on clearance.
In this drawer I have bibs, burp cloths, socks, and mittens. I bought these drawer organizers on Amazon and so far they've worked out great! I may have to purchase some more.
Quick question for you. How much of all of this did you have for your baby? How many bibs/burp cloths/ etc? I don't want to have to do laundry daily but I also don't want to purchase too much.
My mom purchased this changing table/dresser for us as well. I've started filling it up with clearance clothes! In the bottom drawer I am keeping bigger size clothing. We've also received a few outfits as gifts already too.
Also, I want to point out that Brittni's sister Katie was getting rid of a bunch of toys and offered them to us and you can see some of them in the bottom right of the above picture. I am so thankful for so many toy hand me downs because I know how expensive kids toys can be! We obviously want to purchase plenty of items for her new as well but knowing that we have plenty of hand me downs as well makes me feel like we don't need to run out and buy things immediately.
The top drawer of her changing table has diapers and wipes. Brittni gave us some small diapers she had leftover from her girls and the other items have all been free from signing up for random things online. We received a free package of Hello Bello newborn diapers by filling out a form online and then received a bunch of diapers in our registry gift bags.
I read online that diapers should cost no more than 20 cents per diapers and wipes no more than 2 cents per wipe. I've been trying to stick to that when I see deals and have managed to get quite a few so far!
I picked up the Belle doll from Disney, some of these blankets and stuffed animals were gifts and the toys were all on clearance. The star blanket was a surprise sent to us by Rachel, the soft white blanket and little bear was given to us by my mom right when we first found out I was pregnant. The pink and white blanket that you can see on the right hand side was given to us by my mother in law who knows someone who hand made it. My uncle and his girlfriend sent us the bunny which was such a sweet surprise.
One more peek at the crib and gorgeous wallpaper!
I've been trying so hard to buy everything on clearance or a sale, and I think I've done pretty well so far but I have definitely splurged on a few things! I am currently 22 weeks pregnant so I still have plenty of time and will be doing a drive by baby shower but I want to make sure we have everything we need for her.
I should also mention we did purchase the SNOO when it was on a 15% off sale. I picked up the snow and two sets of sheets for it which totaled about $1400. It will all arrive in August and be here before she is born. I do need to get back on the snow website to order swaddles for her that work with the SNOO.
How many outfits do I need per size? What items are your must haves for babies? Please share with me!!
