Comments on: Our Frugal Baby, Part II

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 15:57:00 +0000

Just a thought on breast pumps…even though they are marketed as “one owner” items (for health reasons), I can tell you that many “moms” groups sell the expensive Medela electric pumps at their consignment sales. I believe the cost is typically under $100.00 (I sold mine for about $75.00). You can buy replacement parts for all of the items that actually come into contact with breastmilk (tubing, pumping shields, valves, membranes, etc.) directly from Medela and just use the electric “motor” part of the pump that you have purchased secondhand. Also, the “universal” Medela kit that you get in the hospital if you decide to pump there contains tubing, valves, membranes, shields, etc. that will work with all Medela electric pumps (not just the industrial-sized hospital version), and your health insurance (if you have it) should cover the cost of the kit, which you get to take home with you. Consignment stores will not resell pumps, but church consignment sales, MOPS sales, Mothers Of Multiples sales, etc., are great places to look. So…if you can find the “motor” at a consignment sale and have your insurance cover the cost of the universal kit while you are in the hospital, you can put together a very nice pumping system for 1/3 or less of normal retail. Hope this helps…Michelle

By: Kim C.

Kim C. — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 12:21:00 +0000

Great list – sounds a lot like what we do!
Just to add another perspective on the list:
I would suggest borrowing a sling until you’re sure you want one. Everyone seems to love them, but I tried slings w/several babies and they just weren’t our cup of tea.
Also, as one who has never had a problem breastfeeding, I don’t keep a pump at all. I do try to have a bottle and some formula somewhere in the house for emergencies, but honestly they’ve never been needed.
I would add burp rags to the list. Several of ours have been real spitter-uppers. We use cloth diapers for this, as they will hold a lot!
I agree that there’s no need for the fancy baby accessories: changing table, baby bathtub, etc. A swing was nice with some and utterly unused with others – again you might borrow one for trial if you are considering buying.
Clothes are tiny and usually fit in a little of my own drawer space.
I do love the little gowns w/a drawstring at the bottom early on – these make changing a breeze, and are easy on the umbilical.
Since we have all girls so far (7 of them!) we have plenty of baby girl clothes. I buy a couple of 3 packs of boy clothes before each birth, and return them unopened when the next girl arrives – cheaper than a yard sale, unless we actually *have* a boy someday. Then we’ll celebrate by dressing him in his brand new jammies!

By: Queen of Carrots

Queen of Carrots — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 11:58:00 +0000

I have to say, I’m on my second baby and still haven’t had occasion to get a breast pump. I finally decided if it was a real emergency, buying a can of formula to tide them over wouldn’t be any more expensive than buying a breast pump–and it wouldn’t be a whole lot less nutritious than milk that had sat in the freezer for a while. I’d advise people to wait on one until they know they need one.

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 17:17:00 +0000

You can also RENT a breast pump from a local pharmacy. It’s much cheaper than buying a new one. They sterilize them and give you mew a set of tubing, etc. all your own. Just a thought….A friend is loaning me her Medela (I’ll just buy the new-tubing kit), but until then I was set to rent.

By: Terri

Terri — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 03:01:00 +0000

Oh, yes! Those washclothes! I love ‘em. Thank you for reminding me!

We can get them around here for $2.50 for a pack of 9 [why not 10? Heh.] — so we buy three colors: white for baby, green for kitchen cleaning [instead of paper towels] and blue for bathroom cleaning.

By: marycelery

marycelery — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 02:20:00 +0000

Your list was perfect with one tiny exeption: terry wash clothes. I was given a set of 7 for my shower and they were really invaluable. With a bit of water in a zip lock bag they are wipes for baby’s face, bottom or hand OR big sister’s snotty nose, sticky toddler hands; over the shoulder juicy burp protectors; tucked into baby’s clothes, a bib; and if mom springs a leak, a breast sheild. I kept 2 dry in a bag and 2 wet. I was ready for anything! But I do love your list. I had just such a short list and my mom’s group called me the “minimal mom.”

Miss Mary

By: muse

muse — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 18:02:00 +0000

This ol’ granny says you’re doing great!

By: Terri

Terri — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 14:20:00 +0000

Oh, another thing I should probably make clear — the big reason why it was important to us to have a pump around is because Audrey was born at home. If you give birth in a hospital, they have pretty sweet pumps available for rental that’ll definitely tide you over until you get your own, if it turns out you’ll be doing a lot of pumping. [Like say, if your child has latch issues, or if you'll be working, etc.]

But a manual hand pump is pretty cheap and definitely worth having even if your breastfeeding goes swimmingly.

By: Terri

Terri — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 13:52:00 +0000

As for which sling, “whatever works for you” is best — they’re all a little different. I used the SlingEzee — http://www.motheringfromtheheart.com/catalog/34.html — but it was pretty bulky at times. Once Audrey got pretty squirmy, I ended up switching to a front carrier until she got too big.

RE: getting a pump — It’s been our experience that if you *need* a pump for serious pumping, you have to get the good one. However! If you’re not having difficulty breastfeeding, it’s still worth putting up some milk in the freezer. For the occasional freezer supply, a cheap manual pump should be good enough.

Everyone that we’ve known who’s had to pump, say, more than once a day [I was pumping 10-12x a day] and got an electric pump that wasn’t a real good one has either given up or went ahead and bought the good one on top of the other one! [Because you can't return them once they've been used.]

I hope I’m not being too confusing here. So, I guess I’m saying that you should still get a manual pump, for your just in case, then. Don’t worry about getting the 300 dollar one unless you end up in a situation where you’re having to pump a lot.

By: Misty

Misty — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 13:13:00 +0000

Thanks for this info! We’re thinking about trying to conceive this summer and have been worried that a baby would add too much cost to our budget and sabotage our debt snowball.

The pumps look like they’re about $300! Is it really worth it ‘just in case’ for that amount?

Thank you again!