Budgeting with a Baby

The key to smart budgeting for baby products is buy less total items, but expect each product you do purchase to do more for you.

There are 1000s of products made for parents -- just walk a baby superstore (or check out a friends' with kids' garage!) if you don't believe me. By virture of sheer numbers, many are unneccesary. However, some that seem unnecessary to you may be a "must have" for somebody else. You need a different "best" stroller if you commute via mass transit vs. a car, a different carrier if you and your husband are very different heights, a different crib if you're planning #2 as quickly as possible after #1, etc. Therefore, figure out which products you really need to fit your lifestyle as a parent, invest in better models that last longer (and often do more by multi-tasking for different functions) and then - yes! - save the rest for college.

Take for example the highchairs you got excited about at my stores. Do you know that the $250 option is a highchair that turns into a toddler chair that turns into a booster chair, and oh by the way, when you're all done, becomes a desk chair for a kids room? Years of use. A great-looking and highly functional product. And less to contribute to the landfills when you're done.

At giggle, we work hard to help you pick the best products for you by helping you navigate the glut of choices and match the best options with your particular parenting needs. Our goal isn't to sell you everything; we want to sell you the right things, and those are the things that make parenting easier, more fun - and whenever possible, more responsible!

Thanks for shopping with us, and congratulations on your new arrival.

ali wing

founder

giggle

ali wing of NY 9:28PM May 04, 2010