Nashville Family Photographer | Splurge or Save? | Baby Edition
splurge or save?
As a new mom (or truthfully second time mom) after the first trimester you really start to think “what do I need to get for baby?”/ Registering can take a lot of time and thought and even after all you’ve invested, after baby arrives you may find yourself thinking “man I really wish I would’ve invested a little more in ____ and gotten ___” or “Wow! I spent a lot of money on this and it really wasn’t something we even used!”.
When it comes to buying and preparing for baby there are so many options. I remember with Mason feeling like I needed to ask anyone I knew that already had been through the newborn phase what items were their favorite because even if I could reel it in to the items I thought necessary, there were still a variety of brand and price options. Of course different items can truly be preferred by both baby and parents, but I tend to like to save in some areas so that we can splurge on other items that are of bigger importance to me.
After having one and heading into welcoming our second baby home we felt like we had realized there were a few items we wished we’d had with Mason that we were going to get for Brody and some that we were so happy we got and utilized the first time around! I am by no means an expert, but I tend to find items I will splurge on and other areas that I’ve found are just fine to “save” on (helps with the splurge areas… am I right?).
I thought that a Splurge or Save blog post might be fun (and hopefully helpful) to some by giving you a quick thought on why it worked for us while also listing a comparable preferred item or more expensive option if those work best for you! As with all baby items, you should always take safety or medical related information in making a decision for your baby/family from your pediatrician or other medial providers. These are simply what worked for our family and what we learned over the course of 2 littles where we wish we had splurged from the begging!
bassinet vs. pack & play
save: pack & play
This one was an easy one for us. Babies so quickly outgrow the bassinet that while it can be so helpful in the early days, the lack of longevity of the item wasn’t worth the price tag for us. The slight inconvenience of using the p&p for the first few weeks outweighs the cost to invest in a short term expensive item.
However, if you know you want to have multiple babies I could see registering or investing in this item on the front end! For us, the p&p was perfectly fine, fairly easy, and I loved that once they moved to their crib we were able to store it to use for travel in the future!
embe swaddle vs. ollie swaddle
save: embe swaddle
The Ollie swaddle is a popular one out there. Great quality, hip friendly, & easy to use! For us with both kids we went back to this one as we just liked the material better & found it to be quicker in the night for changes.
After Brody was being treated with a hip brace, I did a lot of research on items that are good for kids with hip dysplasia & this one was highly favored amongst those who truly were riding the dysplasia journey.
We loved that it could swaddle the arms but leave legs out (if it were warmer) or tuck them into the sack if they were colder. Babies also can get things dirty easily… between spit-up or blowouts you can find yourself changing swaddles & jammies often. I love that the Embe comes in at a lower price point which might give you a back-up to have on hand!
I’ll link both items below for anyone who is curious!
Embe Swaddle
Ollie Swaddle
hatch sound machine vs. dohm
splurge: hatch sound machine
That little tiny white dome you see by the hat is the Hatch Sound Machine (I believe they call it the Hatch Baby Rest). It has been the best sound machine I’ve tried for several reason (& let me tell you, I have used a sound machine for the majority of my life!).
Reasons we love it:
It can be controlled by an app on your phone.
If there are any technical difficulties with it, the company itself gets reports about them and can e-mail you with a solution before you ever have to reach out to them. (Masons first one cut in & out some after several months while he was sleeping. They ended up e-mailing me and offering to send a new one because of the glitch!).
It gets pretty loud which can be helpful when it’s say…. July 4th or you have a toddler playing nearby while baby sleeps.
The nightlight can be a variety of colors and you can make it as bright or as dim as you want for your little one. We loved having a soft light for middle of the night feedings that didn’t wake baby up any more than they already were!
sleepsacks
halo vs. woolino
splurge : woolino
Woolino : $99.99
Halo: $21.99 (+ 20% off usually with Buy Buy Baby)
So… why pay the bigger price tag?
First, the quality of the Woolino is leaps and bounds better than any other sleep sack we tried with Mason. They very much put thought about the baby and safety when designing this. The one we invested in is the 4-seasons one so it helps baby stay warm in cooler months and helps them stay cooler in the warm months.
Second, it’s a universal size of 2 months - 2 years. YES. You read that right! All the way to 2 years! If i’m being honest, Mason didn’t even use a wearable blanket that long! I am all for items that are designed properly to grow with baby and maybe the price tag is hefty on the forefront, but really if you buy 2 sleep sacks for each size, it would even out!
Tip: we got Brody’s Woolinos on some type of BOGO deal around Black Friday that helped bring the cost of each down. Keep an eye on their website for specials if you decide this is the right item for you!
pjs
cloud island vs. kickee/burts bees
save : cloud island
Cloud Island: $12.99 for 3
Burts Bees: $26.95 for 2
While I can always appreciate quality, and I do know the softness of Kickee PJs and how thick and cozy the Burt’s Bees Baby PJs are… babies from 0-12 months FLY through sizes. I have never been able to rationalize spending a lot on their clothes when they wear them for 3 months (& let’s be honest, some babies go through them even quicker!). The fold-over cuffs are perfect when they’re small & they tend to scratch their face or their hands can keep them up.
Target really has stepped up their game with the cuteness of their Cloud Island brand & these PJs have held up for both boys for the most part. The biggest disappointment? That they stop making them after the 6-9 month sizing.
I think I started to “splurge” a little more on PJs once we got into the 2T range because I knew we would likely be in them for 6-9 months rather than 3.
high chair
ikea vs. stokke tripp trapp
save : ikea antilop
Ikea Antilop: $19.99
Ikea Antilop Support Pillow : $6
Ikea Antilop Support Pillow Cover: $4
Yeah Baby Footrest : $25
TOTAL : $55
Tripp Trapp High Chair : $199.99
Hindsight may be 20/20 with this one. Do we love our Ikea Antilop? YES. We have had no issues using it once I discovered the inflatable support pillow/cover as before that there was way too much wiggle room to help keep them secure and stable (you can see how much extra room there was with Mason in the first 2 images around age 7 months). We also purchased a foot rest as with learning from experts, having somewhere to ground the feet helps people of all ages while eating - so babies will do things to feel grounded like crossing their ankles if they don’t have a footrest.
If I knew the Ikea high chair was going to need “extras” on the forefront would I have purchased a more expensive high chair (or registered for one)? Possibly. Knowing that we wanted to have more kids, it would’ve made more sense to invest on the front end. However, when we didn’t and found the accessories - it worked just as good!
It’s also super easy to clean, blends with your home (if that’s important to you) and easy to break down to store if necessary.
Lucky for you all, there are companies that have come out with a ton of items that give the Antilop the footrest or security it needs while also making it more “stylish” or fun. I’ve linked it above, but you can checkout Yeah Baby Goods to see what all they offer!
strollers
uppababy vs. mockingbird
toss up?
read on to hear why!
Mockingbird: $395
2nd seat kit: $120
Uppababy: $969
For us, we had a Nuna stroller with Mason that was easy to “click and go”. Unfortunately we didn’t like the option for a double with Nuna and needed to invest in a double of some shape or form. Luckily had we wanted to, we could’ve purchased an adapter to click and go with the Mockingbird + Nuna combo. Having ab baby in a pandemic will remind you that you aren’t going many places where you need a stroller, so we opted out of this option and just laid the tumbler seat out for him to lay in when we did get a nice day for a stroll!
We watched so many videos comparing the 2 strollers and talked to people with kids of similar ages to hear the pros/cons of the uppababy.
Again, hindsight 20/20? Maybe we would’ve gone Uppababy infant carrier and Uppababy Vista when we registered before Mason arrived. I definitely think the quality is worth checking out!
BUT for those of you who have already had 1 kiddo and need a good, but not break the bank option, for a double stroller? Check out the Mockingbird. We’ve loved it so far for a double that is not side-by-side. We love that we can still use it as as single stroller, and the kids come with the full coverage sunshade as well as the upper/lower adapters (when you purchase the 2nd seat kit) to adjust for both seats!
Mockingbird is also continuing to come out with similar items that Uppababy offers for their strollers like the snack tray and ride along board.
changing pads
hatch baby grow vs. traditional changing pad
splurge: hatch baby grow
Hatch Baby Grow: $149
Okay okay, I hear you all. WHAT? This price tag for a changing pad?
You are indeed correct, it is extremely expensive. Let me tell you why this was a life saver for us specifically…
Both of my boys were born in a higher percentile for weight and then dropped off their original curve. When the pediatrician starts worrying a bit, it is nice to know that we could weigh them before and after nursing sessions to be sure they were getting adequate ounces. Having this also allowed us to track their weight gain on our own over time in between appointments.
I could also see this being helpful to someone who’s baby is a preemie and needing to watch weight gain too! In addition to the scale portion that was a huge component for our family, it also has the perfect material for easy clean up. Baby pees while you’re changing? No problem, use a wipe and move on without extra laundry!
However, for those of you that like the idea of easy cleanup without needing the scale portion, I’m going to link some similar options below for you!
Skip Hop Wipe Clean Changing Pad: $61.99
Keekaroo Peanut Changer: $129.99