How To Make A Luxurious Baby Registry On The Cheap in Belgium
There are a lot of things going on in my life right now. First and foremost we have a baby on the way!
Obviously, a big event that takes a lot of time. Not only do I have to take care of the mother to make sure the baby grows healthy, but together we also have to look at how we will welcome the little one into this world.
What kind of clothes, food, nursey, and safety products do we need to give her the best care she deserves? And all of that at a reasonable price of course. In short, how did we make a luxurious baby registry without breaking the bank?
The Baby list: What do we need vs what do we want
As the delivery date draws closer week by week, it becomes paramount that me and my wife, as parents-to-be, start looking at the stuff we will need to take care of our little one. FIRE is all about balancing wants vs. needs, and it isn’t any different when it comes to buying baby stuff.
To make sure we don’t spend multiple salaries on baby gear we have to distinguish between quality and over-priced and what you need vs what you want.
Since this isn’t a mommy/daddy/parent blog, I will refrain from getting into detail about what the items on our list do. Instead, I will cover how we decided on what to get specifically at the best price possible without sacrificing (baby) safety.
To figure out must-haves vs nice-to-haves, we used different sources:
Using the above sources we were able to compile a rather complete list of things we thought were needed for our little girl.
Our top 3 items: car seat, stroller, and crib
Items nobody will argue about are your main items such as a stroller and a car seat. If you don’t have a car, you still need one if you use a car-sharing platform or if you want to take it somewhere using a car (of friends or family).
The third most important item we need is a place for our baby to sleep. In theory, all you need is a crib where you can put your baby in. It needs a flat surface and is open on all sides including the bottom. Though in recent years the co-sleeper or bassinet has become quite popular.
And that is where the the obviousness ends.
While my wife knows she wants a bassinet to have the baby next to her for at least the first 6 months, for some it might not be so obvious.
In other words, do you get a bassinet first or do you go for a crib immediately?
What about the car seats? Do we go with a seat that can be put on a stroller or get a dedicated car seat for the first 4 years (so-called 0+ 1 seats)? I haven’t even talked about all the different bottles, the clothes, diapers, etc.
The list of questions goes on and on! Crazy I tell you. But in the end, we were able to form a coherent list of things and where or how to get them.
Our list: how can there be so much stuff?!
| Category | Item | Our pick | For Age | Comment | Our price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep | Crib | Second-hand from parents (meeting safety standards) | 6m ~3y | Necessary once the baby can stand up. | FREE |
| Sleep | Bassinet | Maxi-cosi iora | 0m - 6m | Depends on the parents whether this is important or not. max till they can stand. | 100 EUR |
| Sleep | Matrass | Sun Garden child matrass | 6m ~3y | Might come included with the crib. | 40 EUR |
| Sleep | Blanket | Yoofoss Supercomfortabele baby blanket | 12m+ | Simple blanket | 10 EUR |
| Sleep | Footed Pajamas | La Redoute | 0m+ | Any brand works really. Just get with zippers and feet. | 30 EUR (for 3) |
| Sleep | Travel Cot | Hauck Dream'n Play | 0m ~ 3y | Can be used from the start till a variable age but around 3 years. | 40 EUR |
| Car | Car seat 0+ / 1 | Maxi-cosi Mica i-size | 0m - 4y | DO NOT get this second. Safety is very important. | 314 EUR |
| Car | Car seat base | Comes with Mica | 0m - 4y | Included with Mica. If you get a 0+ seat you might to buy it. | N/A |
| Outdoor | Stroller | Britax Römer smile 3 | 0m - 4y | Not sure if we will get it second-hand. | 598 EUR |
| Outdoor | carrycot | Britax Römer smile 3 | 0m - 6m | Included with the Smile 3 | N/A |
| Outdoor | Weather covers | Britax Römer Weather protection set for Smile III | 0m - 4y | Sold separate | 80 EUR |
| Care | Diapers | Huggies Size 2 | 0m - 4y+ | Every child is different. Hard to really suggest a brand or size | ~34 EUR |
| Care | Baby cream | Aquaphor, Baby, Healing Ointment | 0m+ | A lot of different brands are available. | 15 EUR |
| Care | Care set | 0m+ | 30 EUR | ||
| Care | Baby thermometer | Any brand | 0m+ | Sometimes included in a care set. | 10 EUR |
| Care | Changing table | IKEA | 0m+ | Cheap IKEA changing table second-hand | 20 EUR |
| Care | Baby wet wipes | Any brand | 0m - potty trained | 8 EUR | |
| Care | Care bag | Any Brand | 0m+ | Can be found second-hand | 25 EUR |
| Play | Toys | Second-hand from parents and friends | 0m+ | Hand me downs from friends and family | FREE |
| Play | Swing | Bo Jungle Baby swing | 0m ~ 6m | Second-hand | 50 EUR |
| Play | Play mat | Fisher-Price GJD41 Jumbo | 0m+ | 46 EUR | |
| Safety | Baby monitor | Not sure yet | 6m+ | Will get it once she has her own room. | N/A |
| Clothing | body suits | H&M set | 0m+ | 25 EUR | |
| Clothing | Hats | H&M set | 0m+ | 10 EUR | |
| Clothing | Jacket | H&M | 0m+ | 12 EUR | |
| Eating & Drinking | Bottle | Phillips Avent | 0m+ | 17 EUR | |
| Total | 1 514 EUR | ||||
A completely personal list
In the above list, you can find all the things we deemed necessary to welcome our little girl into our family. This is our personal list, based on our sources. This can and will differ for each person or couple. It’s also only for the first 6 months. As our baby grows older and becomes more independent other stuff will be needed. However, I believe this list is already an excellent start.
Based on the comments you can already read how hard it is to provide a single solution for every category. It always boils down to personal taste and the taste of your baby which you will only learn once he or she is here.
Preparing everything for the arrival
With the list in place and all the necessary stuff selected, we are ready to welcome our daughter into the world on the 27th of May 2021. We actually already got the car seat as there was a promotion giving a 25 EUR discount + 3 accessories. Since car seats are an important safety item, it’s important to get this new. You can’t realy skimp on safety.
The next steps are:
- Over the course of the next two months we will make the baby wishlist available for everyone so that we can start receiving wishes and gifts 😉
- Through the wishlist we hope that the initial amount of about 1,400 EUR gets severely reduced.
- Anything we don’t get through the wishlist will be purchased second-hand if possible.
- What isn’t available second-hand will be bought new as a last resort.
Tips when making your luxurious and personal baby registry
- Don’t buy too many clothes in advance. You never know how big your newborn will be or how much they weigh. On top of that, they won’t be walking or crawling for the first 6 months.
- Don’t buy bottles in advance. Look what your baby prefers.
- If you buy something in advance (at a sale for example), don’t unbox everything right away. In case your situation changes you might be able to return it.
- Pay attention to safety. Some trinkets or decorations might look cute, but they could be a potential hazard for your newborn. Especially blankets, or baby pillows should not be used unsupervised.
- Last but not least: every baby is different. Our baby isn’t here yet but after watching and reading tons of other experiences it’s clear that regardless of how good your intentions are to give your baby the best possible start, he just might not like that 299 EUR 4moms mamaRoo or the fancy 100 EUR cloth baby chair that 100% fits in your interior.
The pdfs I used to compose the list in this post: