Pregnancy and Baby tips on a budget!

So many people are afraid of having kids because of how expensive they are. Yes another family member means more money spent but I assure you that a child doesn't need to bankrupt you. I know it's hard when we see gorgeous nurseries on Pinterest but your baby can come home from the hospital and sleep in a $20 pack n play you got off Craigslist wrapped in a blanket from a friend and she will survive just fine. Yes, a $600 stroller is probably a lot easier to fold up one handed and use in general, but if you can't afford it, your child will live through it. There's nothing wrong with buying nice or high end things, but don't get stuck in the trap of "needing" top of the line items.

Here are a few ways I've made having babies a little easier on our bank accounts as well as some tips for getting through it all.

Pregnancy

Sleep

• If you are having a hard time sleeping at night, get a pregnancy pillow! They are pretty pricey so I tried out this boomerang pillow from Shopko and have loved it! It supports my hips and back and doesn’t take up the entire bed, I love it! And you can usually find it on sale for $15! My first pregnancy I was trying to save money and so I’d sleep with 3 different pillows propped around me. It was a little ridiculous and I’d wake up a lot to shift the pillows. With my 2nd I bought one of these and wondered why I didn’t get one the first time around! I actually still slept with it well after baby was here.

• Sleep as much as you can. You might feel lazy but I promise that when the baby comes you will curse yourself for not sleeping more when you had the chance.

• Maternity clothes can be pretty pricey. Check out your nearest Ross for shirts under $10 and pants/shorts less than $20. (and if you don't mind used clothes the D.I, Goodwill, or consignment stores are a great option too!)

• If you have muscle cramps, soreness, or charlie horses, increase your Tums intake. Those are often signs of not having enough calcium. Helps with heartburn as well (obviously). Your body takes care of your baby first and since the baby is growing his entire skeleton, it tends to take a lot of your calcium. I remember in my Nutrition class my professor telling us that undernourished women will lose their teeth during pregnancy due to a lack of calcium (and other nutrients) so increase your calcium! And take a multivitamin every day!

• You do not have to suffer when you’re pregnant. A lot of people think that there aren’t safe medications to take while pregnant, especially for a cold but there is! Call your doctor to find out what is safe.  I promise. Don’t suffer when it’s not necessary. There are enough pains you can’t do anything about so take care of what you can. (When you’re nursing cold medicines get trickier because sinus relievers will dry up your milk).  If you have such bad heartburn that Tums aren’t touching it, talk to your doctor about something stronger. I used Prilosec and it was amazing to not have heartburn.

• And at the same time, new studies are always coming out about what's safe or not. I took Zofran with baby #2 and by baby #3 (which wasn't that long after) there was some evidence that it might cause birth defects so my doctor prescribed me something else. So basically, use your best judgement. Don't suffer, but make sure you talk with your health provider about what is safe (many medications have been proven safe so you shouldn't have to worry) and what possible side effects there might be.

• If you are suffering from morning sickness, try keeping crackers by your bed and eat a few before even sitting up. I would feel fine until I stood up then the nausea would come on and there was nothing I could do about it. Preventative care is always worth it. I also ate a lot of candy canes (luckily I was pregnant around Christmas) because peppermint helps with nausea. Protein in the morning also helps with morning sickness. I drank chocolate milk and a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter every morning my first trimester and it helped SO much. But if these don’t work, don’t be scared to ask for an anti-nausea medication. When I finally “broke down” and got some I felt to dumb for trying to just “get through” the nausea. I was a new person when I didn’t feel like I needed to run to the bathroom every 30 minutes

• If you are a C-section mama, I recommend getting a belly band for support after. I really liked this one. It's NOT shapeware, it's a bit bulky but not too bad. I LOVED having it in the hospital and for the weeks after, especially at night when I'm getting out of bed to get the baby. I feel like I was more stable and not as easily fatigued when I used this after baby #2 vs baby #1 when I didn't use anything (both c-sections)

Nursing

• Nursing Bras: It's nice to have a good stash of these, especially if you are prone to leaking. $20 for a bra doesn't sound too bad, but if you are changing it at least once a day, having plenty can get pricey. I used these Bandinis from Walmart (about 2/$10). I like them because they have great coverage and you can wear them with straps or with out. Without straps makes night feeding really easy. I even found some on the clearance rack for $1 so I bought all they had in my size. By the way, if you're using them for right after baby, but a size or 2 bigger than you normally would.
• 

• On the topic of nursing...reusable nursing pads. This is one of the few times my pregnancy fatigue laziness worked out. My friend showed me how to make some reusable nursing pads by sewing or serging together 5 circles of flannel. Well I don't have a serger and I have a bad relationship with my mom's sewing machine so all I did was get the circles cut out. When it came time to use them I stacked as many as I needed and stuck them in my bra. I'd use 6 at night and 3 during the day, sometimes only 1 if I wasn't worried but wanted a little bit of protection, just in case. Make them about 6 inches in diameter using any flannel (no one sees them, so it doesn't have to be cute. Wash them with whatever laundry you want. I can't remember how many I made but if you're using 12 a day and doing laundry once a week you'd need 84. They are also nice to soak in water and freeze then apply to sore breasts.

• You can make a nursing tanktop for under $2 and no sewing required. Simply cut the straps off a cami. I know there are tutorials out there about sewing a loop so it hooks on your bra, but camis are tight enough they stay up all by themselves. I like using them so my back doesn't show when I nurse. Forever 21 has really inexpensive camis in a lot of colors and styles.
• 

• Baby

• If you've got a particularly spitty baby and burp cloths just aren't cutting it, try using microfiber cloths for burp rags. My brother-in-law held bought us a big Costco pack after holding my little one for 15 minutes. I assure you, they were well used!

• Lets talk pajamas: There's nothing cuter than footie pajamas. But if you buy the footless ones like these from Children's Place then they last a lot longer. Just put socks on your kiddo to keep their toes warm if their room gets cold at night. I also love the sleep dresses, once they don't cover my babies legs any more I use them as their pajama top and an inexpensive pack of pants or footed pants on bottom, making their value last much longer.

• Amazon mom: If your baby needs brand name diapers and wipes this is the way to go. They often have coupons to clip as well so I check back every few days and will order diapers in advanced so I can get name brand diapers for cheaper than Walmart brand. I also have been really liking their Amazon essentials wipes. But I've found it's hard to recommend brands for diapers and wipes because every baby's bottom is different.