As a first time parent I remember wanting to set-up the nursery as soon as the pregnancy test said “positive.” I am a planner by nature, I love to know what’s going on, have things done way in advance. I’m not a big fan of last minutes surprises. My daughter was due the last part of January and we had her room done and ready to move into in October… this came in handy since she was born almost a month earlier than expected. Also, it was nice because we would sit in her room at night and read stories to her while she was in my belly.

As first time parents we wanted to make sure she had a great nursery with everything she needed and we wanted to still be budget conscious, except when it came to furniture. We just didn’t know a whole lot about cribs, changers, etc. All we knew is that according to everyone we knew, we needed a well equipped nursery and that included a convertible crib and changer. We wanted something sturdy that could be used again or possibly sold, but did not want to break the bank. We decided against something used because we just couldn’t find anything. We shopped consignment sale after consignment sale and every decent set was sold by the time we got there.

I will be honest, we wound up spending about $700 for the convertible crib (mattress & bed rails included) and changer. Some of you will think that is an astronomical amount, some of you will think wow… what do you have your child in a cardboard box? Well, in my mind we wound up over spending and below you will see my reasoning. If you are a budget conscious parent who really wants to know what you should spend on the nursery, then continue reading… you get to learn from our mistakes. If you want your nursery to be a show stopper that impresses your friends… probably not the article for you, but bookmark PPP… I post coupons and deals all the time and you can still save money, no matter how much you plan on spending.

Since babies spend the first few years of their life sleeping in a crib, it is a big decision. There are so many to chose from… standard, convertible, portable. What do you choose and how much should you spend?

These days cribs must meet certain safety standards, so all the cribs that you see at the store should be up to the CPSC safety standards. I’m not really going to touch on safety today, you can read about that more here.

One of the biggest factors in determining whether or not you should opt for a standard crib verses a convertible can be if you plan on having more children. Convertible cribs can be a little more expensive and if you are planning on having another child say within two years… your little one might very well be in the crib and you wind-up having to purchase another one. Sometimes people opt for a couple of less expensive standard cribs in this case and spend more on a “big girl” or “big boy” bed when the time comes.

I personally had problems lifting the sides on a standard crib and opted for the convertible crib. Do bear in mind that a convertible crib can be hard on your back though since you do not have the drop side and if you are a little on the short side like I am.

I would suggest checking both out and see what suits your needs best. Nowadays you can get a convertible crib for about the same price that you can get a standard crib.

Now, how much should you spend on it? If I had it to do over again I would not have spent more than $200 on a crib. There are a ton of safe, attractive options for under $200 on the market. Also, think outside the baby store box when it comes to shopping for cribs. If you are lucky enough to live near and IKEA, you can even get a functional and attractive convertible crib there for under $160.

Okay, so most people are not going to want to have the crib in their room for those first few months? What do you do if you want to have the baby close to you in the beginning? Some people opt for a bassinet, others use their pack n play, some borrow or buy an inexpensive portable crib, some use co-sleepers… there are a ton of options.

How you have your baby close to you in the beginning is a very personal choice. All I can do is share our experience on this one. We wanted to be frugal and we had planned on using a pack n play for the first month or so and then moving our little one into her room. I wound up having an urgent c-section and it was just too difficult to lift our little one up and down out of low to the ground pack n play multiple times at night. Out of desperation we went to our local baby store one night and bought a bassinet. It was one that could rock, wheel around and with a sale and coupon we wound up paying about $70. It was a lifesaver and worth every penny.

I honestly feel like no matter what option you choose, you should be able to find a great short-term sleeping option for under $100. The time spent in this sleeping arrangement is so short-lived that I just can’t recommend spending more. Some people don’t even have their little one in their room in the beginning, but those 3 AM feedings killed me, so I had my daughter as close as possible in the beginning.

As I mentioned above, we over spent on our nursery furniture. I wanted a changer with drawers to put everything in, etc. Well, I should have opted for just a nice simple little inexpensive changer that could be stuck in a closet in between babies or passed along to someone else.

I can’t remember the last time I changed my daughter on her changer. At 21 months, she is way too wild to be changed on her changer and I would say this has been the case since at least 18 months, probably more like 15 months. We pretty much change her in the floor nowadays or honestly on the go while she is running around her room and we are trying to catch her.

A changer was handy in the beginning, when we used it. A lot of times we used our bed… it was the perfect height or the bathroom counter with a towel underneath when she was super tiny. All you pretty much need is a place that is safe and the right height and that you can stash all your changing essentials. Once they become mobile… the changer is pretty much useless.

Bear all this in mind when you select a changer. We opted for one with drawers so we could also use it as a chest of drawers, but we would have been better off spending that money on a more permanent chest of drawers that we could use in her room or elsewhere for much longer. I think you can easily find a basic changer, something that meets your functional needs for no more than $100.

This was an item that once again we wanted to be sorta frugal with, but take my advice don’t skimp on the chair. I had my rocking chair from when I was a baby and that’s what we planned on using, that was until we moved our little one to her room and I was up nursing in the night. If you are planning on nursing your little one… go ahead and plan on buying a comfortable chair or moving one from another room temporarily.

We do not have a ton of furniture in our house, we are sorta minimalist on top of being frugal so we just don’t have a lot more than what we need. So we wound up going out and buying a chair. I look at a chair that could be used elsewhere, but for what I was willing to spend I wound up getting a glider and ottoman. We wound up getting a set at Target for around $200 or so after sale and registry coupon. I was willing to spend a little more to have something that would last and was comfy, but I think if you watch sales, etc. you can have a great chair and ottoman for $200-$250.

I nursed my little on for 14 months, so it was worth every penny. We still sit in the chair and sing and cuddle as part of our morning routine or read a bedtime story there at night… definitely would recommend a good place to sit for the nursery.

If you have a closet in your babies room, you might not even need to spend on an extra piece of furniture to store your little one’s clothes in. You could just pick-up some great organizational items to make things handy. I would say you could have a top-notch organized closet for under $40. I know that around here places like Home Goods, Marshalls and TJ Maxx all have some great fun colored items that are perfect for a babies room.

If you think you are going to need a chest of drawers or a dresser. I would suggest picking one up at a large discount store like a Target or IKEA. You should be able to get a great little piece of furniture for no more than $150. I would highly suggest getting something that you could use in your little one’s “big kid” room.

Warning… these pictures might make a true “penny pinchers” stomach turn. As a “penny pincher” I always try to take good care of things and make them last. That way I can use them again, pass them along or re-sale them Well, here’s was happened to our $300+ crib…

Here’s my daughter’s crib… from a far. It’s a very pretty crib.

Here’s her crib after a few minutes on a bad teething night.

Here’s another shot. Yes, those are teeth marks!

Don’t be fooled, crib protectors can easily be pulled off, this literally this happened within minutes! She didn’t cut her first tooth until 2 weeks shy of her first birthday and she cut 6 within less than 6 weeks. It was tough on everyone and obviously everything.

$99 crib, $900 crib… it’s doesn’t matter, they are all fair game for teething!

Other posts tagged Baby Bargain U.