We skipped the nursery all together. Cosleeper in the bedroom, changing pad on the vanity, swing and jumperoo in the office. Done.

And, honestly, we didn't NEED any of those. He ended up sleeping quite well with us in our bed, you can change a baby anywhere, and the swing and jumperoo are just for fun and quick break for Mom.

I realize others parent with different choices, and, for many, decorating a nursery is something about which one may have dreamed since childhood... just always think the same thing when I see posts like these: "Holy Cow! $700 is doing it cheaply?!?!"

i agree with penguin11. i tried to think of all the things i actually bought for my baby. i came up with one thing: the coming home from the hospital outfit. everything else was hand-me-downs or a gift. i know some aren't as lucky to get quality second hand items or want to buy more things for the fun of it. that's cool too. but we certainly didn't break the bank to have a baby. thrift stores are great now that the kid is older and we do have to buy more things. to each their own. young house love was a great read though, thanks!

Not sure where the $700 figure came from, couldn't find that anywhere... but yes! $700 is quite reasonable. Maybe not for a nursery alone, but most people have to get carseats for their kids. Crib/cosleeper, bedding, clothes, bottles, cloth diapers -- if your able to splurge a couple of hundred on them it will save thousands over the next 2-3 years -- not to mention bouncers, bumbo, swing... Yes - some of these are optional items, but unless you are lucky enough to be gifted or receive 2nd hand items, babies do cost money! Although my three kids are out of diapers, I thought this was a great post about keeping it reasonable when preparing to have your first baby!

The real costs are in child care for two kids if you work full time. Sigh.

Neither of our kids cost us all that much. We didn't get any handmedowns but got most big items gifted. I did spend $2500 on disposables on the first.

But with the second baby I spent $300 on cloth diapers and that will take me through potty learning. And then I'll use them on the next baby too.

I agree with Nat2b... $700 seems very reasonable to me, unless you get a lot of hand-me-downs. I thought they did an awesome job. Obviously, you could do it for less, but for these folks, the atmosphere of the nursery was clearly important.

I gotta say, though, that I'm amused that this post is accompanied by a photo of the Weego bottles. At $13 a pop, they're among the least budget-friendly bottles out there...

I'm sure these are lovely people, but their first piece of advice is to register for big-ticket items and hope your friends and family buy them. Well, duh. You can outfit a baby very cheaply if someone buys or hands down the crib, stroller, and car seat.
One thing that always amazes me is people who buy gender-specific big-ticket items for a first child. Unless you are only planning to have one kid, why would you buy a pink stroller?
Finally, I wanted to say that a lot of things I poo-pooed as unecessary I suddenly found I needed with the second kid. For example, I thought a swing was nonsense with my first, but when the second one came and my toddler needed her dinner while he was melting down, it sure was helpful to have a swing to put him into for a while.

clothandcake - If you head over to Young House Love, you'll see that those three bottles in the picture are the only three they've ever bought or used.

We didn't have the option of accepting hand-me-downs, because none of our friends had children yet..

I've saved a ton of cash shopping at consignment sales. I'd say upwards of 95% of my sons wardrobe (including shoes, hats, coats, belts, mittens, jammies, and all his other clothes) came from consignment sales. We're lucky to have an excellent one twice yearly in my area and almost all of his clothes come from there.

Books and toys are what get me. I find some cool used stuff at the consignment sales, deeply discounted, but I also have an unfortunate habit of midnight online shopping.

For other gear, we played it by ear. I overbought a little with our first baby, but also saved big bucks by buying cloth diapers ($400 vs. $2500 for disposables) and nursing instead of buying formula (another $2000). Cloth diapers and nursing is the wisest financial choice for stay at home moms, lifestyle considerations aside. I've saved literally thousands of dollars over the course of two years.

I probably bought about $500 worth of gear that I didn't really need.. crib (barely used), hammock swing (used heavily for five months), super cool diaper bag (ended up using my backpack), etc.

It's hard to know ahead of time exactly what you'll end up using most (or not at all) so I think the best advice for new parents is to wait until after the baby comes to make any major purchases. Sure, it feels wonderful to set up the beautiful crib in your freshly painted nursery, but if your newborn ends up sleeping in your room in a pack'n'play then that crib will haunt you :P

Britax carseat- cause they're the best and the #1 cause of death in kids under 14 are car accidents. Hand me downs are great because they grow fast and have those poop explosions! Those glass bottles would be my choice if for some unfortunate reason I couldn't breast feed. I wish I could've done cloth! On Amazon I get seventh generation diapers and wipes in bulk and save a ton ($20) with subscribe and save Mom membership!!! With my first I didn't have a swing, the second time a friend loaned me one and it was great! The little lamb fisher price one (I don't even like fisher price). Baby Bjorn or a strong sling is a must have! And a big purse for your stuff, diapers, wipes, and a change of clothes, and snacks when they start eating (keeps them occupied at stores).