As any parent, or soon to be parent, knows, there are many items your family will need at home to support your newest family member. From clothes to cribs to car seats. In our current economy, this can get quite expensive. So, what do you do?

Baby Shower Registry

Gentlemen, politely ask your wife to create a registry for her baby shower if she hasn’t already. In all likelihood, your wife will already have a vision for the baby’s room, so she’ll have a better idea of what to ask for in that respect. She will also, more than likely, have family and friends talking to her about their own experiences with their children. Allow your support network to participate in your newfound happiness by offering up suggestions of things you might need. After the registry is closed, you can fill in the gaps as needed.

My wife and I have been so very grateful for the generosity and love of our friends and family. Most of them have kids of their own and understand the likely high entry cost to having your first offspring.

Friends and Family

Aside from the registry, your friends and family may want to donate, or sell at an extreme discount, necessary items they no longer use for their own children. I can only pray that your support network is as generous as ours has been. My wife and I have saved hundreds solely attributed to this one avenue of kinship.

Baby Clothes

In my wife and I’s opinion, brand new newborn baby clothes are a waste of money. There are plenty of shops around us that sell gently used baby clothes for pennies on the dollar. Plus, our baby will be growing like a weed and will not fit in the same outfit for longer than a couple of months.

Obviously, you should be selective when browsing the aisles of used baby clothes. I would definitely say, at least from my own experience, that my wife and I have easily saved hundreds of dollars using this method.

Car Seats

As far as car seats are concerned, there’s really only one factor that should be considered: the safety of your child in the unfortunate event of a car crash. Do your research and make the best decision with the information available to you. There are several websites that offer comprehensive reviews for a huge selection of car seats.

This will be one of the bigger ticket items. That being said, from the research my wife and I did, more expensive doesn’t always equate to better performance for car seats. Fortunately, my wife and I got extremely lucky in this area. We found a highly recommended car seat/stroller combination brand new, that retailed for $500, on clearance for $125!

I’ll be doing a review of our choices in the coming months after we’ve had the opportunity to put them into action!

What I’ve Learned

Future Dads,

I know pride as a man can sometimes prevent us from allowing others to help us when we really need it. Try your hardest to put your pride to the side and recognize the contributions your friends and family can have in your child’s life, even before your baby makes their debut at delivery. There’s no shame in being smart with your money. In most cases, your friends and family WANT to help where they can, so let them. Your wife and your unborn child will thank you in the long run!

– The Lone Star Dad