While I’m all about saving money, I believe that there are certain items that are worth splurging on. Sometimes you get what you pay for and, when it comes to my babies, safety comes above all else. That’s why we have chosen to splurge on 6 baby items in particular.
Although these items are all a splurge for us, they were all paid for with either cash, gift cards, or were received as gifts. One thing I will never advocate for is going into debt. Splurging is fun and often times you get what you pay for. Quality items are worth the cost in many cases. However, they are not worth the 24.99% interest you will pay if you use a credit card and don’t pay it in full each month. It’s best to save up and pay in cash.
Okay, off my soap box. 🙂
So which items did we decide to splurge on for our babies?
1. Car Seats
We have nice car seats. We have highly rated car seats. I would pay a lot more money than I have for car seats because they are worth the money.
It is recommended never to buy car seats used. Our 4 year old is currently in a Britax Frontier and our 7 month old is in a Graco SnugRide Click Connect 35
. Both car seats are very highly rated in crash tests and I feel very safe with them in there car seats. This is a splurge that I’m willing to make.
Even though these are not cheap car seats, we received the Frontier as a gift and purchased the Graco with gift cards so we weren’t out of pocket for either. If it’s something that is really important to you, I recommend adding it to your baby registry, stockpiling gift cards, or saving up cash.
2. Tula
To me, a baby carrier of some sort is essential. I don’t think I would survive the 4-7pm stretch every day without mine. While I could have purchased a cheaper carrier for $25-$30, I chose to go with the Tula for multiple reasons.
- The resale value is often time greater than the original purchase price because the prints become “hard to find” which drives up the price.
- They are made for taller people. I’m 5’10” and my husband is 6’2″.
- I plan to keep the one we have for many years and hopefully use through at least another baby or two! 🙂
For all of these reasons, the $150 price tag made this worth it! I use it daily and I already feel like I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of it!
3. Jogging Stroller
I love my jogging stroller! It actually made my 7 must have baby items for 3-6 months! This was really a huge splurge for us because we already had a basic stroller from Caleb. However, between pregnancies I began running (if you can even call it that :). I’m not fast by any means, but it’s something I really enjoy and it helps me stay fit and healthy. It was near impossible to run with the stroller we had because of the bottom basket. Plus the handle bar was low, I’m rather tall for a girl, and leaning over to reach it while running was very uncomfortable.
It made sense to us to purchase a jogging stroller. I did a ton of research on strollers before purchasing the one we have. I ended up getting the Graco Fastaction Fold Jogger Click Connect Travel System. Whew! That’s a mouthful! After checking on amazon, it’s currently much more expensive than what we paid for it. We used our 15% registry completion discount along with some gift cards and only had to pay about $50 out of pocket. We ended up making some money from the sale of our former stroller so we weren’t out of pocket anything!
4. Angelcare Movement and Sound Monitor
We didn’t even have a sound machine with Caleb because we lived in a 800 sq. ft. house where our bedroom was right next door to his. However, with Ben we are down the hall and it’s hard to hear anything in our room with all of the white noise machines and fans going so a sound machine was definitely necessary.
We decided to go with the Angelcare Movement and Sound Monitor. This monitor has been amazing in for both it’s standard purpose of hearing our son when he wakes and also for our peace of mind. It tracks our son’s breathing and if it doesn’t sense movement an alarm goes off. We have been so happy with it. It’s served it’s purpose and the basic version is also pretty affordable compared to other monitors.
5. BumGenius 4.0 Cloth Diapers
If you’ve been reading here for a while or know me in person, you know I love using cloth diapers! While cloth diapering is not really a splurge, the cloth diapers we chose to use probably are to most people. We chose to use BumGenius 4.0 pocket diapers which cost $17.95 each. (Cotton Babies, the makers of bumgenius, have since come out with a newer version called the Bumgenius 5.0. This diaper now cost $19.95.)
We could have gone with a cheaper $5-$7 pocket diaper and saved ourselves a chunk of money. However, I owned a few cheaper diapers and I found that they leaked all the time. I was washing more clothing, more diapers, and becoming very frustrated. I actually quit for a short time because of these diapers.
Once I found Bumgenius, I was hooked. I can count on one hand how many times I have had a leak with a Bumgenius diaper and they have honestly been user error. Even though we spent more money on our cloth diapers than we could have, we have saved a ton by using them instead of disposables.
6. Solly Baby Wrap
I consider this a splurge because I actually already owned a Moby Wrap. However, my Moby was sooo hot! You guys! Seriously! Those things must be made of wool! I used it with Caleb (who was born in July) and it was completely miserable! I only used it a handful of times. I loved having him close, but just couldn’t stand the fabric.
Before Ben was born, I did some research. I wanted something that would be similar to the Moby Wrap, but was made of a lighter weight fabric.
Enter the SOLLY BABY!
Oh my goodness! If you like your Moby, but hate the fabric, run, don’t walk, to their website and buy a Solly Baby! They are so wonderful, light, breathable, and super soft. I never felt hot and, most importantly, I never felt like Ben was getting overly hot. He was born in May and this was the best wrap for hot summer days!
P.S. I’m not an affiliate! I just love them that much!
That’s it! Those are our biggest splurges for our baby this go around. While I would consider all of these items splurges, we were able to save on each one of them by using gift cards, coupons, and saving up to pay cash. Even our splurges were done on a budget!
How about you? What did you splurge on for your baby?
*Disclosure: This content includes links to affiliate products which, if purchased, makes me a small percentage of the sale. If you choose to use these links to make purchases, you are supporting this site. Thank you for your support.