Recently, I was a source to a reporter writing a book about first time mom budgeting tips. Trying to avoid breaking the bank can be tricky when you don’t know entirely what to expect when you are expecting! (I have all of those books!!) Below is my submission that I sent in. Check it out and give me feedback and some of your suggestions to save bank on Twitter! (@BrittneyIwegbu)

Hi my name is Brittney. I am a mother of 3 children and a lifestyle blogger who lives in Dallas, Texas. In my blog I speak a lot to first time mothers, parents with several children, parents of children under the ages of 5, and moms with experience in multiple births. Every Monday, I feature first time moms and also to moms with more tenure in the mom game. They tell us the advice that they would give to other first time moms. Added bonuses include weekly DIY projects and parent hacks.

Baby Budget Tip #1

One piece of advice that I would give a first time mom is that all the gadgets and cutsie baby clothes are not necessary. Reason being that newborns grow so fast, meaning that they will miss some clothes if you have too many. I would advise them not to get a lot of clothes for their baby until at least the 6-9 and 9-12 months sizes. (These are the sizes that they will be in for a while.) Until then just keep them in simple onesies or sleepers because typically doctors orders are that babies don’t go out around large crowds for at least 6-8 weeks. This is due to baby’s lack of immunity to diseases.

My daughter missed so many 0-3 and 3-6 month outfits because everyone bought so much of those sizes. Ultimately, I ended up having to give away a lot of things.

Baby Budget Tip #2

Second, push through the pain of breastfeeding and just do it. It will save you so much money! I was able to breast feed my daughter until she was 11 months old. Part of the time she used formula because it started as a real struggle for me. The happy part is that I just kept trying and ended up being able to do it. I can only imagine how much more that I could have saved if I would have solely done breastfeeding. FYI: This tip can save you money just in the aspect of the cost of formula, which is $18-$25 per can.

BONUS!!

*Save Your Money For What You Need!

Things you actually need…

Here I would like to mention a few things that first time parents actually need. Just because fevers, diaper rash, and sickness are inevitable!

(Now, remember I am not a doctor or medical professional and therefore I cannot provide medical advice. This information is based on my own experiences and cannot be used to outline anyone else’s medical diagnosis.)

1-Thermometer

Note: If your baby runs a temperature, call a doctor! They will tell you what to do.

Babies can run temperatures and you want to make sure you have one! It doesn’t have to be fancy but working. Temperatures are typically due to teething or a vaccination recently given. It is important to be able to keep track of their temperature if it gets too high. This is to let the doctor know if you need to go to the hospital in an emergency.

2-A&D Ointment, Desitin, or Boudreaux’s Butt Paste

There are various different creams and diaper rash ointment on the market. Personally, we use A&D Ointment and Destin. I have never used the Butt Paste but have heard good things. Diaper rash happens all the time. It helps moisturize their bums and normally when I use either one it clears up within a day or so.

3-Children’s Motrin or Children’s Tylenol

As I mentioned before, baby’s get fevers from teething often (well at least my baby did.) Children’s Motrin and Tylenol are fever reducers. I was not a big fan of using medication on my baby and tried a lot of alternatives to soothe her. When I did use the fever reducer it wasn’t until I contacted my doctor. On that note, please contact your doctor for dosage information and recommendations.