3 ms·

My wife is currently 9 months pregnant so my social feeds are essentially just baby content. I appreciate all the content new mothers put out, but I can’t shake

by spaceman_2020 3y ago

My wife is currently 9 months pregnant so my social feeds are essentially just baby content. I appreciate all the content new mothers put out, but I can’t shake the icky feeling I get from some channels that will place the spotlight on the child right from birth.

sho_hn 3y ago
One thing I really dislike is the pressure it places on young parents to do certain things that are entirely optional and arguably misallocation of resources. Baby showers, gender reveal parties, pre-partum stays at "mom suites" in spas/hotels, all those Instagram moments that make people feel stressed and like they're not in the right income bracket to get into having a family. Save your money, folks. Spend it on high-quality toys, books, childhood travel. Save money so you have to work less and can spend time together. That's what your child will benefit from. We had a wonderful midwife who told us her secondary function was basically to reality-check parents on what gear, clothes, events, price points, etc. they actually need. Get the basics right, she would say, and deeply understand why they are basic and necessary, and otherwise save your time and money for stuff that matters long-term.
- spaceman_2020 3y ago
  I’ve started sharing whatever I want to buy with my 70 year old mother. Her response to everything is the same - “all of this is useless, kids aren’t that hard to raise”. Given that she’s raised four kids, I tend to believe her.
  - 123pie123 3y ago
    we was given the advise of do not bother to buy baby clothes until they start to grow out of "baby grows" (the basic all in one thing that babies typ wear) saved us a fortune. No need for boys or girls clothes, the dressing up thing is really for adults
    - youainti 3y ago
      We focus on purchasing unisex stuff so we can use it for multiple kids.
  - midasuni 3y ago
    Just give them some lead painted toys and throw in the the back of a pickup truck?
  - AussieWog93 3y ago
    Frugal dad of two here (oldest is turning three in a couple of weeks). Your 70 year-old mother is right. There really is so much useless shit for babies now, and very little of it actually solves a real problem that new parents have. The rules of thumb for us are: - Don't buy anything until you actually have an imminent need for it. Simplest way to avoid useless shit altogether! - Where possible, get used on FB Marketplace or Gumtree. It's generally 80% cheaper than new, and you can resell when you're done to get the money you spent on it back. (Or, just give away to friends) - Get products with less features, not more. When you're sleep deprived and stressed to the end of your tether, the last thing you want to do is work out how a whole lot of different attachments work. If you don't have a pram yet, the Baby Joggers are great at this. They do one thing (single-handed compact fold) and do it well.
- summertime42 3y ago
  A fantastic tip we were given was to thrift all of our son's baby clothing, which we did. We have a rule to not spend more than $3.50 on any article of clothing, which served us well for the first 5 months. Now, he's getting bigger, meaning those $3 dollar pjs now cost $9, as it's more cloth to create, but the sentiment is still there!

sho_hn 3y ago

One thing I really dislike is the pressure it places on young parents to do certain things that are entirely optional and arguably misallocation of resources. Baby showers, gender reveal parties, pre-partum stays at "mom suites" in spas/hotels, all those Instagram moments that make people feel stressed and like they're not in the right income bracket to get into having a family. Save your money, folks. Spend it on high-quality toys, books, childhood travel. Save money so you have to work less and can spend time together. That's what your child will benefit from. We had a wonderful midwife who told us her secondary function was basically to reality-check parents on what gear, clothes, events, price points, etc. they actually need. Get the basics right, she would say, and deeply understand why they are basic and necessary, and otherwise save your time and money for stuff that matters long-term.

spaceman_2020 3y ago
I’ve started sharing whatever I want to buy with my 70 year old mother. Her response to everything is the same - “all of this is useless, kids aren’t that hard to raise”. Given that she’s raised four kids, I tend to believe her.
- 123pie123 3y ago
  we was given the advise of do not bother to buy baby clothes until they start to grow out of "baby grows" (the basic all in one thing that babies typ wear) saved us a fortune. No need for boys or girls clothes, the dressing up thing is really for adults
  - youainti 3y ago
    We focus on purchasing unisex stuff so we can use it for multiple kids.
- midasuni 3y ago
  Just give them some lead painted toys and throw in the the back of a pickup truck?
- AussieWog93 3y ago
  Frugal dad of two here (oldest is turning three in a couple of weeks). Your 70 year-old mother is right. There really is so much useless shit for babies now, and very little of it actually solves a real problem that new parents have. The rules of thumb for us are: - Don't buy anything until you actually have an imminent need for it. Simplest way to avoid useless shit altogether! - Where possible, get used on FB Marketplace or Gumtree. It's generally 80% cheaper than new, and you can resell when you're done to get the money you spent on it back. (Or, just give away to friends) - Get products with less features, not more. When you're sleep deprived and stressed to the end of your tether, the last thing you want to do is work out how a whole lot of different attachments work. If you don't have a pram yet, the Baby Joggers are great at this. They do one thing (single-handed compact fold) and do it well.
summertime42 3y ago
A fantastic tip we were given was to thrift all of our son's baby clothing, which we did. We have a rule to not spend more than $3.50 on any article of clothing, which served us well for the first 5 months. Now, he's getting bigger, meaning those $3 dollar pjs now cost $9, as it's more cloth to create, but the sentiment is still there!