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You definitely need:
- Car seat--unless you are walking back home from the hospital. Don't skimp on this or other
safety items.
- Breasts--or formula.
You can make do:
- Bassinett--Parker was premature and slept on a towel in a laundry basket for a month.
- Changing Table--Austin had his diaper changed on a pad on mom's dresser
Don't waste your money on:
- Parenting Magazine--how much does parenting change from month to month? Browse
through the magazine when you're at the pediatrician's office.
- Diaper Bag--This is a bag with diapers, some wetnaps, a change of clothes (for baby--and a T-shirt for you),
a pacifier, a toy, and a ziploc bag (for soiled diapers). If you have an extra backpack, you can put this
together yourself.
- Baby Name Books--There are plenty of these in the library, and you can find the
most popular baby
names on the Internet.
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Pregnancy | Announcements |
Baby's Room | Clothes | Development | Finances | Names | Stores | Gifts | Free Stuff
The best advice anyone has given the Cashmonkey about raising children:
You are responsible for
raising your unique child; watch him, listen to her, learn from your child what you need to know to be
your child's parent. Trust yourself.
The best advice about buying for babies: Get it used, borrow it, lend it. There's no reason
to spend tons of money on baby--that's something grandparents, friends, and aunts and uncles will do.
Check out E-Bay, used bookstores, garage sales and libraries. Baby Bargains is a great consumer guide and money saver.
Pregnancy
Testing. Ovatel ovulation detection kit.
Clothes. Mix and match maternity basics to keep you stylish available at Babystyle
Books. Toni Weschler's Taking Charge of Your Fertility is the book to get if
you want to get pregnant (or if you want to avoid it). See if you can borrow it from a friend (there are a lot of copies out there).
Reading What to Expect When You're Expecting can drive parents crazy--
it's a little TOO comprehensive and you really don't need to know EVERYTHING that can go wrong. Mrs. Cashmonkey much
preferred The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy; it's a little girly,
but written with humor and easier to get through. For dad, Cashmonkey never found a great book--there's nothing wrong with
reading what your wife reads--but The Expectant Father wasn't bad.
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Announcements
Web. Free baby websites at Babies Online
Good prices on photo developing (film or digital prints) and photo cards at Snapfish.
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Baby's Room
Glider chair. For Mom, a glider-rocker is the ultimate luxury. They are not cheap, though. Dutalier is
the Cadillac of gliders, but check out Shur-mag (the uh.. Lexus?) a smaller company that wants
to make its reputation. We found great prices, free shipping and no tax when we bought from
Goodnight Ben.
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Baby Clothes
Tips. You will get a lot of newborn baby clothes. People love to give them. Keep track of the clothes and
keep in mind that the sizing is somewhat arbitrary--you have to keep trying them on your kid.
To keep track of your clothes, put your child's name on the tag--also mark who gave you the outfit so that you can
model it for them when they visit, or send a picture to the gift-giver.
Store. Great clothing deals are available online at 
One Step Ahead
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Baby Development
Books. Touchpoints is the book on development that Lina's grandfather gave her parents--and her
grandfather is a pediatrician.
Web. Some fun stimulation designs and growth charts are available at
Oh Baby!
VeryBestBaby has good information on health--it's sponsored by Carnation so be skeptical about their feeding advice.
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Baby Finances
Saving for baby was hard, now you're supposed to save for college tuition?! There are a lot of options for
all different situations. One recent innovation is the tax-free 529 College Savings plan. Each state has their own
529 program.
Web. Find 529 College Savings Plans by your state
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Stores
There are plenty of online stores that sell clothes, toys, monitors, furniture--everything you need--for baby. Here are
some with good deals.
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One Step Ahead for baby stuff at baby prices!
The Cashmonkey thinks it should be monkey stuff at monkey prices, but what does he know?
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Babystyle for the most stylish maternity, baby and kid's clothes. Great gift ideas!
Babies got style, too!
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BabyCenter has all the stuff you need for a new baby--or for giving a gift to a new mom or dad.
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BabyUniverse, for all your baby needs.
Babies need a lot of stuff.
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Half.com is the clearance end of e-Bay. When stores overstock and need to unload inventory cheaply and quickly, they end up here. That means books, cds, dvds, consumer electronics and more, for less!
You never know what they might have at Half.com.
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Gifts
Tips. Unless you are giving clothing before birth, or within the first month, give a larger size (3-6 months, 6-9 months); the parents
are either inundated with the smallest size or have stocked up themselves. Once the kid grows a little (and who knows how quickly--some are
12 lbs before they leave the hospital!) the parents will be looking around for new outfits and will have less time to shop.
Give something a little different. Music is nice, and there are good kids cds out there, as well as plenty of
pleasant music that kids might enjoy; our current favorite is Facing Future.
Give stationary; there's going to be a lot of Thank You notes to write.
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Free Stuff
Food. Free samples of baby formula and food at FreeStuff4kids.
Web. Free baby announcement websites at Babies Online.
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Recommendations
Baby Bjorn
Baby 'shmonkeys hang onto their mom's hairy backs. If you know a new mom who doesn't have a hairy back, she needs a Baby Bjorn.
Parenting Your Toddler by Patrician Henderson Shimm and Kate Ballen.
The Baby Book by William and Martha Sears
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