Swag

So I never did share a photo of the goods I bought the day I found out Baby is a Girl.

Gender reveal swag - All from a Consignment store except for the Owl

While I bought all of the clothes consigned, several of the items still had original tags.  One of the onsies says "Hi!  I'm new here!"  - how cute!!  I'm trying to hold back on buying too many clothes as I know that so many of her Aunties (and her Grandma) will be buying her lots of cute stuff.

We are currently in the season of the Spring Consignment events.  These events typically happen in early Spring and early Fall.  I got several things at a couple of the local events, including these two bigger purchases.

**For one of the events, a couple of my SMC friends were working the event so they had presale passes.  They not only gave me a presale pass, one of them spent time with me (and a couple of other SMC's on a separate occasion) helping us figure out what we needed.

Graco swing - Retails for $109, I paid $35

McLaren seat (rocks & vibrates)
Retails for $90, I paid $30

The Fall consignment events will take place shortly after she is born, so I'm also holding off on some items (Jumparoo's, high chair, etc) until then.

I have been working through my registry, doing a lot of research.  As open as I am to used/consignment, there are certain things I just want new.  Primarily the crib & car seat.  Reason being, there are SOO many brands and SOO many recalls, I just want to be able to keep up with it from the start.  And for the car seats (oh my, the most confusing item to decide on so far), they are said to be good only for 5 years AND if they have been involved in any kind of accident it is recommended they are no longer used.  While most seats have a date on them these days, you just don't know the accident history on this kind of item if you get it used.

The two things I've bought new so far are both decorative...

I saw this last summer at our local Raptor Center (went back and bought it the day of my anatomy scan), so the proceeds go to a good cause 

This is for hair clips, etc.  Found it at a ritzy specialty shop.

A few years ago, I was a big spender and a bit snobbish about used items, other than antiques.  I would have bought EVERYTHING new for baby girl.  Between the tanking of the economy, my layoff in '09, and paying for IVF, I see used/consigned items in a whole new light.  And yes, apparently I can resell my goodies when I'm done with them too!

And on another note, my refi closed last week.  The monthly savings should cover at least half of monthly day care costs.

Tip for those BFP's to follow:  What I wish I had known.  Baby Bargains is a GREAT resource (book).  They also have a website.  Unfortunately I bought the book before I looked at the site.  You have to pay for a membership to the site (and can get the book with your membership), but there are no perks for book owners to join the site after the fact.  I have elected not to join the site since I already paid for the book.  **Bottom line:  Join the site first, they will send you the book with your membership.

Next... I'm working on figuring out how to turn this room into a nursery.

Note the glider - I got this off Craigs List shortly before I started TTC.  It's been sitting in that room, covered up, for a very long time.

I got rid of the guest room furniture in this room before I started TTC (that was a mistake).  It's become a "catch all" room for the last couple of years.

I stumbled on a woman about 90 minutes away who refurbishes used furniture in a "shabby chic" finish (very affordable, much cheaper than the new stuff I've seen).  I've reached out to her about doing a dresser and possibly an armoire for the nursery.

Our next scan is in early March April (thanks for catching my error, Mom), a 24 week scan for a detailed review of her heart.