The last time we were having a baby, we spent a lot of money. Some of the expenditures were on things that would last but cost a lot, like our daughter's armoire. Some were for things that we ended up not using, like the dirty diaper holder that went largely unneeded. In some cases we bought too much of something, like the two large bags of cottonballs still loitering around the premises and the almost infinite number of electrical outlet plugs that I seem to have - enough to secure five or six houses - no joke. We spent a lot of money, and that's even with what we got as gifts.
 

We are trying to do better this time, and largely I think we have. Make no mistake, babies are expensive. But so far the new Pack and Play has been the most expensive item. We are buying just a few things at a time, using whatever we have left over from the first go-round, and we are being more cautious. The baby industry, if I may use that term, knows its advantage: first time parents are afraid of everything and are a soft sell for labor saving and baby saving solutions. Not that there's anything wrong with that!But if I were a first time parent, I would find the most level-headed people I knew who had already had one or two children, and ask them, "What did you really need?" and "What did you end up wishing you had?" You could end up saving a bundle.