A new mom navigating through the added flavours of life..(Part 1)

I have not been writing for past several months for two reasons , One - I was overwhelmed with the changes in life (and body) and writing about anything was either too much or too little & Two - AI is taking over everything , and I thought who would even want to read my posts when AI can give them absolutely amazing content that is not only relatable but also is curated in such a way it always satisfies the reader with it's responses. Also I didn't want anyone to think that all this writing of mine is coming from AI and not from my head.

Anyway, a quick update is that I am a new mom now and I am navigating through motherhood. Coming right to the point, one of the most crucial part of becoming new parents is how to manage finances with a new born. While your heart really wants to spend all that you have for your new born your mind knows how it burns the pockets.

I myself have spent around INR 20,000 in a span of 1.5 month for my new born, even after trying to save as much as possible and I still think I could save up so much more.

The baby product industry will shove products in your face and will push you and tempt you to buy every single thing available but you have to hold your horses.

Here are few of the ways to save yourself from burning your pockets without compromising on your baby's needs.

GIFTS

The good thing is in my case a lot of clothes/napkins/bibs/toys/towels for atleast till the baby turns 6 months are gifted by friends and relatives. Some have gifted cot carrier and sleeping mats and diaper bag as well. So yeaaahh, if your friends/relatives want to gift your baby, you can be specific about what you need and want and that will help in avoiding repeated gifts and also make the gifts meaningful.

SECONDS

If you have friends and relatives who have been parents before you, don't shy away from asking them for their baby products , because more often than not they are in good condition, lying idle, occupying space , and wanting to get rid of it but not throw it away.

Products like baby carriers, prams, feeding covers, cot or baby swings etc can be used.

Also i have come across an app "IPF" where people sell and purchase second hand baby products. It is exclusively for baby products and I myself have brought a steriliser with a market price of 4500 for just 1500 and works well for me. So you can try that out too.

COUPONS

The hospital I delivered in gave me a "first cry hamper" and the hamper had apart from samples a lot of discount coupons , in fact on registering with them for future offers they even call me for availing exclusive discounts on items that are not available on app or website. Look for such coupons on your favourite brands.

DECISION MAKING MATRIX

While purchasing the products the following were the criteria for me to run through so that I can choose the right brand or the right platform for purchasing the product. You can also follow the same.

• Urgency

• Quality

• Cost effectiveness

I have listed down the things that I have bought and also made a column of if you really need it or not. If you are a new parent or going to be one you can also go through the list and do your own baby essentials shopping.

Mosquito Net	Depends on if there are mosquitoes in your area. For me this was a must
Nasal Aspirator	Must for nasal congestion
Nails grroming set	MUST. Newborn baby nails grow faster than you can imagine.
Diapers	I personally find it too tiring to work around langots . So yeahhh MUST
Vicks Babyrub	Can avoid
Face and nails grooming kit	Can avoid
Tummy roll on	Can avoid. (I purchased for gassy times)
Bottle warmer	Can avoid
Saline drops for nose	Must for nasal congestion
Cool mist humidifier	Absolutely avoidable
Bottle cleaning set	MUST. (Babies should have a sepperate cleaning tools for their bottles and ofcourse the soap etc too is different)
Feeding bottle	Depends if you want to give formula or use extracted milk.
Breast pump	Depends on your needs/supply/will.
Mosquito repellent stickers	Absolutely avoidable
Afterbite cream	Absolutely avoidable
Mustard seeds adjustable pillow	I found it useful. Some people jugaad their way around this.
Steriliser	Can avoid if traditional sterilisation is being used.
Baby clothes washing machine	I found it useful for exclusively washing baby clothes.

This is it for now. I hope this helps. I will come up with more content and more of what's on my mind soon.

Goodbye.