Deals, Steals, and Freebies...

Even before I was pregnant (not too long ago, within the past year...I'm not THAT creepy)I was racking up some great deals and freebies in baby and pregnancy gear. Call it weird...but it's paying off now!! Over the past year I've entered giveaways and been to several consignment sales (not just for me, for nieces/nephews and classroom books, etc) and have scored some AWESOME stuff!! For example:

I posted a while back about winning a SWEET carrier, the Ergo carrier...

I LOVE this carrier! For baby under 6 months I will probably use a Moby wrap or a Maya sling, but for 6mos+ this carrier is AWESOME! Whenever I put the twins in, they immediately go to sleep or at least stop crying. It hold the baby so close to you. Then for bigger kids, I put them on my back (like in the pic above) and the weight is distributed so well that they barely feel like they're back there!


Retail: $134.99 I Got it for: FREE I won it!!

Next deal... our stroller! I love Maclaren strollers. One benefit of nannying for 5 years and babysitting for 10+...I've tried out a LOT of strollers! Greg and I were on our way to a friend's house and I spotted this stroller out of the corner of my eye in someone's yard. Greg suggested we stop, just to check it out. It was in PERFECT condition, but I wasn't for sure it was for sale, so I went to ask the owner if it was and guess what... it was!

Retail: $169.99 Got it for: $20 (and it looks brand new!)

Next deal... Halo Sleepsack Swaddle. LOVE me some sleep sacks! I think that they are much safer than blankets and a great way to keep baby warm. So snuggly!


Retail (not all sleep sacks, just this Minky Dot version which is the one I got): $28.95
Got it for: FREE (won it!)

Next up... our carseat! We found a sweet deal on Craigslist for a "used carseat"...turns out, it was never used! The tags were still attached when I picked it up! The woman said they bought it as a carseat for the second car, but they never got around to using it before the baby was too big! SCORE!!

Reail: $178.99 Got it for: $70 (including the base)!

Our next big purchase was the crib bedding! Now, I know it seems crazy, BUT we wanted something fairly gender neutral anyway, and I happened to run across this in kids consignment store and fell in love. When I got home I looked it up online and saw how much it was and how much we could save if we just went ahead and bought it, so we did! Why pay full price or let someone else pay full price when we got such a good deal! The bedding is in excellent condition and came with everything (Bumper, comforter, sheet, crib skirt, valence, diaper stacker, and mobile)!

Retail: $240 Got it all for: $50


For one of my greatest deals...a breast pump!! A brand new, Medela Freestyle Hands-free pump! I entered a contest last Spring and the prize could have been a number of things, but this was what I won!! We thought it was hilarious at first, but now I am SO thankful I have it already! Retail: $379.99 (!!!) Got it for: FREE (WOOHOO!!)

Total Retail Value of all things listed above: $1,132.91

Total spent out-of-pocket for items above: $140

WOW =)

Besides all of these awesome deals, steals, and freebies I've also received a TON of maternity clothes from my sister-in-law Katie, baby clothes over the past few years from my sis-n-law Kari, and other ridiculous deals on children's books and toys from various consignment sales and events! I LOVE a good deal and with ones like these, they're too good to pass up! We are SO excited about the next several months and getting things ready for the baby, and in the meantime I will continue to bargain hunt the heck out of baby deals!