Baby news can put anyone over the edge considering the upcoming medical bills, acquiring all the baby gear, nursery furnishings, clothing. All this is besides the upcoming every day expenses, like diapers, formula, health insurance, etc.

I am a minimalista and in less than three weeks we are expecting our second child, this time it’s a boy! We already have a 2-year old girl, and by going through her stuff the other day, I realized that we hardly need anything for our new baby boy! I would like to share with you how I managed to spend very little on both of my kids and still have all the necessities.

In this post I will be talking about setting up nursery. You can spend a ton or spend a little, it’s up to you. All I’m going to do is provide the information that could help you make the choices that are right for you!

1. Relieve yourself from extra work. If you’re planning on more than one kid, I would recommend designing the nursery in colors that would be appropriate for either gender. In my case, I knew ahead of time that we were planning on having two, so I chose to paint the nursery light green. I’m glad I did. Our two kids happen to be of opposite gender. To avoid extra work, we moved our “big” girl into her new room, leaving the nursery exactly the way it is. No more painting or moving the furniture (in the nursery that is). We still had to paint and decorate the room for our 2-year old though.

2. Furniture choices. If it’s your first, you’re probably thinking of the type and pieces of furniture you would like to purchase. First, ask yourself, what will you need and for how long? Some of the key pieces for the nursery include crib, dresser, changing table and a rocking chair. So now, lets look at it practically.

Do you have a piece of furniture already that you could possibly use for your new nursery, like a dresser, crib or a rocker? If yes, then you can build upon what you already have. This is what we did. We already had a dresser that my husband used since he was a boy. It’s old, but still in decent shape and adds character to the room. So I decided to purchase a crib that matched the dresser as closely as possible. You don’t have to necessarily get pieces that match, depending on your vision.

Now, evaluate the furniture that you may need piece by piece. What is the length of time it’s going to be used for? How practical is it to have for now and for later? Can you live with the same furniture for a while or do you need to update your furnishings every few years?

For example, if you were going to purchase a dresser, can you see it as a permanent piece that can be used for a long time? In my opinion, definitely. Your child can use it until they move out! Then it could probably be used in a guest bedroom. Is it worth spending the money on? I think it is.

What about the crib? There are tons of styles and types. There are light and portable ones, that can be wheeled from room to room on the regular basis. There are also more bulky ones that are not portable, but they can be converted from a crib to a toddler bed, to a day bed, and finally to a full size bed. What style is more appropriate for your lifestyle? If you choose to go with a small portable crib, consider that in couple of years your child won’t need it anymore. You will have to replace it with an actual bed. In this case, I would go with a less expensive brand or even a used one. For a used crib or other furniture check out garage sales, local newspaper ads, including their online ads, Craigslist.com,  The Flyer, etc.

If you choose to go with a convertible crib, then maybe spending a little more is worth your while. This is what we did. I decided not to go with the cheapest crib and got what I liked. Since it’s convertible, this bed should be good for one of our kids until they are fully grown and then some.

Lets talk about the changing table. You will probably use it for a year or less as an actual changing table. Then you can convert it into a storage shelf or get rid of it completely. In my opinion, it’s not a very practical piece to acquire, so I would not go out of my way for it. Here is a conversation between my friends that I experienced earlier this week. One (Olga) is expecting a baby in a few months. Another (Ira) has a one and a half-year old and planning on the second in a year or so.

Olga: “Do you think I should get a changing table?”

Ira: “I’ll let you borrow mine, make some extra room in my attic.”

Olga: “I can buy it from you if you like.”

Ira: “No, I’ll need it back, but I’ll be glad to lend it to you!”

Looks like it’s win-win for both parties. Olga will get her changing table and Ira will have extra room in her attic for the time being. Lesson learned: borrow from friends things that you’ll only use for a few months.

I actually chose not to get a changing table. I decided to get it as part of the playpen. If you check out the link, a removable changing pad attaches to one side of the playpen and can be used for a few months as well, just like the changing table. If you’re worried about storage, it also comes with a removable pocket on the side to place diapers and wipes into. It’s easy to remove once your child grows out of it. You get to save some bucks on the furniture and you don’t have to worry about what to do with it once your child grows out of it!

What about a rocking chair? Again, you will probably use it for only a few months, as far as your baby is concerned. Then you got to ask yourself, can I fit it into my home decor as a permanent furniture piece, once my baby grows up? If so, get the one you like and keep it for a while. If not, then it’s probably easier to borrow or buy a used one that you can easily get rid of later.

In my case, we already had a hand-me-down mini recliner that is a rocker as well. The fabric on it was a bit old-fashioned, so I updated it with the fabric of my choice.

So this is my input on the furnishings and for more decorating tips, visit my earlier post, How I Decorated My Nursery Cheaply. Stay tuned for my next post about choosing a stroller and a car seat.