No Money Mummy to Millionaire Mummy!!

Pips_Mum

Glad you like the baby seat for in the bath as we were given one of those by a friend and I thought it looked great, I would quite like one for myself!!
Mother in law thought it looked dangerous ..... mmmmm mother in laws!!

I wasnt sure what to do about the sleeping bags as I am sure I had read somewhere you couldnt use them on under 6month babys?

doodledo_2

I had sleeping bags too they were fab. Definately can use under 6 months as the first size they come in is 0-6M. I think my daughter was around 1 month when we started using them as to start with I swaddled.

redmel1621

Hi Pips Mum

I spotted your diary and just thought I would pop in to say good luck with everything.

I am due my 3rd baby in March, and I really want to clear most, if not all of my debt next year... I am just in the process of working out how i'm going to do this!!!!

I hope your baby doesn't keep you hanging on too long.

Mel x

bumblebee87_2

hiya! congratulations on your chrismas bump! my little brother was due on christmas day, and was born 2 days early (he will be 17 on tuesday!!!!!)

nappies - i used huggies for the first couple of weeks then used sainsbury's ones, its fab if bubs gets used to these as they do 2/3 promotions a year where all nappies and wipes are 1/3 off!!!

labour, yes it hurts like hell, but its a means to an end, and as soon as a contraction finishes you think 'oh, it wasnt too bad' until the next one starts :rotfl: but its all worth it, it really is

over the next few months you need to write up a money plan for when you are on SMP and another for when you arent bringing in anything. remember that at the moment child benefit is £18.40 but goes up to £20 per week from january, its not a lot but can make a big difference.

have you put your details into www.entitledto.co.uk to see if you will be entitled to any other benefits, like tax credits or council tax benefit?

good luck hunni x

Pips_Mum

Congrats redmel, hope you work out a good way of clearing your debts. I hope baby doesnt keep me waiting long either!!

Doodledo - I will have to see if I can find a sleeping bag in the sales. Thats one of my `middle of the night aaaaggggghhhh I am going to be a terrible mother` panics that the poor baby will be too hot or too cold.

bumblebee - I did my money plans last night, quite tight but hopefully doable. I need to speak to Halifax about getting a mortgage payment holiday as that will make life lots easier. I know they do them and it just adds 6 months to the end of the term. Havent looked on entitled to but guess where I am going now!!

mummy2mygirls

hello!!! just noticed your diary so had to come and say hello!!!!

I use the tesco ones with dd2 now, i always spent a fortune on the pampers with dd1 and now think how silly it was.....I just get what ever ones are the best value when buying, sometimes i have had a £2 off voucher and then asda do a offer for the big box reduced and used the voucher aswell so it worked out really cheap!!

The sleeping bags - they are great, some are suitable from 6mths but some are from 11lb (i think) it depends on what tog they are and how heavy it is. We just used little cellular blankets to start with then got the bags, they were good as as soon as dd2 moved she wiggled out of the blankets and woke up cold!!

Glad that you think you should be fine (if tight) when money goes down, im sure you will be fine.

Its good to hear about the child benifit is going up again!! everylittle helps. Im sure when i started getting it it was only under £15 a week for one child!! Ill have to have a look at what its going up to for the next child aswell and also see what ill get for the 3rd!!

Anyway welcome to the diary world!! dh is going on at me as he wants to come on the internet so i better go!!!

jyonda

Cloth nappies aren't really any more hassle than disposables and can be picked up second hand. We used them for 3 years with a cleaning service who provide clean ones and take away the dirties.
Join the NCT and you get in early when they organise sales of second hand baby stuff by members. I'd recommend getting your first buggy/pram second hand and as cheaply as possible rather than buying an expensive one that you think will last 3 years and does everything. It won't. We spent 300 quid on something we found was too cumbersome after 3 months then spent 12 pounds on a buggy from a carboot sale which we used for the next 2 years.
We used baby sleeping bags and had one for the winter months and a thin one for the summer. Don't spend much on clothes for them when they are under 6 months as they grow out of them so quickly. You'll probably get lots of clothes as presents and offered some hand me downs which will hopefully mean you don't need to get much yourself. If you do need particular stuff then quite often you can pick up a few bits at carboot sales for literally pennies. Ebays not quite so good once you factor in postage.

Pips_Mum

Hello Mummy2mygirls well you know you, Rags and Smarties had their own diary I felt left out!! I could see how much it was helping you all and thought I want some of that!!

Ooooops!! Jyonda we bought a travel system, it was in a sale online at Mr T for £117 so not as expensive as some, but yes I thought it would last us longer than it maybe will?

Definately going to look for sleeping bags in the Jan sales, so many mummys cant be wrong!!

Quite pleased with my day so far.

• I have baked some cakes to take to my mums instead of buying a bunch of flowers.
• I made some Jam in the breadmaker from raspberries that were reduced from £2.99 to 30p!
• Had a NSD
• OH has hoovered the whole house so it looks nice and tidy.
• Sat and looked at my budget again and think there are definately still some savings to be had.........somewhere!!
• Going to my mums now for a yummy homemade Chinese.
• Chatted with you lovely ladies on here on and off all day.

Not a bad day! Hope you are all happy bunnys too.

longforthesun

I am a mum of a xmas baby (not xmas day but very close) and one thing I would suggest is actually buying birthday gifts a few months before. I made the mistake of getting birthday and xmas gifts at the same time and it cost a fortune. This year I have been very good and bought birthday gifts for my one in september and October. This may seem like comon sense but i didn't think about it at the begining. I would also suggest using Napisan instead of vanish as it is much cheaper and works as good if not better. It can be found in the baby aisle.

I was heavily pregnant on xmas day so if the wee one hasn't arrived by then make sure you put your feet up and let everyone around you do the hard work. I had SPD so every move i made hurt, my whole family panicked everytime i moved as I groaned with the pain no one enjoyed their dinner as they kept expecting me to go into labour. Although I had a great time as I didn't have to lift a finger.

izoomzoom

Hi, I've just renewed my thread, and your's caught my attention. I have a 13m DD so congrats on your bump and hopefully you wont be kept waiting too long.

I am a serious fan of cloth ... spent some money in the early months and apart from probably having to buy one more set (next size up) of wraps, our expense on this front is over and done with. Also managed to sell the smaller sized wraps to fund the next size up ... the second hand market is very lucrative.

DD's Xmas pressies have amounted to less than £25 but my older children are a bit more expensive .

Anyhow, I received full pay for 3 months but as soon as I went onto maternity leave I moved our income to SMP level and saved the rest. It allowed me to stay off work for a further 2 months but unfortunately it is all gone now.

Anyhow good luck xx