MSE help needed for first baby

Triggles

I am sure that you shouldn't use cots that were made before a certain time due to the materials used and gaps between the rails. Please check this out before using a cot that was your Mum's.

I have to second this. It would be a good idea to check your Mum's cot and see what the gaps between the rails are and compare how it conforms to current safety standards.

karen1907

OrkneyStar wrote: »

I'd tend to wait until someone offers (you never know they might be in early days of another pregnancy and not want to let on yet, or just feel that they have to because you ask) but this seems to have worked out ok for you .
On nappies, www.babykind.co.uk is good and they have agents in many areas.

It was a really close friend (been best friends since we were 7) and I did say that i wouldn't be offended if she said no (she could have said that they may think about another one and I wouldn't have thought anything about it). I wouldn't just approach anyone without them offering.

Triggles wrote: »

I have to second this. It would be a good idea to check your Mum's cot and see what the gaps between the rails are and compare how it conforms to current safety standards.

The cot has recently been used by my nephew and niece with no problem. But will check as you say.

HariboJunkie

skintchick wrote: »

Anyway, off my soapbox now but just wanted to clarify that as anything vaguely different always seems to get a bit jumped on here on MSE, and I do feel that different isn;t automatically 'wrong'. Choose your own path, and all that.

I certainly hope you don't think that I was "jumping on" your information. Yes the EC idea is different and I believe that there are very good reasons why it is less popular in our culture than others but I wasn't attacking it as an option.
I will admit to having a massive bugbear with exptectant or new mums being pressurised to do everything "right". I don't think that's what you were doing but some pregnant women have very clear ideas of exactly the birth they want/expect and obviously they think that their ideas of what you want are best for them and baby. I just don't want vulnerable mums who are less able to plan as you have done to feel inadequate or that they shouldn't just be happy to use nappies like the majority of us when you say that you believe EC to be more natural than nappies. Too many pregnant women listen to too many other people on what is an entirely individual experience and I hate to see them set unachievable targets. I'm a great believer in trying your best to be a good mum and chalking things down to experience if they don't go according to plan. My birth plan went completely out the window but I had listened to the advice of people who said this might happen so was prepared for it and took it pretty much in my stride. Come to think of it I'm not sure that much else has gone to plan since then in my 8 years of being a mother.

tinkers

Congrats on your impending arrival!!!

I did like you and looked on here for advice 3 years ago and found some fantastic tips- lots of have been mentioned but I will just add a few more

I used reusable wipes they were great soak in a mild solution (lots of recipes on net) and just wash them I have saved loads!!! Also to save more money if you have an old towel or towelling dressing gown and know a handy seamstress then cut small squares out and ask the seamstress to tirdy it up so it doesn't fray (need special machine for this)- this has just been done for me for our next little one!!

Another fantastic tip I got from on here was DO NOT decorate a nursery and it was the best tip ever for us anyway!!! Our daughter is 3 now and we are just decorating her room and she is so excited about it- we have asked for all family and friends to buy things to decorate the room with for her birthdays and christmases over the last couple of years (duvet/ curtains/ rug/ baskets/ cushions/ canvas for wall/ pictures etc) and father in law put big shelves in instead of our own birthday presents and family put money too for her birthday for the carpet and our friends have helped us to decorate it too!! We bought a second hand bed from good as new sale and bought a new door from Ebay and are using my old wardrobe form when I was a child!!!!

We are on a very tight budget indeed and so the decorating of the room so that it looked nice was very hard but with that great tip I got all them years ago we have not got into debt because of it!!! And I cannot say enough how grateful I am to the person who originally gave me the idea and am pleased can pass it on to others.

PS when people inevitably ask how are you doing the nursery I said with pride our plan, not what most people expect but we did not have the money to do a nursery we just wanted the baby...........

Good luck

sexandthecity

Home Bargains for wipes and even nappies occasionally altho Sainsburys do a good baby event where I stock up usually till the next one

I dont agree about the own brand toiletries I am afraid, although there are some good ones, I recently bought Sainsburys own baby shampoo and its not good at all so I will go back to Johnsons (from Home Bargains though naturally) dont buy anything from Boots unless its something that will last ie baby monitor or the like.

NCT sales all the way for us for clothes, charity shops all good once they have been chucked in the wash

Good luck xx

elf06

Tesco got huggies baby wipes and Johnsons baby bath and shampoo in for £1 each if that helps anyone. I going to stock up on wipes cos they the only ones my son can use. I bought loads of johnsons ones when preggers and he really allergic to them so not always a good idea to stock up beforehand!!

djdymond

elf06 wrote: »

Tesco got huggies baby wipes and Johnsons baby bath and shampoo in for £1 each if that helps anyone. I going to stock up on wipes cos they the only ones my son can use. I bought loads of johnsons ones when preggers and he really allergic to them so not always a good idea to stock up beforehand!!

just an idea, but can you use those johnsons ones which you cant use on your baby is make up remover wipes? i too have stocked up on them (im 33 weeks pregnant) and planned on doing that if there was smoething wrong with them?

elf06

Oh I dont wear make-up but some got swapped with a friend who was expecting at the same time and some got sold on at a carboot sale so they didnt go to waste
My son is now 2 and a half and we are almost done potty training but I still stock up on Huggies when they are reduced (bogof or down to £1) cos they are fab for cleaning faces, hands, tv, sofa etc etc etc :rotfl:

mummy_Jay

On nappies, I too advise to start with wash able ones, it will help when the little one does get round to potty training as they will know what being wet feels like even if you swap to disposible in the mean time.
Also a lot of councils promote reusable nappies with events where you can some times pick up free samples and if you keep your receipts for them you can some time get money back (my local council gives a £24 money back incentive). So you get an extra saving, what a bargin.

If you do got for disposable, avoid the big name brands go for supermarket own brands (I swapped my son into these at 6 months) I found them far superior to the 2 big name brands and a lot cheaper.

When you look at pram/pushchair/travel system option. My advise it find something you can easily manouver. Travel systems are very expensive for what they are, find yourself a nice pushchair suitable from birth to 18 months, that lays flat.

Always ask any friends with children if they have any stuff you can borrow.

I had a brillant sling, which at the moment is on loan to a friend.

On cots, cot beds I found to be a waste of money that just look like a good idea, at 1 year old my son went striaght into a full sized bed which I used a safety rail with.

You don't need to worry about safety gates yet but I did find have one of the travelling ones was a blessing for visiting family.

Sign up to all the baby clubs, they give you vouchers, advice and even freebies.

aless02

karen - the best thing to do is read the various articles on NappyLady(.co.uk) that tell you almost everything you need to know. Believe me, I knew NOTHING about cloth nappies starting out and now I feel like an expert! Then make a decision on what type you want based on the knowledge from those articles. Then I would check out the reviews (both on Nappy Lady and varies other cloth nappy websites) of the different brands of the type of nappies you want. Then choose 2-3 brands you would be happy with buying based on YOUR situation (there's so many choices out there that you really can pick the one best for your home). THEN go on a website like usednappies.co.uk (or whatever it is) or eBay and look for the specific brands you have selected. It's very hit-or-miss whether anyone's selling the brands/types you want at any given time, so start early and check listings frequently. Eventually someone will be offering what you want and that's your chance to get the nappies you like at the right price!!

Also take that list of brands/types to NCT sales and car boot sales - you might get lucky and someone's selling those exact types!!

I'm also going to use reusable wipes, so I think that's a good tip. If you're using cloth nappies anyway, they'll just go in the washing machine along with them, so it's no extra work for saving lots of pennies!