MSE help needed for first baby

elf06

Quote - I find it a real shame that you seem to think that buying second hand goods is in some way depriving a child. I can however say that there are some things I decided not to buy second hand like my pram, car seat and reusable nappies. As with HariboJunkie I am concious of recycling and felt that 'real' nappies were the way for me to go. I also feel (from a cost point of view) that as babies and children use things for such a short period of time you are paying a fraction of the costs for just as good things by going second hand.

I do have one question for you (and I will stand corrected in needed) - can you honestly say that you have never bought from Ebay??

Quote

HariboJunkie wrote: »

Your post smacks of a real snobbish attitude to reused items which I find quite sad. I thought the credit crunch might rid some people of their materialism and affluenza but apparantly not. :rolleyes:

10/10 for misinterpretation. I'm not "anti" second-hand, I'm just saying that I don't understand why anyone would be so proud of the fact that they could get used stuff for nothing. It's not difficult, is it? I mean, freecycle. The name pretty much gives it away.

I don't doubt that most people want what's best for their child/children. But the credit crunch (sic) has nothing to do with this. If you're telling me that a second-hand pram is better than a new pram. If you're telling me that using a flannel instead of baby wipes is better. If you're telling me that "value" clothes are better. Then I'm telling you that I think you're wrong. My only problem is that I won't compromise on quality.

Clothes are a classic example. Good quality clothes last and last. My son is in dungarees that have gone through two siblings and six cousins. They weren't from Tesco.

It's common sense. Which is becoming more and more of an oxymoron every day.

elf06 wrote: »

I do have one question for you (and I will stand corrected in needed) - can you honestly say that you have never bought from Ebay??

Yes. Gig tickets.

:money:

Glamazon

Quote - for the record, none of the clothes I have bought second hand have been from Tesco. They are all quality clothes from Next, Debenhams, Zara etc - why on earth should I go and pay full price for something when someone is selling it cheap? They need the room in their house and I need the goods! Imagine if everyone just threw out clothes and things they didn't want - landfill would be even bigger than it is now!

I would rather save the money from buying EVERYTHING new so that I can have more time off work to spend with my baby.

Why should I make sure I can afford the best of everything before I have a baby? For your information, I live comfortably so can afford to have a baby and could buy everything new IF I wanted to. I choose to buy things second hand, the things I buy are always good quality and most stuff I have bought second hand was in fact brand new. As this is my first child I plan to store the stuff ready for the troop to follow.

I'm a bit confused - are you just saying that you don't think we should be proud of getting things second hand?

HariboJunkie

Quote wrote: »

10/10 for misinterpretation. I'm not "anti" second-hand, I'm just saying that I don't understand why anyone would be so proud of the fact that they could get used stuff for nothing. It's not difficult, is it? I mean, freecycle. The name pretty much gives it away.

It may be easy to get things second hand or free but when I do it, yes, I am proud that I have saved money.

I don't doubt that most people want what's best for their child/children. But the credit crunch (sic) has nothing to do with this. If you're telling me that a second-hand pram is better than a new pram. If you're telling me that using a flannel instead of baby wipes is better. If you're telling me that "value" clothes are better. Then I'm telling you that I think you're wrong. My only problem is that I won't compromise on quality.

There is every probability that a second hand pram of good quality will be be better than a new one of poorer quality. Why is a flannel worse than baby wipes?

Clothes are a classic example. Good quality clothes last and last. My son is in dungarees that have gone through two siblings and six cousins. They weren't from Tesco.

Up to a point. I have inherited Tesco children's clothing that has been through 2 cousins before it gets to my girls.

It's common sense. Which is becoming more and more of an oxymoron every day.


Yes. Gig tickets.

:money:

I think that being careful with my money (not spending it on brand names and choosing sensible second hand choices) thus enabling me to be at home for my girls is great common sense. :money:;)

Nicki

Quote wrote: »

If you're telling me that using a flannel instead of baby wipes is better. If you're telling me that "value" clothes are better. Then I'm telling you that I think you're wrong. My only problem is that I won't compromise on quality.

Well on these two items I will beg to disagree with you. I used baby wipes on my first two children with disposable nappies, but plan to use washable nappies and wipes with the one I am expecting because my second child developed a very nasty allergy to the chemicals used in either the wipes or the nappies (not sure which) and had a very red and blistered bottom for several weeks. There isn't a lot to become allergic to in pure cotton wipes and warm water, and these can be easily cleaned to a high standard in a hot wash after every use.

We also bought a lot of cheap babygros, etc in Tesco and Asda, and if they got stained from poo or spaghetti bolognaise it was no trauma or upset to throw them in the bin if they weren't clean after they'd been through the wash. They were pretty, fitted well, and were of good enough quality to last until they were outgrown. Personally I'd rather see a baby in a spotless Tesco babygro with a happy mum, than a stained Baby Gap one with a mum looking harrassed because she had spent £16 on it rather than £1. Now the kids are older and less likely to ruin their clothes on the first wearing, and to outgrow it within 3 months, I'm more than happy to spend a bit more money on labels but for a baby under 1, it is pointless imho

skintchick

Nicki just said exactly what I was going to say, especially about wipes. Using chemical-laden wipes is not my choice of best for my child; plain cotton and hot water are better for baby AND for the environment and hardly 'depriving' a child of anything.

As for free things - why not? My OH and I can easily afford to buy top of the range of everything for our baby, but of someone wants to give me a good quality item that I can use, why wouldn;t I take it?

And I have always been happy to have second-hand items of all kinds, including clothes, and don't consider it to be a bad thing in any way.

Thift is the new spending, don't you know? Even the fashionistas are doing it now.

Aidy

tomabbott21 wrote: »

i went on icbaby.com the other day and noticed that their prices for baby goods are the best around. I looked for a couple of days for cheap stuff but eventually found this place on google. Their service is very reliable and they also have great offers on at the moment. I also noticed that if you buy something from there and type twitter into the promo code they send you a free gift! Im sorry im no help with the other things but i thought you might be interested in this website and then you wont have to do alot of research :-):T

:spam::spam::spam:

Newbie - 5 posts - 3 mention icbaby - hmm sounds fishy to me!!

xmaslolly76

Quote it just seems to me that you are trying to wind people up on here and an attitude like that is not very helpfull at all. As a lot of women have pointed out we can afford to buy new but when things are there in good order and usually good quality i may add then why should we not take that opportunity. As for buying clothes from tesco whats wrong with that i am not going to go out and pay a fortune for a baby grow because it has a good label on it when the bab will have grown out of it within weeks therefore the Tesco plain white ones will do i like to spend money wisely and would rather spend a little extra on quality for the things that matter like their winter coats and first shoes.

This site is not about cutting quality its about cutting costs!!

galvanizersbaby

Nicki wrote: »

Well on these two items I will beg to disagree with you. I used baby wipes on my first two children with disposable nappies, but plan to use washable nappies and wipes with the one I am expecting because my second child developed a very nasty allergy to the chemicals used in either the wipes or the nappies (not sure which) and had a very red and blistered bottom for several weeks. There isn't a lot to become allergic to in pure cotton wipes and warm water, and these can be easily cleaned to a high standard in a hot wash after every use.

We also bought a lot of cheap babygros, etc in Tesco and Asda, and if they got stained from poo or spaghetti bolognaise it was no trauma or upset to throw them in the bin if they weren't clean after they'd been through the wash. They were pretty, fitted well, and were of good enough quality to last until they were outgrown. Personally I'd rather see a baby in a spotless Tesco babygro with a happy mum, than a stained Baby Gap one with a mum looking harrassed because she had spent £16 on it rather than £1. Now the kids are older and less likely to ruin their clothes on the first wearing, and to outgrow it within 3 months, I'm more than happy to spend a bit more money on labels but for a baby under 1, it is pointless imho

My children must have had very sticky poo as try as I might I couldn't clean it off with warm water :eek: my DD got nappy rash frequently so it would have been good if I could have avoided the wipes altogether

I got loads of clothes from ebay and resold them once baby had outgrown.
I think nowdays it is very easy to save money and surely everyone on MSE is chuffed with a bargain

OrkneyStar

skintchick wrote: »

Nicki just said exactly what I was going to say, especially about wipes. Using chemical-laden wipes is not my choice of best for my child; plain cotton and hot water are better for baby AND for the environment and hardly 'depriving' a child of anything.

As for free things - why not? My OH and I can easily afford to buy top of the range of everything for our baby, but of someone wants to give me a good quality item that I can use, why wouldn;t I take it?

And I have always been happy to have second-hand items of all kinds, including clothes, and don't consider it to be a bad thing in any way.

Thift is the new spending, don't you know? Even the fashionistas are doing it now.

I agree re second hand, although would not use a second hand mattress, shoes or a car seat (unless the car seat was from a trusted friend who could assure me it had been in no accidents).
Everything else is ok, toys should of course be checked over and suitable for the age of the child, same with buttons/zips etc on clothes (although new clothes can have loose buttons too!).

Quote wrote: »

10/10 for misinterpretation. I'm not "anti" second-hand, I'm just saying that I don't understand why anyone would be so proud of the fact that they could get used stuff for nothing. It's not difficult, is it? I mean, freecycle. The name pretty much gives it away.

I don't doubt that most people want what's best for their child/children. But the credit crunch (sic) has nothing to do with this. If you're telling me that a second-hand pram is better than a new pram. If you're telling me that using a flannel instead of baby wipes is better. If you're telling me that "value" clothes are better. Then I'm telling you that I think you're wrong. My only problem is that I won't compromise on quality.

Clothes are a classic example. Good quality clothes last and last. My son is in dungarees that have gone through two siblings and six cousins. They weren't from Tesco.
hth

This just sounds like snobbish-ness to me. Where is the proof the expensive stuff is any better quality ?
As I said shoes are the main item I would pay more for, but this is so they fit well, not for labels!