Baby on a budget

Bubby

Nothing to add about what to get but we spent a fortune on baby gear and it was such a waste. Ikea is brilliant for the big buys really really cheap and good quality

Katie-Kat-Kins

Buying muslin squares really is unnecessary.

Some find them dead useful, others never use them. My sister never bothered, my best friend uses them all the time. So until you know which camp you will fall into why not either make do with some hand me down or freebie ones or use things like, flannels, or cut up old cotton fabric from t-shirts or similar. As long as it is soft and well washed it doesn't matter what it looks like, they are for cleaning up sick and dribbles etc after all!!!

Wait before buying a breast pump too, many people don't manage to breast feed for long and it can be an expensive mistake. Some people who breast feed struggle to express too. Others swear by them. Consider your lifestyle too, if you only plan to breast feed while you are off work and will generally be around at feeding time you may not need one. Again if you start to think it would be useful buy it later. Don't feel you have to buy everything before baby arrives that is the easiest way to overspend. Wait and see what you need.

Wait and see what you get bought/given too as people are very generous with gifts and hand me downs. Both my sister and my best friend complained their little ones had some many clothes for the first year they never really had the fun of buying cute outfits for their baby (not that they were really complaining!).

OrkneyStar

KatP wrote: »

Buying muslin squares really is unnecessary.

I beg to differ, they are so useful....burping cloths/bibs, to put on changing mat (and over boys willies at nappy change time incase they pee, to put extra absorbancy in real nappies, something for baby to chew on if no toys to hand, cloth for drying up spills etc. They can also be gotten very cheaply in places like Tesco etc.
Good luck with the baby, you will never feel completely prepared, even when baby comes you will still feel unprepared.
Just enjoy it!
x

Katie-Kat-Kins

OrkneyStar wrote: »

I beg to differ, they are so useful....burping cloths/bibs, to put on changing mat (and over boys willies at nappy change time incase they pee, to put extra absorbancy in real nappies, something for baby to chew on if no toys to hand, cloth for drying up spills etc. They can also be gotten very cheaply in places like Tesco etc.
Good luck with the baby, you will never feel completely prepared, even when baby comes you will still feel unprepared.
Just enjoy it!
x

As I said, some people can't live without them, some people never use them. Worth seeing which category you are before you buy loads. You can also use a flannel, or a square of any other soft cotton fabric rather than buying new. We should generally try to waste less, if you have suitable fabric then why not use that rather than buying more? I do the same for dusters and so on. No harm in using an old t-shirt or bed sheet cut into suitable sized pieces.

reddevilled

As a new dad I'd say he advice given above covers it all really.

As long as the baby is fed, kept warm and loved they have everything they need. Everything else you can buy later if you feel you want to.

Oh, and don't underestimate how many presents the baby gets bought!!!

Caroline73_2

I've had two children and have never used any sort of nappy cream. A bit of vaseline if they are sore is cheaper and it can be doubled up for loads of other uses for the whole family.

OrkneyStar

KatP wrote: »

As I said, some people can't live without them, some people never use them. Worth seeing which category you are before you buy loads. You can also use a flannel, or a square of any other soft cotton fabric rather than buying new. We should generally try to waste less, if you have suitable fabric then why not use that rather than buying more? I do the same for dusters and so on. No harm in using an old t-shirt or bed sheet cut into suitable sized pieces.

Of course I agree we should waste less, I just found after having a baby the last thing I wanted to do was rip up cloths! I plan to reuse all the muslins until they are thread bare .

lizziebell*80

We got a load of stuff at car boots, such as babygrows and really good brands like Next and Mothercare as people have said babies grow out of them so quickly, they are in really good nick and were about 20p each, some were actually unworn (you have to be a bit choosy though to get the good stuff) and things like moses baskets for cheap (bought new mattress though but still from ebay as cheaper than in the shops).
Asda baby event starts 15th Sept and they have nappies on offer amongst other things so might be worth a look.
We are borrowing a car seat and base from my best friend as well as a baby carrier and got a pushcahir at a NCT nearly new sale (Quinny buzz plus carry cot attachment for £65).
Also try your local paper classifieds/online classifieds as there can be some good stuff there too.

fairydust30

I agree on the muslin square front - we have around 20 odd which we still have (dd is 3 years old now) even now they clean her hands and face when up the table, cover her lap and get used for emergency spills etc. When she was a baby we used them all the time for everything - we had one over the change mat - the cold pvc would make our daughter cry (and I probably would too if I'd been laid bare skin on a cold plastic mat). We used them when she was weaning as a makeshift bib as other bibs were never big enough, they cleaned up odd bits of sick or mess and dribbles and sooooo much more. I'd have them on a MUST BUY list and they dry quick on the line too.

Also LOVE car boots at the moment - especially for kiddy books - I keep finding BRAND NEW condition books for my dd and people want just 10p for them. I bought home a whole bag last week and theyre top titles and characters too - does nobody read to their children at bedtime or otherwise???

robin_banks

Babybanks v2.0 now with us.

Freecycle is great, and a great way to pass stuff on to people who'll be in your shoes in a few months.Charity shops are also a great way to pick up stuff cheaply, esp books. Also use your local library. They're never too young for you to read to them.

I'd second the poster who said don't bother with newborn size.

Babybanks v1.0 was 10lb when was born and was in 3-6 months when a few weeks old - lesson don't buy too much stuff till you know what size the young'un will be. Also buy seasonal clothes esp in the first few months.