YEY I'm Pregnant! Frugal tips?

angchris

Wow! :eek: Hats off to you girl! Lovely to have your children so close together, but you must be superwoman! Have you had any funny comments from people? One of my friends has just become pg again & her youngest is only 8 months. When she told her dad he asked if their new tv had broken! She was doing this :mad: all day! She said she wouldn't have minded if it was a joke, but he was deadly serious![/QUOTE]

i haven`t actually told anyone yet except for oh it all just kinda happened unplanned lol with a what will be will be attitude. i have a 17 year old lad then tried for years n years for 2nd but no go and now they are coming along like buses :rotfl:thats definately my lot now!

never_enough

angchris wrote: »

i haven`t actually told anyone yet except for oh it all just kinda happened unplanned lol with a what will be will be attitude. i have a 17 year old lad then tried for years n years for 2nd but no go and now they are coming along like buses :rotfl:thats definately my lot now!

Silly of me, I forgot people often don't say anything early on. I'm still at the trying for years & years stage, wish my bus would hurry up!

OP forgot to say that local playgroups often have fundraisers & I have picked up some great stuff for my nephews & Godson for practically nothing. As others have said babies clothes are often in really good condition.

amilotte

Congratulations!!

My top tips would be to use ebay (I got a nearly new glider crib for 16 quid recently and lots of maternity wear) and also that there is no need to go for expensive labels, own brand goods from pregnancy multi-vitamins to nappies and wipes are just as good and much cheaper!

property.advert

Janepig wrote: »

With a washing up bowl there's no need for a baby bath chair. What I found with the washing up bowl wasn't just that it was cheaper, but I'd had a proper baby bath with DD and she hated being bathed (I used a towelling bath seat thingy on a frame in it). With DS I used the washing up bowl and he always loved being bathed, and I put it down to him feeling more enclosed/safer in the smaller bowl than DD had been in the baby bath. Plus I didn't want to bath a newborn in the bathroom as it's rather chilly, and a washing up bowl with water in was much lighter to carry to bath baby in front of the fire than a large baby bath.

Jxx

We were living abroad and I was back in the UK for a while and I picked up a whole mass of things at John Lewis, admittedly some because neither they nor substitutes were available where we lived.

Never experienced cold bathrooms. I admit we lived where 30c plus was the norm but in the UK, the bathroom is probably one of the warmest rooms. I found our baby took to water from the start and now, at 2 years old, she only plays up because of some other reason and she loves playing in the bath. You only use those chairs for a few months as they grow out of it but I think it is very good for people with no or limited experience of holding a wriggling soapy child (like me) !

tiamai_d

Cotbed will last for upto 5/6 years
Moses basket - ebay/carboot! Or if your pram has a carry cot use that.
Ebay and hand me downs for clothes (I've got next/monsoon etc dresses for 99p! and will re-sell them so get my money back!)
New sleepsuits/vests from supermarkets as they are best value (and remember that they shrink if you use a tumble dryer)
Don't spend a fortune on a pram, you will want a stroller in 6 months time!
Carboot sales are awesome for baby stuff, better than ebay for the larger things as you dont pay postage
Breastfeed if you can and if you do get a good pump (medela swing is rubbish I just discovered, but I do reccomend the mini electric)
Most of what you see in shops and on lists is not needed

Before you buy something ask on the parenting thread if it's any good! :rotfl:We'll be brutally honest

Oh and this is an important one...

If you don't get the surestart grant when pregnant, re-apply after the baby is born and you have sorted out child benefit and tax credits!!! (you can apply anytime before the baby is 3 months old)

property.advert

Just on tax credits and child benefit (as I've recently gone through it after coming back to the UK), they will pay only 3 months back from the date they put your form onto their computer. No other earlier date matters.

I don't know if you can get any of this help before the baby is born but just be aware of the date. Also, whilst tax credits came through within a month, perhaps in only 2 or 3 weeks, nothing was done with the child benefit claim until the end of the 8 week period they have to look at your claim. You cannot find out what is happening easily and you can get no progress reports, so don't hold your breath for your money.

I find it useful to have it paid into one of those Post Office accounts.

slummymummyof3

The best thing I ever bought was a baby bath sponge from mothercare (around £6) you just lay the sponge in the water and the baby lies on it and can't fall off it - you also have two hands to wash them/shampoo hair etc. I know lot's of people have just suggested using a washing up bowl but babies are very slippery when they are wet! Also good for them to sit on when they are sitting up in the bath as it provides some cushioning to their little bottoms.

Don't bother with a nappy disposal unit -waste of money! Nappy sacks and then in the bin!

Check out the adverts in your local shops for people selling second hand equipment (no postage) and ask friends if they are selling any equipment.

wensday

Ebay is fabulous! Needed a specific pram cos our car boot is tiny (Fiat Panda) and wanted one that you could put the car seat straight on the chassis. New it would have been £350 so I got one on ebay for £200 like new with all the extra bits and pieces I wanted but couldn't afford were thrown in! Also got my moses basket from there for £15.
Got all my reusable nappies on ebay, lots of people buy and wash them but dont use them and you get some fantastic deals if you keep an eye on the relevant sections. You can use washable cloths etc instead of baby wipes- plain water is better for a newborns skin anyway. Also got some lovely clothes from ebay for when I want baby to be dressed up, otherwise cheap vests and babygros all the way.
As PPs have said, the asda baby event is fab, they run it a few times a year and tons of stuff is on offer.
Another breastfeeding advocat here, can be a bit of a pain to get the hang of at first but saves you a fortune and no messing about in the middle of the night!

Mrs_Tradition

Hi All

WOW thanks for all of the tips - I am going to keep them in a separate word document and add to them over the next 7 / 8 months.

Absolutely fantasic advice.

Project Pregnant is well and truly underway.

Loving it

xxxx