babies, superstition and best buys on buggies

runrabbitrun

Hi, I hope someone can help or give me advice.

I have just found out that I am 4 1/2 months pregnant and dont know where to start with buying baby stuff.

I've read on other threads that you dont need to buy that much, but one of the essentials is a pram/buggy. I've had a look online for the cheapest deals and come across an offer from argos for the pram, travel seat and carrier (with footmuff and raincover) for £250. Which is quite alot (to me at least!) to spend. Is it worth it? Or shall i just buy a pram so the baby can lie flat and then buy the rest of the travel stuff nearer the time?

I've heard that its unlucky to buy pushchairs etc before the baby is born...or something like that?

Finally, onto furniture.
Though we've still got to buy a house and move in (by october so not much time!) the other half and I are looking at nursery sets. Again, argos seems to come up trumps with sets. A cot with mattress, wardrobe and chest of draws for £300? Is there somewhere we can get cheaper stuff ? (bearing in mind the house move and lack of room to store it??) Cots alone are £80-£200

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6430234.htm

Any thoughts are welcome!!

ALI1973

Hi hun, Congratulations on your pregnancy.

Essentials IMHO are:

Pushchair/pram
Car Seat (which fits on Pram), if you use a car
Cot
Changing mat

Anything else is really personal preference.

I bought my current cot from Ikea (£25?) was bought as a temporary for dd2 until dd1 went into a bed, but I REALLY liked it so I used it for dd2 and now its in use for dd3! Ikea also do other furniture cheaply.

There are also many different prams available but make sure it fits your needs, ie if you are in the car a lot that the pram fits your boot. My current one is a Loola, which I love as it caters for all my needs.

Lots of other "stuff" can be got second hand (NOT THE CAR SEAT), or better still borrow from friends/family. Check out when the NCT are having a sale, bargains galore are to be had.

HTH Luv Ali

Rachie_B

congrats on the pregnancy if you havent got that much money id borrow what you can or get 2nd hand,ebay / car boots sales / NCT sales etc

as some items are nice to have eg my son loved his graco swing (£80 !!) but as they are used for such a short time 2nd hand ones are a good buy

prams / buggies are a personal thing i think,some people like small and compact ,for public transport etc ,other like big n bouncy lol for walking a lot

lots to consider,will you want rear / forward facing or both? one that comes apart from the chassis eg carrycot so you can use it as a first bed etc?,swivel or fixed wheel,4 or 3 wheel ? best to try some out in a shop then purchase online

look on ebay you can get some fab new and 2nd hand ones,or locally to you https://www.adtrader.co.uk

you prob could get cheaper than the argos furniture set,we got a half price cot from babies r us,then a changer and tallboy from a local store which was closing down

TIGs

runrabbitrun wrote:

I've heard that its unlucky to buy pushchairs etc before the baby is born...or something like that?

Look at it this way..........
If it was your second child you'd already have a pram cos you'd have the one from your first.

I bought a pram before my first was born and never had a problem, i was told it was unlucky to push an empty pram down the street, all depends if your superstitious or not.

I'd say you need pram, car seat, and cot. And don't be bothered about buying second hand most baby stuff is just as good but more than half the price.

jellyhead

are you superstitious? my sister kept her pram in the loft from the first baby so it was always in the house but she's never lost a baby. mum always had the same one for all her kids, so did nan and i don't think either of them ever lost one. i lost my last baby but i hadn't bought the double buggy yet, had removed the spare buggy (too small, didn't realise how tiny it was when i bought it online - i recommend going to look at them in mothercare world etc. before buying wherever you see it cheapest) and was only using the one buggy for my baby which wouldn't be used for the new baby, so nothing in the house specifically for the baby i lost. all i had were the things my 9 month old is currently using.

i think to be honest it's not really a superstition, but based on it being more upsetting if you lose a baby to have tiny sleepsuits etc. at home, waiting to be sorted out and given away etc. for both of my children i already had lots of stuff i'd bought - out of the paper or in the january sales etc.

julesgr

Take a look at the toyrus website the have a travel system for much less than £250

jellyhead

anyway, my baby is in this cot:

http://www.kiddicare.com/invt/cotdrtpoppsaf?nav=prodlist

there are variuos cots on the website and the one with the cheapest mattress is only £79.99 including mattress, quilt and bumper (but i don't use those). the cot has different base positions and a dropside, everything you need i think. i don't think the furniture has to match as part of a set, i would just get it in the same colour as the cot - white, pine, beech etc.

your argos furniture looks nice, and if i have used a chest of drawers as a changing table, it can be useful to have one at that height. the wardrobe is high though, the child wouldn't be able to use it itself as a toddler etc. my son had a tallboy so the rail was lower down for him like this http://www.littlewoods-online.com/rf/navigation/product.do?Ns=prod_in_stock%7C1%7C%7Cprice_est%7C0%7C%7Cprod_min_base_price%7C1%7C%7Cscu_id%7C1&groupId=323795578&Nu=this_product&SNtk=&Np=1&SN=157+4294966932+4294966518&Ntt=323795578&D=323795578&Ntk=group_search&Dx=mode%2Bmatchall&thisprod=16309248&N=157+4294966932+4294966518&Nty=1&Mis_item_id=15&Mis_item_loc_id=1&product=16309248
but unless you could find a plain one you'd need to know the sex of your baby otherwise a boy could end up with a pink cupboard :-)

the cotbed in argos says max age 9-10, can this be true? my son was out of his by age 4 i think.

jellyhead

this looks like a good travel system http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Product.aspx/BruHome/BruSpecialOffers/BruSpecialOffersTravel/709808

this is the cheap one i saw in the babiesrus catalogue
http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Product.aspx/BruHome/BruSpecialOffers/BruSpecialOffersTravel/709808

if you join their baby club they will send money off vouchers.

and congratulations by the way!

CIS

Ive sent you a PM

Spendless

jellyhead wrote:

i think to be honest it's not really a superstition, but based on it being more upsetting if you lose a baby to have tiny sleepsuits etc. at home, waiting to be sorted out and given away etc. for both of my children i already had lots of stuff i'd bought - out of the paper or in the january sales etc.

Agree with this. We lost our 1st after a scan revealed he had a medical condition which meant he wouldn't live. I had to ask my MIL and SIL to clear our place of baby things cos I just couldn't do it. I'd recommend leaving things either till nearer the time, or putting them out of the way in loft or at a relatives house.

jellyhead

my sister in law is superstitious about this, refuses to buy anything yet and won't have anything baby-related in the house but she has been looking and buying things to be stored at my parents house. i think the mothercare club deliver on a day to suit you, so you choose and pay in advance - but mothercare is rarely cheapest for anything.