New baby essentials for a chas-strapped and confused couple (CALLING ALL PARENTS!)

financial_filly

How lovely and thoughtful of you xx

It can get expensive buying for a new baby, especially if you beleive everything they say in the mothercare brochures etc. when in reality you DON'T NEED half the stuff they sell..although when its your first baby your pregnancy brain takes over and you think you have to have everything .

My tip (if buying everything brand new and i can understand you wanting to.) is to look out for the baby events at Tesco & asda when they have offers on moses baskets/highchairs/stairgates/baby food-not formula etc. Also look out for money off codes on here - there was 20% off mothercare here recently that worked on everything not just the toys. Sign up to pampers sites etc. to get money off coupons. Boots, Sainsburys., Tesco all do baby clubs where you will get coupons etc.

If you do sign up to boots club you get a voucher for the changing bag

My lo was in his moses basket for a long time (prem baby) so we got our value for money from it. If you did want to get one from ebay etc. the covers can be replaced so it would be like a new one. Always get a new mattress if you do buy anything second hand.

I agree about formula milk, personally would get one tin and a few cartons of the ready made (can be a lifesaver at times) and then see how baby takes to it. Mine had SMA Gold but know of others who have had to change milk so could be wasteful if you get to stocked up.

Toys - well this is where everyone goes mad! Mine were/are spoilt despite me saying "they dont need anymore toys"..the message doesnt get through..lol. Cloth books that make crunchy sounds etc are good to play with. I bought a rainmaker from Asda when mine was 6 months and he loves it (only cost £2). Also my mum got a 6x4 plastic photo album and filled it with pictures of us all and it holds his attention for hours...probably thinking."wish mummy looked as good as that now..." :rotfl::o

Clothes- again dont go too mad as they really dont last two minutes. Sainsbury often have 25% off clothes which includes baby stuff so a good time to pick up vests,sleepsuits etc.

Bedding for moses basket & cot..i have bought from wilkinsons and TKMaxx before and imo are as good as the mothercare ones.

They will need a car seat before they can leave hospital so a decent travel system would be good idea, haven't bought from them but kiddicare seem to stock a good range. A local shop that stocked mamas and papas gave us a 10% discount if we paid for our pram so not sure if thats worth looking into.

Steriliser i have always used a cold water steriliser and found them brilliant. Fill with cold water, pop a tablet in and then everything goes in and is sterile for 24 hours. Got a tommee tippee opne from their site as it was on offer, but look around at supermarkets as they often have offers on.

Sorry to have waffled on a bit . Good luck and have fun shopping

PurpleFairy26

How about going to a local NCT sale? You can find your nearest on at www.nct.org and look for nearly new sales. I have most of the stuff my baby (due 8 weeks tomorrow) from here. I spent £31 on clothes and came home with a massive bagful, many are brand new or nearly new. They sell other things than clothes too. You'd be suprised how much stuff is new, because people just buy too much or get unwanted gifts. Couple of words of advice, go with some-one else - many hands make light work and get there about 15 to 20 minutes before it starts, you will queue but it is well worth it (also cost £1 each to get in - again well worth it) the ones I have been too you can't pay on debit card, cash or cheque only.

HTH

gymfiend

Our baby's still cooking but there are a couple of places we've managed to get lovely bargains:

eBay, if you can be bothered to trawl there's lots of new bargains to be had (e.g. we've bought a few Gap/Ralph Lauren bits & pieces new really cheap that we'd never consider at full price)

M&P factory shop - if you're anywhere near one? Managed to pick up a new pushchair yesterday (well, shop display one) for £149 instead of about £600 aswell as a gorgeous baby bath at £9 instead of £18 (fair enough - no need for a fancy one but it is lovely!). Not sure how widespread these are but worth popping in if you can.

Boots - there's always lots of promotions with points, you can get a cot online with them and get a good amount back in points (e.g. at the mo - we're looking at a £150 cot, would get £40 in points), which you could possibly put on a card in your bro's name so he could then use points to buy nappies etc? Or use them to buy clothes yourself for baby?
Charity shops are also fab if you don't mind hunting, we've had some lovely bits BNWT from them for bargain prices, including some gorgeous designer bits in nicer areas.

Ooh & put the word out amongst friends/work colleagues - I work from home but OH has had all sorts offered from people at his work, I know you want new but if you can get bundles of clothes etc free then you don't need to 'gift' them as such more just pass them on, sure they'd still be useful

& congrats on being an auntie - the first baby for a long time was born to OH's sis this year and she's absolutely adored by everyone, babies are just lovely

As far as essentials go, I've no idea, I'm still drawn in by the pretty colours before practicality Hope this helps a bit, x

fernliebee

Just a quick, off the top of my head list of cheapie baby bit's I have seen recently:

Home bargains is great for baby stuff as it is usually branded stuff but at a fraction of the price- Nappies, bottles, wipes etc, also recently saw moses baskets for £19.99 in there, they were nice ones too. Also saw cheap changing mats too.

Wilkinson, is also good for lot's of little bits but especially bedding as it is cotton but quite cheap.

Poundland- I wouldn't touch any of the clothes in there as they are nylon and gross, but they are good when baby is a bit older as they usually have loads of baby food in their for a fraction of the price- a lot of the organix stuff etc.

If you join boot's baby club you get a free baby change bag I think when you buy two packs of huggies or something like that.

Kiddicare is great, as is ebay as they do new items too. Also look out for the supermarkets baby events or half price sales.

Nappies- I use washables but if they are a bit clueless they will most likely just want easy disposables. Apparently aldi and lidl nappies are the best quality cheap ones, but supermarket own brands are supposed to be as good as the leading brand and much cheaper.

Cotton wool is better for newborns than baby wipes and if you are stocking up on this look at the beauty stuff as it is half the price, just check it is 100% cotton (some are not) and that it doesn't have any chemicals in. I used to get a baby one and compare the packets to make sure it was exactly the same iyswim.

Clothes wise, I would get a couple of packs of supermarket vests, and baby gro's and maybe a cardy or two, a couple of blankets and a pair of scratch mitts (or even better you can buy the sleepsuits that have foldover scratch mitts on the sleeves). That is really all they need at first, and other people will prob buy them some other stuff.

There is so much other money saving tips but thats just what I thought of originally. Why not speak to them and say that you are thinking of spending a large amount of money on them and it is their choice whether they choose new or second hand stuff. If you bought some second hand items (maybe a travel system off ebay) you could easily completely kit them out, whereas if all new then there will be stuff they will have to get. It is also best if they are involved in the decisions on the large items as it is a very personal choice. Babycentre.co.uk has some good buying guides for the large items such as pram and car seat etc.

jfdi

I don't know how practical you are - but I made ALL my babe's Moses Basket, Cot, Pram & Buggy linen (sheets, covers, blankets etc) from old linen I & my Mum had hanging around - only bought the cot duvet new.

Some wide ribbon on the ends of a blanket stitched blanket, flannelette & normal cotton sheets, multi coloured duvet covers & matching bumpers etc. Saved me a fortune & as I can't knit I at least felt my baby had a few things Mum had made! LOL!

A
xx

emlou2009

i would hold fire on moses baskets until you know the sex of the baby - boys tend to outgrow them far quicker than girls, i know my son outgrew his at 8 weeks while several girls i know of have stayed in it til 4-5months and older!

a sleeping bag is a must, as when they start to wriggle around in their sleep they kick the covers off and this wakes them up. primark do lovely ones for £8! if baby is due in the spring i'd recommend a heavy weight one for the first few weeks and a lightweight one for the summer.

lolababy

Id get a three in one pram. The carrycot could be then used of a day. Space being a premium a travel cot with a baby bed on top. Double this up as a playpen later on.Baby sling.Steriliser.
Nappies, Hand towels white . Asda do hand towels for less than a pound. Cheaper than buying baby towels and can be used later on.
When buying babygroes the next size up from newborn would be better. Unless the baby is tiny it false economy to buy newborn as they grow so quick. Terry toweling or cotton are the best . Cardigans for over the babygroe . Id say six babygroes , six vests ,two cardigans, scratch mitts. When buying bibs buy the bigger ones as they cover more of the baby if they are sick.
Id ask the parents what they would like as they may have there own ideas. Maybe show them the suggestions on here.

Alleycat

You've already had loads of fab suggestions on essentials and places to shop (I also recommend Ikea for things like cots, bedding, highchairs etc) but just a quick thought re the pram and maybe some of the other bits. I hope I don't sound like a party pooper but in case you hadn't thought about it, I really would check with your brother and his partner before buying the pram as it's such a big purchase and a really individual choice. I.e. are they tall, have back problems, need a pram that folds with one hand etc?

Also having a baby is such an exciting time and many couples love the shopping bit even if they are on a tiny budget so whilst I am sure they will be so grateful for all of your help, they will likely want to have a bit of say in things like style, model etc.

skintchick

Don;t want to rant, but you said mum and dad will make an informed choice on what to feed baby, and also that they will liekly bottle-feed, sothey're NOT making an informed choice IMO!

BREAST IS BEST, it is also FREE, convenient and a lovely way to nurture a child. Please ask them to consider breastfeeding at least for the first 6 weeks, as it is so beneficial for the child (and mum!).

NBirdy

The clothes that my 1st child had but were still in great condition and worn by my 2nd, came from M&S, and sometimes Mothercare - they are still in lovely condition and have been passed on to a friend (no more babies for me!). I tried most brands but they got shrunk/misshapen/wash bobbled or generally tired looking.

Oh, and a moses basket isn't compulsory If they are short of space, they may not want a moses basket AND a cotbed. We also have very little room, and found a microwave steriliser (got the Tommee Tippee one which often comes up on half price offer, it comes with bottles/brush etc) worked best for us - it can be used as a cold-water steriliser too. We just wouldn't have space for one permanently on the side in the kitchen.

You could maybe get one pack of Pampers newborn nappies, one of Huggies, one of Tesco own, and so forth, so they get to try each brand to see what suits their baby best?