Costs of having a baby

LittleMissMPB

I'll give you a list of the very basics and what I paid (on a budget):

Pram: £89 - normal pushchair just reclines fully
Car Seat: £120 - safety came first on this one, added bonus it fitted the pram as a travel system
Cot + matress £99
Cot bedding (sheets + blankets) £30 (you will want plenty of spare for the leaky nappies)
Set of Drawers for baby clothes - £89 (paid extra to have changing table on top)
Changing mat - £10
Nappies - depends on what works for you, but expect to use 8 - 12 nappies per 24hrs for the first few weeks, and 6 - 8 per day from around 8weeks onwards
Baby wipes - can always find some at £1/pack, I've found a pack usually lasts a week but thats alsp used for wiping a toddlers grubby hands
Steriliser + 3 bottles - £15 - asdas previous baby and toddler event, think its on in this one too - if bottlefeeding then you will want more than 3 bottles.
Formula is between £7.50 - £9 per tub - breastfeeding my son but I seem to remember a tub lasting about 10days from ny daughter.
Highchair - £45
'Bouncer' chair (somewhere safe to sit baby when awake without having to hold him/her) - £35
Clothes - depends on what you like, but I would recommend at least 10 babygros, 6 sleepsuits, a coat/pramsuit, 2/3 hats, scratch mits, and a nice outfit (but trust me, baby will live in the sleepsuits, they are so easy to change and look comfy in them).
Muslin squares £4 for 3 in Tesco - couldn't be without mine. I've found 9 is the right number for me, use for throwing over your shoulder when burping to save you from smelling of eau-de-babysick all day

Extras:
Moses Basket + Stand £50, but can be done cheaper
Cot Mobile - was given so don't know a price
Extra clothes, bibs
Weaning bowls/spoons
Toys
Swining Chair

I will add more if I remember. Hope this helps equipment wise.

shy-but-need-help

I think it's important to remember most baby items have a huge range- it's a bit like buying shoes really, yes you can pay hundreds for designer ones but you can also buy a pair for £3 in Primark and there's plenty in between. For example- Ikea does a really cheap cot & matress but still some people are going to spend £800+ on a solid wood one to "last" (my sister did this and her husband refers to it as the most expensive ornament he ever bought as, after a few days, she found she chose to co-sleep like we do) Prams, yes there are some really expensive £700+ ones but there's also some really nice ones for under £100, an important thing to remember as well is look for end of season colours, our youngest babies pram we paid £129 for because we had the previous seasons colour, the current seasons colour was selling at £389!

My golden rule is never buy in mothercare before checking everywhere else first, it's very, very, very rare mothercare has the cheapest price on things and they don't have a better quality, just (in my opinion) trading off the fact they're the main baby store on the high street so most people will go there when expecting their first and don't yet realise nearly everywhere else is cheaper.

Abbafan1972

daska wrote: »

Something you don't need LOL. BUMBO Some babies love them but not all. Wait until you've had the baby and try someone else's before forking out.

Just looks like a potty with a tray attached.

JBD

I saved money by using my baby's car seat indoors as a rocking chair.
Charity shops can be good for prams, you can give them a good inspection before you buy them.
I used to buy quite a lot from Babies R us, definitely cheaper than mothercare and nicer too IMO.
Have also seen a nice range of cot blankets etc in Asda, I would imagine they are quite a reasonable price [though I haven't shopped for baby things for a few years now]. I did use to like their baby and children's clothes and consider them good value.

naughty-yet-sorta-nice

when i get paid my child benefit every month i go straight out and get 4 tins of milk powder, 2 big boxes of nappies (2 for 18) and several multi packs of wipes that last me the whole month, leaving me £20 to get other bits and bobs we need (clothes, new teats, soother etc), obviously i pay the rest with my own money but if you think about the fact your food, nappies and wipes are paid for by your child benefit its not so daunting.

delain

I second getting a bouncy chair! They have been a godsend for all of mine so far, especially if you have a pet or any curious young visitors.

If you shop at Tesco they have the double up clubcard points events, obviously we were shopping there for a family of 5 already so spending quite a bit, but we doubled up our vouchers and got little Squeaks (expensive) bouncy chair for £10 over the vouchers :j Plus you can use them for all their baby gear, and they do regularly have the TT bottles and sterilizers etc half price. If you then pay with vouchers it's more or less free if you shop in Tesco anyway

I've never had a bumbo and all mine are still alive

OH co showered wth Squeak until she could sit up, now she goes in the big bath and loves it. There is no real need for an expensive baby bath kit. If you don't fancy co showering, get a seperate washing up bowl to bath baby in. Baby won't remember or hold it against you lol and you can get them from the 99p store!

mamaninie

You can get most things you need at NCT nearly new sales including clothes.http://www.nct.org.uk/in-your-area/nearly-new-sales Netmums also have private listings - often people will do a big bag of clothes in a size range for £5-20.

Have you thought of washable nappies? I've spent about £200 on pre-loved nappies that I've used on both my babies. Considering that most children are in nappies for over 2 years its a significant saving. Of course you have to factor in an extra load of washing 2-3 times a week, it also helps if you have outdoor drying space to save on tumble-dryer costs. Also I use washable wipes - ie a bath towel cut into squares and overlocked on the edges - its much nicer on their bottoms than chemical wipes and more efficient at cleaning too! Even if you don't want to go with washable nappies, just using washable wipes will save you a small fortune.

If I was having my first child again I wouldn't buy a cot as we co-sleep. A moses basket is useful for downstairs naps (if your baby will be put down - no.1 would, no.2 wouldn't!) so buy second hand. I have always bought new mattresses though as per SIDS advice.

A car seat is essential - don't scrimp on this get the best you can afford.

I also found a baby monitor very useful - the better ones have much better sound quality than the cheap ones. I used to be able to hear the changes in how dd1 was breathing so I could get up to her before she started crying.

Regarding breastfeeding - just on a purely money saving issue its worth not completely discounting, not to mention the vastly better health outcomes for both you and baby. Lots of people feel its not for them at first, but as the pregnancy progresses and once baby is here sometimes feelings can change about it:) Would it help maybe to visit a breastfeeding support group just to get a chance to see other women feed (you don't need to get your baps completely out!) and have a chat to a BF supporter about how you feel? You could cut out huge chunks of set up costs too as you wouldn't need bottles, steriliser etc at all.

I might also consider not getting a pram at first, instead using slings (under £50 - especially if second hand), then maybe getting a stroller type when they are a bit bigger.

Basically, if you're looking to save money, don't go into mothercare or down the baby aisles in the supermarket - you don't need 90% of what they say you do!

If you do baby led weaning at 6 months then you don't need any baby food products from the supermarket at all as you just give them normal food THose things have got crazy prices!

People will want to buy things for you - if you don't tell them what you need you will end up with very random things, lots of clothes in the wrong sizes and seasons and duplicates of things you have already got much more cheaply - so make a list and tell them where to get what you want:D