First baby - what do we need and how much will it cost?!

hayleythedaisy

Congratulations!
We're due our first baby in September. We've got all the big bits now...
We did get a moses basket, because we've got a cotbed which wouldn't fit in our room. However, the basket is from John Lewis and is bigger than most baskets so hopefully baby will stay in it longer, and it was only £35. http://www.johnlewis.com/231088565/Product.aspx
The cotbed should save some money too, we've not chosen an especially expensive one but got a decent mattress.
Got a travel system with an isofix base for the car seat - wasn't cheap but the reviews were good so hopefully it'll last. Also we got the isofix base that can be used for the next size up of car seat too.
Matalan have lovely baby clothes and bedding at decent prices.
If you decide you want a baby bath, the sets don't seem very good value- how much of it would you actually use?! A bath can less than a tenner if you shop around.
We've not got a changing table, just a mat from matalan for £8.
Bottles, pump, and sterliser we got half price while on offer. Apparently it's worth bearing in mind that if you get for example Tommie tippee pump on offer you'll need tommie tippee bottles, and if they're not on offer often, when you come to buy replacements you'll pay a fortune for them.
Make it obvious to family when you're doing your baby shopping... We waited until after our 20 week scan and said we didn't want to get anything before that, then once we'd had the scan we went and got all the big things in one go... apparently we upset people who were waiting until we were ready to buy to offer to get things because we'd already got it all!
Also, Mothercare always has offers on. Decide on what you want and watch the offers for a couple of months to see if it's worth getting it from there, we went on a £20 off when you spend £100 day - saved £220.
Don't get caught up on the things you think you need - I had convinced myself I NEEDED a nasal aspirator (never heard of one but kept seeing it on the things you'll need lists). Asked friends and family with kids what they were for - turns out they'd never heard of them either - obviously not that essential!!!
I've estimated baby will cost £1400 for all the bits. However, this could've been cut down ALOT - but we wanted certain things and chose to save to have them.

Janice2

http://nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/branches/events/nearly-new-sales

I cannot recommend NCT nearly new sales highly enough. It's like a car boot but only baby stuff, you can get all you need at a fraction of the new price - cots, pushchairs, clothes, toys, highchairs, everything! The link above will help you find one near you. You don't have to be a member to go along and buy bargains.

SuperCNJ

Hi and congratulations!

I bought reusable nappies and many local authorities now encourage local residents to switch to real nappies by offering a cash incentive. Although it is more expensive to start off with, but in the long run it's cheaper, especially if you are planning to have more than one child. I have bought a kit from the baby show couple of months ago and that costs me £250, I got 20 reusable nappies, a bucket, a roll of liners and some other accessories. Here you can find how much you can claim back if you use reusable nappies:
http://www.fill-your-pants.com/councilnappyincentives.html

Hope this helps someone

SparklesJD

SuperCNJ wrote: »

Hi and congratulations!

I bought reusable nappies and many local authorities now encourage local residents to switch to real nappies by offering a cash incentive. Although it is more expensive to start off with, but in the long run it's cheaper, especially if you are planning to have more than one child. I have bought a kit from the baby show couple of months ago and that costs me £250, I got 20 reusable nappies, a bucket, a roll of liners and some other accessories. Here you can find how much you can claim back if you use reusable nappies:[can't use the link]

Hope this helps someone

Interesting! Typically my borough don't seem to participate but I have sent them a query. I like the idea of reusable nappies, but what are they like to use? I don't want to hijack the thread, anyone know if this topic's been covered elsewhere? Cheers!

silli_gilli

Why don't you stay in Australia 'til the baby is born and get the baby bonus? That would pay for everything.. ;]

Have you thought of buying everything second hand? Buying new, will cost quite a hefty amount.

Pram/Buggy - my favourite is the Mamas & Papas Pliko Switch (with the single handle) it's very pricey but you'll probably be able to pick it up second hand on Ebay by the time baby is here.

Cot - you could always get one that turns into a toddler bed depending on the size of your house (don't forget bedding!).

High Chair

Play Mat - maybe a few little soft toys for when baby gets to the grabby stage.

Bouncer or Swing

Clothes - I'd recommend 20 vests and sleepsuits. I wouldn't bother with outfits personally, too fiddly. Socks, scratch mits, hats, bibs,

Nappies & Wipes - cloth would save you a packed.

Baby soap - for sensitive skin.

Blanket for when your out in the car/pram.

Car Seat - if you have a car. Obviously no needed if you have no intention of going in yours or someone elses car.

I wouldn't bother with bottles etc unless you are bottle feeding, would be waste if you didn't use them. Nor would I bother with a changing table, the safest place for a baby is on the floor, get a changing mat that you can use on the floor.

I'd say they are the main things, you would need a wardrobe/chest of drawers if your house doesn't have fitted - but that's common sense!

Good luck with the baby!

~Baby Number 3 due 30/11/11 :]

abby1234519

Blue_Monkey wrote: »

Some of you may know from my other threads that I'm pregnant with my first baby, due in December. OH and I are living in Australia at the moment, but plan to move back to the UK in September when I'll be around 6 months.

I know people say that babies can be as expensive as you want them to be, but I'm trying to figure out how much we'll need to get set-up baby-wise when we get home. We'll be buying it all in the UK because a) it's cheaper, and b) it saves us spending on shipping it back.

To be honest, I don't even know where to begin in terms of what we'll need let alone roughly how much it will all cost. We've got nothing so far, and though we've got friends with babies back home and might be able to borrow some bits or get some hand-me-downs, I don't want to be presumptious and rely on this. I'm also not adverse to buying second-hand, but for the time-being would like to work on a worst case scenario...

So what do we need?

Cot Get one second hand ie mother care (ive been given a good sturdy cot bed for free but will spend £40 on a mattress)
Changing trolley/desk thing I won't be having a changing trolley, both myself and all my siblings regularly attempted to roll off them. change on the floor...
Chest of drawers/wardrobe try a second hand furniture store?
Moses basket? ebay! or gumtree if you have relatives in the uk. but get a new mattress
Baby-sized bath-tub? second hand again, there are tons on ebay you dont need one new
Buggy - no idea where to start with this so recommendations are gratefully received! I detest those women who spend £700 on an expensive travel system, Its a fashion statement! Good old maclaren for me does me fine. Guess its down to preference. You just want something where the wheels last
Clothes considering how much a baby is going to poo and sick on them, I wouldn't buy newborn clothes new unless its special occasions. see if a relative in the uk can ask on freecycle. I have got all my clothes up to 1 years old from freegle/freecycle and a lot of them were from Next and in very very good condition almost new! I was naughty and bought some but I only paid £10
Nappies thought about reusables? i have bambino mios, half were given to me half bought second hand.
Bottles in case BF doesn't work out Philips Avent are the best in my opinion, id wait till you get here and see if asda has a baby event or see what you can amass

And roughly how much for all this lot - £2k?

Thanks! From a morning-sick-fuelled and clueless Blue Monkey x

I've spent a grand total of £10 myself on a baby bouncer and a few cardigans, my grandmother has spend £100 on some nappies and a new buggy as a gift and thats it. Bought a baby sling thing from asda for £9 reduced from £30 and have been given a lot of stuff. I don't see the need to buy things like cots new when really, someone will have grown out of one and want to pass it on! I've got baths, two car seats , two maclaren buggies from mum (as spares, wheels need fixing) a mothercare chester cot bed, moses basket, way too mamy clothes and also two mamas and papas travel systems (which I think might be ancient) lurking around. And other things like bottles and sterilisers. My mother is amazing at getting things for free.

I guess my main advice is don't buy baby clothes....try to see what you can get for free, its not worth buying new stuff as a lot of it shrinks, and it gets so messy!!!

[Deleted User]

When I had my first son (he's now 15), I bought everything new and spent a fortune. With my now 5 year old I bought most things from ebay.., including a cot (£25 lol) altho u probably need a new mattress. There's also freecycle (where I put all my second son's baby clothes.., all in very good condition and labels like Next that I bought from ebay for a pittance). To everyone who looked, I had a super smart baby, only I knew it was all second hand and very very cheap lol. I even bought pushchairs from ebay for half the price - one of the few things I bought new. When buying clothes from ebay, I'd look for sellers selling bundles of things (save on postage costs) and avoid auctions that ended on the weekend.., prices tended to be higher.

Even soft toys can be bought cheaper on ebay if someone can't give you some. With a wash, they are just as good as new.

I doubt I spent £500 in the first year.., probably nearer £350.

And yes, microwave sterilisers are brilliant.

You can manage without a baby changer but I bought a second hand high chest of drawers with a raised edge/border so my son couldn't slip off.., saved my back lol. Now its just an ordinary chest of drawers we are still using. Initially I kept it in the lounge because its where I did most of the changing.

Again, buying second hand is something a lot of mums won't consider but it always used to make me giggle a bit cause who knows once the clothes are on?

SparklesJD

I can sort of understand why some people might want everything to be new and perfect for their baby, but baby doesn't care as long as he or she is loved

I personally wouldn't bother with any toys for the first few weeks. You can't really put them in the cot and babies are just as happy looking at household objects or faces.

DS did enjoy looking at a mobile above his cot and he was given a playmat that was good from about 6 weeks. As other posters have said though, you could keep an eye out for bargains in the meantime.

SparklesJD

Oh, and make sure you enrol your baby in the local library and you'll get free books. Also, most of them have activities like baby signing, rhyming, etc. that are free and a great place to meet other parents when you feel up to it.

My local library is great!

Nicki

Helpingmums seems to have joined the site for the sole purpose of spamming for her employer! All her posts contain the same plug!