MSE Parent Club

Ruth.77

Thanks for the suggestions will check out the OS board.

I managed to buy Bambino Mio nappies second hand before Catrin was born so apart from the occasional dispicable have been using them since day one and have been breastfeeding as well so covered the basics.

Fortunatley I work in payroll so have been able to full calculate my SMP including the tax and NIC before I went on leave.

Unfortunatley as I'm the higher earner I think I'll be back at work by the time Catrin is six months old.

Ruth

dougggie

thanks for the comments everyone. Have had loads of support from m/ws both in hosp and at home to try to continue b/f but he just doesn't want to do anything involving him working hard! He'll get the right latch and suck for a few mouthfuls then move and lose it (along with his patience). He likes the nipple shields but tends to bite me more when i wear them hence the damage to the nips, but has absolutely no probs feeding from either bottle or a little medicine cup (syringe involved too much work on his behalf as well!).

Have been in floods of tears again with m/w today over it and have decided to express as long as possible, supplementing with formula so that at least he'll get some "true" food, but i suspect i'll switch totally to ff sooner rather than later once i reconcile my guilty conscience to it.

In good news, work are paying a bonus so that covers the shortfall in my mat leave savings and i can pay off my ccard before the 0% rate ends

Sarahsaver

Do Martin's money makeover, and ignore all these lists in magazines telling you you NEED this and that for your baby! Maybe you would be able to cut household bills so you may not need to work full time. Remember work has its hidden costs too like work clothes, transport and so on...I just saved loads by swopping my mobile/landline and have done so in the past with house insurance, utilities etc.
if you shop online at asda they do not charge you extra for substitutions that cost more
If you are in a Sure start area you will get free safety equipment like stairgates, socket covers, they even gave me energy saving lightbulbs.
I am 14 weeks pg, I will definitely be 'moneysaving' this time around too!
With mine when they were babies I got lots of things second hand, used washable nappies (same set for all three then sold on too!), vinegar for nappy soaking, made my own baby food, walked into town rather than getting the bus both ways, shopped for fruit and veg in the market (kids liked that too and it passes an afternoon;))
I am not going back to work because we are out of the bracket where we would get help with childcare costs, so we would loose money if I worked :eek:
Cot sheets were old sheets cut down, and I got many offers of clothes from friends with slightly older kids.
What goes around comes around - i gave the cot and double buggy i had to a charity which helps people on low incomes, freecycled a load of clothes, and regularly pass on clothes to a friend's younger son.
I bet you could get most of what you need for your baby from freecycle!

Lu_T

I can see avatars Susan, must be something funny at your end? Just changed mine for this pic I took on holiday. It's fab and I'm very impressed with my Bailey-esque skills!

On saving money - check out the NCT website for sales in your area and don't be too proud to accept anything offered for free. We were given our 1st set of reusables, borrowed a pram, moses basket, sling, play arch, nappy bag, toys and clothes. It's worth asking around people you know with kids - you never know what they've got hanging around. And remember, there is very little a baby NEEDS at this age. Just lots that you WANT them to have! We are all guilty of that I guess!

If you have any left-over veg at the end of the week you could start pureeing and freezing ready for weaning - or do soups/stews to stop things going to waste. Walking is also great for getting back into shape and is very good to help set baby's body clock - apparently time spent outside between 12 & 2pm can help the most.

Ask your HV for local mum & baby groups which you can generally go to for free (or a small donation). No need to pay for expensive groups and the support there will be invaluable. Check out the notice boards at any church/community halls too as there are often parent & baby groups held here.

Once you've made friends suggest a baby-sitting circle where you babysit for free in return for a night off yourselves (when you are ready). I wish I'd suggested a 'secret santa' arrangement for birthdays sooner - there are 12 babies in my group of good friends! For this coming year we are going to buy for one baby on behalf of the group - let's face it, they don't need more stuff!

When you're ready to go back to work, is there anyone you can share childcare with? I mean, you could have their baby one day while they work and they could have yours. I'm planning something like this with my SIL when we both have #2 as we work different days.

Imogen has also just completed her settling in at nursery, she starts on Tuesday one day a week. She loved it today and didn't worry at all when I left her. She was clingy when I got back, but not terribly upset. I just know she's going to enjoy it and actually feel okay about her going. She's looked after by MIL for the other 2 days that I work.

tsstss7

dougggie wrote: »

thanks for the comments everyone. Have had loads of support from m/ws both in hosp and at home to try to continue b/f but he just doesn't want to do anything involving him working hard! He'll get the right latch and suck for a few mouthfuls then move and lose it (along with his patience). He likes the nipple shields but tends to bite me more when i wear them hence the damage to the nips, but has absolutely no probs feeding from either bottle or a little medicine cup (syringe involved too much work on his behalf as well!).

Have been in floods of tears again with m/w today over it and have decided to express as long as possible, supplementing with formula so that at least he'll get some "true" food, but i suspect i'll switch totally to ff sooner rather than later once i reconcile my guilty conscience to it.

In good news, work are paying a bonus so that covers the shortfall in my mat leave savings and i can pay off my ccard before the 0% rate ends

hello again douggie - sorry about your bad experience with bf.

Your plan seems workable to me - well ~I hope so 'cause it's basically what I did in the end as lo was rubbish at feeding in the beginning and spent weeks learning how - the only good bf advice I got came from a lactation consultant who devised a plan with me to help baby learn while not also starving! He's now a demon feeder but I can't say it wasn't hard going (I was fairly stubborn about it all I guess - I just had to crack it!)

The plan went that at each feed I would put baby to breast for 10-15mins each side then supplement with either ebm or ff. I would also pump to bring frequency of stimulation up to around 8 times a day. I used ff to supplemtnt as I never seemed to pump much and all the extra work/time involved left me too tired to pump regularly enough to produce a proper feed (max 3oz a time) .

After a few weeks baby got much better at feeding and then my supply started to increase naturally with better stimulation. i then stopped supplementing gradually (eg skipped after one feed etc) while increasing frequency of feeds to 2 1/2 - 3 hr intervals to meet natural bf rythmn. I can now just feed on demand until evening when i give a bottle for the night.

Sounds like a fuss I know but it meant alot to me to be able to feed - however if you feel better bottle feeding go for it, it's far better to go for the solution you will be happiest with in the end.

Lu_T

Good for you Tss! :T Wow that sounded like hard work!

I meant to say that you shouldn't feel guilty about giving up BF. I changed to FF when Imogen was about 14 weeks. It was her choice really as she was on bottles during the day while I worked (one of the joys of being self-employed was returning to work when she was 6 weeks old :rolleyes: ). After 2 weeks of her screaming and protesting at her bathtime feed (and me crying along) OH arrived in the room with a bottle and she reached out for it, making those little 'O's with her mouth - meaning she was hungry.

I cried for days when I gave in and started to move her over to formula. Felt such a failure as I had really wanted to BF. But expressing 3/4 feeds for her was never going to be an option and allow me to get work done. Everyone I spoke to reassured me I'd given her a really good start, so that's what I've consoled myself with. I hope this helps if that's how you're feeling. You just have to do what's best for both you and your baby.

izoomzoom

You know when you beat yourself up about how things don't always work out like you had wanted - you didn't get the birth you wanted, your feeding plan changed, try and look forward abit and ask yourself:

When you look at children playing in the playground - which ones were born by c-section, which vaginally, which ones were BF and which ones were FF ? It makes no difference because you can't tell them apart. At worst, you could probably tell which ones are happy, and which ones aren't.

Happy mums and babes, are all that really count at the end of the day !

SusanC_2

Ruth.77 wrote: »

Hi, can I join you all.

I gave birth to my daughter 6 weeks ago and am looking for any suggestions on how to make my the maternity pay go further so I can stay off work as long as possible,

Ruth

Here's some things I can think of off the top of my head:

If you've been given loads of little newborn/0-3months outfits, take them back to the shop and exchange them for bigger sizes. We had Alice in vests and babygrows for the first few months and the little outfits didn't fit her anyway because she was too big for newborn outfits and people gave trousers which wouldn't fit over the washable nappies. Sometimes we had to pay a small amount extra for the larger size but nothing significant. We changed stuff at Next, Mothercare and Tesco. We would have changed stuff at Boots too but we didn't know that "Mini Mode" came from Boots.

Also anything you are going to buy new, look out in advance for sales so that you don't have to pay full price. We got Alice's high chair from Mothercare when she was 2 months because it was in a sale. (If you sign up for e-mails, Mothercare e-mail you when there's a sale and also e-mail you voucher codes from time to time.)

If you haven't already, join Boots Baby club as they send you loads of vouchers for money off/extra points/free stuff. I don't normally use Boots but for baby stuff it can be better value than other places. Tesco Baby Club is quite good too. I never use any of the vouchers ('cause I don't buy any of the stuff they're for) but they fetch nice sums on e-Bay.

If you use disposable nappies and/or formula, all the manufacturers have clubs you can sign up to and they will send you coupons. If not, they're probably not worth joining although Aptilmil and Cow & Gate give you a free cuddly toy which is nice.

Wet flannels instead of wipes can save money although it's probably more convenient when you're cleaning food covered face/hands than when in the middle of a dirty nappy.

Don't buy baby food - either do Baby Led Weaning or get a hand blender and make your own purees.

tsstss7

SusanC wrote: »

Here's some things I can think of off the top of my head:

If you've been given loads of little newborn/0-3months outfits, take them back to the shop and exchange them for bigger sizes. .

Very good advice this - I made the mistake of washing all the clothes I had thinking I was going to have a smallish baby (ds1 was just under 7lb at birth) so couldn't do this but now if I buy in advance (sales etc) I leave on tags till they are needede so at the very least I can sell BNWT on ebay.

Ruth.77

Thanks for all the advice, luckly I asked all friends and family who were thinking of buy any clothes to buy the larger sizes so Catrin could wearing them longer.

My son has spent a busy day planting seeds in the green house ready to make his sisters baby food in the summer.