MSE Parent Club

Pink_Princess_1

Ruby is now on the move... I left her on the playmat the other day while I was making her bottles and she had reversed herself under the changing unit with just her head poppin out grinning!! she can move backwards but is getting frustrated cos the things she wants are in front of her poor thing!:p

Nadnad - Ruby always fell asleep whilst I was feeding her when she was younger and now she goes to bed awake and is asleep within minutes so I wouldnt worry too much

cazscoob

hello just on for half hour to catch up and calm down, have just spent 2.5 hours at A&E with DD2 who is 3. she and her sister were playing and she pulled her elbow(she has doent his once before?) we waited for ages to be seen and then sent to xray, was advised i couldnt go in as i am 18 weeks pregnant and was sent to waiting area again? during this time DD pushed herself onto seat and put elbow back in. kids eh! so al that time and she fixed it herself, she is so proud of herself and went on to tell the doctor she didnt need him anymore(much to his amusement).

have spent al day tidying up and DS2 has started this comando crawling its so funny and he is getting faster all the time, he is also sleeping fab thanks to all your great advise!!

xcat_girlx

Can anyone give me an average cost of what i would be looking to shell out on essentials for a baby both before giving birth, cot, pram, etc, and also per month afterwards?

myself and my partner are thinking of TTC but want to be sure we could cope financially.

thanks

*Louise*

Probably the most difficult question - it all depends on your taste and how constrained you are by your budget.

If you're thinking of the bare minimum costs, and don't mind second hand, then approximately:

Cot: £70-£100
Pram: £100
Nursery decoration:£100
Bedding: £30
Steriliser:£20

You can get things like changing tables, baby swings, etc etc second hand if money is tight and you look around.

Monthly costs depend on whether you breast or bottle feed, obviously breast feeding is the cheaper option.

Powdered milk: £6-£7 a week = £28p/m
Nappies: £7p/w (Tesco's own nappies, which are good)= £28
Wipes: £3 p/w = £9 p/m
One weaning: Maybe £10 p/w for baby foods?
Clothing: The biggest variable, depends on what gifts you get for various ages, where you shop, and is impossible to judge.

^^All estimations remember - and based on cheap options. You will find that you buy to suit your budget. For example, when we had our first, his buggy cost just £70. By the time we had our 3rd we could afford a much better one at £500.


I would advise the best thing to do is to see if you can cope on your partners wage + what your maternity pay would be from now on. Bear in mind you can get a £500 sure start grant unless your partner is earning megabucks lol. Then save the difference in the money in preparation for the baby.

ginvzt

You don't need to earn megabucks not to qualify for surestart grant.

Who is eligible?

You can get a Sure Start Maternity Grant if you or your partner receive any of the following:

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit at a rate higher than the family element
• Working Tax Credit where a disability or severe disability element is included in the award

meester

*Louise* wrote: »

Probably the most difficult question - it all depends on your taste and how constrained you are by your budget.

If you're thinking of the bare minimum costs, and don't mind second hand, then approximately:

Cot: £70-£100
Pram: £100
Nursery decoration:£100
Bedding: £30
Steriliser:£20

That's far more than bare minimum.

Steriliser is a waste of money. (Breast feeding is free, but even bottle feeding you can sterilise bottles in a saucepan)

£100 for a pram is new, not second-hand.

Cot is £29 from Ikea.

And £100 for nursery decoration presumes you have a nursery and £100 to blow. We spent nothing.

Of course you'll want to spend a few quid on toys.

You can get things like changing tables, baby swings, etc etc second hand if money is tight and you look around.

Don't need baby swing, they are very much a luxury, and only useful for a few months. Changing table is a waste of money, you can change baby on a changing mat on the floor.

Powdered milk: £6-£7 a week = £28p/m
Nappies: £7p/w (Tesco's own nappies, which are good)= £28
Wipes: £3 p/w = £9 p/m
One weaning: Maybe £10 p/w for baby foods?

Make your own baby food. Boots nappies are also fine, and baby wipes can be purchased very cheaply often.

xcat_girlx

EEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK

its very very scary stuff.

we SHOULD be ok looking at those, but our main concern is prices going up for rent/electric etc and being left completly snookered.

do you know if buying things in bulk, e.g. from costco actually works out any cheaper as i've heard it only works on certain items.

xcat_girlx

im not planning to breast-feed so i need to factor in milk.

i'd seen a pram for £70 in mothercare. didnt know ikea do cots!!

im lucky that i have several friends with babies so may be able to swipe swings etc if i decide we need 1.

as much as i dont want my child spoilt, i want to make sure they can have the best we can give them without scrimping and scraping.

re: changing table.....would it be worth getting 1 with drawers etc to double as baby furniture?

Gangstabird

I hope this doesn't sound mean, but your baby will not notice as long as he/she is loved and warm whether they have 2nd hand stuff or not.

I second Ikea for cot/Mattress/bedding. I have just given a cot away so you could try freecycle. With my second I went to a boot sale and spend £20.00 clothing her for the first 6 months. People sell, vests & babygros for next to nothing. Again have just sold an avent steriliser on Ebay for 99p, postage 4.95. It's all around if you use boot sales/ebay/charity shops for next to nothing.

With my firstborn, I can't actually say how much I spent on the basics, I am far too embarrassed, so lesson learnt from me;)

Honestly any money you save can be used for buying important stuff like a blender for when they wean, good quality first shoes etc.

Hope this helps.

Gangstabird

You will get child benefit which covers milk & nappies (lidls nappies are brilliant)