Having a baby Old Style???

Olliebeak

You've had some brilliant advice on here already - I'd like to add to them: sign up to manufacturers and supermarket websites - there's lots of little freebies, samples, money-off vouchers to be had from them.

Have you checked with your local authority - some of them have schemes to try to persuade mums to go for cloth nappies?

KT1985

moneybunnybabe wrote: »

It's kind of comforting to know that people I can talk to have been through it too...so a big thank you. x x

I think I shall check the internet for pram reviews and then try them out before I buy. I would like something that isn't too hefty as I will be using it a lot - on and off transport etc.

I have the bebe confort/ maxi cosi streety travel system- haven't used it yet, but I have it at home and really like it

Kiddicare was fab, it was great to try out all the different types, and got a really good deal. I would go to a pram shop and try a bunch out and see which suits your needs best and then look for the best price online:D

soon2bjobless

Dont go buying loads of baby toiletries that they could just end up being allergic too! (been there, done that!) - basically you only need a bar of baby soap - lasts for ages and can do their hair as well.

Glamazon

u really don't need much and what u do need can be bought cheaply from car boots and eBay.
My LO is nearly 4 weeks old (not quite sure where the time has gone!) and all he really needs is somewhere to sleep, something to eat and warmth.

Sleep - I have a moses basket for now - can get these for around a tenner at car boot/ebay with a new mattres for £7 on eBay. I always see them on Freecycle though. They only stay in Moses basket for a few months though so you could go straight into a cot - again get second hand but get a new mattress.

Food - if you can Breastfeed then great but if you can't you will need a steriliser, bottles and formula. I planned to BF but due to breast surgery I couldn't - I ended up in ASDA buying formula at 6.30am on Day 2!!!!
You will probably need a steriliser if u BF anyway cos eventually you will want to express your milk.
Check out theASDA baby event as they have good deals - you've just missed one but they are every few months.

Warmth - I bought the majoity of his clothes at car boot for an average of 30p an item - ranging from 10p for vests and sleeps suits to 50p for t-shirts and trousers. Most of the time he is in a sleepsuit/babygro!

All the gifts I have received have been for 3-6 months 'Because everyone will buy newborn' :rotfl:

Other than that just lots of love and cuddles!

Get over to the Families board and join the pregnancy thread - loads of OS ideas on there.

Better go, my LO needs a feed! Good luck with it - it's the most amazing thing in the world!

got-it-spend-it

Do you have any friends or family with babies? I've found people are really happy to donate stuff that they no longer need, and loads of it is nearly new as babies grow so quickly.

I'm off to my first NCT sale this weekend so I'll report back on what bargains are to be had there- I'm hoping to get a sling as I think carrying baby in a sling will be much more convenient than in a pushchair.

I picked up loads of muslins when Tesco had them BOGOF and also a pack of these as I think they will be useful instead of wipes at home.

nikflo

hello and welcome,

i hope you and the little one are good?

i have 2 dd's 5 and 18 months, my advice would be don't get a mosses basket neither of my girls likes it and the first was in it for about 2 weeks and the 2nd about 2 nights! she was 9lb 15oz and she was just too big for it.

also get an alarm the best you can afford, i know of two people whoose child stopped breathing and if their monitor hadn't had gone off in the night then god knows what would have happened. i had the tommee tippee sensor monitor and to us it was priceless.

don't stock up on too many nappies too soon as you could have a baby that isn't in the small size for long and they get wasted.

buy sleepsuits from the super markets they are fab! wash well!

i wasn't able to bf so be prepared for it not to work for every one, so might be worth having a bottle or two at home just incase, i did'nt and my mum had a mad dash to get some for when i can out of hospital!

lastly take every thing that is offered, you don't know what might be useful when baby comes.

all the best.

radiohelen

First up - CONGRATULATIONS! :j

I did this list for a friend who's on a nursery nurse course at uni. It's a list of everything (nearly) that we had for our little one for the first six months or so. DO NOT PANIC when you read it - use it as a guide!

From the beginning....the first few months - this is what I had:

A going home outfit - hat, gloves, jacket, bodysuit, babygro,
Seven baby grows
Seven bodysuits
anti scratch mittens
3 cardigans/jumpers
A snow suit for outside
Pram blanket
Car seat (they wont' let you out without one!)
Pram including foot muffler thingy and clips to hang shopping bags off
Moses basket and stand
3 sheets
2 blankets
I would get a couple of bottles and a steriliser just in case....breastfeeding is a load harder than they tell you so it's always good to know you've got an alternative for when you are crying tired, sore and ready to die cos the baby hasn't stopped feeding for the last 24 hours.
couple of cartons of ready made baby milk - aptamil is closest to breast apparently
nursing cushion in a U shape - you can use it to help them sit up later.
What about breast pads, lansinoh cream, nipple shields,
Nappies - lots - I had pampers and reusables....
nappy bucket
nappy liners
nappy wraps x2
changing mat x2 (once you've trekked upstairs six times a day to change the little blighter you'll have a mat downstairs too!)
travel changing mat
changing bag
wipes
cotton wool
nappy cream
changing table/station
baby mat with dangly things over
dummys x2
huggababy baby carrier
baby monitor
thermometer
bath/room temperature thingy - I've got a digital flower shaped one that's good!
baby towel with hood
non bio washing powder and fabric softener

I blagged where I could - try freecycle.com or friends/relatives/workmates
Ebay is still a constant source of bargains...
charity shops for clothes
car boot sales if you can bear it
aldi - have cheap baby gyms (£12.99) and baby bits in their specials bin

Infacol - take out shares in it
Calpol - ditto
We put Ellis in the bath with one of us or I washed him in the sink....most people insist on baby baths or those baby buckets are good.
seven sleepsuits for 3-6 months 6-9 months and 9-12 months
seven bodysuits as above - asda do good ones that wash and wash
seven outfits as above
baby shoes....
coat/snowsuits for ages as above.
muslins
- we had a lambskin for the baby - this was brilliant and he still sleeps on it now in his cot. It really relaxed him.
nightlight - lindam do one so do Asda.
toys - I had a few for 3-6 months more for after - stuff with black and white on it - mirrors - little things to chew....whoozits are good - you can wrap them round the pram. Sets of stacking cups - he plays with these ALL the time.
Cot - blagged
cot mattress - must be new
Cot sheets - hand me downs and new from seconds shops
Cot blankets
Books - lots of soft material ones and some hard ones too.
breast pump - I got a medela swing...v. good.
breast milk freezer bags
baby bouncer seat
bumbo is great - you can borrow them from surestart toy libraries but only for a couple of weeks at a time - they are great but some babies don't take to them.
Galt play ring/baby nest - we've used this to death
baby walker
Little dishes for food
weaning spoons
I've got a babydan foodmill so you can just take adult food and mill it - this assumes you are not doing baby led weaning which is VERY messy.
silicone ice cube tray - for freezing food
chew toys
Teetha powders
stair gates
plug safety things
corner safety rubber thingys
Lots of cupboard ties to stop them opening doors
highchair - Ellis has an expensive one we bought cheap on ebay - Ikea do the Antilop for a tenner - it's very good.
bibs - ones with long arms are great
travel cot that doubles as a playpen
playpen - you can get the expensive hexagonal one from the brochures on ebay for £50
spongy floor mat with numbers and letters on it.
I've got an activity station he can sit/stand in and play
baby wetsuit and swim pants - swim nappies
Next size up car seat - plus isofix for our car

Fantasy wish list.....
A baby wardrobe
a baby musical swing seat
you can get a baby cot/nest you sit next to the bed and breastfeed at night then slide the baby into it.

Hope it helps.

ForOurFuture

Congratulations to you.
My advice to you is to, at the beginning, make life as easy as possible to begin with as having a baby is a massive change of lifestyle and nothing really can prepare you, so you don't want to be making life too challenging for yourself. To begin with I would use disposable nappies (good ones!) until you are ready to use reusable (which will need washing regularly and drying - unless you use one of the services that are available to service wash them for you). Also have some ready made up formula in the cupboard (like drink cartons) and a bottle so if the breast feeding doesn't work out you are prepared. I wish someone had advised me to do this it would have saved alot of tears and sore nipples!!

Buy lots of sleepsuits and don't worry too much about real clothes until baby is at least 3 months old. I got my DD clothes all off ebay, charity and car boots. She is coming up to 4 and I would say I only started buying new clothes for her when she turned 3, and that was only because I had too!!

Definately look on your local freecycle site and post a wanted post once you know what you need. I, personally, wouldn't go for a moses basket unless you can borrow one, you would be better putting the money towards a cot. We bought a cotbed and that was a mistake, should really have just bought a cot as some bed guards can't be used with a cotbed mattresses. I wouldn't worry about getting a mobile for the cot either! or matching sets of things

We only had a basic monitor, which we still use and that was fine for us.

I wish you lots of happy times, enjoy your pregnancy and rest plenty!!

[Deleted User]

under £100

What I did with mine, and I'm talking about over 40 years ago is get two dozen cotton nappies (still have several left that are used as soft dusters).Best thing of all was a flannelette sheet,especially if its going to be a late winter/early spring baby.Cut it into 4-6 even sized squares.Then hem all the way round .You don't need a machine, a needle and thread will do.You then have 4-6 sheets to lay you baby on in a carry cot or whatever.These being small are easy to wash out and dry when baby has a burpy accident.As another poster said small containers for microwaving or storing baby food in.
A small Mouli grater for turning your food into mush for a baby with no teeth as yet.
I never had a baby monitor, my 'Mummy' ears heard every squeek right up until they left home to get married.
Most of all a great big armful of cuddles, as your baby is going to be the most wonderful thing you have ever produced in your life.The more love and hugs you give him/her the more secure and happy your little one will be.If Dad wants to leg it, its his greatest loss.
Don't forget we are all here as virtual grannies aunts/uncles /big sis/brothers /family to listen to you when things get tough, and if we can, to help with advice and hugs for you too.
God Bless my dear
JackieO xxx

laurel7172

Mine aren't babies any more, but if Kiddicare is still as good as it was, I heartily recommend it. I could always count on getting pretty much what I wanted-but in last year's fabric and half price.

Keep an eye on Freecycle for cots, baby clothes etc. You won't get everything you apply for-but if you need to clear out a room then consider putting some stuff on freecycle yourself. I know I prefer to give to people with a history of giving when I'm getting rid of things on there.

If you have a car, you will regret not buying the travel system that allows the car seat to clip into the buggy frame. Not having to wake up a sleeping baby to transfer from car to buggy is worth its weight in gold and sanity.

Have you a friend or relative who has had a baby and will lend or give you things? It's the first six months or so that are disproportionately expensive and there are plenty of people with things they aren't using right now. My baby car seat, for instance, was used by two other families in between my two children-and after that, when one of the borrowers asked if a friend of hers could borrow it next, I gave it away to that family.

I'm sorry you're in that situation, but, as someone who made far too many compromises to avoid it (I ended things myself when the youngest was two), I promise you it is actually far easier to bring up a baby without a spoiled and selfish partner whining in the background. My ex used to work away during the week-I dreaded the weekends and my extra, tantrum-throwing child. Don't suppose that helps much right now, but things will get easier X