Having a baby Old Style???

sammy_kaye18

I am 3 weeks and 6 days off my due date with my second so in the last throws of getting final bits etc. I found when I was pregnant with my little boy back in 2004 I wanted everything and anything - made a list as I was only 18, showed my mum and her friend and they basically crossed off everything i wouldn't need and it near enough halved it straight away!


We decided not to use wipes initially with baby bump - one because they can be quite harsh on newborns skin and second because cotton wool and warm water does just as good a job in the first few weeks - plus i have it ready for top and tailing too.

Everything else bar the sterilizer and bottles has been given to me second hand.

Blankets - I use Ben's old blankets
Moses basket - again this is Ben's old one with a wipe proof mattress so have dettoled that as its been sat about mainly and its good as new.
Moses Basket Stand is coming from a friend.
Car Seat and Buggy (Travel System) was my nieces
Clothes - given by friends and some knitted by family
Bouncy Chair - was Ben's and has been in mother in laws attic
Changing bag - again given to me by a friend
Cot Bed + Mattress - was at my mothers but both her eldest grand kids are now in proper beds so she had a cheap set of bunk beds given to her and I therefore have inherited the cot bed and mattress
Monitor - again was Ben's.

I asked for practical gifts rather than clothes etc so know that my dad has made us a box of baby bits and so has my mother in law.

As far as bedding etc - like i said our blankets were my sons so we are using them but i was having real difficulty finding moses basket sheets as baby shops are fairly limited around us and was given a useful tip by my sister in law to use pillow cases.

Hoping to breast feed with babe but got really bad mastitis in both breasts last time with my little boy so understand this may not be an option after the first few weeks but have put a few pound aside each week so have a milk float just in case.

Poundland / B&M / Home bargains have some nice baby things relatively cheap.

I would say to use freecycle/ebay/netmums as much as possible. There are some good bargains/freebies on them which will help in the initial stages.

Dont forget to apply for the HiPG - every expectant mother is entitled to it.

Hardup_Hester

When your trousers/jeans start to get tight thread an elastic band through the button hole & loop it across to the button, this will give you a couple of extra inches & weeks.
Use a folded towel instead of a changing mat.

misfire

Agree with much of the above - I went to a carboot on monday and was AMAZED how much lovely top condition baby stuff there was really cheap. Got a lovely baby nest for work for £2 I know new it cost £21 as we already have an identical one at work!

Only things I would NEVER buy second hand Cot Mattress due to SIDS risk and baby car seat. Also I would buy nothing from a smoker - I know you can 'air and fabrezze' stuff but I never forget my friend having a lovely second hand buggy that always had a smokey smell (neither my friend or oh smoke). HIP grant would cover both a new matress and car seat easily.

Its amazing what people will give you when you put the word around that you don't mind second hand things.

Its mindboggling what lists you can get of 'essentials' you can get ... oh from the shops that want to sell you the stuff! I like the idea of making a list and asking other parents what they thought!!! for us when we had our first son in 1999 we had a travel cot (big fold in half one) and it was fab - a total life saver kept lo safe from the cats!! or should I say cats safe from lo!!! and safe when I went to the loo upstairs etc... but my friend had one and never used it. So it is slightly subjective but the majority of the stuff that is essential most parents will agree on.

Also if people do want to buy you clothes you can hint you would like bigger size stuff (rather than ending up with hundreds of newborn things you never wear) and don't be afraid to take something back and swop it for a bigger size/different item it is branded so you know the shop. My friend bought my ds1 a velevet suit set from Next for his first christmas - he never would have worn it ..after much deliberating at should I or should I not take a gift back I did take it back and they exchanged it for vouchers £36 :eek:..got many items in the next sale with the money. Most people would rather you change something than have something useless.

Also if you are good at sewing - I know my friend made all her cot sheets from single bed ones (one single bed one can make 2 cot ones) she did loads of things like this - saved a fortune.

hth

rachbc

I got most of our stuff hand me down, ebay, freecycle etc.

Essentials are something to eat, somewhere for it to sleep, something to transport it in, something for it to poo in and something for it to wear!

Cheapest way of doing the above is to breastfeed (free - though a couple of good bras will be great) your bed (free), a sling made from 4m of jersey fabric (about £12) , good old fashioned terry square nappies (about £20) and some hand me down clothes.

I got loads of ebay - inc a great band new mothercare returned cot that just had a tiny scratch on it. I did buy a new mattress.

sammy_kaye18

rachbc wrote: »

Essentials are something to eat, somewhere for it to sleep, something to transport it in, something for it to poo in and something for it to wear!

Cheapest way of doing the above is to breastfeed (free - though a couple of good bras will be great) your bed (free), a sling made from 4m of jersey fabric (about £12) , good old fashioned terry square nappies (about £20) and some hand me down clothes.

Have to say I agree with the above, as far as what are classed as essentials etc but with the 'somewhere to sleep' - if a midwife/health visitor knows your sharing a bed they will highly advise you not too with the risk of baby suffocating under the covers or being smothered by yourself/OH. My matron on my birth ward when I had my son refused to even let me sit upright in my bed with my eyes closed holding Ben and put the fear of god into me about stories she had heard of people accidentally smothering their babies, and not only parents - siblings who were left to sleep and cuddle with them too! :eek::eek:

Also I know our hospitals in south Wales will not allow you to take babe home unless they are securely fastened into a car seat.

lilian1977

There was a great article in the Guardian Money section a few weeks ago - it's here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/may/15/cut-cost-having-baby

Enjoy - I'm 5+3 today and am already starting to think about things!

Tigsteroonie

Don't get suckered in by cute new baby clothes - that's been our biggest expense! :rotfl:

We did well with stuff from FreeCycle, eBay and our local (Age Concern!) charity shop. Cot sheets were bought as full-size sheets, cut & hemmed. I was ready to use pillow-cases in the moses basket until someone sent us some proper basket sheets as a freebie. For blankets I bought a £2 Ikea fleece and cut it down, got 2 basket blankies & 1 cot blankie out of it. (I know someone who's made toddler trousers from this fleece!)

If you're on FB, check out "The Fairy Exchange". It's been set up by frequent users of the MSE Parents Thread. People on there have been good to me, and I try to be good in turn!

Whilst pregnant, I bought one good pair of preggy jeans and spoilt myself with one good top; most of the time I spent in extremely baggy t-shirts bought cheap from places like Primark.

rachbc

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

Have to say I agree with the above, as far as what are classed as essentials etc but with the 'somewhere to sleep' - if a midwife/health visitor knows your sharing a bed they will highly advise you not too with the risk of baby suffocating under the covers or being smothered by yourself/OH. My matron on my birth ward when I had my son refused to even let me sit upright in my bed with my eyes closed holding Ben and put the fear of god into me about stories she had heard of people accidentally smothering their babies, and not only parents - siblings who were left to sleep and cuddle with them too! :eek::eek:

Also I know our hospitals in south Wales will not allow you to take babe home unless they are securely fastened into a car seat.

Well the unwanted advise from matrons is one of the reasons I had my first baby at home and discharged myself from delivery suite 3 horus after my second! There is a huge difference between falling asleep cuddling your baby and planned bed sharing where everything is done to minimize the risks - babies die in cots left alone too yet no one is advising us not to do that, in fact SIDS is virtually unheard of in cultures where cosleeping is the norm! I coslept with my first, with my second I had a bedside cot.

Yes a car seat is essential too - if you have a car!

mumto1_2

we did co-sleep at the beginning, we used a snuggle nest that was supposed to last to 6 months.... as mine was 10 lb. 9 oz. at birth, he lasted 3........... but it was fab! As for co-sleeping, do's - do make sure baby can't get a pillow in the face and doesn't get too hot...... other than that........ as long as you aren't a smoker... you'll be fine co-sleeping.

Sammy, dont' scare people, please. Far more babies get hurt through other means than by co-sleeping. Look at the woman that let her baby get 40% sunburns last week when they went to the beach... sounds to me like she had sun-stroke as well.

Other thing I meant to say, dont' bother with plus-size clothes for maternity wear, unless you are already plus-size.... they arent' cut for pregnant women, esp trousers.. you'll look weird in them as there will be masses of fabric where you dont' need it, and possibly not enough where you do... perhaps go up 1 size in regular fit clothes if you can't get maternity clothes for financial reasons. Having clothes that aren't comfortable when you are the size of a house.. not worth it!

sammy_kaye18

mumto1 wrote: »

Sammy, dont' scare people, please. Far more babies get hurt through other means than by co-sleeping. Look at the woman that let her baby get 40% sunburns last week when they went to the beach... sounds to me like she had sun-stroke as well.

:eek: I never heard that story! that's shocking.

Also, I'm aware that young babies are hurt by other means than co sleeping, but Im not knocking it - I shared my bed with Ben when he was little - not all night but certainly if he was poorly or for morning cuddles but was simply stating that the matron had scared the hell out of me and that midwife's I have previously seen strongly advised me against co sleeping for babies safety.

Didn't intend to scare,frighten or offend anyone with my comment. Sincerest apologies if it did and I'll remove the comment.