Baby shopping list

crvs

CL,

That's a lot to take in. Im sure if I put all your ideas , I can bring down to £600. I will amend the list and look for the deal and update it for others. Thanks for your help.

crvs

anderson8 wrote: »

Nct will also have nearly new sales in Aberdeen.

I dont see nearly new sales in near future. I will try the other one you mentioned.

iwannabeonthebeach

crvs wrote: »

Here is the package inclusion

Includes:
- Quilt (to fit cot)
- Bumper
- Fleece blanket
- White fitted sheet
- White flat Sheet


I need to shop around in ebay/amazon and find a good deal.

I would buy bedding separately instead. Quilts shouldnt be used with a newborn. Also, unless you buy the mattress from M & P too, the fitted sheet may be the wrong size.
I've got my sheets from asda and tesco. And they're 3 4 2 in mothercare at the moment

Counting_Pennies_2

http://www.jackandjillmarket.co.uk/register.html

Nearly new sale near you in Feb

sulkisu

Shopping for your first baby is always an exciting time, but my advice would be to forget M & P for now and check out places like Asda, Tesco, Primark and Sainsburys for basic clothing items such as vests, socks, sleepsuits etc. Also don't forget discount chains such as 99p store or Poundstretcher - they do branded goods aswell as everyday essentials such as bibs, weaning pots and feeding bowls.


Another tip (as I learned from personal experience) is if you buy or are given baby clothes from any of the large chains such as Boots, Mothercare, M&S, resist the temptation to take them out of their packaging until you are ready to use them. I did this with a lot of clothes, had them washed and ready and in the end my son never wore them. Luckily for me I have had twins boys since then so nothing was really wasted. If things are unworn and still have their labels you can usually return them - you won't get a refund without a receipt but you can exchange them for something else.

CL

crvs wrote: »

Here is the package inclusion

Includes:
- Quilt (to fit cot)
- Bumper
- Fleece blanket
- White fitted sheet
- White flat Sheet


I need to shop around in ebay/amazon and find a good deal.

It is recommended that you don't use a quilt with a baby until they are 1 year. At that point I got a duvet and cover set to fit a cotbed. I did buy one of the quilts I think you mean when I was pregnant and never used it. It was too big for a small baby and not thick enough to use on it's own when my baby was bigger. I got cot sheets like this from Tesco. Also a nice fleece blanket here. I never used a flat sheet.

Counting_Pennies_2

http://www.netmums.com/ne-scotland/nearly-new/listing/for-sale

Found these nearly new private second hand sales in your area

Mrs_Imp

This is just my opinion:

crvs wrote: »

All,

• Bumpers 29.99 leave it for now, not recommended for neworns
• Disposable Breast pads 4.49 If you're not a big leaker, then you can get washable ones, or try Lilypadz which are reusable
• Muslin (6 packs) 6.00 get lots. Look out for sales in mothercare etc
• Bedding set ( M &P) 39.00 we just used a single sheet and folded it over, so we didn't have to buy special sizes
• Hooded towel (Bath) + Mitt 9.50 we have them, but have rarely used them. Not something I would bother with again
• BTL Steriliser (M & P) 7.35 we used a plastic tub and Milton
• Breast cream ( inter dentals) 8.29 worth spending money on a good breast cream. you often get free samples in the Bounty packs, so see what works before splashing out.
• Changing mats by carla (2) 19.00 just get cheap and cheerful
• Fleece Blanket ( M & P) 24.00 they're synthetic and could make baby sweat. go with cotton cellular ones. but wash them separately before use, as some can shed in the first wash
• Baby soothers and thermo ( Amzon) 19.50 if you mean dummies, just get a couple until you know whether your baby gets on with them
• nature mat (naturemat.com) 87.50 How much?? What on earth is it?
• cotbeds (approx) 120.00 think about going second hand. much cheaper. ours was free from a friend
• Humidifier 7.00 what for?
• Baby grooming set (Amzon 24 pc set) - 12.95 we've never used anything from a baby grooming set
• Maternity towel - 5 * 2 (2 for 1.50 offer tesco) - 7.50 the ones with aloe vera in are nice and soothing
• 
  Total 858.02
  Later purchases
• Floor seating ( M & P ) 39.95 ?? Can you buy second hand?
• First stage weaning pots ( M & P) 5.85 we froze portions in ice cube trays, then stored in sandwich bags
• Sleeping bag ( 2) 20.00 we never used these. try them out before buying them to see if your baby likes them. do you have a friend who can lend you one?
• Breast pump 265.00 We got ours free second hand off a friend, then another one free off another friend. It might be worth hiring one to begin with, just in case of problems
• Total 358.30

I hope I don't sound too harsh!

I also found a feeding pillow to be really useful, but I know that not everyone does. Again, something to see if you can borrow from a friend and try out before you buy in case it doesn't work for you.

Look out for NCT sales in your area. You can get some bargains. When friends and colleagues found out I was pregnant, I was offered all sorts of stuff too - moses basket, breast pump, clothes, nursing chair, car seats etc etc etc.

Mrs_Imp

Counting_Pennies wrote: »

Maternity towel - 5 * 2 (2 for 1.50 offer tesco) - 7.50 Just buy your normal Sanitary Towel brand, just get lots of them, and probably the Night Variety so it holds more

I was told to avoid normal sanitary towels for the first week or so, as they absorb differently. It's easier to keep an eye on blood loss and potential problems if a maternity towel is used to begin with.

dizziblonde

M+P is eyewateringly expensive in terms of baby shops. You'll get a lot off your costs just by going elsewhere. Or if you live near one - they have outlet stores around that might be useful to bring prices down.

Hooded towel sets - I have a few - to be honest - the ones that have washed the nicest are from Matalan (the Mothercare ones went a bit crunchy). Plus I think you get a basic one in your Bounty pack as well which actually was one of the ones that washed nicely too!
Sterilisers - someone suggested the Avent microwave one earlier - make sure you know if it'll fit in your microwave if you go down that road! We just use a bucket of milton system here.
Sleeping bags - I've found these essential having a massive blanket kicking wriggler - TK Maxx usually have the grobag branded ones in for something like £15 instead of £35 - or we used supermarket cheapy ones (Asda did them for a fiver at one point - haven't seen them in there for a while though) as well perfectly fine - and have acquired a few from people handing them down... wouldn't invest heavily in case they don't suit you initially though.
Clothes - the supermarket baby stuff is really fine! (Although I'd love to have mine dressed in M+P if I could afford to - I've got a weak point for their clothes)... don't spend a fortune on particularly vests that get hit as the first line of defence in nappy leaks! I tend to lurk our local Tesco and buy their vest packs and babygro packs when they reduce them down to like £2/3 for a pack. I also have boxes in the house for the next 2-3 clothes sizes up and when I see stuff reduced (or in the charity shops) I'll buy it and pop it in the relevant box ready - usually means by the time she's ready to move up a size I've pretty much got the clothes bought in advance and sorted. Helps that I live near a Next clearance and my mum lives near a Matalan clearance so we bought up next year's summer wardrobe when it was all going into stores at the end of this summer though!
Baby grooming set - this one seems pricey to be honest - I'm pretty sure I paid no more than about £8 for ours in a baby event and it had a thermometer and everything included with it... although you don't strictly need one - I find it handy to have everything together in one pack (so my husband doesn't lose it).

With the breast pump thing... I'd really wait on that front. I bought a cheap manual one so I had the option of doing a few bottles, then when circumstances meant we went home pumping - bought an electric pump which turned out to be utterly crud and died within a fortnight (cough... brand name starting with A that sounds a bit like those chocolate calendars you get before Xmas). In hindsight if I had needed a heavy-duty job (and in the circumstances I found myself in I DID) - I'd have rented one of the hospital grade double pumps I'd used in there and probably had more success.
Weaning pots - if you need 'em - Asda do them cheaper... or Boots when they do their baby 3 for 2... I just froze small portions in ice cube trays and then decanted them into freezer bags when frozen, and these days I just use cleaned out yoghurt pots to freeze baby-sized portions of food and cling film them over the top.
Cotbed/bumpers/bedding - I'm sure I paid £120 for a deal including the lot fairly recently at Kiddicare - got the bumpers (again, use of them is a bit iffy), a cot quilt and good sprung mattress included... depends how much you're after a certain look of furniture though. Big purchases from Kiddicare generally seem to come with car sun shades stuck to the box as well as a freebie - doubt you'll end up actually having to buy them - I'm currently onto free set number 6 from various sources (nice free advertising for companies to do them as a gift and have you drive around with their advert in your car window essentially).

Future purchases -

Probably the big one you're missing is a next stage car seat when they outgrow their infant carrier (or you get sick of carrying it and bumping your shins with the infernal thing as we did). I think we paid about £90/£100 for a Britax First Class Plus - one of those things if you can keep an eye on stores and jump when there's a deal on you can save a decent bit.