Baby shopping list

ilovebargains99

Hi,

I have two young daughters, and agree with the other posters - there is plenty you can cut back on.

With my second baby, I had Lilypadz reusable breast pads recommended to me and I loved them! They seem pricey, but they last for ages, are washable, and much less obvious than disposable pads. I did not have any leaks at all with them. Look on Boots' website, they are £15.31.

Join the baby clubs at Boots and the supermarkets. In Boots you get extra advantage points on baby products. Also join clubs online (eg. Heinz, Cow and Gate, SMA etc for freebies and vouchers).

I used loads of muslins, and still do - they are great for using as bibs, putting across laps while having a snack, light covers in summer, shield when breastfeeding, wiping spills/faces/hands, sunshield over car seat.... buy plenty, but use cheap ones such as ASDA - some of mine have been going for nearly 3 years and look like new!

We bought a secondhand cot, changing table (never used with the second baby at all!!), lampshade, cot mobile, clothes. The baby will be fine in secondhand, just NEVER the mattress, always buy new and the exact size for the crib/cot etc.

Definitely agree with other posters about looking in other shops, M&P is nice for one outfit (that they'll probably get one wear from before they're too big!) and a pram toy, but go elsewhere!

Good luck, and enjoy your baby

barbiedoll

Don't buy any baby toiletries apart from a small bottle of baby shampoo, (will last you for weeks) which you can use to wash the baby's hair over the bath and there will be some bubbles left over in the water which is more than enough to clean a baby.

Don't buy baby oil (too harsh for babies' skin), baby powder (not recommended for newborns due to the risk of them inhaling it), baby lotion (use olive oil if your baby has dry skin) or expensive nappy rash creams. You can get a big pot of zinc and castor oil cream for a couple of quid and if your baby gets a bad nappy rash, see the GP, thrush is very common in babies and is easily cleared with the right treatment.

You don't need expensive nipple creams, if they get sore, you can use olive oil, Vaseline or try rubbing some of your milk around your nipples after a feed.

And you definitely don't need an expensive "grooming" set, your baby will have a bit of hair, not a full beard and moustache! You can get a pack of baby nail scissors and clippers for a couple of quid at supermarkets.

The baby market is huge and new parents-to-be are suckers for anything with a cute logo and an expensive price tag, we've all been there. If you're not careful, you end up with a house full of useless tat that you'll never use more than once, if at all. Spend money on the important stuff, pram, cot and car seat. Almost everything else can be bought much more cheaply than you've budgeted for. Children get more expensive as they get older, babies don't appreciate designer labels or brands so save your money now for their first car, they will appreciate that much more!

lynne192

my daughter was born in august but i knew we didn't have much money and with her being my second i didn't even by half the stuff on your list and even the stuff i did by was alot cheaper than that.... will copy list and break down what we got/spent x

lynne192

crvs wrote: »

• Bumpers 29.99 (you wont need this at first if at all as they say not to use them!)
• Disposable Breast pads 4.49(get washable ones they are the best)
• Muslin (6 packs) 6.00 (most places wont charge £6 for these but i would advise buying more than that)
• Bedding set ( M &P) 39.00 (by ebay might get a bargin or asda/tesco direct)
• Hooded towel (Bath) + Mitt 9.50 (good buys but get maybe a few or even use your own just as cheap)
• Bibs ( M & P) 6.30 (personally never used any although got about 50)
• BTL Steriliser (M & P) 7.35
• Body suits ( 7 Pack M & P) (2) 18.00 (i would buy more than this and cheaper ones as if they get poo on them they are pretty much wasted)
• Breast cream ( inter dentals) 8.29
• Changing mats by carla (2) 19.00 (we use a standar changing mat cost us £4)
• Fleece Blanket ( M & P) 24.00 (cotton or celluar blankets can get nice ones either online or in asda/tesco direct)
• Lamaze feel me fish 5.69 (waste of month until baby is about 5months old we found this out the hard way)
• Baby soothers and thermo ( Amzon) 19.50
• Lamaze activity Knot (Amazon) 7.19(waste of month until baby is about 5months old we found this out the hard way)
• New born nappies 11.12 (apply to asda baby club as you get a newborn box for free and there are vouchers inside and also asda nappies are the best and cheapest around used them for all my kids)
• nature mat (naturemat.com) 87.50 (def not needed baby wont even register it until he/she is older)
• cotbeds (approx) 120.00 (good price but try gumtree for one and get a brandnew mattress can get great ones for about £40)
• Pushchairs (approx) 350.00 (okay price new but try gumtree as its easy to change your mind with a pram)
• Car shades 4.70
• Humidifier 7.00 (wouldn't bother)
• Cot mobiles 23.95
• baby nappy cream 3.00
• Baby grooming set (Amzon 24 pc set) - 12.95
• Baby wipes (Huggies 12 pck) - 12.00
• Cotton wool - 2
• Maternity towel - 5 * 2 (2 for 1.50 offer tesco) - 7.50 (def need these)

would personally suggest adding a carseat if the pram doesn't come with one, are you using a moses basket? i would add alot more clothes wise....



Later purchases

• Floor seating ( M & P ) 39.95
• Travel Mattresses 15.00
• First stage weaning pots ( M & P) 5.85
• Feeding bootles ( M & P ) 12.50
• Sleeping bag ( 2) 20.00
• Breast pump 265.00 (my breast pump cost me £5 get one off of ebay or gumtree)
• Total 358.30

what about highchair? i would also suggest maybe a swing or baby bouncer to put baby down in? baby bouncers have been our live saver. also if your thinking of pumping milk then i would suggest you get some fridge or freezer suitable bags to store it in.

hope this helps. we were lucky if we spent £400 total as i bought most of my stuff on sale or at baby bootsales.

*max*

Not a mum myself, but after seeing my 11 month old nephew projectile-vomit at the dinner table...the plastic bibs that "scoop" at the bottom are a must! Forget pretty things - practical is the word! You wouldn't believe how much can come out of such a small body.

zcrat41

Really interesting thread.

I have to confess that although we got our pram and car seat seat 2nd hand (from a close family member so know it's ok) we did buy a nursery furniture set from Mamas and Papas. We felt the quality of the cot and drawers was a step above mothercare etc (DH nearly broke the cot in mothercare when he gave it a good shake). We did buy a set that can either be used for baby number 2 or used as small child furniture until baby is nearly teen - just a new bed needed.

I also have bought clothes from m and p, john lewis and m and s. Having felt the supermarket vests etc I just felt they were an inferior quality. I wouldn't like to wear supermarket clothes and we're lucky enough to be able to afford not to. I did however hunt around for bargains and vouchers etc. M and S often have good sales on and mothercare have a £10 off £50 spend if you download their new app.

I also confess to having a box delivered from Mothercare this week with a cot bedding set (including bumpers - I didn't know they were bad!) and some uneccessary nursery decoration that serves no practical purpose (well, it does, we did need curtains) other thatn when we walk past the nursery we go "ahh, isn't it cute" Again, I did used the £10 voucher and buy via quidco in the sales so got at least £80 off RRP and we bought neutral that can hopefully be used for no 2 or sold/passed on. We did intend to have baby in a moses basket for 6 months so I think that my cot bedding set may have been £60 that I've spent just to make myself happy that his nursery looks cute

I supposed I'm just wanting to say that although lots of stuff is unecessary, we only have babies once and as long as you aren't getting into debt or problems then the odd nice cute thing isn't going to do any harm. Interesting reading some of the practical stuff though - I havent bought a breast pump yet and didn't know you could hire them - that sounds like a great suggestion.

Mrs_Imp

ilovebargains99 wrote: »

Hi,

With my second baby, I had Lilypadz reusable breast pads recommended to me and I loved them! They seem pricey, but they last for ages, are washable, and much less obvious than disposable pads. I did not have any leaks at all with them. Look on Boots' website, they are £15.31.

I was a big leaker, so for normal use I had to go with disposable and change every couple of hours However, I used Lilypadz so I could take him swimming. They were brilliant and I found them worthwhile.

Gillyx

R.e the vests and sleepsuits, mothercare for me.are the ones that wear the worst, im talking bobbled after 2 washes, so despite them feeling.nicer to start with they look awful after a few wears. M&S are the best quality followed by Tesco and Next imo.

Janepig

Two things I'm almost evangelical about after having had my two. Firstly not having a baby bath, we used a cheapy washing up bowl for DS after having struggled with a proper baby bath for DD - she hated baths, he loved his, which I'm convinced is because he felt safer in a smaller "bowl". When DS grew out of it, he went into the proper bath and we used the washing up bowl for.... washing up .

Secondly is the Antilop high chair from Ikea. Again with DD we had an expensive high chair bought for us which was the worst nightmare to clean, it had so many nooks and crannies I used to have to take a toothpick to it to clean bits of food out of it. The Antilop had none of that nonsense, and as it was just the right height for our kitchen table, DS was in it until he was about 3.

Also, we borrowed a moses basket for DD and bought a mattress for it - that was great because it's not the most long lived item you'll use and then you can just give it back to whoever you borrowed it off, one less item to clutter your house up!!!

We also had a cheap and cheerful bouncy chair from Mothercare for DD, which she loved. When it came to DS he hated going in it, so you just don't know what will suit different children. Same with dummies/soothers really, neither of mine liked the "flat" type, too much hard work keeping it in their mouths I think. It was the "cherry" type or nothing for them. And I had no bother stopping using them when the time came either.

Jx

Mrs_Imp

A couple of other things to consider, which are more for Mum than baby:
Mattress protectors. Put one under the sheet in the last few weeks before birth and keep one in the car. That way if your waters break while you're in bed (like mine did) it's one less thing to have to worry about, and you can sit on the one in the car to save the seat getting soggy too.
Nursing bras if you intend to breast feed. Get measured up and get a couple at about 36/37 weeks, then you may need to be remeasured when your milk comes in.

Also, if you're planning on any more children, think about how and where to store clothes etc that baby grows out of.