MSE pregnancy club II

melt71

Hello everyone!

I hope you don't mind me joining in this thread. I am Mel and my partner and I are expecting a baby in mid April. We have our 20 week scan tomorrow so can't wait for that :j


I've got loads of questions even though I already have a 10 year old daughter, things have changed LOADS since then!

My main questions today are;

Is my partner entitled to any paternity leave? he seems to think he gets 2 weeks but isn't sure if he will get paid as he's just started a new job.

Also, he's been told that he can pay into a 'nursery voucher scheme', I've heard of this but I'm not really sure what it is and they didn't explain it very well as they probably assumed that he knew. Does anybody have a link or experience of this?

I keep hearing about the 'free baby packs' and I applied for the boots one but nothing has arrived yet! I'm not sure where to get any others from? Any ideas? I am happy to get my hands on anything that is free as money is extremely tight at the moment!

We are hoping to buy the majority of things 2nd hand as we can't afford to buy new (plus it was a complete waste of money last time!). Where is the best place to buy baby bits? I'm looking on ebay which has loads of stuff but for things like clothes bundles the postage is massive!

Lastly, reusable nappies. Does anyone use them, are they good or too much of a pain to clean everyday? I really want to use them but OH isn't 100% so if we get them and then I start moaning about having to wash them all the time he'll probably strangle me! Any links or your experiences with using these would be really really helpful.

Thanks very much for reading if you're still here and good luck with all of your pregnancies/babies.

Mel

ella_ella_ella

Hi Mel :hello:welcome to the club

chocaholic110

Hi, Mel and welcome!

I too have a big gap in ages. DS is 13 and DD is 9 in a couple of weeks and I agree - things have changed masses!! I find it quite bewildering!

The nursery voucher scheme is mentioned on this site. I haven't read it through but here's the link

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/health/childcare-vouchers


Your partner might be entitled to paternity leave. According to direct.gov

"To qualify you need to work for your employer from the 40th week before the expected birth date all the way to the date the baby is actually born."

Is it just me or is that the whole pregnancy? Anyway, there's a calculator for your specific circumstances at

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkAndFamilies/DG_10029398

I think though even if he does get paternity leave it's only at £112 per week. My OH has taken holidays around the time I'm expecting to give birth as we wouldn't be able to manage on that.

You can get some decent stuff from Boots including lots of vouchers and an ok changing bag. Tesco have baby club, but I've registered twice now and never received anything. I think Huggies and Pampers might have clubs if you check their websites (although one of them might be the Tesco one). Also i got an Emma's Diary thing from the midwife although you have to collect it from a Lloyd's chemist and I'm not sure where my nearest one is.
Er,... Cow and Gate and Aptamil both send little cuddly toys if you register with them, but my DD pinched ours! (She's keeping them safe for the baby apparently!)

Reusable nappies - I fancy using these too but I'm a bit bewildered by choice. Would be interested to hear other opinions (althoug I think there are threads on the Green money saving board)

Claire_Jones_3

melt71 wrote: »

Hello everyone!
My main questions today are;

Is my partner entitled to any paternity leave? he seems to think he gets 2 weeks but isn't sure if he will get paid as he's just started a new job.

Also, he's been told that he can pay into a 'nursery voucher scheme', I've heard of this but I'm not really sure what it is and they didn't explain it very well as they probably assumed that he knew. Does anybody have a link or experience of this?

I keep hearing about the 'free baby packs' and I applied for the boots one but nothing has arrived yet! I'm not sure where to get any others from? Any ideas? I am happy to get my hands on anything that is free as money is extremely tight at the moment!

We are hoping to buy the majority of things 2nd hand as we can't afford to buy new (plus it was a complete waste of money last time!). Where is the best place to buy baby bits? I'm looking on ebay which has loads of stuff but for things like clothes bundles the postage is massive!

Lastly, reusable nappies. Does anyone use them, are they good or too much of a pain to clean everyday? I really want to use them but OH isn't 100% so if we get them and then I start moaning about having to wash them all the time he'll probably strangle me! Any links or your experiences with using these would be really really helpful.

Thanks very much for reading if you're still here and good luck with all of your pregnancies/babies.

Mel

Hi Mel,

I had my little boy in august but still loiter around the pregnancy thread, can't help it!

You partner should get 2 weeks paternity leave but its dependant on the company whether its at £112 per week (same as maternity pay) or full pay. So best for him to check on that one

Again with the nursery scheme its worth checking with his company but usually you can buy child care vouchers without paying tax and national insurance on that amount (I think), therefore making the childcare a bit cheaper. You can also get assiatance from working families tax credit towards childcare costs.

As far as kitting out for the baby I would look around local charity shops and freecycle the amount of things i have given away that where almost perfect condition and it saves on postage! Also dependant on our friends and family I was told not to buy any clothes for baby as I'd get loads as gifts, I didn't listen though and ended up having to change some of the clothes for bigger sizes!! Just get a few staple bits like body suits, sleepsuits and a couple of outfits and you can get more if you need it.

Re-usable nappies: I really wanted to use these on Charlie but he's 13 weeks and I've not done so yet! He's being breastfed and the state he gets some of his clothes into I really don't want to be trying to get that out of nappies at the moment!! Once he's on solids I will probably convert as it'll be easier then.

Sorry I do rabbit on a bit sometimes!! But hope that helps a bit
Claire

MrsW82

Hi Melt71!

OH and I were also having the whole reuse Vs. Disposables debate, and have bought some of the Mothercare own brand "Smartnappy" - it's one of the cheaper "starter" sets (£40 for the set) - AND they can be used in either a fully re-use or partially disposable way...which not knowing whether we'll get on with re-usables, I thought it was a good idea (and not too costly should I hate them!)

I've washed everything through (as advised by the leaflet), and it all looks pretty simple and practical enough...
Although saying that, we haven'r used them yet.....:rotfl:

MrsW82

PS - I was advised by the Pharmasist (sp?) in Lloyds when I picked up the Bounty pack not to get all the free samples too soon, otherwise some of the best before dates run out before the big day...just a thought!

melt71

Thank you so much for the lovely welcome! I have gone through the site and found info on nappies and the voucher scheme so that was a great help, but I think as with all things relating to babies it's helpful to hear how other people got on iyswim.

We haven't even decided if we are going to put the baby into a nursery yet, we certainly won't be doing it every day but we may need to once a week from 9 months onwards. Other than that we are hoping to work out our hours so that either me or OH can stay at home with the baby and the other one be at work. Not sure if this will work though :eek: I'm the main wage earner so I can't afford to give up work completely. I may reduce my hours slightly though if I can convince my boss he can cope without me for a few hours less a week!

I have pretty much decided to go for reusable nappies but don't know which ones yet. I've seen them on ebay from about £20 and they are unused which is great value but I'm waiting until someone recommends a brand and I'll take it from there.

I'm even more confused about the paternity leave now! He started his new job officially yesterday and during his induction they told him that he would be entitled to 2 weeks paternity leave and mentioned £190 (he may have got that figure wrong as he had a lot to take in yesterday). I'm already 20 weeks so I'm not sure what they mean as this figure isn't the government figure but it's less than his normal wage
Anyway, I'm sure when he gets a chance he will ask them again and all will be revealed. They seem much more on the ball than my place of work who don't even know how to work out what they are paying me yet!

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

Curious_George_2

melt71 wrote: »

I'm looking on ebay which has loads of stuff but for things like clothes bundles the postage is massive!

Hi (and congrats!)

Initially i thought the same as you, the postage for bundles etc IS a lot of money, but let me put it into perspective for you,
have a look at the cost of individual outfits in baby shops.... for instance... (now this is the anti christ of money saving and im sure someone will tut at me but i dont care!) we bought our little boys 'coming home from hospital outfit' from mothercare, its a classic pooh 3 piece thing, with cord trousers, a beautiful long sleeve top and a fleece lined gilet jacket thing and its the most gorgeous outfit ever... it cost ............ £18!!!!
but it was for a special day and we both fell in love with it (and we had bought everything else we needed by that point but were still feeling the need to buy stuff!)

and on the other hand, i also bought a newborn bundle from ebay, the clothes actually only cost about £5, but the postage was £15,
the bundle had probably 10+ outfits, some seperates, 20 or so vests, bibs, socks, pram shoes, scratch mitts, hats... basically everything for near enough the same money as that ONE outfit!

so my advice is to have a look at the average price of a few normal outfits, say at toys r us or mothercare, boots, woolworths etc.....the postage doesnt seem so bad now does it!

Bun

Hi CG, glad you and Danny are ok - he's gorgeous. And well done Alias OMega, Edward is lovely!

Hi Melt71! To add to CG's points, I have bought some gorgeous large bundles from ebay, and have literally saved hundreds of pounds. Some clothes are unworn, and and all have to be washed, folded and packed, which judging by the time it took me to get things back in the box once I've inspected them, takes ages. Also the boxes are heavier than you think, and the last time I bought a bundle, the cost of the box and postage and obviously the trip to the post office, was actually a little over what I was charged. It's economical like this, just watch for seller's standard charges for only a couple of items, as this works out dearer. I actually gave up on charity shops as although I like to support them, they now seem so expensive they really arent' good on small children's items. I can buy a babygrow cheaper in a pack soemwhere else quite frankly, which is a shame. Oh, and welcome!

chocaholic110

Hear, hear on the ebay stuff. I bought two huge bundles - each bundle was £40 + £15 postage. They are mostly Next stuff, loads unworn and lots still with tags. Each bundle had a least 2 Next suitsuits in them and one had a Disney Store three piece outfit. Goodness knows what that would have cost new. Plus loads of other outfits, sleepsuits, vests etc. The woman I bought them off obviously loved buying clothes and her baby hadn't had time to wear most of them. Altogether I think we got 130 items for £90 - all fab quality and all gorgeous. With my first two I was a bit snobby about 2nd hand clothes, but then there was no ebay in those days, and now I just think, well the baby won't know they're second hand. There's also the possibility of selling them again when I'm finished with them (as I have so much I bet my baby only wears them once too!)

Bun

Oh CG, just to let you know that we have finally decided to go for a 4D scan, so I have mine on 14th December when I will be 30 weeks. Am really looking forward to it as we have some quite upsetting family stuff before and after that and it will be really good to be able to bond further with her. And also confirm that she is actually a she. If she isn't I don't mind but for varying reasons don't need to know on the day!