Livin’ on fumes...

MallyGirl

Avogirly wrote: »

Hi MallyGirl

Thanks for your input. I had read that it may be tricky when baby is first here, so I was thinking along the same lines as you with regards to using disposables at the start, and then once all is settled down then moving onto reusables.

Did you wait till baby was here to choose the brand of reusables? I don't want to buy a set and then find they are not suitable or baby doesn't like them.

I was lucky and there was a local firm with twinkle in the name but I actually just chose what my friend was already using - no great science applied to selection
There is also a second hand market for reusable nappies - not to everyone's taste but I sold all the decent looking ones on when DD stopped needing them. I don't think ebay lets you list them any more but there will be plenty on FB selling pages/gumtree etc.

Babies have no real say in their lives - that comes later, says the Mum to a 12 yr old :rotfl:

daisystar

Avogirly wrote: »

Hi daisystar.

Thanks for stopping by! I am really looking forward to hearing all about your thoughts on all thing baby, it's a mine field out there! I don't want to get sucked into spending £££ on things that I just don't need. My problem is at the moment I don't know what I need or don't need!!!!!

Isn't it funny, that although I have been trying (or think I'm trying) to get debt free, it's not till now and being pregnant that I'm really on a mission with it!

Catch up later. xxx

I know! I didn't even really get on a mission with it when I was pregnant first time, it was sometime last year when I had a big realisation that I want to give him (and the new one) loads of different experiences and if I didn't get sorted then I would be so much more limited.


I also agree about trying to differentiate between things that you need and things that the shops want to sell you, everyone has different opinions on things but as long as you really consider each purchase - and maybe ask friends/on here too - then I'll bet you'll be grand


Now, nappies...... I was just thinking, there are sooooo many different ones out there that there is too much to say all at once, but here are a few pointers to start with:

• I personally didn't start straight away because of the icky poo issues others have mentioned. I think 3 months old is a good starting point, I have friends who have never used a disposable but I think its quite sensible to wait.
• Washing isn't too bad at all, it takes a week or two to figure out your routine but then you are away
• In addition to all the other bits of the nappies you'll read about you always need to use a liner, there are flushable and washable liners. Which one you use is down to personal preference (I use fleece which are washable), and they are all super cheap so you could buy both kinds to try them out.
• There are a few different types of nappy set up: 2 parters, pockets and all-in-one (AIO). 2 parters involve a soft nappy and waterproof wrap and are great for night time. You can also put boosters in for extra absorbancy.
• Pocket nappies involve a 'shell' with a space where you can fit the boosters inside to bulk it up as you need (the nappy comes with the boosters when you buy it). You then take out the boosters for washing. These are great for daytime because they're easy and quick to fit and they generally wash and dry quickly.
• AIOs are the easiest as you don't have to add any extra boosters, but they take longer to dry.
• Nappies in general all usually either come with Velcro or popper fastening and again this is personal preference as to which to go with, I prefer poppers but I have a friend who wouldn't touch them
• Nappies can be sized, eg size 1 for little babies size 2 for when they are heavier, or one-size which you would adjust as the baby grows.
• They are often made from microfiber which is absorbent and dries quickly, but you can get bamboo ones which absorb even more and are great for night times/heavy wetters.

Phew!! Think that's probably enough for now eh?! So as an example my personal preference is a poppered, one-size pocket nappy with a fleece liner for day, and a 2-part sized nappy with bamboo boosters and a fleece liner for night. Clear as mud???!!! :rotfl: If you google 'real nappy week' I think its in April this year, sign up for all the newsletters and you'll start to find the websites that give info and offers. I should stop now, I honestly could go on for ever on this subject, sorry if I've overwhelmed you!!!

Avogirly

Wow daisystar, that is amazing. I'll have a proper read tomorrow when I'm more awake, but I wanted to post to thank you so much. This is great. Xx

Avogirly

Hi Daisystar. Many thanks for your epic post. I will print it out to digest over the weekend. Plenty to think about there.

In money saving news I received by payment on my freelance work. This has gone towards making a payment to FD. This has now got the total outstanding down to £1230.57. The rest will go towards my Lloyds payment which comes out of my account on the 10th. I have redone my spreadsheet and am comfortable till the end of the month now.

I have decided to set myself a target of getting under £13k by the beginning of April. My current debt is £13,680.15. There is a payment to Lloyds of £367 to come out. Which means that I need to find about £320 between now and April 1st. There are 24 days left in March (not counting today) which means I need to find £13/day. This means I will be ebaying/amazoning like mad again! Husband is away from next Friday for 8 days which means I will really be able to knuckle down and list loads of stuff.

Toomuchdebt

I used reusables for 4 of my children-and part time for the other 2.I had to use them full time with child no 3 as she was allergic to disps-came up in a bleeding (literally) rash every time. I found resuables great and had all sorts-I used poppers, velcro, inserts, ones that you fasten with a nappy nippa...all kinds.For night time I used fleece or wool wraps and never ever had a nappy rash.Had the odd leaky nappy but then again I did with disps too.I used to use them when out and about too, and always had comments on how cool they were from other mums. My favourites were fuzzibunz(the ones you put an insert in) and daisy(not made any more) and various independent brands.I liked the motherease covers but wasn't as keen on the nappies.I found the nappies with velcro or ones that you do up with a nappy nippa much more adjustable.
I must get on and sell mine actually LOL.

Avogirly

Thanks Toomuchdebt, that's really useful. Did you think that you saved money using reusuables?

daisystar

No worries It was epic wasn't it?!


You've got so much time to look and its worth trying to find a nappy agent in your area who can demo some different types. In also just thought about wipes, after initially being horrified by the thought we switched to reuseable wipes a while ago, and LOVE them!! We only use them in the house but they're so much better and work out tonnes cheaper, the main brand is cheeky wipes.


I'm impressed with your target for the start of April - good luck!!

Avogirly

So my payment to the Lloyds loan came out yesterday. This means that my figures have been updated and the total outstanding is £13,361.25. I paid off another £19.40 to my FD cc today and this should show tomorrow. So I still need to pay off £340.85 by the end of the month if I want to get under £13k. It's going to be really tough, but I'm hoping that a good run on eBay is going to help.

I need to work on my spreadsheets a bit more. The current account one is great and working really well, but the debt payment one has got a bit confusing. I think it's because the current AC one works on 27-27 of the month (when I get paid) but the debt one goes 1-31 of the month (if that makes sense!!).

The spending diary works really well and I have kept that up to date for the last 6 weeks, so it feels like a habit now to fill in the outstanding balances each day.

Bump is growing. I'm still fitting in all my normal clothes which is great and hopefully will continue for a while. I am desperate not to have to buy too many maternity clothes as I just don't want to spend the money!

All else is looking on track and I am really excited at the level of debt slaying I am doing! I really hope I can keep this up as it's making me feel soooooo good!!!!!

jwil

You are doing really well!

I'm another who uses cloth (not so much now I'm back at work as my nursery won't deal with them ) and I preferred the pocket nappies or all in one. You can buy pocket nappies cheaply on ebay or amazon and they are good. Of the bigger brands I liked Fuzzi bunz, bambino mio, tots bots and itti bitti.

It can definitely be cheaper than disposables (unless you get a funky cloth nappy habit ) and the savings are increased if you keep them for a second/third child! I never used liners in mine, I found them more of a faff. Just made sure they were well rinsed and put them out on the line to dry and sun bleach as often as I could.

With regards to other stuff for the baby, unless you are miles from civilisation, I wouldn't buy too much to start with.

We only bought/given:
Sleepsuits and vests
Nappies (we had enough coupons/samples to cover the first few weeks in disposables)
Moses basket, blankets etc
Car seat (new)
Sling (I used this all the time in and out of the house and still do)
Travel system (second hand, and didn't use as I used the sling instead)
Toiletries (using samples and coupons)
Pack of ready made formula bottles (I BF but had these in in case of problems)

Once little jwil was here, I bought anything else as and when I needed it.

I didn't buy a baby bath, we used (and still do often) the kitchen sink (much easier on the back) or got in the big bath with him.

Changing nappies - just a towel on the floor or the bed rather than a changing mat.

I use a lidded tub and milton when I wanted to sterilise anything rather than an electric steriliser.

I found that so many things I thought I would need, I didn't, and then it was easier to choose certain things when baby was here and you could see what suits rather than guess in advance.

There's nothing wrong with being prepared though if you are more comfortable with that.

kindofagilr

Hey avogirly how are you getting on with your target?

I finally did a diary yay lol xx