Student, pregnant, sinking and in need of help :( *update*

ABetterLife

Valli wrote: »

Like other posters (and unlike some others) I admire your approach to this.

Haven't time to read all the thread BUT you MAY live in an area where there are National Childbirth Trust nearly new sales.

When the Vallikids (and especially the Valligirl) were babies/toddlers I could often get some fantastic clothing s/h for them from there. They also sell equipment.

Good luck with it all!

Thank you! I'll have a look online

And thank you for the support

ABetterLife

bluep wrote: »

NCT sales are great for bargains but beware...there's usually a stampede and a grabathon! I was amazed at the ones I went to - it was worse than the Next sale at 6am

:eek: I think I will go when I don't have my baby with me/in my uterus.

ABetterLife

duchy wrote: »

What a thoroughly unChristian and judgemental post. You might want to think about Matthew 7:1.

I know, right!?

ABetterLife

bluep wrote: »

I don't often get involved in tit for tat posts or call someone out on their behaviour on this forum but....seriously? You took all of that time to type out a point by point response without having anythign much constructive to say? Really sad that having the last word means more to you than trying to help someone in a sticky situation. Do you like saying "I told you so" and "It's your own fault" much?

Given what you've written so far, I'd say no response is a good thing.

I know! Much like that other t_sser. Non constructive, just judgemental and rude. What a horrible attitude to have.

ABetterLife

bluep wrote: »

VEGETABLES!!!

Carrots, peas, brocolli, cauliflower, aubergine, onions, sweetcorn, squash, courgettes, asparagus...they are easy to cook and if you follow what ever is in season, really cheap in local markets/greengrocers or quite often reduced at the big supermarkets if slightly odd shaped or a bit bashed about.

Eat some!

Especially if the baby is going to be eating what you eat when weaned. And fruit too.

You're right *hangs head*

I suspect it will be much easier to motivate myself when she's weaning though. I don't believe in feeding kids crap food, though I know it's just as bad when she's inside me.

ABetterLife

Dazedandconfused wrote: »

I think that if everyone waited until they were financially equipped to have kids most people wouldn't have them. My best friend had her first unplanned baby at 18 and her relationship was very rocky to start with. They are still together though many years later and she is one of the best parents I know so don't listen to the negativity.

I agree. Very few people actually manage to do it the 'proper way'/according to their plans, yet many people manage just fine or are happy.

So you have no oven still? That's not a biggie really

I bet uni food isn't cheap so that's another saving you could make. I think you need to get some more veg in your diet.
If you have no oven I would recommend investing in a slow cooker. You can cook cheap cuts of meat, do loads of different soups/ stews etc and it fits perfectly with laziness cos you might need to brown some things off on your hot plate for a few mins but otherwise it's bung it in and forget about it for a few hours then come back and you've got dinner. You can even cook rice and make puddings in one.

If you got one like this
http://www.wilko.com/slow-cookers/wilko-everyday-value-slow-cooker-15l/invt/0316165?VBMST=Slow%20cooker

Or this one which I have but mine on offer was only £5

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9367847.htm

Some others have suggested I get one of these too. I should get my Nana to teach me how to make caribbean chicken soup. It's amazing :D

You'd make your money back in no time. Also look to invest in a hand blender in the future which will be great for making baby food. You can get very cheap and cheerful ones but they do the job.

Definitely always been on my to buy list, although I will be incorporating baby lead weaning (cutting up small bits of food and letting her feed herself).

If you are looking at eating more veg frozen veg is what I'd go for.
Spinach, peppers, green beans, peas are all much more economic frozen than fresh and keep longer obviously.

You can fill your slow cooker and freeze portions. You can even make shepherds pie in it

http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotgroundbeef/r/bl115c3.htm

When I did my masters and didn't have a second loan so was really broke I used to make soups and take them to uni in a flask.

Not a bad idea but unfortunately only one of our campus' has a microwave

Also I know it sounds obvious but for me eating healthily really improves your state of mind as well.

Most definitely! I lost three stone March 2012 and was eating much better (still not super healthy but MUCH better and was cooking a lot more) and being more active. I was still struggling with my depression and anxiety but I just felt so much better in my health and in myself. I plan to go back to it when I have her. My Fitness Pal was my biggest help and I still have most of the friends from then on there still

..............................

ABetterLife

DragonQ wrote: »

Definitely make food in batches. 200 g of pasta (12p), 1/3 of a jar of sauce (13p), salami (£1.50) and 160 g of frozen vegetables (16p) makes me one dinner and two lunches. 64p per meal if you use the cheap supermarket branded stuff and rather healthy (replacing the salami with ham or other meat would make it even better), plus you save on cooking electricity/gas costs by making three meals instead of one.

That's actually what I used to do when I was on a healthy/weightloss journey and it was so useful! I used to just cook in batches to take into work. Kept me on track and saved a lot of money. I need to kickstart myself back into it.

ABetterLife

terra_ferma wrote: »

This must been the nastiest posts I've seen for a while.
Telling someone they should have an abortion because they are experiencing financial difficulties is callous.
You probably have no idea what having an abortion means to the woman making that decision. I'm sure there are many women who have an abortion for very good reasons, know it's the right choice for them, and still wonder many years later what the child would have been like.
Telling someone they should abort their first child, when they clearly feel it's not what they want, can only be defined as nasty.
Financial troubles in most cases are just temporary, a baby is lost forever.
(I must add that god has nothing to do with my way of thinking, and that I think every woman has the right to make her own decision, it's not up to other people telling her if she should have the baby or not.).

This. Life is priceless.

ABetterLife

Dazedandconfused wrote: »

I think it's worth keeping basics sauces in but you don't really need them.
For example you could make a simple chilli very cheaply

I would put in mine
1 small onion
1 or 2 carrots ( depending on what I have in) chopped like sticks
1 x can of kidney beans
1 x tin or carton of chopped tomatoes
1 x handful of chopped frozen peppers
Any other random veg I have to use up I like celery in chilli or green beans
1 x handful of red lentils
Add in about a tablespoon of chilli, some mixed herbs if you leave them in


Soften the onions slightly first then bung everything else in and a bit if extra water - cook on hob for 20 mins or so.
That would do me 4 portions or 3 if I was feeling piggy and you can eat with rice, add cheese and we've on jacket potato, put with salad on pitta bread or wrap and eat for lunch

If you don't have one already it's a good idea to build up a spice collection
My essentials are chilli powder, cumin, mixed herbs, cinnamon, ginger and turmeric - you can just buy one spice every other shop and you'll soon have a variety

Thanks

I used to have a lot of spices but lost most of them in the course of moving. I do however always have garlic, onions, stock and mixed spices in my cupboard though.

ABetterLife

dktreesea wrote: »

OP, I think you need to up your income. If you could get proper broadband, it would be cheaper, from the sounds of it, than your Ipad contract. You could maybe do surveys. Clixsense also sounds good as do Research Opinions. Not so sure about surveys on YouGov. I have never made it to the £50 needed to cash out and have been doing it for years. It might only generate £10 to £20 a week, but it all adds up.

Hopefully I can get that sorted next month. I'm thinking as well, if I can pay off my iPad contract early and gtfo of it

I've just started the surveys. They're super annoying when they're about stuff you don't care about, or when you get rejected from them though, haha.