Starting a family and being MSE about it!

Justie

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I thought advice was to take other precautions for a while after coming off the pill to let your cycle settle down? Which gives you a couple of months of saving, all being well ...

Good luck.

the only reason to do that is so it's easier to date a pregnancy as you'd have had a natural bleed - there's not any medical reason to do it if your hormones are settled enough to ovulate etc then there's no reason to worry.

Lydia.42

Hi
Firstly good luck. Our first was born just over 6 weeks ago :eek: , and we are just beginning to find our feet - not been on here for a while :rotfl:

I would definitely save up money for now. That way when the little blue line appears you can look more seriously at what you will need, etc, instead of buying lots of baby wipes now that may dry up by the time baby arrives, etc.
Then you can stock up on BOGOF offers closer to the time.

Babies are only as expensive as you make them!!!!!! :rolleyes:
Check out the other threads on here regarding freebies, and signing up to clubs, eg. Tesco and boots baby clubs. You get loads of freebies and also collect points. (I managed to collect almost £50 to spend in Boots with their points, which i am saving for buying baby bits when money gets tighter now my maternity pay has kicked in).

Check out free cycle, e-bay, etc. We managed to get almost everything we needed during the 9 months run up to baby G being born. If you lose a bid on e-bay, you have plenty of time to find what you want again. Don't be tempted to out bid people just 'cos it looks a bargain - check the price of it new too. Check out local charity shops. Buy a new mattress for a second hand cot, etc.

Believe people when they say you will get lots of stuff bought for you. We even had gifts of clothes off neighbours!!!!

Ask for vouchers if people ask what you need (or money). My work colleagues very kindly had a collection and got me mothercare vouchers instead of gifts.

Most importantly when buying a pram/push chair/travel system try it in the shop first. It's great to be able to search on the web for a good deal, but if you can't fit it in the car or lift it, then the money saved is pointless.

Re-usable nappies: buy a few to trial first. I know many people that bought sets for £200-300, only to find they didn't get on with them and ended up selling them on e-bay.

Hope this helps.

inkie

The only things that you need to buy new are a cot matress and a car seat. All the other things are available for free by posting a wanted add on your local freecycle. Depends how much you want to spend! We saved up quite a bit for when i was on mat leave, and didn't spend it and so paid for a conservatory with it instead!

SkintMonkey

Thanks everyone. Sorry about the delay in replying, my computer went peculiar and I couldn't log back on...

dianadors

When we decided to try for our first, we started to put all my wage away and live off just hubby's wage. It was tough, but we did it. It also taught us to start doing without things. It took us 9 months to get pregnant so we put away loads of money and I managed to not return to work for 4 years which was great. I didnt go daft with buying baby things. I got a 2nd hand cot and bought a new mattress. Our parents bought us the pram. We hired a car seat from our local authority who were having a big campaign for this. I bought basics for clothes and after I had my dd used to buy her clothes from a great 2nd hand market stall or in the sales. I borrowed things like a baby bouncer and crib. A lot of my new mummy friends went way overboard buying things, but I think this was more for "status" than anything else. Ive never been one to keep up with the Jones's!!

Fen1

If you are straight off the Pill, your fertility is high NOW, then will drop in a couple of months and go through a lull. It will take another 6 months or so for it to get up again, so if you really want to get pregnant, chain your OH to the bed for the next 8 weeks!

As above: babies are only as expensive as you make them.
THe longer term costs are more expensive, and , quite frankly, more important i.e. education, extra-curricular activities etc. A newborn baby doesn't give a damn if his blanket doesn't match the curtains, but your teenager will care if he can go to university. Giving your child the opportunities to grow into a happy and fullfilled adult is the best gift you can give through your financial prudence.

Mizz_Pink

I have a good book to read, it cost £17.99 but is brilliant and hilarious.

Its called Taking Charge of your Fertility by Toni Weschler, you may be able to buy it 2nd hand off Amazon. It is very useful helping you to understand your fertility and how to chart and also about natural fertility methods.

dianadors

I wouldnt get too stressed about when you are most fertile - The free goes are such fun!!!

gollygosh

how about trying to live on hubbies wages alone. i know it sounds drastic but until you've got that baby in your arms you don't know how you will feel about going back to work afterwards. if you can manage on one wage you'll have the choice and will have saved loads of money up by then! babies really can be quite cheap provided you only buy what they really need and not all the 'nice to have stuff'

SusanCarter

I think there are some good threads in the OS forum about having a baby without spending a fortune. We had a baby recently and so far have spent just under £600. The only things we may still need to buy in her first year are cotton wool, wipes, clothes and a stair gate (which we can hire from SureStart) so I don't expect to spend more than another £100 before she is one. Child benefit alone is nearly £900 in a year and then there's things like Child Tax Credit etc. which mean that currently we've made a "profit" from having a baby. I think it's children rather than babies that cost the money.