Money Saving Pregnancy/Baby Diary...

pigpen

I was not given or gifted anything after mine arrived so don't rely on that, especially if it is not your first child.. people just assume you already have everything you need I think.

I bought 9 sleepsuits in the Next sale after Christmas.. (3 packs of 3) .. 10 sleepsuits (2 packs of 5) knitted a few cardies.. that was my shopping done.. I don't bother putting mine in 'clothes' until they are weaning usually.. sleepsuits are perfectly adequate and comfy too.. nothing worse than seeing tiny babies crushed into inflexible fabrics .. it's one of my things.. I have a few things!

I bought 3 packs of muslins in the M&P sale still on 3-4-2 as my daughter still uses my old ones.

The bath is onto baby number 6, the basket the same.. we have different mattresses for different families with the names written on.

We do a fair bit of motorway driving so a decent car seat was an absolute must.. Besafe Go.. she will go into the bigger Besafe Izi Kid in a couple of months, it is suitable from birth but she is tiny and I'm not comfortable with her in it right now. She is the 3rd baby to use it so definitely worth the £150ish we paid.

I use the pushchair constantly so I do tend to go all out on those.. I don't do the whole 3-4 pushchairs per child, I buy one and use it until they are walking independently or they break.. about 3 years usually. If they break I sell as parts.. if they are outgrown I send to the charity shop or the womens shelter or the hospital.. they use them for sick babies as sometimes they settle better in a pushchair.

I bought 1 pack of nappies before she arrived.. they were too big so we bought smaller ones since she arrived.. using around 1 pack a week of micro/size 0 at the moment. Mothercare is cheapest this week. and their wipes are on a decent offer too.. £7.49 for 12 packs of pampers wipes.. I can't use the super cheap ones. If wipes get dry just add water.. they are dry because the water evaporated.

I feel like a total skinflint now lol. It is a standing joke in our family that I never pay full price for anything and will haggle in tesco.. (I did that in pixifoto and mothercare this week, and haggling saved me £400 on my pushchair!.. I am shameless)

sweetilemon

I always did wonder that about if people stop buying gifts after the first pigpen. We were totally over run with gifts and if we got the same again I really wouldn't have room!! I agree the next sleepsuits were my fave. It is one of those my baby has on now. They looked really comfy and had little cuffs that folded over as mitts.

pigpen

I was bought clothing after the first 2, but that was because they were different genders.. People do love buying for baby girls! My sister bought an outfit for the last 3 but hasn't even seen small yet.. (I removed her from my facebook, she hasn't even asked why or seen me since January.)

Ooh.. while I think on it.. ban stuffed toys from day -200... they are space hogging bits of germ riddled fluff.. one or 2 is fine but they get so many!

I never cover their hands Sweet.. they use them for comfort sucking and exploring and learning at this stage. I have used the fold over bits as mittens when I've had winter babies to keep them warm but never routinely.

jackyann

Don't buy a breast pump (except for a very specific reason). Many mums never express at all; for the odd occasion, hand expressing is fine (and many prefer this to pumps). Should you need a pump in an emergency, there are loan schemes.
Don't buy a load of bottle feeding gear unless you KNOW you are going to need it. If you are a nervous breast feeder, then get one or two in.

Think hard about prams, pushchairs etc. Many parents use them rarely, and use slings most of the time.

Playmats & similar not necessary - a clean blanket or towel to lie on; to look at - toys, home made mobiles, or anything that will amuse.

Bathe in a clean bowl or similar for a few weeks, then put in the bath when it's being run for someone else.

sweetilemon

I wish I had bought my breast pump a bit earlier, I knew I'd need one in the hospital so ordered it online but when she had jaundice and was really sleepy I had to send my parents out to get another ASAP as the one I ordered hadn't arrived, I didn't get the hospital one until the next day. If I didn't have it I would have had to do a lot of hand pumping (don't think I could have kept up! ) or would have given in and changed to formula. I suppose it's something that if you order late on in pregnancy you could take it back if you never need it. I just thought I'd be using it for convince when out and about, so wouldnt need it straight away, didn't realise I would need it to stick to breastfeeding if my baby was too sleepy to latch.

Pigpen I agree with leaving their little hands free to move the majority of the time. I'd just use the mitts if she was hurting herself by scratching her face and eyes or her hands were waving around when we were outside in the pram getting chilly (we live in Scotland - pretty cold even in march).

pigpen

I used my breast pump loads.. I'd pump in the morning to feed at bed time when we were all tired or I was busy, I used a little several times a day to mix gaviscon for my refluxy ones and I froze it to mix with baby slop when they got a bit bigger. Hand expressing I find painful and laborious and a pump is so much easier for me.

I use my pushchair for 3 school runs a day, shopping, days out and haven't used a sling for the last 6 children.

Definitely look at your personal circumstances before making any expensive purchase. Borrowing some big items is great because you can give them back when you've finished with them rather than storing them for the next one ... We have several boxes of baby clothes and bedding which gets boxed up, put in the loft and saved for whoever has a child next.

Kynthia

If you can borrow or buy an inexpensive pump beforehand then you have it ready when you need it. I had a jaundiced baby that wouldn't wouldn't latch and then wouldn't feed when suddenly my milk came in and I had to send OH out for what he could get at whatever shop was open. Not very MSE and was stressful.

I'd also say that the majority of people use pushchairs of some kind and only a minority carry. I think I read that carriers were many people's most wasted item. I did enjoy carrying my daughter so i'm not dissuading people but I think perhaps people buy something that isn't suited to them and would really benefit from.a sling library or trying as many carriers as they can before buying. It's worth looking at secondhand travel systems and buying a new car seat to go with it, as you save a fortune and a new one looks secondhand after a couple of months of being chucked in the boot repeatedly.

I also found the floor mat was one of my most used items as until she could sit up at 6 months it was one of tge only fun and entertaining things for her.

I never bothered with a baby bath and just used our bath with an inexpensive baby rest. However those that had cesareans found they couldn't bend that low, but baby baths are so easy to get secondhand for virtually nothing so you don't need to buy new or use a washing up bowl.

A lot of people sell or give away moses basket or cribs and they only get used for about 4 months. Just buy a new mattress, as that's recommend for every new baby, and save on buying new as they don't wear out. Plus I learnt that travel cots don't vary much between the basic and the fancy. Tge fancy ones may have a bassinet level or built in music system that just make them heavy or are made from fancy materials that mean they're super lightweight. So unless you need those features just get a basic one (and a new mattress of you buy secondhand).

Don't buy cot bumpers a they aren't recommended. Baby sleeping bags are great as the baby can't get their face covered like with a blanket. Tgey can easily be bought secondhand, quite cheaply if you don't go for the Grobag brand. However cellular blankets are fine too as long as you put the baby with their feet by the foot rest of the cot so that they can't shuffle down under the blanket.