Expecting baby

arbrighton

penguingirl wrote: »

Yep another who went straight to midwife.

And in terms of saving money- I'm nearly 27 weeks and not bought anything yet so don't feel you have to rush! Buy own brand folic acid, it's very cheap. Join boots baby club and you get sent a voucher for some.

And vitamin D

SmlSave

Something that worked really well for me was living like my wage was already the statutory maternity pay straight away and saving the rest. It meant the loss of wages wasn't a shock and actually set us up to enable me to become a part-time worker.

Baby's don't need to cost a lot ££££ most stuff is just marketing. Keep them warm, fed and loved and you'll be fine.

Let people know that you're happy taking hand-me-downs/second hand stuff and you'll be amazed at what you get offered (in five years I've not had to buy clothes yet apart from gloves)

Breastfeeding is free, find your local NCT people for help. I could not have fed my first without them. In fact the NCT classes were worth every penny and we still support them.

Co-sleeping, cloth nappies, slings, baby led weaning etc can save money too if any of them feel right for you.

anmarj

I have been the opposite on the sleeping front since bean arrived! I suffered badly with insomnia before becoming pregnant and during pregnancy. Since he came my sleeping pattern has got so much better, even after early morning feeds, I would go back to sleep, awoken briefly by hubby's alarm going off and then conked back out again till mid morning when bean woke up. I use to think that hubby was still in bed as I be convinced only half hour had passed since alarm going off, and me falling asleep.

GwylimT

arbrighton wrote: »

And vitamin D

But remember you only need supplements if you have a deficiency, otherwise it is a waste of time.

motorguy

DAVID_WARKS wrote: »

Thanks for the replies so far. Motorguy your link doesnt appear to be working.

!!!!!!.

Heres the list

https://www.quick-break.net/c/2013/06/04/Pregnancy_and_Women_Questions_Answers.jpeg

arbrighton

GwylimT wrote: »

But remember you only need supplements if you have a deficiency, otherwise it is a waste of time.

no, actually Vit D is recommended for all pregnant women with good foundation.

And at three quid for 180, far more mse than the horse pill pregnancy vitamins which ARE generally unnecessary

FreddieFrugal

We've got a nearly 5 month old son, our first.

I would also not start buying anything until after 20 weeks

Apart from essentials like a car seat/somewhere to sleep - we didn't buy anything until we needed it. Meant we didn't waste money on things that could well have proven unnecessary.

We bought one pack each of newborn size body suits and sleepsuits, just in case he was born huge. But as it turned out he was little so we had to stock up on more - but that's so easy to do, most supermarkets sell cheap packs of baby clothes.


Don't buy too many clothes - I greatly over estimated the number of 0-3 body suits he would need - realistically could have got away with a 5 pack. We had over 12 and most were only worn a couple of times.

Have a decent number of sleep suits early on - like 5 or 6. Just in case they get reflux and vomit in the crib a lot.

Invest in grobags - sleeping bags - the supermarket/IKEA own ones are just as good as the GroBag branded ones but can be had for a tenner. Theyre easier than blankets, can't be kicked off and we also found he slept much better as soon as we started using them as they must feel more secure/cosy. Like being swaddled. Not suitable til they're over 8lb though I think.


For cleaning baby during nappy change, I recommend the cheap twin packs of cotton wool pads you can get from aldi. They're cheaper than bags of cotton wool balls, much easier to use as you get a decent surface area to wipe with and they don't leave cotton fluff all over his bits.

We use Aldi nappies. They're much better than others we've tried and very reasonably priced.



Babies don't have to be expensive! In fact our actual outgoings now during Mat leave are lower than before we had a baby - less fuel in car as OH at home (and we haven't been doing our usual long weekend trips- mostly walking everywhere - it's just easier!) the only extra regular expense is gas and electric - with OH and baby being at home over winter + packs of nappies and cotton wool pads.

Currently we're buying boxes of nappies that last about 2 weeks and cost less than £6 so it's not a huge cost.

Formula on the other hand is expensive (intention was to breastfeed but that wasn't possible due to medical complications)

Price of that has gone up by over 5% since we he was born. Cost 8.90 per carton which lasts about 5 days at the moment - nearly 2 weeks early on.


However these costs are basically covered by child benefit - so he's really not costing us very much at all.


The biggest hit is obviously the loss of some income during maternity/parental leave. We're lucky that OH has relatively generous maternity pay that's far better than the statutory minimum, but we'll still be having months of having to dip into savings a bit as she's taking as much time as she can (including unpaid).

Worth making sure you've got enough in savings to cover any emergencies during that time

enthusiasticsaver

I would not rush out to buy stuff. Nearer the due date invest in a pram/car seat and something for baby to sleep in. People generally buy you gifts when baby is born and they grow so quickly. My granddaughter was born a month early and we ended up doing supermarket, mothercare trips just after she was born to get the extra small size clothes so everything wasn't hanging off her. Now she is 18 months old she is in age 2 clothes Congratulations and enjoy.

Biggest cost is loss of income while your OH is on maternity leave and childcare costs should she return to work after the baby is born. Good things to do before she goes on maternity leave is work out what her maternity pay will be and try to live off just your income and the maternity pay for the next 6 months or so. Save the difference (assuming you have no debt).

penguingirl

Thought of another tip- I've bought maternity clothes off ebay and the quality has been good, and I've got work dresses etc. for about a fiver each. I guess most people haven't worn them much by the time they come to sell on.

Fireflyaway

Cool news congratulations! I agree with the other posters not to buy too many clothes or fancy equipment that you can easily manage without. Don't feel you need to clothes shop in baby shops. You can save tons by buying clothes in supermarkets. Just as nice and probably 50% cheaper. Same goes for maternity wear.
Do a budget too. Will your wife go back to work? What will the maternity pay be? What will childcare cost etc? Never too soon to make a plan! For most people the baby costs are not to be found in the buying of accessories but the drop in earnings and onset of childcare.