oh dear! need to make major cutbacks...

melt71

I'm 33 weeks pregnant and due to start maternity leave in March. I will get the basic SMP only.

Things were kinda under control, it wasn't a surprise pregnancy and we had a budget worked out for the rest of 2008 (I will have to return to work in Dec 08 when the SMP payments stop).

However, my partner has been placed on emergency tax and even though we've tried to resolve it 3 times by ringing the tax office - they say 'ok we'll sort it and you'll get a rebate through your wages' and then place him back on code BR! :mad: This month he was due to get a rebate of approx £360 in his wages, but now it looks like he won't get anything AND will have to pay 22% tax.

The tax credits have also cocked up our payments which I had relied on within our budget, they haven't paid us anything until £75 this week - now they are saying our payments are going to jump up to approx £350 a month (that's not right either as it's way too much so they'll be asking for it back!!) :rolleyes:

I'm so fed up with all this worry, luckily I've managed to get pretty much everything we need baby wise from freecycle/2nd hand or bargains on ebay including all my reusable nappies, a decent pram and a nearly new crib. I have enough baby clothes to last until she is 12 months old! This is my 2nd child so I am under no illusions about needing everything brand new! Been there, done that 10 years ago

Sorry to ramble I actually posted because I needed some advice about how to clean the upholstry on the pram - which is the best way to do this? The pram itself is in really good condition, but it's grubby. Any ideas?

Also, I have loads of cotton bottom nappies (prefolds), a nappy bucket, a few wraps, a few fleece liners and lots of disposible liners. Am I missing anything? I've not had a chance to practice using them and don't want to find out that they are impossible when the baby arrives as disposible nappies are not in our budget!!

ANY advice of how to manage on practically no money with a new baby in tow would be most welcome as this is really starting to worry me now.

Thanks

squeaky

Oh dear.

Anyway, help with the pram...

- Buggy / Pushchair - how to clean a child's buggy?
- Musty pram
- Pram covers - mold and mildew after storage

I'm sure others will be along with advice on the nappies etc soon.

Good luck

purpleivy

melt71 wrote: »

I'm 33 weeks pregnant and due to start maternity leave in March. I will get the basic SMP only.

Things were kinda under control, it wasn't a surprise pregnancy and we had a budget worked out for the rest of 2008 (I will have to return to work in Dec 08 when the SMP payments stop).

However, my partner has been placed on emergency tax and even though we've tried to resolve it 3 times by ringing the tax office - they say 'ok we'll sort it and you'll get a rebate through your wages' and then place him back on code BR! :mad: This month he was due to get a rebate of approx £360 in his wages, but now it looks like he won't get anything AND will have to pay 22% tax.

The tax credits have also cocked up our payments which I had relied on within our budget, they haven't paid us anything until £75 this week - now they are saying our payments are going to jump up to approx £350 a month (that's not right either as it's way too much so they'll be asking for it back!!) :rolleyes:

I'm so fed up with all this worry, luckily I've managed to get pretty much everything we need baby wise from freecycle/2nd hand or bargains on ebay including all my reusable nappies, a decent pram and a nearly new crib. I have enough baby clothes to last until she is 12 months old! This is my 2nd child so I am under no illusions about needing everything brand new! Been there, done that 10 years ago

Sorry to ramble I actually posted because I needed some advice about how to clean the upholstry on the pram - which is the best way to do this? The pram itself is in really good condition, but it's grubby. Any ideas?

Also, I have loads of cotton bottom nappies (prefolds), a nappy bucket, a few wraps, a few fleece liners and lots of disposible liners. Am I missing anything? I've not had a chance to practice using them and don't want to find out that they are impossible when the baby arrives as disposible nappies are not in our budget!!

ANY advice of how to manage on practically no money with a new baby in tow would be most welcome as this is really starting to worry me now.

Thanks

If they over pay you, then put the extra into a high interest savings account straight away! you might as well make something from their error!

melt71

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

I am going to have a go at cleaning the pram on the next dry/sunny day with a mixture of soda crystals vinegar and any other OS things I can think of to throw in the mix! Possibly stardrops?

I've gone through the search facility and I cant seem to find any threads about having an OS baby including advice about reusable nappies - can anybody tell me where I'm going wrong. When I do a search it comes up with lots of answers but not necessarily specific to my search words!

Thanks again.

kazmeister

Have you thought about borrowing a steam cleaner and doing it outside on a dry day, the temperature of the steam will kill any bugs as well

the_cat

Hi

I think most of the tips for OS/cheap baby ideas will be on the Marriages Families and Relashionships Board - have you looked over there?

squeaky

Here ya go, this thread is very helpful

Having a baby OS style???


Other help:-

We're having an OS baby, any advice?

melt71

kazmeister wrote: »

Have you thought about borrowing a steam cleaner and doing it outside on a dry day, the temperature of the steam will kill any bugs as well

It's not moldy or anything like that, it's just a bit grubby! I didn't really know what I could/couldn't use on pram material but I suppose as they go out in all weathers making it very wet a giving it a good scrub won't do it any harm or damage it.

Will a steam cleaner clean off dirt without any detergent?

melt71

the_cat wrote: »

Hi

I think most of the tips for OS/cheap baby ideas will be on the Marriages Families and Relashionships Board - have you looked over there?

No I haven't been on there for ages, I'll go have a snoop now.



Thanks Squeaky (again!) for the links. I managed to find one of them by putting in 'reusable nappies' rather than OS baby.

otterspasm

I have used reusable nappies with both of my boys...second boy is 10 months and still in them:D. They are very easy really once you have a routine. This is mine... Mornings I rinse out yesterdays nappies in the sink and pop them in the washer. Then swill and re-fill nappy bucket with water and dessertspoon of nappy soak. (This takes about 10 minutes) Once that is done the nappies just need putting into the bucket and pushing down under the liquid each time I change him. Disposable nappy liners mean solids just go straight in the loo.:rolleyes:

I also (to save money on baby wipes) cut up old towels into big hanky sizes and run one under the warm tap before changing him. Much nicer than a cold baby wipe for baby too! This can then just go into the nappy bucket with the nappies and can be put in the wash with them...I give it a swill in the loo if necessary:o.

This might sound like a lot but it only takes about 10 minutes a day more than disposables and saves sooooo much money.

PS the towels I cut up were bought really cheaply from a car boot sale.

All the best of luck with it all and congratulations on the new baby,

melt71

Thanks Tess, I intend to use cheap facecloths for babywipes, I've got brown for bums and white for face!! I don't want to use babywipes or any other products with chemicals in for health reasons as my older daughter had serious problems caused by the chemicals in wipes/babybath etc. So I'm very determined to do it right this time and not only for OS reasons, although with the financial situation the way it is we don't have much choice but to cut back.

Thanks again, Mel