help with buying baby items????

[deliriousdee2012]

i only found out yesterday that the goverment had scrapped the sure start maternity grant last year if you already have other children under 16, i have 2 boys & i already knew about them scrapping the health in pregnancy grant but finding out i couldnt get both now was a bit of a shock. i am due in july and now wish i had started saving sooner than i did, but wanted to know if there is any other help out there??
many thanks

Nope, you'll get your additional CHB when the baby is born but no.

Sorry if it comes over as harsh though but surely being able to afford stuff is something you think about when you get pregnant (planned or not) not half way down the line and relying on a handout from the government kind of counts as not being able to afford it.

Anyway, in practical terms, you can buy all the clothes your baby will need from a charity shop for under £10. You can start stocking up on nappies by buying a pack a month or by starting to hunt around for some second hand cloth nappies. Keep an eye open in charity shops for stuff like cribs and cots and pushchairs, they come up pretty often around here. Failing that ikea do a decent, very cheap cot and for later down the line their £10 highchair is the best highchair in the world. So you can easily get sorted for well under £100.

have you checked facebook for local groups selling used baby stuff. You can get some great bargains on there. I had my third a couple of weeks ago and didn't really start getting stuff till after Christmas was out of the way...and even then, have got by with a lot less stuff than with the other two! Asda seems to be one of the cheapest places for vests and babygros and Aldi nappies are very good for the price. My pram was £40 off ebay. I bought a baby bjorn sling (£50 new) for £1.50 in a charity shop the other day. You still have time to get some bargains! Ikea highchair is fab. (we got the surestart grant for DC2 but not for this one)