Any recommendations for baby stuff?

[BlurpTheImpala]

Am 12 weeks pregnant with my first baby. OH and I were thinking about cost of baby stuff and that it might be good idea to ask for vouchers for somewhere for Christmas/birthdays to help cover the costs. Does anyone have any recommendations for the best place for all-round baby stuff?

mothercare, reasonable prices (esp when on offer),m&p is alot more expensive but i bought my pushchair from there and got a good deal

I found John Lewis really good.

You probably still will but.... dont buy the stuff you dont really need or buy the best of everything that you are only going to use for a matter of weeks lol

I am really the kettle here callig the pot black ( if thats the way it goes )

I spent soooo much money when i wa pregnant with DD and am talking silly money!
Only to sell it for pittence or give it away as i dont have a lot of stoage space.

Anyway this tim round it ill be so differnt not because we dont have the money becaue we do just because i learnt last time.

I will be having hand me downs - within reason anythig washable, wipeable lol

I will be scouring ebay/peloved for bargains.

Kiddicare is really good.

babies r us are quite good as well my frends all good deals from there. i am also pregnant with my first child and have found a really good bundle deal on babies r us for cotbed, changing dresser and wardrobe.

John Lewis, blardy marvellous.

Mothercare - you can get extra discounts in store though so do shop in store if you can.

Another vote for John Lewis. Much friendlier than Mothercare.
I'm a first-timer too, and these two products have been recommended to me by various mums to be:
this baby bath to keep them snug and stop them crying (apparently):
this car blanket to save the faff of getting them in and out of coats:

Congratulations!

I'd vote for eBay. You can get everything (new and used).

Before the baby stuff you may well need maternity clothes (some people appear to manage without) so places where you can get these as well as stuff for the baby may be an idea - Mothercare, mamas and papas etc.

Lots of the shops/ products have mother and baby clubs : Tesco, Mothercare, Boots, Pampers, Huggies, Cow and Gate, SMA to name but a few. If you have a spare hour and sign up to these there are lots of vouchers and tempting offers they'll send through. This might give you some ideas for the style of stuff you like.

Not quite what you've asked but heres my two peneth worth anyway.....

The two really big purchases would appear to be a nursery set (cot, change table, wardrobe) and travel system. These are the things I would recommend you think hard about before you buy.

Its easy to get carried away and spend £500 on a travel system that is so fancy that by 6 months you swap to a simple buggy that doesn't take up the entire boot. Think about how you see yourself out and about with the baby i.e. will you be off-roading with long rambles across fields or realistically are you more of a coffee shop mum and want something that will snugly fit between tables at a coffee shop/ restaurant and not be to cumbersome around the shops. Will you drive or walk places, will you be hoping on and off public transport etc. I've made some expensive mistakes with buggies not really meeting my requirements for the long term.

Its mercenary but also practical many people will no doubt want to buy you gifts when the baby comes. Don't discount the value of these and over prepare yourself. Lots of things fall into what I'd call the gift list price category £10 - £50 so do make a note of things you'd like and roughly how many people you'd anticipate will be buying and make sure the two tally. I think the fact that so many people over prepare is the reason so many people are selling 'still in packet', 'duplicated gift' baby stuff on ebay at fractions of the retail price.

Sign up for the baby clubs too. I've got lots of my stuff from mothercare and bought my travel system there, originally it was £400, marked down to £200, then had a baby club £20 off voucher so saved loads; 3 wheeler with car seat, cosy toes and rain cover for £180, we're v pleased. You can ask people to get things too as well as vouchers, my family love buying clothes for my unborn ds and my mum has bought him a rocker, they'll also get him cuddle towels and knit him things. I've bought bargain sleepsuits in charity shops which i've dyed red or green to brighten them up a bit (did some of dd's purple - i get bored with pastel colours!) Bought all my maternity stuff from e-bay or in the sale.
I signed up for a subscription to a baby magazine but only when their subscription deal was something I needed (got a free baby bath!). Shop around lots too there are lots of bargains online. Asda do baby offers every so often, got tommee tippee bottles, breats pump and bottle warmers all for less than half their normal price and they also do v godd deals on stair gates, hi chairs etc but they only run them every 2-3mths, usually advertise them on tv first. NCT nearly new sales are worth looking at too and I've had hand me downs from my friends. There are lots of ways to save money. Argos are pretty goo too, and might be a good place to get vouchers for, their mattresses, cots etc are a good price.

Another vote for ebay here - I regularly look up bundles of clothes, and set myself a limit of £1 per item (inc. postage). Sometimes if it's really special (like Pumpkin Patch stuff) I'll go to £2 per item, but I tend to find that'd enough! I've just received a massive box of newborn stuff and now have far too much, with what I had left over from my last dc, but hey, if anything gets spoilt with meconium, or saffron coloured poo, I'm not even going to hesitate and throw it away!
And all of the stuff I get are good brands and in good nick - just be careful! Last time I did get a few dodgy packages of ancient towelling babygrows that hadn't been washed or had poppers missing, but it didn't happen much!
Another good way of thinking about how much to bid is to be willing to go up to half the value of it's 'new' price? So, by that rule, mothercare, next, John Lewis etc will be be slightly more than George/Tesco/Ladybird. Hth!!

John Lewis gets my vote too - I avoid Mothercare like the plague as it is very overpriced IMO.

When using ebay do look for "baby bundle" as you'll get a whole collection of clothes very cheaply. They are normally done by age eg 0-3 months - i suggest you buy very few clothes to start with as you will probably be given tons as presents.

Accept all your friends' and family hand-me-downs.

Use Freecycle - I got a whole load of feeding bottles and a moses basket from mine.

Use Gumtree as well as ebay.

Kiddicare.com is also good.

Honestly - you will need a lot less than the shops try to sell you. To start with all you need are some vest and sleep suits, a sleeping bag, cot or moses basket, muslin clothes, pram/buggy/travel system/car seat, comfy pillow (if BFing), bottles/bucket/sterilising fluid if bottle feeding. I have managed 9 months without a changing table and use a travel change mat on the floor that cost £6. I also love my Baby Bjorn carrier and would recommend it. For bathing you can do them in the sink. Seriously I know people who have found ways round everything.

Kiddicare and John Lewis are best IMO.

Just wanted to say don't go mad buying much more than the basics - it's really easy to get carried away when PG with your first, but you really don't need/use half the stuff you think you will. Congratulations!

Thanks for all the advice.

I haven't got any close friends who have babies yet and it's been a while for my Mum!
I'm definitely going to look into the baby clubs and ebay.

Jumble sales at primary schools are fantastic.

I have kitted out baby-on-the-way for a fiver. There were tables piled high with great quality baby clothes (yuppie area) and by the end of the day they were doing fill a carrier bag for 2.50.

if kiddicare do vouchers id go for them, but they don't do everything so go for mothercare as well. i find ebay brilliant too, even if you don't want second hand you can get great stuff on buy it now listings from ebay shops, so maybe you could get some cash too?