How much have you spent on baby?

[ElleDubloo]

Babies are notoriously expensive, and we've certainly felt like we've spent a lot of money recently. So I decided to sit down and add up all our baby-related spending and see how much it came to in reality. I was pleasantly surprised the grand total was just less than £1200 - not nearly as much as we'd expected, and about half the cost of our new bathroom !! (new baby is so much more exciting than new bathroom, btw). We've pretty much bought everything we need.

How much have you spent on the baby? Did you expect to spend more, or less? What are some savings you've made that you're especially proud of?

Here's my list if anyone's interested:

Bugaboo Bee, Maxi Cosi seat, adaptors, easyfix base... Peppermint £564.95 (online promotion)
Furniture set 3-piece... Homebase £212.49 (£75 discount in sale)
Cube shelves x 2... Homebase £19.98
Cotbed... John Lewis £99.00
Mattress... John Lewis £60.00
Playmat... Gumtree £15.00 (second hand, RRP >£45)
Moby wrap... Ebay £25.00 (second hand)
Changing bag... Ebay £22.20 (second hand, RRP >£100)
Clothes (0-3 months)... Mothercare £35.00 (half price sale)
Medela Swing pump... Ebay £33.75 (second hand, RRP >£130)
Tommee Tippee bottles... Tesco £12.99 (half price in baby event)
Bowl and spoons... Tesco £2.00 (half price in baby event)
Turtle costume... Amazon £3.93
Cloth nappies x 6 and 12 inserts (littlebloom)... Ebay £29.04 (second hand)
Cloth nappies x11 (bambino mio)... Ebay £10.00 (second hand)
Nappy liners x 2 packets... Amazon £10.96
Nappy bin... Amazon £6.03
Changing mat... Amazon £3.39
Muslins x 6... Amazon £9.98
Baby shampoo... Tesco £1.50 (half price in baby event)
Baby bath lotion... Tesco £1.47 (half price in baby event)
Baby wipes x 10... Tesco £8.00 (half price in baby event)

Gifts:
Babygros x 2
Newborn clothing set with hat and mittens x 1
Ellaroo sling wrap x 1
Moses basket x 1

Left to buy:
Cotbed linen
Nursing bras
A few disposable nappies as backup
Cot mobile (on our gift list)
Clothes for 3 months onwards (on our gift list)

I'm glad people are getting so many hand-me-downs from friends and family, because it makes much more financial and environmental sense than every set of parents buying brand new things that they use for only a short while :) Unfortunately we weren't in that position, and I feel that I have done quite well hunting for bargain second-hand items :)

Actually my parents did offer to pay for the Bugaboo, because they wanted to get the baby something special. But I declined because we're not in any financial difficulty and my parents are not that well off.

Addendum - just bought a Tommy Tippee steriliser for £10 (second hand, Gumtree) and a baby bath for £2 (second hand, Ebay).

chocolatemartini - media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/1a/28/7d/1a287de8af25b38d84b784292a10d4f2.jpg

Btw, how did you get by without cot bedding? Did you have something over the mattress?

Greengrow - I went into a charity shop today, where there were second-hand onsies for £2-£3 each. I'd previously bought a pack of 5 new for £8 in the Mothercare sale.

Same here, iwantittobepink I started adding in my head and I'm ashamed to say I spent a LOT I got a lot of hand me down from my mother from when I was a baby, thank God. It's still in pristine condition! Thanks mum!

ElleDubloo turtle costume so cute!! Now I understand. Definitely an essential item

As for cot bedding, we had 3 cots; a co-sleeper crib, a Moses basket and a cot bed. Ds1 is 2.5 now and has never slept in any of them, hence not needing the cot bedding! I now sleep with DS under one arm and DD under the other. Neither would let me put them down in a cot without waking and crying so I gave up pretty early on and kept them right by me. Much easier for night feeding too

I see, thanks

Im supprised people are so restrained with the baby clothes!

I co sleep so never bought cots moses baskets or anything,use a sling so pushchairs not needed,always spent huge amounts on baby clothes!

Far, far too much to be honest. But DD was an IVF baby so we spent several thousands just getting her here . DH jokes that he's keeping a tally and it'll all come out of her pocket money. At least I think he's joking...??!?

Travel system (pram & car seat) - £100 Argos
Cotbed - £99 Babies R Us
Mattress - £20
Baby bouncer - £12 Asda
Playmat - £10 Asda
Bath - £8 Amazon
Bottles - £20 (self-sterilising so no need for a steriliser)
Sleeping bag - £12
'Changing' bag - £3 in Primark
Parasol for pram - £5 in Asda
Travel thermos bags for bottles - £8 for two, Boots
Baby carrier - £10 mothercare
Dummies - £10 for a looooad in Tescos
Muslins - £10
Johnsons' Baby box (the big grey one that is amazing!) - £10
Door bouncer - bought with vouchers, should've been £20
Probably spent about £60 on clothes before she was born. Family donated a lot more clothes.

Moses basket, some sheets, clothes etc donated.

Was given clothes, towels, toiletries etc as gifts.

Dc number 3

Had lots of baby clothes, blankets still from other 2 and a playgym but had given most other baby stuff to a family member in need a few years ago.

Things we bought:
Pram/travel system (mothercare expedior) -£250
Packs of baby socks, muslins, bibs £20
Starter bottle set £10
Baby toiletries, flannels, scissors etc, wipes, nappies £20
Microwave steam steriliser £10
Chest of drawers £45
Changing mat £5
moses basket stand £12
monitor £10 (preloved)
rainforest swing chair £30 (preloved)
foam bath support £7
so about £420 all together.

Donated/Lent we got:
Moses basket
bouncy chair
electric breast pump
changing station
tummy tub

Gifts:
Moby wrap
Loads of clothes, bibs, muslins
Baby toiletries
Baby towels
Pacapod Changing bag
Toys

First baby, 32 weeks gone.

Bugaboo Cameleon - £1000
Car seat and base £300
Cot bed £0- gift
Cot bed mattress £80
Cot bed bedding £50
Muslin Cloths £40
Medela swing- £130
Bottle steriliser £150
Moses basket £55 - eBay
Moses basket mattress- £10
Baby Gym £15 - eBay
Clothes £60- eBay bundles

Still to get
Baby bouncer
Monitor

I think about £2.5-3k but am scared to add it all up!

Hmmm, it's hard to know... I haven't bought many clothes as this baby is going to be clad almost entirely in hand-me-down from his two cousins! I am 26 weeks so a while to go.

• Cot - second hand, $300 (about 150)
• Changing table + changing pad $220 (about 110)
• New blinds for the nursery room about $600 all up (about 300)
• Bugaboo Buffalo $1800 (about 900)
• Maxi cosi capsule about $250 (about 125) (Dh's dad kindly paid for both the Bugaboo and the maxi-cosi which was incredibly generous and a massive help.)

I was given a bouncy chair, and am borrowing a bassinet.

Have bought bits and bobs: Aden & Anais swaddles and dream blanket, cot sheets, prints for the nursery, cloth nappies to lay down on the cot/bassinet to save changing the sheets, gripe water, sudocrem, wipes, knitted cot blanket, tiny home knitted cardy for a "nice" homecoming outfit (I figure he's got to have a few new things! ... I am trying to buy some nice/more expensive stuff while I'm still earning.) If I see something I think we'll end up needing while I'm doign the supermarket shop I chuck it in. Bits and bobs have probably added up to about 400.

By far the biggest expensive has been the obstetrician at equiv of 2500 but that's been money well spent.

Still to go - need to get the wing chair for the nursery recovered, and the chest of drawers in there fixed/restored (second-hand and looking a bit shabby). Also want to install some book shelves in there. And get the prints framed.

I think I've been comparatively restrained on maternity gear for me but I do really like this bag: www.storksak.com/index.php?pageid=161

Might see if I can swing it as a birthday present.

Also need bottles and breast pump. Not sure about monitor - it's not like we live in a mansion, I'm sure I will be able to hear the baby if it's crying in the next room? I suspect a monitor might make me a bit neurotic.

This is dc3 he is 3m so inc things I've bought since he was born.

£750- bugaboo donkey inc all accessories (ebay)
£55 - babysitter balance chair and toy
£5 - rainforest play gym
£8 - rainforest mobile (fab by the way 100% recommend)
£20 - play gym
£30 - Medela swing breast pump
£35 - Aden and anais muslins
£30 - lovely blankets from the little white company
£20 - gorgeous bunting for his room from etsy
£6 - yet more muslins
And lots of money on clothes too!!

:o don't worry op, it's lovely to enjoy it.

Oh yes and
£30 - connecta carrier
£39 - buggy board