Stocking up to spread the cost

[LifeOfRiley63]

Hi ladies

I am starting to stock up on things I will need when baby arrives. This is in the hope I can have most of the stuff I need by the time I hit SMP.

Can anyone advise roughly how many nappies and in what size I should stock up on? I have 4 boxes of size 1 and 2 boxes of size 2 nappies so far, but no clue how many they get through.

Have you considered just saving money and spending when the time comes? Might be a little easier to go about things that way.

Be careful stocking up on nappies op , your baby may not even wear newborn size due to their weight.

I'd just save some money if I were you.

I love to be prepared with babies, and would rather buy bits along the way than put the money away. However my last baby was well over 10lb with initial rapid weight gain so was barely in the first 2 sizes.

They tend to go through around 10-12 a day for the first few weeks though, to give you an idea. Now at 4mo my ds goes through around 6 a day.

I wouldn’t stock up on nappies; maybe put the money aside ready as I often ended up with too many of each size anyway as babies can suddenly have growth spurts and it’s a pain to try and swap nappies.
Also be careful with stocking up on baby wipes as mine reacted badly to one brand and we ended up with a whole box to try and use in other ways

Echo PP re nappies & wipes. No point because you can't guarantee they will fit/be suitable for baby's skin. Just put the money equivalent away each week/month. I've managed to stock up purely cos i'm doing cloth this time!

When you say boxes how many nappies is that?

My baby was out of size 1 within 2-3 weeks (maybe 120 nappies worth?) might aswell have skipped size 2 as they got right pretty quick and was in size 3 by 6 weeks.

I would top up a supermarket gift card with money to spend on bits like that instead so you can buy as you need.

Agree don't stock up too much in advance, you might find some brands don't suit your babies shape/ skin. There is an app called 'bum deal' that you can use to find the best nappy/ wipes offers at each supermarket

Agree with a lot of other posters that stocking up, in theory, is good, but not necessarily the best route. Babies grow at all different rates and you may end up with loads of nappies that never get used. Also, it's trial and error regarding what nappies you'll get on with.

We tried about 5 different brands before finding one we genuinely get on with. It'd be a shame if you spent so much money on a particular brand/type only to not like them!

Both my babies were9lb+ barely any new born clothes or size 1 nappies were needed at all. First time round I didn't expect to have such a big baby as I'm quite average sized. I'd save your money and buy what's needed as and when. Also, I couldn't bear to have loads of boxes stockpiled in my house, I hate clutter

I wouldn’t stock up on anything really. You don’t really know what you’ll need at this point. We had to switch around brands of all sorts of things (nappies, wipes, formula, etc is all very individual and baby may not tolerate certain brands). Just save a bit of money each month. I made a note to transfer money into savings the first of each month (or set up a standing order). I now have a very sizeable savings and we haven’t wasted money on anything we might end up not using.

My newborn was only in newborn for a short time I wouldn't buy anymore of those yet

Not really stocking up as such but if you're working to a budget I would recommend Aldi for nappies and wipes.

Amazon subscribe and save saves a lot of money. We get nappies and wipes delivered every month and it works out that you can get Pampers for the same price as Lidl or Aldi own brand.

I'm also a member of several local Facebook selling groups and bundles of clothes are regularly sold very cheaply.

I agree it's better to just put the money aside and use it on things that you know you definitely need once baby is here rather than risk wasting it.

Echo what everyone else has said, save your money and buy what you need, nothing is certain with pregnancy, birth or babies!

Both of mine were conceived at the same time of year, due dates a couple of weeks apart (obvs different years) one was born prem in shorts and t/shirt weather, one was born mid winter. 3lbs 10oz weight difference!

Neither time have I bought huge amounts for, Amazon Prime and Ocado have delivered most of what I've needed, when I needed it.

I agree that I wouldn’t bother! I had loads of spare tiny nappies left. Online shopping is your friend when you have a newborn

Thanks for the advice ladies.
I am rubbish at saving money, it usually goes where its needed so I thought buying this stuff means it can't be spent (if that makes sense)?

I've bought them from Pampers and Aldi, so mixed them up a bit.

Is there anything I should stock up on instead?

I bought:

Size 1, 2 and 3 nappies - 2 packs of each, so I had some of each size to play with

2 or 3 packs of vests in newborn and 0-3
2 or 3 packs of sleepsuits in newborn and 0-3
Numerous hats and socks
Couple of cardis and blankets
Nappy change creams (loads of different types)
Calpol
Infacol
Cotton wool
Muslins x a million

I just stocked up on as many basics as I could really. I'd rather have too many of something than too little

I knew the sexes, so bought clothes well in advance in sales etc. However if you had a very small or large baby that doesn’t work out so well (mine wears a size ahead).

If you’re planning on breastfeeding it’s worth having a few boxes of breast pads, I went through so many the first few weeks.

Maybe baby wipes or cotton wool balls, whatever you’re using. Babies just don’t need as much as you’d think! They really don’t need much. If you’re terrible at saving maybe try to put the money in a piggy bank for emergency nappies and such

I got quite a lot of gifts (at a surprise baby shower and when baby was born) including nappies/wipes/vests/socks/muslins etc.
Before baby was here I made sure I had at least 1 pack of each size nappies up to size 3. Not too many to waste. I had a range of wipe brands which was helpful to try out, only 1 of each so I could check they worked for baby (and use in other ways if not). I bought a few vests and sleepsuits myself (you get so much it’s nice to choose something!).

Things we bought in advance include a Moses basket and sheets, pram/pushchair, car seat, bottles and steriliser (left in packaging Until needed), Breast pads, maternity pads, feeding bras (the s/m/l stretchy ones - only ended up feeding short term but these were still very useful while breasts were tender).

Glad I read this post as I was starting to stock up on nappies too 😂 so, good advice.

I have bought two jumbo boxes of size 1 pampers with 96 nappies in each box. 😬

I think I will just keep trying to save and that way money won't be wasted.

In my DDs first year we didn’t really notice the cost of nappies. We bought Aldi ones and just put a pack of those and multipack of wipes in our weekly shop. The most expensive things we found were formula and clothes but they can be hard to buy ahead for too! You could always get basic clothes (vests and baby grows) in each size up to one year as you will use them all year round?

I've started buying size 1 nappies in advance on Amazon subscribe and save but only because I'm having twins so I know they're not going to be huge. Also got a big load of water wipes on a lightning deal. Maternity pads, breast pads (but again if you don't get on with that brand what will you do?).
What about a bit of batch cooking for the freezer? All the money comes out of the same pot anyway.

I'd also agree to save, put it on a gift ear marked for baby essentials only. It's technically not your money then so you might be less inclined to spend it?

Don't forget you'll get child benefit (about £80 p/month?) to help with cost of nappies etc.

As it turned out we ended up having to use cloth nappies and wipes with plain water as my DD was sensitive to almost every disposable, she still has scarring 4 years later from chemical burns, so I definitely wouldn't stock up too much in advance.