Thrifty pregnancy and new baby tips...

[PregnantGrrrl]

What thrifty tips do you have for during pregnancy / when you have a new bubba?- Share them here!

My tip- stuff overpriced maternity Tshirts. I bought a stack of Primark vest tops a size or two bigger. £1.50 each! And vest tops are handy for breastfeeding too.

Ooh, jealous of the booblies! mine are resting (flopping) comfortably on the bump, I think they'll be gutted when their scaffolding is gone! lol

If you're going to be living up two flights of stairs it sounds like the perfect excuse to get regular use out of a sling. That way you can just get a second hand pushchair to use when he's a bit older.

Consider using Freecycle to get your stuff, I have had almost everything I needed for this baby from freecycle, from the cot to clothes to the pushchair, and I'm still seeing baby stuff on there almost every day.

Get all your donated stuff first and then save your money up and do the majority of the buying later on when you're clear on what you'll need. As people have said, the only things you need to get new are a carseat (if you have a car) and the cot/moses basket mattress. The rest of it can be done very very cheap if you stick to freecycle, car boot sales, and cheap shops like asda and primark.

oh and Neuro, any pushchair that says 'suitable from birth' will go flat (or as near as makes no odds). Have a look at the Maclaren Techno.

if your bras still fit properly and the underwires lie flat on your ribcage and don't dig in anywhere don't buy mat ones just yet. I got remeasured at 12wks ish and bought normal underwired bras in my new size - much cheaper than mat bras, so am saving my cash for really good nursing bras.

Breastfeed should save you lots of money and is great for you and baby and really conveinent for when out and about. It did not matter how long i was out for with baby as boobs were always there when she needed a feed so did not need to rush back.

We are still usign reusable nappies and are hoping our 20 mth old may be out of nappies in 4/5 mths when new baby arrives so we can pass these on. We have saved loads of money on these.

Make your own food, saves loads of money and much better for baby.

Buy a decent pushchair and one that is suitable for what you do. We got a cheap pushchair that had thin wheels and was awful around where we live where we need an off road one so we then had to buy another one.

Look in your local paper for for sale items and ebaby you can get loads of bargins

I alwways buy clothes a year ahead in the sale epseically from really nice shops such as debehams/gap which would normally be way to expensive you can pick up some really special clothes for special occasionas really cheap in the sale.

What a great thread - i am actually writing a book on this at the moment, would anyone mind if I quoted them in it as I have a section where i quote real mums. If you don't mind being quoted, would you like your mumsnet names or real names?! Any other stories you would like to share with the world you could email me at [email protected]
Thanks!!!

If you really want th pink / blue layette and dont know what youre having buy white and get a tub of dye frrom Woolies after you know! OR buy a few gift vouvhers from a baby store each month and file them away so you can't spend them on other things.

Long nighties with drawstrings at the bottom are suitable for male or female babies, make night changing easier and last longer as a bit of extra length really doesn't matter!

Pregnancy lasts nine months usually. There is always at least one big sale in that time. Decide what you like, browse all you want but pay full price for nothing.

Ask relatives etc to get you vouchers- they can add a pretty top or whatever should they wish, but vouvhers etc are so useful towards a pram / cot

NEVER EVER scrimp on a car seat or mattress. Nothing is worth that, even if their clothes do all have marks on them or whatever. Buy these items first, then whatever you have left is yours.

ooh littlechicken- i shall have to get more useful tips.

and let us know if you get it published!

I would say get all of the stuff second hand (except car seat) Some of the stuff you can buy is in excellent condition and has been barely used.

Ebay is good, NCT have nearly new sales and MN has good stuff on the classified board.

When the child is older DO NOT buy childrens books and dvds/videos...they are horrendously expensive and your local library will loan out dvds at approx: £1.50 for one week rental. I bought so many dvds to find I'd just forked out £13/14 for 30/40 mins worth of footage!! NO MORE!!!!

If I had my time over again I also wouldnt have bought co-ordinating nursery items - as long as their room is nice and bright with maybe some stick-ons on the wall they will be happy.

Baby gym was a complete waste of time for my ds as was the baby sling. He LOVED his graco entertainer - sort of static thing they can bounce in with toys/musical sounds on. Would receommend getting one of those if you can afford it (£80 RRP)

Ask around if anyone is getting rid of baby clothes.....from my experience people cant wait for you to take the stuff out of their cupboards and lofts!!

And remember...xmas is really for older kids....Do not spend a fortune on gifts...your baby will be quite happy with a glittery gift bag, a box and a wooden spoon (bitter experience talking here!!...)

Accept that you will spend money on things you don't need - but also remember that other people will be quite willing to make the same mistake and sell that stuff on Ebay.

Have not read whole thread but washing up bowl is a good babybath

Loads of good ideas here

We used ebay, the library, a toy library, small ads in the local paper, local play group or toddler group coffee mornings or sales - in particular second hand buggy / slide / toddler bed etc etc. People have passed on clothes, toys, a baby bath and loads of stuff, but some how you have to let them know you are willing to accept them - some people think you will be offended by these offerings! These things all get used for such a short time, and can be passed on again.

We also used reuseable nappies - not for everyone I know, but our set have done our two children - economies of scale.

My eldest is nearly eight and I still haven't bought any new clothes.
Never walk past a charity shop (you get to know which ones are good for children's things) and go to as many school summer fairs and jumble sales as you can. Go before yours is school age, as they always have heaps of baby clothes (also a good way to see a school and get a feel for it in action but off duty). Buy up to 5 years ahead of time and pack away in boxes labelled by age. When you get out the contents it is like Christmas. Buying ahead means you can be choosey.
Get items in good condition but a bit grey and put in a saucepan of boiling water with a sachet of colour run remover - they come up brand-new-white. Also get items that are fine but faded. When you have enough the same colour put all in the washing machine with a packet of Dylon machine dye. Cord trousers come up particularly well.
Join the local parents group. Ours (Tufnell Park Parents Support Group) has a fortnightly group email where things are given away/traded. Expectant mothers can post their shopping list and will get pretty much everything - in triplicate.

love this thread. i am a firm believer in charity shops! i made sure i became fiendly with teh staff at the local charity shops. they kept baby stuff aside and all my baby vests / baby gros have cost no more than 20p each. i fully intend to give them back there when i am done. in a creative fit - i tie-dyed a load of these in teh last days of pregnancy and now she is the envy of many of my pals. she is kitted out in gap, next, gymboree etc - which i woudl not pay full price for. i made all her nursry stuff - curtains, blackouts, bumpers etc etc.
another fan of freecycle - have picked up some great stuff and equally - i am now offering it back.

hiya, im still ridiculously excited about having made some booster pads for the reusable nappies im using - instead of paying £2-3 each, i bought a bit of fleece and a bit of towelling material for £1.70 and had enough to make 10!!! wehey! Oh, and if anyone is getting discouraged with reusables as i was, if you persevere it gets easier - especially with fleece topped boosters as your baby will be dry when you change him. I love bamboozles!

Hi,
I got the majority of my baby clothes from car boot sales, I picked up a bag of baby grows and vests for £2.50, there were 17 baby grows in there and 6 vests. All looked like they had only ben worn a couple of times. I took them home and washed them and they look brand new.

Asda also do very good deals on basics that you need ranging from £3.00 up wards.

Borrow borrow borrow

we spent a whopping £2.50 on our baby before he was born, a bit less than the £1000 average!
we just got loaned or given EVERYTHING. and, obviously, are passing it all on to the next parents.
also, our local sure start family centre has a clothing and toy exchange, and a toy library, and do free safety equipment.

pregnancy vitamins are a rip off aswell. Much better to drink a big glass of milk and a glass of OJ every day (not together obviously!) and take a folic and acid and zinc supplement.

sign up to boots/tesco's etc baby clubs, they send you money off vouchers!

see if there are any family heirlooms about. Cribs, clothes, rocking chairs, people love to pass these things down

i agree with the flannels instead of expensive baby wiping cloths, but tescos do plain white ones for ten pence each, cheaper than ikea!

other tips? dont buy packets of the breakfast cereal when they start weaning. i brought a wee cheap food processor, so i process farleys risks as soon as i get them home from the shop. this saves storage space, and mushing time. just a desert spoon of farleys granules, some formula to get to the right consistency, then a spoonful of fruit puree (homemade...used tinned fruit in juice steam, blend...ta-da!) ellie loves it.

other tips for new mums.... get organised. the baby can wait two seconds while you get everything you need together. no baby ever died from waiting 10 seconds, but they have hurt themselves falling off change tables while mum reached for the wipes she forgot to put close at hand.

when i am changing ellie, i make sure i have everything to hand, lay it out in the order im going to use it, so i dont have to leave her half way thru and give her time to pee all over the place!

i know its logical really...nappy bags, wipes, nappy, baby...lot easier to have them all to hand. same with feeding, bathing, going out. take ten seconds to think what you need to do the task, get it, then start.

oh, and while you are at it, get your partner/willing volunteer to watch the baby for ten minutes while you get on the net and join every single baby goods club you can...boots, tescos, morrisons, toys r us, formaula manufacturers, babyfood..EVERYTHING...the freebies, samples, coupons and advice is priceless (well it isnt, its free, but you get my point)

white baby clothes dont stay white long, so instead of ditching the dingy ones, i agree with you, go creative, tie dye, fabric paint, print iron on transfers on your pc, anything to cover stains. also, charity shops rock, they grow out of stuff so fast, its ridiculous. ellie changed 3 clothes sizes in two months (we fed her miracle gro...joke). would have cost a fortune if i had brought it all new, but all the early stuff was charity shop sourced!

ikea does a baby bath that is quite big for about £3

bump