Best place for newborn/baby things and stuff

[betterbehomesoon]

Hi everyone, after some advice on baby gear / clothes. We are unexpectedly on a budget - husband is out of work, I won't get paid maternity leave and we'll only get minimal family support. But we are so excited about our first baby due in September. (I don't really have a clue and am a bit nervous!)

We are trying to prepare as much as we can, but I would love to know where you found areas to be thrifty and where the investment is worthwhile? Are supermarket stuff OK? Where is the best place for clothes? Cots? What are the things to watch out when buying second hand?

I'm not sure what I'm asking for exactly but just trying to spend as wisely as we can. Any advice welcomed.

Supermarkets do really great baby clothes. A lot of our stuff is from Tesco or Asda.

I LOVE Asda's baby clothes!

I've heard 2nd hand is wine except for car seats (may have been in an accident and you wouldn't know) and cot mattresses (the cot is fine but get a new mattress).

Fine not wine!

You can get some amazing second hand bundles of baby clothes on ebay / facebook / gumtree etc! I would definitely recommend doing that, as even if you buy in asda (which I love their clothes actually), you could end up spending minimum £100 on just 0 - 3, then another £100 or more on 3 - 6 etc... whereas the bundles are sometimes like £20 - £30 for newborn and 0 - 3. And the clothes have usually barely even been worn as baby grows out of them too quickly at that stage. My sister did that with her first, then ended up giving all the clothes away, and is doing the same with her second. I'm being passed along a lot of stuff from my sis in law and a friend of mine, otherwise I'd be looking for a good deal on a used clothes bundle too!

I'm also being passed along a moses basket, but you can find them second hand for around £20 as well. I'll be looking for a used cot bed frame, but will get a new mattress to last them a good few years. I'm also looking for used slings / baby carriers, and any other accessories I might need.

The only need things I'm actually buying new is car seat like recommended by previous poster (2nd hand isofix base though as they cost a fortune), and pushchair as the one I want isn't expensive anyway. But you can easily find prams and pushchairs second hand in great condition at a fraction of their original price.

Good luck with everything, and I'm sure you'll manage fine!

Join a local parents Facebook selling page and pass it on pages. You will need a new car seat and mattresses for cots/Moses baskets anything else is fine second hand but check it’s from a smoke free home. Pop into charity shops occasionally. I drove past a charity shop yesterday which was selling a Uppababy vista and bet it would have been an amazing bargain.

I only buy supermarket clothes or from charity shops and in theory we could pay more but I don’t think it worth it.

Aldi have regular baby events and there nappies and wipes are good.

Look out for toys libraries are great too.

In our area we have a community school clothing scheme and they lend nursery things eg bouncy chairs, cord, prams etc for free.

@betterbehomesoon I swear by Next for quality and sizing! If you can stomach getting there for 5 AM on the sale you can get 3 baby grows for £8 and they wash very well so last much longer, I find supermarket brands bobble a lot quicker and can be quite expensive for the use you get from them

I always go to primark for vest/socks/bibs/muslins/blankets etc and they also do white Baby grows that are great when your just in the house and save the nice ones for when you go out ☺️

We've bought loads on gumtree/facebook market place this time around as bought everything brand new with my first and realised what a waste of money it was!

We got furniture for £250 for the set which was costing over £1500 brand new, as with any cots/moses baskets just buy a new mattress which isnt too expensive.

Also as someone else mentioned its not advised to buy 2nd hand carseats.

Also the neutral baby clothes/blankets from Asda are lovely,

It can definitely be done on a budget

For furniture I would just get a chest of drawer that will last many years rather than a nursery set.

My due date is this week. We've got everything second hand except nappies, cot mattress and car seat.

Clothes in particular are still great quality second hand - babies grow out of them in just a few weeks.

Make sure you mention it to friends with babies/small children. We've had lots passed down, people seem glad to have the space back, and we've barely had to buy anything yet.

Oh wow, thanks soooooo much everyone. Your advice is so wonderful. I'm so pleased the supermarkets have stood the MN test and that second hand is OK (I knew but didn't really know that babies would grow out rather than wear out their clothes and things and parents would be happy to sell!). Really really appreciate all this advice xx

Hello, I also went to the NCT table top sale. I got vests and baby grows for 50p, steriliser for £2.50 and gym mat for £5.00. They're definitely worth considering if you have one near you.

The only things really it would be worth buying new is a car seat and a mattress for the crib you will be using (both for safety reasons); other than that there’s so many bargains there’s no need to spend a lot and can get some really nice stuff. I like Asda clothing the best out of the supermarkets, Boots also quite often have sales on and can pick up good quality sleepsuit multipacks for a few quid, that wash well and last until they grow out of them. Also worth checking out Facebook marketplace, charity shops, and if there’s any baby markets near you like Little Pickles. We’ve bought most of her toys second hand as well from eBay etc as they don’t need loads when they’re little and grow out of them quickly. A lot of people as well are likely to have bits and bobs they are happy to pass over, so worth asking friends etc.

Sainsbury’s TU when they have 25% off which is regularly
Asda cots work fine

I went to a mum2mum market and got a few bits at a really good price! We didn’t really know what to expect so went to one earlier than we wanted to just to get a feel for it and we picked up muslins for 20p each, baby grows about 50p each and a sleep suit for less than £2. All items are in perfect condition and look good as new except 1 that has a tiny stain on it. I saw brand new sterilisers and bottle sets for £25 and loads of other bits too. Really recommend googling them (I just searched second hand baby items and stumbled across it) we are going back next month and will be taking a lot more change with us! The only downside is you can’t use card

Also download the bounty app as we got a car seat half price using their app code. Also get the Emma’s diary on as both offered discounts on the same car seat but different websites so I could compare deals

Don't buy new - if you look for bundles in newborn and 0-3 months on ebay you'll get some great value job lots, often with lots of stuff new or hardly worn as they grow out of things so fast at this age.
I got one 0-3 month bundle for ds4 that the lady hadn't bothered to iron or sort well so it didn't look nice - it had loads of designer stuff, so I got to wear it and then sell it on for a profit!

Local FB groups often have lots of mums also looking to get rid of big baby bundles very cheaply.

Second recommended for mum2mum markets, you can get most stuff there for minimal amounts. As others have said don’t buy new stuff apart from cot mattress and car seat. You can get most essentials for a baby reasonable cheap if you’re willing to look (cots for £10, bouncer for £5, sterilisers for £10, bundles of clothing for £2 per few outfits etc) you can really stretch £100 to get lots. Buy nappies from supermarket own brands when they’re on offer, ask for toiletries and towels as gifts for baby.

It’s worth requesting the baby box as Aldi supply some stuff in it now and means you don’t need a Moses basket (it’s free!)

Congratulations on your pregnancy

Supermarket or second hand is great, ignore the "must have" list and remember they grow fast so only get what you really need in advance (supermarkets are open 24 hours often!) breastfeeding is free, you need a reclining pushchair but can be bought new for under £100 rather than the £1000 models people talk about here. Babies don't need special furniture - a normal chest of drawers and a changing mat works just as well. Borrow if you can ... there's baby banks too if you need help. Rather than people buy fancy things, encourage asda vouchers as you can buy everything you need and any leftover money for nappies. Best wishes

Facebook marketplace in your area and also family area if they live a distance away.

Also to add to not second hand, don't get second hand teats if you bottle feed, you need new ones of those and dummies.

It's nearly car boot season too, can get things cheaper than facebook, plus at the end people will usually give stuff away so they don't have to take it home.

I managed to get everything second hand/free for DC1!

There's some great advice here, but my tips to add:
You CAN get car seat / mattresses second hand IF they're from a trusted source. (I borrowed one from a friend, who I trusted and would use it for her next child so I knew it had been properly looked after, iyswim.)

Don't get things specifically geared for babies. Like pp say, we didn't buy a nursery set, just a cheap set of ikea draws (often on second hand sites/freecycle) with a changing mat on top.

Don't get caught up with brands/specific features. I didn't bother researching prams/travel systems. We got one for free in the end and it probably wouldn't have been my preference if I had the money to spend, but it was absolutely fine and I'm still going to use it for impending DC3.

Children REALLY do not need a lot of stuff. Go minimalistic. Especially with toys. This is why there's such a great second hand market for kids things, because parents (myself included) get way too much. Don't be tempted by bargains either. I accepted so much free stuff (because it was free, wahoo!) that i ended up passing most of it on between DC1 & DC2 as I realised how much of it we actually needed/used.

Agree with Another, we didn’t buy anything for our baby, we were fortunate in that because we had our baby so late in life all our friends had so much baby stuff etc that they passed on to us (3 prams!). Also don’t get into thinking that you need ‘everything’ for your baby, you really don’t and unless you live in a mansion you will drown under all the clutter.

The marketing industry for new parents is very clever, the pressure to buy ‘new’ and ‘designer’ labels means that parents are made to feel guilty for not buying the absolute ‘best’ for their baby.

If you are on a budget just get the absolute basics: clothes to wear, somewhere to sleep, nappies (not too many size 1!), anything you may need to feed in whichever method you choose, pram/sling/carseat. Get second hand everything except for the items mentioned by PPs, plus one or two bits you see in the shops and just can't resist Good quality brands should still look/work well after multiple children. I've found this is especially true of buggies.
What works for one baby doesn't work for another so if possible avoid any non-absolute-essentials before the baby arrives. Eg my DC2 had a lovely 'as new' bouncer as I'd bought it (new 🤦🏻‍♀️) for DC1 but she wouldn't entertain sitting in it for more that 5 seconds, even if put in when asleep. DC2 loved it and it got a lot of use, but it was a total waste on DC1. I'd bought it because I thought it was something every baby needed. Nope. Any additional items you find you need after the baby is born can be easily and quickly picked up from supermarkets/Amazon/Facebook marketplace.

I buy second hand from NCT sales, eBay, and Facebook marketplace. I buy far more new clothes now DCs are older and they are in them longer, but I buy a year ahead in the sales and buy better quality brands so they last through 2 DCs. A good proportion finish their life with us in good enough condition to sell on and part-fund the next size up.