Baby prep recommendations

[expectinglittlebear]

Hi all.

I am still in my first trimester but want to start looking at getting a list together of things I need to get for baby, so I can plan financially.

I was just wondering if you can recommend any sites that we can get new baby items that aren't going to cost the earth..

I have had a look at websites like Mamas & Papas and even some bits on Amazon. But was just wondering if there are any baby 'outlets' or anything! I know Mothercare isn't about anymore, but are there any other shops/sites like this too?

This will be my first, so unsure really of where to look! Thanks in advance x

Ours is from a mixture of eBay and John Lewis. JL have some good sales, eg. Our push chair from there was about £100 cheaper than Amazon and came with more accessories.

Are there any dedicated second hand baby shops near you? I’d try them, we got lots of clothes, sleeping bags etc second hand. I also wouldn’t recommend buying an expensive travel system, I definitely haven’t made much use of it. Online4baby I find quite good. Use comparison websites for everything!

Don’t go crazy buying to much though as you’ll get a lot of gifts too. Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Depending on where you live, there might be some local Facebook selling groups that can prove really useful. Where I am there are specific ones for kids' stuff. I'd strongly recommend buying what you can second hand - so much of it gets used for such a short time. I bought a couple of things new - including our bedside cot - and regretted not buying second hand.

Mama and pappas is very expensive! Have a look on Facebook market place for some stuff e.g nursery set and pram. You can get them professionally cleaned which costs about £100. I'm on the hunt as well it's a bloody minefield!

I found it best to have a look do research and decide what bits I wanted then, keep a look out for when that product is on sale. Amazon John Lewis Argos boots online4baby symths etc. You have plenty of time to wait and buy when they are on sale. I think it also depends if ur having more than one child. I knew we wanted two children can afford new so got new. It was all kept for ds2, so haven't had to buy stuff this time. I also think it pays to get a good quality pushchair we have an I candy peach that we got in the sale when we had ds1 it still looks like new now and is being used for them both now

I think if you want more than 1 child it makes sense to buy equipment new if you can afford it as it will last for 2 or even 3. Clothing I would buy a mix of good quality second hand and new. I also bought a spare cot second hand and bought a new mattress for it to go to Mum's for when we stayed with her. Your family may ask what you want for baby too so leave some things they can buy baby as gifts. I found looking around at different shops for same large product like travel system but then monitor prices until it is in the sale then get it quickly.

Lots of good value baby clothes/ equipment in Asda, Tesco, Aldi etc if you want new but not overpriced, or there are lots of eBay shops that sell new discounted stuff (ends of lines,etc).

Pick a random but popular brand of baby stuff like Maxi Cosi or Chicco, go on their website and look for your nearest stockists. Then investigate whichever is not a chain - these will often be big warehouse type places, or independents and they tend to be really good and know their stuff much better than Mothercare even used to!

Keep a close eye on John Lewis, I saved hundreds on my car seat, pushchair, crib and bouncer chair by shopping when they had 20-30% off just randomly.

Definitely look at second hand for anything other than mattresses and car seat. Facebook selling pages are the place to look.

You just don’t know how you will end up parenting or what you child will like. I have 2 children and the cot was used for about 3 months in total. I used to walk for hours and hours with DD1 to get her asleep in the pram but with DD2 I couldn’t get her into a buggy until she was 7 months old.

You don’t need specialist nursery furniture like a baby wardrobe.

Look out for Aldi baby and toddler events.