Surprise baby!

[BeeMumof3]

Hi guys!

So we have a surprise baby! A very unplanned but loved and wanted baby!

But the the financial fears have set in. We were very determined that we were complete with our family so I didn’t save anything after our 3rd so is 19 months old.

I do the whole co-sleep, cloth nappy, unfortunately I am unable to breastfeed due to a medical condition. Clothing I’m not too worried about sleepsuits and vests until 12 months old.

But we are going to need a new car, we will need to move house as we are only in a 2 bedroom house and also looking into the future an extra person to feed while we are already struggling with the cost of living.

Basically I’m asking for any tips to help us financially? At the moment we are comfortable, struggling but surviving.

Hi,

I'm very early pregnancy with my first, 6 weeks + 5 days and doing it solo so have tried to do alot of saving/budgeting for the last few years to be able to afford treatment and then thinking of the costs going forward.

I have been sending off for nappy vouchers/ incontinence pads when the adds pop up on FB, cloth nappies is a brill option and will defo invest but good to have a few normal packs to hand and pads for yourself.

I have got savings card for the local supermarket and have tried to add £10 a month to each if I can afford it to cover food and baby shopping during my unpaid maternity period.

Check out apps, I got greenjinn, shopmium, checkoutsmart - these give you discount on items and sometimes free, you do have to pay upfront and scan receipt to get the money back. I got 4 kiddies meals for free recently, which came in really handy when I was feeling sick and couldn't face cooking, also smaller portion. They have lots of kid friendly snacks on there aswell as free cleaning products etc

jamdoughnut is another that you can get vouchers for shopping and save a certain percentage. Most supermarkets are 3-5% but feeding a household it could be a good saving across a month just by scanning a voucher on phone instead of tapping card.

Maybe consider checking out your local area for clothing swaps, be this for yourself, other children or baby. I attend a few, they are usually around £3-5 to enter and you can take up to a certain number of items and swap that same number back out. I've picked up some stretch wrap dresses and things a size or 2 up to reduce what I have to spend on maternity clothing.

Re house and cars, definitely a more difficult one due to current markets so unfortunately can't shed more light on that one. Also having to buy a car as have a 3 door and don't feel it's safe or baby friendly but guna wait till I feel at a more safe point, as still all feels a unreal.

@justjeansandanicetop Yes well our house has been on the market for 15 months now, we had taken it off the market but put it back on 2 months ago, at a lower the price, unfortunately we can’t force someone to buy our house, and not in the position to buy another house until we have sold our current house.

And for the crappy contraception remark. That’s why this baby is a surprise because I have the coil. And found out I’m 14 weeks pregnant. So that’s why it’s a surprise. We didn’t plan this pregnancy.

One thing that has been an absolute lifesaver for me, is Facebook market. I see no need in spending potentially thousands on brand new baby items that will only be used for such a short space of time. I bought my pram for £150 (new would’ve been £800) and even little things like my baby bath and changing bag were second hand, and all in amazing condition. It all adds up, and overall I have saved over £2000 on everything so far. I’ve got all of my baby’s clothes from Vinted too. If you shop for bundles of clothes, you can buy outfits for £1 each.