cant afford baby basics.. help!

[michelle89]

hey im 19yrs old, i was at college studying childcare but had to quit it in june because i fell pregnant (it is a 2yr course) the course ends in april 2010 and my baby is due 18th jan 2010 so there was no way i could finish the course. i moved in with my fiance in august, i was led to believe by my midwife i was entitled to job seekers allowance until 29weeks and then income support, so never thought of money as an issue. i went to the job centre to claime for job seekers, they told me im not entitled to job seekers as my partner works over 24hours a week, im not entitled to contribution job seekers because in the last 2yrs i havent worked (as iv been at college) i was told i cannot claim income support as my partner earns £16,700 a yr. this means i cannot claim the £500 baby grant either. im currently 23weeks pregnant and have no money to get anything for my baby. my partner only has about £100 spear a month due to bills. our baby is born in 3months and we havent been able to save anything so far as we've had to get basics for the house. even with saving that £100 a month to get baby things it still isnt enuff to get everything we need. we've worked out we need £500 for the baby basics e.g cot, moses basket, bottles/sterilizer, baby clothes, changing mats etc. i only know one person whos had a baby and can give us some stuff but she has very little left as shes gave it away already. my parents said they'll pay for a pram but arent gna spend over £100 which will never happen, prams today cost atleast £250 and they dont shop online. im scared if when baby comes we wont have anything for him. what will happen if we cant afford the basics? im seriously worried about money issues.

michelle - please email me, I have loads of baby clothes I can send to you, plus a stage 0 car seat that has never been in an accident (promise) which I am happy to bring to you if you're near me (South Bucks).

Oh, just seen you're in Notts.

LOL @ MrsJ. I think cake should be available on prescription for bf-ing mothers! If the OP gets the vouchers for fruit and veg then that's good for snacking on. I found I ate loads of toast!

The Nottingham NCT Branch Nearly New Sale is on October 10th 10am - 12noon (butit is worth getting there early to que for the best bargins) at Long Eaton School NG10 3NP

Seriously, there is no way you need £500 for baby kit, even if you have to buy everything new (which you don't).
There've been some great ideas posted here already. Please don't panic

TAFKAtheUrbanDryad- You are a lovely generous person! Just wanted to say that.

Breastfeed it saves loads.

I also have loads of baby clothes if you are having a girl?
I have a pram too suitable from birth which is just sat in my porch doing nothing ,
You are welcome to those of you can arrange a pick up I am in Sheffield.

Asda are doing a from birth pushchair for £25 at the moment- online too.

Hi, I'm in notts and have a travel cot if you like, I'm afraid all my other stuff has been given away. It's only the mattress for the cot you need - all my cots came from other people and I just bought new mattresses.
I have a friend with a pushchair that I can ask after if you like.
I can also introduce you to lots of nice groups to go to with a baby if you are anywhere near west bridgford when the time comes.
The nct sales are fab-really don't get anything before you go to that!

I have a steriliser and bottles and some baby clothes that you're more than welcome to if you would like. I'm happy to send you a big parcel. Also have a breast pump if you want.
Good luck, you're young but you're going to be a great mum.

Great suggestions I added a little bit of stuff to my weekly shop, so I maybe bought a pack of 3 white vests for £3.50 (Asda or Tescos) in the shop one week, the next week a pack of newborn nappies etc...little things usually less that £5 a week so you don't notice it as much!

Baby wipes Tescos own are just as good as all the rest! and the pack of 4 for under £4!

Tescos own brand nappies are fine if your using disposables, infact Aldi nappies won awards (I've just potty trained my dd1 so I didn't get a chance to try them but number 2 on the way I am going to give them a shot).

Sign up to Aldi & Lidl newsletters they often have baby stuff for now and later on offer.

Sainsburys/Tescos/Asda always have baby weeks so you can usually pick up bargains there!

Also another vote for all the baby clubs I'll list them at the bottom of this post I've joined loads!

Personally I had more than 7 sleep suits/vests so I did less loads of washing!

Another vote for carboots/jumbles/charity shops/nct nearly new sales.

Also speak to your midwife our Health centre collects things for young mums they have a young mums group, and I gave a few bits to them new and 2nd hand (in good condition) they goto young families like yourselves.

Ref housing benefit in Nottingham you have Metropolitan Housing which are a housing association, HA rent is usually cheaper especially if you are getting housing benefit (when you check), contact them if they don't cover your local area they will be able to advise who does. As a young family you get a higher priority than a single person on the waiting list.

They also have support workers who maybe able to help you claim more benefits/grants.

CAB is also another good stop to get advise on local grants/assistance available.

Some councils/areas have toy librarys so as baby gets bigger you can "hire" bigger toys for £1 a week or so! A great way to try before you buy!

You might find your able to complete your course next year as often Colleges have schemes including free child care places...

Baby clubs
Boots baby club - baby changing bag and freebies, extra points vouchers etc..
www.bootsparentingclub.com/

Tesco's baby club - parking permit for parent and baby parking, a huggies basket and freebies loads of vouchers extra points etc..
www.tesco.com/clubcard/btc/

Huggies - vouchers, if you go to the website there is a thing to get a free swimming bag, towel and swim nappy free along with another vouchers
www.huggiesclub.com/uk//active-baby/secure/join-huggies-club/

Pampers
ww w.pampers.co.uk/growingyourfamily/en_GB/signup.do?location=pamp

Hipp Organic
www.hipp.co.uk/register.htm

Organix
www.organix.com/Register.aspx

Emma s Diary
www.emmasdiary.co.uk/

Bounty - bounty packs
www.bounty.com/the%20bounty%20club.asp

www.mumplusone.com/ - just signed up so not sure what you get yet

With competitions etc..

www.thebabywebsite.com/register.php

Another one that is also a magazine that Midwifes at hospital should be able to distribute:-

www.babygroe.co.uk/public/features/homeorhospital.aspx

Some interesting stuff on the site

www.more4baby.co.uk/Sign%20Up.aspx

You can also download vouchers for money off pampers etc... valid at Morrisons here:-

www.morrisons.co.uk/Family-Life/More4Baby/

HTH

Have a look on the NCT website and you can find out about nearly new sales in your area. You might be able to get some cheap stuff from them.

These are all good ideas but the real answer to your problem is to try and earn some money.

You probably have another 10 weeks or so when you could usefully work. If you could just get a couple of night's babysitting a week, that would cover most of what you need.

Put a few ads up in a few local newsagents or Gumtree (or in a nearby posh area if you don't). At your old college, at your parents /friends' work, put notes through letterboxes - anywhere really...if you put enough ads out there and it is Xmas, someone will call..especially if you are cheap

Praise God for this forum - so many lovely people helping someone else! who says there's no good in this world!
Michelle89 - you have loads of good advice no more could be added, pls keep us updated and try not to fret!

Good Luck

Michelle- Have loads of babygros, vests, socks, outfits (boysand girls), a moses basket, bottles, electric breast pump and blankets.
I can parcel them up for you. Am 19 myself and me and DP are students too. I know how hard it can be, but you WILL be fine.Family and friends will buy you loads.
If you want the stuff-
db2891 @ hot mail . co . uk

We bought:

Secondhand cotbed (£50)
Secondhand pram (£50)
A couple of plain packs of babygros and vests from Mothercare (about £20)
Changing mat (£5)
Car seat (about £70)
Bedding for Moses basket and cot (about £20)

Someone gave us a Moses basket which was great as DD was small and fitted in it for about seven months, but loads of babies grow out of theirs well before that so it's certainly not an essential.

My mum and dad bought us a new mattress for the cotbed (under £30) and my PILs bought us a basket of baby lotion/soap, tiny nappies, wipes etc to get us started (none of which we really needed apart from the nappies as babies are fine just bathed in plain water and moisturised with plain olive oil which is v cheap.

We got a load of baby clothes, sheets and blankets secondhand on eBay and at jumble sales etc for about £30.

So the total outlay of cash before our baby arrived was much less than £300. People did give us clothes and stuff, and toys (which said baby never looked at for months as all they really need is you).

If you get a load of cheap flannels from the pound shop or similar, you can cut them up and use for wipes (soaked in water first). Just chuck them in the wash as necessary. This will save you loads in the long run. Also, think about breastfeeding. Not only is it cheap, it's much more convenient in the middle of the night not having to boil kettles etc. Lots of councils give you a £50 grant towards cloth nappies, so ring them up and ask what's available.

You don't need to eat loads of extra calories to breastfeed - a loaf of bread and some butter and a pot of jam is perfectly fine as extra shopping for the week. I think I read somewhere that you only need about 200 or 300 extra cals a day at the start of breastfeeding which is only a few biscuits or slices of toast. You do get v thirsty, though, so go to Ikea or Habitat or somewhere and get yourself a lovely posh jug to fill with water and ice cubes which you can have beside you when you are feeding your baby.

Good luck. Having a baby and looking after him or her is really hard work but it's also absolutely great. Your LO will repay you many times over for the sacrifices you're making now.

Hi, I'm not sure if this has been mentioned but every woman who is at least 25 weeks pregnant is entitled to a Health in Pregnancy grant. Its a one-off payment of £190 for each pregnancy. It will not affect your tax credits or any other benefits.

campaigns2.direct.gov.uk/money4mum2be/en/.

Good luck!

Hi if you contact me direct,I could send you a load of nuetral clothes,even more if you happen to know baby is a girl.

Please try not to worry(hard I know)all the suggestions here are great,you really will find people are more than generous and ebay has some great bargains,we got an urban detour travel system pram for £90

Michelle Car Boots if you can get to one nearby. You can pick up babygros sometime 3 for a pound etc. I bought pushchair from ebay secondhand, got hand me down cot and bought new matteress. I was tight for money when pregnant so I ended up getting most second hand but allowed myself to buy baby some nice new bits and bobs (dungaree set and a snowsuit) from the jan sale and it's these few items I have kept as keepsakes.
You don't need babybath, sink is really what you will use or just your own bath. I never used changing table my folks bought me and mosses basket for all of 6 weeks.
Try pound shops or home bargin type shops for wipes etc. As far as baby 'cosmetics' go get some sudacreme and a bottle of olive oil and your sorted!
I second what everyone said about tax credits.
Enjoy your pregnancy and your mum will see how well you are coping and hopefully stop worrying.
Good luck.

please consider freecycle also you may be entitles to £500 maternity grant for bits aswell and the £190 grant later in pregnancy.

I use freecycle and have not had to buy anything for the baby so far, cot, moses basket, steriliser,breast pump, blankets, clothes,pram inc car seat, everything!!

Bounty packs to for sample and vouchers oh and join Boots baby club buy 1 pack newborn baby nappies and get a bag worth £30 for carrying napies, wetwipes in etc! Only cost £4 if you can afford it.

Good luck

Sorry to hear of your situation..

I just saw this is an ad..
Here

Agree with everyone else on the freecycle, bootfairs etc.

Just looking deeper at that site and theres actually quite a few bargins.

Bouncer £15.
Changing mat £5
Moses basket £25
Cheap clothes

You won't need bottles/sterilizer if you feed.

Get a bassinet first, then when baby is older & you have saved you can get a cot. Baby will be in bassinet for at least 5/6 months.

Changing mat = old towels on floor. Changing mats are always cold!