Skip to main content

Spending, Spending and Saving!

Blimey, this having a baby malarkey isn't half expensive isn't it?  It's no real surprise, and it's something I've thought about a lot.  We're determined not to get carried away buying loads of stuff we don't need for ages, and stuff which is just "silly".

So far we've got a cot bed, the car seat and isofix bars, and that's it, but we did get absolute killer bargains!  The cot bed is secondhand and will either be varnished or painted to match other furniture.  The car seat was a steal and includes rain covers etc, and will fit the travel system we intend to purchase.

We're off to an open night with Mothercare next week which will give us the opportunity to order anything we want from there and put it on a payment plan so that we can budget easily.  I'll also get a little a goodie bag, and some vouchers too which will no doubt come in handy!

We've just started putting together a list of everything else we need, and we're going to start researching to see where will give us the best deal, including second hand where appropriate.  I'm really keen to find out which things parents bought and actually wish they hadn't wasted the money.  For example, the item I'm not sure we "really" need is a nappy bin.  OK they're not mega expensive, but every penny saved is a saving, and really, what's wrong with just putting the nappy in a nappy bag and placing it in the bin?  If the bin gets emptied everyday, surely it's not a problem?

What have you bought that you wish you hadn't bothered?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A child of many names

As I sit here waiting on my little one to wake up it occurred to me just how many names he has.  Of course he has his birth name and we do use it,but we also have a lot of pet names for him, which he will respond to, and other ways of referring to him. Take this for example, when he wakes up from his nap, I can almost guarantee that I will say something along the lines of "Hello, gorgeous, did you enjoy your nap?"  When he sees his dad, he will probably call him"mate", as in, "Hello mate!" and start trying to play with him.  The way his dad and I refer to him is very different and is probably more about our language and communication styles. Then we have pet names.  I can't even tell you where they all came from, how they all started, but each and everyone of them makes me smile, especially when he recognises them as him. The first one was probably by my lovely mate who took his initials and called him Ogl.  Sometimes we vary it and he has Ogl Sp...

Tough times

As I stop and think on how tough this week has been, I also realise just how lucky I am. This week I've barely left the house, I've physically spoken to very few people. There are a number of reasons for this, but the most stressful part has been a very grumpy, whingey, unsettled, hard to please 9 month old. I can honestly count on one hand how many days I have felt I wanted a do over since he came into our world.  But this week I have wanted bedtime to arrive within an hour of waking up every single day. Every single day. It's definitely been a shit week, with tiny moments of joy brought about from the wonderful humorous messages received from friends and the rare toothy grins and kisses from the wrigglebum. But, despite the shittiness (yes that is a real word), I'm incredibly lucky. He's 9 and a half months old and it's taken this long to have a week like this.  I don't know why he's been like this, and I never will, but it's wonderful to ...

Getting real

I'm one of those people who generally believe that if you want to do something then you should just get on and do it. And I knew that at some point in my pregnancy obviously some things I'd just have to accept I couldn't do. Up until nearly a fortnight ago I was still climbing ladders to paint walls and generally doing everything as normal.  It's finally hit me that I need to slow down and think more about taking it easy.  This is not easy to do.  I find it very hard to relax and do nothing.  I can sit on the sofa and to all intents and purposes look relaxed but my mind is in constant overdrive listing all the things I could and should be doing.  Today is no exception.  Despite some kind of stomach upset which has had me being sick and managing pain all I can think about is getting organised and finishing off jobs that are outstanding.  Somebody please teach me how to switch off.