Mrs North is due to deliver Nipper North into the world in 6 weeks.

My wallet has never been emptier with all the purchases.

What have we done..?

🙂

It is worth every single penny.

And remember Ebay is your friend – sell things when you no longer need them (unless you plan on having further children of course). We bought a Mamas & Papas swing for £30 off there and have just sold it again for £35.

And NCT sales are brilliant – get your wife to volunteer so she gets the pick of the bargains before they let the crowds in.

And try not to buy things until you know you need them – my wife spent about £200 on really nice organic natural cotton bedding sets (x2 for our twins) then we ended up putting them in £15 sleeping bags. It is heartbreaking to see all that wasted bedding 🙁

Yup it carries on like that. We are starting to see sone light the youngest we will take out of nursery in a few weeks as the MIL has retired. Nappies, milk and all the rubbish are long gone and that was a help.

They're worth it though, most of the time.

LOL, Mrs Bream has 7 weeks to go and thus far we have spent about 50 quid, and until last weekend we hadn't even spent anything 😯

I call it denial but the wife just calls me lazy….. whatever 😆

Good luck with it all, can't wait myself, even more exciting than buying bikes

Babies are cheap. It's dressing them, the nappies, the car seat, the buggy, the food, the utensils, etc. etc. etc.

Then the cost drops for a couple of years – ages 4-9 aren't too bad.

Then they want a TV, computer, …

get used to it brother north 🙂

ebay, NCT sales, second hand shops, etc etc

almost 4 years in with 2 little lads and I've never been poorer but its worth every penny

You really have to have another to justify the expense of the first 🙂

Hmmm selling stuff. I'm afraid I'm not that tight or mean we give all the unwanted stuff away to friends or friends of friends. There's always someone who is struggling to kit out or grandparents who want something for when they baby sit.

Even offered stair gates to a young mother who's child we got called to was just mobile and had an accident. Was told it was fine though as health carer was going to bring some new ones. My colleague then asked if I'd not noticed the 42" plasma and ps3.

Yep, NCT sales, eBay and hand-me-downs from friends and family.

Buying tons of expensive new stuff for babies is madness – but hugely hormonally driven by parents who want "everything to be perfect for their little angel".

The simple truth is babies don't give a hoot if the Moses Basket is second-hand or that nice new one from Mamas and Papas. And they grow out of it in a couple if months anyway.

Yep – the times of excess money each month, saving left right and centre have long-gone and we are just getting by each month, but Mrs M only works part-time. Hopefully when ours go to school (3.5 years and counting) she will go back full time, there won't be nappy costs and they can eat with us (and no more expensive pots* to buy).

How much? …. everything you have and more! But what a result 😀

I'm afraid I'm not that tight or mean we give all the unwanted stuff away to friends or friends of friends. There's always someone who is struggling to kit out or grandparents who want something for when they baby sit.

[Get off]
High horse
[/Get off]

Everyone has different circumstances. We are among the last with children and we have given away things when we know someone wants something, but some other new parents also want to buy new rather than be given someone else's hand-ons.

🙄

Having children is like entering into an eternal hire purchase agreement where the payments keep rising and you never reach the final payment until you die, and sadly the novelty of the goods wears off after 2 days 🙂

We give clothes to friends and receive them from friends as the kids go through sizes.
Only buy new what you have to and overcome the problem that some people appear to have with "second hand" it is cost effective and environmentally friendly.

Babies are cheap – wait till they grow up!!! And they grow up ruddy fast!

Babies don't have to be expensive. I still ended up with too much stuff despite not buying a single item of clothing. All provided by friends and relatives (not requested mind, just seems you can't stop people giving you stuff).

Think our only essential expense was a car seat

Didn't buy a pram, used a sling instead, Moses basket was a gift, picked up reuseable nappies cheap on ebay.

It really need not cost you a lot. The industry conspires to make you think you need to spend thousands.

We got a cast-off bed
Mattress for £90
Sling at first instead of a buggy for £40
Car seat (bought of ebay at knock down price of £250 for a stupidly expensive thing) but we got given another two anyway.
Cheap clothes stacky thing from ikea for baby clothes (£10)
Cheap changing table from ikea (£20)
Got given a TON of clothes both used and new
Bought reusable nappies (£120 from ebay)
Didn't use a moses basket
Got given a lil seat thing from Grandparents
No bottles/utensils etc, used the breast

When we finally did get a pushchair it was £150 reduced end of line.

That's about it really. Oh except we did buy a baby trailer for £500 but that was an extravagance not really necessary 🙂

just keep all the boxes and as above flog everything on ebay and make some cashback.

we were given loads and were lucky, got pushchairs from mates really cheap.

buy clothes from asda (george) my brother in law kits theirs out in baby gap and mammas and pappas pointless in my eyes BUT each to their own

If you've spent a fortune already then thats choice. Babies don't need much when they are born. I think we got the lot for about £100 used off mates (bath 2 prams clothes bottles)

We did but a cot but neither child ever slept in it ever. I'd buy things as you need them not according to what you think you need

Its really easy to say get sucked into a travel system covered in features with claims you'll use it for years. But the reality is that you want them in a nice light stroller ASAP

The real cost is lost income/ child care. We are talking bling carbon bikes per year. Unless you were already in a position where Mrs North wasn't generating an income

Cheers all. We have a mixture of new, s/hand gifted.

Am v excited. No idea if it's a boy or girl, names aren't decided and we've still to agree whether to decorate the "nursery" (one wall is currently a beautiful soft pink…).

😀

Freecycle (freegle) or the local equivalent is tops! Babies are an industry and they want you to buy shiny, fashionable stuff to go with your brand new baby. Resist! Save the dosh for all the classes they (you) want to attend, that's big money. Football and swimming classes start at 6months now! 🙄 And all the bikes they'll get through………

Lol @ using the bling carbon bike as a monetary unit.

Mrs North has just finished work for mat leave, and it is her current intention (though not yet communicated to work) to return on a part-time (60%) basis (assuming there is a job for her to return to – higher education).

Frankly, I earn enough that if her salary drops by 40%, we will still be fine. Just got to stop frittering money away like we have been over the past few years.

So, no more bikes for me (six is probably enough…).

Six is definitely enough to sit in a garage not being ridden for the next two years…

😉

Travelling system = circa £700?

Our pram = £200 bought by bro and sister.

Car seat = £50

Clothes soo far = TkMaxx and from friends who currently have a Son who is 1.

Why do people need to spend spend spend?

Show them love = love doesn't cost a penny but time 😀

Show them love = love doesn't cost a penny but time

Agreed – I never tire of hugging and kissing my two little wonders.

Good luck to you .. it's a great thing having kids.

Don't be too proud we got loads of clothes from friends as handme downs.
I've got 2 young girls and they love it.
And a lot of the clothes have not been worn much if at all.

Me too. When hes in the sling/walking the dog I'll give him a right smack on the cheek which makes him smile! 😀

Me too. When hes in the sling/walking the dog I'll give him a right smack on the cheek which makes him smile!

Yeah, ours are now 1yr old and understand what a 'kiss' is so (Evie especially) puckers up and giggles like a loon when she gets one. We sometimes catch them kissing each other which is so sweet it is almost unbearable 🙂

Kids aren't a fashion statement – we don't need an £800 Bugaboo buggy or designer clothes for our nippers.

Just get a safe car seat, a useable buggy and let the relatives buy it loads of clothes!

Exciting times OMITN!

When they're babies, people want to buy you stuff and you can't have enough vests/sleepsuits etc for a good while. You just have to remember to dress the baby in whatever each person got them when they come to visit. People love that.

Friends, relatives and colleagues whose kids no longer need bulky baby kit (such as cribs, cots, nappy bins, baby baths etc) will see you as the perfect repository for getting rid of all that junk and reclaiming some loft space. They'll scrub and disinfect it all to within an inch of its life so you don't think they're manky slatterns. Result.

Mrs ITN should establish a baby social circle (breast-feeding/mother-and-baby type groups are ideal if you don't have suitable friends nearby) as soon as, if only to save herself from going mental while you're out enjoying yourself and relaxing at work. This has an important bonus that becomes clear as the kids grow older – they grow at different rates so need different clothing sizes at different times. Smart mothers swap clothes around to make sure everyone wears the right size and cut down on the amount of storage you need. You and Mrs ITN get free (often alarmingly expensive) clothes and the fun of laughing at what some people are willing to dress their kids in. Just hope your kid isn't the biggest one or this won't work.

Trust me, you'll soon stop frittering money away when there's none to fritter. Mrs Tyred has been off work for over 2 years now since Tyred Jr number 2 was born, a few more months left then she's due to go back, after a year's mat leave and a career break. We are going to feel like millionaires once she starts getting paid again!

Best of luck matey, enjoy!

Mrshora wanted a fancy pushchair partly because she wanted to be seen to be classy to the other mums whereas my criteria was lightweight and easy to handle whilst out and about 😀

Kids aren't a fashion statement – we don't need an £800 Bugaboo buggy or designer clothes for our nippers.

But some people want to be able to get the best they can afford for their new arrivals.

EDIT: We spent over £1k on a travel system for our twins (not much choice, it was by far the best) but conversely we also bought a £35 second-hand stroller off Ebay. Everyone makes their own choices about what they spend their money on…

Agree but I see it as essentially waste. They go through kit soo quickly its not worth the additional cost.

Labels/brands for childrenswear is another area I'm non-plussed over.

Congratulations Mr North. Our first is due in 7 weeks.

We managed to get lucky by buying £1200 of kit off friends for less than a third of that (their nine month old boy had outgrown it all). And it's all in immaculate condition. All we need now is the pram/pushchair – probably a Quinny Buzz, and then the usual running costs.

It's the child care that scares me. Some are paying £800/month around here – and one couple are paying £1100! And it seems they're having to pay for the holiday time when the kid(s) aren't even in child care!

No idea how we're supposed to find that amount of extra cash, but I guess one will somehow.

But some people want to be able to get the best they can afford for their new arrivals.

Yeah, but Bugaboo isn't necessarily the best, nor is it really worth anything like £800.

Is OMITN's wife called OWITN?

Yeah, but Bugaboo isn't necessarily the best, nor is it really worth anything like £800.

When I say 'best' I mean they want to be able to afford what they think is the best for their requirements.

only thing we spent big money on was pram/childset for car system thing and some nice bedroom furniture, baby clothes from h+m, next, even m+s aren't expensive if you but the multipacks and avoid anything branded

worth every penny though, just wait till they put your mobile in the toilet

In my experiance it's not the cost of the cloths etc that are the killer, it's the wife/G-friend not working and then when they do go back it's the childcare…..oh sweet jesus it's murdering us. it wasn't too bad for the first years ago cos her mum looked after little-un but she has sadly passed away so we are forced to pay full cost for minders and nursery and it's brutal.

but still congrats i'm only winging cos it's affected my bike buying hobby. 😆

Why is "the most expensive" always considered "the best?"

A £400 travel system (Mothercare my3) did the job brilliantly and we still use the buggy bit. Rave reviews, well designed.

Looked at Bugaboo and they didn't do as much as this system and everything, I mean EVERYTHING was an extra. My3 comes with all you need as do many others.

When it came to a car seat though (when he reached one) then I did spend – imported a rear facing seat from Sweden – 5x safer than front facing seats for this age according to lots of research.

For clothes, we mostly got bought stuff. I do spoil him with toys though!