bubbalicious: the place for young parents

Good advice. been panicking about how im guna afford it all...now i think ill be ok! x

hand me downs are good espically when most of the stuff has only been worn once x

dont buy too much! baby has got far too much and fits in about a quarter of it! its just a waste buying too much! x

i am 18 an i think i am goin 2 struggle with this baby. i have a boyfriend but he doesnt work at the moment because of the recession. i leave my work nxt wk aswell so we dnt no what to do. we r also trying 2 get r own place. we have support of family an friends like. but any advice???

I mostly bought everything that my son needed before he was even born, wen i was still workin, i bort all clothes up till 1 year, nappies, wipes, bath stuff, etc. I literally stocked up on everything even tins of milk beacuse I new that as soon as we had had him an we would be in our own house money would be tight. My partner was very clever an saved all the money he could before we moved into our house so that we could afford to furnish. Most of our stuff for our house was mainly bought buy family members as house warming presents, without our families we wouldnt have half the stuff we have!! Once we knew what all our bills would be we rote them all down in date order so that we could make sure that all our bills are paid first before we look into buying any luxuries an i think that we do an manage very well!

i dont noo wheree to start withh afffordin it.

i dont noo wheree to start withh afffordin it.

I Look Around my housee and i have spent an absolute fortune on Alfie, when i actually think about half the think about half things i have bought he doesnt need i just cant help myself. all the other babys in my familly are girls so i didnt get any hand mi downs :( and bought everything a fresh Grants Are a really good help... And budgeting loans x

Im lucky enough to have a couple young nephews, who's mums have kept loads of there stuff which they've given me. Which is great, so alot of stuff that I would have needed to buy, they've given me :D. And theres loads of different grants available to baby-mums (depending on your situation, grants may vary) but everyone I think at least gets the £190 grant @ 25weeks aslong as you were born in the UK. And atm im finding alot of diff shops (online instore) have sales, getting rid of stuff for there spring collections everythings going for cheap, so I've been buying other lil bits and bobs. A online site I go on alot is ebay, theres loadsa different stuff on there :).

Hand-me-downs - FAB! As long as it is clean and not ruined I would not say no as I have only bought a few things and from the things people have bought me and the stuff people have given me I have everything! I love E-bay I sold some old stuff I had lying around and I left the money in my Paypal account so it could jsut be used for baby stuff I mananged to get hold of a Mama and Papa's baby carrier worth £50 for £8 and it was new - Bargin! A lot of the stuff the baby shops say you need you don't - for example I'm not bothering with a bath thermometer, just dip your elbow in it and see how it feels. Me and my partner both work so we have money but we decided we don't need to spend loads on baby stuff as she will only be in them for a short while :-)

my family and people you know giving you stuff really helps jsut takes the pressure off a little bit

i have been told i will not be able to claim income support because i am still in education n living with my parents

when you actually think about it you don't need half the stuff that shops recommend you to buy. Keep it simple your baby will be happy as long as it is in a warm, safe and loving enviroment. Honestly a two week old baby could not care less about whether it came from mamas and papas latest range!

I used to get a lot of little baby bits and bobs from the buy/sell forum on the bounty site........... I also have bags and boxes full of boys clothes upto a year old, mostly next and jasper conran, all perfect condition. My partners boss gave us it all when he moved to australia whilst I was pregnant, I had a girl so I kept the boys stuff to try and sell it on to make a bit pocket money.... never had any interest though :(

Don't buy into all the things the media makes you think your baby can't live without......

We had hand me downs, and me nan helped me out loads.

hand me downs are great if you know anyone that has had children

i get alot of handmedowns from family, but i have got my pram second hand and cot an mattress new, use ebay for prams

hand me downs,charity shops,ebay are all fantastic but their are some great shops where you can buy new...ethel austins,george,primark many more great value for money !

Until I had my 1st I often thought how can anyone put their little baby in used clothes etc... but that all changed, my two do go in hand-me-downs and ebay bargains ;) obviously things like mattresses, underwear etc is all new, and don't get me wrong i do by them new things too :P but I'm not too proud to accept hand me downs now. They can be just perfect :)

I accepted all second hand things offered, although I brought new mattress's for the cot and moses basket. Dont be snobby about it, babies are rarely in things like clothes long! Jumble sales and ebay are a good way to buy things cheap but you'll normally find if you know a few new mums you'll get given alot of stuff for free!

ebay is a great site, also i gotta wicked friend who passed most of the big things down so it saved money in the long run.

i got alot of help from my family i think they are the best people to ask x

Sites like ebay and trademe have fantastic bulk lots of clothing for very cheap, and all other essentials. I even kept a second hand mattress as I knew the mother and trusted her. And I got it steralized for half the cost of a new one

Ebay is brilliant but id never buy a carseat or mattress second hand. Dont buy to many clothes or things for baby because you get so many gifts when you have them that you always end up with two of something and they end up with so many clothes that they wont were because they grow out of them so quickly.

You can find some great deals at tag sales and 2nd hand shops. And don't turn down hand-me-downs, I got a free crib that the neighbors were going to throw out.

You could always keep old clothes/equipment baby outgrows and trade friends/family members/neighbors for things you need. This obviously only works if you have what they need and vice versa. Also, I have seriously never used the changing table we have. It is so much easier to change the kids on the floor or couch.

Over here. We have no government help if you make over $600 a month for three people. Which is barely rent in a one bedroom apartment where i live. Ebay and freecycle were life savers. So were second hand shops. Just make sure you clean anything that goes in mouth lol which thinking about it is EVERYTHING!

ebay is so good, but i had alot of help from friend and family so hand me downs are great

Buy only essentials - baby shops throw everything at you but you really don't need that much. Don't scrimp on safety equipment but you can use unwanted items such as toys etc. Just clean them before first use, especially if it's for a newborn.

Use freecycle and ebay to get things free or cheap. I bought my baby's mattress new though cos this is what they recommend.