Before Zachary was even conceived we had the ‘talk’, can we even afford a baby?. At that time no we couldn’t. I had no savings and we had outgoings on the house and cars. I spent most nights working out on paper what my outgoings were and would be if I had a baby. Yes there is a calculator on the internet to see how much a baby would cost and how much you’ll need to save, and my figures weren’t coming anywhere close.

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/baby-costs-calculator

That link above just asks what you would spend on the general items you need for a baby. For example ‘cot bed’, so I searched the internet for the cot bed I would like and rounded it up and put the amount in. I did this on every item and I was truly shocked and on my hand written notes I wrote a big ‘NOT GOING TO HAPPEN’. That was that thinking about having a baby was out the window. I tried saving as much as I could but according to that website it just wasn’t enough. Would I ever be able to have a family?

So when we found out I was pregnant the question was asked again ‘can we afford this baby?’ Back again looking at my notes that I aggressively crossed out, making a few adjustments and it was still a big ‘NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!’ Ahhhhh. What are we going to do? This little baby is counting on us, but we just had to think positive. There’s people in the world that are a lot worse off and still manage to raise a child perfectly. So we had to think to ourselves, do we need everything brand new? Well that answer is easy, and no we don’t, at the end of the day your baby will grow out of a lot of stuff or ruin quite a lot of stuff. To be truthful we got a lot of things on facebook market, just type in what your looking for and see what’s nearby. We went to the peoples houses just to make sure if it was in good condition, didn’t have to be perfect, just clean and we brought most things half price than they are on the highstreets. So here are my top 5 things I think are essential.

Number 1.

Number 1.

I’ve chosen a next to me crib, this has worked a treat. Scrap your moses baskets and buy one of these. These will last until your baby basically grows out of it and trust me that could be at least a year,a moses basket will probably last you a few months. You can adjust it to different heights and angles, which we loved because can you image drinking a bottle of milk and lying flat on your back? We tilted it so Zac’s feet angled lower than his head and found he was a lot more comfortable. And don’t forget the name ‘next to me’ you simply attach it around your bed or mattress and your baby is safe and right next to you. Saves you from getting out of bed and you keep warm whilst tending to your baby. Sounds great right? click the image above to buy! It also comes with a mattress and removable and washable linings.

Number 2.

Number 2.

I’ve chosen the tommee tippee perfect prep machine. Who ever invented this needs a pat on the back. Seriously. I was breastfeeding for the first two months and my mum mentioned this machine to me when I was thinking about bottle feeding, and I thought what machine can make a perfect bottle within 2 minutes. What kind of sorcery is this?. So I got one and yep, makes a bottle under 2 minutes! For the mothers and fathers out there that made bottles in the middle of the night faffing with the kettle and making sure its the right temperature, watch your back there’s a new kid on the block. Click the image above to buy and watch the magic.

Number 3.

Number 3 I’ve chosen this little guy. A white noise little master mind. When we first played this, oh my God we thought no way are we going to sleep with this but now we cant go to sleep without it. This cuddly toy is more powerful than you think and WILL help your baby to go to sleep. We put this on when Zachary is having his last bottle before bed so he knows its bedtime and whenever he becomes a bit fidgety in the night it calms him down and straight back to sleep he goes. If Zac cries for no apparent reason and makes us s**t ourselves then the white noise will come on automatically. God send, click on the image above to buy and have a peaceful night. Your welcome.

Number 4.

Number 4 I’ve chosen the bottle steriliser. We had one from boots but unfortunately it kept tripping our power out downstairs, yeah not what you need. This one you use your microwave. Simple. We have tommee tippee bottles which go into this steriliser very easily. Simply put 7oz of water in the bottom put your bottles in, and wham in the microwave for 4 minutes. Price coming out on amazon about half price from mothercare! Click the image about to buy to grab a bargain.

Number 5.

And last one I’ve chosen a bath chair. We used to bath Zachary in a baby tub but came to find out he didn’t really like to be submerged into water. So my mum and dad brought us a bath chair and it works. You don’t have to fill the bath completely and its mesh so water goes straight through it. He looks a lot more comfortable and could hold toys and look around more, whereas before we had to hold him and wash him at the same time. We just poured water onto him and scrubbed him with a flannel and his baby wash. Perfect. So again click on the image above and buy make bath time fun.

So there’s my top 5 products I would recommend. There is a lot more and I could go on forever but if you have questions or have anything else on your mind to get, I’m more than happy to answer your queries. Remember you don’t have to buy everything new. Do some searching and have a peak on facebook market, your doing a mum a favour for getting whatever your buying out of her house, and she’s doing you a favour on a cheap deal. Happy shopping!