How to have a baby during the credit crunch: Compromise on some of your products

Natalie writes…

When you’re having a baby and have specific tastes or just want to get only the best, it is difficult to utter the c-word, ‘compromise’, but if you are looking to make some savings during your credit crunch pregnancy, it’s time to sit down and think about what needs to be super stylish or the hot brand, and what actually just needs to be basic and does what it says on the tin. You’d be surprised; that covers a lot of things!

I’ll be damned if I don’t have a stylish pushchair or cot, but really, for things like baby baths, sterilisers etc, buy stuff that does exactly what you need, and cheaply. They don’t do them in black or stainless steel (trust me I’ve checked) and really, they all do the same thing…

You don’t need bells and whistles where the steriliser practically speaks to you when it’s done. You need something quick, efficient, and effective. Microwave sterilisers were surprisingly popular with many of my friends and about half the price of a typical steriliser. Kiddicare have the Phillips Avent Microwave Steriliser for £21.27 instead of the RRP of £43.98 and it also includes a fab thermometer set which will actually knock another item off your essentials list. If don’t own a microwave or just prefer the normal steriliser route (some people don’t like idea of the steriliser taking up residence in something they use really frequently), you can try Tommee Tippee’s Closer to Nature Electric Steam Steriliser (pictured), which is £32.99 instead of £47.98 also at Kiddicare or Blue Fish have the Avent Express Steam Steriliser for £34.95 instead of £49.95.

Other compromising suggestions, don’t buy a baby bath and just bathe your baby in your normal bath or get the fab blue one from Ikea which is £4.49.

Even though you may want everything stylish, vibrant, and even loud, if you’re genuinely on a budget, you’ll have to inject some white in there, although I don’t blame you for skipping over the baby blues and pinks…

Buy basics that no-one else is going to see (or you just don’t care about) in plain white because they are cheaper. However, make sure you buy decent quality because if they don’t wash well, you’ll be buying more, which will actually cancel out the savings you made. I highly recommend John Lewis baby basics, where for instance you get a pack of 7 high quality body suits for £8, but H&M also do some handy bits, and surprisingly (or not surprisingly considering they have their finger in every pie, you can get some really good baby basics with a cute print on them (ours were a gift and they had dinosaurs), from every little helps, Tesco. I have never seen them at my local Tesco and I live near the biggest one in England so this is a bargain you need to dig for. And no, they don’t sell them online. John Lewis are also very well priced for sheets and cellular blankets, as long as you’re heading into neutral territory.

I also purchased muslins from John Lewis, £6.99 for 6, because again, they’re excellent quality and still look like new 15 months later, but if you want some that you don’t give a monkey’s about, Ebay is the place to go. I used my ones from there for soaking up big brown accidents and mopping up stuff like jam, and save the nice ones for sweet breast feeding moments and baby burping. Trust me, there is a difference in quality. Best4Baby seems to be the one where I and my mates have all ended up on ebay, where you can get as many as 12 for £6.99 plus P&P. Note though, you have to decide how essential these are. When I first heard about them, I didn’t ‘get’ them, but on the advice of others I brought some and they were brilliant. Impromptu cover for the changing mat, spreading over surfaces you’re not sure about when you’re out, oversized bib, mop up duty, vomit barrier…

A big area where you can make compromises on is on the big stuff - pushchair/pram and cot. Even if you want stylish, on trend, and functional, you don’t need to go all Bugaboo or Stokke. Difference to your budget? Depending on what you ‘downgraded’ to, around £200 to £400 on a pushchair alone. Or buy amazing pushchair, cheap, but nice looking cot. You could save a few hundred there too.

Ultimately, only you can decide where you want to compromise, but if you’re on a budget, I’d start with the easy choices first.