Don't know the cost of bring up a baby Alex, but just wait till they get into their early teens that's when the cost really rockets I know cos we had 3 of a family, 2 girls and a boy, the girls were a big drain on our funds.

when i was a teen i had to pay for my own stuff!! either get a job somewhere or work for my dad!

All i got bought was essentials ie underwear uniform and the odd pair of jeans or top but thats it!

Alex, if you are planning a babe you must start taking folic acid now. Can`t remember off the top of my head why but it is a big essential in preparing your body....

p.s If you need help (not Literally) with the breast feeding let me know. I fed three after all sorts of problems. My youngest was still coming for a little sip at 23 months!!!

thanks,

have got some ordered with my food shopping reduces the risk of spinal an brain disabilities...

will bear you in mind for breast feeding advice!

Agree with everyone else, once you have the main items, babies dont cost that much until they start nursery

We bought way too much stuff when Mia was born, had to have the latest travel system pram, only to find a few months later i wanted a lighter smaller one, then you progress to a stroller and so on. Think i had 4 prams in total!

Far too many clothes she hardly wore some of them before they didnt fit, shoes are a complete waste of time until they are walking properley then only buy one pair at a time or you end up giving them away hardly worn.

Get the basics, then worry about the rest as you go along (i wish thats what i had done)

But most importantly enjoy it!!!!!!!

They are babies for such a short time, as long as they are fed, have a clean nappy and are warm and loved, they will be happy, save the money, you'll need it later on!!!!

When you consider cost.Dont think of it in terms of money,
think of it in the amount of extra inches on your A$$
And get another dog xxx

couldnt agree more with this, however a few things that I personally could not have done without.

I got a specific buggy because I wanted something that was easy to manipulate for walking the dog, 3 wheeler is much, much easier to push with one hand....

check out your local freecycle for stuff as there is always loads on that.

personally i got given loads of clothes as my cousin had two boys so passed on alot of stuff - luca is wee so he is still in 9 month clothes and he is 13 months.

toys they get bored with so quickly, and its the type of thing that you can ask for as gifts etc rather than buy. i am constantly gifting toys to other people as we have far too many and they cant play with them all.

we do alot - we go out almost every day, my outlays are random purchases of clothes that i just cant walk past, nappies and wipes ( although i use reusable pocket nappies but disposable at bedtime, my initial outlay for nappies was £150...

my other expense is lunching with my friends from antenatal.!!

as long as you get help with any probs in early days breastfeeding is easiest , best and cheapest option, luca is still bf.

good luck

thanks for the replies guys!dani - how do you get onto freecycle i tried signing up ages ago but not had anything back...

you have to have a yahoo account - so just sign up a yahoo account and then follow from there - you dont have to actually use the yahoo - just set it so that any emails go to whichever email address you actually check - hope that makes sense.

I have seen loads of baby stuff on there - have also pm'd you with another site that might be helpful

d x