Pregnant mommies - money saving
 

i have made a discovery that has saved me some serious dosh...
DO NOT BUY MOTHERCARE CLOTHES
go to tesco or asda they're so much cheaper.
i bought yesterday at tesco 3 shortsleeved suits (legless) for £6 and 2 pairs of trousers for £3.50 when one t-shirt/trouser set at mothercare costs £10! Also they do some good ranges of neutral babygrows. I got 7 for £5 instead of mothercare's 7 for £14!!

Cheers for that Mand, I won't buy anything yet because I'm superstitious but me and Ernie scared ourselves half to death seeing Mothercare's prices the other day!

Last time I was in boots they had some good deals..but I think Asda's and tesco's are your best bet..even though the quality won't be so good because babies grow so quick anyways so I doubt they will 'wear out'

mothercare is ridiculous isnt it? Here is my mothercare rant!!!!
i was in there recently and the lady asked me if i wanted a mothercare card. i said i had one and she asked if i wanted to use it. i said 'do you get points on it or something?' cos i havent really paid much attention to the ins and outs of it yet as i accidentally agreed to it in a previous visit and it took almost 1/2 an hour to sort it out. anyways she said yes and i pulled the card out and continued putting money down on the counter (40 quid i spent on a bathing suit, a damaged tshirt, scratch mits, booties and a pack of 3 sleep suits). then she was like oh no, you pay with the card. i said no i want to pay cash and she said well i have put it through now. i told her i did not want to pay with that, there is interest on that and she just stared blankly. so i told her she better UN put it through! after 10secs pondering she went off to get a manager. then i had to stand for 10mins+ while she took personal details and asked me to sign stuff. after she returned the money to the card, she said well, im going to have to put it all through again now in a snippy manner. she was clearly annoyed and didnt even respond when i said bye and thanks. i came back 10mins later wen i realised she charged me full price for a reduced price damaged tshirt. i got another lady who got another manager involved and they went through the whole things with personal details again. another 10 mins+ passes - and i am quite heavily pregnant and the store is hot - and the woman turns to me and says you are not registered to that address. i clarified my details and she shook her head. i was getting pretty mad by then though i remained very polite and i said well i live there, i have a mothercare card registered there and the lady who served me before had no issues with my address. they were like well, we can over ride it. well why didnt you just do that in the first place? i tell you, for a place that is meant for pregnant women and babies they are pretty crap at what they do. i dont know the sex of my baby and i found ONE stand with unisex baby clothes. it was very limited. why?

Ah, yes supermarkets are the best for baby clothes.
Tesco is my fav, you get some really lovely clothes in there.
Best place for vests and sleepsuits is primark, the thick sleepsuits for the winter cost like £3 each and are like a tenner in mother care.
Mothercare is only good in the sales.

Get thee to Primark(where I work)! We don't have a special maternity range, however, we do have loads of long smock/tunic type things that are ideal- we have pregnant customers frequently buying them as maternity wear. Some are in the sales for as little as 25p!!

My bosses should be giving me a bonus for the free advertising...

I have to admit, for sleepsuits and vests, i'd rather shop at Mothercare. I've tried lots of different shops and it's the Mothercare ones that wash and wash. Plus, they seems to fit better or rather, the Mothercare "proportions" fit my son much better than the likes of Asda. Seven pounds for three suits in Mothercare isn't really that much when you get better suits, i feel anyway.

But for "proper" clothes as it were, Asda are pretty good. :)

Rusty (Daddy-to-be) nearly fainted at the prices in Mothercare and Babies R Us - I was looking for a baby book to record pregnancy stuff in, and he saw prices of cots and pushchairs... he went bright red and asked if there was somewhere he could sit down!!

the only time there is interest on a mothercare card is when you don't pay the bill in the time specified. You get a statement at the end of the month usually, and have i think about 2 weeks to pay it off. you get points which add up to vouchers.

I've actually found tesco's clothes to be of equal quality to the ones in mothercare, but tesco's sizes look a tiny bit smaller... which is ok... she'll grow out of tesco and into mothercare sizes. mand x

The one thing I do like about mothercare suits are that the cuffs of the sleeves fold back to form scratch mitts - it means he can't work them off like he does with seperate mitts, which is especially good through the night.

And it depends on your style, but I found New Look did some nice maternity clothes for not bad prices.

I think the stores might be limited in UK mainland, but Dunnes Stores are pretty reasonable. I work in children's wear there :D

Omg I'm only seeing now that Kelly's had her baby! Awwww...

I have to agree with Tesco being the same quality as mothercare although i've always found Tesco to make clothes bigger then any other place.

As for maternity wear, try Dorothy Perkins and New Look.

I would agree about Tesco. The vests and sleepsuits wash and tumble dry quite well.
Primark has also PJs, blankets...
I really loved shopping when I was pregnant!!!

nowhere in newport makes my size apart from evans and their maternity wear is only just being developed and consits of 2 or 3 items at present.. all very bland/boring. I was a 24//26 pre-pregnancy... now i'm a 26 and a 22/24 on top (i lost some weight) but the normal clothes just look wrong on my new shape. I'm getting some stretchy tops that are longer and pulling them over the bump - it shows it off nice. 10weeks to go! mand x
ps Kelly... i do like those cuffs too - apparently newborn socks are harder to get off than scratch mitts....just another idea. mand x

I actually dont like tesco baby clothes at all and I have 20months of experience with them...

*they put buttons in stupid impractical places like on the back of the neck - so a small baby is lying on them - very uncomfortable not to mention awkward to dress them in.

*the clothes lose their shape and stretch very quickly with wearing and washing (at 40 degrees)

*the shape is too short and wide to be of any use on my daughter and just make her look ridiculous and are annoying.

Asda - however I quite like for outer clothing. they seem to wash and wear much better although a lot of the clothes are just hideous.

Sainsbury's also tend to last and fit better.

however for vests/babygro's etc I have to say M&S, John Lewis and mothercare have much better material and when its the layer next to their skin I feel personally that I want their softer, more comfortable material. they also last much longer and I also naievly thought that she would grow so fast you wouldnt wear them out but they get so much use that inferior quality ones just become unusable long before they grow out of them and you just end up spending the money you thought you had saved on new ones.

on clothes overall i find that if i buy some items really cheaply say Primark or sale items then if i team it with say a cute top from Next or H&M kids (as i love their stuff) then you save money yet still get to dress them cutely.

as for SOCKS.... the ONLY ones that stay on are babygap... i know they arent cheap but all other socks fall off and get lost. I mean every single other type. by buying babygap socks in the long run you save money as you dont end up rebuying socks every week because your child lost yet another one.

hth

See, i completely disagree with you. Tesco clothes fit real lovely on my daughter, they've all stayed in pretty good condition, i've never had to re buy vest or anything like that. As for the button things, there's only been 1 or 2 items that have had a button at the back of the neck, but there we go.

I honestly really don't see the point in spending a lot of money on clothes for children especially when you can get cheaper and nice clothes in places like Tesco.

I guess it depends on the shape of your child. one size most def doesnt fit all IYKWIM. we also use cloth nappies so again that limits on what trousers she can wear etc. I suppose it also depends on what kind of clothes you like and your sense of style. I have to say that i shop around and just buy a few bits here and there if i see something i like and that isn't ridiculously priced.

I didnt mean to come across critical of tesco cothes but just to warn that they dont neccessarily fit every child and state my own experiences just to give the flip side.

as for spending money on clothes - occassionally i just see one item that i really like for instance a M&S dress the summer she was born. It was a bit more than I would like to have paid but it was gorgeous and became her special occassion dress. the fabric was so soft and cool on her skin and summer of 06 was so hot that we totally got our money's worth from it.

Asda, i must say are quite good. Tesco shrink so easily though. Also, primark bodygrows are good, as is the baby range in woolworths. Best nappies i've found for newborn so far are asda new arrivals, manufactured the same way as pampers, but half the price, and don't stick to babies skin as often. Make sure you join boots parenting club. Best one i've joined yet. Don't buy a nappy wrapper as you get one free from bounty. Don't buy a changing bag as you get a really good one free from boots if you join the baby club before little one is 3 months, but you have to buy a pack of newborn pampers. If breastfeeding, don't buy a steriliser, you can just boil any equipment. And don't buy newborn clothes in case you have a shock like i did and end up with a very large baby. The newborn clothes usually go up to about 11 lb, so Darrell's only fitted until he was about 10 days old. Ask your midwife about hiring a breast pump if you plan to breastfeed. May be cheaper than buying one. Can't think of anything else.

P.s. Have you girls all signed up for the bounty website. It is brilliant!

You could also try and see if you have a freecycle in your area on the internet.i know some people dont like second stuff but i got some great things off freecycle and met the lovely people who were offering it.
my babys gone through 4 lots of clothes today a mixture of sick and poo and the freecycle clothes i got stop him ruining his nice clothes.

i've got all the clothes i'll need upto 12weeks i think. i'm gonna get a few dresses after she is born - my sis-in-law is getting married soon, and maybe a few more onesies to sleep in. i've had a cot and baby weardrobe and bedding all given to me, mum and dad are buying a baby alarm, curtains and rug for the nursery, i'm getting a travel system bought by some nice neighbours....

i'm running out of things to say when people ask what gifts i want/need for the baby shower!

to get the nappy wrapper - do you have to join bounty or do you get it free (a coupon for it) in the bounty packs at hospital etc?

Mand - you get a voucher for it in your Bounty pack, which you just need to take to Argos.

yeah now I'm curious! What IS a nappy wrapper?

A nappy wrapper is kinda like a bin, just for nappies, but it's airtight, so hygienic, and can be put wherever you use to change the baby.

dammit. i already bought a nappy wrapper, i didnt know you got a coupon for it. grrrr! oh well...

oh yeah, my dad was harping on about a wipe warmer lmao. i thought it was quite funny and pretty unnecissary but he was insistant that its the best thing since sliced bread. he has a 9month old baby and he says she never gives him any hassle with nappy changing, even lifts her legs for him, only ever kicks up a fuss when the wipes are cold. he says its common sense really, a cold wipe on your butt aint gonna be nice, so no wonder babies cry. i still dont think i will be making the investment - i havent even seen any, its probably an american thing - but i thought i would share anyway lol.

See, i'm still using cotton wool for little one. But boots permanently have a bogof on their wipes. I think asda are cheaper though. But if you worry about sensitive skin, it's worth forking out a little bit more for the extra protection. Huggies pure wipes are good. Also, if you get income support or any of those benefits, make sure you apply for the healthy start scheme. I don't think they do milk tokens anymore, but the healthy start tokens can be used towards cost of formula if you're bottle feeding.

cotton wool and warm water! get a small thermos/kids flask and fill it with warm water and put in your changing bag along with a small bowl.cup to pour water into for changing. my mum said that's what she used to do when i was little - it was cheaper than wipes! mand x

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~phoenix~ (Post 554863) Also, if you get income support or any of those benefits, make sure you apply for the healthy start scheme. I don't think they do milk tokens anymore, but the healthy start tokens can be used towards cost of formula if you're bottle feeding.

Healthy Start tokens can go towards fresh fruit/vegetables, cows milk and forumla. Income support isn't the only qualifying benefit by the way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raven (Post 553428) dammit. i already bought a nappy wrapper, i didnt know you got a coupon for it. grrrr! oh well...

Nappy wrappers?!?! Reusable nappies all the way :thumbup: (or eco-disposables!).

You dont realize how expensive babys-r-us and places like that are until you see their prices compared to like wal-mart or other stores. I swear! I bought a pair of maternity pants at blooming belly and it cost me near $50 when I could have bought the same pair of pants at an off store for near $30.
I also agree with above about the buttons in the back of the clothes. My son hates them!

i am definately considering other options blossom but when i bring my newborn home, i think i will have quite a lot of my plate, particularly with it being my first baby so i will be using certainly be using disposables at first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raven (Post 561110) i am definately considering other options blossom but when i bring my newborn home, i think i will have quite a lot of my plate, particularly with it being my first baby so i will be using certainly be using disposables at first.

That's cool though, we used eco-disposables for the first couple of months actually because it took us so long to find reusable nappies that were right for us!

x

Question Blossom did/does your child get real bad nappy rash? every child who has had them at nursery has like constant nappy rash or it goes, and it's back a week later.

Our son has only ever had nappy rash when he once had to go in a Pampers nappy, so no, never had nappy rash with reusables. Most of the Mums and babies i know i don't have issues with nappy rash and cloth nappies.

:)

cloth nappies aren't as absorbant so need changing more frequently... that might be the source of the rashes??

also if you complain to the clubs about having not received a voucher you get extras!!

huggies never sent me my welcome pack, my fried said its usually 4 x £1 vouchers - i just got £12 worth because i emailled them to say that despite having been a member for over 20weeks i had not even had an email/letter to confirm my membership!
mand x