Despite the price of all the “stuff” you need. At some point you’re going to have to bite the bullet and purchase. Including the following essentials:
- Pram
- Cot
- Moses basket
- Car seat
- Bedside cot
- Bottles and steriliser
- Baby bath
- Bedding
- Babygrows/clothes
- Baby monitor
The range of products out there is mind blowing, so set yourself a budget and go and attack the shops. Mothercare seems like the obvious option but most well know retailers offer some form of baby product these days, in fact I’m considering going into business myself, there’s certainly money in it.
I won’t go into every item in great detail as there are so many options out there, your best bet is to go hunting. I’ll touch on some of the smaller items as we get start to use them, as right now I can only take an educated guess they’ll do the job. However, I think it’s wise to talk about prams.
The price of prams will blow you away. To put it in perspective you’ve got the rental fee on a property in Kensington, an all-inclusive holiday to the Maldives then close behind you’ve got the pram. Again through the generosity of family this was something that was bought for us and I will be eternally grateful, and for those looking for a cheaper option, they do exist. We have invested in a second hand buggy off gumtree for £150 that we can use as a “throw around”, I’m always sceptical about buying off these sites but when it arrived at home I wouldn’t have hesitated to have it as the only pram we had. So for those of you out there that can’t part ways with £600+ for a pram, cheaper options are out there, just get hunting.
Pram shopping was a lot like a trip to a car dealership when we carried out our first shopping trip. Like the wise man I am, I decided to go armed with the mother of all hangovers… Huge mistake.
On arrival we were faced with different brands, colours, accessories and most of all prices. What you’re really looking for is a swiss army pram, one that offers a removable car seat, the flat cot, rear or front facing and the basket on the base (helps with more “stuff”). For the taller gent, like myself, adjustable handles will be a God send to stop you having to lean over. Having test drunk driven a few of them around the shop it became apparent leaning over for what are likely to be long walks is no fun. Something to bear in mind.
Now, these optimus prime/do it all prams lean towards the more expensive end (£600+) but overall tend to work out better than buying separately, but do your research and look for deals, there is more out there than you think! This also applies to both fitting a baby seat and getting the pram in the boot. The way they are designed these days is quite incredible and they fold down into next to nothing, but a bigger boot will help!
Dad in Training 