Preparing for a baby on a budget | The Nursery Furniture

Babies cost A LOT and lets not mention the elephant in the room called childcare - I'm still hysterically lolling about how we're going to afford that but that's a problem for another day. When we first found out we were preggo I was overwhelmed with exactly how much a baby needs and how much it all costs. It's also very easy as an expectant parent to get lost in knowing what your baby needs and what is just very clever marketing.

Unlike me, I refused to fall for the hype with a lot of items and decided to be realistic and stay within budget when it came to certain things. As I mentioned on my Living Room post, we decided against having a changing unit / table; we don't have the room and I don't see the point in forking out for an extra bit of furniture that would take up valuable space was pointless and decided to get a couple of changing mats (we also have one in the bedroom tucked away) and a little hamper of the changing essentials close by.

The Cot

Luke's parents always said that they would buy Freddie's cot and they gave us a rough idea of a budget - I was shocked at the prices of some cot beds in Mothercare, Mamas and Papas and Baby's R Us and although they're beautiful I couldn't justify spending my own money let alone someone else's on it. Facebook market place has been amazing for picking up some second hand furniture - most of the furniture in our flat has been sourced on Facebook and either painted and upcycled by me or, bought in perfect condition and Freddie's sleigh-bed style cot is no exception. Originally bought for around £800, we got it for £100 and it had only been used once - the previous owner had thoroughly cleaned it and we got it for an absolute bargain. The base can be moved up and down as Freddie grows and the sides come off to create a toddler bed, I love the drawer underneath, it's perfect for storing all his bedding.

The Drawers

This chest of drawers was given to me by a friend years ago when I moved into this teeny bedsit above a pizza shop - I've carted it around with me ever since and it's been in four homes - when we decided on the colour scheme for Freddie's room I painted it white from it's original beech effect colour and popped this mirror we got for £5 on sale in Dunelm on top. Eventually we want to add some shelves in his room but we need to paint the cream walls and probably wait until he's actually sleeping in here to see how we make use of the space.

The Nursing Chair

This is an original Lloyd Loom chair and was a gift from a friend, it used to be my old blogging chair back when I had my bureau but after painting it grey to match the walls and adding a blanket it fits perfectly in the nursery.

The moses basket

This was another Facebook bargain that we snapped up for £40 I've never been keen on the classic moses basket style and with two cats bombing around I wanted something sturdy to avoid them knocking it over. I also wanted something that was exactly level with our bed so I could sleep as closely as possible to Freddie, I had initially set my heart on a Snuzpod but when I saw this crib pop up I was intrigued. Upon viewing it we were really impressed with how clean it was and were told that it was barely used as it was more of a spare then a permanent sleeping spot. I love the way it looks and it's so easy to take up and down. It uses normal moses basket size sheets and the cotton surround makes it really breathable and perfect for a good night's sleep.

Most of the other baby stuff that we have has been bought by my Mum including the sterilising unit, bouncer and travel system which I'll feature in another post. For any other expectant parents reading this, don't feel like you have to buy everything brand new - take hand-me-downs from people and look for second hand bargains. There's nothing wrong with saving a bit of money and not wasting it on over-priced stuff that is marketed to make new parents feel like they need to spend ALL the money they have and don't let other people make you feel like crap for upcycling second hand furniture - thanks to my bargain hunting ways, we're a lot less broke than we could have been if I'd have wanted to get everything brand new.