I’ve said from the beginning of this pregnancy that I wouldn’t buy anything before I was 36 weeks pregnant, but I very quickly realised that that was all well and good, but baby world is confusing and so I would probably need to start looking earlier than that, just incase baby came early or I was put on bed rest and couldn’t go out looking later on.

When I hit 30 weeks I realised that I felt totally unprepared…

Well, today I bought my pram and cot – That was unexpected!

I had decided to take my parents for a look around so we could get a feel for what was out there and the sort of prices we could be expecting to pay. Walking into Babies R Us we instantly gravitated towards to prams and pushchairs as this was going to be the most tricky thing I wanted. I knew I wanted a travel system and I was interested in Isofix, that was about as far as I had got.

A quick glance around and I was drawn to the Silvercross 3D which came with a free car seat, and the Graco Candy Travel System which seemed to have everything (car seat, raincover, footmuff, changing bag and car seat base) included in the price, which was currently on offer at half price (Down from £349.99 to £174.99). We walked around the rest but nothing really caught my eye, except the ridiculous prices of some of them!

Eventually someone came over and we asked her to demonstrate the Graco Candy, which she did, the car seat was easy to fix onto the frame and it came with a base for the car making it easy to put into and remove from the car. Unfortunately the base wasn’t Isofix, but I was already aware that for a car seat to be isofix you are going to have to add a fair amount to the price, something I cannot afford to do. It folded up fairly small and extremely easily (One hand!) and honestly I was sold on it from then.

I asked how long it was going to be on offer and when she told me probably only another week or so (Definitely not another 6 weeks, which would take me up to when I had been planning to start buying things!) I then asked about their returns policy. She told me that technically if you just change your mind it is only 28 days, but that if it was in resalable condition, ie unused they weren’t overly fussy on time. She then told me about their 20% off baby event which made the price even better (£139.99) and I knew I had found my pram!

We compared the Graco Candy to the Silvercross 3D, and obviously they were in different leagues, but overall the only features that the Silvercross pram had that the Graco Candy didn’t was Isofix, and that the pram seat itself was reversible, whereas in the Graco Candy the only way to have the baby facing you is in the car seat. I didn’t find this a massive issue for the difference in price which once you added in the fact that the Silvercross didn’t come with a car seat base, worked out at about £300.

While we were there we had a look around the cots and decided to get one that converts into a toddler bed which, despite costing an extra few pounds now would save us shelling out on a whole new bed and mattress in a few years. I also worked out I wasn’t particularly fussed on it having drop sides (A feature that not many seemed to have anyway) We had a quick look around the moses baskets and cribs but by this point I was overheating and needed to sit down so we headed out.

We decided to go and look at another local store we had heard of before buying anything, but very quickly realised that we were well out priced in there! They were selling prams that ranged from £600-£1000 for the basic frame, car seats and raincovers separate! Some of them were even “Order now and receive by the end of August” (For those prices I’d want it now, and doing backflips!) We quickly made our excuses and left.

From there we went home and went on the Toys R Us website to order the pram and to look at the specifications of cots. (With a 20% off voucher we were wanting to get as much bought as we could) After another quick look at the specifications for the Pram we added it to the basket and went looking at cots.

We quickly found a grey Henley Cotbed which would match in nicely with my decor (My walls are white with grey woodwork and carpets) As my mum pointed out, a white cot would get lost against the white wall, wheras the grey would stand out a little while still being practical and not gender specific. It had three mattress heights, converted to a junior bed and fitted perfectly in the room. Decision made! This baby shopping is a lot easier than I expected! This led us onto what mattress to get! Maybe I spoke too soon about being easy! They all had fairly good reviews, so we plumped for the one that was on offer with the cot. Buy the cot, this mattress, a changing mat and a cot bedding set for a discount.

From here it led us to the question of will he be sleeping straight in his own room, to which my sheer laziness answered no. I have read that sharing a room with them for the first few months reduces cot death, however I’m sure there are probably studies that say the opposite too, No, what made me decide I wanted him in the same room as me was the night time feeds – I’d rather not have to walk too far in the middle of the night when I reckon I will be knackered anyway, especially as I am doing this on my own. We looked at moses baskets, but they seemed expensive especially as you would need a separate base as well, so I found a nice cheap crib and chose a water repellent mattress with a removable cover (worryingly some didn’t!) Hopefully it will do the job for the first few months.

And that brings us up to date on what we bought today. All that came to the grand total of £383.97 and earned me 479 Gold Card points! (Obviously my parents unfortunately had to pay – I hate this whole not being independent thing already, but I don’t feel that was too bad for living on a budget.) That’s all the major purchases out the way now, just clothes and some more bedding to buy, Asda, Tesco and Primark here we come!