Baby Baby

So believe it or not I haven't brought 1 baby item yet! I have seen so many cute bits but wanted to get work out of the way and then enjoy concentrating on buying for baby. Work is still not completely finished but I really thought it would be a good idea to get the essentials in and at least the pram on order, with only 6 weeks to go!

In my head I had this lovely ideal shopping trip with Mr Carrington picking and buying bits together but the reality of shopping with a guy is NOT fun! They make you feel so pressured to make quick decisions and just stand around huffing and puffing. I am Libran one of the most indecisive people you will ever meet! I need time! Even with a list in hand I still wanted to stroll around and have a look at all my options. I hate feeling rushed because I always think I might get it wrong and hate returning items for refunds or exchanges.

So the day went a little like this....

After having a quick test drive of prams in John Lewis we decided on the Bugaboo Cameleon, the iCandy handle bar was a little to chunky for my hands. Mr C had his eye on the iCandy limited edition print, which was not to my liking. It was a black and white Parisian newspaper style print but it just reminded me of some old skool Moschino trousers that my good friend Mrs Kazan's husband use to wear back in the day when we were at school. I like to add it was very cool back then.

So what colour scheme did we go for? Its a risky one but we went for cream and black with a black foot muff and leather Bugaboo changing bag. I'm hoping being a summer baby it wont get to grubby and come the winter we can change it back to black. Mr C tried to pick a cream/stone car seat.... are you kidding me. He couldn't see what the problem was with me washing it every other week. Like I wont have enough washing to do with sicky baby clothes, the last thing I want to do is be stripping the pram and car seat to be doing more washing. After 5 minutes of moaning he let me pick the black!

We didnt actually order the pram with John Lewis or Mothercare. In these stores the pram and accessories we wanted would have cost £1155 but on BabyBaby online we got a brilliant bundle for £900. To have the changing bag in leather was an additional £15 but when spend over £200 there is a £15 OFF voucher so you don't actually end up paying the extra. I have turned in to a complete coupon geek and get excited about saving £15!

BabyBaby saves you up to £200 with some bundles, e.g the bugaboo pram and car seat at mothercare was £900 but not forgetting to use the £15 off coupon its brings the total down to £725. The pram alone is £770. I Love a saving I do! They have all sorts of savings on all different brands so do check them out! www.babybabyonline.co.uk

My little bundle

So pram decision was made and of to Mothercare to buy the basic essential. I must say the baby checklist at mothercare is so helpful. Before I picked one up in store I was going buy the shortened online version that I printed and scribbled notes all over, as some bits I wanted to get in John Lewis and others in Next. I would highly recommend popping into Mothercare and picking up a baby checklist book before starting to shop.

So in Mothercare, typical guy behaviour Mr C is just picking up and throwing anything and everything in the basket even bits we don't need. All random sizes from early, tiny, newborn - 6-9 months. I found myself taking bits out and putting them back when he weren't looking. Really what i should have done is let him load the trolley and then exchanged it at a later date! ha ha but I was being considerate to his wallet plus I hate all that exchanging in stores malarkey.

Half the stuff I saw online they didn't actually have in store and with Mr C's eyes starring at me whilst I pondered on making decisions (I know I'm long and annoying but I want to get it right first time) I got fed up and called it a day. Even John Lewis and Next didn't have the bits or sizes I wanted. So after a quick trip to Costco to buy nappies/wipes etc in bulk I was happy to be heading home. Never thought id say that about a shopping trip. The following day with in an hour of being online I had found and ordered all the basic essentials. I also liked the idea of not having to carry a big old baby bath round town and have everything delivered to my door.  I also found half the stuff cheaper online like the Avent steriliser was £24 at Mothercare and £11.99 online, a Avent bottle set that is £20 was £12.90 (see shop). Iv added all my bargain finds to my little shop to save you hours of hunting.

Shopping online is also great because you get to read reviews as well. I was going to grab a baby bath from John Lewis but whilst on Amazon I came across the Tippitoes mini bath, which had great reviews and was only £11.95 and what I love even more free delivery. A pet hate of shopping online is paying for delivery but nearly all the items I found on Amazon even down to the glamorous Lansinoh Breast pads which were highly rated on Mothercare were cheaper and had free delivery.

We didnt do to bad for a days shopping and the rest online. Shopping online for the main baby bits is definatley the way forward! The only essential we didnt get was the moses basket as the one we wanted from John Lewis was sold out! Im now toying with the idea of a mini cot from Spain that a family friend had brought and raved about. (I think it may just be a crib) I will obviously take a few days to decide on that one!

Travel, bathing, feeding and basic clothing sorted! Just need to get Mr C to mini Zara for her cute outfits now! ;D