We’re fast approaching baby W’s first Christmas. I’ve only bought him one present so far (a ‘Lostmyname’ personalised book) but we do have a few things for him to wear…
I picked this up in the Next sale months ago (£5 I think) – a cute little Santa top and hat – perfect for Christmas day itself. I fear the hat will be too small for him – his head is a bit big in proportion to the rest of him 🙂
Santa outfit from Next
My other half bought him this gorgeous reindeer outfit from Mothercare – it feels so cosy and I think he will look adorable in it! Perfect for Christmas Eve or Boxing day?
And a couple of jumpers for the run-up to Christmas – the one on the right is from M & Co (£15 – I was exchanging a gift that was too small) – And my mum bought him the one on the left from Tesco (£8) – it’s a size too big at 9-12 months but Tesco sizes tend to be small so we might be ok 🙂
And this one is a gift from a cousin and it’s made by a company called ‘Santa’s little helpers’. Can’t wait to see him in these with his jeans on 🙂
My first NCT haul post is one of the most popular posts on my blog, so I figured you’d love to see what I got on my second visit last weekend…
This time we arrived quite late as we had our underwater photo shoot at the same time, so who knows what bargains we missed out on… but there was still plenty left to choose from, and it was a lot less crowded! Also, as I had baby W with me this time, sleeping in his pram we couldn’t make it upstairs to the books, toys etc 😦
This is my favourite item from the day… a H&M cardigan that he can wear straight away (cost £3)
H&M stars baby boy cardigan
And a hoodie he can wear right away – this is our first piece of clothing from Zara’s baby range 🙂 (cost £1) I should have taken a close-up, but I love the ‘toggle’ button detail 🙂
Zara baby hoodie
And another hoodie, we love turtles so I had to buy this – it’s Marks and Spencer and was only 50p! I love the detail of the lining and the elbows…
M&S Turtle hoodie
As well as hoodies and cardies we need some long-sleeved tops so got these… this one is from Next and I love that it has detail on the back… only 50p!
This one is perfect for Autumn – foxes seem to be ‘in’ at the moment! This was £1 and originally from George at Asda’s.
Fox top from George at Asda
Another long-sleeved top, this time for when he’s a year old – a bit forward-thinking perhaps but it’s a Diesel top so I HAD to buy it!! This cost £2.50 but it originally would have cost about £28 (!!) – I must say the fabric does feel more expensive than any other baby clothes we’ve had thus far – I would never spend that much on 1 item for him so it’s nice to get it at such a good price!
Diesel baby boy long-sleeved top
You can buy baby boy tops for a few quid in the supermarkets, but bottoms are always a bit more expensive so I was chuffed to find him another pair of jeans that he can wear straight away – these are from Mothercare, I love the style and also they’re lined with cotton on the inside so hopefully he will find them warm and comfy 🙂 (Cost: £2)
Mothercare baby boy jeans
And because bottoms are expensive, I found a couple of pairs of cords that will fit him when he starts wearing 9-12 months clothes. They cost £1 each – H&M on the left, Next on the right…
Baby boy cords from H&M and Next
Now the first time I went to a NCT sale, I made the mistake of buying the next size up in the wrong season i.e. a lot of summery clothes that weren’t warm enough to wear by the time he could fit in them! So I tried to be more sensible this time around – I’m sure he will get wear out of all the items above… but I HAD to buy this T-shirt for him which he might not wear now that it’s Winter (although thinking about it, he could wear it over a long-sleeved top :))
I don’t even like the idea of babies wearing clothes with skulls on them BUT I do love photo-print style T-shirts… and it was only 50p (Florence and Fred, Tesco)…
Skull t-shirt from Tesco
So a good few items that he can wear straight away plus a couple for a few months time, all in excellent condition and the grand total was a bargainous £13 – the cost of 1 new outfit from most stores (if you’re lucky!)
So I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – it is worth checking out NCT sales in your area – much less hassle than ebay and you get to help raise money for the NCT charity in the process 🙂 The next one in Cardiff is scheduled for 7th March 2015.
Thanks for calling by – do let me know what you think and which item is your fave 🙂
I love seeing what other people buy, so thought I’d share with you some of our recent buys….
This snowsuit is actually the main reason I wanted to do this post – I LOVE it so much and *HAD* to share it with you! It’s from John Lewis, costs £28 which I think is relatively good value actually – it’s great quality!
These dungaree sets were gifts from my mum and a family friend, so cute! The set on the left are from Matalan I think, and the set on the right is from M & Co…
A family friend also got baby W some lovely things from Next, black cords,a red checked shirt and a cool long-sleeve top….
I love Mamas & Papas but I’ve never bought any clothes there as they’re pricey, so I was delighted to pick up a couple of bargains there last week…. Some cool sleepsuits that were 30% off (so about £15) and some jeans that were reduced from £30 to £7 as they were originally part of a set – W needed some new jeans and I love a bargain!
They have some lovely baby boy clothes in Tesco at the moment, I think I will go back for more stuff as and when we need it, but I couldn’t resist buying these items yesterday – a cool long-sleeved T-shirt for £4 and a GORGEOUS jumper for £9 – I want to wear that jumper myself! The detail and quality is fab and am sure it would cost about £30 at places like Next!
Print t-shirt from Tesco
And with all this shopping for baby W, it’s only fair that mummy gets a few treats too!
So here’s a dress and jumper I bought from H&M – I think they were about £25 each.. I love the jumper anyway but it has a bonus which is that baby W has a very similar fleecy all-in-one so we have a matching outfit!
Also from H&M, a new jacket for the Autumn – I think it was only £35 and I already love it – goes with most outfits and is well-lined and so much warmer than it looks from the outside!
Jacket from H&M
You might remember from my top tips post that my feet have grown since being pregnant/having a baby so I actually *NEED* new shoes… so here’s 2 pairs I’ve bought.. the ones on the left from Dune (about £95 eeek!) and the random, glistening ones from Next from a more affordable £35…
And finally an outfit that I originally thought would be perfect for going back to work but maybe it’s wasted on work… I wore it out last Saturday night on my weekend away with those black heels….
The shirt is another bargain from H&M – only £15! And the skirt is from Oasis and I think it was about £30 – I think I’ll get lots of wear out of the skirt as I reckon lots of styles and colours of tops will match it 🙂
Blue shirt from H&M, zebra print skirt from Oasis
So that’s Autumn/Winter sorted – keep your eyes peeled for a Christmas outfit haul coming up soon!
A few weeks ago I went to my first ‘NCT nearly new sale’ and I was so impressed I had to share my buys with you…
By the time I arrived I was pretty much last in the queue so I feared I’d missed most of the bargains but the place was so big I didn’t need to worry – I headed straight for the baby boy 3-6 months section and pretty much had it to myself… in total I spent £23 and here’s what I got….
The top on the right is one of my faves – I love minis! The t-shirt on the left is the worst thing I bought, only because it was slightly bobbly – but at 50p for a Jasper Conran t-shirt I can’t complain!
Jasper Conran T-shirt (50p) and Monsoon long-sleeved T-shirt (£2)
Next romper suits (£3 for the 2)
Brand new T-shirt from Tu on the left (50p) and one from Next on the right (£1)
We’re hoping to get away for our first family holiday in September so it was great to stock up on these shorts – all in excellent condition and cute details e.g. the john Lewis ones have a lovely red lining to contrast with the blue.
Brand new T-shirt from Tu on the left (50p) and one from Next on the right (£1)
R: John Lewis Shorts (£1), tommy hilfiger shorts (£1.50)
Baby’s first coat! I love, love, love this – I think it will be perfect for those rainy Autumn days!
Gorgeous jacket from Gap (i think it was £2)
I had to get these Next T-shirts…. look at the backs!
Next T-shirts (£1.50 for both)
Baby’s first shirt… I’m sure we’ll find an occasion for him to wear it to!
Mothercare shirt (£1)
Some of you will know I have a thing for elephants so when I saw this rucksack, I had to have it – hope he likes it by the time he’s old enough to use it!
Elephant rucksack (£1)
I also have a thing for bees, so I HAD to have this bee outfit – it still had the tags on it too so another great bargain!
Brand new from Tesco (I think I paid £1.50)
The above doesn’t quite add up to £23 – the remaining £5 or so I spent on 3 baby books – with textures, sounds etc.
So what a bargain, I was seriously impressed as I wouldn’t normally buy any designer labels for baby, so at this price the haul was a real treat. The quality on most items is really good, they really are nearly new – there’s only one t-shirt that shows a bit of wear/bobliness.
The next NCT sale in Cardiff is on September 26th 2014 – find out if you have one near you on their website. I was only interested in the clothes and books but they sell pretty much anything that’s baby-related! I will definitely be going to the next one…. will you?!
As you know, I packed away my maternity clothes a few weeks ago. My staple uniform since little W arrived has been the stereotypical breastfeeding mum uniform of jeans and loose/comfy T-shirts. (Or sometimes my PJ’s/dressing gown if I’m not leaving the house!)
So I was very excited to try and find some new things to wear from my favourite clothes shop, Oasis. The aim was to look a bit more yummy mummy (and a bit less frumpy mummy!)
Although I was excited, I was also slightly nervous – I didn’t know what size I would be and whether things would fit me properly like they did pre-baby. And I’m not great at clothes shopping at the best of times – I tend to stick to plain, classic stuff.
So here’s what I bought…
1 – Stripey vest
Bit of a safe bet this one (I have a few stripey tops!) but the best value in terms of getting wear out of it – I’ve worn it with jeans for a few of our days out already. Because the bottom half is a little bit loose, it’s great for breastfeeding! It also has 2 layers – a thin navy vest layer underneath (again, great for feeding as it could mop up some spills although this hasn’t happened to me….yet!)
Stripey racer back vest top from Oasis
2 – Floral blouse
I haven’t worn this yet but love the fabric, print and shape. I think it will be lovely for a summer’s evening with a pair of jeans and heels or flats. I could wear it to work when I go back too. As I’m petite, these small prints tend to suit me.
Flower power blouse with gold buttons from OasisExtreme close-up of the blouse fabric
3 – Palm print dress
Bit of a random one, and the photo doesn’t do it justice but I love the palm print stuff and this is a really flattering fit. The fabric is also nice and comfy, quite thick so again perfect for a summer’s evening. Not sure when I’ll get the chance to wear it but I do have a girl’s day/night out in August.. and hopefully our first family holiday in September 🙂
Palm print dress from Oasis
4 – Coral blouse
I normally stick to quite plain, dark colours so to move me out of my comfort zone I went for this coral blouse and I love it! I think it’s perfect for summer and is a nice cheerful colour. I’ve worn it with jeans and gladiator sandals a couple of evenings out already and paired it with a new skirt (below). I love the buttons and ruffle details on it. it’s a bit see-through so got to wear a vest underneath it!
Coral blouse with gold button detail from Oasis
5 – Floral, knee-length skirt
As I said, I live in jeans so I wanted to get something different for my bottom half and I’m not sure I would get away with those pyjama-style trousers that everyone’s wearing. I have short legs (and my thighs are large in proportion to the rest of me!) so I tend to avoid skinny jeans and very short/long skirts which make me look shorter. So this skirt was perfect in terms of length for me 🙂 Again, being petite I tend to go for smaller prints, so it ticks that box too. Oh and I plan to wear it with tights in the winter – perfect for work!
Black and white print skirt from OasisClose-up of the skirt from Oasis
I teamed up the skirt with the coral blouse (and gold gladiator sandals) for the girly lunch I went on last week. I’m not entirely sure they go, but I thought it looked ok… and it was SO nice to dress up a bit and peel myself out of my jeans!
Apologies for the awful selfies – I need practice and I need a full-length mirror! (And to learn how to crop photos on wordpress.com!)
A bad selfie of my new outfit from Oasis!Another bad selfie of me in my new Oasis outfit
I have purposefully forgotten how much these add up to as I paid full price for them, but you’ll be pleased to know that most of these are in their sale now!
So there we have it – mummy’s new wardrobe. They met my brief of glamming me up a bit and making me feel a bit more yummy! Did you treat yourself to anything new once baby had arrived?
My maternity wardrobe and things I learnt about maternity clothes along the way…
8 weeks post-labour and I can fit into (most of) my pre-pregnancy clothes so it’s with mixed emotions that I pack away my maternity clothes.
Initially I was hoping not to buy ANY maternity clothes as I just planned to buy everything a size bigger than normal, that I’d be able to wear post-labour too… (thought maternity clothes were a waste of money)
Then a friend lent me a big bag of maternity clothes and I learnt my first lessons:
how comfy maternity jeans are
how flattering maternity tops/dresses can be around your bump (as opposed to just buying bigger sizes in non-maternity)
That was around January (5 months pregnant) and in Feb we booked a late deal to Tenerife. Panic ensued as:
-I didn’t fit into any of my shorts or summer dresses!
-Shops were only just starting to sell summer-wear eek!
So my first experience of buying maternity wear was a few holiday items….
Maternity holiday clothes – Tankini and Denim shorts from JoJo MamanLeBebeMaternity bikini bottoms vs pre-maternity!
Tankini from JoJo Maman LeBeBe on babymoon in Tenerife!Tankini from JoJo Maman LeBeBe on babymoon in Tenerife!
While I was shopping for these, I decided to bite the bullet and get some maternity items and here’s some of my faves…
My maternity essentials – jeans from H and M
It’s lucky I bought the jeans as when I left for Tenerife I was still in my ‘normal’ jeans, but by the time I left (helped by all-inclusive food!) I couldn’t get into them! I wore these for about 95% of the rest of my pregnancy days (my workplace has a casual dress code)… love them!
My fave maternity tops – (L) New Look, (R) Red Herring at DebenhamsBean wearing Red Herring butterfly top, canal side!
These were my staple tops to go with the jeans, both very flattering, comfy and functional and to mix it up I could accessorise with different scarves etc.. the one below I loved as well, I’m a fan of Hello Kitty and loads of people thought I’d bought a Hello kitty top! I also bought some basic vests from H&M which I could wear with various non-maternity cardies.
Cat print maternity top from Red Herring @ DebenhamsRed Herring maternity top – fabric close-up
I loved these prints at Red Herring – as well as the butterfly print top, I got the dress in the same print – the fabric on the dress was much thicker, so very good quality – would last a long time and wish I had worn it a few more times now….
Red Herring (Debenhams) butterfly print maternity dressbutterfly dress from Red Herring
Those items are the only new items I bought (I did buy a few non-maternity items in larger sizes too)… total cost of those items was probably about £150 but then did get slightly addicted to eBay as I was too tight to buy any more new items! I spent about £60 on the following items…
Here’s some of my fave eBay items:
Fave eBay purchases (L) Mothercare jumper (R) T-shirt from New Look
This summer dress was a perfect beach/cover-up dress for our babymoon – very comfy! I had packed it in my hospital bag as a comfy coming home outfit but wore my pj bottoms in the end!
Summer maternity dress from Mammas and Papas via eBay
This Dorothy Perkins dress was fine for work… I loved the fabric (you can’t see it in this bad photo sorry!) but always had to wear a cardie over it as I didn’t like the puffy shoulders. The Red Herring dress was a fave, perfect for our holiday and I wish I’d worn it more post-holiday 😦
Maternity dresses from eBay – L (Dorothy Perkins) – R (Red Herring at Debenhams)I LOVE the fabric and sequin detail on the Red Herring dress
This T-shirt is another fave – I ended up wearing it throughout my labour! Excellent quality, love the print and the cut was not too tight.
Maternity t-shirt from ebay (Next)
And some poor decisions – dresses I didn’t wear as the weather wasn’t as nice as hoped by May!
Maternity dresses from eBay I didn’t wear: (L) Asos (R) Mothercare
The cape- style coat looked awful on me and this was one lesson I learnt about maternity clothes: Things that don’t suit you pre-maternity probably won’t suit you during maternity!
New Look maternity cape coat – lovely and great quality but would never suit me!
Other thoughts I had:
Why don’t retailers sell jeans in different length sizes? Do we suddenly all become the same height when pregnant? (No, I had to pay to get those H&M jeans taken up!!)
On all those dresses above, I found the bottom half unflattering, they all allowed plenty of room for my expanding bum but in doing so made it look bigger than it was! (Whereas the jeans were v flattering which is probably why I lived in them!)
I know I didn’t buy a large amount and there’s lots more available (at a price perhaps) but I did find the choices quite limited and boring… Lots of stripes, lots of plain stuff, not enough quirky/cool prints (more of those butterfly fabrics for example)… when some of the shops like New Look tried to use nice prints, I felt that the fabrics felt a bit cheap (you can’t win!). As you can see from above -I think Red Herring do this well, so more from them would be great!
So there we have it, end of an era, it’s all going up to the loft… Apart from those jeans ( still SO comfy!!) and my special purchase… The t-shirt I ended up wearing for labour… Has too many memories to go into the loft and still looks ok as a loose t-shirt!
How did you find maternity clothes? How much did you spend? What were your favourite maternity shops?!
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