Fabulous Baby Freebies!

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Family Matters - Family Finances & Entitlements

How to get free nappies, free cuddly toys, free baby food, free baby books, free money from the Government - and more!

What's cute, cuddly and costs £8,853 in its first year? The average baby, according to a survey of 4,027 parents by insurance firm, LV= in February 2009.

So, if you're a new parent feeling the pinch, you're certainly not alone. And you've come to the right place. Here are 27 fantastic baby freebies to help you cut down those crazy baby costs!

Before you give birth

1. Health In Pregnancy grant. No matter what your income, if you're 25 weeks' pregnant or more, the Government will now give you £190 in the form of a Health In Pregnancy grant. Find out more here.
2. Free clothes and baby equipment. If you're on a low income, you may be able to get help from the charity Care Confidential. Here's a list of centres offering free clothes and baby equipment.
3. Free contraction timer. You can use this free software to time your contractions.
4. Free magazine. Get a free copy of Bumps & Babies magazine. The latest issue has advice on pregnancy, coping with pain in labour and breastfeeding. Fill in the form here for a free copy.

After you give birth

5. Child Benefit. You can claim Child Benefit as soon as your baby is born. Just fill in this form. You'll get £20 a week for your eldest/only child, and an extra £13.20 for any additional children. It's not means-tested, so you can claim it no matter what your income is. Find out more here.
6. Child Trust Fund. As soon as you start claiming Child Benefit, you should automatically receive a free voucher of at least £250 to use to start a Child Trust Fund. If you don't get a voucher within a month of your claim, call the Child Trust Fund helpline on 0845 302 1470.
7. Tax Credits. Nine out of 10 families with children are entitled to tax credits, according to HMRC, but around 1.4 million fail to claim each year. The rules are complex, but to sum up, there are two types: Working Tax Credit (worth up to £1,770 a year to couples and lone parents) and the Child Tax Credit (worth up to £545 per family, and £2,085 per child, per year). Find out more here, then check whether you qualify.
8. Free books. When your baby is aged seven to nine months, you should receive a free Bookstart pack for babies (containing two board books and a book of nursery rhymes) at a health check-up. Visit bookstart.org if you don't.

Ten more top baby freebies

9. Free safety course. Tesco and the Royal Life Saving Society are offering free BabySafe courses next month in Edinburgh and Newcastle. The two-hour workshops cover what to do if your baby is drowning or choking, plus car-safety advice. At the end, you get a free goody bag full of products.
10. Free baby soothing cream. Fill in this form to get a free sample of Johnson's Baby Soothing Naturals cream, which relieves dry skin.
11. Free baby recipe book. Download a free baby and toddler recipe book from Heinz here.
12. Free tooth chart. Print out this free baby tooth chart to keep track of when your baby starts teething.
13. Free baby cap. Get a free 100% cotton free baby cap for newborns and babies up 18 months old from Rainbowbabies - available in all colours of the rainbow!
14. Free milk. There's a free sample of HiPP Organic Follow On Milk here.
15. Free nappy rash cream. Take this eight-question survey, and get a free sample of Bepanthen nappy rash ointment. This can apparently be used even on the highly sensitive skin of premature babies.
16. Free teat. Give your baby a treat of this free teat from mambaby.co.uk.
17. Nine free eco-friendly nappies. Get nine free nappy samples from Spirit of Nature.
18. Free potty training DVD. Don't go potty on your own trying to teach your baby. Get this free DVD instead.
19. Free feeding spoon. Courtesy of bebivita.co.uk.

Join the club

Many baby clubs offer freebies as well as online forums and advice. You have to join to be eligible for the freebies though. If you don't want to get spammed, set up a separate email address you can use for all the registrations. Here are some details of the clubs out there, and the freebies they offer:

20. Two free eco-disposable nappies. Sign up with beamingbaby.com
21. Free goody bag plus £40 of Argos vouchers. Sign up with emmasdiary.co.uk
22. Free organic baby food. Sign up with Plum-baby.co.uk
23. Free bibs and other goodies. Sign up with HiPPbabyclub.co.uk.
24. Free baby gift basket. Sign up with the Tesco Baby & Toddler Club and buy some Huggies newborn nappies to get a voucher for a free 'Baby Beginnings Basket', worth £11.96.
25. Free cuddly cow. Sign up with Cowandgate.co.uk and use the following promotional code: WPMGMC.
26. Free polar bear - and nutrition advice. Sign up with aptamil.co.uk.
27. Join Boots baby club – they offer extra points on baby related purchases, send a quarterly magazine with money off and points vouchers, and a free Pampers baby changing bag and samples! Boots Parenting Club.

And finally...

28. Join Freecycle. This is a free mailing list which allows you to post free Wanted advertisements and get stuff for free. Baby items in perfect condition often come up, so it's well worth joining your local group.
29. eBay! You'd be amazed what bargains you can pick up from this tried and trusted site. Plus when your baby grows you can make money selling them too. www.ebay.co.uk

So that's the financial side sorted. Good luck with the rest....