The Big buys on the lead up to having a baby.

Babies are expensive, full stop.

Luckily we have had a lot of  help in this department, with very generous friends and family.

The average 'parents to be' spend around £1560 before the baby is even born, but so far we haven't suffered up to this amount just yet. - According to the BBC.

The two main buys for any expecting parent are usually the pram, and the cot. Funnily enough, the latter isn't even needed until the baby is around the six month stage, but most parents (including us) decide to buy it early. - it makes it seem so much more real!

Beths been putting a little Teddy in the cot pretending it's Lennon, its hilarious, but cute.

...Don't get me started on her midnight excursions round the street with the pram!
Pramwise, we got told off a lot of people, the best thing to get is an all in one. In reply to this, our main thought was 'an all in one pram? I thought a pram, was just a pram?'. But after reading article after article online, we came to the realisation that we needed an all in one. Nowadays there is so much more to a pram, the best include a car seat, a carry cot, pushchair, sun shade...and the list goes on. Anyway, in the end we decided on the Hauk Condor pram from the Toy Store 'Smyths'. The pram is lovely, a really good price and very easy to use. Plus, it's an all in one, and its amazing how simple it is to change into all the different modes.

I'd also recommend Smyths as a store. They gave us a demonstration of the pram and how it works, and really seemed to know what they're doing.

Secondly, the cot that we didn't need to get for six months. We got an absolute bargain. At the start of the pregnancy, we had a browse and Beth fell in love with a CotBed from Mothercare.
A CotBed is great to have, as it lasts up to five years, depending on the cot. The one we saw was a Winnie The Pooh engraved Oak CotBed. The only problem was the price, so we decided to leave it for a while. A couple of months later Beth and my mum were shopping in Mothercare and noticed the same cot, ex display for £150. They jumped on it and in the rush of it didn't realize it was missing 2 bolts. Because it was an ex display cot, you buy it as it is, and so Mothercare had no obligation to try and get hold of the bolts for us, but very nicely have done and are providing them free of charge.

Although not having the bolts, I set up the Cot without just to have a look, and it's the easiest bit of DIY I've ever done, it's amazing how easy they make it. Literally all i had to do was line up the sides, insert the bolts and barrels and use an allen key to tighten them up.

Being nighteen i haven't a lot of  experience in making shelves never mind building up prams and cots. But it feels great. It feels like you are 'The Dad'. And i love that feeling. I'm hoping thats how Lennon's going to make me feel each day, having someone depend on me is going to be the scariest and most exciting thing in the world. But I feel ready.

Thanks for reading,

Aaron :)

Finding out the sex?

Spoiler alert: Its a boy. But you'll already know this from the preceding blog post!

There's always a difference in opinion when it comes to finding out the sex of the baby. Should you wait and get a surprise? Or should you find out, and prepare appropriately for the baby boy or girl that you're expecting.

We chose to find out. I wasn't too bothered either way, i think with us Dad's, we're happy with both options. But i find with mums to be, there are two possible outcomes. The first, is that there is no way they are finding out, they've had this opinion since they first thought about falling pregnant, they wanted a surprise, and if they can't know, then nobody can!
Whereas the second option, is the path my lady decided to take. The one where they will find out, at any cost. To be fair I never said this to her, but after past experiences (Never hint at proposing, otherwise they won't stop nagging till you do!) I decided to go along with her on this one, lifes too short!

This reminds me of the Episode in 'Friends' when Rachel and Ross are expecting, Ross is so paranoid that Rachel knows, he finds out himself and ends up spilling the beans!

At the end of the day though, I don't think there's a right or wrong way to do it, its just whats best for you.
Though one thing I will say is that since we found out the sex, I feel so much closer to our son. We can call him by 'he' or 'him' instead of 'it'. Also, we've got to choose a name, which makes talking to him feel so much more personal.


Thanks for reading!
Aaron :).

My family of three.

At seventeen, the last thing on my mind was starting a family, and then my Bethany came back into my life. A girl I'd spent a very important part of my childhood with, and whom i hadn't seen in seven years.

At eighteen, we were engaged. And without a care in the world, we moved to Cornwall. These were the best six months of my life, and i miss living by the sea.

At nighteen, we had some news. Beth was pregnant. As you can probably guess by our ages, this was a surprise. But a great surprise. Although not knowing what was to come next, or how difficult it could be to raise a child, we couldn't wait to start our own family.

So we moved back home to Manchester, and we are now trying to find our own place.

My lady is currently 26 weeks pregnant.

At our 20 week scan we found out we were expecting a very healthy boy.

My son is going to be named Lennon James Bromley, and I can't wait to meet him.

This blog is basically here to write about our news, and thoughts/feelings on becoming a Dad. Plus just day to day things, and i might even write the odd baby product review!

If it turns out to be a flop, at least it can be a place to look back on, full of old memories and idea's.

Thanks for reading!

Aaron :).