Blimey O'Reilly I'm ill again. Sleep deprivation +  growing a baby last year has clearly left my immune system at an all-time low. I was never ill before I had Chip - actually, before I got pregnant (I was ill quite a lot when I was pregnant which was of course worse as you can't take anything for it). I used to swerve most colds going round but now I seem to be a magnet for them - at the moment the day after I travel on the tube I wake up with a sore throat. Not fun.

Anyway in the midst of my head-cold-and-sleep-deprivation fog, I did something pretty daft. So I thought I'd share it. When we bought Daph's buggy (the Bugaboo Bee 3 - does anyone want me to do a review? if so, let me know!), it was summer and the lady in the shop said not to bother with buying the foot muff as she wouldn't need it until it got colder. So we didn't. But at six months she progressed from the carrycot to the normal pushchair seat and I realised her little toes were getting cold, no matter how many blankets she had on her lap. So I remembered the foot muff thing and went onto John Lewis's website and ordered it. Probably in the middle of a feed while I was thinking about eighty other things. It was £95 which made my eyes water but I thought it was one of those things you just had to stump up for and reasoned she'd be using the buggy for a few years to come. There were several colours to choose from, so I got bright yellow, because the sun canopy is bright yellow and I assumed they should match.

(Bear with me, I appreciate this story is already long and boring). When it arrived I opened it, raised my eyebrows slightly at just how yellow it was but shoved it on the buggy anyway. Within five minutes of our first walk avec foot muff it was already dirty from me scraping it along a wall. I suddenly realised what a terrible, terrible idea a bright yellow foot muff was. Of course it just so happened that I'd put all the packaging out for the binman that morning (who'd been and gone), so I couldn't return it even if I'd not already made it filthy.

I did a bit more research when I got home and realised that you can get foot muffs that fit ANY BUGGY for about £40 online. And they don't have to be bright yellow - they can be a far more practical grey or black. The moral of this story is: you don't need to spend £95 on a Bugaboo matching foot muff. Don't be an idiot like me.

I hope the bloody thing is washable at least. Everytime I look at it now I am going to think about what else I could have spent £95 on (like some nice clothes for me! SOB).

In other news, I went to the dentist this week, which was relatively unremarkable, although I do love the fact your treatment is free when you've just had a baby. My (NHS) dentist offered me some sort of fillings for my receded gums which sound painful but like a good idea, so I'm going to go for it while it's still free. She also mentioned teeth whitening (not free). It's not cheap but I'm seriously considering it as my teeth are so horrible and yellow (and I hardly ever drink red wine - NO FAIR). I've done those illegal Crest whitening strips (ordered from eBay) before but they really hurt my sensitive gums and the effects wore off quite quickly. If anyone's had any experience of the Zoom whitening system - please let me know! I've googled it and everyone just goes on about how painful it is, which doesn't really fill me with hope. But whiter teeth are just the sort of thing I feel would get me out of my postnatal beauty slump (along with a decent haircut, which I'm doing next week).

Finally, you might have noticed that I've redesigned my blog logo. I only just realised how bloody awful the last one was, so I've gone completely minimalist (read: unimaginative) and feel much happier with it. Also, I keep meaning to say a big thank you to everyone who's followed me on Bloglovin' since my shameful begging post - it's really cheered me up and is much appreciated!

First thing Oli said to me this morning: 'You snored all night'. So, a public apology to start. Sorry Oli. And again I say it: pregnancy is not glamorous or glowy or fun or romantic in any way. Moving on. The point of this post really was to give you guys a bit of a rundown of what we've spent so far on Chip (who is yet to be born).

I suppose I knew that babies cost a lot but I also kept hearing people say 'small babies don't need much - just you, your boobs and some nappies!'. In a LOGICAL SENSE they are right but that doesn't mean you don't feel obliged to partake in the purchasing of posh nappy bins that hygienically seal your little one's stinky waste products etc etc.

The first thing I bought for Chip, actually, was a bag. And it wasn't really even for her, but for me. Now, those who know me know that bags are my 'thing' (last longer than clothes, always fit comfortably unlike shoes, often potentially good investments, excuses excuses...). So when it came to baby shopping, I thought I'd start in my comfort zone, and treat myself to a nice nappy bag. I was a bit disappointed with the choice on offer, however. Someone with some design credentials - PLEASE design something a bit cooler. Anyway, in the end I went for the Pac a Pod.

It has compartments! Many many compartments! It has removable pods!  It's a pleasing unisex grey (the bright pink 'yummy mummy' bags get my goat because they imply the dad will never have to be seen with them - grrr for gender inequality). It was £80. According to my mum, expensive. According to me (in the wake of Louis Vuittons and Pradas), cheap as chips.

As time trundled on, we started researching the bigger items: buggy, cot, car seat. Here are the ones we chose:

The Bugaboo Bee 3, with carrycot. And cup holder. And car seat attachments. And lots of other bits that you have to buy to make the thing actually work. Don't be fooled by the prices online - they're just for the base. Once you've added all your bits to it, it, er, adds up. Thankfully my parents paid for this, but it was still in the region of £800. And I know, we didn't have to get a super pricey buggy, but genuinely we went for this one because it's so small and lightweight and we have NOWHERE to put it! The cheaper models are generally much bigger with much bigger wheels. And, as I said, my parents very generously offered to get it for us.

For her cot, we bought Chip the Chicco Next to Me. I've never been a fan of Moses baskets but we did want something that could fit in our small bedroom. I also liked the idea that I could feed her in the night without having to get out of bed (although some people have said that babies often poo after they feed so you have to get up anyway - who knows, I have yet to find out how their digestion systems work). Anyway, it was £150 including mattress, which was actually pretty reasonable in comparison with other bedside cots on offer. It also folds up and can be used as a travel cot, which I thought was quite nifty.

Did you know that car seats are a legal requirement? I mean, makes sense of course, and I wasn't exactly intending on driving around with Chip balanced on my lap, but still. Quite surprising. We went for the Maxi Cosi Pebble Plus and I actually really like it - it's sort of the cutest thing we've bought so far! I like the fact ours is grey not black too. It was £200, but do not be deceived - it doesn't work alone. You also have to buy this massive contraption that you fix to your car to clip it in and out of (technical term: FamilyFix Base). Which was another £150.

So there we are, already well over a grand and that's just for the big things. Once you've added clothes, nappies, baby baths, the aforementioned nappy bins, blankets etc etc to the list, it's official: babies are expensive! I'll do another post on all the cute bits and bobs we've got for her soon.