Bargain bathing and changing

In the tub - Let's start with where you bath your baby. Using a small tub rather than the big bath is good for saving on water, but you don't necessarily need a special small baby bath for your new baby. Most bathroom sinks are big enough to bath a newborn, at a good height for your back as you bathe and your sink may be a rather good shape for lying baby in too. When your baby is big enough for bath time to double as play time you can then consider whether you want to bath your baby in the big bath or a smaller tub, and you might even have a plastic laundry basket that would fit the bill nicely.

Clean and happy

Forget the foam- At bath time you can pass on all those costly baby bath foams, you don't need the bubbles to get your newborn clean, and in fact, even some of the brands touted as being mild can contain skin irritants and be drying for baby's skin - just take a look at the list of ingredients. All you really need to keep your baby clean, soft and smelling wonderful is warm water and cotton wool or cloths. Of course bottled baby bath smells lovely, but your baby has a wonderful smell all of his own that doesn't need covering up with synthetic perfumes. If you want a bit of real luxury for your newborn then a dash of milk and a dollop of honey in bath water is the ultimate in baby skin care and nice and cheap. After all, if it's good enough for Cleopatra...

Bargain bubbles- When your baby is a bit older however, and his skin a bit less delicate, he'll probably enjoy a few bubbles in his bath, and once he's started rubbing his food (or worse!) into his hair you might prefer a little foam cleaning too. There's a growing selection of bath and changing products that are made for sensitive skin - hypo-allergenic, alcohol-free and/or or fragrance-free. Supermarkets and high street chemists often have their own, usually slightly cheaper, labels, and there are frequent bulk-buy promotions on branded goods. You can also save by not buying separate bath bubbles and shampoo, a small squirt of gentle shampoo in the water will give you a few nice bubbles and some products are specifically designed as hair and body washes.

If you want to use natural and organic bath products for your baby, but don't want to pay the usual premium for them, then have a look at the Little Me range. It sells through Boots nationally and so retails at high street prices. Whatever you use, be very sparing with it, a little usually goes a long way.

Naturally soft - Baby moisturiser is another of those baby products that you can easily save on, it really isn't necessary unless your doctor has recommended something specifically to treat a skin condition. If your baby's skin is dry after a bath then it may be that your baby bath doesn't suit your baby's skin, so either find a milder brand or skip the bubbles altogether, as above.

Where it does make sense to spend some money is on a good quality pure oil - extra virgin olive oil, sweet almond oil and calendula oil are all great - to use for baby massage after the bath or during a change. You can also use the oil with warm water and cotton wool to clean up baby's bottom at changing time, it's the best thing we've found for gently removing all that yellow newborn poop staining on the skin. And what's more, some mums swear by a little oil for soothing nappy rash: It's a real multi-purpose buy. You can easily buy pure oils in larger containers for a very affordable luxury.

Re-use and save - While we're on the changing table let's take a look at how else you can save money here. The most obvious idea is with reusable nappies, they involve a big outlay initially, but over time you should save quite a bit of money by using cloth nappies, even when you've taken laundry costs into account, particularly if you use them for more than one baby.

And if you're popping the wash on anyway why not use cotton wipes and water to wipe baby's bottom instead of wet wipes? Wipes are rather expensive when you realise how quickly you go through them, and many have ingredients that are quite harsh on your baby's skin, such as alcohol and artificial perfumes. Save the wipes for when you really need the convenience, like on holiday. Several companies sell ready-made cotton wipes, but you can easily cut up your own on the cheap using good soft cotton cloth. You can either store the wipes dry and use with fresh warm water with each change, or you can keep them moist and ready to go with a mixture of oil and water in a waterproof container.

Save on toys - You don't need lots of special bath toys to keep your baby entertained. Not only will friends and family probably buy you a few toys for bathtime, but if you take a look at your existing toy chest you'll likely have a couple of things that are suitable for use in the bath. As your child gets a bit older, a few small tupperware containers that he can fill and empty will likely keep him happily busy for a while.

Share a bath! - One idea for baby pampering which won't cost you a penny is to hop in the bath with him: Most babies love splashing around with mum or dad in the bath and can find it relaxing from a very early age.

So there are a few tips for starters, if you've got any more ideas then do share them with other TBers on the forum.