Baby Shops?

Are there any places other than Mothercare & Argos to shop in store for baby stuff in the UK?  I am in West London, just didnt know of any other places.  I need to try and find a crib/bedding.  I know babiesrus operates online in the UK, but I want places I can actually go to. I have to touch things before I buy them lol.

You could try Mamas and Papas. Also, Jojo Maman Bebe, Blooming Marvellous.
Enjoy and good luck!

thank you very much! 

there are babies r us stores, not sure where in london, but I'm sure there is one. Also john lewis has, what I think, is a good selection of moderately priced cots and moses baskets. you can also get mattresses, sheet, pushchairs (i don't think they are moderately priced at john lewis though) and tons of other stuff there as well.  Ikea actually has some decent cots and bedroom furniture.

If you aren't opposed to buying second hand, www.preloved.co.uk has some good bargains. I got a nearly new inglesina travel system for under £100 a couple of months ago and probably would have looked for a cot there as well if we needed on. It's like gumtree but with less time wasters. Also the NCT does nearly new sales, but you have to see if there is one you can get to.

I am not opposed to anything, as long as its not worn out  I will check out that site. We are on a tight budget, because of visa fees just paid out..so anything helps! 

Why cant I find crib-beds-in-a-bags?  They are everywhere in the US, its driving me nuts!  I can only find sets you have to buy seperately.  They used to have one at mothercare, but evidently its no longer there 

In our town, Babies R Us is in the Toys R Us store.  The other biggies have been named for you.

I got lots of baby stuff from freecycle--saved me a bundle.  You just have to jump quick as the baby stuff goes fast.

I found in the end I really didn't need to spend much.  Parents bought the crib, then I got a cot later from friend's mum who didn't need it.  As soon as DD was born, we got tons of clothes as gifts--more than she could actually wear.  We did splurge and buy a nice pushchair system, which I went to lots of shops to try out.

I found some of my favourite shops were actually locally run instead of chains.  Keep your eye out or do an internet search.  I found a fantastic shop where I ended up buying my pushchair by clicking on a link for a pushchair that I liked online and looking on their site for stockists.

I can't recommend NCT Nearly New Sales enough.  If you have one in your area, they can be an amazing source of affordable baby stuff.  http://www.nct.org.uk/in-your-area/nearly-new-sales can tell you if/when one is coming up near you.

Also, if you've got an IKEA, you must check them out as well.  We got our cot at the NNS, then bought the mattress at IKEA.  Fitted crib sheets were also very cheap there.  They also sell a stack of 10 washclothes for like 3 quid, and we've found those to be incredibly useful.  It's definitely worth checking out what they have available before buying anything at a Mothercare/ Babies R Expensive place.  Many of my friends have ended up with the standard IKEA highchair, for example, as it's apparently very easy to clean, and doesn't take up nearly the space that the other ones do.  (we've ended up with a seat that attaches to the table- like the ones they have at Wagamama for babies.  We bought a secondhand highchair at a NNS but have barely used it, and will likely sell it at the next NNS for about the same price we bought it for...)

And yes, Freecycle is awesome.  It's been changed to "Freegle" in our area, in an attempt to distance themselves from the US version.  (just fyi, in case you haven't found Freecycle where you area, it might be under that name now?)

We have both Realcycle and Freegle here.  I saw something on the bbc today called www.ecobees.com which is a more polished version of Freegle/Realcycle.   It doesn't seem like too many people are using it up my way yet, but London may have more people.

ooh you're in our area, pengi.  (We're in Loughborough)  I'll have to check out Realcycle.

I did see an advert, maybe in our county newsletter, about a similar program to Freegle.  Maybe it was Realcycle, I don't know.  I do know that we love the concept and share items there, as well as take some of course. 

I can't recommend NCT Nearly New Sales enough.  If you have one in your area, they can be an amazing source of affordable baby stuff.  http://www.nct.org.uk/in-your-area/nearly-new-sales can tell you if/when one is coming up near you.

Also, if you've got an IKEA, you must check them out as well.  We got our cot at the NNS, then bought the mattress at IKEA.  Fitted crib sheets were also very cheap there.  They also sell a stack of 10 washclothes for like 3 quid, and we've found those to be incredibly useful.  It's definitely worth checking out what they have available before buying anything at a Mothercare/ Babies R Expensive place.  Many of my friends have ended up with the standard IKEA highchair, for example, as it's apparently very easy to clean, and doesn't take up nearly the space that the other ones do.  (we've ended up with a seat that attaches to the table- like the ones they have at Wagamama for babies.  We bought a secondhand highchair at a NNS but have barely used it, and will likely sell it at the next NNS for about the same price we bought it for...)

I second the NCT nearly new sales. AMAZING for clothes and stuff. The items really are "nearly new", too, which is nice because everything still has plenty of life left. I've gotten so much stuff at these...DH and I hit them up in various areas near us several times a month. I got moses basket and cot-sized sheets and bedding at one. Two moses baskets with stands, a Bumbo, books, a baby bath, and tons of clothes for super cheap.

I had no idea about freecycle. Going to have to check that out.

We used a mix of freecyclye(freegle), NCT Sales, mothercare, babies R us for Jean.  IKEA has great stuff for babies & kids though.  We've bought bibs, cups, plates, cutlery there.

Or John Lewis?

http://www.johnlewis.com/Baby+and+Child/Nursery+Furniture/Nursery+Furniture/SubCategory.aspx

I like the idea of second hand or IKEA, though!

Verbaudet do cheap sheets and grobags. Also TK Maxx have a Home store now which do nice bed sets cheap.

I love TK Maxs's selections of growbags.  I've bought several there--along with several other baby things.