feb babies - it's time to glow and grow :)

[angels1]

Hello all,

I just realised I put the 1000'th message on our last thread (uh oh, I think that's the limit), so in my at not realising I'd reached the limit, thought I'd better start a new thread if anyone finds it.

Hello everyone and welcome to those who have recently joined us!

I have not been on for a while but had my 20 week scan today and all is well, thank goodness.

We have decided not to find out the gender - already have 2 DS, would love a daughter but don't want to spoil the surprise.

I have a decent sized bump now and need to go shopping for new tops, as most of my tshirts ride up over the bump - ugh. luckily a kind friend has lent me some maternity trousers and jeans. An unexpected bonus of becoming pg is that I appear to have dropped two dress sizes overnight - I was a 14-16 and now 10-12 in maternity clothes, which is bizarre but Im not complaining!

Morning all

Been to the gym/swimming this morning. Wanted to watch the aqua aerobics class to see if I might like to join in but she made them do the YMCA and I just dont think I can bring myself to join in!

Have any of you tried Next for mat clothes? Or Dorothy Perkins? They are a bit more 'on trend' and you can buy both online. Also mentioned before asos.com do a mat section - good luck all. I dug my old batch out of the loft this weekend. Took out a nightie, a pair of grey jeans, a pair of work trousers and put the rest in the recycling bin for Scope. Couldnt believe I actually wore some of them. Bought a denim skirt from Mamas & Papas yesterday, hoping it will go with everything! Bump not really showing yet, just look like I have no waist but regular clothes are getting uncomfortabl and feel like my eyes will pop out of head if I dont undo them! Just need a few t shirt tops now I think.

Glad the scans are going well everyone, cant believe how quickly its all going.

I had my 20 week scan today - everything looks normal and it appears to be a boy! I had a feeling it was a boy so had almost assumed it would actually be a girl. :) It's starting to seem a bit more real now!

I'll join in on the moaning about maternity clothes. I usually quite like Gap as I don't tend to be very trendy, but the shop I went to had very few maternity clothes and they don't appear to have any on the website. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

Moomin glad you big too. Yes i love it too feel really proud but have to aggree that the maternity range seems more suited to the queen or other elderly women!Looked in asda-vile am going to try h and m which i remember as being nice last time. My legs are a bit chunky now so leggings need to be with a dress and not a top.
I also remember crying my eyes out when dd left her nursery and i wasnt pregnant. The staff were great tho and were really supportive when i separated from ex.
angels how you feeling now. Is the ms dying down. I feel bit sicky today hence on mn instead of working like i should be. Boss is out of office so i am going early cos dd has been on school trip to wales and she will be so tired.
Looked at baby stuff in asda-bottles nappies etc but i just cant get my head around it all at the mo.

aexpat great news on the scan. glad all is well.

ooooh i never knew that there was a vanilla version...sounds yummy! must give that a go! Im getting rather bored of the original one...been drinking loads of hot ribena for some reason too.

when i was a little girl my dad used to make it for me when i had a cold and needed looking after...funny i should be craving it now!

Hope you are all having a fab, stress free day ladies xxx

Hey everyone,

My first post for a while. All is going well - am trying to cope with as few mat clothes as possible, but it's tough. Had a good moment this weekend though, when shopping with my mum for a coat... after traipsing round a couple of shops for ages she suddenly realised that she had one that would fit me. And it's not ugly either, she's only 50 so she still has a bit of an idea of what looks good, so that's a bit of money saved.

Not sure what to do about bottles, milk, steralisers yet. And no idea which buggy to tell FIL to get for us for xmas - they all look the same! Am probably just going to opt for a half decent brand that seems to do the job in the £150-£200 price range.

Starting to feel better, much less MS than I have had. Not sure if I'm "blooming" but I am less sick and have a bit more energy so I guess I am.

Hope everyone else is OK.

ledkr feeling a bit better the past few days thanks - am speaking to doc in next couple of days and fingers crossed hoping to try a few lessons next week. Just trying to do a few bits and see how much I'm capable of today - managed to get to tkmaxx to look for baby stuff but everything seems really gender specific so came home empty handed (except a few christmas gift purchases to add to my ever extending pile) and absolutely desperate for the loo as not one there!. It's so nice to feel vauguely human if only some of the time though :)

angels i so want to start my xmas shopping. I might make a list later and start to buy few bits. I might do the baby shop in one go and have a whole day at a big store and get the lot.Also having a baby shower later so will get some stuff then. I am really bored at work today and seem to be getting nothing done,oh why cant maternity leave start when you get your bfp?haha

I've started making a list of baby essentials we need to get/ask for before feb but the list seems to be getting longer and longer....and looking online everything is so expensive for what is it (even the cheap shops). Saw half price baby towels in mamas and papas last week and was going to get a couple but they felt so thin and cheap for the price.

Does anyone have any experience of expressing breast milk? This is my plan to get out of some night time feeds! My only memory though is of my mum trying to use a breast pump about 18 years ago and for the amount of pumping she did she got tiny drops of milk and not much else so gave up really quickly. Is this how it still works or are they better now? Is it something I should look to buy pre baby or wait until it's here so I know milk comes out OK?

Glad you're starting to feel a little better angels, this weekend was the least sick I've been so far!! and it only took 19 weeks!!! Although I did have to go to the loo 3 times in the space of 30 mins in work today

I'm hoping to be able to hold off until after Christmas for most of my baby stuff, hopefully take advantage of the sales.

Angels I never used baby towels with my dds, best piece of advice I got re towels was to use old ones or buy dark towels for your own use for hospital and little while after. Next do chocolate brown bales for about £20. When I had dd2 I remember midwife being dismayed at the amount of new white towels, pjs, expensive knickers etc brought onto the wards. For reasons we don't need to think about now they were inevitably ruined!!

angels I have tried hand pump and also electric pump and electric is DEFFO the way forward. Sometimes it can be a fruitless exercise and sometimes you can get a good load of it. I always found having a picture of the baby in front of me helped enormously, as I often did it once he was in bed. Could be worth waiting til a)you see one in the sale or b) you know you are deffo going to breastfeed. Thats my personal opinion anyhoo. Some people suggest expressing straight after feeding baby as you already have a good flow going but I didnt get that much this way, but wortha go. It also helps keep a good supply doing it this way, esp if they have a growth spurt. Or it oculd be you express just before feeding them as your boobs are full and then the baby takes a turn and they will always get milk out better than a pump! Yes, that does make more sense.

Am having a pushchair nightmare. Currently have a mamas and papas travel system which is big, and a double buggy, but really I want rid of them a a Quinny Buzz or something compatible with my maxo cosi car seat as we are running out of room. Love my mamas and papas pushchair but just need more space now we have DC3 on its way. Arrrgggh.

Also, Professor can you remind me which was the best baby carrier you used. I have the baby bjorn but I wouldnt mind something a bit more practical for use when feeding, or generally just a bit more cool!

Yes dark towels are the way forward, agree wiggles and I also bought a dark fitted sheet for bed for just after the birth so that I didnt ruin any of our nice sets. Might be worth also putting something waterproof underneath too in the run up to D Day in case waters break in bed. You dont want to ruin a perfectly good mattress. The bed mats for kids are handy in this way. Although I did have loads of stuff like this as had a home birth so wanted everything covered up!

oh, great advice ladies thanks

would never have thought about dark towels and bed sheets but makes alot of sense, and getting a bundle means I could use the smaller hand towels for the baby - sorted and at half the price :)

Angels I bought medala mini (electric) as used it every few hours to express for my dd who spend long time in scbu and couldn't feed alone had feeding tube... Anyway found it very good cud fill a 5oz bottle in about 14 min (did 7 mins timed per breast) it wasn't expensive either and I found it comfortable to use... However scbu had a double breast pump called 'swing' that mums could use at the hospital and that was magic expressed you as if u were a cow lol! So depends on budget :-/

I'm so happy to see all the good news on scans :-) I've gig mine on friday, having it early cos go to Florida next week and want to check all is well before I take the long flight :-/

oh nearly forgot but apparently mylene klass revealed yesterday she is pregnant too - so could be another feb baby :) Anyone admiting to being mylene??!

on the subject of pumps, the one thing I can say is that my aunt who has had two children told me not to skimp too much on cost for them and she almost ALWAYS buys as cheap as possible so I sat up and took note on that one. Cheaper ones are painful and slow she said, as others have pointed out above.

Oh and heard heartbeat for the first time today. AMAZING.

on the subject of pumps, the one thing I can say is that my aunt who has had two children told me not to skimp too much on cost for them and she almost ALWAYS buys as cheap as possible so I sat up and took note on that one. Cheaper ones are painful and slow she said, as others have pointed out above.

Oh and heard heartbeat for the first time today. AMAZING.

Has anyone seen Mylene Klass' baby clothes in Mothercare? Ewww, they are awful.

Congrats on the scan expat :) Trying to keep track of how many boys and girls we have now, I think it's about even?

angels I bought a cheapo hand pump but I'm a squirter so I never had any problems with expressing other than not being bothered to do it because I was too lazy to sterilise all the stuff. I co-slept so night feeds were a doddle- might be something to think about? LLL do a very good leaflet about it, I was given it at hospital when I had DD.

I'm not Myleeeeeeene. I bought the Prima Baby magazine the other day as a treat (tis $5 here!) and her column is one long plug for Baby K. Pretty girl, good pianist, but not exactly the first woman to have a career and a baby!

Congratulations on the scan expat and pinkelephant!

Sorry angels as you know I'm secretly Penelope Cruz

Angels you'll want big towels for the baby not small ones, so my DH says, he is in charge of bathtime for DD here! Small ones are just chilly and annoying. When I was in hospital I used their towels- there were always loads.

Love Mylene xxx

gosh i feel like a first time mum with all the choices and buying. I am going to ask my mw about best milk n stuff and bottles too.
Dd new bed should come soon so i can vacate what will be the nursery and get all the stuff from dgs so i can see what i actually need to buy.
Feel so tired today i started early today and then dil picks dd up from school and so when i get home the baby has trashed my not very child friendly house and then she stays on for tea and hes crying and putting dirty hands all over my walls and dropping food and ...arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!I know i am having a baby but not yet!
I am going to get a carseat from my friend and then take them home as soon as i get in. Its now 7.20 have had no tea the kitchen floor looks minging and i have had no time with dd. Not even taken off my shoes yet.:(

Hello all - congrats to all those who have found out what you're having, it must be so exciting. My bump still has quite a unisex name, as we're going to try and hold out until he / she arrives! We'll see it we can manage it :)

Quick question for those who have had their 20 week scans though - I actually have two scans this week. My appointment card says "Tues - Anomaly Scan" and then "Fri - Scan + DA(?)" - it's scrawled so I can't read it. What could they be for - will I get to see the baby twice, or have I just been double-booked? I suppose I could wait till tomorrow to find out, but thought one of you might know.

Also, does anyone know where I can get a full list of baby stuff to buy beforehand? It's getting a bit overwhelming to remember everything now! But actually I'm still too shell-shocked at the cost of prams to venture into a shop any time soon, so I might have to wait a while!!