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.

We hope to find out the sex as well. I'm rubbish with surprises and as someone said, I think it'll help us bond with the baby (who is feeling like a bit of an abstract concept at the moment).

I've been leaning towards the Maxi-Cosi/Quinny combo as they both seems to have had good reviews (not had a look at Which? yet). Could someone with experience comment on how difficult it is to routinely fit a seat with seatbelt (without using a base)? Or is the fixed base the best way to go? I really get lost if given more than 3 choices with anything...

If you get a chance, try both ways in your car. First time round we went with a base plus carseat combo so that we could "easily" take the carseat itself out separately, but because the inertia reel on our car seatbelts is very sensitive it was not easy (i.e. was virtually impossible) just to leave the base in and take the carseat in and out of the base. So this time (had already given old carseat away to SIL) I've just bought one without the base. But worth trying in your car, because I think if you can get the carseat on and off the base easily then the seat plus fixed base would be the way to go.

I think prof should change her name to 'the fount of all knowledge especially anything involving a babysling!'.

Looked on the which site and very useful. The (hope I'm allowed to give this sort of info away) top travel system is the Babystyle Oyster which is only about £100, so pretty cheap. I'd have to get an extra cot type attachment though and it says it doesn't fold up very small so not sure if it'd fit in my little boot. It fits in car seat too thought which is a plus. They didn't have the quinny xtra on the test (which I think prof recommended to me) so not sure about that one.

Found out that we've got a free nearly new expensive baby monitor, john lewis cot, and oter bits tbc from MIL's employer yesterday - great . Hoping our only 'big' expenses initially now will be the travel system and car seat (but am sure I'm to be greeted with lots of things I never knew I needed but actually are very important). Oh, and we're going to get a flic camcorder (is it called flic? I forget) so we can have videos of the baby as they grow up - I'm a bit of a closet enjoyer of editing so hoping I'll get time to make nice short films (hopefully to some rather approprate cheesy music!).

oh, when I say short films, I don't mean proper scripted things (making my child into a child star actor from newborn!) I just mean edit it to like 5 minute shorts of general 'activity' at different stages of how baby grows. Phew, don't want you thinking I'm going to pimp my child before it's even born!

Or possibly "the person who has already made most of the expensive mistakes it's possible to make and from whose hideous example you can learn". But that might be a bit long for the MN username field...

You could start a thread on MN's pushchair section asking about the Quinny Zapp Xtra, or just asking about options that would fit into your boot?

Pushchair section

great idea prof (as ever ). Want to wait till the 20 weeks scan (just to be sure....) before I get too involved in research. Thought the info on the best buy might help others here .

We are going to find out, but then I there are big, fat, Greek grandparents carping about how their family 'only has boys' and continuing the legacy etc. I have no preference either way but I think dealing with Ohs parents at 5 months infinitely preferable to the alternative (can you imagine - just given birth to a gorgeous girl, all proud and happy, and THEY come up and pop your bubble with a 'well, at least you can try for a boy now' or something...!)
I'll have to wait 4 weeks though. Does anyone want to risk a guess? I keep changing my mind - usually based on what names I like at that moment!

Oh, yes, best buy info definitely useful. Just if you need to buy a new car as well then it becomes less of a best buy for you personally...

I'm trying to talk myself into the fact that it's a boy, but that's mainly as deep down DH and I would love a girl (but fine either way, just so long as it's healthy etc) so I don't want to feel dissapointment if I hear it's a boy at the scan. That's utterly terrible isn't it? I'm quite ashamed at even writing it... but this may well be our only child (DH wants more but I don't know if I can go through this again). Plus, everyone I know that's had a child in the past couple of years seems to have had a girl, so it's due time a boy was born to even out the statistics. I guess it does mean that if I have a little boy he'll be a ladies man getting to plan with all the girls!!

I mean play not plan of course and prof, what a great excuse to just HAVE to get a new car! Might have to try that one...

I feel as though this is a girl, but I've been wrong both previous times so that could mean it's a boy...

gina, that's great news, what a relief it must be for you!

We're not going to find out at the scan, we want another 20 weeks of arguing we've decided on boy and girl names so we're set either way. I do wish people would stop assuming that I want a boy this time though, I am so bitchy at the moment I'm in danger of slapping the next person that says "let's hope it's a boy this time!"

jack I suppose if I had to pick a team I would say Ferrari, but I just like to see a good race with lots of overtaking and no accusations of cheating, not that that happens very often

Do any of the other second (or third or fourth) timers feel a bit like they are neglecting the bump? I spent ages talking to and stroking the bump when I was expecting DD but I keep forgetting this time around, I'm so busy with DD

Maybe this is a stupid question, but will most shops let us try carseats in our car before we buy?

Mothercare will -- not actually put them in and drive off but check that you can install and remove them easily and they actually fit (I changed my mind on the next stage carseat to get for DS because I couldn't get the hang of putting the one I had been planning to buy into our car).

Or at least, big Mothercare World shops will.

good question eaurouge about neglecting/talking to bump - I've been wondering how many people actually talk to their bump and if so what on earth do you say? I feel a bit silly when I think about talking to my tummy, not sure what I'd say. I know they say if you talk alot to it it will recognise your voice when it's born, but surely it will hear it enough by being around you all day every day? (since mine will hear me teaching so much I wonder if it will respond well when it's born to me saying things like 'sitting quietly in your seats'(said in a stern teachish way).

I don't think I've ever talked to it much, except later on to say things like "will you stop doing that?" and "please get your foot out of my ribcage" .

Stroking it tends to happen automatically a bit absent-mindedly.

Hi All
I just wanted to post to say I'm still here and happy at being 19+1 today! Just got back from 2 weeks away getting married so first day back at work! I'll catch up on the thread later, hope everyone is ok and I missed you all!

Was driving to pick up dd1 from school yesterday, had music on very loud, an indulgence when dds aren't in car!!! Baby started moving vigourously (sp!!) to Lily Allen and Snow Patrol not so much to Kings of Leon, was sitting laughing to myself in school car-park, so funny

Haven't really been talking to bump, but am sure talking will begin in earnest when dds find out, still hoping to keep it from them until Halloweenish.

I tried to get OH to talk to bump last night but he didn't know what so say and ended up singing half a lullaby (do those songs come back to you?) and then whispering something that ended with '......just don't tell mummy'!
I dreamt it was a boy but have come up with way more names for girls, does that mean anything?

to lulabel and congratulations.

Also, forgot to say great news to gina on her scan.

I've now been waiting for TWO HOURS for the doctor to ring me back re: getting a prescription, and (typical) everything I need to do invovles either leaving the house or using the phone, neither of which I can do...

*eaurouge I know EXACTLY what you mean - we have two boys and would be delighted with a third, but everyone says "Ooh I'll have my fingers crossed for a girl this time" or "are you just ging to keep trying til you get a girl?" I just want a healthy baby and we always wanted more than 2 children. We initially wanted 4 until we had 1 and realised what was invovled! HA HA. So we are settling for 3. But itas annoying as I dont want anyone to be disappointed if its a boy. I k now my dad will be. He has 6 grandsons and not a girl in sightMy mum is slightly more diplomatic!

I would say bump is getting neglected, nay, abused, with two boisterous boys jumping all over me. I dont know how I will cope when bump becomes larger!! Was so precious about everything first time round, and rihtly so. No room/time for such indulgence now though

and congrats lulabel too!

BTW, does anyone else wish the 20 week scan wasn't called the foetal anomaly scan? It makes it sound negative and scary. I know this is what they are checking for, but there must be another term they could use that makes it sound like they are checking everything is well, rather than checking for problems.

Or perhaps I am just weird...

D

Well, I wish it weren't called the "20 week" scan, because mine isn't until 21+something (that's nearly another seven weeks ) and I feel as though I am losing out...

I suppose the trouble is that "foetal wellbeing scan" is already used for extra scans in the last trimester, so confusing if they called the 20 week scan something like that too.