April 2011 - back to back sex and other mysteries

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

Here we go ladies, a brand new sparkly thread that should see us all into our 2nd trimester

Many thanks for the warm welcomes

I've felt lots of movements this evening, I was sitting in quite a twisted position which is why I think I felt it so much.

I looked up the reviews on here and that's where I first saw the Cherry. Am not consciously looking yet but mum and I happened to see one in John Lewis when we were having a sneaky peek at baby stuff and it just looked lovely.

Oh and January sales I reckon!

I got both my previous pushchairs in the January Sales for under £100. I never bothered with a pram/travel system although with hindsight would have gone for one the car seat fits onto. DS would get grumpy if i woke him up when transfering him from the carseat to buggy and he nearly always fell asleep in the car
Neither was anything fancy. My first was a reclining Cosatto Winnie the Pooh pushchair suitable from birth and the second was a Quinny Zapp.

I was hoping I wouldn't have to get a double buggy. DS wiil be 3 in April but I don't think he'll be happy with just a buggy board. Trouble is I have a small car without much boot space (a Kia Picanto) so it's going to be really hard to find a double that will fit it. I'll have to go on the pushchair thread later and see if anyone has suggestions.

20 week scan went OK yesterday although I have to go back on Friday for a follow-up. The baby stayed curled up and they couldn't get a proper look at the heart or chest. I had to go for a walk around the waiting room in the hope it might change position but baby was not playing along.

Gook luck to everyone else with scans coming up

9 in 1? Does it include a coffee machine?

9 in 1 does sound a bit mad :)

Liv - bad luck, hope baby behaves on Friday.

I was given a Mamas & Papas 3 in 1 first time round though i didn't use the car seat (it didn't fit as well as an isofix recaro in our car).
Then i bought a M&P Aria - which I've given away as i hated it so much!

Then i got a Phil & Teds double for DS2 which i love and still have but don't use so much but may still need for DS2 to ride in when baby 3 arrives.

(i also tried out a Bruin side-by-side double but didn't like it, too heavy)

And then i got a Mclaren triumph - not everyone's tast i know but lightweight & handy.

There is an alternative to a buggy board, the buggy seat, Litaf maybe? your DS might like that? DS1 loved the buggy board and would still go on it at 4 but he really is too heavy (and lazy!!).

I am sorely tempted by a recaro buggy that's new but £900 !!! can't see DH going for that.

sorry buggy ramble over :)

9 in 1?! Sounds like Ikea flat pack furniture not a pram!

My shortlist so far (from many hours of internet research/wishful thinking):

Silver Cross Sleepover Classic: I spent most of my childhood holding onto a Silver Cross pram so maybe it's nostalgia that fuels this one! Tis beautiful though, I've taken to stalking people when I see them in town

iCandy Cherry: more practical than the S.C in weight turns but worried it won't be as sturdy, I'm not careful with things usually...

O'baby Zynergy Condor 6S: Seems similar to the Cherry, though annoyingly some good deals on line but nowhere nearby seems to stock them for a test drive grr

Mothercare Trenton: this is the cheaper option that does what we want but isn't as pretty. And as DH pointed out the carrycot does look like a coffin

I have put far too much thought into this, obviously! Still need to persuade DH that it will be worth £400+ as we don't drive and so will be walking a lot day to day, but will be catching the train North where GPs will want something that a car seat can go on, so need to make sure it's the right one.

Hello all!

I've had a crap day at work, just a little light slander, trying to think of baby things instead!

It's amazing to see that we're all now thinking about the baby hardware! I can't believe we're so far through already!

DH and I have now decided which one we want, we're going for the Quinny Buzz - hopefully with all the bells & whistles (carry cot, carseat, etc.). It just seems really easy to maneouver, collapse & set up, etc. It's parent facing, which is really important to us. And the carry cot is rigid sided which will be useful at home and when we visit the folks.

Problem is they whole lot is about £700 brand new! So we're looking on ebay - where they go for about £150!

Beetle - I had the full visual experience last night too! I hadn't realised I'd be able to see my belly moving already! DH doesn't believe me, little dude always goes quite when I call him over!

Take care all!

Well, had my scan yesterday. All went well, baby wriggling around, and everything in the right place :) and...

it's a girl!!!!!

My lovely parents have bought us our travel system. A Silver Cross Linear. Only reason we've bought it so early is that Babies'r'Us had it on offer £130 off, was scared incase it wnet back up before we bought it and it was the one I wanted. Mum has insisted on keeping it at their house as its "bad luck" for us to have it.

Anyhoo, I got some wonderful fandabbydozie superlicious news today. The maternaity policy has changed at work and I am now entitled to 6 months full pay and 3 months stat (it was 6 weeks @90% the rest stat before). So thats a huge difference to us money wise and will effect when I have to go back too! Woo hoo!!

When my boss told me it was a bit of a stroke/slap moment. Good news - Mat pay goes up, Bad News - You are being a mardy cow and snapping at people. By people she meant mr anti work who would do anythign to avoid having to take responsibility, that I had a go at for not doing something really important that ended up with people not getting paid. Granted I was sharp with him, but he deserved it. Plus it meant I had to work til 8 one night last week to fix it all. AIBU??

I said ok I was like that with him, but here's why. Cue big long rant about feeling left to do everything myself if i wanted done right. Also told her I was shattered all last week and wouldn't be doing anymore overtime because tiredness = grumpy LisMcA :o
She's going to have a word with him!

Ooh almost forgot to say bought our nursery furniture at the weekend too. Had been admiring this in the M&P shop a while back and saw the Argos had £100 off it (I'm all for bargins as you can see). Also thinking about the VAT increase in January will effect the "big" purchases (i work in accounts can you tell), so thats my excuse for shopping now and I'm sticking to it!

Can anyone on here who is on DC2+ help me out on whats actually needed compared to all these lists Mothercare and the like send out. So far we've got the pram system, moses basket (lovely friends have said they are getting it for us) nursery furniture. Mum is knitting like a mad woman and stockpiling vests in various sizes from what I can make out.

Are things like swings and slings (sounds like the name of an adult entertainment venue ) necessary right away or do you pick these things up as you go along?

Oops sorry for the long post.

I'm also looking at the icandy push chairs! I like the apple and the cherry. I'm hoping to get some John Lewis vouchers from family for Christmas to put towards it, so I'm definitely waiting until January to go ahead and get it.

Congratulations lowra on your scan and the news - a little girl, so exciting :)

Congratulations on your girl scan lowra I suppose once we've had our scans we should update our stats to DD, DS or NFO (not finding out)

LisaMca
A sling is definately handy from the beginning although I never got on with the all material one that you wrap round (there's a nack to it but i just couldn't get it, even after watching the instructional DVD several times ) I used my Baby Bjorn style one loads though.

I couldn't have lived without the bouncy/vibrating reclining chair thingy. My colleagues asked what I wanted for a gift when PG with DS and I asked for a bouncer as knew i'd use it loads and they were pleased it was a nice gift for them to shop for as I didn't specify a certain model or brand.

I received a lovely Mama's and Papa's one which had optional settings for vibrating, rocking and several music options, plus the mobiles and even flashing lights. It was also brown and beige so the milk throw-up even colour co-ordinated Must get it down from the loft soon for a good clean and airing.

Hi all

For anyone who is feeling under pressure on the pram/travel system dilemma they are not essential. I live in the sticks with no proper pavements and mud tracks. Even if we'd forked out for a super duper off road type there's no way I could have carried pram and baby over the dykes. So for DD1 I bought a 2nd hand MacLaren buggy for a tenner which babies can use from 3 months. She was a big baby so she was in it from 8 weeks easy and until then we got by with a sling. Saved ouselves a fortune. The buggy is still going strong nearly 3 years later.

I could do with some tips on buying one of those cots that attach to the side of your bed. They are really popular in the States but not so much here. They basically extend the bed (with no gaps) and should let me get a much easier sleep than with DD1 who was feeding every hour in the beginning and I was up and down putting her back in the moses basket feeling like a sleep starved zombie who'd just been hit by a truck.

So a bed attaching cot is top of my list for surviving the first few weeks. And proper co-sleeping doesn't work for me. I kept waking up in a cold sweat thinking I was squashing the baby. Will maybe ask midwives where I can buy them here but if anyone knows please share.

Jaylar I have used a bedside crib that sits alongside our bed with multi-adjustable postioning and a drop side. After two c-sections it was a god-send. I spent forever trying to find one. In the end bought it second hand on ebay. More recently I've seen the full bedside cot, which looks just like a bigger version.

LisaMcA I found a sling was my other best buy. I had a babybjorn for DS1 which is fine, except I struggled with getting her in/out on my own. When she howled for a feed in the centre of town and I couldn't get her out fast enough, I decided never again.

For DC2 I got a babasling. I could get her in and out with ease. I also could breastfeed discretely in it (impossible with a babybjorn type carrier). DC2 wouldn't be put down for 9 weeks so the sling helped me to get on, and keep him happy.

I'd say that a swing is a non-essential but if you have a baby that screams a lot, and won't be put down - then I've heard several mums say that a swing was the only way they could finish a meal. You could probably wait until s/he arrives to decide though. (baby bouncers are fine but it will be a while before they can bounce it themselves).

My other god send was a gift of a cot mobile. It played music and rotated a load of odd shapes to Mozart. Anyway both of my newborns were so fascinated by it that I found it gave me about 15-25 minutes to go to the loo and have a shower in the early months. Later the mobile comes off and they can switch just the music box on themselves. It also acted as a signal that it was now sleep time. If anyone's interested I'll dig it out and check the make. They're still current.

I am genuinely soo happy that I kept these things for DC3.

I've been through a few buggies myself. But I'm more able to make suggestions for mums who will walk a lot as I've either bought or borrowed several with pneumatic tyres. Have had a travel system (but 6 years ago) and they have definitely moved on since then. It was very useful to be able to attach a car seat to a buggy. The beauty of having one that did this, rather than just attach to a frame was that you could transfer the baby to a lie flat position when it woke. (Car seats are not supposed to be a good idea for young babies for more than an hour - something to do with the dead tilted forward reduces oxygen to the brain after prolonged periods). This is obviously only do-able if you are staying out for long and have a chance to put the car seat back into the car eg for multiple car journeys on the same day/half day etc...I guess you could also add a seat unit too - but more hastle in my opinion...

OK now I am waffling.

I've just been having a nosey at the stats thread

There are now 40 of us listed and if i've counted correctly

24 are on DC1
6 on DC2
10 on DC3

I've looked at the BedNest and ArmsReach for small baby co-sleeping, the BabyBay which goes it bit longer, and the Mothercare dropside cot and the Cosatto Close To Me (I think) for full size cots.

The only problem is getting them to me!

What about those on DC4

Great news on the scans and so exciting that some of you know the sex. We have our 21wk scan tomorrow and hope to find out as well.

I love looking at buggies but can never decide which one to get and it is such a personal choice, what suits one may not suit another no matter how pretty is is :) .. We have had a graco travel system, 1x P&T Sport, 1x Maclaren XT, 1xP&T Vibe, 1xMaclaren Twin Techno and we currently have a Maclaren XLR.

The XLR can turn into a travel system so have just bought a car seat for it. We also still have the Twin Techno which will come in handy for the longer days out when dd2 & dc4 are needing to both be in it.

Baby is moving a lot more these days and is getting stronger with the kicks/punches/squirms. It's quite scary how quickly this year has gone and once Christmas is over it wont be long before the babies are all here!

2011 is a BIG year for my family - new baby, i'm 30, my Dad is 60 & DD1 starts school which is super scary!

Hope you all have a good day, I'm off to blitz the house before dh returns from a trip away on business [boring]

If we have moved into our new bedroom (we're currently extending) by the time the baby arrives I'm going to get a cotside bed. I'm not a great co-sleeper either, I panic that I'm going to squash them, so I end up not sleeping very well. I have no idea what make to get though, although my friend has just got one so I think I'll have a nosey at hers and let you know what I think.

We've got a Quinny Speedi with the Maxi Cosi car seat and the carry cot thingy. We've also got a Mclaren which can be used from newborn - and I think we'll probably use that the most. DH aspires to a Mountain Buggy, but I've told him 'no more bloody buggies'.

We got a cheap bouncy chair from Mothercare, it didn't vibrate or rock, and it done the job. However, if I had a baby who didn't settle, I would be buying a swinging one asap. On my last post-natal thread we renamed the bouncy chairs 'the poo chair' as nearly all of our lo's would have a poo when they were put in them - maybe it was easier to poo sitting up rather than laying down? Can you imagine pooing laying down? Weird huh?!

We have got a Bush Baby carrier but because I have big babies it wasn't long before they were too uncomfortable, so I think I'll buy a fabric sling this time.

Other things you'll need lisMcA are:

plain vests (approx 7-10)
plain babygro's (approx 7-10) - get one's with integral scratchmits.
Don't bother with outfits when they're small, plus you'll get loads as gifts.
Nappies - clothies or disposible
Bedding for moses basket and cot
Muslins
A couple of lightweight hats for when they're very newborn.
Socks if you get footless rompers.
Sleeping bag for when they're a bit bigger.
Swaddling blanket - you can buy these ready made or you can use a plain square blanket. IMO swaddling is THE way to go.
A couple of fleece or woollen blankets for out and about in the pram/carseat.
I would probably hold off buying a snowsuit and see what the weather is like at the time.
Wipes - but it is recommended to use cotton wool and warm water when they are newborn.
Hooded towel or just a normal towel.
Baby Gym - I like the Tiny Love ones.
Don't bother with a baby bath or a top and tail bowl - you won't use them.

I think that's about it, I don't think I've missed anything major off.

Oooh, loving all the buggy talk! I wish I could justify buying a new one but DS will be 2.4 when bubba is born so he can either go in the pushchair and I sling bubba, or I can get one of those little skateboard thingys that attach to the back for him to stand on. I'll have to live vicariously through all your shopping!

One thing I'd say about the iCandy Cherry is that you need to take the seat/carrycot bit off to fold it. Not a problem if you've got a big car or if you don't take much public transport but worth keeping in mind as a friend of mine who has one says that's the only thing she doesn't like about it.

It's so hard to know what you're going to need until the baby is here and it's such a personal thing. I bought a travel system (Silver Cross) for DS and must admit I think I was sucked in by the broderie anglaise on the carrycot . I ended up selling it when he was 5mths old and buying a Bee as 1) the SC was too heavy & bulky; 2) I couldn't push it with one hand; 3) I only used the car seat on the pram base twice as I found it a bit of a faff to put on and off and 4) I couldn't have DS facing me in pram mode.

Enough buggy rambling though...a couple of things I can think of to add to your list LisaMcA is an in-ear digital thermometer. Keep an eye out for sales as they can be a bit pricey but so worth the money. Saved me and DH from guessing 'is that how hot a baby is meant to be or is that too hot' . And a feeding cushion of some sort if you don't already have a big pillow you could use. Mine was a godsend and allowed me to bf while drinking a cuppa and eating biscuits with free arm . I've got a Widgey Support one but again it's a personal thing and there's probably some mums on here who had a different one or didn't use one at all.

Very exciting to hear about all the 20wk scans too! Over 3 weeks to wait till mine...

Hi everyone

Where is the stats list? I haven't put my details on it.

Great to read this thread for lots of advice on what to get, though the buggy/pram/travel system thingies still scare the hell out of me and I can't even begin to think about it. I have two sisters-in-law who both had babies last year, so I am biding my time and am going to see what I can nab from them before I start spending a fortune on anything.

I THINK I felt a movement yesterday but I'm not sure. I was lying down at yoga and I felt something quite low down just near the top of my pelvic bone. It sort of felt like a ligament twang but not really. I then felt it about four more times. It didn't feel like bubbles or flutters, terms I know others have used to describe movements, it was quite noticable. I'm 18 weeks with my first so not really sure what I am looking for. I haven't felt it since, so maybe it was just a ligament. Really curious to know if it was a proper movement!

RE. prams: I have a silvercross (the only thing I kept from DS's baby days) Dunno what model it is, 'Country' rings a bell but it is huge, heavy, totally impractical for putting in the car....but I don't have a car so wanted something sturdy lol.
Scan tomorrow, soooooooo excited!!!!

JoEW, stats are here

And while we're on stats...our median age is 30.5

I'm sure I should be doing something more constructive with my time ...

Thanks caramel, I've added mine. I think I might have ramped up the median age!

JoEW that sounds like the 'kicks' I can feel. Sometimes it feels a bit more bubbly, but sometimes it's a twang (feels to me a bit like that funny feeling you sometimes get when your heart skips a beat, but lower down). I'm guessing that's the difference between a wriggle and a kick! And, yes, mine is right down low in my abdomen just above the pubic bone. I started being sure I was feeling them last Friday (17+3) and have felt them multiple times a day since.

JoEW, I'd second the thing about it not feeling like bubbles. Mine feel like I'm being gently flicked from the inside.