April 2011 - we'll shop til we pop!

[GoldFrakkincenseAndMyrrh]

Continuation from our old thread here

So maybe this thread we'll see some babies?! And definitely lots more shopping

Hmmm some of those hotmilk ones do look lovely.....

Iliketo Good look with the potty poo tomorrow
We had a good day DS managed 6 wees on the toilet and we had a successful hour and a half of bare bum time this morning. He didn't have a poo at all today and he's usually very regular. I'm hoping he'll wait now until he gets up for breakfast as saggy stinky nappypants aren't nice first thing in the morning. Sorry if TMI for those expecting DC1, I never imagined i'd be discussing poo online, it's one of those unexpected joys of motherhood

Morning all - hope everyone's had a good weekend & are feeling well today. I survived PIL's visit - actually went quite well but I had to leave them all to it & head to bed eventually on sat night and am now knackered... seems pathetic but with the baby moving as much as it is, there's clearly some growing going on which is sapping my energy!

ILikeToMoveItMoveIt thanks for the Bravado ebay tips - am bidding on there now!

Glad the visit went well 1sttime.

I took my iron solution yest and it made me gag and i cant get rid of the taste :(
I am also starting to feel the 3rd trimester kick in and am feeling more tired than before.

Got a meeting with our HR later. I am an office manager and receptionist. I do 3 days on reception and 2 off doing office management. I have asked to come back Mon to Wed same hours reception only. They seem to be having trouble covering the office managment aspect. i thought i was making it easy for them but doesnt look like they want to pay out for a full time replacement. So have asked to see her for an update as my boss told me Fri i need to come up with another plan. Er i dont they do! All i want to know is can i come back 3 days on the days i want as DH parents are having kitten! Work should be the ones to worry about how they manage my job when i'm not here!

kittycatcat I'm sure they shouldn't be having these discussion with you yet, unless you are planning to go back two months after the birth. You don't have to decide until near the end of your maternity leave.

at you needing to come up with the plan. Darn right they do.

I'm also knackered but no more so than usual. I never got my second trimester energy boost! Baby has started pushing upwards and compressing my lungs though - I had a scary dizzy moment in the car driving back from work.

The bravado bras look fab. I love that they come in S/M/L - makes fitting so much easier!

Thaney no they shouldnt but i requested they did for the inlaws. Basically the inlaws have asked to have our baby and my nephew who is 2 the same 3 days and they have asked for Mon, Tue and Wed which i am very happy with, but its not me that has the final say. So i told work early when i will be coming back latest and asked for them to let me know asap if i can come back on my chosen days and the same hours i do now. But they have become more focussed on who will do my job which i dont give two hoots about as i dont want the office management back.

oh those bras do look good!

I'm definitely at the knackered stage here.

The bravado ones I have have a sort of crossover bit at the front too which is nice, as well as some really nice colours, my fave is my purple check one :) But i don't see them on the site anymore.

Also as ILike said remember feeding vests are v good too, esp coming up to summer :)

Kitty, there is no way they should be demanding you come up with anything right now. Even my useful and crappy workplace requires nothing more than a vague idea of when I'll be back.

Tell them where to go! Although that may be the pregnancy rage beast talking again.

Have just had my 32 week midwife appointment. She told me to keep having regular sex and to get my bag packed. All good I think

Hello all!

Thanks for all the bra info and the link JKS. I had been wondering what to do with my knockers once baby comes along. At the moment I have been getting by with a few bras that I bought early on in pregnancy, a back and cup size up, and I haven't gone up in size any more - but expect that all to change soon.

Also getting more tired - it's just kicked in recently. I had a nap yesterday afternoon, which is very unlike me. I usually only sleep at night no matter how tired I am. Saying that I am awake more at night now, I keep waking myself up with snoring - which is so gross but also hilarious. Also seem to be a bit more hormonal and weepy than usual - which is very unlike me.

Kitty hope all goes well with your meeting. If I understand correctly you are trying to get work to agree to you altering your days/hours when you come back to work, so that you can firm up childcare arrangements now. If that's right then you are wise to discuss it now, as your employer isn't under any obligation to agree to changed hours or arrangements - all they are obliged to do it hold a post open for you for a year at the level that you worked at previously.

It's certainly not your problem to worry about how they cover the role while you're away but if you want to agree changes to the role for when you're back that's a slightly different matter. Unless I have the wrong end of the stick, in which case ignore me!

Hi All... not had much to report for a few days but been reading your updates with interest!

cyclebump how did you antenatal class go? Is it NCT? I had my first one on Thursday last week and it was pretty good. Seems a nice bunch of people that felt very self conscious practicing our birthing positions! (am very inhibited I think!!)

Sounds like we're feeling more and more third trimestery! my sister came down for the weekend and we to town to buy unsexy things like massive pants and maternity pads for post delivery and nearly fainted when I caught sight of myself in a changing room mirror. Don't know if baby has moved position or something but the bump seems to have doubled in size in the last week! I look fairly normal from the front but turned sideways it looks like you could rest your dinner on the top! Apparently I don't look pregnant from the back though which is always good to hear ;)

I've got mw appt this week which is good as I'm not sure if i've got a water infection or not. I seem to need the toilet all the time at the moment but when I get the hardly need to go which sounds like an infection to me.. although it seems to be whenever I stand up and I'm ok sitting down so I did wonder if it's the baby pressing on my bladder?

cyclebump midwife told you to have your bag packed?! Exciting! Goes to show we're getting near! My friend is 5 weeks ahead of me and has been my baby buddy throughout finishes work on Friday and is only 3.5 weeks off due it does make it seem very very near!

Hope you're all doing well :)

Hi All,

Very impressed with myself today - instead of bursting into tears at the most recent work-surprise (which all include more work), this time I got super angry! I had to apologise to a few people, but when I realised (later in the day) that I hadn't just cried, I was mighty pleased!

lucielooo re: your suspected water infection. I've had this feeling a few times. I'm pretty sure I haven't got an infection (I had enough of those a few years ago to be able to spot them a mile off!). However, I was reading my Pregnancy Bible the other day, and for 33 weeks it mentions that the baby can begin to drop into the pelvis, which releases pressure on your lungs and stomach (so less breathlessness & heartburn) but increases pressure on the bladder.

Certainly, this morning, and a few times over the weekend, it's felt like his head is grinding on my urethra! Especially when walking downhill. In fact, I've found that I can brace his head a little with my fingers while I walk, which takes the pressure off a bit. Again, I'm fine whilst sitting, it's worse when standing. And yep, I get the constant urge but only teaspoons of wee! (4 micro wees before I left for work this morning!)(and that sounds like Liv et al talking about DC's toilet habits!)

I'm struggling to restrain myself from washing baby stuff & packing a bag. Am I just impatient or do you think there's some significance?

I confess to having washed 2 loads of baby clothes today :)

And planning to sort by size the first lot as it's dry, the rest will have to wait until tomorrow i think.

And i'm planning to pack a 'premature' bag this week just in case - was given a pile of prem baby clothes pre-ds1 that we've never needed but you never know. Then i can change them over as i get nearer the end.

As lots of us are buying stuff for labour/post-birth i wondered if some of the first timers esp would like tips for things to get or not to get?

Mine would be:

• don't buy those awful string pants, just get the big granny pants cheap from George/Primark. They are cheap enough to throw away if needed, can be washed and may get worn a few times, and are esp good if you end up with a c-s scar as they come way up over the tummy :)

• do get bed mats (Boots i know do them), put a couple under your sheet nearer the end in case your waters go in bed (my first ones did) and use some afterwards just to sit on/lie on in bed at night in case you leak past a pad

• do get some big maternity pads, even if they make you walk funny, lol. you can always change to heavy-flow normal ones after a few days if the bleeding tails off. Oh and don't be surprised if the bleeding flow comes and goes when you're more active a few days later.

Anyone else got any ideas?

Oh and the TommeeTippee or Johnsons breast pads I find the best, have a sticky pad if needed, and quite thin so not too obvious - though be warned, just cos you think they can't be seen they probably can, ask your partner for an honest opinion!!

Yes I'm getting a bag packed this weekend as well, just in case. Most of the clothes are washed now and I've just got a few bits and pieces left to buy (breast pads and some newborn sized disposables to do the first 2-3 weeks until we move over to cloth).

My tips are

• Boots maternity pads are the best ones I had, v.absorbent and not tooo bulky

• you cannot have too many muslins! They are useful to lay under the baby in the pram/basket or wherever so that you aren't changing the sheet every time they posset milk or you get nappy leak, I needed a clean one most feeds with DS because of leaks, posseting etc and he wasn't really a sicky baby.

• for coming home from hospital, stick to mat. yoga pants or something, you won't want anything digging in anywhere!

• if you are prone to dry lips/hands/skin in general then make sure to take plenty of lipbalm and moisturiser into hospital. I couldn't believe how dry I felt, like a lizard!

Ooh! Thanks for the tips - keep them coming! I've been wandering what to actually put in the bag!

And, that's made up my mind - I'l getting a load in the machine now. But only to make up a whites wash, you understand!

Hi Everyone

JKS & Ali thanks for the tips for the hospital bag, going to start working on that soon. I was wandering round the nightwear sections of M&S and Dunns the other day and trying to work out what size nightie I would need for during labour (although as I really really want to go into the pool I hopefully won't need it for long) and what size pjs I would need for post labour. On OBEM and Special Deliveries all of the women in the pool seem to cover up with bra/ bikini top or even t-shirts, is this effort at modesty more the benefit of the tv cameras than the midwives? I reckon I'd probably be happy enough topless, but would I be expected to cover up?

Also feeling very third trimestery today, my bump has finally made it past my breasts and is now sitting just under my ribs. Been feeling sick all day, wondering if this is going to be a new things related to my new size, or if it's just one of those things.

Going pram shopping at the weekend, dreading it to be honest, was in London at the weekend so took the opportunity to go into John Lewis, started crying because I couldn't remember anything I'd read on the internet and didn't really understand what the difference was between most of them Really need to start buying things though, currently woefully unprepared.

Is anyone else reading those last few posts and thinking 'aaaaaaargh I'm not ready!'

I think I'll have a CS bag until baby turns!

Frak I'm so over being pregnant I'm not bothered about being ready. Besides, I'm so accustomed to floating through the rapids of life over the last few years that it can't be that much of a biggie, surely!

Yep, you can remind me I said that in a couple of weeks.

But feb/march are too busy for this baby to come any earlier than the first week of April! I'm barely going to see DH in March :(

And half the stuff hasn't arrived yet, and won't for ages. If it comes now I'd cope on what we've got although I'd need prem stuff and the rest would need to be rushed but it has nowhere to sleep! We don't have a carseat!

Oh help I'm suddenly feeling underprepared

Ooh pram shopping is fun We have a Bugaboo and I still love it, I would recommend it to anyone. Of all my friends in RL who have babies, the only ones who are still on pram/buggy number 1 are people who have a chameleon - everyone else has bought at least one other because their initial purchase was a disappointment.

One more bag tip - have more than one bag!
We had a post-birth bag that stayed in the car until after DS was born, it had baby clothes, clothes and pjs for me, maternity pads, muslins, nursing vests etc. Delivery rooms aren't always very big and by the time you've got you, DH, a midwife, maybe a birthing ball - plus bags and any extra hospital staff it can get a bit crowded!

thefurryone - no-one will care if you want to be starkers so don't worry about that. I had a t-shirt on until they undressed me to go to theatre, but I got all cold and shivery, I think because labour wasn't going well and I got really scared and therefore cold.

Chill Frakk :)

It most likely won't come anytime soon anyway. Personally i know i won't have much energy or enthusiasm the bigger I am so i think it's wise to get some stuff done earlier. Then any 'free' time i have later on can be used for sleeping ;)

Petal - that's how i started, just topping up a whites wash, lol.

As i had DS1 at home, and planned DS2 at home, but then went in for emc-s, i don't have the best tips for hospital itself, though one that sticks in my mind is flip-flops to wear to and from the bathroom (euw!).

What helped for DS2's hosp stay though was, on a tour of the hosp (with DS1's pg) we were told about how to get a private room. I know not everyone has the ££ to spare, but if you do, it's well worth it. Our hosp is about £80 a night, when you go in you ask if there are any private rooms, if there are you get one. Helps you to be a bit more independent after the birth; and you have your own bathroom.
(though some people prefer to be on the ward with other mums to chat to i know so it's personal preference)

Lip balm absolute necessity.

Decent pillow from home - dunno what it is with hosps & pillows!!
A pint glass - you'll be thirsty and they give you these teeny plastic cups!

Even at home i preferred to keep a t-shirt on, even in the pool, i just kept changing them for a fresh one. But no, you won't be expected to keep covered up, it's up to you.

2 bags very good tip!

Cripes, should I really be organised enough to have my bag packed

Just done a quick think in my head and what I have to go in a bag now are:-

For Me
Nighties/PJs
Slippers
Lip balm (got for christmas)
Body Lotion(see above)
Flip Flops (they say Just Married on the sole in relief for walking on the sand :o )
Should I pack towels?
V Pillow (I take it everywhere I go anyway)
Breast pads (if i haven't used them all before the birth)

For Buster
7 pack of short sleeved bodysuits 0-3 months
7 pack of babygrow things (I don't even know what they are called ) 0-3 months
1 pack of muslins
Cosy snow suit thing in silver fur with a hood with tiny little ears on (for going home it is the sweetest thing I've ever bought)
Car seat

So it looks like i need:-
nappies (what other things do i need for a nappy change [totally out of depth emoticon]
maternity pads
grannie pants
Loads of other stuff I can't even thing of!

Really need to put some thought into what I need to pack! Suddenly a labour playlist seems a bit frivolous!!

Feeling a bit better today - did have a 4am cry when couldn't sleep but had a nap when I got home from work and feel bit brighter again.

Wow it's getting scary now - talking about hospital bags. Thanks for all the tips on what to include and for the recommendations on breast pads. I thought I was prepared and had bought most things until I read these posts - now I realise I've got a fair amount of shopping still to do!!! can't believe my due date is only 8 weeks away - how did that happen, it only seems like yesterday that I was seeing my MW for the first time!

At least the baby has most things it needs, it's just me that doesn't!

Didn't get to speak to my boss today as he's too busy till next week - that should be interesting considering I finish for maternity leave next Friday. Talk about cutting it fine.

Lucielooo - if it's any help I'm like you at the moment - weeing all the time but tiny amounts - I'm putting it down to baby's head balancing on my bladder. It's not too bad when I'm sitting down but as soon as I stand up it hits me. Other than that 3rd trimester for me has seen return of nausea, tiredness and the added sypmtom of dizzy spells.

LisMcA - I would pack towels, but take a dark coloured one!
Also, I would take newborn size rather than 0-3 months. DS was 8lbs12oz at birth, and he was too little for 0-3 for about 4-5 weeks.

For nappy changes, just nappies and cotton wool. You could take wipes if you wanted to, but generally it's advised not to use them with very newborns.

Lucie - I'm weeing like that as well - little and often which is a total PITA especially in the middle of the night!

Agree with JKS about a private room. I think we paid £50 a night and it was a godsend. I was in for 3 days post-section, and DH was able to be with me and DS 8am-11pm every day.