August 2011 - 2nd trimester blooming - not us!

[KTisPG]

New thread for us August 11 ladies

Welcome NHAN I was new to this too but it's been the most helpful place with the loveliest people!

Thanks KLou111, Mrs Vidic and LadyGoneGaga

Bryher If you are having a baby shower you could get your friends to club together and get you a few months of the service. I am going to read back through the thread cos it looks like I have missed the Great Cloth v Non Cloth Nappy Debate

Rehune why don't you ask your midwife. Most airlines will let you fly up to 36 weeks with a "fit to fly" letter. I travelled up and down to London from Yorkshire up to 37 weeks for work with both mine without problems, but haven't flown late on.

oh btw for the people who are into cloth nappies have a check and see if you can get cloth nappies vouchers from your council, either money towards buying some or towards a laundry service. unless its been scrapped with the cuts but a lot of places used to do this. in london it was realnappiesforlondon i think, i got quite a bit of money's worth of vouchers with my first ds and i picked a few things out from green baby although i never really got on with the cloth nappies so went to pampers quite quick, so never looked into the vouchers for my ds2 whether they still had them available or not.

I'll be avidly shopping for a sling soon. I had a babasling with DS and it was crap. I think I was too short for it.

We can get a voucher for a starter pack, but only after baby is born. Might give them a ring and see what they mean by starter pack :)

Wow thanks everyone :), can't believe how welcoming you are compared to other sites i've been on.
It's nice to read about people buying things, last time round I waited until quite late to buy things but this time i've already bought 2 pushchairs.. oops. Both second hand and in great condition but seeing as i'm only having 1 baby I should probably stop now

Welcome Nhan - wow two pushchairs! Exciting. And I'm struggling with finding one!

Hello Nhan I'm stressing about the whole pram thing now! I thought I was set on the Silver Cross 3D but have since read the most horrendous reviews about brakes failing and babies hurtling down hills Thank you Bryher!!! I like the look of the M&P Pliko and there seem to be a couple of happy owners on here? Has anyone had the Maclaren pushchair with the carrycot bit too? I really want the baby to be facing me initially. Ahhhhh!!! I need a but I'll settle for a and a packet of xxx

Pram/pushchair picked (Jane Slalom R Matrix)
Moses basket picked (Clair de Lune)
Baby monitor picked (Angel care movement and sound)
Baby bath picked (Tippitoes mini bath)
Nappies picked (Bambino Mio birth to potty)
Bottles picked for when I can express (Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature microwave steam steriliser kit)

Just need a big fat wad of cash now :)

I like my pliko Bettyboo, but it is large. I wouldn't recommend it if you regularly use public transport, for instance. Also, the snow last winter (not the one just gone) took its toll on the wheels (though I expect most buggys suffered). I got replacement ones without a quibble though.
M&P let me gave a good play with it, and were helpful, though I did get caught up in the excitemt of it all, and it wasn't really suitable as I didn't drive for a while. When it's in carry cot type mode, you can't really put it down, which can be a PITA.

I really wish I had more time to contribute - DP is a complete nappyhead having researched and researched before and since DD arrived. As she was tiny we started with Bimbles (which were gorgeous!) and Sandys which were apparently bomb-proof! We use the mother-ease wraps too I think but they weren't ideal when she was still tiny.

We got most of ours 2nd-hand from a forum called ukparentslounge - some great savings to be had if you do it that way. Also, bear in mind that as they get older, nappy changes are less frequent so we get away with a wash every 3 days now instead of every other day.

For baby monitors, we had a cheap one to start with as were in a 1 bed flat and then made do until this weekend when we finally invested in the now discontinued BT150 as it was on offer in Tescos for £46.66 - not a huge difference between that and the newer version (250) really so seemed worth the saving. We looked at the Angelcare but decided having to faff about with putting a hardboard under baby's mattress for the breathing pad thing was too much hassle :o

For expressing, I used the Medela system which worked fine for me (although I never really enjoyed it tbh) combined with MAM bottles. Probably wouldn't use these again, as although they are good for colic, they are a bit fiddly being in lots of bits. Saw some Dr Browns ones recently that were good.

As for travelling - only you know how you feel, but I would go with the advice to wait until nearer the time. I wanted to go away before baby arrived but was so uncomfortable towards the end that the thought of travelling, staying in an unfamiliar bed, etc no longer appealed! And my first arrived a few days early too - so don't assume anything!

Welcome to all the newbies! Everyone's great here - we're all in this together!! :)

Hi all. Congrats on scans. Mine is tomorrow. Cannot wait to get it over with.not telling kids until after scan and as my news seems to be spreading will be a relief to get it out in the open if all well.
Rehune I would not travel far that late in pregnancy but I always feel more secure nearer home late on.
My Ds1 is finally back at pre school tomorrow after chicken pox. Will be good for both of us. Thank goodness the weather was fine last week so could chuck the boys in the garden!

Welcome Nhan!

Finding the nappy and pushchair advice / research really useful as am too lazy / too much in denial to do my own research so can profit from the wisdom of all you better organised ladies. Thanks!

Rehune - you might well not be allowed to fly as I think it is often no later than 35th week - i.e the week that ends on the day you are 35 weeks. I am due 3rd Aug and for me that week ends on Wed 29th June so for you it'd be Monday 27th. I looked into it as I should have gone to a conference that began on 28th June. It was a great relief to be able to get out of it for 'official' reasons of not being allowed to fly by either Finnair or British Airways. Though there might be advantages to having a baby born in Finland (do they have one of those amazing Scandinavian welfare systems?!)

rehune I agree that you should leave it as late as possible before booking accomodation as I doubt you'll be covered by cancellation insurance at that stage. You'll also be in a better position to know how you feel close to the time. My mum went camping in the south of England a week before my brothers EDD - she wasn't phased by it as it was her 3rd DC and she just made sure she knew where the nearest maternity unit was!

Welcome Nhan

You have been busy with your shopping lists and research...! it might be because i'm right at the end of the list (another 4 weeks until my 20 week scan) but I haven't even started thinking about it yet! by the time its my turn to go shopping i'll be able to see what you've all gone for which will make it much easier!!

Bump popped out over the weekend so DH took some pics - I made the mistake of looking at them just before bed and it kept me awake all night!! I'm sure most of you are way past this stage now but I kept really panicking and feeling really smothered. I think it's a 'normal' reaction but I certainly wasn't prepared to be so freaked out by it!

Aww glad you've got a bump Annie, very jealous of you all in that respect, our baby is hiding :)

KLou I like your idea of a list of what you've picked, may well help those undecided.

Pram/pushchair not getting on initially (am a wheelchair user out of the house, so going for a Moby wrap) we really really liked the look of the Quinny Zapp Xtra as it can be parent facing, lie flat and is tiny
Bed cosleeping but also going for the Moffi Hammock (can take it downstairs for daytime naps)
Nappies probably going for Terrys with Motherease wraps
Breastfeeding

Hello all.

back from 20 weeks scan and pleased to report everything is well and baby is measuring on the large size and everything present and correct.

Only shock was the sonographer at the 12 week scan got it wrong and we are actually expecting a little boy!! Was quite a shock I can tell you...Dh just laughed at the look on my face. Luckily we hadn't told DD or anyone that we thought it was a girl so I'm sure she will be delighted at having a little brother.

I don't know how to clean willies though!!

- that's always been my worry - I guess it's something you learn quickly!

Congrats on the good scan!

oh hersetta that must be a shock being told one thing then changing to another! i guess thats maybe why they dont normally say at 12 weeks scan maybe its easy to make a mistake at that early stage. lucky you hadn't told your dd!
and willies are easy to clean so wouldn't worry about that, apparently easier than girls

finding it so hard to wait for my scan, one more week and one day! just really wanna know what we are having, helps me feel more prepared i think

going to look at a flat today cos hoping maybe we can move sooner rather than last min @ end of july, but stressing me out cos they are so expensive and cant really afford them but dont know if i want to stay in our current one, i am sick of it. although we could fit another dc in here so not really an urgent need to move, just hope a new one works out though then i will be happy and will feel more organised if able to move then start buying some more baby stuff whatever we need new, and organise the other baby stuff we have from before

Congrats on all the good scans!
Willies are easy to clean - just make sure they are pointing down in the nappy so you don't get an eyeful of wee
We bought close parent 'the pop-in' nappies as you can adjust the liners to cope with varying volumes of wee. DS also has rather skinny legs and these fit well. Oxfordshire don't have a voucher scheme but do have a trial scheme once baby is born, whereby you pay a deposit to try all sorts of different nappies for a couple of weeks and can offset the deposit on the system you choose at the end: a good idea if you are spoilt for choice.
We use:
Britax 3 wheeler which lies flat and has the option of forward or rear facing.
Close parent jersey sling.
John Lewis Moses basket - £30. V basic but they're in it for such a short amount of time. If you want to spend more, buy two stands so you have somewhere to plonk place baby lovingly downstairs too.
I used a Medela Swing electric pump for expressing on the move/away from home, but ended up hiring a double pumper from the company for use at home as DS had a breathing problem and couldn't latch.

Congrats on the scan and having a boy Hersetta! Baby boys are lovely and willies are easier than you think to clean

I am another one waiting impatiently for the scan...tis a week on Friday and I am certain to be an anxious mess by then. Does anyone else have periods where they suddenly feel 'not pregnant'? It's hard to explain, but the last few days it's just felt like the baby has disappeared, and since I'm not feeling reliable movement I can't tell from that if things are okay or not.

I'm assuming the baby has just sort of swum to the back of me for a bit (getting technical there ) but it's not helping my state of mind. No other signs of badness though. Someone slap me please!

aStar consider yourself slapped, though I feel exactly the same at times (so please can you reciprocate) and am looking forward to scan (this Thurs) for the same reason. Reason says everything is fine. If only we were rational creatures...

KLou, I'll join you in the bumpless and jealous brigade. 20 weeks today and look very slightly fat of belly, no more. We must have very capacious interiors!

Congratulations Hersetta - hope you've got over the shock!

Congrats on the lovely scan Hersetta and lol on the now blue brigade!!

Week today til ours yippee!! Can't wait, so excited.

Know what you mean astar about feeling 'not pregnant', I just get my doppler out at that point! Having a little listen every other day helps :)

Spoken to my mum about the Jane Slalom R pram today, and she said they will buy it for us just got to find somewhere that sells it now as they still want to go 'shopping' for one rather than just buy it off the net (even though will prob end up buying it off the net as so much cheaper!). She said they would rather buy us a good one that's gonna last this baby, and hopefully next one, than buy us a cheapo one and it gets scrapped in a year from now, then we end up having to buy another one. Ooooooo, it's so exciting :)

All you slightly fat of belly ladies should take a bump photo. I was convinced mine was just from eating way too much food but a black and white photo from the side says otherwise.......just try it!