We're now halfway and it's PMA all the way - Nov 2011

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Halfway there now ladies. on the countdown.

I just got a sofa too! A big, 6 seater grey, open-ended corner one from a danish company called Bolia. I can't wait, after years of inherited student-sofas. It was half-price.
We also went to Ikea yesterday but to look at beds - of course, the one we want is the most expensive but since the last cheap one lasted 10 years, I think we will shell out for it next month. Its 20cm wider than our current one (two single beds put together) so it should be good for kids sneaking in too.

Apart from that, I have been sorting out all the baby stuff that was in the basement that got flooded last week. And I am missing stuff - like the silly electronic swing I bought, and the gorgeous, tasteful playmat. I also need a new breast pump and steriliser.

juststarting if your ds is 2, I wouldn't bother with a 2nd highchair. Your new dd will be 6m before they use it anyway so I'd go for a cheap booster seat for ds that you can keep attached to a normal seat. DD is 3 in sept and has just moved pout of her babydan into a booster seat. Babydan can actually be used till the teenage yrs (and I can't recommend it enough - it sits em at the table properly without a tray so they are included in the family meal) dd just wants to use her booster though. We bought the Fisher Price portable booster and have got sooo much use out of it!

bump hope your feeling ok now.

I've not seen Marley&Me, forgot it was on. Damn.

Ok, I am going to take the unusual step of offering advice rather than just my opinion. It was advice given to me when we were expecting our first child, by my mother, and i brushed aside. Irrelevant, too expensive, too difficult, tempting fortune etc. But if you are planning more than one child and if you are looking at buying your first child a travel system, seriously, look at the ones you can convert to a tandem later on! SO regretting not doing that right now!

And thanks for the high chair advice! Completely forgot that they dont go in there till about 6 months! And it was only 14 months ago! The one we have is great for being able to use with or without a tray, and my son has zero interest in eating, so keeping him at the table without straps and buckles wouldbe hard work I think! But another year from now, hopefully, things will be different there!

And don't forget just, most booster seats have straps. We need ours as DD is as much of a monkey at nearly 3 as she was at 2. Honestly, I swear out terrible twos started at 18m and haven't stopped!

I second the advice about pushchair conversion. We have the iCandy apple which can be upgraded to the Pear. Having said that by Nov dd should be out of the pushchair and she's a runner so I'm dreading it but at 3yrs 2m (in Nov) she doesn't need one. Reins get used bigtime round here!

Booster seats with straps reminds me of my first close contact with parenting...

My friend is a single mum of 3 - and when I met her, the oldest, DS, was 3, and DD was 2 (third one not born yet).

She stayed over one night and brought the booster seat for her son - I thought it was just for the dinner we were having the night before! So when I in the morning was woken up by her son at the edge of my bed, with the booster seat strapped to his bum, asking me if he could have breakfast, I got up slightly bemused and then horrified - apparently she would get up when he woke up, strap him in the booster seat in front of the TV, then go back to bed!

So when ever I see a booster seat nowadays that's all I can think of!

Hee hee love the story Cali

On booster seats my only reservation is if you have a LO who is inclined to rock their chair - both of mine are despite about a million and one time-outs. DS is 4 1/4 and he uses the baby dan - he still likes to be strapped in for some reason and he can't rock it - hurrah. He isn't especially tall (or interested in food) and I find it helps him concentrate being at the right height. We were given ourd 2nd hand but I tempted to try and get another for DD.

Now, I had a Stokke Tripp Trapp. I rocked it. My dad warned me, in front of the newly arrived au-pair, that he'd nail it to the floor if I didn't stop. I laughed and continued.
He went to the shed and got a hammer and nail and fulfilled his threat while we were still eating.
Poor au-pair looked on in horror!

Tjuice I think that's the bed that we are looking at getting too :-) it appears to be the biggest one they do here.

Can't wait until I can get out the house and start to try out prams and carriers although loving hearing about everyone's purchases to date. Good point about being able to convert pushchair if we have another.

Pma today is after losing weight whilst sick and ill have managed to gain 1 stone since getting pregnant. Really happy. Also after months of faulty shower at long last it is fixed so can enjoy a nice hot shower instead of Luke warm one.

Thinking about some wallstickers for spare room nursery to be. Bouf.com have some nice ones. Height charts cute and quite like the sheep. Don't want to spend too much at this stage.

Morning all. Cookie I've got the mw in an hour, I'm going to ask about weight. I'm still 23lb lighter than when I started nand not putting weight on. I think everything is ok in that Bubba is growing ahead of the average for his age but I still worry.

How are others doing on the weight front?

I've put on at least a stone but I have been living off big portions of carbs. With 1st preg I only broke even weight wise in the third trimester having lost loads in 1st 4 months. I have a friend who always weighs less at end of PG than beginning and has lovely healthy children

I'm not weighing that often tbh but I have this week and now only 4lb heavier than before I was pregnant. I didn't lose much in 1st tri this time, only half stone, but don't seem to be gaining all that quickly. As long as baby is growing pam I wouldn't worry. With Belle I lost over a stone in 1st tri and was only half stone heavier than pre-preg weight when she was born. I then lost 2 stone instantly when she was born! lots of water weight! Haha best diet ever and was in my pre preg jeans in about 7 days...

Morning all, I'm jealous of all the buying going on. We moved into our new house last week and I have to replace the bathroom, kitchen, electrics and boiler before I can decorate the nursery and buy things to put in it! A busy few months ahead then.

We did go and look at pram/pushchairs yesterday and found it a bit overwhelming. I like the iCandy cherry but wonder if it is worth the £200 more than the John Lewis own brand travel system, which also looked good, just a bit heavier. I don't know how we'll decide what to get!

I think today I will order a name book online so we can at least start thinking about that important decision.

hey y'all,

I'm off work today after spending Thurs to Saturday in hospital with more bleeding. Still completely shattered though so didn't think it would be a good idea to rush back as I did last time.

I don't think I've quite caught up on all that I have missed from Friday (iphone ran out).

Travel systems: I have been thinking, or did think quite seriously about a system that could easily convert to two. Thought I was being super smart! But when faced with the reality of the phil and ted's cocoon and the bulky city select etc we decided we should buy what we want for this baby and then work it out if we have another. Sling it, buggy board etc. I saw afterwards that phil and ted's do a peanut carry cot though so will perhaps go back and look at that.

mashpot we tried the icandy cherry, but deal breaker was that it can't be put down in one piece, have to take off the pushchair and also the price of course. Babystyle Oyster is very like it, can put down in one piece with pushchair and great reviews by both real people and magazines including which? so if we go for a single child system think it will be this one.

Still can't decide between a cot and cotbed. Think pregnancy is sending me a bit indecision mad! Laughing about it now though.

So not much chat for you guys, have literally just been flat on back for days and days.

Fingers crossed there's a few of you around today as I have free rein to mumsnet all day if I want!

If anyone is buying quite few things online then do look at quidco first to see if you can get cash back. Baby brain made me forget to do this so failed to save money with mother care purchases.

So sorry you were back in hospital Folic. Rest and take things easy.

Pamsco hope your mw appointment went well.

cookie good tip on quidco, I've never used it before but hear about it often from Martin Lewis (not personally obviously) is it easy to use?

I have used it for a few years and so far no problems with it and had a few hundred back from it. Tend to use it when booking flights or hotels but baby goods should be good too. Again heard about first on Martin Lewis website!

Hi Folic, glad you're out of hospital, what a miserable way to pass your time, hope the bleeding stays away now. I haven't heard of Babystyle before but the Oyster does look good, a bit heavier than the iCandy again but it is a pain the Cherry can't be put down in one piece. Have you seen Oyster in a shop or just online? I like to look at them in the flesh before deciding.

As for the cot situation, I really wanted a co-sleeper cot (if that's what they're called ) that could attached to our bed but having looked at them in the flesh they seem really small and cheap looking and I have changed my mind! So do I now need to think about buying a moses basket for the first few month and then a cot after that? At what age do babies go into a cot? I feel like I don't know anything! Anyway, I think we will get a cotbed as they weren't much more expensive so seems a better investment.

Now I must stop getting distracted by baby stuff and start looking at kitchens instead!

ooo travel systems. I loved buying ours. We wanted something that looked proper pram like because I love the big hoods. Very nearly got a silver cross but decided it was too heavy getting in and out the car, so we compromised with the more modern take on prams and bought the Mamas&Papas Plicko Switch because it allowed the baby to be facing you for as long as you wanted them too even after they'd outgrown the pram bit into the buggy bit. Soo can't wait to use it - its in the nursery covered by a sheet at the moment.

mashpot what about a bedside cot if you have the room ie full size cot with one side that folds away and you push it up next to your bed. My DD was in hers within a couple of weeks and I will start this one in it straight away if I can as so much easier after a c-section as lifting minimised - co sleeping without the fear of rolling over onto them

Ali do you just have the cot next to the bed or do you need to attach in some way? I could do this, am just concerned about having a gap between the cot and bed that baby could fall down!

Caz we had a look at M&P yesterday too and there were a couple of nice options in there but by that point all the pushchairs were starting to look the same and I wasn't paying proper attention!

Folic sorry you've been back in hospital - and really do hope things improve.

Well, today has been a sucky, sucky day. I was crying before I left to go to work, and have barely stopped since. I managed an hour at work waiting for my boss to get in, blubbed all over her, then she made the trainee drive me home. Have since been sitting in bed alternately trying to work and sleep. Neither seems to be working.

I am so frustrated as there's nothing physically wrong with me or bump, and nothing particularly serious on my mind. I just can't control the tears, and the only thing I can think is that this is a result of reigning it in over the last six weeks.

:(

DH isn't going to know what to do with me when he gets home!

caz we brought a M&P switch as well; lots of my friends had the pramette when I had DS (I was given a full pram from my aunt that I used for DS then into stroller style). I loved my friends "pramette" but didn't like that it was only parent facing until out of pram style...when I saw the "switch" I was in love & even more so when there was an ex-display so a real bargain :)

folic hope you are resting after your hosp stay. FX'd that no more bleeding & baby stays safe.

buffy HUGs hun, hope you are feeling better soon. Write today off as an emotional one & keep positive for tomorrow (I know how easy it is to say & how much harder it is to do x x)