TTC a 2012 baby - the GRADUATES!

[Carlitawantsababy]

As requested/suggested this is a thread for those graduating from the TTC a 2012 baby -this is our year thread! Bring your BFPs and get yourselves comfy

Haha I like the idea of the badge! I've never seen one before.

Carlita, if you're signed in you can click on the mymumsnet tab at the top of the website. Then from there you can select 'create profile' I think and add photos. Very excited about the funky dungarees!
My mum used to make clothes for me when I was little. Before holidays we would go to a fabric shop and I'd get to choose the fabric and she'd make little shorts and crop-top sets. I used to quite enjoy picking out the prints!

Sorry carlita - just realised I xposted! Looking forward to the photos though :)

Carlita unfortunately Pepperberry don't do maternity clothes. They really should though, pregnant women have big boobs - they're missing a trick! Will go and have a look if the other shop doesn't come up with the goods, thanks for the suggestion!
Betsy must be darn good at her job - she's clearly in demand!!

Davina I too want to see Carlita's pants dungerees!! haha!

The badge is a great idea, do you start giving it a spit polish if people are ignoring it?

Morning all! I'm in NI so will get the photos on on Tuesday or Wednesday when I'm back! Love the idea of shopping for fabrics to have things made, I'll steal that

I'm here, I'm here! What did I miss??

Wow wow wow - we sure can all talk! I can only imagine how chaotic it would be if we all met up in RL!! If I could get time off from the cabaret, that is... (So tempted to name-change to betsy now!!)

OK, from the top (ba-doom, cha!)

Bun Cool - I've put the NCT sale in my diary - it's a plan! :D

Great expectations looks amazing - I heard about them ages ago when first TTC but their site was down as they were building a new one.. it's up now - WOW - they look brilliant! I shall have to put on a cunning disguise and go check it out (don't want to bump into anyone I know pre-12 weeks whilst in baby/maternity wear shops!!)

My sister has a moby sling and let me try it out with my niece - it's absolutely fabulous - so comfy! My friend has a baba sling, agree it is harder on your back/shoulders - felt like I had to hold the baby more as well - would be nervous wandering around town or shops with small baby in one! Tempted to just buy nice fabric and make my own moby sling... maybe get a second hand one first, then use it as a template to make my own..
Fortunately we're not the first grandchild for my parents - plus my sister is due with her second 2 weeks before me (awesome timing!!) so hopefully that will distract my somewhat baby mad mother from me! She doesn't know i'm preg yet - want to delay the crazyness from her for as long as possible!!! Ditto the MiL...

Davina Love the idea of having a surprise, but as it's taken DP and I 6 years to agree on one boys name, I would be really afraid of waiting till the baby is born - it might end up permanently named "baby"...

Carlita - YAY for no nausea! I am Had a slightly less nauseous day yesterday, but it's back with a vengeance today!

The black cord dungarees sound AMAZING! Definitely post a pic to your profile if you can! Did you make them from a pattern, or did you just create your own pattern/design?

Exciting about being godparents! DP and I are both atheists, so don't get asked to be godparents.. but we are guardians in 3 couples wills, totalling 5 children so far (plus a further two that haven't been born yet!!) which is both an honour and completely terrifying!

davina - ooh red hair! I love red hair - it's just beautiful! I'm quite jealous!

I haven't tried the sanctuary body butter - it sounds lovely! I have body shop cocoa butter which I have been religiously applying since we started TTC! My mum didn't get stretch marks (despite 4 kids!), but has hundreds of tiny little red blood spots from burst blood vessels all over her abdomen.. I already have a smattering of them on my stomach and suspect I shall get lots more!

ghost - your FiL is a carpenter - that's awesome! A home made co-sleeper would be amazing!

The Bednest is actually something I found online earlier this week and have been coveting ever since! I think it looks fab! Same concerns here about it being quite small, but it's such a perfect solution for us I think we might get one anyway. (I really want something right next to the bed, so I don't have to lift baby / risk dropping them when doing night feeds - my hands are really bad in the night when I first wake up so I properly have the fear about dropping baby!)

Bath stuff - has anyone used one of these? I thought they looked quite good and nice and comfortable for the baby?

Has anyone got any experience of Lilypadz? I've seen lots of positive comments on MN about them and thought they might be a good alternative to disposable breast pads?

Love the idea of the baby on board sticker! I had thought about getting a maternity t-shirt printed up with the 12 week scan picture so I could just dramatically open my coat/lift my jumper and stare pointedly at anyone not offering me a seat... the sticker might be easier though..

OK, names!

Bun Isabella Rose - that is beautiful!! One of my sisters is called Rose (well, Rosemary - but everyone calls her Rose). Would you abbreviate to Issie/Issy or Bella or something else?

Harry, Charlie and Elliot are all good boys names imo! I actually really like charlie (charlotte) for a girl too...

OK - so our names are...

Arlo David (David was FiLs name - he died 6 years ago so it's a nice connection for the baby / DP to that side of the family..)

Favourite girls name is Ela Mae, (I like the single "l" DP prefers "Ella"...) but we wanted a longer first name, so they have the option of a more serious/grown up sounding first name to use. We settled on Eleanor Mae, but Ella is number 13 on the top 100 girls names and we have both come across lots of Ella's on the bus etc in town... Plus we've gone off Eleanor a little bit, as it's very Surrey (where we used to live) which is also silly, we know.. but you can't really help your gut feelings on things...

Our back up name is....

Aurora Mae

With "Rory" (or "Rorie" - not sure on spelling yet) as a nick name... I like "rora" too - but DP doesn't...

But Aurora is a bit of a mouthful and it's a bit more hippyish than we actually are... (Not that that necessarily matters, but it's been the first reaction of everyone we've told about the name).

We do have a nice story about the name though; Aurora is the name of a song by the Foo Fighters which I really love. When it first came out DP kept hearing it on the radio but couldn't remember the name of the song - so he'd just say to me "Oh I heard that song you liked on the radio today - what's it called again?" and if I played it in the car he'd go -"oh, I like this, what's this called?" - even after he'd heard it loads and loads of times... and now it's a thing, everytime he hears it we have to pretend he's forgotten the name of the song and he goes "I like this song, what's it called?"...

OK - that sounds really stupid written down... but it makes us smile everytime ...

I think I might pick up a babynames book cheap somewhere and just browse that lots until I convince myself to stick with the names we've already chosen!!

Finally - Yummy Mummy in Hove - OH MY GOD THEY HAVE FAKE BUMPS?!! That's AMAZING! I must go there now! I want to know exactly how ridiculous I'm going to look at full term!!

I went all secret squirrel and snuck into the maternity sections of H&M and New Look in town on Wednesday and wanted to cry at how horrid the maternity clothes were! I already have trouble finding clothes to fit me - i'm 5"3"", and a size 8-10 in most shops, but I have hips and tits and broad shoulders and many smaller sized clothes assume you are a stick insect that goes straight up and down...

I was astonished at some of the clothes I found; do heavily pregnant people really wear skinny fit jeans with a massive bump band?! Also - it seems like it's just one size of maternity stuff - e.g. size 10 with an elasticated bump band - no matter whether you're 4 months or 9 months? Am I missing something or is it really just one size "maternity" outfits that you have to wear throughout?? Surely it'll be loose as fuck at 4 months and too tight at 9? I see me buying lots of bump bands for the early months!

I now suspect the next 8 months also have a lot of dresses featuring in them. I shall definitely check out yummy mummy (despite the god awful name) as I don't really want to buy all my maternity clothes online without trying them on!

In other news, I already have a bump. I looked in the mirror this morning, pre breakfast, post wee (hmmm, tmi?)! I have a small bump that I simply cannot suck in! It's not just bloat either I don't think - it's quite firm to the touch - feels quite unlike my belly ever has done before! Is really really weird. Surely it's far too early for any bump?? I know my mum got a bump quickly but this is just silly!! Looking forward to getting my appt with the obstetrician through so she can confirm that it's all OK and within normal expectations!!

And so ends Betsy's marathon catch up essay!!

OOh OOh! nearly forgot! I was going to tell you about our baby names litmus test! You have try and imagine the name being applied to a high court judge! As in

"please rise for the right honourable Judge Aurora Mae blardy blah"...

If it sounds completely ridiculous then we ditch the name! For example (god I hope none of you are planning this as a name )

"please rise for the right honourable Judge Princess Mercedes blardy blah"

We want a name that works for a toddler, but also for any career they care to go into - girls face enough of an uphill struggle getting taken seriously in so many careers (can you tell I work in a male dominated industry?!) we don't want their name to be another obstacle for them.. Obviously you can't guarantee anything - but we want to at least try and give them a name that works whatever they choose to do with their life!

So basically we want the moon on a stick!!

piggy you could look at something like a city jogger mini? They fold down really easily to what looks like quite a small size - might fit in the back of the corsa better than an iCandy? Depends whether you're fussed about front/rear facing seats and putting car seats onto the frame? I have such a long ridiculously fussy list of things I want my buggy to do I was astonished to find even one that ticked all my boxes!! I was toying with starting a thread in the buggies section when i'm further along posting my ridiculous list of requirements and seeing if anyone came up with any ideas other than the iCandy I am lusting after? There seem to be some ladies over in that section that really know their stuff when it comes to buggies etc!! Maybe you could try asking them - they might know about good smaller buggies for people with smaller cars etc? :)

well welcome back Betsy ( trope)! and what a post to come back with - I'm awed by your ability to cover all the posts!

Am lusting after the bednest even more now. Haven't really broached the subject with FiL yet as he's still dealing with kitchen stuff (worktops and oven going in today, getting there, wohoo!) But I think he'd be good at this.

Had a long chat with MiL yesterday about what to buy for pamplemousse (for this is bump's nickname at the moment) and surprisingly she was quite negative about the second hand stuff. I think, perhaps, that it's trendier these days to go for second hand items (recession-chic?) and in MiL's day it was frowned upon; maybe because they didn't have any money it was a point of pride to save up for new things? My reasoning is not so much money but trying to limit carbon footprint and rampant consumerism, which is probably a middle-class hand-wringing thing to be worried about. [shrugs]. who knows. Anyway, apparently second hand cribs/prams are just about acceptable but second hand reusable nappies not. I see her reasoning I suppose!

And names - ! Trope, I like your litmus test, but what's wrong with Mercedes, hmm? 'Beamer' could be on my list for all you know (not serious on the Mercedes front btw)

DH and I are struggling to agree, which is one of the reasons why we're considering finding out the sex, just to limit the discussion (we would need some back up names just in case the scan was wrong!) My name is not unusual but isn't on the top 100 and I don't meet others with the same name much (apart from at primary where there was another girl in my class!). DH's is much more frequently heard but he has an unusual family middle name that I'd like to use for a boy.

We're both keen on longer formal names with nn options. DH was something of a serial monogamist before he met me so lots of my favourite girls names appear to be vetoed because he used to date a girl with that name! (I think he should just get over it). A couple of my fave names are already in use by family which rules them out for me - one in particular which I love is often shortened to the name of one of my cousins who died very young, and I can't figure out whether this would be a problem for my family. Probably it would be so I'll reluctantly have to give it up (my idea was to honour my cousin with the name, but I think family might think using it would be trying to replace him, if you see what I mean).

I actually really love 'Olley' but with Oliver right at the top I'll probably look for something different. And I have a bit of a kink for surnames as first names, which I know is universally reviled here in the UK! We both like 'Tate' from the film 'Little Man Tate', anyone know it? I think we'll probably end up with something very ordinary in the hope of avoiding accusations of being posh from family and assumptions of being hippyish by friends and people where we live - we don't like to cause a fuss

oh and on the litmus test - our particular version of the high court judge test is to imagine saying the name in a thick Yorkshire accent - that's where I'm from and some of my family have properly strong accents, which rules out some names completely. Imagine, for example (not that I want to use it), 'Carter' said in a Yorks accent = something like 'Carr'uh' - no!! anything with a 't' sound followed by 'er' is totally out for us.

carlita PM sent with address - thanks so much!

Morning! Glad I'm not the only chatterbox . I'm really not looking forward to going back to work next week as I'll never be able to keep up

Loving the idea of going shopping under cover I've a mental picture of skulking around the maternity section in a blonde wig & huge dark glasses Brilliant!

DS1 did get 'baby' a lot & actually still does even though he's 18 months now . I'm sure that will change when the new baby comes along.....

Hope the nausea has stayed away for your trip Carlita - I'm with trope unfortunately. Last couple of days have not been too bad but today it's back & I feel really sick . But hoping it will go again soon....

Wow trope - you could end up with a real houseful in very horrible circumstances. Very flattering to be asked but agree about the slightly terrifying bit. We're god parents to 2 children too, even though we're not really religious, although realistically as the 2 children are both from different families and have other siblings, I think its unlikely we will ever actually need to take them in.

Bath stuff - no experience I'm afraid. With DS he would either come in the shower with me, or the bath with DH. That way we always had the opportunity to get clean too - it's always amazing how hard it is to find time to actually have a bath/shower yourself with a tiny one! Of course it's much easier if you have someone around to help out. I used to get in the shower whilst DH stripped DS, then he'd pass me the baby, I'd wash him, then pass him back so DH could get him ready for bed whilst I finished my shower.

Not used the lilypadz either, although reading just that I'm a bit about them (not actually heard of them before so may be being unfair). Having gone through very sore & bleeding nipples initially, the thought of anything putting pressure on them fills me with dread. But as I said I may be being unfair, so probably better to ignore me & listen to those that have actually used them

I LOVE Aurora (I'm not a hippy, honest!). We've an Ella Mae in the family & her mum is called Sam, so it's always been Sam & Ella - not the best combination when you say it aloud! (perhaps something else to consider when choosing DC names, as if there isn't enough to think about!!!)
And I love the Foo's too - you're story sounds similar to a standing joke we have about me having never seen Terminator 2 (which I have with DH, although I swore to him I hadn't ).

Bump bands are definitely the way forward - yes it is one size fits all bumps, which is why maternity wear really tends to look it's best for about 5 minutes . Or it only actually fits for a really short period of time so you have to buy more sigh. The best bet I found was over the bump trousers with a bump band to hold in place, then floaty maternity tops. I found just buying larger tops made me look like an elephant & didn't hang right

Wow to the bump already! That's amazing - wish I had one and not just the rolls of flab building up I don't think it's too early for a bump - remember bump is more that just baby, as everything has to move up & make way for the extra room for baby + everything else. Apparently my uterus is the size of a grapefruit now (sorry if TMI )!

Gosh - in the time it's taken me to write this so far, another 4 posts have appeared!!!!

Loving the litmus test - agree about the girls names so this is a great test . It's so hard trying to find your way through the minefield of others people's names & feelings after you manage to find a name you like . You'd think naming a baby would be a happy event! at least we have some to time to come up with some

Ok - end of essay! I'm off for a lie down now

Hi Trope!

Www Great Expectations have definately revamped their website since I had DS, it looks great! and very dangerous!

I winced when I heard 'Yummy Mummy Maternity' suggested to me - what were they thinking with that name?! Going to drag DP there tomorrow to have a look, will let you know my verdict

That's great that you loved the Moby! Making your own is a good idea, I imagine it'd be quite straight forward, not sure I trust my sewing skills enough though! That's how I felt with the Baba sling too, usually only wore it for walks along the sea front. God I loved those walks with a snuggled up newborn...

How lovely that you're due date is so close to your sisters! My best friend is 27weeks at the moment but she lives in Australia so we're both a bit sad about missing out on being together for it all.

That bath rest looks really good, it's the type of thing I'm after this time round - had a baby bath for DS and didn't use it very much, extra faff.
Completely forgot about Lilypadz, bookmarked them a while ago! Have heard good things too so will give them a go. Heard you should only use them once your milk supply has settled for some reason - bad memory, sorry!

Thanks for the compliments of our name choices, we've only told my mum and closest friends as we want to have a bit of mystique (am so going to crack though, am too excited for secrets!)
Not sure about nicknames for Isabella yet, one of the reasons we love the name so much is that we love all the nnames - think we'll just see what suits.

I love all of your name choices!
Arlo David is lovely, unusual and definately works for all ages. Lovely sentiment behind David too - I'm sure your MIL will be very touched (assuming they were still together, sorry)
Eleanor/Ella/Ela - beautiful - would be on my list if I didn't have an old friend called Elinor (nicknamed Elle).
Aurora Mae is wicked! She would kick butt! and Rory is a lovely nname too. Very tomboyish and sweet. Very nice story about the Foo Fighters song which is indeed awesome!
Well done, I approve! though can I tempt you with the name Betsy?

Maternity clothes are depressing. Didn't have to have any last time (didn't show at all until 7months) so am only just learning the horrors of ill-fitting, boring clothes.
How exciting that you're already showing!! Your's is definately making themselves known ay?!

I'm clearly suffering from Pregnant Woman's Delirium as I'm really quite looking forward to the birth!

Oh dear, I just refreshed and have missed 5 posts! Don't have time to get through them now so I promise I'm not ignoring you both Ghost and Davina!

Hi hope you're all having a nice weekend!

Ghost pamplemousse is such a brilliant nickname! How did that come about? I've got 'Baby Pirate' in my tum after DS started making pirate noises whilst looking at the scan picture with me - full on "gggaaaarrrrr"s

Sorry you're suffering with sickness too Davina that sucks.

Just popping on to say the maternity clothes shop was great! The woman working there today was a fantastic help and all of the dresses (and there were many) that I tried on fitted my boobs! an actual miracle. Trope when you're wanting to get some maternity clothes - and it sounds like it won't be too long a wait - let me know and I'll tag along if you like. Will definately be getting all my stuff from there from now on great value, some lovely dresses for £20 in the sale! (there's jeans and casual stuff too)
I got a lovely black maxi dress that'll be nice dressed up for the weddings and dressed down for the beach etc. £45, very happy with the quality too

Sorry, that was very rambling wasn't it I need a nap!

Hello! Just got in to bed for a nap and caught up on all your posts, glad everyone's well if a little ! trope we are also both atheists, I have never been to a christening before (not even my own) so we're not obvious choices on the spiritual guidance front! Think SIL means it more in the way of being special people in his life, we're very honoured. I have to renounce my sins and declare my Christian faith so I hope the priest doesn't ask to see my hands so he can check i've not got my fingers crossed!
Oh yes, and I love aurora, it's on my list too !

Hello! Just got in to bed for a nap and caught up on all your posts, glad everyone's well if a little ! trope we are also both atheists, I have never been to a christening before (not even my own) so we're not obvious choices on the spiritual guidance front! Think SIL means it more in the way of being special people in his life, we're very honoured. I have to renounce my sins and declare my Christian faith so I hope the priest doesn't ask to see my hands so he can check i've not got my fingers crossed!
Oh yes, I love Aurora, it's on my list too!

Sorry, I'm repeating myself!

bun I like baby pirate! Pamplemousse is French for grapefruit I think and it came about when we read in the book that during that week my uterus was the size of a grapefruit. DH and I often speak to each other in comedy pidgin French (eddie izzard style) so it's one of the many injokes

wow!! Everyone likes Aurora!! I was so sure you were all going to be coldly polite, or pretend I hadn't said anything! Maybe it isn't too hippy dippy after all!!

Loving the bump names! Pamplemousse and Baby Pirate are awesome! Mine is fuzzy, so named because at the end of a marathon "trying to find a name we can agree on for future baby" session (before we even started TTC!!) we started getting silly and I jokingly said "fuzzy" was quite cute... and it's stuck!

ghost I am also a hand-wringing, middle-class, worried about consumerism type!! The only things that I insist on having new are the car seat and cot/bednest mattress. My mum is a stereotypical northerner who blanches at spending money on anything (her family were notoriously tight / borderline horders - she kept old SMA tins from when I was a kid in the attic because "they might be useful oneday" - we just threw them away this year when finally clearing the attic out ready to sell the house!) whereas my dad is "working class done good" and he takes a lot of pleasure in being able to buy nice new things that do exactly what you want them to! I'm a conflicted mix of the two of them!

re the cousin's name - that's really tricky.. so hard to know how people react and hard to ask if it's OK as you don't want them to feel like they have to say yes...

I love "Tate" btw - really strong name for a boy! The yorkshire test sounds great - DP's Dad's family is from Ulverston in Cumbria, so we could do a similar thing! I can't do the accent at all, but DP can (though he just sounds like his dad, which creeps me right out!)

Davina - love the idea of wig & glasses, that could be a plan!!

Sam&Ella - oh dear!! They didn't think that through did they!!

Bun That must be so frustrating having your friend so far away! My sister is up in Morecambe, so we mainly IM and skype each other! It would be so much nicer if we were closer to each other.. :(

YummyMummy sounds fab! £20 dresses - awesome! Did you try on any of the fake bumps??! Will definitely take you up on going there for a shop - is so much nicer to go clothes shopping with someone and DP hates it with every fibre of his being!

That being said - he took me shopping today when I discovered that I couldn't do up my favourite baggy summer shorts! We went to the new big Next up at Shoreham by Sea and then the M&S next door. We bought my first ever item of proper maternity wear; a pair of black linen trousers with elasticated panels at the sides by the pockets - quite discreet, but enough stretch to be comfy now and hopefully for several months! I also found a long black stretch jersey maxi skirt at M&S in a short enough length for a short arse like me! And a green long stretchy dress with a white pattern - it totally shows the bump (and every ounce of fat on me - not a good look) but with a white shirt over it no one will ever know!

carlita lol at the tightly crossed fingers!! I'm not christened either but DP is - not looking forward to MiLs reaction to us not christening our kids... she isn't overtly religious - think it's more habit crossed with "just in case"!!

Hi ladies, just a quicky to say hello and hope everyone's had a nice weekend. We had a bbq yesterday and I was at work today so been quite busy. Also had a guinea-pig health emergency so am back at the vets tomo to see if little Pierre can be brought back to health!

Love the funny bump names - especially pamplemouse! DH has been referring to my non-bump as 'the slug'!! He also does an amazing impression of what he thinks an embryo looks like

wow trope that makes me feel much better about my own hoarding tendencies! What will ultimately be the baby's room is currently our office/box room/hoarding space so we're doing what we can to get rid of things now. I did about half a day's worth of shredding the other day (though that's not hoarding so much as laziness)!

Piggy hope there's good news on the guinea-pig front!

piggy at the embryo impression, that I would LOVE to see!

Hi carlita and ghost!
The ill pig is convalescing in the lounge - phew!
The embryo impression mainly consists of puffing out cheeks and wiggling fish arms in the air. Probably not very scientifically accurate !!!

ghost and trope I have files and files full of paperwork and notes that I need to sort through :( Our spare room consists of four bookshelves, a big pile of papers in the middle of the floor, a box of unpacked kitchen-accessory wedding presents and four guinea-pigs! Ugh!

Off to see the midwife tomorrow afternoon for my 'initial contact' - quite exciting!

Ah, piggy, I had you down as a pig ornament collector in my head - - I now realise you are guinea piggy mad!

Oh, by the way, in other not-thought-through assumptions, davina is a mad big brother fan hence davinaaddict! ghost you are an editor for horror books or have to edit things in secret in the night. I don't know what trope means.