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December 2011- over halfway there!

1000 replies

sevendwarves · 07/08/2011 18:12

Welcome to the new thread ladies!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
msbuggywinkle · 12/08/2011 21:40

Wish I could go to bed, both of the DDs are still bouncing...

LittleMissFlustered · 12/08/2011 22:26

I was going to bed, then as I was popping shopping away a pesky packet of noodles started to wave at me.

So I'm away to make noodles. I have a suspicion there's some cooked chicken in the fridge as well...

DarciesmumandBump2 · 13/08/2011 08:15

Good Morning Ladies.

Oimissus sorry to hear about your tax problem.

AWCH Your not the only one with pregnancy brain.

Congrats to all you who are feeling the first kicks.

Stretching pains hurt sometimes but not to bad.

Pelvic floors I do in the shower in the morning.

slightly busy day today.

have a good day

BluebellsintheSpring · 13/08/2011 12:52

Right - I have been way too lackasdaisical about pelvic floor exercises. The odd set every so often won't cut the mustard I'm guessing.

Msbuggywinkle you have shamed me into action and with your wonderful birth stories, it's got to be worthwhile. I'm turning over a new leaf from today...

sevensevenseven · 13/08/2011 13:57

Hope everyone is having a good day.

I told my mum that we'd bought the crib and she said "we were going to buy you the crib". I've suggested that they buy us the stretchy wrap we want instead as we don't really need much else, but it's £37 rather than the £100 I spent on the crib (does that sound really ungrateful?)

sevensevenseven · 13/08/2011 13:59

bluebells I'd forgotten again! I think I'd forget my head if it wasn't screwed on at the moment!

Kitty5824 · 13/08/2011 15:03

Hi everyone. Just realised I never updated the stats thread from my highly optimistic original EDD of 8th December, to the scan dated EDD of 21st December. And to think that the only thing we agreed on when we started trying was to avoid having a baby at Xmas. Oh well!!

I think i did pelvic floor exercises for like a week, before it slipped my mind (too busy deciding just how bad it would be to buy cake for everyone at work just so I don't feel to guilty about eating it myself)

A friend has very generously given us a lot of baby stuff and wouldn't give me a price, just said "take it home and see what you think it's worth" Now I have a headache and lots of comparison prices of what stuff costs new, and what you can get it on ebay for. How to come up with a figure that won't offend??

sevensevenseven · 13/08/2011 16:28

kitty sounds difficult! I bet you wish she'd just said a figure. Just make sure you work it out as second hand.

The trouble is with eBay I think a lot of stuff doesn't make what it's worth but what else can you do with it to get any money back? I tried selling my £200 pushchair on eBay, still in excellent condition, the highest bid was £37! Thankfully I had a reserve on it and sold it by putting an ad in a noticeboard.

HoneyLovesCake · 13/08/2011 17:30

seven have you considered suggesting they reimburse you for the crib? It is your mum after all; she shouldn't be offended & that way she knows she's bought it.

Our PIL have been pretty lax offering us anything although I'm sure they eventually will & I'm just too OCD to hang around until they're ready so I thought I'd just tell them we've got everything on order & the prices of things & that any donations would be gratefully received. And if they don't want to do that how about vouchers to babies'r'us/mothercare/ mamas&papas etc which I'm sure will come in handy in the future.

kitty not very fair of your friend (she should remember what baby brain's like Hmm) but she probably didn't want to offend you by saying too high a price. I'd go by ebay prices & tell her how you priced them which are low but you're saving her the time/trouble of listing & posting, the 10% ebay take & the 3.5% paypal take...it's a buyers market really.

msbuggywinkle · 13/08/2011 19:18

I'm relaxing after a very busy day now. Been to buy DD1's first proper bike (she's so tiny she only just, at 5 fits the age 3 bikes!) then on to the PIL's house for a few hours, now the DDs are out playing with their friends while DP watches them so I can sit down!

Really happy that the little boy who has Down's syndrome who lives next door is being allowed out to play with them for the first time!

Am looking forward to tomorrow, I'm hand dyeing a load of yarn! In rainbow stripes, to make more stuff for DD3.

sevensevenseven · 13/08/2011 20:13

msbuggy what are you making? I've just finished knitting the back of a cardigan but still need to do the front and sleeves. I've also got some chunky yarn that I want to make into a snuggly warm blanket. I need to get a move on, if this baby is as early as DS was I only have 14 weeks left [terrified emoticon]

msbuggywinkle · 14/08/2011 09:22

Knitting so far...one bonnet
one hat
2 cardigans
3 pairs of longies (wool trousers for over cloth nappies)
3 wool sleeping bags
1 booties
2 pairs of socks

Still to go, more socks, blanket, couple of short leg wool wraps for nappies. I should add a disclaimer that I knit constantly and am obsessed Grin

sevensevenseven · 14/08/2011 09:45

Blimey, that puts me to shame!

sevensevenseven · 14/08/2011 10:09

I would have never even thought of knitting wool sleeping bags, they must be gorgeous in the winter. Do you use a pattern or make it up if you're that good at knitting? My grandma was excellent at crafts, she made massive patchwork quilts and could knit anything without needing to use patterns. Sadly that gene doesn't seem to have been passed on to my mum or me!

msbuggywinkle · 14/08/2011 10:42

I tend to use patterns for ideas/sizing (sizing if I don't have the child to measure!) then make it up. Might post a pic of it all later, DP took one the other night as he was being impressed!

My Grandma taught me to knit when I was 7, she is amazing. You can ask her for a pattern, specify the design and she can just write it down. Sadly she can't knit any more as she has arthritis but she still loves nattering about it and has passed me loads of vintage patterns. I'm really passionate about traditional fibre crafts, I'm getting a spinning wheel for Christmas and dream of having my own sheep so I can shear, dye, spin and knit my own yarn.

kri5ty · 14/08/2011 11:19

msbuggy that sounds amazing!!

BluebellsintheSpring · 14/08/2011 11:44

Okay - dh and I are looking for new houses at the moment and we can't agree on how much we can afford to spend in terms of monthly mortgage repayments. Our great unknown in our budget is the cost of a baby!

Forgetting about all the furniture, travel system, and general baby equipment that I have already bought/borrowed, how much would you say a baby costs a month approximately and over the first 2 years? Forget about childcare because we've taken that into consideration. Bearing in mind I intend to b/f for first 6 months and will be using disposable nappies.

A very approx figure would be a help or guidance on what we should be working into our budget. Any help appreciated - we're a bit clueless! I just remember a friend saying she couldn't believe how much money her first baby ate up!

sevensevenseven · 14/08/2011 12:38

msbuggy can I have your grandma?

bluebells depends whether you have expensive taste or not! Hopefully someone with a DC younger than mine will have some more accurate figures but I'll have a go.

Nappies and wipes- around £25 per month for the first 3-4 months, although most supermarkets often have offers on so buy in bulk when they're cheaper. After 3-4 months they need changing less often so it will get cheaper.

Clothes- £20-£40 per month for the first year depending where you buy them. Obviously a lot less if you have generous friends or relatives with older babies. They grow much slower from 1 so clothes last longer then.

Food- jars of baby food are around 65p each so bloody expensive if you use them regularly. Making homemade baby food is really cheap though, you'll just need to buy extra fruit and veg. Around £5 per month once you start weaning on baby cereals and finger foods. If for any reason you don't bf you'll spend around £20 per month on formula.

Things like books and toys obviously you can spend as much or as little as you want or can spare. I'd probably also add an extra £5-10 per month for anything else you might need.

LittleMissFlustered · 14/08/2011 22:57

I never spent that much on clothes really. I am an advocate of cheap, cheerful and handed down:) I'm also one of those apparently horrible mums who prefers for small babies to wear babygrows and a cardi if needed (new territory for me as my other two were spring and summer babies) rather than 'proper' clothes' which saves quite a bit. A dozen of them, and similar numbers of vests with the odd outfit and hats and a snowsuit will see me through the first couple of months I suspect. For essentials, and after the initial outlay, I would say it is definitely easy enough to clothe a baby for no more than a tenner a month. Bear in mind that people will buy you epic amounts of clothes at first. Start training them now. If they want to shop - let them, just tell them that instead of just buying newborn, to buy a range of sizes:) If this goes to plan all you will need to buy will be vests and odds and ends if you are lucky.

Food, as seven says can be cheap as chips if you make your own, or hideously expensive if you prefer jars or eat highly spiced foods most of the time. I tended to just beat the shit out of blend what we were eating, before seasoning if it needed salt (rare!). I also loved those wee avent breast milk storage pots, as they were just the right size for a dry portion size of ready brek type porridge mix (I used Tesco own, it was about a pound for a huge box), which my son would eat morning noon and night. I always had one in my bag, as most coffee shops, cafes and friends were happy enough to provide a cup of warm milk - add stuff, stir and feed. Cheeeeeap and filling, and can be tarted up a lot with raisins, chopped aprocots and any other dried fruit that takes your fancy Grin

I tended to buy nappies on offer, and there is usually somewhere with the ones you want on offer. I never buy expensive wipes, for two reasons - they're so expensive for what they are, and I didn't like the smell of most, with the pink ones going so far as to trigger headaches. Supermarket own brands are just as good, and at one point I thought that the Aldi ones were the best about. Not had to buy them for a while so I have no idea what's what with them now though. I think I used to spend about twenty pounds a month, depending on the state of the digestive system.

LittleMissFlustered · 14/08/2011 23:00

In other news, if my pregnancy were a week, today would be hump day. 20 weeks and counting. I really ought to start telling more people.

Hope you have all had a good weekend:)

BluebellsintheSpring · 14/08/2011 23:42

Thanks Little Miss Flustered and Seven - both very useful for someone with no clue!

Now I just have to persuade my husband that we can afford to spend a bit more money than he wants! He is Mr Super Cautious when it comes to this kind of thing which is good but a little frustrating. I am currently looking at houses which are priced about 70k below what mortgage company said they would be prepared to lend us and he is looking at houses 100k below what I am looking at!

Will have to persuade him to meet somewhere in the middle. Oh well - now I can quote actual numbers to him.

Hope everyone had lovely weekend.

msbuggywinkle · 15/08/2011 08:02

We had our usual chilled Sunday, DP made Sunday lunch as I was knackered by then, DDs played out with their friends on their bikes for hours, I sat and knitted!

Coming in to my favourite bit of pregnancy now, 6-8mths. I'd stay about 7mths pregnant forever quite happily! My Mum is coming round today, other than that we almost always spend Monday round the house as the DDs usually need it after the weekend.

We don't notice any effect on our budget from babies until they are about 2 really, until then they don't eat enough for it to make any difference and as we already have 2 we buy very little for them while they don't have strong opinions about it!

Odd one though, I'm going to have to do DD3 a Christmas stocking for the benefit of DD1 and 2...any ideas on what to put in it? She is likely to be about a week old, and doesn't need clothes!

kri5ty · 15/08/2011 08:26

bluebells thanks for asking that :) its something i was thinking about... we have already started stocking up on different sizes of nappies when they are on offer etc

and i am with littlemiss i intened on just dressing him in babygrows and cardigans (i'm guessing thesy will be easier to change and throw in the wash when they get covered in sick and poop!) I will buy a few "outfits" for when people visit/ photos etc lol

msbuggy your sunday sounds nice :) knitting and a sunday roast hehe
I want to buy a few pressies for LO for christmas... even though he might only pop out on christmas day if im late! But i'm not sure what... thinking of maybe one of those "my first christmas baubels" (cant spell!) Stockings hmmm thats a toughie do your DDs have any ideas on what father christmas can bring??

DarciesmumandBump2 · 15/08/2011 08:40

Morning Ladies

MsBuggy & Seven wish I could knit! I've put an order in with my aunt lol.

Spent Saturday sorting more of the nursery. And yesterday spent the day at my parents for a family gathering :)

OiMissus · 15/08/2011 09:05

Morning all, great feedback regarding costs - I imagined that, if breastfeeding and using reusable nappies, costs for the first months would be minimal (after you've set up nursery etc) - thanks for confirming this!
The my first bauble is a great idea. Someone bought us a personalised bauble for our wedding - and we LOVE it. I'd also put in a stocking maybe a little pram toy. Or put something in that DDs can use with the baby... can they be gentle enough to help with baby massage? If so, a little pot of oil.
This being our first, I'm not planning on getting anything at all for ours - he'll be completely spoilt by us before he arrives (nursery and extended frippery), and all the family will spoil him when he does arrive.
He's due on the 2nd... if he's early or on time, I suppose we could use a photo of him for our Crimble cards (for family and close friends)...

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