December 2011 - Support tights time!

[BeeMyBaby]

Had no idea what to call it, sorry. Just googled third trimester and that was the recommendation...

Plu - nurseries in my area don't have SENCO's - an assessment wouldn't kick in until primary and even then it would probs take a year. So it's very positive that they are picking up on things so early.

Having said that, boys in particular can be 'younger' and take a little longer to get to the expected level; my wee bro was the same but really came into his stride a little later on.

I think the most impt thing is that your ds is in a loving, supportive house where he gets plenty of interaction and chat. That will stand him in good stead no matter what.

Hope everyone has nice Sunday plans....

Oh and one question from a first timer - baby car seats; would you recommend getting a base as well?

Hiya bluebells, with carseats it depends on your budget, circumstances, car, and level of paranoia/risk aversion.

Who will be putting baby in the car? If it's you, then that's fine as long as you're confident you will put the belt on properly every time. Some folks have less confidence in other halves/grabdparents and prefer a base so they can jist click it in and know its gone in correctly. Some of the spanglier seats like te birth-to-4 years Britaxes have to have a base as its a necessary part.

How many cars will the seat be used in on a regular basis? The more cars, the less benefit you'll get from a single base- they are a pain to transfer as they are heavy. Check each car to make sure the seat is compatible/recommended for that model- some just don't fit many makes.

Do you have isofix? Bases that use isofix can make the seat feel more securely attatched, but only if it fits well in your car.

Personally I used a plain baseless Britax for my DDs and this time round have a maxi-cosi cabrio size 0 : when baby reaches stage 1 we'll use an isofix Britax.

Hey ladies how are you all today?

People with experience... going back to bleeding, I have had a thought. I have aqua babies course booked for January... would I be ok to wear tampons just for the hour of the lesson? It'll prob be 4 weeks after birth... 2 if he is late. I didn't think when I booked it!!

Had 4d scan yesterday :) he is in the head down position, hope he stays like that!

kris5ty you might be fine - I swam after 5 or 6 weeks I think , bleeding had definitely stopped. I think you are advised not to swim for 6 weeks though, perhaps due to risk of infection (not sure). Also surprised aqua babies start from that young; from my experience it is usually 12 weeks upwards.

Re car seats we have a bebe comfort Loola travel system from DS, the car seat is just done with the seat belt , which we found fine, but my car did not have isofix then.

Lots of heads down by the sound of it - pretty sure mine is not yet but will see the midwife again in another week or so , so hopefully by then.

I used a maxi cosi with just the belt last time and no travel system, but I'm wondering whether to buy one or the other this time.

I have a nipper 360 buggy, a basic maclaren and a pliko pushchair so trying to work out if any of those could take the maxi cosi but not looking likely!

Don't have isofix in my car either, so interested if anyone has worked out which base is needed, my pregnancy brain doesn't seem to up to the job.

Kri5ty - you might want to be flexible on the newborn swimming. If you have a straight forward birth and baby who likes to sleep at night you might be up to it. If you have a CS and a baby who is still feeding lots round the clock (whether breast or bottle) you might just want to take it easy at that stage.

We have a 0+1 group car seat, which DS is in now, but which he has conveniently and coincidentally just outgrown). I can't find it, but it's something like this one. I know 0+1 seats are a bit frowned on, for trying to be all things to a large age-range, but actually, it is rather tank-like, and has always seemed safer, including for the older child: other group 1 car seats seem much more "cut away" at the sides than this one, making me feel that he has better side-impact protection. Maybe I'm deluding myself! But we did get another one just like it when the compressed foam of his first seat (same model) was cracked during airport handling (thanks, Aerodrom Nikola Tesla!). Baby-baby seats have always seemed a bit flimsy to me, as well. I do like our tank!

However, we have a subscription to Which?, so if anyone wants to check out a particular car seat model for safety, convenience, other factors, do let me know, and I'll pull up the description and PM it to you.

kri5ty, how's your vertigo?

Hope everyone has had a good day.

I've just got back and put DS to bed after having to take him to A&E. He fell over earlier and can't walk properly on his left foot. They done an x-ray and it looks like he's probably just torn a ligament, lots of cuddles and calpol required. He's also got a big bump on his head.

kri5ty I'd stopped bleeding after just over a couple of weeks but I guess it's different for everyone. I second what earwig* said though that you may not be up to it that soon.

We don't have isofix so we're just using DS's baby car seat which uses a seatbelt. DS is currently in a Britax group 0+1 seat so as soon as he's big enough to go in a group 2-3 seat the baby will have his current seat. Tbh I think seats that just use a seatbelt are just as safe as ones that have a base, obviously provided they're fitted correctly.

Sorry not sure what happened there!

Ooh, poor child! A&E itself is a trauma. Hope he gets better soon, seven.

Thanks plu. I'm a very proud mummy tonight, he was really well behaved despite being there for 2 hours and it being past his bedtime.

Yeh to be honest I didn't think of how quickly I'd be up for it.

They can start before 12 weeks, but it has to be special hydrotherapy pools as they are warmer... may email and ask to put it back until the next course!
plu I still have it, but I'm kind of used to it now. I'm still not driving (where possible). Thanks for asking :-) I find out on Tuesday if I'm going to be signed off until my mat leave starts

Yes, you should be proud of his being brave and well-behaved! I hope he got a sticker. Mine's responding very well to stickers at the moment (we transfer them from his shirt to his calendar at the end of the day).

kri5ty, when would your mat leave have started, if you had been ok?

LittleMissFlustered, hope this newborn week is not a bastard last last week!

like last week, I meant

seven poor DS! Hope he feels a lot better when he wakes up this morning.

I have woken up feeling rotten! Sore throat, sinuses feel pants and the coughing is making me feel sick. So, a day of not doing much here I think. Will set the DDs up with painting this morning and leave them to it.

Sorry you're feeling rotten msbuggy, I must have slept funny as I've woken up with a very stiff neck, can't even take any ibuprofen, boo!

DS still isn't walking this morning, whenever I stand him on the floor he gets down and crawls :(. He sees a physio for his md so I'll phone her later and see if she can suggest anything as we can't risk his muscles getting weak by not being used.

To continue moaning, it is worse than I thought. DP is on his way home as I was sick three times trying to get the DDs their breakfast. Seems like I am sick every time I move.

Morning all, aw seven sorry to hear about your little one, but he sounds like a little trooper. And sorry you're feeling crappy msbuggy - I was getting giddy at weekend thinking about getting creative with paints and the kids in the future - set them up and I hope they'll amuse themselves for long enough for you to start feeling more up to it.
Just been for a physio appointment. It was set up weeks ago when I was getting Pelvic Girdle pain. She was really thorough and said I was an enigma as one of the measurements said one thing, whilst the others all said I was normal. Anyway, a bit of tugging on my left leg seems to have fixed my anomaly - a slightly higher left hip. Anyway she gave me a tubigrip belly band, and a leaflet about exercises (inc tummy exercises), and said "PELVIC FLOOR EXERCISES". So c'mon ladies, squee-eeze. She said squeeze and hold for ten seconds ten times, and then do lots of little squeezes.
I don't think I can hold for ten seconds, but I'll try and work up to it.

Incidentally, I haven't had any PGP for weeks. I think doing figure 8's on my birthing ball in the evenings has helped to strengthen my pelvis and core.

Thanks for the reminder about pelvic floors!

I spoke to the physio and she said get him to sit with it elevated for today, easier said than done with a 3yo that feels fine other than not being able to walk, he still wants to play, will have to try keeping him amused with books and worksheets on the sofa. She's going to organise an appointment to see him, knowing my luck it'll be Thursday when we were meant to be going Christmas shopping (my mum booked the day off to look after him).

Anyone else want to join in with moaning Monday?

Hey everyone!
Haven't been on in ages as I've had quite an eventful few days - let's just say that i'm no longer pregnant but rather proud mum to Albert Elwyn Williamson born by emergency ceasearean on Thursday 29th sept. 11 weeks early, 2lb 14oz, 37cm.

He's in the neonatal unit, probably for 7 more weeks, but doing well. Breathing unaided and taking 1ml milk every hour. I've been able to have a couple of cuddles, although focus is on letting him sleep and grow.

I'm back at home and just waiting for the community midwife to come for her visit so that I can go to see him. Wish she'd get a wriggle on!!!

Wow fairy that is amazing news. I was just wondering this morning (as I waddled around getting dressed and feeling like the baby was about to come out I was under so much pelvic/bladder pressure) about which one of us might be the first to deliver, and here is my answer.

Massive congratulations, and may Albert be the first of many healthy little budles of joy!

fairybayleaf hope you are doing ok? congratulations on the birth of your little boy - he sounds a good size for 29 weeks. will be rooting for you both from over here.

its really good news that albert is breathing on his own and starting to take some milk. my DS was born at 31 weeks and spent a long time in the NICU so I am familiar with the drill - please pm me if you have any questions. also i highly recommend the bliss website for info, questions and ranting - lots of lovely ladies who've been through similar issues.

best of luck x

Huge congrats Fairy!! I guess it must have been quite scary with him coming so early, so it's lovely to hear that he is doing well. Such a shame that cuddle time is limited, but you'll be able to make up for that soon.
I don't know you at all, but am welling up with happiness and pride and silly mum-to-be feelings. So happy for you! - I guess it just makes it all so real. Congratulations!
I also love the name Albert. My granddad is Herbert, but he is known as Bert, so we've been thinking of "Bert / Bertie" variations. Albert is the favourite, and it reminds me of the poem Albert and the Lion, that we heard all the time as kids.
Congratulations!

Huge congratulations fairy!! glad to hear he's doing so well. Are you on the stats thread? If so feel free to update it with your arrival, or just say if you want someone else to do it, you've probably got more important things to worry about!

Wow our first arrival, how scary exciting!

My goodness, congratulations fairybayleaf!! What nice news for a Monday morning! How are you doing? I'm so jealous, I want to meet ours now...

I was just coming on to say we had an absolutely wonderful babymoon in Bristol - I had never been before and wasn't expecting it to be so beautiful. We spent most of Saturday in Clifton and beating the heat in the pool at the Lido, then I had an amazing pregnancy massage (the kiddo kicked the therapist's hand really hard as she was massaging the side of my bump, she gave a little squeak of surprise and I got the giggles), and then had one of the best meals of our lives on Saturday night at a restaurant called the Muset. Sunday we watched the rugby, then went to the slow food and book markets, lay on the grass in Queen Square reading and munching and then pootled happily home. It really was just like our honeymoon in Paris was like last year (in pretty much every way ) so I stand by my use of the term babymoon!!

The lovely lazy wonderfulness of the weekend prompted DH and me to have some really deep and productive conversations about parenthood worries, work life balance, time for each other when the baby is here, money stuff, who will look after our child if we both get hit by a bus, wills, life insurance...I think being totally relaxed and happy really helped us just get everything out about what we were worried about and make some plans for the future. I think it's pretty representative of our relationship that at 31+3 (60 days to go...or less if you're fairybayleaf!!) we have practically nothing for the baby yet but we are already writing our wills appointing him/her a guardian if the worst should happen!!

Unfortunately the heat meant I had to take off my wedding and engagement rings as I've gone a bit puffy - and now I feel slightly bereft - and I had a slight vanity-induced meltdown last night when I caught sight of my first stretch marks in the mirror - just a few red tiger stripes, but they are all hiding down below the bump so it was a bit of a shock. Oh well, vanitas vanitatum, omnium vanitas!!