PART 2!! The-Knicker-Checking-Boobs-a-Swelling-Carb-Craving -Christmas-and-New-Year-Shaggers-all-aboard-the-Se pt-2012-Baby-Bus

[Loup23]

Hoping to carry on the brilliant thread started by misscoffeenwine which was so popular we got to 1000 posts before starting another - come over and join me...... Promise to think of a more original name for Part 3!

i have been having the most embarrassingly graphic sex dreams, jaysus. and have been rampant for the last week, DH sick so that's no bloody good atm!

didn't see your post MissCoffee, we are clearly in the same boat in more ways than one. lol

Good morning all! hope all well? does this sound like restless legs; I'm not quite sure what the term means; when I go to bed I just feel like I need to walk somewhere and stretch my legs out and it prevents me sleeping and when I wake up iv still got it? even when I'm knackered from work and iv
had proper exercise iv still got it (but a bit less)....or does it just mean I need more exercise?

The weight issue - argh! I was 15st 1lb when I got my BFP, am now a mammoth 16st 5lb at 23 weeks :( I had the best of intentions and have carried on exercising, but my downfall was my insatiable hunger in the first trimester; I gained 10lb in the first 10 weeks. Plus the fact I've just come back from an all inclusive holiday won't help. I'm trying not to stress about it, and thankfully haven't had any lectures from doctors/midwives. I know it will be hard work to get the weight off afterwards but the incentive of fitting into a wedding dress will spur me on. I met a woman with a 19 month old girl on holiday who told me she put 3 and a half stone on during her pregnancy, but she'd lost it all and looked fabulous. I think we just have to relinquish control of our weight for nine months and trust that our bodies know best (and if you're my size, avoid cameras!!!)

I am chuckling at the sex dreams misscoffee and oiko

There is only one thing good about being ill, when you suddenly feel all normal again, hurrah. I have even mowed both lawns this morning (and my own outrageously outgrown lady bits ) sorry if TMI.... was just amazed I could contort myself enough to complete the job

A bit jealous of the sex dreams. Every bit of libido seems to have left me since conception - the total opposite of what I'm normally like. Poor dp

Flying out for a few days holidays tomorrow so hope everyone has a good week.

Well, it's 4am and I'm not good - tummy bug I caught from DD. Been sick 7 times tonight so far, and as for the other end, well, lets just say that's not good either. Haven't managed to get any sleep so far, so decided to MN for a while in the hope that breaks the cycle.

I had some stuff to order from Mothercare the other day so I included breast pads, maternity pads etc which all arrived yesterday. Eeeek, that makes it all seem so much more real! Hope you're all having lovely sleeps.

so sorry you're feeling shit MM, there's nothing quite as horrid as a tummy bug.

DH took me to Babies R Us today, where i bought a luffly maternity support belt and we had a quick tour of the prams/car seats/ etc. Also made things seem reallllllly real! i identify for sure!

(oh and i am in a diff time zone. so don't worry about me, and i will take your wishes for a lovely sleep and use them in a few hours)

I have just been checking out eBay for strollers and cots for the first time - this will be our first DC so not sure when a good time to buy all this stuff would be. Do we test drive and buy now while I'm not too big to get it into the house and set up, and while we have a few months left on two salaries, or do we wait til much closer to the due date??? Any advice from experienced mums would be much appreciated :)

Oikopolis - hope you're having a lovely sleep now! Whereabouts are you?

fun - it's really up to you when to get that sort of thing. We got ours at about 30 weeks last time which was nice because I didn't feel we were leaving it to the last minute but we didn't have that long to wait until we had something to put in it! What sort of stroller are you looking at? We got a travel system which was great to start with, but very heavy. More often than not use an old lightweight stroller a friend gave us instead as it is so much easier to get in and out of the car/round shops etc.

As for cots, make sure it is a standard size, otherwise you'll have a job finding a mattress for it - it's recommended to get a new one to reduce the risks of SIDS. Our cot is a second hand one a friend gave us and it is about 15 years old so it wasn't standard size. We managed to get mattress from Mothercare in the end. Oh, and talking of mattresses I strongly recommend the ones with zip off waterproof covers on. When the LOs sick or something you can just take off the sheet, wipe down the waterproof mattress cover and put a new sheet on. And fitted sheets are brill, so much easier than faffing around with flat sheets in the middle of the night.

Still feeling pretty rough here.

Poor you madmonkeys - hope you get better soon

I had a dream last night that I gave birth at the doctor's surgery whilst at a midwife appointment, I was more worried about making a mess of the carpets than the fact my DP wasn't there - I'm a weirdo I know.

I haven't bought anything yet, or thought about travel systems. This is my first DC but DP's second as DSS is going to be 8 in a couple of weeks. Fortunately there is none of DSS's baby stuff as I would feel a bit weird about that. I don't mind my sister's second hand stuff though, so it must just be my weird hormone addled brain.

MM so sorry you're not better yet :(
don't hesitate to ring GP if you start to show dehydration signs... can trigger prem labour and that's the last thing you need.

i'm in north america :) so we are a good few hours behind the UK

Funchum
When we were having number 1, mothercare did a baby plan whereby you could order what you wanted, pay it off in bits & they would deliver on a date you chose. I think it had to be paid off so many weeks before delivery but can't remember all the details. Might be worth looking into that, so you can start testing now! Obviously it only works if you want stuff from Mothercare though!
We had a Quinny Buzz which was brilliant when the baby fitted into the first car seat as the seat slotted straight into the frame. Once he grew out of that though I grew to hate it, we eventually changed for a baby jogger.

THanks for the tips, that is really helpful. I will look into the mother care plan. We would like a lightweight, easily collapsible stroller as we live in a first floor flat with no outdoor space other than a small balcony and quite tricky access (spiral staircase out front, through a bathroom shop yard out back so full of their stock to negotiate if we want to go out the back way). However in an ideal world we'd like one we can jog with as DH is a runner, and I used to jog a little once upon a time so would like to have the option as a way of getting out and about with baby too. I am thinking the iCandy Peach looks like a reasonably compromise.

Re cots it's a good point about a standard size as I do intend to buy second hand but with new mattress and bedding, thanks for that too!

Sorry to hear you're still rough madmonkeys...do take care of yourself!

ladygoogoo that did happen recently to a woman nearby I can't do the link right now but it's I'm welwyn hatfield times, a friend of friend have birth in the ambulance the other day too.im not worried coz I know I'd never hav such a quick labour

*gave birth

Just back from a very wet and cold trip to the Scottish highlands brrrrr and dd was ill whole time: not much fun to be honest.
I had no idea I was supposed to sleep on left side, I'm a front sleeper and still trying to sleep that way with pillows around bump but I know that it won't be long before a can't sleep that way any more . As for pins and needles in hands, keep a close eye as I had terrible carpal tunnel in both hands last pregnancy and that's the first symptom. Nothing you can do if you get it, I'm praying the operation I had on my left wrist will stop it in that hand and preparing for it to be bad in right wrist.
As for weight gain, know I'm piling it on but as my mw weighs in kl and I can only process pounds, I have no idea what I weigh and have no plans to find out: ignorance is bliss until bf over and then I'll do Cambridge diet and loose it all, hopefully.
Enjoy your Sunday evening everyone.

oikopolis and misscoffee I too have had odd dreams although sadly not if the sexy kind :( more of the odd and scary kind :(

funchum I'm going to buy either iCandy peach or strawberry but was warned by multiple retailers there's a looooong waiting time. Apparently iCandy are struggling to meet demand. I was told to order ASAP to guarantee arrival before baby!

We've ordered our nursery furniture today due to a massive 20% discount which saved us ££££. Have to say I think I've underestimated baby costs...

Arghhh wrote a long post and then it disappeared. Glad everyone is well and bumps growing. I put on an epic 3.5kgs last week- bloomin hell! Bump is getting bigger and clothes that fitted at start aof the week no longer fit. Off to mw this week going to ask about a rash on my legs which I'd thought was heat rash but still have it (was in Dubai) and it aint hot here! Also I have a scar on my tummy (from surgery 12 years ago) that is itching like crazy - its also stretched horribly.

Zumba days now behind me (at 24 weeks) so going to give aqua natal and pregnancy pilates a go - hopefully they'll keep my butt in check. My little boy bump seems to really like it when I'm in the pool as he gets really active.

Have decided on a crib and wallpaper for nursery ordered. Decorators in hopefully beging of june (after horrible messy renovation work). No ideas on buggies/prams yet. I posted about my DH's mad response to being offered a free buggy - mens brains eh?

Anyway going to catch up on the posts :)

as this will be our DS2 we don't really have to buy much this time round, just a few more bibs and teddy comfort blankets as i don't think DS1 is ready to hand his over! we always wanted children close in age, so we bought a baby jogger city select for DS1 (kindly paid for by DP's parents :) ) and it is fab. Wouldn't swop it for anything. Was initially looking at icandy peach but then this was launched. Unlike the icandy, your carrycot can fit in any position on the chassis, you don't need an upper one or a lower one, and the carrycot is much bigger, which meant we got plenty of use out of it before he outgrew it, unlike friends who had to put their babies into the buggy sooner than recommended as they couldn't fit in the carrycot anymore! its also got loads of seating combinations, and if you have 2 buggy seats on it together facing the same direction, they both get a view, unlike the icandy where the poor child at the back can't see past the front seat. Although i think it's nicer to seat them facing each other when we get to that stage!!

will be 23 weeks tomorrow, and suddenly it feels like time is flying by. And i swear i've exploded over the last week or two, and look a lot more pregnant than i am! and only put on 7lb so far, so really don't know how i've got such a big bump!!

am a bit jealous of all the sexy dreams!! I've not had any- just dreaming of crazy stuff, especially recurrent is the dream that i'm flying! not sure what that's supposed to mean...

I'm very excited this week as i've started really feeling LO moving loads over the last few days. I'm 22 weeks, so it seemed a bit later than other people but my placenta is anterior so that probably explains it. I can't wait for DH to be able to feel the movements too. Unfortunately he's gonna have to wait a while- till LO can kick strong enough to be felt through my belly fat!!

Good tips on buying stuff. Thanks. One of my colleagues suggested that even though I am beinga bit superstitious and not buying anything till 26 weeks i might want to start looking earlier as it's easier to fiddle round with collapsing buggies etc to test them when you haven't got a MASSIVE bump in the way and can actually bend over!

has anyone been suffering with headaches? I seem to be plagued by them- even waking me from sleep sometimes. any tips on what to do?

I've got nothing to buy either not because I have anything from DD, I don't really I sold most of her stuff, just keeping a changing mat, basket and a few nappies. But I am happy to just wait and see what kind of stuff we will need and get it when we need it rather than getting a big pile of stuff before the baby is born. I think DD was 7 months when we bought her cot, about 3 weeks when I got her a car seat, and I never did buy a buggy. So the plan is to do without a buggy and get a cot when it seems like the baby will need one. It's space saving, at least. I want a birth-4 car seat that will stay in the car so that can wait until the baby is born and we can try them out in it most probably.

I've bought pretty much all the clothes it'll need second hand, I've got a decent selection of nappies which are birth to potty but not too many of one brand in case they don't fit the baby's shape too well, I'll decide which work best, sell the rest and get some more in then. I make my own wipes and maternity pads and breast pads, I've done lots of wipes already, it's really easy, comfy and saves loads.

I want to rearrange the bedroom before the baby arrives to make it easier in the night. Also I found it sore to get off my side of the bed last time as it's partially against a wall so I want to move that. I think my total budget for the pregnancy and baby is about two hundred quid, about fifty of which has been spent so far (clothes, nappies, muslins). I have about £50 or when I get bigger just in case I need to buy maternity clothes, then about £50 for the cot and mattress and bedding later on and £15 for the highchair, and the other £35 will be for the rest of the nappies and sundries like maybe a bath support. The clothes I have are birth-12m so no need to worry there for a while.

Can't think of anything else a baby would need?

misscoffee making your own wipes etc sounds great - how do you do it?

loopy can you actually jog with the buggy you've got? I had another friend recommend the baby jogger city range but she has a separate buggy for actually running with. Ideally I'd like one that will do for both everyday and running but I accept that may be a big ask.

For wipes I just sew a square of towelling and a square of fleece together with edges folded in. Takes about 5 minutes to make one. In use I have a little spray bottle with water, bit of olive oil and a bit of lemon oil or baby shampoo or something nice smelling, spray it on the wipe and use it. Either side or both sides depending on the bum situation and friction needed. I have some different coloured ones for face wipes but use the same spray. When we go out they just go in a plastic type pencilcase with a little travel spray. Then they just go in the baby wash or nappy wash. They are very cheap and easy to make - a big fleece blanket from the pound shop and an old towel should make you about 40 wipes. And they save you a fortune in baby wipe costs.

Breastpads are same principle, circle of fleece, circle of towelling, circle of cotton, sew together. Fleece side faces the bra. Of course you can make the size, colour and absorbency you need. Again just a few minutes to make.

Maternity pads I haven't done yet but I really suffered with disposable ones last birth - the chemicals in them burned my open skin down there. It wasn't nice. I've been using these since and get on well so I thought I'd have a go making some maternity ones even for the first few days. Or I'd go for pure unbleached cotton wadding and some sellotape not having burned bits again.