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!

Hello all! I don't think i have posted on here since the original Sept 2012 thread, so thouht i'd post a quick update (i'm at work and so damn bored).
Currently feeling pretty good, at 23 + 3 now and having a few issues getting comfortable in bed at night but apart from that and the aching hips im not doing too bad. 20 weeks scan went well, all is where it should be except for a low lying placenta which means i have to go back for another scan at 36 weeks to see if its moved, but i feel surprisingly relaxed about everything at the moment.
To the lady having lots of headaches, i was the same, almost every day, but i've cut out all caffiene including fizzy drinks, and increased my water intake dramatically and havent had a single headache for 2 weeks! It's so great!

We did a massive car boot sale last weekend and got rid of a load of stuff, so i can actually get into the spare room now, although we have a long way to go before its ready to paint, but we have bought a cotbed, crib and changing station off ebay which are all around the house in various bits at the moment.
I bought my first babygrows at the weekend from babies r us - supergirl and batman! We know we're having a girl, but i'm sure she wont mind being dressed as the caped crusader!
Is anyone else going to do cloth nappies? Or has done cloth nappies before? We really like the look of them and we arent worried about the extra wash loads or anything but all the people/friends ive mentioned it to have looked at me as if i'm a crazy person!!

Haven't been posting for a while, it's good to see more newbies on this thread, good to hear more good scan results and more baby movements being felt!

My little one is moving about quite alot as I type too (but less when I'm standing up) I've booked a 4D scan on 9/6, can't wait to see my little boy again!!

I don't know how many of you intend to go back to work after your maternity leave, a friend forwarded me an e-petition on raising the tax-free limit, and to be honest I was a little shocked that the current cap is set so low at 55 pounds a week! (It doesn't even cover a day's childcare cost!) If you support this petition please make your voice heard!

epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31669

We wanted to do reusable nappies but couldn't afford the initial outlay so ended up with disposables. I'd have liked to be an Eco-warrior/earth mother but it didn't quite work out that way

DD had disposable nappies to start, ended up with large weeping open sores and steriod cream. Switched to cloth nappies, started with an initial outlay of about £50, added to them as she grew and then sold them when she potty trained for over £200. This time I have got the full kit (nappies, wipes, bucket, three wetbags) for under £60 and will add as I go again, more for fit and pretties rather than necessity.

I'm not an eco-warrior or earth-mother I'm just skint and tight with a DD who was allergic to pretty much everything I tried to put near her skin for the first two years (grown out of it now) including the chemicals in most brands of disposable, most disposable wipes, and baby toiletries (Johnsons baby being the absolute worst offender by a long long way) Anyway I'm used to doing stuff this way now and find it easier, cheaper, and a lot less smelly/leaky overall. She went into disposable pull ups at night after age 3 when she grew out of the cloth, she'd been trained in the day for ages but needed night cover until 4. She was fine with them by then. But I still winced at how much they cost everytime we had to buy them and we only used one a day.

Hi all, been off for a few days camping with 80 teenagers but back now, it's lovely to catch up. It seems I'm behind with my de-cluttering and buying of baby gear. I seem to be paralysed by the choice of buggies, family cars (we have two TINY cars and need to swap one), cribs etc so am endlessly researching things and not buying anything yet!

Sorry to hear about those with headaches, I have had the odd one but that's it and generally related to being dehydrated.

I have had the ridiculous dreams though - last night Hugh Grant was begging me for sex....never particularly had a thing about him so not sure why it was him!

Hotcup have you tried a psyllium/ispaghula fibre supplement? I think it's marketed as Fybogel in the UK? i basically cannot take a dump unless i take a teaspoon of that once a day! lol.

i asked my OB whether it was OK to take it every day during pg and she said absolutely and she recommends it, it's vnb to avoid straining/getting backed up.

hope it gets better!

Well just back from holidays and looks like I brought some of the sun home with me

Hotcup I was having problems too but started having a yogurt every morning with some dried apricots, prunes and the like and it really seems to have helped. Fybrogel is in the cupboard as a back-up.

shoeprincess no bp problems as yet - fingers crossed - but it is the thing I'm worrying about, especially as I'm approaching the dates where it got dodgy for me before. Bricking it for the growth/placental scan in a month but trying to convince myself that baby aspirin every night (recent study in Spain shows it brings down bp a couple of points if taken at night) will be doing it's job :) Hopefully it will just be that you were anxious. Good luck for Tuesday.

Hell no with the reusable nappies, unless I had to because of allergies or something. I would like to help more against landfill and I'm into recycling but I honestly don't think I could face any more washing to be done in my house. Disposable ones are expensive though - I'm only just getting 4yo ds off the night time ones, with variable success - but then again electricity and gas is expensive too. A friend of mine actually did add it up using an electric monitor in her house and she found out that the prices for using disposable/reusable was the same.

funchum I feel your pain. I have a bit of blind panic about the huge variety of prams and carseats. You honestly wouldn't think I'd of done this before. I'm even crippled at the choice of playgyms and bouncers. Just wish someone would take the decision making over from me and every time I look at the price of something (when on earth did everything become sooo expensive??) I'm kicking myself for the blase way I threw everything down to the charity shop after ds because 'there was no way in God's green earth I was going through pregnancy and having a newborn again' Biting the bullet and starting a little bit of baby shopping tomorrow. Eek!

Morning everyone, I'm getting very excited about going on holiday tomorrow. Hope you all have a good week and enjoy the sun. I'm bit jealous of all the baby shopping, I don't really need to buy anything new as he will just have all the stuff from dd which I kept. I am going to buy him some new covers for the bugaboo but that's his lot for now: poor little mite will have to learn to wear pink well lol

I didn't mean Eco-warrior or earth mother in an insulting way so I hope it wasn't taken that way. Everywhere we looked at nappies the initial outlay was about £200.
I'm still debating the double buggy conundrum, but at the moment are crippled by the wide variety of slings available. We had a borrowed baby bjorn with number 1 but it's not available this time (person we borrowed it from selfishly had another baby )

MrsHelsBels74 I certainly didn't think you were being insulting! I'm wouldn't put myself in that category either, but despite the initial outlay, we've worked out we will save money in the long run, despite potentially running the washing machine more, so we're going to give it a go! If it doesnt work out then disposables it is! :)

I'm getting really confused on exactly how many clothes i need to buy, what type, how many sleepsuits etc, does any one have a definitive list?

Also, anyone got any experience with sterilizers? We're leaning towards a Tommee Tippee microwave one at the moment, but there seems to be so much choice, i'm getting a little overwhelmed with it all!

We started with microwaveable bags but ended up going back to basics with a Milton's bucket! We have quite a small microwave so the steriliser for the bottles we had wouldn't fit into it.

To be honest I quite liked the cold water sterilising method as you could leave the bottles in the solution & knew they'd stay sterile in there until you took them out.

Didn't take it as insulting at all :) I'm just not very eco (don't look in my green bin ) just use them for other reasons.

I had a Tommee Tippee microwave steriliser with DD but to be honest I don't think we ever really used it properly (still don't get how it really works) then it got put in the micro with the little white bottle brush in it (which is metal handled under a plastic coating) and it melted the steriliser and blew up the micro. The brush came with it! Got a bit cross about that. Anyway we stopped sterilising after that, think she was about six months. This time I can't see us needing one unless bf doesn't work out - or are they used from something else that's obvious that I'm missing (another one feeling clueless)

I will only be using slings and not doing the buggy thing so if you want to ask about that fire away.

I had a steam steriliser but no-one warned me that babies can be fussy when it comes to the type of bottles and teats they like so I had armed myself up with the Tomee Tippee closer to nature and the sterilser was the same. We ended up using another brand of bottles and teats and bust the lock on the steriliser as they didn't fit properly.

MissCoffee do the slings not really hurt your upper back/shoulders? I tried using one with ds and gave it up as a bad job as he felt far too heavy for me to be carrying around like that. I'm talking about when he was a little bit older, not newborn. What kind of one do you plan to use?

I'm still waiting for this burst of energy and fabulousness we are meant to feel in the second trimester. Am still constantly shattered even on the rare night I do sleep well.

ballroomblitz I love the idea of slings and love having baby close so you can kiss their head while they'r asleep but I do find them very heavy even with a newborn for a short time and iv tried the traditional kind and babasling but of course we'r all different

Slings are great if you dont have a bad back and you get the right one!

With DC1 I had a babyhawk mei tai and it was luuurvely! Carried him easily up til he was almost 2! However, with DC2 I got an Ellaroo ring sling (which I am currently selling on ebay if anyones interested!?) and it was lovely when she was tiny :) but I injured my back when she was only a few weeks old and ended up waiting months and months for physio (which was amazing and fixed it) but by then she was way too big for it, so I got me another mei tai instead as I think they last longer than ring slings.

Ring slings are great for when they are little wee bundles though :)

The first sling (using the term loosely) I had was an awful awful tomy one that someone bought me as a gift. It was painful and awful for both of us, and I would never use a "western" style one again.

misscoffee I'd be very interested in any tips you have for natural, chemical free products, as DH has very very dry (and therefore sensitive) skin and has always worried about a baby inheriting the same. I'm expecting to have to be careful and would love to know what you use!
(I remember a friend some years back using olive oil as a soap at bath time, as well as a moisturiser when needed!)

Keen to give cloth nappies a go, tho when very new may need disposables! I've been offered used cloth nappies by a friend and my cousin. They look a bit tired but I'm sure they're perfectly clean! In 2 minds though! Wld save a lot of money!!

Does anyone know what the Quinny Buzz buggy is like? (aside from wide! Which cld be a problem with our hallway!)

Cakelady I've gone down the cloth route. I've got huggies newborn for when we're in hospital, and to protect their cord stump, or whatever it's called, but after that we're moving onto bum genius.

Bought a birth to potty training pack of 20 nappies, you can choose from velcro or poppers, and whatever colours you want on this website...

www.babipur.co.uk/shop/Cloth_Nappies-bumGenius_4.0/c23_66/p4203/bumGenius_4.0_Poppers_(Snaps)_20_Pack/product_info.html

They adjust to fit the baby from birth to being a toddler, and from what I've read, you can just wash them with half a fairy tablet or whatever. Read plenty of reviews and those are the ones I decided on. My parents thought I was mad for the initial outlay though!

We got them during real nappy week in April so got 20% off, also bought the tots bots accessory pack which came with the pail and other stuff.

Another website- I think it's cheeksandcherries- do the set for the same price, but with the accessories thrown in, although you don't get to choose the colours: they have a girl set, boy set, and unisex set.

Hope that helps!

Also, if you get a mothercare catalogue, or look online, they have a list of stuff they recommend you get- I think for clothes, it's 6-8 sleepsuits, 6-8 bodysuits.
I've gone a bit overboard and got more than that, but I thought it would save on washing! I've also got them in sizes 0-3, 3-6 & 6-9 months. I was told not to buy anything smaller than 0-3 as we have no way to predict what size baby we're getting! And if they do end up being a bit premature, either we can get some smaller stuff or they can lump it, lol!

I'm planning to use cloth nappies. Could be a pain as we have no tumble drier but DH does all the washing and festooning of the spare room with drying clothes at present so with me off work PLUS him carrying on doing some when he's at home we should manage to keep on top of it. May have to invest in extra nappies but luckily we should be able to afford it.

I will be using a sling for as long as possible as we live in a first floor flat with nowhere to put a buggy outside. We'll have one but it will live in the car and sometimes the car is parked further away than the shops so I will go out with just the sling for short trips to pick up bits and bobs, go for a coffee etc.

Need to check out the Mei Tai amongst others by the sound of it!
Thinking of the iCandy Apple or Peach jogger for a pushchair - anyone know anything about those?

We had a Quinny Buzz pushchair when number 1 was born. We used it with the maxi cosi car seat & it was brilliant as the car seat fits straight into the chassis. However, when son grew out of the car seat I quickly fell out with the Quinny. For starters, one of the selling points was that you could have the seat parent facing....BUT when it reclined in this position his head was almost lower than his feet. And you can't fold the pushchair with the seat in parent facing position so to fold it you have to take the seat out of the chassis, turn it around, put it back in then fold it...it just seemed like a faff. Plus I had a few problems getting it to stay folded so overall not brilliant. We'll probably use it with the car seat again but after that we'll go back to the baby jogger city mini that we got to replace the Quinny.

let me just tell you all about my day do far; children woke me us up very early playing about therefore DH and I dozed on and off and ended up being late for school run I'm wearing a weird combination of clothes (some maternity) coz of the sudden heat, hair not done, we were in car then realised ds didn't hav his water bottle for school and dd didn't hav her nursery bag so I went bak 2 house for them automatically locking car on the way, got them and pulled inner door behind me reaching for the keys which WERN'T there! so now I can't get into the house or car! children
hav opened so window and are quite happy and we'r waiting for DH to open
House

*so far

cjbk1 on our way to the consultant appointment on Monday I pulled the front door closed behind me, only realising too late that a) I hadn't set the house alarm and b) my keys were in the door... on the other side. DH had his keys (phew) but because mine were already there he couldn't let us in, so had to go down the side passage, vault over the fence, and get in via the back door.
Thank god we weren't a mid-terrace!

I honestly feel like my functioning self is slipping away the further I go... I can't really hold a coherent conversation any more, let alone on any sort of intellectual level, as my brain/mouth keeps supplying the wrong words, my typing's gone to shit, I forget what I've said and where I put things... I'm amazed I haven't got myself and others into some serious danger. Thankfully we don't have a car so I don't have to worry about crashing while my brain is melting!
I'm teetering on the verge of 6 months now, so I guess this is the point to put the hammer drill and other power tools away, and maybe forget about winning at scrabble for the foreseeable future...

more of my exploits on things not to do when pregnant in pregnancy i don't know how to do links sorry

cjbk that reminds me of when dp and I were on holiday just there and I locked us both out on the balcony by slamming the sliding door behind me. This is after me commenting two days before about wouldn't it be awful if you locked yourself out like the episode of 'Benidorm'? Thankfully our balcony led out onto the flat roof and dp was able to climb over and flag door some German woman for help. She laughed hysterically for the next ten minutes. Yes Ruskula my conversations are full of err...ummm.. what do you call it... I've no sooner started a sentence than I've forgotten how to finish it.

Although I love the idea of a sling and I think it's lovely seeing a woman with a newborn in a sling, I might give it a miss. I don't have the best of joints around my shoulder and neck and am still waiting on physio that the gp referred me for 4 months ago.

Phew its a bit hot for all this pregnancy malarky.... walked to school in a short dress today - hope I wasn't flashing my pants. It's sports day at DSS's school later, not sure how I am going to cheer him on without melting.

I can only applaud you cjbk1 for an award-winning baby-brain moment. My favourite appears to be putting the orange juice carton in the glasses cupboard and the empty glass in the fridge - about twice a week at the moment. :)