July 2013 Part 3 - happy new year, happy new thread

[dinkystinky]

Happy 2013 one and all!

The Icandy has a carrycot attachment suitable from birth, then you switch to the seat at about 6 months. Dont have one but am certain about this...

Thunder Ive heard and noticed from friends that women who are quite slim tend to show faster than curvier women. I am trying to stop obsessing about bump being huge, not much I can do about it is there! Except slow down mini egg eating...

Thanks dinkystinky...maybe we can wait then and see what might suit us best once he or she is here. Chundertastic - hahaha nice! Can see what you mean though - good point

esme80 - thank you - this makes more sense! Have now found there's actually a massive range of different types and attachments by the looks of it. My goodness...I hope not every purchase is this complicated!!

Hi ladies. I too have an ICandy peach from ds last time round.....defo has a carry cot & we also have the maxi cosi pebble car seat with adapters for it & the actual pushchair part for 6 months up. We actually used the carry cot only up until 3-4 months as ds seemed to be quite long. We almost bought the ICandy cherry but the woman in the shop suggested the peach as she looked at dh & noticed he was tall, and commented that we might have another....I scoffed at her at the time but she was right ha ha!

It does take up a lot boot space but is fab for walking everywhere (glides like a dream) & has non inflatable wheels so no worries about punctures. I used it on the bus too (live in south east London) but sometimes was a tight fit if bus was busy. But yes glad I have it & I can sell it when I'm finished with it too in eBay or something..

Not much to report here...upped my days in January to 4 days/week & am feeling it already (been a stressful week if presentations & prepping for them). Meant to be snowing here tomorrow so might do food shop tonight so we don't need to go out at the w/e.

Super hungry at the mo too....need to cut down on sugar tho as prone to thrush in pregnancy so no creme/mini eggs for me!

Now thinking about finishing up work dates.....those with more than one-what's your views? Torn between finishing early and enjoying the 'me' time when ds is at nursery, or working up to 2 wks before due date. Was 9 days late last time & finished up 4 wks before due date so was demented with the waiting by the time ds decided to finally make a move ha ha!

Thanks Grannyapple, really useful info re iCandy!

I can't help with your work dates dilemma but am having the exact same issue myself. I really want to get it (at least provisionally) booked in too as already getting invited to meetings in May and June and it's a bit awkward knowing what to say.

boostar I've had post-birth counselling and been thru my notes with a SpR and a midwife. I did find it helpful although the midwife got on my nerves a bit as she seemed v defensive - I wasn't complaining at all about the care I had, just trying to sort of sort it out in my mind iyswim? Im going to go through them again with my consultant at 34 weeks. I would say to write down any specific questions/issues that you have before you go as I found it quite hard to remember everthing at the time. PM me or ask on here if anything you want to know in particular :)

I'm in two minds about an elcs this time - I want one, but I'm worried about the recovery with ds being so young & obviously its not a walk in the park either.

devil any cat news? Hope all is well.

Off to yoga now, ds has flippin well fallen asleep - not looking forward to waking him!

hi all, marks and sparks has some good dresses in normal section that are stretchy but flattering, i found one that looks amazing and i feel really happy wearing it, not sure i'll wear it for work though, as i am an osteopath, mainly working with babies and children and pregnant women (maybe when i know i only have the grown up ones who won't be sick on me
abz yet another constipation tip-sitting with something under your feet on loo can help-upside down bin or kids steps.
i have become obsessed with uppababy-typical it's not so cheap. dh says it's the most important purchase you make as you use it all the time for a long time. still feel guilty about spending more money

also-on the sling thing-i think it depends on how good your back is after birth and if you get a baby that likes the sling. def agree you can wait to see what you need after birth re pushchair-only thing is i was way too knackered and absorbed by grappling with bf and sleep deprivation to go and look at pushchairs and prams.-mil and i set off enthusiastically with 3 week old dd to ikea to look at bookshelves and i will never never forget the journey home...
btw do you think they could make a creme egg emoticon just for our thread

Granny - with DS1 I stopped at 38 weeks (as was working crazy hours till the end, wished I had stopped earlier) then he was 2 weeks overdue.

With DS2 I stopped at 36 weeks and he came nearly 2 weeks early.

This time round I think I'll stop mid June so around 37 weeks.

Emblosion - I think sometimes midwives can get a bit defensive as sometimes complaints are made (my post birth counselling was in response to an enormous complain letter I submitted) but if one hasnt been made, then it should be a case of informing and going through how and why things happened. My friend had an ELCS with her second when her first was only 19 months - she found the recovery better second time round having known she was having a CS if you see what I mean. She set it up so grandparents were around to help for the couple of weeks after her DH went back to work.

princessllama - thanks for the tips. I think originally I pictured my (usually fit) self charging around everywhere carrying the baby but in reality I don't know how I will feel and whether the baby will even like it!! But as you say, also the risk of being too tired to go pram shopping when LO is here! Hmm tricky! Creme egg emoticon good idea!!!

Re maternity wear, not that I need it yet (SOB!) but loads of people swear by Next (think maybe online/catalogue only). Probably already been mentioned so sorry if so. Also I personally love the look of the New Look stuff - bit more trendy IMO.

I worked to 35 weeks last time (v stressful job and 3 hr London commute a day). Was desperate to stop for weeks! This time I'm planning to finish at just shy of 32 weeks, take holiday (accrued and from the statutory maternity period which should give me about 5 weeks) then start mat leave beginning July (due 23rd). I'd stop earlier but I want the time at the other end with lo before I go back to work!

In other news I haven't had any bleeding for 3 days now!!!

might be mad-no bleeding great news fingers crossed.
bb01 new look have pregnancy clothes? exciting news

Great news MightBeMad!

Awesome mightbemad fingers crossed it continues :)

Yeah, dinky I thought that was probably it. I was just so mega careful not to point the finger as mine was just a cascade of things going wrong & not anyone's fault (apart from ds who was resolutely back to back with his 98th centile head wedged in!) And everytime I asked anything she jumped in with an excuse, which wasn't what I was after, I just needed to talk it through. But, even with that, it was still useful to do it.

Last time I started mat leave v early at 26 weeks, as I had a bad back (I'm a student nurse). Still on mat leave at the mo, undecided about whether to go back & do a placement before baby arrives....

Oh, and clothes wise, monsoon have some wrap dresses that are nice & smart looking. Mamas & Papas sonetimes have nice stuff but I find them pricey.... New Look/h&m good for casual stuff & v reasonably priced hth.

Thats great Mightbemad!

Just got back from midwife appointment. Heartbeat nice and strong and all else well. I have to go see a consultant for my 24 week appointment I found out regarding a bad tear I had during ds birth. Midwife said its pretty routine and that its mostly if I have any questions, and I should be back to midwife care after. Also had good talk about where to have birth. DS was born in mlu in hospital, and there were aspects I wasnt happy with even though on the whole was a good experience. Anyway, I dont have to book in anywhere so dont have to make my mind up till its actually time.

Anyway, ds is sleeping so I am going to sit down and watch OBEM. With mini eggs...

Oh and for office maternity wear I know my sil went to jojo maman bebe, no personal experience though...

Thanks for all the maternity wear tips. I'm so tempted by OI but if my contract isn't extended beyond March it hardly seems worth it, but I do need to look smart. Maybe eBay is the way to go although I have to admit to never using it before! I hadn't thought to look in Monsoon, so will try there too.

I worked until 38 weeks last time but wished I'd left at 37. This time if my contract is extended I kinda feel I should work until 38 weeks as well but if it's not I'll be off from April. Unlikely to know either why until February though so guess I just have to wait.

Emblosion may be worth double checking but I'm sure I heard of someone who hadn't been back at work long enough to qualify for maternity pay the second time round, though I think that was SMP rather than Occupational pay but may be worth checking with your HR dept before deciding whether or not to return.

BBO1 I think as long as you've chosen your pram and you just need to buy it after the birth you should be okay, but consider what support you'll have around in the early days as I had a textbook birth but was still pretty sore from some stitches down there for a while after and walking was uncomfortable so wouldn't have wanted to be carrying my DS. Also if you're buying an integrated travel system you'll need the car seat to get home from the hospital and it's normally cheaper to buy everything as a bundle!

princess Your DH is right, it's the difference between being at home all day and getting out and about so if you've found the one you want I'd go for it.

Really pleased for you Mightbemad long may it continue.

I am planning to stop work pretty close to due date. Probably around 38 weeks. I am probably going to have an elective c section due to various issues so unlikely to be sitting around waiting for junior to appear.

I have bought a couple of things from Isabella Oliver this time round cos determined not to look like a scruffbag throughout pregnancy as I think I did last time. Their stuff is nice but expensive. Going to get a few things from seraphine as welll- their stuff is a bit more reasonable.

Re: prams/ pushchairs. I have a babystyle oyster which has served us well. I wanted an icandy peach but dp wouldn't let me spend that much money on a pushchair. Still get slight pangs of jealousy when I see them - they seemed like the best ones at the time (3 years ago).

Personally I couldn't have done the whole sling thing due to c- section and being too lazy to carry ds everywhere when out and about. I did have a baby bjorn (which I used out and about twice) and found that when ds fell asleep and I arrived at the obligatory latte/ cake stop I didn't have anywhere to put him.

Just off to buy a creme egg now.

Tashtastic - both IO and Seraphine stuff has a good resale value on Ebay too.

ASOS also have a maternity wear section now which seems fairly good value - though am only browsing as have loads of mat wear to wear!

Great news mightbe

My bleeding has got a lot lighter & no clots in the last 24 hours so I've been sent home from hospital- yay! Been told to take it easy. Currently on the couch with tea, last night's OBEM & cheese & crackers. (Cream Egg free zone here- think they're vomitorious!) could do with some mini eggs though....

Thanks emblosion dinky
It's good to hear about another experience & writing notes beforehand is a great idea - one I always kick myself after such things for not doing!

Will look into hypnobirthing too as I've heard good things from a few people now :)

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Hi all. Good to hear about bleeding stopping for lots of people. Very impressed with all the pushchair decision-making as well. I'm going to have to drag DH to John Lewis to look at iCandys I think. We did like the Quinny Buzz but I had a look at the iCandy a few weeks ago and loved it.

Mixed news on the cat front. He has a tumour in his intestine which is inoperable but the vet wants to try him on chemo. Cat chemo is nowhere near as horrible as human chemo and is more focussed on shrinking the tumour as much as possible and giving him good quality of life. We just have to wait to get the biopsy results back so they can decide on which drugs to use. Thank you so much for the kind wishes, it's meant a lot to me

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Re maternity leave, I went off at 37 weeks last time and DS was born at 38+5 so not much of a rest! This time I think I'll try and get to at least 36 (can only afford 6m off) but with a toddler in the mix too and a more physically demanding and responsible job than previously, I may need to play it by ear.

Flying, great to hear you are home. Take it easy..

My pram research continues, think I will have to do a spreadsheet. despite loving the Uppababy Vista, I think it might be too tall for me.. boo.. just not so comfortable to push. So currently looking at Icandy and Bugaboo - both expensive of course. I told DH I want him to come shopping with me, look interested, and not look at the price!

Checking thread on phone at the end of the day is a pain, once I've finally scrolled through them all I've forgotten what was said, what I was going to reply and who to... Good to hear bleeding has stopped, was it flying?

Went to my first aquanatal class tonight, felt like a total fraud (albeit a chubby one) with my lack of bump!!! Was lovely though, feel more energetic than I have for months

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