June 2013 Thread 3 - the one where we stop throwing up!

[DontmindifIdo]

new June thread - we've been chatting too much!

Ah I'm lucky in that I'm not sure I'll have to buy anything for baby for at least 1 year. Hearing the amount of money others on here are considering spending on cots etc is terrifying. So far I've got all my furniture for free, pram being bought by my mum, clothing etc sorted (my sister used to work for Adams clothing company and when it went into liquidation she 'aquired' quite a lot of stuff), accessories from both sister and sister in law.

Thats a major bonus but it does mean because EVERYONE has had a baby before me I'm getting LOTS of advice.

I was given a top tip by a friend with a new 6-week old - she says just buy one pack each of a few different brands of newborn nappies, as they'll fit each baby differently and you won't know what works for you till your baby arrives. Once you've figured it out, stockpile away, disposable or otherwise.....

We've always used eco-disposable. We have a very good nappy group near us now but they were a bit rubbish when I was pg 1st time round and I bought some cloth nappies but never used them. I think its like slings, if you can get into them great otherwise just find what works for you. The money some people spend on cloth bots and also on slings is imho utterly jaw dropping.

We've used Sainsburys eco nappies from birth and also Naty babycare when on offer. Moltex are meant to be good. If you get a mamapack (£3-4) it may have some trial packs in it. I also get non disposable for nursery if they are on an excellent offer as they change DD on a system there wether she needs it or not. We found Naty babycare did not work when DD was small as her um was so ickle and they leaked.

Thanks dreamy, Aloha and forgetmenots for the pram recommendations, will check those out. There's so much choice out there, it's good to have a steer in the right direction. Particularly like the look of the Jane Strada, dreamy is it easy to fold? Our boot is usually half full of wellies and waterproofs so it's compact size appeals :)

Welcome Steffanoid, we are due the same day and it's our first baby too! Also feeling excited but a little apprehensive about the 20 week scan.

princesschick, we are hoping to go down the cloth nappy route too but will probably have some eco disposables on hand for trips away. We are renovating a cottage too, hoping the new roof is on before baby arrives!

hello all!
princess ive been looking into hypnobirthing, unfotunately there arent any local course that would be running around the time we were wanting to do them, and lots of weekend courses but unfortunately my dh and i both work weekends. Ive been debating a DIY method, studying some books and getting the CDs,

Has anyone else looked into hypnobirthing? tempted to go down the NCT route!

Buggy wise - what to people think of the Buggaboos? they seem really popular where i live!

I did hypnobirthing DIY style and weekly yoga from 13weeks and the two worked well together. I couldn't afford NCT and hypno classes.

I would certainly recommend it

Just ordered baby's pram - v excited as makes it seem more real. As I am on DC3 we have most things so this and the moses basket mattress will be about the limit of my shopping!!!

Early to be ordering but we are emigrating in six weeks and want to take the pram with me - will keep it in the box with receipt until I have had the 20 week scan and hope that all will be well after that.

We have decided on the mountain buggy swift and contraversially didn't like the babyjogger versa (also it's not really suitable for our needs given limited off road capacity) - anyone else going for a mountain buggy?

I think loads of people do DIY hypnobirthing using books / CDs / internet etc. We're just lucky to have some really good practitioners where we live and the lady we're going to is on the board of hypnobirthing teachers and was one of the first UK teachers approved by Marie Mongan. The course comes with all of the CDs and stuff that you need to practice and that seems to be the emphasis, practice, practice, practice! A couple of friends who've done it say it was the best decision they made; they had no tearing; and the midwives said they were super calm. I'm not sure how calm I'll be but it's worth a shot!!!

Grainmum eco disposables are just like regular disposable nappies but don't contain any chemicals nasties and bio-degrade slightly quicker than regular nappies. I'm just thinking that cloth nappies are easier on the purse when worked out over a couple of years. It's such a personal thing isn't it. Before I was totally going to be a disposable nappy mum and then I had a big think about it whilst in my third year of TTC when we overhauled our lifestyle completely. We switched to natural / organic toiletries / cleaning products last year, even changing from tampax to natracare tampons and from supermarket to organic cotton wool. Our house is being renovated using non toxic materials where possible (DH suffers from allergies and I had a slight hormone imbalance + when we started researching all this stuff we were horrified by some of the side effects, but lots of people consider us neurotic and over the top rather than sensible and cautious ) So having chemical free / cloth nappies is really important to us, but not everyone's top priority. Plus I'm on a big saving drive at the moment and cloth nappies seem the cheaper option.

Lexi good luck with your cottage renovations. How long have you been going? We've been doing most things ourselves except for big important stuff like re-wiring, plumbing, lime plastering... It's taken an age because it's been fitted in around work and holiday's and social commitments (we're into our 10th month) but we're close to finishing now and I'm really excited about moving in. I started measuring up for furniture yesterday and I'm going to start a mood board for the kitchen tonight. I felt like Sarah Beaney sanding the stairs with my massive boiler suit, mask and bump yesterday!

sunny and princess I have used cloth with D's since he was about 4 wks old and still do (he's 20 more). We started with g diapers which were good when he was little and you can use flush able or washable inserts. We did try covers and pre folds but I was not keen on the wet pre fold being against the skin. Now we use fuzzibunz which I love. Same as bum genius really. They wick away from the skin well and are adjustable so one size fits all. Initial expense but we built up in batches and usually bought when there were offers on. I line dry but caveat is that I live in hawaii so stuff dries really quick plus gets nicely sun bleached. When it rains I occasionally use the dryer but try to avoid. I have friends who love bum genius and rumparooz, one friend who loved baby mia. Hope that helps! Oh yeah and we use disposables at night cos he pees lots and sleeps 12+ hrs and cloth would be sodden, and it means I can use nappy rash cream occ which you can't with cloth. I know others who use cloth at night though.

And Maisie my SIL used bugaboo for 3 kids and loved it. It was good on tracks and muddy paths but I am not sure if it's considered truly off road. She had the bassinet part, and I think the seat switched both ways. I know my MIL found it a pita to collapse bit that might just be her

I was looking about the Quinny but have recently also discovered the uppababy too and I think we might go with that- seems to have amazing reviews everywhere and has won lots of awards. And they sell it in John Lewis so you get the excellent customer service/ price matching etc. if you are looking to get one though, show John Lewis the beegees website- it is £50 cheaper on there and is a genuine shop that you can walk into so JL should price match it...

lexi yes I always found the Strada fine to fold. It's not particularly light for chucking into the boot, and I wouldn't have thought it's all that small, but perfectly manageable - I haven't had others so don't know how it compares. Another reason we chose it was that its safety ratings at the time, particularly the car seat, were the best around; but this was in 2008 so things may well have changed since then.

Wow this thread moves so quickly!!!

Haven't managed to read up on everything but wanted to say hi!

Have mw appt tomrw- really hope I get to hear heartbeat- starting to worry again at the moment!

Good luck with your appointment AmI. Soon enough we'll all be able to feel movement regularly and then have that constant reassurance rather than wait for the hearbeat each time. I think maybe I am feeling occasional movements now, just that mostly I'm too busy to stop and notice it!

Just wanted to weigh in on the nappy debate - we used disposables with DD for the first few weeks (was going to be the first fortnight but she ended up being tiny, and wouldn't fit into cloth nappies right away).

We went with bum genius, have had some accidents but we had those with disposables as well - it's just one of those things, especially when they're little and things can get explosive down there...

We tumble dry, and have been astonished at how easy it has been once you get into the routine of washing them. Plus I find they are kinder on baby bottoms, and they don't have that horrid chemical smell you get with disposables. We've had to switch to disposables at night now, and use Naty (from boots) as they don't seem to have the chemical smell either.

Starting to feel movement now, but the scan is ages away - 8th feb. Can't wait to find out whether DD will have a younger sister or brother!

We did a hypnobirthing course last time which was good but think you'd get quite a lot from the book. Have also heard the natal hypnotherapy CDs are good. Midwives said I was really calm which I didn't believe until I found some video footage after the event!

Just made a Very Serious Error. Noticed on the parenting boards a thread for those with a newborn and toddler. "Aha" I thought to myself, maybe I can get some tips in advance. Now am convinced that darling ds will turn into a monster the minute his little brother or sister arrives, and I will be tearing my hair out in despair. Anyone expecting dc2, do not go there...

My midwife keeps harping on about hypnobirthing but think I'm going to opt out it is £160 started aqua natal yoga on Sunday which was nice very relaxing my legs where like jelly when I got out of the pool

Oops...thread fail, Aloha! :-) I'm sure it'll be just fine. Probably the same people posting who insist on sharing extreme birth stories. Normal, nice, stories don't get told!

Feeling pretty rough today and was sick again. I haven't felt much kicking since last week...hopefully baby is just camping out towards the back of me. I wish this worry would stop as I'm driving myself mad :-/

How is everyone feeling today?

Oh, and in relation to finding out the sex, I'm old and pragmatic as well, Oli, but I want a reward at the end of the hard work by finding out the sex then. Nice to have something to look forward to after labour. :-)

Feeling better today but was feeling terrible yesterday, all fluey and crap. Probably made worse because I couldn't drug myself up like I normally do.
I had written off cloth nappies as a complete pain in the arse, but reading this has made me reconsider. Problem is we haven't got a tumble drier- wont they go all crispy if you dry them on an airer?
Quite like the sound of these Eco disposables. Going to go off and have a nosy at them (first baby, research is my best mate ATM...)

Aloha - try not to panic, I'm on dc 5 and you never ever hear good stories only negative! Children are more adaptable than we give them credit for, touch wood I've never had jealousy or problems with rivalry, I don't think age gaps matter, we have between 3 yrs and 21 months between each and it's made no difference! Children will always test boundaries and a new baby is an excuse to see how on the ball mummy and daddy are, but routines help and consistency :)

I considered reusable nappies with mine but they have all had milk allergies, and the thought of not chucking out one of those nappies is not a nice one! I have so much respect for those that do it and wish I could do it too, but dc5 is the last as dh is going for the snip snip lol :)

So today I'm off for my scan and consultant appt :) to say I'm nervous is the understatement of the decade, I didn't sleep last night and am petrified :(

Washable nappies weren't for me but do know lots of people who've had great success with them. I went for Eco disposables - either nature or sainsburys ones. Will do again as I found them much kinder to baby's skin. Good luck with the scan today Sams, need some tips for coping with more than 2!

Good luck Sams

Thanks redwelly for the mention of the Mama pack, have just ordered mine online for princley sum of £2.60. For anyone else interested, there's a list of online pack stockists at www.mamapacks.eu/viewtopic.php?f=357&t=17880

princesschick, congratulations on reaching the almost-complete stage of your renovation. It would be great to hear your experiences and to swap renovation stories! We are just at the beginning of ours. Our cottage is listed so everything takes time as we need consent to carry out even basic repairs. Getting the cottage habitable for baby is a huge challenge as it has been virtually untouched since it's last revamp c.1870 (no bathroom and the kitchen is a sink with a bucket underneath). However we thought it'd be years before we had our dream home and we have it now.

Very best of luck for today, AmI and Sams!

Missed AMI post - hope you get to hear squishy nice and loudly

I might go get my mama pack after my 20 weeks scan, after a few days of being bumpy I woke up with no bump again so I'm a tad concerned as to why I am fluctuating so much in shape.