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

[DontmindifIdo]

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

Sorry to hear your sad news bumblebee. Thinking of you.

Haven't been on for a few days and lots has been happening! Congratulations on all the great scan news and good luck to those with scans tomrw! I have to wait til 11th feb which seems ages away!!!

Very sorry bumblebee, what awful news :(

Congratulations maw on your boy :)

Thanks everyone, and congrats on the continuing blue scans!

The funeral is Tuesday (how quick??!) so I'm flying out on Saturday. Going to get myself an appointment tomorrow so I can get myself a med certificate, that way I have one less thing to worry about. Plus if I'm going to beg for extra room from the Easyjet flight attendants I'd better have everything all kosher paperwork-wise!

My mum sounded really tired, not surprised as she hasn't slept in 2 days. She's really glad I'm coming though, and bringing DD.

Should then be back on Thursday, in time for my scan on Friday - and I thought this week was going to drag, waiting for the scan...

Bumblebee, so sorry you didn't get to see your grandad. I hope your trip goes OK and the traveling isn't too stressful.

Amigoingmad that seems ages away - how many weeks will you be then?

Sorry Bumblebee always hard news to deal with. Glad you and your mum can support each other.

Yay it's Friday tomorrow. This week went a lot quicker then snow week!

Congrats on the boy, Maw :-)

I'm glad you've spoken with your mum and sorted your travel, Bumble.

I've spent the evening buying new furniture for the new house. Plus some more baby bedding. So excited!!

Happy nesting MrsBri!

bri sounds like a fun evening!!

Our nesting starts in earnest at the weekend!! Shopping on Saturday then big massive clear out on Sunday!! Finally sinking in that I'm having baby!!! Good job really given that I'm half way through!!!

How much baby bedding is baby B going to have?! You're nearly as bad as me with blankets hah!

Nesting was great!

I had to get Moses basket bedding, so it is all needed, Pear! ;-p

I wanted to make use of the Mothercare discount code I got today too. :-)

Sparkle, are you more excited now?

MrsB I'll let you off then

Seriously though, how much bedding should we buy? Blankets? Sheets? And anything else come to that? Like how many baby gros and nappies?! Can you sense I'm having a mild panic?! I have bought two cute sleeping bag thingies from tk max and a cute hooded towel but that's it. Am having a realisation after my scan that the 1st of June is creeping up, especially having booked in my maternity leave. Guess I'll have time to get stuff then but be good to spread the costs.

Thank you...I still only have 4 blankets! ;-p

So excited about scan today, couldn't sleep!

Sorry to hear your news bumblebee I hope all goes ok at the doctors and with your flight.

Congrats mawgatron yeay for another great scan result

MrsBri and Massage I've bought 4 blankets so far for buggy and for baby hammock but also bought one of those swaddling wraps and big muslins for swaddling too in case that works (I am pretty sure I'll be willing to try anything that's supposed to make them sleep!)

Good luck for scan today sunbeam xx

More good scan wishes to those whose are imminent.

Cheers for the advice MrsBri. Back to normal today. All v weird.

We ordered and bought our pram yesterday, bloody expensive but it's really our biggest purchase so hey ho. I promptly celebrated by stacking it (Aussie for falling over) in Oxford St. Uncool, and now have a nice fat and sore ankle.

Be careful out there in the slippery rain!

bumblebee I am so sorry to hear your news, I am sure you will be a great comfort to your mum as will your DD. sunbeam good luck today.

Re blankets with DC1 (also a summer baby) we underestimated!
We got
~ 1 thin cotton blanket which folded in 4 (pumpkin patch),
~ 1 double thickness stripy cotton blanket (toby tiger),
~ 1 large knitted blanket which folded in 4 (John Lewis) and
~ 1 medium (folded around her) which was handmade. That was ok.

These are DD's blankets though - can't possibly use them on this baby so will have to get hunting for some more I am also going to struggle to reuse any of the really little baby clothes so thinking I will put those in a memory box for DD and buy some new ones for this baby.

We had 2 furry sheets for the moses basket and 2 cotton sheets - these also worked in the pram carrycot. We have 4 sheets for the cot (all furry). If you lay a folded muslin over the sheet and tuck it in (firmly) both sides under the babies top half then if baby possets you don't have to change the sheet.

We ended up with about 4 growbags, 2 from IKEA and 2 extra Boots ones but DD truly hated them, also bought a scary expensive muslin grobag which Dd also hated but was v pretty.

Then when her 2nd winter came (15/16 months) we got padded fleece babygros which saved our sanity for a while - Mothercare. Awesome. But then a light blanket over it in the depths of winter.

Re babygros. Every store has slightly different sizing. We got
7 vests in 0-3month (Tesco)
7 vests in Newborn (Boots)
3 babygros in 0-3 Month (Boots)
3 babygros in Newborn (Next)

Top tips
I realised when I put them all together after my first buying sprees that some shops newborn & 0-3 were the same bloody size cue panic.

What we did find brilliant was some little knitted cardigans which an adoring great aunt knitted - think we had three, baby wore a vest, babygro all day/night if needed with cardi and blankets as needed. layering is v important when they are tiny.

And Eden & Anais muslins - I bought these DD's second summer after she turned 1, they aren't cheap, I got a pack of three with an Indian pattern but blissfully wonderful as sun shades, cot sheets, pram covers and very unique this baby will obviously have to have its own set

Get plenty of muslins in different sizes - I got 6 12x12, 12 18x18 and then the big E&A ones. DD liked to chew them.

Hope thats helpful - beats doing any work!

Wow thank you! Really good to hear from experienced mummies! Will start making a list and pick bits up as and when I see them. I don't know about anyone else but it's starting to feel very real now, exciting times!
Good luck scans coming up x

Oh and as for nappies - again the different brands are different shapes, we couldn't use babycare for example in size 1 but now at size 5 they are the best! I would recommended making the most of every voucher you get from signing up to Emma's Diary, bounty, mamapack, boots parenting, Sainsburys parenting etc and getting in several different types. If you stockpile too much and don;t use a bag then pretty much any supermarket will allow you to get the next size up and pay the difference.

So sorry to hear about your grandad, Bumblebee; all the very best for your trip to France.

Congrats Sparkle and Mawgatron, on your lovely scan news and very best of luck for today Sunbeam!

Olimoss, I do hope you are ok, that sounds very painful.

Thanks so much for all the advice redwelly, useful to know that not all babies get on with the grobags, we will be stocking up on muslins too!

Also (can you tell I have a mundane task waiting for me to complete?)

If people offer you things don't be made to feel like you should take them then and there. Ask if you can let them know. I have in passing mentioned to people that we have x, y, and z and then when baby arrives if they need it then I can drop it in. A friend borrowed our Group1 car seat for a week to see if her DC liked it better, another friend asked to try a sling I had but baby hated it so she didn't buy one, another friend is borrowing our cosleeper at the moment while she recovers from a CS - they don't have room for one all of the time but as a stopgap then it will help them.

People (if they are rational and nice) will realise that you don't really know what you need yet, and in the days after a baby people will be willing to drop things round, and then go as they know you are sleep deprived and manic. I had a request from a friend to bring her food one afternoon, I turned up with cake, fruit, bottles of water and a sausage casserole for dinner. Another friend did the same for me.

Hi everyone, good to hear all the good news and peoples exciting scans!

Am 23 weeks today, its creeping up!

Still slightly manic here, kinda-sort of-possibly buying FILs house so lots of appointments with banks and late nights working out finances to see if we could manage, especially since its very much a 'project' and we'd need to live in it while we do it up - with a 2 year old and heavily pregnant/new baby and whilst DP does his end of year exams...no stress right?!

On the other hand, if we dont go for it, there very well maybe no other opportunities to get on the property ladder (not sure how people afford it?!) so think we'll just have to suck it up for a year or two

So if anyone has any ideas for decorating or furnishing (need everything bar cot and todler bed) very cheaply, it'd be much appreciated!

Redwelly that's so useful thanks, finding it really hard to know what to get! Don't have money to waste it iyswim!

Jut to let everyone know (hope this isn't against rules!) tk maxx get Aden and Anais swaddling muslins and grow bags in on a sporadic basis - got a box of four huge muslins I ha been eyeing up at £45 for £17!

Very useful on the what to get debate I seem to just see things and buy them with no real idea what I need

Babies wallpaper came yesterday so can now do the mural wall got a decorator friend doing it for Free if hubby helps him so can't go far wrong there and that will save some pennies

Congrats to all who've had scans and those happening today

on the 'what to buy' discussions, I remembered that a couple of months after I had DS, a friend was having her DD and I did a long e-mail of what you did and didn't need. I'll see if I can find it in my sent items later and post up the list. (It might also work as a check list for DH when he goes up in the loft to get all the baby things down!)