April 2013 part six...what does the third trimester have in store?

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Sorry that posted twice, i thought it lost it first time (wrote a long post the other night that vanished)

bext that's quite a good idea radio 4 is normally quite sleep inducing or maybe I'll download an audio book...It's just annoying that I'd love to get on with stuff if I'm anyway up but DH is a light sleeper so I can't really doing anything without disturbing him.
hope everyone manages to get some sleep!!!!

Hope you are all snoring away by now. I am much less blasé about being awake now than I was an hour and a half ago. birdbrain if you do any baking feel free to send some over here, my tummy is rumbling at the thought of biscuits.

bext that's funny that you should say the newborns you saw looked tiny-with labour in mind I am definitely viewing babies in a whole new, really-not-that-tiny-at-all way!

32+1

Morning folks

Managed to haul myself up out of bed and fold it away (we have a futon thingy) had a quick tidy in livingroom (I mean put the sofa throw on tidy and made cats bed) 3 cups of coffee (feel sick)

My mum announced a suprise visit this morning (hence the cleaning and getting outta bed) said she be here at 11 now she says after 12... Shoulda stayed in bed :)

I have my hospital bag now, really should get it packed
Also got the carseat this week :)
Everything bought now.

Have electrician coming this week and painters coming this week! Hopefully we can get this place sorted in time for the baby... Seem to be running out of time :(

Am going to a breastfeeding class on wednesday, has anyone been to one? I breastfed ds but also ff and it was only for the first few weeks so I thought I'd go along to the class

Keep having dreams that I'm gonna have to sit in a circle with my bazoomas out, breastfeeding a doll

Please tell me that's not gonna happen. :)

Ha twinkle - we had ours last week and dh was sorely disappointed at the lack of real life boobage on show! Ours was v. Informative- but mainly discussions / questions and answers etc. there was a comedy knitted boob- but that was it!
X
32 weeks today! X

twinkle we had one last week too. We were given dolls and weird soft boob shaped things. The dolls were so she could demonstrate how best to hold the baby when feeding and how to use Muslims etc to cover up if you wanted.
The soft boob things were really interesting, they had bumps and things in them so she could try and explain to us how to hand express. They also had diagrams of internal milk making ducts etc that I can't comment on as I couldn't make them out.
We also got loads of useful info and lists of support groups/organisations that can help with problems or support etc.
I feel I learnt a lot at our class and feel a lot more confident about breastfeeding :).

Ugh stupid auto correct, I meant muslins obviously :).

Hey everyone, just been catching up on the news - lots of nice new purchases being made! :) Think we've got everything now - just waiting for our pram and car seat to be delivered as don't want it in the house too early.

We also had a bit of a stressful week but okay in the end. Had a small bleed and ended up in hospital until 4am. Luckily all seems okay. Had a precautionary scan which went well and all looked good. It was nice to see her again, apparently she's around 4lbs11 and on the 60th percentile which is reassuring.

Wish I was 60th percentile though. I've put on so much weight it's scary!

We dared venture into Ikea yesterday to get some baby things. PGP and breathlessness was so bad I struggled to walk to the door from the car (and I was in a disabled bay). So a member of staff got me a wheelchair so husband could push me round. Lack of physical effort meant I could concentrate on buying way more than we needed, although my husband kept forgetting that I was in the chair and wandering off and leaving me .

So now we have a cot, bedding, towels, bedroom furniture, storage boxes, lamps, baby bath, several stair gates (for doggy/baby segregation purposes), an entire boot full of cuddly toys (because husband's a big softie), and that's just what I can remember. Beans on toast for us for the next few months.

Eeek! I am so excited. Last week at work starts tomorrow. Only downside is I have to go for a blood profile first thing so I'm hoping to get in after that (last time I was there five hours so couldn't get to work). I'm going to the hospital super early so I have a better chance of being done and getting to school for one (when I start).

I'll be so disappointed if I don't get in tomorrow because it's the last time I'll teach the Y6 class and I love them!

Hi all - hope everyone had a good weekend. Novia sorry to know u ended up in the hospital but glad u and the baby are fine.

Twinkle we have a class on Wednesday - looking forward to it as i have no clue how to breastfeed and really stressed about it :(

Can anyone recommend which baby detergent to use to wash baby's clothes?? I want to start washing clothes but don't know which baby detergent to buy :( Can anyone please help?

Panda, saw your post about dog/baby separation....anyone got any experience of cat/baby separation? They will wriggle through a normal gate so I was trying to find a solid mesh ones but the only ones I can find without big gaps at the side is in the US and cost a fortune. Any good ideas?!

Hello all. Things here seem fine - the odd bit of spotting but I have been told that until anything 'happens' then I just need to keep an eye on things! (TMI) I am not getting bloody fingers when I put in my evening pessary so I guess things are okay

The baby is moving intermittently - I count every so often and it is always well under the 2 hour mark when I reach 10 movements, which is what I have been told to check.

Regarding washing detergent nottinghill I have to say i am a Fairy person! It is about the only band I am a fan of as usually we will buy anything... although I do rather like ecover for washing the baby stuff for the first few times (unless it is terribly stained but hang it in the sun and it will usually bleach clean).

Sneezy how exciting to be at the start of your last week at work. I only have 2 weeks to go but we have half term in the middle of them. I am working from home for the next two days to get my school reports written (we give the main report out in March). Sometimes it is harder to plan for someone else to cover my class - I am not even sure who has them for the next two days as I was working from home on Friday too to mark assessments.

I went to a Baby Market today and bought more stuff for the baby: M&P moses basket with rocking stand, play gym, baby rocker and a couple of pram suits (my favourite is one that opens down both sides so you haven't got to manoeuvre the baby's legs all over the place).

Now we just need to get a cot and a pram. I am going to look at a secondhand silver cross tomorrow - I saw one at the market today but this one is cheaper. I am still not sure what I want but I want a pram and a seat unit that faces both ways. I don't mind if we end up getting another one in 6 months when the baby needs a seat but I like the pram unit on this model, I think. We have a brand new car seat in the loft that we never used with DD2 so, although I do like the ease of a travel system, I am not fussing too much - and could always get the ventura seat and base if it gets too much lifting the baby out to put in the car. I know I liked being able to lift the car seat in and out before.... hmm, it is so tough!!

bext try a travel gate - they have a solid mesh central bit that might do what you want - unless the cat could just jump over, in which case you probably need to a cover over the baby instead.

bext my cats would have no problem jumping over a gate of any description apart from the fact that there's a cat eating terrier on the other side.

You could go down the traditional route of putting a cat net over the pram/carrycot/cot. For example this or this one which also comes in a size big enough for a cot.

Or you could go outside the box and put up something like this.

With the cat, in the few months before DS was born we discouraged her from going in the nursery. I spent ages looking into nets and covers etc for discouraging a cat from going into the cot but didn't find anything that seemed sensible. In the end we got one of those net canopies from ikea, and just it being there meant she didn't go near the cot.
DS was in our room to begin with, and we didn't let the cat share our bed any longer. This was a bit of a shock to her system, but when we realised we no longer got woken up with a ginger fur ball sitting on your chest poking you in the face as she's decided she wants food, or having your feet pounced on if they poked out of the covers, and tbh we have continued with it when DS did move into the nursery.
We have child gates up in two places, one so Tiger can get fom the laundry to her cat run (she's a very spoilt indoor cat, we have a cat run down the side of the house so she can run about safely) and another by the kitchen so she can get to her food in peace. She can easily jump these (even though she s 14 years old now) but if she sees one of us coming she will wait for us to open it! Whilst the gates are useful to stop DS going places we don't really want him exploring, they are more so Tiger has somewhere to get away from DS!
Tiger was a bit unhappy when he realised that the small wriggling bundle wasn't leaving with guests but was a permanent fixture. We've taught DS to stroke the cat, and not to touch the tail (at one point this was very fascinating!), DS tries to play with the cat, but she's not interested in retrieving balls or playing beepoo!
I did always shut the door to the nursery though, just in case Tiger decided to visit DS.... But then I've got friends who have never shut their child's door. If I didn't shut the door of DSs big boy bedroom I'd find him in the morning (or middle of the night if he woke up) at the top of the bookcase or sitting on the table (our house is only 1 storey, no stairs to worry about), his natural reaction would be to explore and play not come and find me!

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't seen the small nets so will definitely get on of these for the Moses basket and the pram.
Our cats are also old but agile when they want to be, really don't like kids and sleep on our bed, so they have a real shock coming!

Morning all. I hope this week is much better for everyone who has had a tough time.

We start our NCT classes tonight, I'm nervously excited and have no idea what to expect. We have them for 2 hours a week until 2nd April which seems a long time but since we're very green we probably need all the guidance we can get.

Our list of things to buy is gradually getting shorter. Our lovely change bag arrived at the weekend plus baby bath. Nursery wall paper and a rocking chair are due to arrive today and I've made a good start on the hospital bag.

The advice on baby and cat separation is really handy, thanks for the tips.

Morning all! dysgu thank you so much! i was thinking of buying dreft for baby's clothes but will check ecover.

Teapig good luck with the classes - we start ours on wed! Really excited as well :)

How many sleeping suits r u guys buying for 0-3 months old baby?? Will 12 be enough?

Morning all, I hope everyone has a better week!!
Alex has had the Cpap pressure reduced and is doing well and milk increased again ill report back on his weight later, he has weigh in on a Monday. He is pushing towards 4 lbs now! It's hard to explain but he seems to have gone from sick Prem baby to 'real' baby the last week.
I'm getting impatient now, I miss my baby I want him with me all the time, I want my children, I hate that's its Monday and I can't see them all day. But I'm not complaining not really I just can't wait to have all my baby's together and home. I'm dreaming of snuggled up Sundays with all of them on the sofa watching Star Wars marathons my ds and dd love Star Wars and eating Chinese.
If anyone's interested la redoute baby clothes arrived Saturday and they are really soft and great quality.

Afternoon everyone

Mama that's great news about Alex, he just keeps coming on in leaps and bounds. Keep on concentrating on yourself and getting better and you shall be surrounded by your children before you know it

I have had the most exciting news...My brother and sister in law are expecting their first baby He is nearly 40 and she is 41, they didn't tell any of us they had been trying and they had a few miscarriges last year but found out the week before Christmas she was pregnant again and is now 14 weeks pg and due mid August

I am so, so, so happy for them and my brother just sounded as proud as punch.

So that is 3 babies being added to my family in a matter of months; my sister in March, me in April and my sis in law in August

I've been busy car shopping this morning but just can't pick which one to go for...someone make a decision for me...

Jacqueline-what exciting news congratulations to your brother and sil, they must be so thrilled. And congrats to you too auntie-to-be sounds like the next year is going to be a busy one in your family.
Alex's weigh in had to be postponed as he was hungry so had a extra tube feed, and they have to wait to get a accurate weight. Have a feeling he will be just like ds1 and just eat all the time I did have a lovely snuggly cuddle, only issue is now my boobs are killing me having him lying on me just seems to send my boobs into milk producing overdrive!

Hello All! It's great to see the week is starting well for us. I thought I should all let you know that TKmaxx is currently selling Dreamgenii pregnancy support & feeding pillow for £25. It's £45 in John Lewis...they also have a new stock of grobag sleeping bags for all age groups in case you interested.

kitkatz23 Thanks for letting us know about dreamgenii - i just got mine from JL - i will return it and buy from TKmaxx :) (grin)

Thanks for the cat advice (ours can't jump, so just got to make sure she can't squeeze tru the gate bars)

Mama soooo pleased your Alex is getting on well

My last day at work is next Friday! My boss agreed today to let me take all my holidays early. He can see I'm struggling, and he's a nice guy, so that's great.
Getting over a nasty cold/throat infection & hips that are falling apart- hope this week is also better for all of us