November 2013 - Thread 3 - The Loo Huggers and Crisp Lickers!

[MummaPanda]

Thread 3 already? We talk too much!!

Woohooo just got my booking appointment through for the 8th april

slippy I got everything for dd second hand on ebay, I got everything you could possibly need for a baby, including a silvercross travel system and didn't spend over £300! So it doesn't have to be expensive if your smart about it and don't mind second hand!

Hi Bentham and congrats! Thanks for the list I'll have a look. I'm like you, I'm avoiding thinking about names, worrying about maternity finances, looking at things to buy until 12 weeks! I think if when I get to the 12 week scan I will allow myself to actually enjoy being pregnant and start planning. Before then I just feel nervous it will tempt fait or something

Thanks, GinSling, and to you!

Exactly - it's so tempting, but just going to hold off til 12 weeks. We'll revisit the lists and check out bargains then! Also, I was thinking that we're perfectly timed to take advantage of the summer sales as well....

MummaPanda - that's seriously impressive. Will be picking your brains (hopefully) in about 6 weeks time!

SlippySnow that sounds like good planning. I would second about grobags as well. It tried using a blanket tucked under the mattress, but they never lasted 10min. That's when I discovered this miracle invention called grobags. I will buy a couple of swaddle bags this time as I didn't have last time, and I regretted it. I tried swaddling with cellular blankets but it never worked. I think a lot of our early sleep problem would have been better if we could swaddle DD.

I don't know how much I've spent last time. I got a very expensive travel system so I think it must have been more then £1460 . I'm still using my bugaboo though so it's not a waste.

Has anyone else told a few people yet? We told our parents and a very small number of close friends straight away because of what happened last time and they were so supportive. I'm not a strict believer in keeping it all hush hush - I think that's why MC come as a suprise to people because it's never really talked about.

Also who is going to find out boy/girl at 20 weeks?

Can't wait for booking appointment to come through, we've asked to be refered to a hospital which isn't geographically our closest so not sure if they will even except us and that may slow things down a bit.

vocalista I haven't told anyone yet, bit nervous about what people will think.
Am definitely going to try and find out this time, was dying to know with dd but she was lying awkwardly and they couldn't see. I was gutted!

vocalista it's a private scan I have tomorrow - one day under 8 weeks. Apparently the hospital I'm going to wont tell you the sex but we're going to get one of those 4D scans so that should tell us!

I'd done a bit of window shopping and what I'd like costs about £2k! What I'd like and what I get aren't necessarily the same thing tho lol. We've looked at the stokke mini cot as I'm not happy about a Moses basket being so close to the ground (we have 2 nosy jack Russell's lol). Thnk when it comes to prams etc its really a case of pushing the about and seeing which one you like as they're all so different. Shopping won't start for a long time yet (wish it was now lol)

gin my scan is 19.20 so I'll look forward to hearing what you saw!

My best buy was a sling. Can't remember the make but it's just the long but of material type, that you wrap around. Moby wrap I think.

Also tomy star light projector. DS still uses it to go to sleep every night.

Bouncy chair for when he was tiny and mamas and papas entertainment centre when he was older.

Wasted money on baby bath, expensive stokke xplory, cloth nappies (sorry just couldn't get on with them DS constantly had rashes until I gave up on them), steriliser (DS refused all bottles!).

Vocalista I told loads of people and I'm now regretting it as it looks like I will be untelling them all shortly

I just naively thought it would be plain sailing again for us.

Glad I'm not the only one day dreaming about buying things :). As we are 1st timers we are buying items but will be keeping hold of the items for the future. :) I don't mind second hand stuff, I will be getting some but was interesting to see how much it all came to brand new

Also I'm thinking about the baby style oyster travel system

Slippysnow you still want to buy things the second time round

On my shopping list are

• a fancy electronic mobile (as I got a crappy wind up one last time from M&P which only last 30s per wind)
• a cot or toddler bed (haven't decided whether to move DD off her cotbed yet)
• gro swaddles
• buddy board
• new maternity clothes (I was pregnant with DD on the opposite seasons so I can't reuse anything I think)

I'm sure the list will grow. I love looking at things

Alexandra I am 8+3 - at 5 weeks I had very little symptoms except for sore boobs. With dd my bobs were sooo sore around week 4 before I took the test, this time they were sore but not so bad. Started to feel sick around week 6 I think, week 7 was a low point sickness wise.

We bought everything from mamas and papas for dd - all her furniture, pram etc. if I was to turn the clocks back I don't think I would have bothered. The furniture is very good quality so the good thing is we have it all ready to go this time round. But we wasted lots of money on cot bumpers, cot quilts etc as they were never used - we did everything by the Nhs/current guidance book! Dd's nursery was also perfectly matched right down to height charts for wall, table lamp, photo frames, nappy sack thingy, laundry basket - we bought it all and it all matched haha!!! It was beautiful but an incredible waste of money. Thankfully we have kept most of it so it can be reused

We used a Moses basket initially for dd but she was so long that we had to transfer her into her cot at 9 weeks! Her cot was huge and took up all of our bedroom! So this time we are avoiding Moses baskets and cribs and going for a small ikea cot next to our bed. Will save space, they. Look quite neutral and baby can stay in it for ages (dd was in our room for 7 months) comfortably.

I am sitting waiting to see midwife for my "screening appointment" - this is what of is called on my notes I feel a little giddy with excitement and all it will involve is a quick chat, bloods and weight check!

Oh and like vix I like both my moby wrap and the baby bjorn carrier. DD doesn't like the carry cot on the travel system, and the only way we can go out before 6mo was her in a sling or a baby carrier.

Vix keen to look at slings this time round - didn't buy one for dd and wish I had as heard you can breastfed in some?

I want to invest in a decent play gym this time round too.

I haven't told anyone yet. I know once we tell the kids it'll be about 10 minutes til the whole world knows :-) I'm a bit nervous about people's reactions as it's Number 5 /emo/te/1.gif and because of my age.
We've given nearly all our baby stuff away - DC4 is nearly 6 - as we'd kind of lost hope that it would ever happen - and we needed the room! Hoping that we might get given some stuff - I've been day dreaming about a baby sling in a funky new pattern but so far I've resisted and haven't bought anything! Exactly 7 weeks today!

Thinking about you vix.

Oh yes I have a play gym and a bouncy chair too

The only thing we didn't have is a set of matching nursery furniture. But they sound beautiful harverina!

You really don't need it onelittle!! I am a bit embarrassed by how extravagant I was last time. It's just excitement though, I got carried away. Most of it is reusable though so the next dc will have n identical nursery, only in a different house

But it's not wasted isn't it though? You can reuse it for the second one? We repainted the walls, got new curtains, and a set of drawers and a wardrobe from ikea. And ofc the cotbed. DD's nursery is in our box room so that's what stopped me buying the entire M&P, not any form of self restraint!

Oh and a really cute light shade too. The room is 2m by 2m so you can't fit anything more in it.

I will also be re using as much stuff as poss, but unfortunately will have to get rid of my lovely silvercross pram for a double, didn't plan on that!! And unavoidably they are £100+ most over £300, even second hand! Will have to summon all of my thrifty bargain skills for this one I think!

MummaPanda you have good restraint. Very impressed with the £300 including a Silver Cross pram as well! I'd be eyeing a bugaboo donkey but DD already wouldn't stay in the pushchair when we go out. So luckily I'm spared the double. I think I'll still need a buggy board though. She's just turned 2.

I think it's natural to go a bit daft especially on a first baby. We watch to try a and get things that will do for (hopefully) more children in the future. So hard to know what type of cot or pram etc to go for!

I'm just itching to get shopping...

Yes you can breastfeed with the mobywrap although I never did. Used it lots though, more than the pram in early days and would imagine it'll be even more useful for DC2.

My only advice for a cot is get a drop side one, or some other fancy mechanism, so you will not struggle putting a sleeping 1yo onto the lowest setting. I found none of the ikea cots have a drop side, and being a bit of a shortie, I can't possibly put a baby onto the lowest setting without bending myself right into the cot. You can test with a doll in your arms, and trying lowering it onto the bed horizontally.