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

[MummaPanda]

Thread 3 already? We talk too much!!

Haha, unfortunately for me (and fortunately for dh) I was pretty much raised in charity shops. My mum is extremely -stingey- thrifty and I've inherited it, I can't but anything expensive and brand new when I could get it secondhand at a fraction of the price or make it myself. Its a curse!! But definitely has its benefits as we don't have any debts and manage on a very modest income. Did the same with our wedding, can't of cost me more than £200 including my dress, and it was perfect!

stingey that was supposed to be lol

I have a question re baby carriers. I would like a baby Bjorne or something along that style. I don't intend to carry the baby around that much indoors. But would like to use it for walking with dp and dog. People go on and on about hip allignment and proper sitting positions, however if you are not using it all the time would it be the most suitable for my lifestyle. I may post this again on the product page, but I thought some of you 2nd+ timers

I am in car park at doctors while ds sleeps, got my appointment to go and say I am pregnant in a bit! Let's hope ds doesn't pick up on what is happening or the whole world will know within days!

slippy I was a post grad student first time I was pregnant and I did same as you with a budget and spreadsheet. Mine was £1000 think but parents /in laws bought cot and pram. Car seat was our biggest expense as I am very neurotic conscious of car safety so we bought top of the range one. Gro bags definitely a good buy, I want to get the special swaddle blankets for this one. If you are on a budget don't forget to budget for things like nursing bras, maternity clothes, etc. I was so anal I even budgetted for parking charges etc!

Money less tight this time round, but think (hopefully) our biggest expense might be ... A new house! We desperately need to get on and move, our house is too small for three, let alone four. But we are still dithering about where...

Ooh I also want a nice wrap sling. We had a baby bjorn which ds got on quite well with, but I have heard so many rave reviews about wrap slings.

Definitely ask around family/friends to see what they will offload on you before buying stuff if you're on a budget though, things like baby baths etc only get used for a few months so its great if you can just borrow. (Although now I have to hope we can borrow again this time round!)

I haven't got many symptoms yet, just slightly tingly breasts and a bit of nausea and tiredness, but I am only just 6 weeks today so maybe its early yet? Weird that I don't want hyperemesis again but yet I am worrying because I am not being sick!

Really thinking of all of you with bleeding and hoping it all turns out ok for you xx

slippy we used baby bjorn a lot for walks but found friends with the wrap slings managed to sling their babies for a lot longer. Not sure dh would use a wrap sling though whereas he was v happy using baby bjorn. Am hoping to find people I can borrow both types off this time!!

Wow those moby wraps look great! I've never heard of them or seen them before. I'd be a bit worried about getting it all tied right - is it difficult?!

It's so tempting to go overboard when deciding what to buy, but I second what others have said - look at eBay and Gumtree and the likes for good secondhand deals.
For DS, we were kindly given a bugaboo from our BiL/SiL, which is great, and they had bought it secondhand. We replaced the covers, and it's absolutely fine. Might get a buggyboard now, DS doesn't like being in the pram too much anymore.
Also got a Stokke Sleepi system off eBay, really good deal (had to buy a new mattress, though). And I can sing the praises of cloth nappies enough!
The best thing we bought was a baby hammock - DS slept through since he was 6 weeks old, and I'm convinced that the hammock is the reason.
The only thing I wouldn't be stingy on is the car seat - but my mum bought that for us . You'll be surprised at how generous future grandparents can be, especially first timers!

Mumma you are an inspiration as I'm completely the opposite!

Money saving tips all gratefully received lol

JBrd we liked that stokke sleepi - how did you find it?

Slippy I had a moby wrap for when DD was very small. It's a PITA to do up a baby bjorn for tiny babies. I can't remember the weight/size but there are extra buttons you need to fasten if baby is below a certain size. But DD was very small when born, just over 2.5kg, so this might not be a problem for you. Also, there are some who think it's not good to dangle the feet of newborns like in the baby carrier. With a moby wrap, you do it up in a newborn hold so a newborn sleeps in it in fetal position, ie legs curled up to chest. By the way, my moby is a neutral khaki colour so it's manly enough for DH. Fairy it's not hard to do, you can watch some youtube videos on how to tie one.

Actually I have another thing on my shopping list now. Cloth wipes. Using cotton wools were a real pain, and DD didn't agree with wipes when newborn.

Oh and we did get the baby bjorn with the extra hip support. But then we knew we would be carrying her for long periods because we already had the moby wrap and she hated the carry cot. I'm sure the basic baby bjorn model would be fine if you are only using it for walking the dog.

The reason we got the baby bjorn was that after a certain age, I think around 3mo, we found it easier to just slip DD in and out a fixed carrier, instead of having to retie an entire wrap each time.

vix I'm shocked that you've been given a bit of a short shrift by your GP etc. Where in the country are you? I hope you will persist about a scan. Honestly - lie if you have to! (sorry, dishonesty not great I know).

Thanks lovely mners for all your wishes. Bleeding and clots now stopped. I'm still cramping so hoping all will be okay. Scan tomorrow am, we shall see....

Have people found it was a waste to buy the whole carry cot thing bit and instead used a sling?!

Sorry but this is all new to me - great to have people who've done this before!

Fairydogmother in my NCT group, my DD was the only one who would not go into the carrycot. She cried blue murder if she's awake in it. That's why we ended up with moby wrap/baby bjorn until she can sit. (That's when she can move into the bugagoo seat). So if your LO doesn't mind the carrycot, then it's not a waste of money, isn't it?

But I did use carrycot as a moses basket at home. I used a pillow case to cover the mattress and DD nap in it during the day. She slept in a cot (in our room) at night from birth. I also took it when we went to visit family. So not it's not completely useless.

Good point lol

God so many options! It'll take me the next 30 weeks to make up my mind!

Williamina I'm in Northamptonshire. I'm glad your bleeding has stopped. Unfortunately mine started again at lunch time. I feel like I'm going insane to be honest

Ps I don't know how else I could get across that I want a scan. I've asked 4 times now and told them how bad it is but they just repeat that the EPU will not scan before 7 weeks. I'm 7 weeks this Friday FFS.

I can't function and I feel dreadful as I've lost all interest in life and my gorgeous DS. This is all I can think about. I told the dr this and he said there was nothing anyone can do in this situation other than wait.

Fairy totally agree. Last time round, DH and I strolled in to mothercare to look at travel systems and left 10 minutes later as it was too confusing! Some come with car seats that fit on top of the pushchair etc... what?!

Anyway, leaving that until much later and hoping that DH will have continued his research which he started the day we found out this time.... he's even been on MN!

We were asked to bath and dry and get a friend's 18 month old ready for bed the other evening, as she's struggeling with her 3 month old who has colic. You should have seen his little face as we tried to figure it all out. Nappy on back to front etc. Poor lad. How will we cope with our own I wonder!

Vix I think asking you to wait is utterly ridiculous. Ffs you are the stage where they can scan and at least you might feel that you're DOING something positive. Huge hugs and to you x

Vocalista mothercare is a nightmare!

vix I'm so sorry to hear that. It's a real postcode lottery wrt NHS services. I'm really dreading to go back to the hospital this time. I wouldn't be surprised if I couldn't get a EPU referral either.

I'm another private scan-ee tomorrow. I'm somewhere between 7+3 and 8+3 ... hopefully tomorrow will find out which!

retroelle hope it goes well

Would anybody be up for starting a facebook group? - secret of course? Easier to view on phones etc?

williamina - good luck for tomorrow, fingers crossed for you.

Lots of scans tomorrow, I'm looking forward to lots of happy news :-)

We're first timers here, and have no idea what we'll need, I keep popping into Mothercare to browse though. Oops. We're trying not to buy much till the 12 week scan....but if the private scan tomorrow shows a heartbeat I'll struggle to stop myself.

Someone asked about finding out the sex at 20 weeks, that's a definite yes from me.

vix it is a complete postcode lottery. I'm in Oxford (sadly, i moved here and hate it.. another story) BUT there are huge teaching hospitals with big EPUs and fertility specialists so probably more capacity.

Perhaps a better bet might be getting a private scan if you can. There are lots of private scanning plans around your area and north london-ish and who would probably be able to get you a slot soon. Maybe an idea??