October 2013: where we all make it to the 2nd trimester and begin to glow!

[pinksky]

Welcome October passengers--all aboard our new thread (is it number four or five?!). Hope everyone is having a lovely Easter and enjoying an egg or three.

Stats thread HERE

Thanks

Oops sorry posted too soon!
Thanks Legally, yes 11+6 is behind me, and due to my EDD changing today I've skipped a whole week and am now 13 weeks!

Lovely scan badger

We did NCT and it was the most important thing we ever did. Even though we are just turning 30, most of my friends are only just getting engaged, never mind babies! So I needed some local baby friends fast.

We started meeting up every week from the day we all met, saw each other through our labours, texted and emailed in the dead of night when we felt lonely or concerned, and generally were there for one another. We met up every week for a year while we were all on maternity leave - it was the highlight of our week seeing those girls and babies. Now we meet up twice per month (today in fact mums, dads and babies met up at the local park and had a picnic) for meals or coffee or play dates.

The classes themselves very much depend on your teacher. Ours was ok, but we didn't really learn anything we couldn't have found out ourselves. The reality of labour and parenthood is very different (and better!) than the theory. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to first time mums on here, as the reality is every other baby class (rhythm time, swimming etc) is really a bit of a contest between mums, and people come to the classes and then usually don't even chat afterwards (which really surprised me).

X

Roofio I went to the national omg it's weird being there sober watching all the drunks....town was too busy so headed back to aigburth ( lark lane) where we live as much more chilled. Wearing heels all day in pregnancy has made me feel like I've just ran a marathon my legs are so achy!!! I hope everyone's horses did them proud, I seemed to bet on the donkeys of the race :-)

We did Nct and I still meet up with them all every Friday ( we all work part time or don't work) and our children are 2.5 now. I also did a free 'first time parents' course at my local sure start centre after the birth where I met loads of people and we all still meet up reasonably regularly for girls nights out and occasional children's parties.
I am glad I did the NCT course as it did give me confidence to question the doctor during labour, I would definitely have had a c-section rather than a natural delivery if I hadn't done that.

PS, yes, I am awake early again once more!

Natalie....... I used a swinging crib with my 3 and will use one again this time. Each of mine stayed in it for 6 months and then went into a big cot in their own room. They are definitely more roomy than a Moses basket

Thanks wicked

And flyer I also seem to back the donkeys :-/ nvm was a bit of fun lol.

Hope everyone has a nice relaxing Sunday xxx

Whilst our bedroom is a decent size, there is nowhere I could safely position a full size cot, so I too have been eyeing up the idea of a swinging crib. After the 20 week scan I will have to start doing some measuring to see if we could fit one in our room. If not then I will be sleeping in the nursery for the first 6 months!

Is anyone else looking to give birth in a different county? DH and I are both Cornish, but moved away (to Gloucestershire) a few years ago for work (DH got a promotion). We are looking to have our baby back in Cornwall as both of our families are down there, so after the birth we can stay with my Mum and Dad for a couple of weeks and have that support network there before we come back up here.

One thing we're not sure about it whether you visit the hospital in which you intend to give birth much before your due date, if at all?

rox my sister did exactly as you're planning, lived in Hertfordsire but gave birth in Derby at the hospital where her FIL was a consultant, then stayed with ILs for a fortnight. We came up from the s.west to visit. Worked really well for them. She did have an ELCS though, but I think she had most antenatal care in Hertfordshire. I can ask her if you like? All (I think) maternity units do tours so you could also make sure you go on the Cornish hosp tour?

We don't have room for a cot in our room either, I was thinking of hiring the nct bedside cot(bed nest). Has anyone used them? It's 100 quid for 6 months hire but they won't take up much room and should be easy for accessing the baby.

That's good to know, thanks pinksky. I'll have a word with my midwife when I see her next week and then I'll give the hospital a call and see if they offer a tour. Am pleased to hear they didn't have any problems with the prospect of using an out of county hospital.

My friend had all antenatal care here in London but gave birth in Cheshire as it's where her mum lives.

It never occurred to me that the cot wouldn't fit in the bedroom. We're moving into a new place so I guess we just have to see when we get there, and not buy furniture until we're sure.

We had an extremely exciting day. DH's goddaughter is turning one so we went to the big mothercare nearby to look for a gift. I think the sales assistants saw pound signs written on our foreheads. They did not stop asking if we needed help. We were excited to look at prams and nursery furniture even though we probably won't buy any of that at mothercare. I got fitted for bras, then felt pressured to buy them even though I found them quite expensive. We ended up buying the gift we needed from toys r us, which we hate going to but it had the toy we wanted.

Also: Pinksky I was considering the bed nest rental but I've read that babies can outgrow them in less than six months. Then I was considering a full-size bedside cot but I've read on MN that you can just take a side off a normal, cheap cot, saw off the legs a but if height is really an issue, and secure it to your bed. MIL wants to buy us a cot but I would feel bad asking for a real bedside cot as they're much more expensive. DIY seems to be the way to go for us.

Re baby sleeping arrangements, we don't have room in our bedroom for a cotbed, but can probably fit a cot as they are slightly smaller. Will measure up, and if not we will get a crib but not a rocking one - don't want to risk baby liking the rocking motion then not sleeping once we move them into a cot! We used a Moses basket last time until DS outgrew it then moved him into cotbed in his own room, however will need to keep DC2 in with us for longer as the children will be sharing a bedroom.

Meant to say, NCT classes are available cheaper if you are on a lower income - last time we had to pay full price, but our household income now is low enough to get us a reduction if we wanted to do them again although I don't think we will bother.

Scan day tomorrow - am so nervous/excited/terrified! Have got backache today, but haven't been doing any much exercise lately so don't think this helps, am going to start my pregnancy Pilates DVD again this evening once DS is in bed.

Ananikifo that sounds like fun looking at all the baby stuff--did you feel like you got an idea of what pram etc might suit you?
Thanks for replying about the bed nest. useful to know that they might grow out of it in under 6 months. I'm not sure we'll last a full 6 months with the baby in out bedroom, but it would a pain to have to use something as a stop gap before going into the cotbed...

We already have a decent idea of what we want in a pram, mostly that it needs to be parent-facing and reasonably-priced. It's interesting to actually try them and see the difference. In some of them the baby seems to sit/lie quite low while in others the baby is higher and closer to parents. I think we're so dependent on Internet shopping that we've forgotten how helpful it is to actually look at things. We will probably be able to use a friend's employee discount for the pram, so we would have to pick from the selection that her company offers. I'm thinking now we have to actually try out their products.

It's the same with furniture. I'd really like to see all the different cot/crib options in person to get an idea of sizes and how big of a baby would fit in them.

We also spent a lot of time in the bath section because our new house has only a shower cubicle, not a bathtub. We think it'll be worth it to get the biggest baby bath possible.

If you don't qualify for reduced NCT rates, you can pay in instalments. This is what I plan to do.

Good luck tomorrow Rockchick!

Does anyone have any experience of introducing a baby into a toddlers room for them to share? What's the best kind of age to do it etc ? Xx

Never done it Natalie but that's what we will be doing so have discussed it with a lot of friends who have. General consensus is to keep baby in with you as long as possible, definitely leave it until baby is sleeping well and waking no more than once a night. We will be aiming for baby having 6 months with us, then assess the situation. Although DS only started sleeping through around 18 months so hopefully we will get a better sleeper this time

Thanks Badger :)

The bed nest looks really interesting. I like the idea of rolling the baby straight over to me for night feeds without having to get out of bed! I might go and look at one in John Lewis to see how sturdy it looks. I presume if you rented it from nct you would still have to buy a new mattress?

I've missed scan news this weekend, looking forward to hearing about yours Rockchick! Mine is tues evening, I'm excited and terrified in equal measure too.

Orange the 100 hire includes a new mattress. You can also buy the bednests I think but pricey. there must be other brands that make similar?

Oh that is good, thanks pinksky. Bed nests cost £300 new from John Lewis which does seem a bit much unless there is a sale on. There are other drop down side cribs that you can have by the bedside for much cheaper like this one.

I like the look of the bed nest too and am definitely considering hiring one from NCT.

We're moving next week and the rooms aren't very large though, so there will be lots of measuring and rejigging of furniture!