Due October 2006, PART THREE!

[Gemmitygem]

Thought I'd start a new one..

But will make sure no-one's left on the old one.

Hope everyone is blooming and not too hot!

is it worth getting a feeding chair? my sister in law swears by hers but they seem ugly and expensive to me. however i do have a bad back already so if it will help i think i will go for it, some fo the kiddiecare ones are half price. any advice?

I got a feeding chair and never sat in it once. I use it for piling the ironing on.

BUT I swear by my nursing cusion which I carried round and just plonked down wherever I wanted to feed - supports the back brilliantly if you want to use it behind you when sitting down, or you can use it to hold baby in place. I also use it in PG for sleeping at night. The one I got when I was PG last time was some kind of organic eco friendly tree hugging thing from my yoga instructor, but you can find the kind of thing I mean on www.cozeebee

The breast feeding cushion I got which was fantastic for the baby and for my back was from the NCT catalogue. I initially had one from Blooming Marvellous but it was far too low for the baby whereas the NCT one is fairly compact and is filled with bean bags so quite firm and the baby moulds into it perfectly.

I also got a Swiss Ball (70cm diameter) from Argos for about £10. I sat the whole time on this and it really helps in the last few weeks of pregnancy when you are trying to get the baby into the right position for labour. Plus it is meant to really help in labour, though I was strapped to a bed so would not know!

Luckily I was given a gliding chair by my sil when I was pg with ds number3 which is a bit like a rocking chair but goes backwards and forwards instead of rocks. It reclines too and I spent many a night in it when ds wasn't sleeping or teething etc. I used a triangle cushion for feeding ds which bought him to my breast without my bending forward to him plus I could keep both hands free if needed. Been using it while preg too for my back. dh used it for reading in bed too so its pretty multi purpose. Got it for £5 off ebay! Washed it plenty of times too.

hi ladies!! im back from my hols in fuerteventura (it was boiling!!) and i now get to type DH instead of DP lol. the wedding went brilliantly and i just wanted to thank you all for your well wishes and congratulations.
i havnt read thru the thread as there is loads so i apologise if there is anything that i have missed or needed to commet on. hope that you are all blooming and that the babies are growing nicely.

Hi, yes, I have decided to go swimming, it'll be nice considering how hot it is!!!
I'm due on the 14th of October, my husband's birthday!! and to be honest with you... I can't wait!!! There is another 2 pregnant women in my department and one of them gave birth two days ago. The baby is so beautiful!!! It makes it more real now. I still can't believe that I'm going to be a mother in a few months!!
We are decorating the house now, so still haven't bought too much stuff as I haven't got anywhere to put it . Hopefully next month the house will be finish and I can start expending money!!

Swimming is great, especially the weightlessness feeling. My gym membership runs out in August, and the only thing I'll keep up is swimming in a local pool.

Re baby stuff, am swithering over whether to buy a moses basket or crib or cot - bearing in mind that our bedroom is really small and the baby will be in with us. If you have a moses basket on the floor, is there a danger of stepping on it?!
I love the design of the Stokke crib/cot/bed but it is v. expensive.

Wuzzle: welcome back . How was the wedding?

you could get a moses basket stand and put the basket on that. I am considering getting a crib for the first few months (we already have a cot from dd but it's in the other room) - cribs are bigger than the baskets and should last a little longer. Just have to choose which one I want now. I havent bought a thing yet although we do have quite a few things from last time so the only major things we need is a pram/travel system thing and a crib.

Welcome back wuzzlefragle. Glad all went well with your wedding and honeymoon. I used a moses basket for the first few month then moved ds3 into a cotbed which will last him till hes about 4. We still have lots left from ds3 too. Only thing we have to get is a bath of which well be getting one of those moulded baby things. I was looking at those tummy tubs in Mothercare last week. I asked my dh what he thought it was. First he said a nappy basket then he said a washing tub! I think they look awful. I signed my ds3 up for pre school for September. I only went in to make enquiries thinking he would star when he was 3+ but she said he could start in Sept! Wether he was dry or not. Mind you hes not gonna have any problems making friends. He didnt want to leave today. Had a few tears but left ok. I know 2 of the ladies that work there and its a pretty good place. What with my ds 2 starting Secondary in September too its gonna be an exciting September. Then itll be all go again in October whe ds number 4 gets here .

Sounds like you have a busy autumn, Gingeme! At least you'll have your youngest off to pre-school and settled before the baby arrives.

Firmly returning mind to moses basket. I'd be more worried about a stand than it being on the floor, though - surely more unstable? Keep repeating to self: there is NO need to spend 500 quid on a crib, even if it will last a few years

We've decided on a pram/pushchair as well - going for the Mamas and Papas pramette (Pliko?). Made OH make final decision as I was sick of the whole thing. He wandered into a shop, said 'this one looks good' and it's the one recommended on Mumsnet. May leave the rest of the shopping to him as well (he would faint in horror at the thought).

Hello girls
haven't been here for some time, the Pliko pramette is great , have ahd it twice and want it again.Unfortunedly teh car seat doesn't fit my new car so thinking about quinny zap with the maxi-cosi on a isofix -base.
as for the cribs: the cheapest moses basket on on roking stand it will be.

We've been lent a moses basket and stand (pretty sturdy from initial inspection!) and intend to get a cot bed for after that....£100 all in!

Had very disappointing news from work yesterday - highly unlikely to give me any discretionary element to time off. Have given it one more go (I believe precedent has already been set, but also they could just 'give' me a gift of a couple of weeks hols rather than "maternity pay" - I whistleblew last year and it saved the company tons of hassle, tribunals and money) but the lack of value is more hurtful than the money (which is obviously an issue, trying to do whatever we can now so I don't have to go back to work 6 weeks after the birth - can't believe I'm having to contemplate this, it should be a bonding time ). Rant over.

Cor squishy a cot bed for £100! Thats brill price. Bad luck on the job front though
Were going swimming again tomm. Talked dh into it as Im going to let him watch the match tomm afternoon. Going to London Sea World on Sunday. Cant wait.

hmm, lots of good deals online for cot beds around that price!!

Work sucks, have spent all day today unable to concentrate and bursting into tears all the time

Hi there, hope everyone's well i've not posted for a while. Just wondering if anyone else's blood group is rhesus negative and if you have been offered anti-d injections before birth. I always thought you got the injections after birth and don't really fancy two lots of unnecessary blood products.My midwife didn't explain why it's different now and she was so rude and snippy that i just wanted to get out of the appointment. Regarding prams, we've bought bebe confort loola travel system although have now heard it's really quite heavy, but it looks nice! Hope you all have a great weekend.

I'm rhesus negative and as far as I know I will get the 2 pre-birth injections too - 28 weeks and 36ish weeks I think. I dont know why it changed but I would rather have them and prevent a problem than not have them at all. I did have an injection in my last pregnancy after I fell and after birth but the policy must have changed since then.

Re: prams - I am swithering between the silver cross sleepover and the chicco CT0.1 trio autofix

I will probably get a swinging crib from babiesrus as it is only £50 and comes with a mattress too: bargain swinging crib

I'm rhesus negative too, this is my 4th baby and after talking to a midwife at my local hospital have decided not to have the extra anti D injections as I didn't before, unless someone could give me a good reason why the policy has changed. Once again though I think it has to be personal choice.

I have been investigating the anti-D thing a bit as I am negative but I know dh is definitely A positive and dd was also rhesus positive so chances are this lo will be positive too. This is some of the info I have found:

Anti-D immunoglobulin (anti-D Ig) was first used for Rh prophylaxis in the UK in 1969. Since then deaths due to anti-D haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) have fallen from 46 per 100,000 births in 1969 to less than 2 per 100,000 births in 1990. However, in the UK, nearly 1000 women continue to become sensitised each year either as a result of anti-D Ig not being given following the delivery of a D positive infant, after other sensitising events during pregnancy, or due to sensitisation from silent bleeds that occur during pregnancy. Studies have shown that the sensitisation rate during a normal pregnancy can be reduced 5-fold from 1% to less than 0.2% if anti-D Ig is given at 28 weeks and 34 weeks gestation1,2 and in North America routine antenatal anti-D prophylaxis (RAADP) has been standard practice for over 15 years.

In May 2002, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence3 (NICE) recommended that RAADP should be offered to all D negative pregnant women in the UK who do not have pre-existing anti-D and that a dose of at least 500iu anti-D should be given at 28 weeks gestation followed by a second dose at 34 weeks.

cheers for the welcome bak ladies

are any of you lot getting dizzy/hot/dots in front of your eyes when you stand up or turn your head??

Thanks for replies regarding anti d jabs, still not sure what to do though. I am getting what i can only describe as hot flushes every so often that make me queasy and dizzy. Are you getting up to quickly wuzzle as sometimes those symptoms can be a sign of low blood pressure. On the other hand dots in front of eyes i'm sure can be a sign of high blood pressure but i would imagine that you would get this at other times not just when you stand up. Confusing eh!!

I'm rhesus negative too.

I had 4 jabs of anti d during my last pregnancy as I fell down the stairs and shunted ny car before the 2 routine jabs. I also had one after DS was born as he was rhesus positive. the way I understood it was that the risk was to further pregnancies/babies if his positive blood was to mix with mine during pregnancy/birth as my body would form anti bodies to it.

Will have the jabs again this time.

Feeling very hot, sticky and tired today, hope this hot weather doesn't last too long.

niceand2 just checked the weather. Apparantly its gonna be thundery and showery on Wed so should cool it down a bit. Had a day down London yesterday. We went to The London Aquarium which was brill. Bit disapointed they didnt have one of those water tunnel things though. I found the sharks a bit creepy ! Then we walked along the river and a cross the wobbly bridge to Covent Garden. We took a pic nic and plenty of water. Was totaly flagged out by the time we got home. And no one offered me a seat on the tube. Had a lovely cold bath when I got in which cooled me down just right.Hope all you ladies arent suffering too much today. Seems to be hotter somehow. Been trying to find the Pizza Express were meeting up at next week. Hope I find it in time.

Hello All. Just back from hols. It felt like our last holiday ever - we did the sightseeing/posh hotel/nice dinners thing. Having got that over, I now feel ready for camping/buckets and spades/eating nowhere with white tablecloths.

Hope everyone is blooming and coping with the heat. I'm really glad it won't be this hot in October. It must be difficult to look after a newborn in this weather.

LOL! Am hot, hot, hot! No AC in my work and am on top floor without much ventilation!!!

THinking of buying an inflatable birthing pool to wallow in in the garden!!! As cheap as some paddling pools, anyway!

Pizza Express address: 4-5 Langham Place, W1. From Oxford Circus head north up Regent St. Regent street becomes Langham place after you cross Mortimer St. Less than 5 mins walk. The booking is under the name Whiffen (oh dear, letting out all the secrets now)....we can extend booking if there are any late requests to join from anyone. The booking is for 6pm opn July 11th.

Squishy - I'd try to relax about the whole maternity pay thing - I think in general it's unheard of to get much more than statutory minimum unless you work in public sector, so don't take it personally. I work in the city where some of my colleagues really do earn millions, but all they give us in addition to the minimum legal is one months' salary and then that's only given once we've been back at work for six months to 'prove' we're committed to returning. And that's fairly common terms I think round here, despite the shedloads of money that rattles round. Really annoying, especially as women have had to put up with £100 a week levels for years and it is only when people started talking about men getting the right to take parental leave that the media threw its arms up in disgust at how ridiculous it was that people could be expected to make do on such a pittance...

There now look, you've got me ranting too. Must be the weather