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Graduated Elderberry Pavlovas - Thread 7

999 replies

Cavort · 07/09/2013 13:52

Newly diffed right through to new Mums. A thread for the over 30's expecting their first baby.

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Alexandra6 · 13/09/2013 20:34

Funnily enough my mum said yesterday she wants to buy a nice wooden high chair as a gift! My neighbour has one that grows with the baby I think so will find out what make.

Just wondered if anyone has read the baby whisperer, Tracy Hogg? A good friend has bought it for me and posted it plus a hypnobirthing CD and book. She says the book is great and she says the hypnobirthing stuff sounds like hippy shit but she def recommends, so thoughtful of her! Now I just need the building work to finish so I can relax and start getting stuff ready for the baby! Coughing like crazy with all the dust, not long to go though.

Cavort · 13/09/2013 20:43

Top of the Which? league table of high chairs is... ....

The Graco Contempo high chair is a lightweight, folding chair designed for babies and young children up to the age of three. It certainly boasts good design, but what else did we find in our high chair tests?

The Graco Contempo did well enough on our tests to be rated a Best Buy. It's well padded, easy to clean, and it has a feeding tray which is generally well-designed.

Its manufacturers claim that it's suitable for children up to three years old, and our testers agreed.

Easily adjustable
The Graco Contempo has three different recline positions, and it can be adjusted to six different heights. There's also a foot rest, although this is not removable or adjustable.

When it comes to safety, this chair has most bases covered - it has a height-adjustable, five-point safety harness and a solid safety bar which remains attached to the chair when the tray table is removed.

Folds away neatly
When folded shut it's just 21cm deep and 89 cm high, which is small enough to slide under a standard kitchen counter. So if you have an awkward narrow space in your kitchen next to your fridge, this can now be put to good use.

Folding the chair shut isn't intuitive but, as one parent in our test said: 'It's easy once you know how.'

You click the two red buttons on the front of the chair underneath the tray table to collapse the arms, then click the two buttons on the side to pull the chair up to flatten it. Finally, you click two buttons on the back of the chair to bring it down to the lowest height position.

When collapsed, the Contempo is easy to carry - it weighs just 8.9kg - and there are two lockable castors on the front legs which help manoeuvre the chair when it's not folded.

It's also freestanding, so you don't have to lean it against a wall or door.

Dishwasher-safe tray
The two-part, segmented removable tray was popular with the parents in our test.

They were particularly impressed with the single-hand quick release, although they said that to remove the tray insert it needed to tip towards the child, which could make a mess.

Those with active toddlers may also find that the insert in the feeding tray is a little too easy for young fingers to remove. Both the feeding tray and insert are dishwasher-safe.

Not machine washable
The Contempo has a removable, padded seat which is easy to wipe clean, although this is not machine-washable. There are lots of hooks, poppers, and straps that make removing the cover very fiddly, however.

There were a couple of faint stains left on the fabric after our wet food test, but the bright print hid them well.

The shape of the seat means that dry food does catch in the seams of the cushion but this is common with this style of highchair.

Pros: Easy to clean, small when collapsed shut, compartmentalised dishwasher-safe feeding tray, reclinable.

Cons: Tray insert could be removed by toddlers, removing the padded cover is fiddly, crumbs can get caught in the seams of the chair, some parents did not like the lockable castors.

The other 4 Best Buys are the Cosatto Noodle, Chicco Polly Magic, Chicco Jazzy and the Oxo Tot Sprout (which is by far the best name Grin). Let me know if you want any of the other reviews.

I have also heard good things about cheapo IKEA high chairs but Which? don't appear to have reviewed them out of the 29 they have looked at.

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Cavort · 14/09/2013 11:52

Our little cherub is now installed in her cot in our bedroom instead of the moses basket, and we took her out in the pram stroller seat instead of the carrycot using a slightly improvised head hugger from the car seat as the one I ordered hasn't arrived yet and she was much happier being able to look around and managed not to whinge for the whole hour she was in it. And DH got up to do the 5am feed and she guzzled down 5.5oz all in one go. The most expressed she's ever had in one go before is 4.5oz. 10 weeks already, she's growing up so fast and I feel happy and sad at the same time. Confused She'll be starting school before I know it. Hmm

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MotherOfCleo · 14/09/2013 13:12

Just hoovered, dusted and polished all 3 floors of this house, down on my hands an knees to do the stairs and bathrooms. Result? I am bloody knackered!!! Shock Oh and before all that I walked the dog for 45 mins, think I need to sit my arse down a bit more often and accept that I'm not able to do as much as I used to. Blush

janey1234 · 14/09/2013 16:42

Impressive mother!! are you mad

Currently half a bottle a glass of wine down at the airport waiting to fly to France I love expressing . So far it's all gone very smoothly and Miles has behaved impeccably. Hope he hasn't used up all his good behaviour Pre-flight...

janey1234 · 14/09/2013 16:44

Oh and agree cavort. Keep being so weirdly proud of Miles when he does new things, then get all sad that he isn't quite the hopeless newborn we first met. Time is going so fast Hmm

MotherOfCleo · 14/09/2013 17:34

janey yes I think maybe I am Grin

Hope you have an amazing time!! Enjoy. p.s have some booze for me! Wink

Alexandra6 · 14/09/2013 18:03

So jealous of the wine and the clean house!! I am sober and living on a building site help! Grin

MotherOfCleo · 14/09/2013 18:25

Id love to know what this kid is doing in their! He is laying in a way which is making the left side of my fanjo and top of my left leg really sore sorry for the over share. Its only when I move in certain ways but its giving me gip today ouchy Sad please move kiddo!!!

BelissimaLol · 15/09/2013 14:00

Thanks for the reviews cav. Have you decided which one you're getting? I know it's early but I didn't get to choose my pram so now I want to pick the best high chair I can afford!
Mother that is called nesting instinct! Means baby is coming soon apparently Grin

Cavort · 15/09/2013 21:33

I have put zero thought into it until you mentioned it Lol, but I suppose I should think about getting one as the weeks are flying by and she'll be starting on solids before we know it. I generally can't be bothered to research the different options and lazily buy whatever is top of Which?'s Best Buys unless it is ridiculously expensive in which case I buy the one with the highest score and a sensible price tag.

I think we should probably think about getting a playpen as well so we can stop kicking the poor old dog out every time we briefly leave the room. And a cot mobile. The buying never ends! Hmm, I might tender some of these out as Christmas present suggestions as, lets face it, at 5.5 months old she will have no idea what Christmas is so we might as well get some practical stuff, unlike next year when it will undoubtedly be a massive toy fest. Grin

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Cavort · 15/09/2013 22:16

6-18month Grobags are half price at Argos if anyone's interested. Not a huge selection but still who cares for £12.49 with free delivery. Smile

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janey1234 · 15/09/2013 22:30

Ooh thanks cavort! What tog do you think they'll need at six months - so winter time? Also good idea re Christmas presents.

Miles slept 10pm - 5.30, then 5.45-8.30 (all French time) last night. World record breaking sleep! Weirdly I feel exhausted tonight.... Very much enjoyed my lunch though as a non preggers lady (sorry) - oysters (9 of them Blush), pate, local goats cheese and blue cheese, and fizz. Heaven!

janey1234 · 15/09/2013 22:31

Ooh thanks cavort! What tog do you think they'll need at six months - so winter time? Also good idea re Christmas presents.

Miles slept 10pm - 5.30, then 5.45-8.30 (all French time) last night. World record breaking sleep! Weirdly I feel exhausted tonight.... Very much enjoyed my lunch though as a non preggers lady (sorry) - oysters (9 of them Blush), pate, local goats cheese and blue cheese, and fizz. Heaven!

Cavort · 15/09/2013 22:36

That sounds like heaven Janey - both the food and the sleep! Are you still doing a loose Gina Ford or is he doing that by himself? Elodie still rarely gets past 4 hours without a feed and just lately likes to get up for the day at 4.30am. Sad

I think 2.5 tog is the thickest one they do so takes the worry of choosing the correct one out of it!

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MotherOfCleo · 15/09/2013 23:51

janey yuck to the oysters, but yum yum yum to the pate, goats cheese an fizz!!!! God I miss pate! Please have extra for me!

Miles sounds like he loves his sleep. Can I have one like that please! Wink

janey1234 · 16/09/2013 07:41

Oh cavort that's shit. Miles went through a stage of feeding every 2-3 hours and getting up at 4 for the day - that was why I resorted to GF! And yes, we're still doing a loose version. Nap times sometimes change (depending on what we are doing) and he doesn't feed when she says he should.... But having a vague routine has completely changed his sleeping patterns. Could be coincidence but it changed the day we started trying it...

Cavort · 16/09/2013 08:33

Yesterday afternoon Elodie slept 2pm-7.30pm (very unusual) and then wouldn't sleep until 12.30am, which isn't that bad for my sleeping but she is usually down for the night by 7-8pm so any semblance of a small routine went out of the window. She then slept until 5.45am, went straight off again and has just woken up so not too bad but definitely not a routine!

Hope you are enjoying your holiday! Envy

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HazleNutt · 16/09/2013 09:12

cavort might be the weather, was the same here. Victor usually is down for the night around 8-9, but was up til midnight yesterday.

We put out playpen together yesterday and have 2 mobiles, 1 for cot and 1 for pen. Vic absolutely loves them, can stare for ages and chat to the toys.

Saw 2 other babies from the antenatal group, amazing how different your experience can be. The boy was just like Vic, quiet and smiley, happy to play by himself for a while. But a girl cannot be put down, literally, or she will scream. Parents said that since birth, she needs to be carried all the time and won't nap for more than 10 min unless sleeping on mum. They're not planning a second one.

Cavort · 16/09/2013 09:55

Hmm, that's interesting Hazle as our babies are nearly the same age (by due date) and The Wonder Weeks says they should both be going through their third leap now which will result in a fussy phase. I wouldn't usually buy into that kind of thing but (for Elodie) their predictions have been scarily accurate so far. Also concerning is that, according to them, this fussiness will last for about a week, but the next fussy phase will start at 14.5 weeks and will last for 5 weeks. 5 WEEKS!! Sad

Yes I think having a truly velcro baby must be the best kind of contraception, how awful for them. Elodie has been through clingy phases but generally speaking she is happy to be put down and I have never had to bring her into bed except for feeding.

I had a brief look at cot mobiles and I am Shock at the price of some of them!

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Cavort · 16/09/2013 10:40

OMG and to think we are deliberating over the prospect of 2!

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MotherOfCleo · 16/09/2013 10:56

Crazy isn't it cav!!!!

Have to say articles like this piss me off! It's like we should apologise for having a child in a stable relationship, where both partners have good jobs and where we can afford to give our children the things and lifestyles we want.

I mean don't get me wrong me and my OH are far from rich but we own our house well have a mortgage on it and car, we can afford to buy the things we want and we won't have to go on heaps of benefits to pay for things. Sorry but how is that a bad thing? But no they always harp on about how you should have kids in your 20s, I feel so much more settled and sure of myself now than I did in my 20s, surely that is a good thing. Plus I'm far less selfish. Grrrr they bug me. Sorry rant over.

MotherOfCleo · 16/09/2013 11:11

Saying that I discovered, after getting to work, that I have a hole in the sole of my shoe......doh. Think I've got all the wear out of them that I'm going to get. Blush

Cavort · 16/09/2013 11:28

Wow Mother, was that article next to one titled 'Bear shits in woods?' Of course biologically-speaking we should have babies earlier, but until jobs in your 20's become better paid, or the cost of housing and childcare drop substantially then most couples will obviously have to leave it later before it becomes an option unless you are one of the millions of the feckless benefits scroungers who are financially rewarded for having more kids. Derr! Change the record! Grin

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MotherOfCleo · 16/09/2013 13:37

haha, yes cav I believe that as exactly the article it was next to Wink. I know, why do they keep writing the same old crap huh? Why not give us a break? The way they write. it makes it sound like we need to dust off our wombs or something. Bleedin' cheek!