February 2014. The cake mix is in the mug, the microwave is on, it's slowly rising and we'll be pinging in three more months!

[Shropshiremummy2B]

Sadly my cake mix is rising too much and resulting in a serious muffin top.

Me and DH signed up to Which? the other day - looks like they have recommendations and reviews on lots of baby stuff. Which is good as we're clueless, and deafening silence from my aunt and uncle with most recent babies rather points to us having to buy big stuff rather than getting hand-me-downs. Bah.

Julietee what sort of purchases are you researching at the moment? I'm sure between us we can help you get closer to making decisions!

That silence is always grating, its worse when people say afterwards "oh you only had to ask", grrr. --

Don't forget nearly new sales/shop, gumtree etc for cribs/cots/carriers as well as for clothes, as long as you buy a new mattress the physical framework ought to be ok.

I am madly trying to arrange to get back everything we have lent people including crib before Xmas so we are prepared in the new year. Then I can do some proper shopping.

LovestoBake I guess the big ones - crib/cot, pushchair and car chair. But honestly we haven't started to research properly yet!

CamWombat They're giving us the family moses basket which is kind of a tradition, so they definitely know we're in the market!

Julietee, great that you've got a hand me down Moses basket sorted - most other things aren't crucial right at the beginning anyway. You'll just need a couple of sheets for it (single pillowcases are exactly the right size I found, if you have an abundance) and a couple of blankets. I remember being overwhelmed by car seats/pram systems when preparing for DS. If it's any help, I asked a few friends and every single one recommended the Maxi Cosi Cabriofix car seat with the isofix base so we saved ourselves a lot of research and just went straight for that one. It was fantastic and lasted DS until he was about 9 months although he was a massive chunk and plenty of babies are still in them at 12 months or more.

Prams/travel systems are definitely a bit more about personal choice/requirements/budget I guess but we bought our first one on eBay - lots of good deals to be had second hand.

Car seat was one of the ones I was really stuck on - just can't get excited about researching car seats! So, thanks LovesToBake - will go with that!

People with two cars - did you get two car seats? Or can you just get one seat and two bases?

Am still waiting for my perfect pram to rock up on gumtree, but also can't get at all excited about prams, so probably won't actually bother buying one until baby arrives...

Marzipanned - glad to be of help. I felt exactly the same about cr seats - it's just a functional purchase, you can't really get excited about them! If you have two cars (we don't) I would have thought one car seat would be fine as you usually end up carrying a sleeping baby back into the house/supermarket/wherever in the car seat because it's so easy and makes them very portable while sleeping. Plus it's nice to load them up into their car seat in the nice warm house (especially at that time of year) and get them cosy under blankets before you transport to the car. The bases are quite expensive and while I would say for your main car they're worth their weight in gold for ease of clipping the seat straight in and out, you can also fix it into a car by just using a seatbelt so you could always do that for the car you will be putting the baby in less often? Btw I found halfords great for car seats - good online price matching and they will come and fit it into your car if you want.

Oh my goodness, how does our new thread only started this week already have over 300 messages? No wonder I can't keep up!

Well, I have just received a huge box of absolutely gorgeous baby girl clothes from a friend (and she says she has another box where that came from!) Spent a happy hour or two this morning sorting them into age group piles and oohing and ahhing at them all. Mostly super cute stuff from Next and Baby Gap.

It got me in a baby clothes sorting mood so I went up to the loft today in search of a huge vacuum bag full of newborn/0-3 month clothes in neutral colours. Took me flipping ages to find, but I found it eventually. However, the downside is that I discovered that the bag had been nibbled and we evidently have rodents up there somewhere . All the beautiful white and cream baby clothes are stained I have put some of them in a hot wash with loads of vanish to see if they can be salvaged. Otherwise, sadly, a load of beautiful baby clothes (and I have absolutely bin bags full of them up there are going to end up at a textile recycling bank

Up in the loft I also found a bag I didn't know I had containing a Medela Swing breast pump complete with instructions, and a bunch of maternity tights and Spanx maternity support leggings. This should help a bit with my SPD, which has got noticeably worse over the past week or two since I last posted. I've also had quite a few people look at me in alarm when I tell them I still have 4 months to go! My bump is massive and as I am under 5ft, there's nowhere for the bump to hide - I look like I've swallowed a space hopper!

LovesToBake you are a star! Halfords it is then!!

SugarMice how lovely of your friend - so sad that your old baby clothes might be ruined though :( Fingers crossed.

In other, very exciting, news, our nursery has a floor! I also fell in love with the house we went to see today but it is almost twice as much rent as our current place, it can't be justified, can it? Please say yes

My little one will have 8 older cousins so we've been given a load of stuff that our siblings wanted to offload... Moses basket, carseat, baby bath, a beanbag and baby chair... and random stuff like a travel cot, stairgates and highchair that we won't need for ages. Also 2 binbags full of clothes.

We've got lots and lots of work to do on the house though before getting the baby's room sorted, so I haven't given any thought at all to any of the other stuff I'll need. I guess that's what Maternity Leave is for? I don't plan to think about it until Christmas. My mum has offered some money for a pram but it just doesn't seem like an exciting thing to spend lots of time thinking about to me...

Off on holiday to the Isle of Eigg now though - that is exciting! Must pack - leaving soon!

Awww sugarmice that's such a shame about the clothes. If they don't come out perfect but are okay could you maybe dye them bright colours? Just a thought.

Yaaaaaaay it's half term!!! I am sooo happy to be on holiday. I've just had a Pepsi max (naughty caffeine hit) and am hoping it will give me super energy to do house tidying! It's such a mess and our fluffy cat has just left fur all over everything this week as she's moulting. She's currently reclining in her back on the carpet so I'm gonna try and attack her with a brush!

Bollocks I've just remembered I was gonna go and look for the Bavarian beer mentioned on my way home but totally forgot. Must do tomorrow!!!

Car seat wise were also going for the maxi cosi cabriofix and isofix base. It goes on most pram systems with adapter things so just seems an easy option. The recaro one looked good too as it can extend but maxi cosi one felt lighter, which is what mums I know say is the most important factor as when baby is in they can end up weighing a tonne!

Just realised am due four calendar months today! Amazingness :)

My train has broken down. It's Friday night and I want to go home!!!

I'm definitely lagging behind on the shopping front... Clueless first timer question though - is it ok to put babies into cots from birth rather than a moses basket or crib for a few months first? We've got the space in our bedroom for a cot so had been planning on just using that.

marzipanned you only need one of the first size car sear as you will usually take the seat in and out. When they move into the second size (9 months ish ) it's worth having one in each car as they are much less portable and you can't lift the baby out in it.

sunflowered no reason why you can't use a cot straight away but a moses basket is more portable for bringing down stairs in the day etc. You also might think a cot is a big space for a tiny baby. You can put your basket inside the cot at night so you are not taking up anymore floor space and the baby gets used to the cot.

Thanks LovestoBake :)
I feel rough.
Debating with myself whether to spend money on this t shirt for halloween:
www.spreadshirt.co.uk/maternity-skeleton-ribcage-C4408A25624059#/detail/25624059T377A2PC129340997PA569X46Y35PC129340998PA569X37Y291

you can use a cot straight off but it is a big space for a little baby. You can buy something to make the cot smaller (like a divider) and could increase size as baby gets bigger.
You also need to remember the feet to foot saying. People use Moses baskets as they are more portable, we used the prams carrycot and a fully reclinable bouncer for daytime naps, and a crib at night.

I love it Julietee!

I don't think it will arrive in time, but I kind of want it anyway :)

Awww winter that's ace can't believe how quickly the time is flying.

Sunflowered I hope you manage to get home soon! Cot wise - a lady I know really recommends these sleepy things which can go in a cot or wherever which might be an option if you wanted to go for cot straight away but wanted baby to be a bit more snug. I wasn't bothered about a Moses basket either but luckily found a super cheap one on eBay so thought "May as well". Might be worth a look if you're not that sure if you want to bother. I know people say they are really good for having downstairs in the day so that's probably what well use ours for.

Julietee that top is so cute!

Phew I've managed to get my house looking a bit more presentable but am now knackered from tidying and have no idea what to do for food I can't be arsed making something and am kinda just sitting here hoping food will magically appear infront of me if I just wait long enough!

julietee that top is great!

my friend had a little baby girl this morning she's over in Australia so I don't know when I'll get to meet her but she looks adorable! Over 10lbs though, ouch!

Just left work. I've only written half the application form for the promotion, and the deadline closes today. I really don't know if I can be arsed to do the rest all I can think about is the soreness of my ribs.

ooh, and DH accepted the teaching job today! We were really undecided as the school is going into special measures, but it'll mean he's employed (Yay) and the contract is only 120 working days which should be manageable if the school has an awful atmosphere.

Vix here (will keep reminding for next few posts )

Thanks for the well wishes poppy. The entire saga is a total nightmare. I've now been told I am unwelcome at my sisters funeral next Thursday. (By her mum who is my dad's ex-wife). They had a disagreement which was absolutely nothing to do with me, and she just declared that none of us are welcome. Its a 4 hour journey to where the funeral is so a major trip to make for a fight

It's been such a terribly traumatic time, I'm within my rights to go obviously but I refuse to put me or the baby through any more of this trauma. Earlier this week I had very high blood pressure and had to get checked out. So I'm saying goodbye in my own way and they can just get on with it. (Putting it politely)

Anyway, I'm officially in the 3rd trimester at 27+4 aren't i?! According to both apps I am anyway. To celebrate I have hemherroids (sp). Had them with DS but these ones are worse and I know they get so much worse during birth

Hope everyone is ok.

Oh vix, how awful of your sister's mum to make things even more terrible than they already were. I'm keeping you in my thoughts, look after yourself. x

lastnight what an awful shame, as if the situation wasn't bad enough. Thinking of you, try to take it easy and, yes, look after you and that little one xx

misskat did you manage to get an Arms Reach on Ebay that could be delivered? I had a look earlier but they were all pick up only.

Eeyore good for your DH. I hope you two are celebrating tonight.

Last night - you're making the right decision. Your Dad's ex wife sounds like a complete bitch and you need to put yourself and baby first. Take care x