February 2014 - all our bags are packed, we're ready to go...

[sunflowered]

Well... we're getting there at least, and definitely ready to meet the first thread baby!

Sorry you're having a crappy day Julie. Prams are such a nightmare aren't they! We've gone for the baby jogger city select which is supposed to be good for lots of different terrains and seems really sturdy. Don't know much about other types tho as we just fell in love with that one. I can't remember the name of it but there's a website with loads of buggy reviews and comparisons etc - might be worth a look

I think this was it

julie as far as I can tell, your LO should be laid flat in a pram-style seat on the main buggy chassis until they can support their heads, eg around 6 months, so it will be bumpy, but not damaging.

Thanks Misskat, will check it out! I've been using the Which site so far, which is decent but lacking in user reviews.

Gnitting Yep. I've also read that you shouldn't jog with a newborn (if your pram allows that) because of the jarring? Not that I'm planning to jog, um, ever!

There's also: Will I have another kid and require a double buggy? To consider. But that's a bit beyond me atm!

champagne we've gone for the oyster too (but oyster max for added flexibility). It's still in its box at the moment though so no comments on what it's actually like yet...

littleen this is our first baby but also had a few housework related wobbles with dh recently - he does nothing for 2 weeks then has a tantrum and demands that we get a cleaner (which we can't really afford at the moment). He's said he doesn't mind doing it, he just needs to be told what to do ( ) - while I'd love him to just get on and do stuff as it's needed, am considering a tick list for when the baby's born so that it doesn't cause any arguments... Sounds like a good idea to be conscious about making time to spend together - it's so easy just to collapse on the sofa with smartphone and mn ahem and ignore each other, and that's without a baby to think about.

Dh and I have both had minor 'what are we letting ourselves in for' meltdowns in the last few weeks. He's worried about the added responsibility taking over his life and changing all the bits he likes, I'm worried about how I'll get into a baby-focused life on mat leave then struggle to get back to work this time next year. We both have to make changes and work things out as we go along, but these last few weeks while we're waiting to start that process could be quite unsettled I think.

In other news, shamelessly used bump to avoid the queue for the airport shuttle bus this morning Got home to find roof still leaking and builder 'a bit stuck' on what's causing it And an unexpected veg box delivery sitting on the doorstep when we got home (think disintegrated cardboard box, muddy vegetables starting to rot, eggs sitting out in the rain for who knows how long...) that needed to be dealt with in the rain. Back to the real world. Glass of would be nice this afternoon!

NHS class was actually really good - was my actual midwife who led it, rather than the health visitors who did last one.

julietee we have gone for silver cross surf all terrain! which comes with the ability to have 4 wheels or 3 air wheel as standard. Loved the look of it, not too big but can be used to jog with but also used easily in shops etc. not arrived yet, so don't actually know what it's like but fingers crossed!

Champagne Thanks! Air filled tyres (just blanked on that word for at least a minute) sound good.

Sunflowered Eww! Did you pay for that or find it randomly?
We find trash in our drive all the time, it makes me angry.

cubano glad the class was better! I asked my mw about our nhs ones and she basically told me not to bother as I'm doing nct. Thought that was a bit strange tho, may ask again.

litleen am sure everything will be ok once the LO arrives and your OH sees the support you need. But you should try and raise it with him - or do you have any form of antenatal classes coming up as they may help

amazing productive morning misskat!

misskat what a busy morning you've had! Hope you are sat with a cuppa and feet up now.

cubano glad your class went well. Our first NCT session is on weds night and I can't wait.

We were very fortunate and given cash by DHs family instead of gifts for Xmas, plus got a few amazon vouchers off my auntie so this morning DH and I sat and ordered our bespoke cot mattress, baby monitor, baby bath and a cute cot mobile which has a projector to beam stars on the ceiling. Spent what felt like a fortune but it was all within the cash we received thank god!

julietee looks like I paid for it - emailed to cancel deliveries until next week but they seem to have forgotten... It's a local farmer's business so feel bad but they've made so many little mistakes recently that I might change to one of the bigger companies or tesco where you don't have to wash the slugs off the veg yourself

jazz your shopping spree sounds like a great way to spend a rainy saturday

Dh asleep on the sofa with a serious case of post-xmas blues. Think all the talk about babies while we were staying with his family has made him realise for the first time how far away they are. He needs the man version of and but what he has instead is a leaking roof to sort out and a 6 hr nct class tomorrow

Cubano glad you had a good class. I wasn't planning on taking NHS ones as I heard they weren't as good as NCT but having now done NCT I'm sort of wishing I had done the NHS ones too.
Apparently my yoga teacher runs the relaxation during labour class which, knowing her, would be amazing.

Sunflowered that has happened to me so many times (veg box), eggs are always fine but the veg is good for nothing except soup, and then I realise I've spent £12 on a pan of soup, which is depressing. Sorry you're still having roof nightmares too. :(

Julietee based purely on having seen my friend's Uppababy, it seems similar in quite a few ways to the icandy apple (which I've got) though the apple is apparently good for off roading. The tyres are huge anyway. But I'm not one to take advice from on prams, I absolutely hated trying to choose one and just went for the first one that looked like a good deal on gumtree so I didn't have to think about it any more.
Can sympathise re your DH - mine is the same at the moment, but I can't pester him because he's working so hard (has spent all day today in bed, but working!!). All the same I end up feeling a bit cooped up. Really hope that when baby arrives we manage to get out at least once a day.

I think I've now got everything for baby bar car seats. Used that babymattress website to get a cot mattress plus sheets for cot, Arms Reach and pram carrycot. Still need a few things for me, but that's a lot less important!

On a sad note, the extra Christmas cake I baked to eat for energy during breastfeeding has now been entirely consumed :(

Happy Saturday!

I have the Oyster from DD and it did the job for us - we're using it all again. I have a friend who bought a new car so her big pram would fit in which seems like the wrong way round to me .

I went to the hairdresser today [swish emoticon] and now have darker brown shiny hair instead of faded blonde ratty highlights!

Then went to the supermarket and bought a breast pump, starter packs of nappies, maternity and breast pads etc. So now I have most things for a hospital bag! I say bag, it will be a wheely suitcase plus changing bag. Really need to find our steriliser from last time - I know I didn't throw it out!

I get quite a lot of Braxton Hix (MIL called them Branston Hix ) but still think baby isn't head down. Maybe he just has a large bum.

34+2!

sunflowered veg box sounds a bit of a hassle! Huff! So I'm not the only one with housework issues, my other half says I must ask for help, then moans quite a bit when I do, so I end up feeling bad and apologizing! So pointless. Bump as excuse for anything is good, we deserve it :P Hope your roof gets sorted soon!

Cubano Also got silvercross, though can't remember which model. It looks pretty! :P

winter Thank you, I do hope my worries are for nothing! My local council decided that there's no room for classes in the budget. So much for being "one of the richest countries blabla" eh -.-

Argh..my dh used to do the 'tell me what to do' / 'you need to ask for help' shite. I refused. I will not have all the responsibility for saying and organising what needs doing, by who and when. Sod that for a game of soldiers.

We're still not perfect but after a bit of "why have you just shoved those plates in the sink? wash them up as you go along"..."don't walk past all the crap on the stairs...take some up with you" style coaching he is a lot better at 'seeing' what stuff needs doing himself.

Do we need sheets for pram? I have a baby nest for it...

Don't know what a baby nest is but we have sheets for the carrycot in our pram (babystyle oyster). The mattress in the carrycot is pretty much exactly the same size as that in the moses basket so we can use them interchangeably.

I got sheets for the pram because I'm not getting a moses basket so think the carrycot will be used for quite a lot of napping. Plus it'll be what I take to ILs for baby to sleep in overnight. But the woman I bought it from said she never bothered as she only used it for wheeling the baby about.

Are many people getting Moses baskets and if so what ones? Totally didn't remember from last time what a range of styles and prices there are:/ had a look at the stokke day bed but not sure it's worth the price:/ and so does "daybed" mean not suitable for nighttime sleeping? Really all I need is replacement covers for the whole basket because I already have 3 but just can't find any that look decent!

Hmm hadn't even contemplated buying sheets for the carry cot. We have a moses basket for indoors so guess could use one of the spare sheets for that if we ever use the carry cot for sleeping in on occasional visits elsewhere.

Have any of your families mentioned getting a cot specifically for their house? Am starting to think both mine and DH's parents are a bit loopy... both live a minimum of 2.5hrs drive away and both are in the throws of kitting out a spare room as a nursery, complete with cot. If we lived in the same town I could kinda understand it, but we will probably only go visit one or the other family once a month so travel cot would surely suffice? Or am I stifling the excitement they are all going through as its the first grandchild for all of them? I just think it's a bit strange!

My DM also wanted her own moses basket but I managed to persuade her that given bean will outgrow it in a matter of a month or two (during which I may only be able to visit once or twice), that was a total waste of money.

Gah I have the "tell me what to do" - does my head in! We now have blackboard in the hallway and I write down the weeks tasks and its up to dh to pick up his fair share.

I have sheets for my carry cot - ds was a v sicky baby so much easier to clean up!

Also I don't understand "not suitable for over night sleeping"? Newborns tend to be awake to feed every 2 hours day and night anyway so night sleep is no more than day time sleep in the early months