November 2014 Thread 3- Counting towards the second trimester!

[barmybunting]

Hi everyone,

A new thread for us chatty bunch due in November. Could someone repost the stats? I'm on my phone so can't do it. Thank you!

just caught up - hooray for lovely scan news! mine is in just under 13hours. argh excited and nervous!!

The buggies where the car seats clip on top of the pushchair seat are called Travel Systems. You shouldn't really have the baby in the car seat all the time (I was told two hours a day) but they are fine for the school run or a quick trip around the shops. You can also get ones where the seat comes off the chassis and you can clip a carrycot or car seat directly on to the chassis.

With DS we had a Silver Cross Sleepover with linear chassis which MIL bought for us. It was fab for walking around our village or squeezing into our tiny car to take to the shopping centre. If it was a quick trip I'd just take the chassis, car seat and sling, or a bigtrip we'd get the carry cot in the car as well. It was not good for getting around on London transport which I had to do often, so ended up getting a Silver Cross Pop as well. The sleepover converted from pram cot to buggy but I thought it looked ugly in this configuration so started using the Pop full time once DS started taking more interest in things other than me.

SIL used it for her eldest. Hopefully the moths haven't got it and we can use it again for this one. I might get a more hardcore buggy when the time comes for the school run. Msybe a Baby City Jogger thingie?

Random, thank you! I have just gone away and read more and come back with more questions, your post has answered some of them already :). DH and I went to look at prams about two weeks ago and got so confused we left it!

Those of you who already have DCs, is it worth buying a travel system with the car seat that can click in or is it a waste? We live in the middle of nowhere so a lot of driving.
I am thinking along the lines of what you said Random, if baby can't be in the car seat for very long anyway, easier to transfer them out into the pram or sling than buy a car seat that clicks into the pram.

Also, I have noticed tiny babies in pushchairs recently without a carrycot option and they petrify me, as they just seem to hang there rather even though the pushchair looks like it's been reclined as they can't hold themselves up when so small. I am thinking it's a better option which has a carrycot which can clip in for early months, particularly to be more wrapped up for our November babies. Am I thinking along the wrong lines here though / missing something about the way a pushchair works which can recline without a carrycot?

evening all - fab to here all the wrigglng at the scans!

fab news...

Do we have a set of twins yet on this thread?

They didnt give out the nuchal measurement at our scan - now totally paranoid that there was something up that they didnt want to tell me. I am not sure when we will hear from them on that so getting v nervous. Due to age - my risk is around 1:70 so impatiently waiting for letter to arrive!
Also - the private hospital we were booked at for next week for full scan and tests have had to cancel my appt and only available one puts me outside time range for doing it. gutted.

Looks like we will be going for amnio now instead which not that happy about but as full screening out looks like diagnostic only way to go. Is anyone else having amnio / CVS??

From what I've learnt today, some pushchairs are sturdier than others i.e. When flat look more like bed-type things. I believe some have higher sides, for instance. And you can get footmuffs which make it snuggly like a sleeping bag. Whereas some seem rather flimsy.

But they don't have a hard bottom as far as i know, whereas a carrycot does. A carrycot is basically a Moses basket. So you can use it for downstairs naps when very small. Of course in a flat the actual Moses basket/cot would be right there anyway, so it might not be needed for that. But my upstairs is miles away from my kitchen, so it'd be handy for me. Also when visiting family/in laws.

I suspect that I'd use the carrycot out and about for 0-4 months (seems rare to get longer out of them as baby gets too nosy & wants to sit up) and that'll get me through the bitter winter, and then will switch to the pushchair afterwards.

I doubt I'll use the carseat for anything other than Tesco, tbh. And it seems more practical then to pop the carseat in the trolley so I dunno if I'll ever need it to clip to the pram. But you never know.

Personally I liked the carry cot because I liked that she could stretch out completely flat, I wasn't worried about her sliding out because I didn't like the thought of her being in a chair being held in by a strap on her crotch and the seats didn't go totally flat with the leg rest coming up level too (though they seem to have improved a bit since then) and I liked that it was easy to stick her in when she needed a nap or to use when we travelled up north to visit family. I also liked that the carry cot faced me rather than facing outwards, though some pushchairs can face you too.

If DD fell asleep in the car seat when driving somewhere, if it was somewhere where we'd be inside like visiting a friend, or she fell asleep on the way home, I'd take the whole seat out and take her indoors in the seat and just leave it on the floor till she woke up. If it was somewhere I'd take the pram out like a shopping centre I'd transfer her to the pram. Usually she'd sleep through being transferred but even if she woke up she'd be off again before long with the motion of the pram.

I did like the Isofix seats though - it does have added peace of mind and you know it is definitely fitted in securely. Without the Isofix it always felt a little wobbly and insecure. I have the Maxi Cosy Cabriofix but I don't have the base for it anymore so need to get a new one.

Annarose re Tesco they have trolleys with baby seats in them. DD used to love being in those, though they weren't the softest or cleanest things in the world so I'd pad it up with a bankie.

Blankie. Grrr why can't we edit!! I look like a moron who can't spell in most of my posts (I can - it's typing I get twisted up with! Fingers which move faster than my brain!)

Weeonion how frustrating for you!! Is there anywhere else locally that you can get the scan done?
I've had CVS before (last pregnancy) and it's not so bad. Very odd sensation, but not painful IYSWIM.
Hope you can get a satisfactory answer!

But Random how do you transfer baby from carpark to trolley? Just in your arms? The trollies int he car park are always all wet, so it'd have to be the ones inside the door.

Sorry, can't get the logistics in my brain!

If DH was here he'd say I farted out my brain along with the 10 gallons of methane I've been producing lately. I am TOXIC! He came upstairs to the bedroom a while ago to see if I needed tea, turned green and muttered something about having to buy some scented candles.

Lovely scan photos!

chirpchirp really sorry to hear you've been so sick, that's so tough. Hope you get some meds soon and they do the trick.

itsjustthursday I totally have my head in the sand re. school admissions We're in Ireland so different system but we haven't done anything yet about it, really need to get our asses into gear.

I like the carrycot too. We have the Uppababy Vista and the carrycot that comes with that is suitable for all-night sleeping. So DD slept in that for the first almost 6 months. I took her out for long daily walks when she was tiny and she always slept well with the motion. It looked really comfy! Plus, at times we did resort to rocking her to sleep for the night in the pram, and after night feedings, rocking her back to sleep. It didn't always work but sometimes it did!

We did use the carseat on the chassis quite a bit for the first 3-4 months also; sometimes I was just so sleep-deprived that it was just handy to do a quick transfer from the car to the shops/wherever without the risk of waking her, and the basket underneath the Vista is so big that it comfortably fit all groceries so no need for a trolley. We've been very happy with it, but it is a lot of money (it was a gift from my parents, and they also got a good discount on it) and it's not good for inner city life, better if you're living rurally.

Hi Nessalina - thanks for getting back to me.

DP and I are now online seeing if there is anywhere else in Scotland we can get the CUBS or Harmony tests. Feeling very despondent and low about it all tonight.

With DD - we spent so much money on a travel system and tbh never really used it so a bit of a waste. She was baby carried for most of it. We had an isofix car seat but rarely used car as lucky to have excellent public transport. Will be using car seat more this time as we ferry DD to a multitude of classes / groups which this baby, if we ever make i that far, will have to go along with so watching all buggy/ car seat talk I will have to reclaim all my slings an wraps which have been on loan for past 4 years - they were my indulgence!

Having a rotten day and come on here for a self-indulgent vent. Had a work catastrophe this morning and it's been downhill from there. The cats brought in a rat the size of a small rabbit yesterday and DP wants to rehome them before mini arrives :( They're not allowed in the house without us anyway (they live inside but only in one room where they have access to outdoors and their cat tree / toys / food etc) so I don't think there would be a risk.

I haven't found a good moment to tell work because the person I need to tell thinks I'm an idiot (see work catastrophe this morning - even though it wasn't my fault!), I've got a metric fuckton of paperwork to plough through and I'm too tired to do it, I've got a volunteer thing that I need to leave even though it's amazing fun and I love it, and I generally feel utterly useless and I'm doubting a) whether I will be semi-competent as a parent and b) whether this was a good idea in the first place.

Someone slap me, please. I am just so, so tired, and it's making every minor issue seem like a nuclear disaster.

possy - i wont give you a slap but have this instead

Annarose I didn't like putting the car seat in the trolley because it took up so much room there was no space for the food (especially if it's a cat litter & loo roll shop!!) and because the car seat bases are quite curved so rock about a lot and didn't feel that stable. The seats made it a bit easier because she was strapped in firmly, I had the full space in the trolley & she thought it was a great adventure. It was a bit of a faff getting her in at first - do you leave her in the car while you go get the trolley & bring it back, prepare it (wipe and dry if necessary, get the blanket sorted then put her in, hand your bag on the handles, lock the car & go, all possibly in the rain, or do you get her, the bag, blanket etc out of the car, carry them to the trolley & then try to dry, wipe, pad, strap, hang bag at the trolley park with a row of waiting mothers behind you?? The anser is (a) but it freaks you out the first few times you realise you are leaving your baby in the car, even if it's locked and you're only 20' away!! ) But once she's in you're off and it's much easier.

posy have a slap and a hug for good measure!

Onion could you see the measurements on the screen? I'd have thought they'd have told you if It measured big, you will get a letter in 10 days time with blood results.

I'm not sure whether to get a pushchair with a pram, a car seat or both, I don't have a car but the car seat is smaller to get on buses with and would be good when I get lifts off people. But prams look nicer :p

Aw posy have some

I need my car seat, probably more than I need a pushchair if I'm honest living in the middle of nowhere with no public transport on my own with my family 250 miles away (I planned this really well!! ). There is literally NOTHING in walking distance apart from fields, woods, ponds and cows. If I want a pint of milk, or to get to even the closest nursery, school or babygroup, it has to be by car. If I want to get to a decent shop, school, nursery or babygroup it's a minimum 20 minute drive. And if I then want to avoid extortionate parking charges it is another 20 minute walk from my friend's house in to town. Fun. Which means unless I get a new car (and I LOVE my car! sob!) I have to get a baby in & out of a rear facing car seat in the back of a 2 door convertible at least twice a day... Why did I sell my nice sensible family type people carrier for a flashy poser early mid life crisis car??? But it's so pretty!

can you put baby in the front and dd in the back?

Oh posy!

I have to say, I think there's nothing quite like a work catastrophe to make a grown woman feel utterly utterly shit. Any time that's happened to me (it's happened plenty) I get in such a funk about it. Don't worry about telling yet re. the pregnancy. Absolutely no rush. I bet you anything that this time next week neither you nor the other people in question will be thinking about whatever happened.

Have a bath and read a book

DD is no problem, she's out of all seats now and can get in & out of the back no problem whether there's a baby there or not, I'd just rather the baby be in the back too but I've got visions of taking the roof off every time I want to get the baby in the back as it'll be easier!!! Lol!

Might go look at some sensible family cars next week. I thought my baby days were over & DD was my lot when I bought it!!

Hi Alita I couldnt see the measurements on screen. Was trying to scrutinise sonographer's face but she had a bit of a poker one going on. i didnt realise they gave out results / measurements at that time - maybe just not a policy at our hospital? It was a week ago but they said with easter hols would be 2 + weeks.

trying not to take it all as a bad sign and to top it all - DP has lost / misplaced scan pics......

My sonographer put all the measurements and details in my big yellow notes folder - have you checked if there's anything on that? The nuchal scan alone doesn't necessarily tell you much, it's when it's combined with bloods, bmi, history, etc etc. This little one had a measurement of 1.7 & that combined with everything else took my risk from 1 in 244 to 1 in nearly 5000.

so the magic 12 weeks is not stopping the nausea - feel like absolute shite!

hi random - nothing noted in my antenatal / postnatal book. The scans and printouts all went into seperate envelope handed into unit. jeez - i am getting more paranoid!!

Found somewhere else that can do CUBS/ Harmony it but it seems they cant see me for 2 weeks, by which stage i will be 15.5 weeks so too late for nuchal / nasal bone measurements. I am guessing though that they could access my measurements from NHS? Blood test results then a further 2 weeks so would be 17.5 by that time. it panics me as getting very late to be making decisions about how / if we proceed with pg.

Arghhhh

Glad your results were good and reassuring.

Barmy - I found being able to put the car seat on the pram chassis invaluable, as it was easier to just put the chassis in the boot rather than squeeze the carrycot in as well. DS was a bad sleeper and a ride in the car would send him to sleep, so I wasn't going to wake him for no reason when there was shopping to do.

This time I'm thinking the car seat and chassis will be great for the school run and after school clubs.

I wouldn't want to put a newborn in a buggy every day, even if it does lie flat, but for occasional use they are fine. E.g grandparents, holiday, public transport. We're flying long haul when the bump will be 4 months (getting ahead of myself) and we'll use our silver cross pop and slings.

Secondhand prams are worth looking at.