November 2014- Thread 6- Pink, blue or yellow? 20 week scans coming up for the rainbow collective

[Alita7]

Wow this makes me feel so far along! Nearly halfway!

I have no idea what they need, I'm always cold and even on this hot day I'm sat on the sofa with a cuddly blanket as I like the comfort!

Already mentioned this on the the facebook group but went to Kiddiecare today and got completely overwhelmed. I just can't believe how much there can be to buy for such a tiny little person and it really threw me. I'd been going in to a small mothercare and mamas and papas in meadowhall and it all looked much more manageable in the small shops.

Anyway my hormones took over and I had a full on break down flopped over my DP sobbing that I'm not ready and I'm going to be a terrible mum as I didn't know which baby bath to choose out of the 50 million on offer. I'm not keen on kiddiecare anymore and don't want to revisit any time soon, it's far too much. DP has said he won't let me go on my own again so hopefully he will bring some sensibleness to the whole shopping process next time!

We have just been watching something called "raising sextuplets." Thank goodness we are only expecting one, I have no idea how they cope!

amylou I bought Pregnancy for Men (brilliantly practical book, btw) and he said "a baby bath is basically a bit of plastic for putting water in - get the cheapest one".

I have become obsessed with the idea of swaddling. I read hundreds of reviews on Amazon for the Miracle Baby swaddle (the one where their arms are pinned in so they can't waken themselves by whacking themselves in the face) and am now CONVINCED that its gonna be The Greatest Thing Ever, and my baby will sleep through at 3 months blah blah blah.

Everyone is telling me to buy Gro Bags and I just think "Pfffft! You didn't read about the Swaddle!"

Like I'm such an expert, lol.

Amy I hope you're ok! It can be overwhelming but Google a list of what baby needs or ask for one in mamas and papas and start there.

Your baby doesn't need all the flashy expensive things - they survived without most things until very recently! Only get expensive things if you think they will make things easier for you!
A baby can be washed in a sink if need be so whatever bath you get he/she really couldn't care less! But a baby bath or a seat for in the bath might make it easier :) Big hugs!

Re baby bath I loved mine last time because I could bathe DD anywhere and used it as a little paddle pool in the heatwave! But get the cheapest possible. It was great visiting family who only had a shower, great for bathing in front of the open fire on cold nights or TV when I was having a slob day! and our usual routine was to bathe her in my en suite shower room instead of the main bathroom, sing songs while she was in the bath, she could splash as much as she liked being in the enclosed shower and then straight into my room for bed rather than past the bright exciting lounge with all the toys in our old flat. This time I want it because I have a huge super deep roll top bath which will break my back and knees on the hard terracotta floor tiles and a very shallow funny shaped sink which won't be big enough and fixed big taps which I can't swivel out of the way.

Just catching up- find it hard to come on here during the week at work- will try harder! Had our 20 week scan on Friday and all looked fine- such a relief and was amazing seeing baby in such much detail. Managed to resist temptation and stayed team yellow though!

Good luck to anyone with scans coming up this week.

We had a tummy tub for dd - which she and we loved. Doesnt take up much space and easy to take with us when visiting other people. we were able to bathe her in living room til she was about 6 months and able to support herself and then had a suctionned bath seat which stuck to our own bath. I usually bathed with her at same time which was fab fun.

Ooooo I like the look of the tummy tub! So cute! Might have to get one of those!

amylou - you can usually pick them up really cheap on gumtree. We got the stand that goes with them - dd still uses it as a seat / stool in her room ow and we plan on using it again.

Is Nessalina lurking out there? I just saw your name on another thread and wondered where you'd got to, as you were such a frequent poster in the early days! I hope you're doing ok if you see this!

DS only liked being swaddled for a couple of weeks then wanted to be free. Swaddling was handy until he was big enough for a grow bag (he was prem).

Baby bath was only used a few times. Will probably use it more this time round though.

Well i Came to bed at 10pm. Got woken up at 11.30 pm and im still awake. Alarm will be going off in 4 and half hours :-( Dog #1 is dreaming, dog #2 is flapping its ears every 2 min, DS is talking in his sleep, DP snoring and now baby is awake and kicking. Gonna be a long day tomorrow!

Ladies, just wanted to lick your brains on hospitals. I'm currently registered at my local hospital which I have some concerns about, I'm also going to register at my local birth centre which is five mins walk from me but not in the Same building as my local hospital but ideally I want to go to a hospital at the end end of London, about half an hours drive without traffic ( which would be more like a two hr drive). I just want to be able to have the choice on the day I go into labour so if I do have time to get across london I can do otherwise I will give in and go to the local hospital or birth centre. Question is- is that possible? Can I be registered at two to three different places? How do I even go about doing that?

Thx

Pick your brains obviously!not lick!

hahahaha I'm going to use lick your brains instead of pick your brains from now on.
I can't add anything helpful here though - fairly sure you can be registered at 2 hospitals though as my work colleague has had to do so (she's moving counties around the due date)

Hayfever sufferers: I bought some stuff called happynose from boots that is herbal and works like a barrier cream. It smells lovely and seems to work quite well. I also bought a nasal douche, mainly for hilarity. I have to take my LOLs when I can get them now i can't get drunk

MrsStardust, I just choked on my water Feel free to lick pick my brain any day! I think you can register at two, but not sure if it is dependent on circumstance, like change of address, if you see what I mean? You might have to ask your MW.

RE baby baths, we're planning to do without. Baby can either bathe with one of us or in the sink for a reasonable length of time.

We had a BBQ at DP's parents house yesterday and DP's 10 month old nephew (the unfortunately named Dexter) was there. I stole him at feeding time and gave him his bottle and had a long snuggle while he went to sleep. He's absolutely covered in hideous eczema, poor mite, and had a flare up at the BBQ. He had to go and have a bath and get slathered in steroid cream and wear one of his daddy's old t-shirts which was loose and soft. All the itching and misery wore him out, he went out like a light while I was holding him. Gah, so incredibly broody!!

Winter, hope you managed to get back to sleep. I dogsat for my parents Saturday night and was woken by their foster dog whinging to go out at 5 on Sunday morning, then was up at 6 anyway to do dogs/sheep/horses/chickens before going to groom for someone at 9, so I feel your pain! Crossing fingers for you that today is an easy day.

MrsDJ, your 'friend' is clearly a self-absorbed lunatic. Avoid!

missmylin (and lady), I have a similar problem, though mine stems from a genetic fault in my SI joint. My joint fluid is too thin on the left side, which means the ball part of the joint occasionally gets 'stuck' in the socket and the bones grind together. It's absolutely hideous and extremely painful, to the point where I just freeze and squeeze my eyes shut until it passes. Have you tried a pregnancy support belt? Even if you haven't got much of a bump yet, your joints are all looser and your centre of gravity is altering in preparation for the shift in weight, so it's worth wearing one now. Mine is brilliant and comfortable, will try and find the box so I can send you a link!

amylou, I feel your pain. We went to try out prams at the enormous John Lewis in Cribbs Causeway the other day - we want to buy second hand even though I already know what I want and DP is just being a fusspot but thought we'd go an try a few out to see how they fold/steer etc. Oh my God! Fatal mistake. There's just so much choice and they're SO FLIPPING EXPENSIVE! We surrendered and retreated pretty hastily!

Hope that's everyone, sorry for those I missed! Good luck for scans this week - ours not until Friday. Hope everyone had a good weekend and is looking forward to a good week, too!

21weeks today!

I think I have started feeling stuff. Mainly tickles on the inside. Am getting quite excited. You can have all the scans in the world I find but it doesn't seem "real" till its actually making its presence felt.

Can't wait for Dh to be able to feel it on the outside, weeks probably I know.

Yesterday he was telling me he loved me and he stroked my bump and said "And I love you too. Whatever the hell you are inside there". The last part was definately not mushy, lol but I am such a hormonal mess, I almost started to cry!

Argh I am stereotypical grumpy pregnant lady today!! It's too hot and we can't open our windows at night as we live on a main road, so the nights are awful. Plus I've just reached the point where I can't lie on my tummy anymore :-( so I got about 2 hr sleep last night. And now I'm cross because the office is air conditioned to the max and I have to wear socks, shoes, jumper, jeans etc. definitely can't win with me today!
I am taking the POV that there's not much we really NEED for baby. We went to try out pushchairs at JL this weekend too and I just tried to mentally block out the shelves and shelves of different bathing options, 17 different brands of muslins etc... I've changed my mind about buggy again and now like the look of the baby jogger city mini. I had my heart set on the baby jogger Versa but it was such a pain in the ass to fold up- and it's supposed to be one of the easier ones! So think we will sacrifice parent facing on the altar of convenience...

What is everyone doing about their MATB1 forms? If I wait to get mine at the 25 week midwife appointment it will be too late for my workplace.

Morning everyone.

We never used a baby bath at all, just the sink and then the bigger bath.

Is anybody else around the 20-week mark feeling shortness of breath yet? I am, especially when sitting on the couch etc., I really feel uncomfortable and like my lungs are being squished. I'm at my office chair now and feel fine so it must be that I'm sitting back too much or something on the couch. It's annoying and feels a bit early for this to be happening.

Woke up with loads of insect bites from the weekend they are such bastarding things. What zaps them quickest?

Hiya everyone, 18 weeks 5 days today and feeling baby move quite a lot, feels like he or she is on a washing machine cycle!

I never bothered with a baby bath as I watched my sister struggle with one as when they are filled with water they can be quite heavy. I didn't bathe DS regularly during the first few months just top and tailed him, when I did bath him I did it in a washing up bowl if front of the tv on the floor. When I was looking for a top and tail bowl I found they were quite expensive so I popped in a pet shop and picked up a double feeding bowl for a pound and it worked brilliantly

It was also good for changing time as I put water in one side and cotton wool balls in the other so I kept it together with his changing mat and had a little changing station on the floor.

I'm starting to feel great now, my skin is glowing and have a lovely array of freckles, my hair is glossy, such a difference from the bedraggled mess I was a few weeks ago.

How's everyone else getting on? This weather is fabulous and love that I've bought cotton trousers and tops so don't feel too hot.

greenstone I had a legfful of bites last weekend. I used antihistamine cream. I had two tubes- one Anthisan brand and one boots own, same active ingredient. The boots one said pregnant women should consult doctor before using but the anthisan one did not so I used that one! It did help with the itching. I get terrible welts the size of digestive biscuits, it's so nasty. I usually use hydrocortisone cream as well but again that's a not without Dr's advice one.

Oh me too moggle with the welts, it's crap. I think I have an old tube of Anthisan somewhere so I'll go with that. Thanks :)

Popcorn I actually am finding maternity dressing less of a pain this time around. The good weather definitely helps because it's easier to look sort of casual and floaty - plus I had a bump earlier, so it kind of is what it is iykwim. I still miss 'proper' clothes though!

And yes my skin is finally starting to perk up, the freckles etc. make me look fresher. I had a horrible time with acne during the first weeks and although it's not totally going away, I'm finding La Roche Posay's Effaclar Duo has really really helped keep it under control.

Now I just need to find the time to start doing some arm workouts! My upper arms feel a bit flabby :(

Greenstone, if you want a natural alternative to antihistamines for bites try aloe vera - buy an actual plant if you can, though a gel works too if you can't find one. Just snap a bit off a leaf and rub the juice on the bite - bliss! The gels are usually pretty good too. It's dire at my stables at the moment for horse flies, so am growing an aloe vera jungle in our utility room! As for the sofa, does the seat part angle backwards slightly to slide you into the back of the sofa? Or is it very soft? It might be the angle of your pelvis in it that's causing the discomfort if you're comfortable on firmer chairs. Maybe try sitting on a cushion to level you out a bit?

Miskate, try calling your MW and explain you need it earlier. No reason she can't fill it out and post to you! Mine was super organised and has popped it in with notes to take to scan on Friday and get signed off then.

Wah, so jealous of those feeling movement! Still nothing here. Poop.

moggle, hope your day improves. I have the opposite problem - work in an old warehouse which is made of metal and has no AC, so is like a flipping oven! Got a fan blowing straight at me which helps, but by the afternoon I'm usually struggling to stay awake.

Popcorn, I am envious. I still look vile - spotty (especially my back), horrid lank hair even when freshly washed and terrible itchy skin. I keep getting a rash on my stomach which I think must just be where it's dry and the skin is starting to stretch, but still. Argh! Also getting the itchy norks on and off still which is enough to drive me completely loopy. There is no discrete way to scratch an itchy nip in a shared office!

Miskate If I wait til 25 weeks my school will be closed for the summer hols so midwife said I could ring her after scan at 20 weeks and then go and collect my form from the docs. So I will be ringing tomorrow!

4 hours until scan, argh!

Thanks Twiggy and Petal - I took your advice and rang the midwife. She is leaving me a copy at the doctors reception. That was an easy fix!