April 2015 thread 7: Our viable, wriggling bumps have us walking belly-first into the new year!

[BrixtonBunny]

New thread xx

Not read whole thread yet but on car advice: my sister and I were transported in the back of an original mini. Said mini then was given a roof rack when we went on holiday our pram was also a silver cross coach built affair so not exactly tiny so we were into a Maclaren pushchair and walking asap (3 year age gap). So don't think you need a massive car if your lifestyle doesn't demand it.

I went looking at prams/pushchairs. Really liked the Mothercare Orb Special Edition it's a lovely navy with a sheepskin top cosy toe. I also liked the Silver Cross wayfarer. Came home and told the DH who threw a fit at the cost of them. Oh well.

Hi Toucanet and welcome! Don't worry about a 9 week wait for a car seat... we brought ours home the same day we bought it, but get from mothercare or similar and they will install for you.

Definitely get a car seat base if you can, I found it really helped to be able to click the car seat in and out of the car without fiddling around with seatbelts, it meant if we were visiting parents houses we could take dd in in her car seat until she woke up (never that long in the seat), also I took dd swimming from age 9 weeks and when they're dressed afterwards you can just pop them in the car seat while you get dressed. All of that would have been a lot harder without a base. Never went shopping with the car seat though as others have mentioned, always used the pram which had a nice flat carrycot. With the babybjorn underneath, for the occasions when dd just got fed up of the pram and wanted to be held. BB will now be replaced by my 2 new slings, which are better for the baby!

We use a maxicosi pebble car seat. At 14mo old, dd still uses it now, although she is a very light baby and some of her baby friends have graduated to the next size up. My SIL is giving us her dds car seat at the end of the month so we will use that for dd and the new baby will have the maxicosi pebble.

Base wise, we had to get the "family fix" base, which attaches with seatbelts, rather than the isofix base because my car is too ancient to have the right fixings for isofix. It's also worth bearing in mind that not all car seats fit all cars, kiddicare (now closed ) checked their database for us to make sure we were buying the right car seat for my car - I'm sure mothercare/mamas and papas etc will do similar.

Hope I haven't just confused anybody! xxx

Bonjour I thought it was just the kiddicare store that was closed the website is still up and running. I bought something off it the other day

Don't forget places like halfords do car seats too and they fit them too if you buy one from them.

Lauren I second you re Halfords they fitted our Britax one (after DD outgrew maxicosi), quick and easy and best price.

DH is properly ill. Either flu or a chest infection. He is never ill. This is going to be a long old weekend trying to think of things to do with DD and getting on with a bit of work before Monday when I really just feel like lying down and having a rest! I fear there may be quite a bit of screen time - she can watch frozen while I tap away beside her on my mac. Of course the weather would have to be pants too.

Have just made a shopping list after the excesses of the season. I am quite looking forward to drastically reducing meat intake and replacing it with loads of lovely vegetables.

I'm looking forward to going back to normality, where a food shop actually lasts a week not 3 days and getting back to eating proper meals instead of bouncing from one house to another. I miss my cooking not that I'm complaining about other people making us dinner I just miss my favourite cooking creations

Hi toucanet sorry to hear about your losses . Having worked on a labour ward previously I have unfortunately seen late losses as well and it is something that scares me, but just keep telling myself that it's rare and the odds are generally stacked in favour of a healthy baby, fingers crossed. I can understand the reluctance to buy things, I was feeling superstitious about it until I started now doesn't bother me - if I don't think about it too much!

Oh dear smog hope your DH is ok and your weekend doesn't end up too manic!

Looking forward to getting the Christmas decorations down and the house tidied today!

Lauren I don't know if I'll bother now, DH probably not going to be in mood for food and I always find cooking for one mildly depressing!

thanks Penguin, I think it's going to be boring rather than manic. Didn't have much planned after quite a busy week which is fine when there are two of you with DD but a bit dull on my own. Poor DH is really quite unwell I think it's flu (he hasn't been vaccinated) from the look of him. I'm not a natural Florence Nightingale so I'm trying to just give him some space and supply meds and top up fluids where required. When he coughs I just get cross, I'm ashamed to admit!

When are you supposed to get your mat1b form? I'm 23+4 and completely clueless as this is my 1st.

I like the idea of dying some babygros the whole stereotypical pink and blue winds me up something chronic. I'm female and hate pink! White is also massively impractical also a friend has said she'd donate some of her DS old stuff to us so thinking a nice yellow especially as a Spring baby (only just as due right at end of April). Any tips or advice is it best to bucket or washing machine stuff?

Morning all! Yes smogs it's hard when there is only one of you, I do have so much respect for single parents.

Just tried dd on the toilet for a poo for the first time. She did a little bit then clenched up stopped and cried and said "no toilet"... So I'm not sure what to do now, I don't want to put her off. I let her finish it in a nappy about 20mins later instead of traumatising her again. But she also doesn't want her nappy changes which has been going on about 2 weeks. We have a mini toilet seat so she hopefully feels safe and I held her round her tummy.

We have been talking since about whether she thinks she is a big girl and that we could go and buy her some big girl knickers if she is going to use the toilet. She could choose them - she said yes though I'm unsure if she really understands.

She is at the young end of the recommended age for potty training at 20 months but she is clever and quite advanced verbally (not trying to show off ). Nursery agreed that giving it a go wouldn't be a bad idea. She tells us as she is just starting a poo and asks for a nappy change as soon as she is done. Then when she is on the table she yells "no nappy change, no nappy!!!")

Since our attempt she has been taking her toys to the toilet but still saying they have a nappy.

I wonder if I took her shopping and bought a toilet step, a seat for the upstairs toilet that she could decorate maybe with stickers or something some knickers and some night time pull ups whether it would help?

I don't want to miss the opportunity if she is ready and for her to start ignoring the signs again, but equally I was a bit sidelined by her reaction to being out on the loo...

Trying to avoid the potty stage if possible but might get one for the car.

Any thoughts or hints? This is one of the most terrifying things I've done! We really don't want to scare her into not pooing at all!

Thanks.

Bollocks my reply just disappeared.

Précis: daholster - yes I agree absolutely re single parents. Hats off.

Potty training - wish we'd waited with DD who was v verbal but less physically capable as it turned out! I know how hard it is when they're saying no nappy though and she may get hang of recognising the vital signs sooner than our DD. If you're quite a patient, calm person by all means give it a go (I'm not). If I could have my time again, I'd try to hang on a bit longer.

Brumma - I used to think that about white before DD arrived and would wonder why baby stuff tends to be white. Then I realised how brilliant it is as you can wash at 90 degrees with napisan thrown in or rubbed into stains prewash and everything comes out pristine! You can't do that with colours/ patterns as they fade.

Obviously if you're ecologically minded you wouldn't want to be washing at that temperature. I reason that we only keep one car that we barely drive, so it's allowed.

brum first timer here too! I got my mat1b at my midwife appointment. They wait until 24 weeks I think. I had my appointment at 24weeks because of Christmas but I imagine you would be having yours soon.

I was only slightly sick yesterday and now the morning sickness is back with a vengeance! Can't even keep a brew or a water down so I've just had some plain white rice. I figured that's what I give the dog if she's sick so I'd give it a try (added a bit of ketchup for flavour lol) fingers crossed!!

Toilet training never entered my head daholster . My auntie toilet trained my cousin by rewarding her with a chocolate if she said she needed a poo. This resulted in the kid saying "poo chocolate" quite a bit as she'd cottoned on to getting chocolate but then not actually going, so my auntie wised up and only gave her the treat after the deed.good old fashioned bribery eh

Yes that is our other worry. But we figured if she is ready then we'll try. I'm not sure if she is ready - smogs I wouldn't have trouble waiting til summer if people (family!) didn't keep telling me she might start ignoring the cues again. I thought we'd give it a go using the knickers technique - getting wet knickers isn't supposed to be nice for them so they recognise the wee - but it's not the telling us that is going to be the issue I don't think... It's the "OMG I don't want to go on the toilet" reaction that is going to be the spanner in the works! I don't want to scare her into not going at all.

Maybe we need to spend another week talking about it more and sitting on the toilet with nappy on every time I go too, preparing the toilet seat with stickers of her choice etc so perhaps next weekend she might be up for it a bit more? I don't work Mondays or Wednesdays so I have a 3 day weekend, a day when nursery can try (can always send her in pull ups) then another day so 5 days of trying, if no progress I'll leave it for a bit.

Have heard about repression when newborn arrives but we figured we'd cross that bridge if it happened and hope she is too proud for it!!! Lol!

daholster - yes my mum was ridiculously keen to get DD started.

Yesterday at park I noticed a dark line running down leg of her tights. Took her to loo and nothing came out - she had done an entire wee in her knickers and tights rather than stop playing. I always take spares but it's a bit depressing at 3.3 tbh. She certainly wasn't uncomfortable enough to care.

MatB1 - I think I posted about this a few weeks ago - I dropped into doc surgery at around 22 wks, filled in the front bit (name etc) and then they called me that evening to say doc has signed and stamped and i picked it up the following day! So weird. Not seen or examined so basically they just took my word for it. I never saw GP when got positive test, just self-referred to hospital of choice.

Ps daholster not trying to scare you! At the end of the day it's just wee, not the end of the world. Poos are fine

We tried potty training dd in September at about 21 months, because she'd got very interested in the potty after one of her play date friends was potty training, and because it was summer. She was/is also very verbal. Total fail! She was fine as long as we reminded her to use the potty (it was like a game for her) but as soon as we stopped reminding her as often, she just forgot and didn't really care about getting wet. Going to try again in a month maybe, if not, then it'll be this summer when she's about 2.8. I think our parents potty trained earlier because nappies were much less good then and leaked and needed loads of laundry doing.

Before 2yo is too young in my opinion. And my dd is also very verbal and knew what was happening.
We did it last summer when she was 2.5... She has been dry and clean for months but even so yesterday had a wee accident in the playground....
Be careful with forcing poo. My dd started withholding and got constipated. Fortunately we didn't need meds but it can be dangerous...

We talked a lot about poo, how everyone did it, even grandma and so on...
She used to say she didn't like brown poo poo...

Now she just makes jokes about poo sigh

Hmm maybe it's just far too early then... Will stick to the plan and try next weekend, if no luck then wait. I wouldn't mind if it was just poos she did on the toilet even, I just don't want her to learn to ignore the sensations. It's so complicated!!!

Hi brum I'm 24+5 and was told by my workplace that they don't accept the matb1 forms until after 20 weeks, so about a week after my 20 week scan I nipped into the doctors (on the day that the midwives are there) and asked for one, which they stamped and signed etc. There was just a small bit which I needed to fill in and sign.
Then I handed it into work, not heard anything since but it's been the Christmas period so I won't know anything until next week when I'm back in. I'll find out whether I'm entitled to statutory maternity pay or just maternity allowance. I think it'll be maternity allowance as I don't work enough hours/earn enough money to qualify for SMP.
If it's maternity allowance I'll receive then I think my employer will give back my matb1 form and also another form to fill out in place of that. (I think so anyway!)
I'm a first timer too so everything's so confusing!

Around here we don't get given our MatB1 forms until our 28 week appointment with the midwife, so I'm still waiting!

Just back from visiting DH's grandmother, probably for the last time until the baby is not only here but quite a bit bigger due to the distances involved. Very glad to have been, but even gladder to be home...

25w+3

Daholster I used stickers with DD with great success. The only way you'll know is if you give it a go.

I didn't when I had ds1 Hidingthefear!

Be careful with halfords, they permenantly broke the seat belt in one of my minded parents cars fitting their car seat :(

Get well soon MrSmogsville!

24 weeks Brummagem.

Does she wee on the toilet daholster? Does she tell you she needs to go? Poos can be tricky and some children take a while to get used to pooing in the toilet or potty. I've potty trained my two and had a reasonable part in 6 minded children's potty training, I've seen those pushed forward for too young and I've seen one kept in nappies well after she was ready, all of them got there though!! My minded little girl who was 18months was a disaster and she was still wetting herself regualrly when she was 3 as she got so used to be being wet. Being advanced and verbal doesn't mean a child is ready. Personally I'd they haven't told you anything but you want to try I'd give it a day at home without anything on and see if she tells you. Don't be afraid to try and stop of its not working out. I tried with ds1 when he was 2 and he wet himself 5 times in one morning and just cried asking for a nappy. When he was 2y5m I'd stripped him downstairs to put washing on and as we walked up the stairs he told me he needed a wee. He went on the toilet and got it mostly within a week. With ds2 I put him on the toilet when he woke up and at bedtime from 2 to get him used to the toilet but no pressure. He was slightly younger when he potty trained but he was younger to do most things. I have had a minded little girl who went a week without pooing as her mum refused to let her poo in a nappy, luckily it didn't cause her too many problems and after laxatives and a good clear out she stopped being worried about it. I personally would rather put a nappy on for poo's at a young age of theyre telling you they need a poo that's half the battle and you can more gently deal with the worry of pooing in the toilet/potty.

Back is killing me think I did far too much today least we've had a semi big clear out 12 bin bags of clothes to the charity shop! DH told me off for hoarding it all instead of getting rid of it as I put them in the bags. (I'd shoved about 7 of them in the loft out of the way)

Do you think I can use one of those microwave heat pads? It has a bit of lavender in it? I'm a bit unsure if I can or if it's just essential oils you have to stay away from? Or does it have to come in direct contact with you to be bad?