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

[BrixtonBunny]

New thread xx

They must be the rolls royce of changing bags, lol. I feel really lucky to have got mine so cheaply, shame they won't be at the baby show in feb.

Are change bags necessary? I've got a kanken backpack that I was going to put through the wash and use that instead - that means DP and I can both use it as it's gender neutral, and it will be handy when out with baby in the sling so I can have my arms free. Am I being wildly optimistic?

Ooh I like that Snuzpod. We were just going to get a cot (in laws kindly buying). But it'll take up loads of space (a cot) whereas the side down bit of the Snuzpod looks good for if you have to have a Caesarean.

I feel huge! Anyone else now really slow and heavy? My midwife never measures my stomach but I'm sure it's way larger than average! Very hard to get comfortable..you get a good position and then you need a pee.

25+3

Ooh! New people! Hi!

oooh misty I never considered renting one!! starts to investigate how easily I could make my crib not fit together so I can justify renting a bedrest

squatting DH got me the bramley Pink Lining tote for xmas after a good month of whining that I totally needed it despite already having a changing bag and matching purse, but I've promised to at least try and sell my existing one once the new one is in use... they went down to £43 briefly on Monday though he'd already got trigger finger and ordered it by then...

We're all packed up to go to PiL's tomorrow morning, and I've finally finished wrapping... I'm seriously considering doing xmas here next year, packing is stressful and I am at real risk of being internetless for 3 whole days!

brixton Mr friend has a DD similar age to my DD and she's always used a back pack because she uses a sling, so they're not necessarily essential, but at they're built for purpose I think they help.

chicken ME! Made the mistake of taking DH to the midwife with me today and it felt like he ran there, I struggled to keep up whereas normally it's the other way round! Also no matter how I sit something hurts, I'm getting the birthing ball out at PiL's tomorrow though and am going to give using that as a chair a go, shall report back!

BrixtonBunny I've got a small Eurohike rucksack to use as a changing bag, I couldn't get my head around some of the bags that get sold as changing bags precisely because even if they were my style they are certainly not my DPs! Plus I need to carry weight on both shoulders if I'm carrying any weight on me at all, and a rucksack will go over the pram handles just as well as a shoulder bag, I hope. Also I already own said Eurohike rucksack, so can avoid buying yet another thing.

I am quite into bikes and am wondering which of my bottle cage/flask holder/other contraptions I'll be able to bolt to the pram handles - some of them are great! But depends which pram we end up with. If I can attach a Klickfix bracket I'll be able to clip my bike bar bag to the pram, which will make me very happy. I have a large one with an OS map holder too, I'll be able to send DP and baby off on massive hikes for hours while I get loads of sleep !

TheBooMonster I was lucky enough to find a cheap ball chair a few months ago, one that has just a back rest and a holder for a big exercise ball to make you sit up straight. I've been finding it really comfortable, and the back ache I'd had for ages slouching in my normal computer chair, even before pregnancy, completely dissappeared very soon after I started using it. Can highly recommend them.

Happy Christmas Eve ladies!

Can I join you (again?!) I posted once or twice early on but then lost touch. I'm 24 weeks and already have DS 6, DD 9 and a step DS 9. I'm going to have my hands full!

Hope you've all got some lovely Christmas plans in store? I'm about to brave the crowds at M&S food, god help me. xx

I still have my old changing bag, it had pram clips which were great and a changing mat but MIL lost the changing mat and ended up buying me another that wasn't as good.

Not sure how you lose a changing mat but at least she replaced it.

I'll probably be using the same one this time, it was a multicoloured stripped over the shoulder one (can't remember what kind) it was ok but you couldn't fit much in it, god knows how you'd fit all the bottle stuff in it as well as the extra clothes and nappies.

Same for the stupid little basket on my pram (which I'm using again too)

Happy Christmas Eve!

Brixton - DH started work with his company after I was pregnant, so he's not entitled to paternity leave; they're giving him a week's discretionary leave, and then he'll top up with a week of holiday. Not quite sure what else we're going to do about the first month and then further working/not working, but as I only have to be in the office three days a week and can work from home the other two, it's a bit less of a pressing issue than if we were both five days a week in the office.

Also Brixton - I think we're going to go down the 'sturdy bag that can hold a changing mat and other stuff' rather than the specific changing bag too... I share your optimism about being able to have sling, baby and bag and still be quite active!

In terms of bedside cribs, I think we're going to go with a Snuzpod, which I like more than a bednest/the other options. We still need to check things like height of bed/mattress etc. to make sure it'll fit next to the bed properly, but that's the plan at the moment.

Thanks for the advice ladies! I think I'll buy a travel changing mat for sure, and then see how I go re: bags - if the backpack isn't quite cutting it then I'll buy a purpose-built bag! I currently tend to only wear satchels (which are heavy and I don't want to ruin!) or my backpack anyway so I worry a changing bag might look a bit weird on me

25 weeks today!

Chicken - I feel huge too, back started aching over the last couple of weeks, considering investing in some kind of pregnancy support pillow... Looking at the size of them might have to evict DH to the spare room however!

Wow changing bags are a whole new minefield in themselves, thinking of getting one from mamas and papas sale, although I reckon as long as it holds and transports things surely can't go too wrong! I do like the idea of one with a little fold up changing mat though.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Also, speaking of said backpack: I just emptied it out fully for the first time in ages so that I can wash it, and I found my seabands which I wore obsessively during my sicky days in the first trimester.

It me feel quite emotional to think back to those uncertain days of secret excitement and terror, when I felt sick to my stomach before the 12 week scan not knowing if baby would be ok, and not quite believing we were actually en route to parenthood.

Fast forward to today and baby is happily kicking about in my belly, making him or herself known - this tiny little creature that's already so loved by me and by DP who kisses my belly and talks to our little one. It's absolutely incredible and I feel so lucky to be given the chance to be a mama.

Sorry for the slush fest!

Ania that's fab about working from home, that will hopefully make a big difference. We currently are both in the office 9-5:30 every day so I feel like we do need to plan as much as we can in advance x

Welcome to the new peeps!

DH is going to take his 2 weeks parental leave and then a mix of annual leave/unpaid so that he can be off for 4-6 weeks. I have a neurological condition and there's a strong chance that I might have a relapse after the birth, so he wants to be on hand, just in case.

I'm thinking of using a sling, no idea what kind yet. The stretchy wrap ones look way too scary, so probably a baby carrier type thing, so would probably use a backpack with that.

Aww Brixton, that's so lovely. Its crazy how attached you can get to this wee thing wriggling about inside you. I never thought I'd feel this way but now feel super protective of my wee sausage.

I still wear my sea bands every day....whenever I take them off I start feeling less well haha

Talking about changing bags I love the Storksak ones. They look stylish but are practical so I don't have to give up pretty bags.

This is lovely! m.johnlewis.com/mt/www.johnlewis.com/storksak-ellena-changing-bag-tan/p1389174?un_jtt_v_pdp=yes&un_jtt_v_from_product=un_product_9#page_loaded

Going to get the Stokke bag too though as that clips to the Xplory abs DH can use it as it's not too girly.

Mine isn't a specific changing bag BrixtonBunny I got it from thebaghut.com, they don't seem to have the fabric I have but its one like this. I think a rucksack is fine size wise but it's not convenient as everything is on top of each other but you'll find what works for you I'm sure. Not a Slush fest at all, it's lovely. If only more people felt parenthood was a privilege and really appreciate their little people. I feel so lucky to be pregnant as I never thought I'd have another one!

They don't usually start measuring until 24wk appointment ChickenMe, my chart doesn't even start until then. I feel much bigger by the evening, in the mornings I feel quite normal and reasonably mobile

Two unrelated observations from this morning so far:

1. I did not expect pregnancy would involve me feeling the need to shave my tummy so that Christmas baby-movement-feeling could happen at my parents' house without me feeling a bit self-conscious, but there we are.

2. Heavens above but I hate the taste of Fybogel.

DH is also all about the talking to the bump, which makes me go gooey inside because I'm a right old softy. I am also confusing people by stopping whatever I'm doing to say 'hello there!' when baby kicks, because it just feels polite...

Also, 24w today! Eeek!

I always say hello to my little man when he moves after being still for a while and always shave my belly before a scan

Aww Annia, that make me giggle that you stop and have a chat to your baby. My response is normally, "oh, you're awake, are you?" or "stop being a grump and kicking me!" He he.

Looking at baby carriers. Would people recommend the Ergo Carrier over the Baby Bjorn? Feeling a bit overwhelmed!

kis I would advise a front carrier with baby facing you, I was reading something the other day about the ones where baby faces forward exacerbating hip problems?