July '15 - starting our 2nd trimester

[StoneBaby]

Please come and join

Oh, interesting Mrs I'm also glad re conversation on car seats. total novice here, both to cars and driving, and to car seats.

I hate driving but am having to accept I may have to just bite the bullet. It's sort of possible to manage without a car in this little city but...

Anyway, with the DSCs to take into account too, if we buy a car (6 and 10 imminently), we are trying to work out what we need. It seems unfair on 10 year old to ask her to squidge between two car seats in a booster (or even just nothing, given the law seems to allow that). But I really really don't want a big car... as I'm a scaredy cat who will be shit at parking.

So a nice 5-seater 5 door car with decent boot, easy to drive and park, and ideally 3 isofix points. I know I'm asking too much... but any thoughts?

Just felt my first flutters of movement, so exciting .

Afternoon all, I'm trying to catch up after not being on for a few days, but don't think it's happening, so just going to go with the flow...

Congrats to all the ladies who have had good scans this past week! Lovely pictures! :)

I got some good news this morning, haven't been on my topcashback account for a while now where we've been trying to save money for baby, and logged on to find £150 sitting in there! So had that transferred to my love2shop card, which add that to the £50 voucher I won at work the other week, I now have £200 of vouchers which can be spent at Mothercare! DH also got £80 of vouchers for his birthday, which he said he will split and use £40 to buy a game for his PS4 and £40 on baby which I think is nice. I also got a cheque for £65 arrive during the week which was cashback from my life insurance. So we now have £300 towards something for baby! We're thinking a pram/car seat... So liking the conversation of car seats atm! Sorry if it's been asked already and I missed it, but anyone have good recommendations for prams? I'm so confused by all the different options! And whether to go for a travel system or separate!? We have a new Ford Focus, so it has ISOfix and a decent sized boot, but I also don't want to spend out too much money on various different prams and seats... My friend at work told me the other day he originally bought a travel system and is now regretting it as at only 9m old he's already bought another pram as baby grew out of the system they bought, and he's now looking at a new car seat as baby is snug in that. So I was considering one of those seats you can just get the adapters for that can be used from birth to 4yrs? Then a pram that converts into toddler pushchair. Any one got any opinions of this? Worst case, we could change our car as we have a finance policy that we can just re-finance as often as we need - So we could upgrade to a Kuga or Mondeo if needed, but I'm pretty sure the Focus should be big enough?

Sorry for long post!

15+5 today.

misseskimo we have the uppababy vista and I recommend it to everyone, absolutely love it . Everyone else I know complains about some aspect of their pushchair but I can't find a single thing about the Vista to complain about. There's a new version out early this year too which looks even better. I don't work for them I promise

Sorry haven't been around much. I did introduce myself and comment a few threads back. I'm 13+4 with DC2. Hope everyone is doing well and first trimester symptoms are starting to disappear.

As for prams I think we will be going for a Bugaboo Donkey Duo although the price tag scares the shit out of me and DDs travel system is still in her room barely used cause I favoured a sling/wrap.

And as for parenting styles I'd say I'm more AP inclined but haven't actually ever read a parenting book. I am however reading 'The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding' after my failed attempt with DD I am determined to succeed this time!

After a week of insomnia I managed to sleep through until 6.30am! Sheer utter exhaustion from my week I think. (DH got insomnia instead though, poor thing.) Then I went back to bed about 9am for a couple of hours. Now I am back in bed again with some toast and hot squash.

Pregnant ladies get to eat in bed in the middle of the afternoon, right??

Thanks for the discussion about car seats and prams. Can't say I'm really taking it all in in detail, but it's useful to let the gist wash over me for later on.

15+3 with bump, can't quite believe it.

misseskimo pram choice depends on your lifestyle and budget really. If you do a lot of driving e.g. into town to pop to shops, cafes, baby groups then travel systems do make sense for the first 9 months or so I think. However, I walked everywhere with my first and never used the carseat on the system. We had a second hand really old travel system which was great as it was very cheap and did everything we needed, the pushchair bit was good when DS was old enough for it and folded small but it couldn't be rear-facing and it was very heavy and cumbersome with the massive carrycot on top (although it made a good travel bed!) so difficult to use on public transport etc for the first 6-8 months as I couldn't fold it down.

For these reasons I wanted a new lighter buggy which was suitable for newborns without carrycot, so got a Graco Evo which is one of the best reviewed of the cheaper options (£250 odd new I think, we got it on offer)! It can be rear-facing and lie flat, so no need to use a carrycot for newborn which means it stays light and foldable (though doesn't fold as small as an umbrella fold buggy, but should fit in a Ford Focus without problems I think), lots of storage space so I can use it for a weekly shop / days out with 2 children and is good from newborn up to 3 or 4 (looks a bit small for a 4 year old but don't imagine I'll want to use it for one anyway!) There is a compatible car seat that attaches but it doesn't have good reviews, however I think the standard maxicosi version also fits with an adaptor and you can buy a carrycot too although I don't think that's necessary. I have trialled it with DS (2 1/2) and he loves it so far. This is just what fits my requirements of not too pricey, light for lots of walking up hills and one-handed fold for public transport as we take busy trains a lot, so might not suit you at all if none of that applies!

I also looked at and liked the Silver Cross 3D travel system which is on offer at mother care at the moment, half price! I didn't go for it as the buggy can only be forward facing so would need carrycot for newborn and I wanted one that I could easily handle one-handed (to leave one free for grabbing DS if he makes a break for it!) so with just one handlebar.

Sorry that was a bit waffly, but might be useful to someone!

Oh also never read any parenting books although I did some internet research on the various theories (AP vs structured approach etc.) and then decided to go with the flow, which was probably more like AP in the early days but some 'sleep training' after 1 year when I had to go back to work and needed more than 3 hours at a time! I think trying to stick to any one method can just be stressful and most people end up with a mixture of what works for them, but it doesn't hurt to read the theories and pick up some tips from them. Not a GF fan although my sister has used her potty training method and swears by it (she's not generally a fan either).

I considered the 3D for DD but was advised by lots of people not to buy it. Our travel system is a mamas and papas one and it is HUGE we had to fold it down then put the carry cot/seat unit on the parcel shelf (Seat Ibiza 5dr). DD has been in a baby K stroller since 6 months and I prefer the umbrella fold style. If we can't afford the Bug Donkey then we will just keep DD in her stroller and the new squish in a strechy wrap. Might even manage tandem baby wearing but people will think I am mental! Have we discussed birth plans yet?

mister we've got the graco evo too. Fell in love with tge yellow one that mothercare do and thought reviews were fab. We were holding off buying until after scan and it's now out of stock and they're launching new colours so wouldn't be able to buy the yellow one. But amazingly spotted a 6 month old yellow one on a fb baby stuff page - just picked it up this morning; it's pristine and only £80, I'm over the moon with it.

gotto we have the uppababy too. I love it (although my only niggle is it doesn't fold up when the seat is parent facing but it's not a big deal). I like it because it is robust and we have a lot of cobbled pavements round here so needed something that could also stand up to that. The new 2015 model looks even better (as the options for 2 are increased). We didn't think we would be having 2 quite this close but we did like the option that a second seat could be added (which as it turns out we may well need!).

But you need to find something that works with your lifestyle. We will be using the uppababy for some time to come although I am also a fan of slings (which come in handy when walking the dog on the beach!) so it isn't necessarily true that people only use them for a short time. And as dd still fits in the maxi cosi at nearly a year old we can still use that on the pram if she has fallen asleep in the car.

We no longer own a car (live right next to the subway and insurance for 'forriners' is extortionate), so I'm going for the Uppababy vista and will borrow the 1st stage car seat off a friend who's baby just grew out of it for the return home from the birth centre and the odd trips we do with autoshare. The Uppababy is very expensive (but cheaper than buying in the UK) but I need a pushchair that can hold up to all the walking, carry shopping and actually get through the snow for months on end during the freeze of a Canadian winter....

Nature we must have a similar age gap. DD will be 15mo when squish comes along

15 weeks today, it seems to be going so slow second time round!

Is anyone going for a vbac? Or has anyone done it/got any advice? I have anxiety which has increased dramatically, so much so I'm convinced either myself or the baby will develop severe complications during birth and possible even die. Very morbid eh?! I'll have a chat with the midwife about that at my next appt.

wanted Unfortunately I'm not really getting a choice this time I really wanted to go for a VBAC but unfortunately my CS scar hasn't really healed enough so will be having an ELCS. You will be consultant led and in the very best hands please try not to worry too much (although I know this is hard especially if you have had a difficult birth previously). I still have days where I get into a panic about the birth but DP is very good at reassuring and calming me.

beaker there will be 18 months between dd1 and this one so a slightly bigger gap than yours. Not quite sure how we will cope though Although everyone I've spoken to with that sort of gap says it's hard to start with but really nice.

As predicted, lost at football... But an improved performance, so can avoid hitting the bottle!

London based team, clue's in my name.

Ive updated my boots parenting club. As i think it runs out when DC1 is 3. Hopefully they might semd some vouchers etc and i continue to get 10pts per £ i think.
Think theres a baby event in asda next week

Wanted I am also 15 weeks today and also don't know what to do about vbac vs elcs. I have the same morbid thoughts and worry that I will never forgive myself if I chose vbac and something goes wrong. And I really want to avoid emcs which is more likely with vbac. Just can't decide.

gotto, I didn't go to football today but I am a supporter of an East Midlands team. We lost today against our bitter regional rivals. Dh supports another East Midlands team who also lost... But hardly surprising as they're struggling against the big boys!

Hi beaker! Welcome back, lovely to hear from you

Decided to treat dh to homemade beef rendang in the slow cooker tonight (his fave). Regretting it now, as the baby is really not liking the smell...

Told my parents today. Not spoken to them since New Year's Day after huge row so when I turned up with dh in tow, they must've already been suspecting. They're delighted and made a lovely fuss. Dd refused to tell them - we'd planned on her saying "I'm going to be a big sister", which she'd shouted about 50 times on the way over....of course, she chose not to say again today! Although she did tell my nephew, which was super cute.

No personal experience of vbac but my sister had one. Her first experience was not great - induction, slow progress, got to full dilation then they realised baby was breach so emcs and she had a very slow recovery. Her second was born in under 2 hours, vbac, no complications and only minor grazing despite huuuuge baby so she was very positive about it and recovered so much faster than first time. I know she did lots of reading about vbac and felt pretty confident but still had worries of course, so she opted to go to labour ward rather than MLU. It was important for her due to how hard she found recovery the first time but every situation is unique and I can definitely see the appeal of a more controlled planned c-sec. There were less than 2 years between dc's as well so not a long time to deal with the first experience really.

I knew dd was breach before the birth so I had a elcs which was so calm and the recovery was pretty good. So no trauma but even more scared of childbirth the natural way. dd is only 15 months so I'm also not sure the scar will have 100 % healed but that might just be an excuse to take what feels like the easy option.

Yes sorry didn't mean to imply that a c-section recovery is always that bad, I've heard that planned c-sec recovery is much easier then emergency and I think if planning a vbac causes a lot of stress and worry then a planned section makes complete sense. For my sister I think it was the emotional recovery that was particularly difficult first time around as it was really stressful and she'd wanted a home birth, having a vbac helped her feel better about the whole thing in some way. Scar wasn't an issue at all anyway, her dc1 was 21 months.