The due in September crew head into the second trimester! :) (Thread 6)

[Treaclepie19]

Hi all! Stats sheet here :)

Worry and Somewhere I didn't even get a letter at all! At my 16w appt I asked the midwife and her records just said low risk. I was a bit as I'd wanted to know numbers. She also wouldn't listen for a heartbeat. Next appt with her is at 28 weeks!! :O

Crab I'd go to mothercare or similar and try out lots and usually they will help with what will fit in the boot. I'd look at a quinny, they are pretty small or a city mini gt. I have an uppababy which is good for tall but not for the boot, it's fine for a golf but the up! Would be a push.

Blimey; I've been on a call at work with someone who's back at work after having a baby. 5 weeks ago.

We work in the US but this still seems really soon. I can't imagine I'll be able to function on anything on more than a basic level for the first few weeks, let alone do anything more.

I'm planning on maxing out all of our leave options available to us, hopefully I can squeeze about 5.5 months leave out of it, but I suspect that I'm going to be seen as a freak as a result

I have to go back to uni 4 weeks after giving birth or I'll miss an exam I can't afford to miss! No idea who will even mind the baby now everything's gone tits up haha oh well

I loved my travel system (it was a Graco one). The ability to clip the car seat to the chassis was brilliant - no need to wake a sleeping new born. The cot part of it was also useful to use for the baby when he was sleeping in the lounge. I had moved on to an umbrella fold Maclaren by 12 months, but I will use the travel system again this time.

crab I didn't have the ones you mentioned, but I did have a Bugaboo bee (2009 version) for DS1. It was a godsend: able to face you or not, easy enough to open and close, compact fold and could put the car seat on it. He was in it until DS2 arrived when he was 2 years 9 months. Then DS2 used it till about 18 months. DS2 is much broader, and the 2009 model is very narrow and the seat back does not adjust. So he had grown out of it, so we got a babyjogger citi mini. DC3 will use the Bugaboo and then the city mini if required. The city mini really is a fab buggy. The only down sides I can see are that it cannot face you (but if you get the car seat and adaptors it can, ditto if you get the basinette), that it's not as smooth to push as the bugaboo, nor does it fold as small. It's a really good purchase, barely more expensive than a Maclaren XT (the maclaren that is suitable from birth) and much nicer to push with a better hood. It is suitable from birth. Had I thought about it properly I might have got one in the first place. The bugaboo I got was about to be discontinued at the time, and I got it for about the same as a city mini (around £250). Anyway, definitely go to mothercare, john lewis, babies r us and any independents locally to try them out: they all stock different ranges. Also if you have friends with buggies then definitely give them a grilling and a try out!

mismil I am always at the maternity leave arrangements in the US. I guess it would be less so if it were the cultural norm. The vast majority of my friends have been able to take at least 6 months off. One friend did have to go back after 3 weeks, but she runs her own business, her cover let her down and her DH is SAHP.

mummyboo i'd want to know numbers too. the NHS idea of low risk might not be the same as mine, and I'd want the option of going private for Harmony / Panorama.

Crab I loved the Giggle but wondered if it seemed a bit rickety. I think the reviews reflected this but lots of people liked it otherwise. You'll get soooo much conflicting advice - don't get a big travel system, so get one, spent lots, don't spend much..i don't actually envy you the decision though it is exciting buggy shopping! It really really really depends on your individual circumstances - access to house, car size, where you walk, whether you drive a lot, walk mostly or use public transport etc etc! We went for a kind of in the middle option of an iCandy but one of the more lightweight models as loved the look and feel of the more chunky, heavy ones but didn't want one that chunky and heavy! We were really pleased with our decision as it suits our lifestyle and we still use it at 20 months. We have a second hand Maclaren but only use it for holidays at the mo as just prefer our other one. Oh plus DD is not really a pushchair baby so haven't used it as much as most people did so very glad we didn't buy an even more expensive one as we have also spent a small fortune on baby carriers and slings!

crab would recommend you get one with an extending handle or a long one at least if DH is tall. I'm only 5'7 but wished a few times ours extended as it does seem to give me achey shoulders!

I'm planning on getting the Bugaboo Buffalo - I've fallen in love with it and Mum is buying it as a gift!

So glad it's the weekend - tired is an understatement! One week til Easter!

Dela it is funny how much more me and some of my friends have used a £60 carrier rather than our buggies costing several hundred. Though not sure my parents, who paid for it, find it quite so funny!!

We were concerned by the giggle being flimsy with ds. But a friend had it she used from birth till 2. He had a slight problem with the chassis but cosatto changed very quickly.

We brought the Joolz very expensive heavy, broke within 5 months hassle getting a refund or exchange. In the end changed for bugaboo bee. Although small and compact hated it, very low, baby exposed, not well padded, hood doesn't cover a lot. In the end sold and got a baby jogger city mini. Fold v small, easy to fold, hold comes right the way over and has SPF 50+, lies flat. Suitable from birth, bassinet available.

This time as ds will be just 2, going to get baby jogger city mini double with bassinet.

Friend had quinny with a golf and needed to take wheels off to fit in the car.

Graco evo worth a look I've been told or the mothercare oyster

Main price of advice shop around read reviews. Go to mothercare, johnlewis or kiddiecare.

Ask to take out to car to check they fit in the boot.

If see someone out and about or know friends with that pram chat to them. If only good for newborn the look for alternative, unless you have unlimited funds or happy to buy and sell. You don't want to have 2-3 prams in the loft.

As previous poster said most of my friends Dutch pram for maclaren or similar by 9ish months.

Ditch not Dutch lol

thanks guys! I'm def going to book a nursery appointment thing with John Lewis and pop into Mothercare next week. Sadly I'm the first of my friends to have a kid so no one to get any advise from =(

I have an inch of pink . S'luffly :o

Just been for a 13 week scan and everything looks good; he's bouncing around all over the place and I think we may have a thumb sucker (either that or likes to flail his arms all over!)

I saw a different Dr to usual. We got our harmony test back last week and classed as low risk; today she said if we wanted to be absolutely certain that there were no chromosomal abnormalities that the amnio was the gold standard way of telling. I'm a bit confused as I thought the harmony stats were on a par with the amnio - anyone any idea?

crab my friends have a motherboard travel system which they take everywhere in their Toyota IQ! fairly certain not in the boot though...

We're drawn to the uppababy and icandy, have a John Lewis appt booked for when we're back from holiday though. DH is 6' and I'm only 5' so my main concern is how heavy they all seem to be for lifting into the boot (we have an a4 estate so hopefully size isn't an issue!). Need something rugged as we live in the sticks so will see a fair bit of mud. Saying that, had a nice walk in the woods with mothercare buggy friends and others with a vista and both handled it very well. Only thing I'm very averse to is three wheelers.

motherboard? mothercare!

Misssmillia harmony test is very good 99% accurate but my understanding is that it still only gives a risk. Not diagnostic so if the result comes back high, an amino is suggested for clarity and to provide opinions. If low then the pregnancy wasn't put under risk from an amino and a more thorough scan at the anomaly.

Thanks exciting that makes sense. I asked her whether we'd also be able to tell at the anomaly scan in a few weeks and she hummed and hawwed and reverted back to the amnio as the way to tell. I would have thought low risk, plus anomaly scan would give us a pretty clear indication (I think there's probably some arse covering going on tbh..)

The only thing that is completely diagnostic is an amino. The anomaly will only pick up markers for the different conditions.

The harmony test should have given the risks for each individual condition. Downs, Edwards and pateau's.

It did and they were low risk for all three. I suppose it's up to us if we want to be totally sure by doing the amnio - that's what I meant about the arse covering ; we're in the US so they always seem to shy away from giving you any info that could be considered to be an absolute - i.e. your harmony tests came back low risk, we wouldn't really see the need for further testing

Anybody else waking up at stupid o'clock and not being able to doze back off?

Me! DD woke at 1 for a feed, I didn't get back to sleep til 2.30. Woke again at 6. Grrrrrrr! Also took me ages to get to sleep last night.

Today will be challenging: we've 5-6 people around for late lunch/ rugby and I just know I'm going to crash horribly at an inappropriate time. DH naturally has decided to cook a v involved meal. Grumble.

Argh! Having a complete nightmare trying to book my 16 week appointment. I've called the midwife herself. I've called the office no one picks up! Anyone else have this issue?