October baby bus take 3- booking in appointments and scans, here we come!

[Toast85]

So here we are with the third thread, hope you all find it!

Has anyone here gotten over initial nausea, only for it to return weeks later?

stinkers i had an odd couple of days last week where i felt really sick which took me completely by surprise.

according to ovia dizziness kicks in around now so take it easy. appetite steps up too apparently.

ive suffered with headaches for ages now i swear ive had more 'hangovers' pregnant then ever before

I'm a few weeks behind you guys so luckily going through the 'feeling normal' stage. Saying that I had the worst night sleep last night, complete insomnia! Feeling dreadful today. Anyone else had similar?

I've not felt normal since day one. I'm still waiting for that 2nd trimester bloom that everyone keeps lying talking about. And the insomnia? Yep. For about 6 weeks now. Occasionally I'll get maybe 4-5 hours straight at night because of sheer exhaustion..its so frustrating as I could sleep all day. Just not at night!

I was having weird dreams and waking at 4-5 am and really not getting back to sleep all the way through from about 3 weeks (ie around implantation time, before I knew) until around week 15 when suddenly I managed to start sleeping until my alarm again. Still having the crazy dreams though, can be quite entertaining.

I've felt much better since that point in terms of exhaustion though not quite sure I'm exactly blooming.

But I've now gone and got a stinky cold which is ruining what is supposed to be the 'good' phase of pregnancy! Not impressed! Curled up on the sofa today- already had one nap this morning and plan on at least one more before DH gets home from work later.

I've not bought much (just a few sleep suits really) though have done a few research shopping trips now. Trouble is I find there are so many options and choices to make and how do I know what to pick?
Eg bath supports- foam, fabric, plastic, plastic with holes, or an actual baby bath?
Bottles? I plan to bf exclusively at first but I guess I'd like to be able to express after a while so that DH can give baby a bottle as well as me bf'ing- but will I regret not buying bottles before hand?
Entertainment stuff- is baby really going to need a play gym with lights/sound etc, or will a more simple one do? Will baby even care? Same with things like bouncy chairs, night lights etc for the room.

Just all the above as examples but these are the kind of thoughts I'm having on a daily basis, as there are so many options for everything The cost of all this stuff will add up so much and I can't get my head around how to prioritise what to buy!

Mum has offered to go on a shopping day with me after 20wk scan so I'm hoping she will give me some good advice.

ahhh toast you are having all the thoughts i have had.

i was with my friend yesterday who has a toddler asking for advice. the tips she gave me were:

dont bother with baby monitors, with a pfb you wont need them.
dont bother with a baby bath they are hard work.
dont waste money on a crib, by time grown out of moses basket will probably be ready for them to go in cot (providing you can fit in your bedroom still).

for me as we are on a bit of a budget in the fact that we cant go as mad as i like im looking at price of things like baby supports and seeing how practical they are as well as listening to others advice and reading reviews.

my dn had a foam support and my dm thought it was the bees knees. they look comfy, they soak up the water so nice and warm for baby too they seem a good option. do you really need to spend £20+?

bouncy chair unless your planning on ignoring pfb i dont think you need an all singing all dancing one (althought one would be nice) weve just bout a £20 brightstarts one. looks lovely, has toys on and vibrates.

things like play gyms and other toys well thats what gp's and family are for at christmas. no doubt everyone will want to spoil so we arent going to bother with anything like that i dont think.

anyway just my tips but im a first timer!

In addition to Gingerbreads tips:

A Moses basket probably isn't necessary as babies grow out of them so quickly. If you have a carrycot for your pram then that can double up as a Moses basket as long as you have a safety mattress for it. I'm not buying a Moses basket or a crib, I'm just going to get a compact cot which will mean baby can sleep in it (in our bedroom) from day one until about 12 months when he will go into his own room. He will sleep in his carrycot downstairs during the day.
I am going to get a baby bath as whilst I understand some people think they are a huge hassle it saves so much water when you only have to fill a tiny bath tub instead of a big bath tub (and we are ion a water meter so a £6 ikea baby bath is a good investment for us).
Baby monitors are a personal choice and dependent on the size of your house. We live in a 4 bedroom older house with thick walls so I will need a baby monitor for those times when I get up and come downstairs whilst baby is still sleeping (hopeful). We are only going to get a basic baby monitor though, no fancy video function or anything.
I am looking for a well padded baby bouncer as I bought cheap ones with my first two children and neither child would sit in them for more than 5 minutes. I think getting a comfy baby bouncer will mean that I get much more use from it.
Plenty of blankets and sheets are useful so you don't keep washing every time baby pukes on the bedding (which was several times a day with my first).
As we are having October babies I wouldn't bother with toys as Christmas will only be around the corner.
I have bought bottles and a steriliser even though I plan to breastfeed as things don't always go to plan and even if they do I plan to express from about 6 weeks so they won't be wasted.
Everybody lives differently and needs / wants different things for their babies but it is easy to go out and get things when you find that you need them, so if you are unsure now then just get the basics and you can get more things when baby arrives if you need them.

good list of tips super ill bare them in mind too!

meant to say toast i plan on breastfeeding too but if you check out baby events there is quite often tommee tippee closer to nature bottles on offer for £15 for 6 i think. i just plan on getting a pack of those and a microwave steriliser just incase. i too hope to give one ebf per day so partner can join in and im sure ill be glad of a rest but at least with those in should there be any problems i could go with formula if i had to.

I guess it depends on your sleeping arrangements but from day one I'm planning on putting baby in it's cot in it's own room, but using a sleepyhead to begin with. The Sleepyhead seems portable enough to come downstairs during the day. I'll be in the babies room for the first few months in a separate bed. I don't subscribe to co sleeping in the same bed. And I certainly don't want DH disturbed at all times of night when he's got to get in the car and drive to a long days work. Without making a stealth boast, our house is pretty big (3200sqft) and I won't hear anything if baby does wake up whilst I'm downstairs so a monitor is required. DH is picking that, he loves gadgets. And that's about as far as I've got with my plans of what to buy so far!

i was fancying a sleepyhead but if i do opt for moses basket and cot dont think ill be needing one afterall.

i live the sound of your house btw! sounds like a great plan sleeping in with baby if we get a house with a room big enough we might consider that for whilst im on maternity leave as dp is working and completing a pgce so could do without the disturbances.

the closer to nature bottles are £7.50 for a pack of 6 on asda at mo.

I thought about a moses basket but I have a feeling, with me being 6'2 and DH being 6'4, baby won't be in it for very long...

i think you may have a point stinkers! although im not particularly petite dp isnt tall so hopefully we'd get 3 months at least.

Thanks for the advice and tips! You've made me feel better

We're both tall too so not thinking about Moses basket really- possibly one of the bedside sleepers (snuzpod etc) that are a little bigger so should do til 6 months when baby could go into cotbed in own room, or more likely a cot (cheaper) that would still fit in our room. But I really want a snuzpod... Maybe it will be our one extravagance. Or maybe we'll rent one for 6 months. I've looked on eBay and gumtree but they're not much cheaper than new!

By the way, what does pfb mean?

Precious First Born

Oh that makes sense. Thanks! My pfb ??

youre allowed at least one extravagance. mine will be the pram which i keepkiddingmyself may use for any additional dc if we choose to have them.

would also love a sleigh cot but no chance of that ha!

super just bear in mind that lots of carrycots are NOT suitable for over night sleeping and it's not just the mattress. The sides need to allow a certain amount of ventilation too. The Quinny carrycot definitely isn't suitable and from memory the icandy might be?? They are fine for naps during the day time but not at night. It's based on SIDS risk (cot death)

tiny babies should also really be lying flat as much as possible. The max amount of time they should spend in a car seat at a time is 2 hours. It's not good for their spine development or their breathing as it scrunched their rib cage. It's worth remembering that if anyone was planning to use the car seat base on a pram chassis (I almost never did) instead of buying a carrycot or from 0 months seat. Also if buying swings/bouncers the flatter they will go the better! The best ones are tilt adjustable so you can choose a height depending on if they are awake/asleep or whatever.

Hope I don't sound too preachy!

Thank you to whoever recommended the Sleepyheads it is a bit more expensive but looks much better than the poddlepod so I think we are going to get that.

stinker are you planning to get a carrycot for your pram? (Just reading how tall you are!) they seem to vary quite a bit on length. Our average DDs were out of the Quinny one when it became unsafe as they could practically sit up in it (5 months plus) out friends slightly taller than average DS lasted 9 weeks in the icandy before he was too long for it!

When we went pram shopping last week the sales lady recommended we not get a carrycot as they get so little use but to just get one of those snuggly structured sleeping bag things that go in the pram (can't remember what they're called). Obviously you couldn't use that for night time sleeping but in the pram it seemed to have more or less the same effect as the carrycot but be able to be used for longer. Will need to research that a bit more though!
On another note- what are you all doing in terms of exercise? I've frankly been doing nothing at all because I had hyperemesis but now that I'm feeling better I feel like I should start moving a bit more. I'm really unfit though and am usually knackered by the time I get back from work so its much easier to just snuggle down with a book! Has anyone found anything not too strenuous that's working well for you? Was thinking of joining a pregnancy yoga class or something but not done anything like that before and am a bit nervous!

That is useful information breathless. I hadn't realised that only some carrycots are suitable for overnight sleeping. I know the one I have is suitable for overnight sleeping if used with a ventilated safety mattress. I don't intend to use it overnight though as we are getting a compact cot for our bedroom but baby will bps during the day in the carrycot downstairs.
I will use the car seat on the chassis but only if baby is sleeping and I am going to be out if the car for less than 20 minutes. I don't like the way newborns are so upright in the car seats. I was tempted to get the jane matrix carrycot / lie flat car seat (because it lies flat) but it is very heavy and I don't think I could carry it for more than a minute.

i havent been doing any exercise, trying to find some pregnancy exercise classes tho as i feel they will be good for me and hopefully help with the birth but theres none around where i live . i have emailed about one to one pilates but imagine the price will be extortianate. will see.

who ever was looking at the jane, not sure if it was the same one or how long you hope to get out of a pram / pushchair but a friend just looked at a jane where the carrycot doubled as a car seat, she found the pushchair unit to be very small. tested it with her 2yo dd and it was a tight squeeze so opted for something else.

im starting to feel uncomfortable. has anyone had this, feels like something pushing on diaphram and back when take a deep breath. is this a normal pregnancy thing? im an anxious first timer.

toobreathless to be honest I have absolutely no idea . I'm not looking forward to that bit of shopping. I live in KSA and shopping in general is just painful. There'll be minimum choice, bits out of stock, incomplete systems and no customer service whatsoever. I couldn't even find a decent punnet of mushrooms today. Goodness knows how I'm going to get on with finding more 'specialised' stuff!

I've decided on travel cots etc. Koo-di do some great pop up efforts. And I'm getting the Babymoov cushion to go in it. I need to think about lightweight travel stuff for toing and froing between KSA & the UK.

It was me that got the Jane gingerbread but I didn't get the matrix which is the one that has the car seat which doubles as the puschair seat. I got the Jane epic pushchair with separate carrycot and separate car seat. The pushchair seat unit is quite big and even though my first two babies were big (and judging by their sizes) I imagine I will get at least two and a half years out of the whole system.
I was tempted by the matrix as it can be used as a lie flat car seat but it weighs a ton and as you say isn't actually that big but I think you can buy a pushchair seat unit to fit onto the chassis after bambino has outgrown the car seat combi bit. Anyway I went for all separate pieces.