The September crew fly through to the second trimester, baby bumps galore! :) (Thread 7)

[Treaclepie19]

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Ovuma OMG yes! I can't think or talk

I am frequently wondering where I am going and why at the moment!

I think that's one of the biggest benefits of cloth - I have all the nappies I need for this baby already and it won't cost me a penny more apart from liners (although I still have 300 I got from a NCT sale for £2!).

Im pooped! One of those days.....DS decided he wanted to get up and play at 3am rather than sleep, he threw up in car just as we pulled onto drive at lunch time so had to strip everything down ans unexpected wash load....Ikea delivery came (DS bedroom furniture) with at least 3 drawers broken, may be more once we unpack the rest.....spent this evening trying to sort bits out but just seemed to follow DS around house clearing up including hoovering multi coloured rice out of the conservatory (dont ask). DP is knackered himself visiting FIL every evening after work, although not his fault this also leaves me to make tea/wash up after.....def ready to hibernate lol!
Sat nights are so rock and roll now lmao. Sorry to sound ranty - whilst exhausted, the unexpected hug from DS for bo reason at all makes it all worth it he's currently sitting next to me playing with my hair x

Well my mum has been buying lotssss as she's so excited to be a nana (I'm an only child - she wanted more kids but couldn't due to lots of miscarriages which weren't investigated in those days)! So far she's bought me nappies, nappy cream, baby washes, baby massage oil and TEETHING GEL. I did think that was jumping the gun slightly (when do babies start teething anyway?), god help me when she finds out the sex! I don't think we need to buy anything! It's really sweet but a bit overwhelming at the same time, not sure how to tell her politely to stop as I don't want to be ungrateful but as per my previous posts, I'm worried at the moment & it doesn't help. All I'm thinking is that I have no space to store all my stuff if something bad happens as the loft is full (sorry, negative thoughts again!!).
We have also been given a Britax group 1 car seat by a close friend, for once baby grows out of the 0+ one we have already bought which is again lovely & thoughtful but I have zero space for any of this! I can't wait to buy our new home next year

Hope I'm not a cow. Roll on 28th April xx

monkeymoonpig that's a tough day. Hope tomorrow is better.

Ambient - it's tricky when people are excited and being kind, would your mum be offended if you asked her to ease off a little?
Meinthecorner - we use cloth with ds, didn't start until about 12 weeks but I absolutely love it! I'll have two in nappies though when dc2 arrives so will prob need to top up the stash a little, no real hardship!!

elimination communication is watching your baby for cues that they're about to go a and holding them over a potty. bloody useful when your not-very-verbal 18mo decides to train himself you can buy flaparaps in this country if you want to try the Chinese method (I suggest you don't google split crotch trousers )

ds was full time cloth from 5 days using pockets/aios for daytime and wool overnight. this one will be from birth, fitted nappies with wool trousers over. I've got the longies and nappies sorted just trying to collect up teeny tee shirts for over the top - ds was in Tiny Baby for about 6 weeks before he fitted new born! I've bought and sold that many nappies I have a feeling I've made a profit over the last 2.5 years this baby will pretty much be free for the first 6 months lol

Cant sleep....so trying to think of a way I can pursuade my bosses to pay me full wage whilst on mat leave. Hmmmm
cheeky cow i know they very generously paid me first time round. Obv cant expect this again, so trying to think of a compromise such as 4 mths mat leave, 6 wks on SMP then i go back in one day a wk/work from home. Just not sure if its feasible or not. Have to try tho - otherwise its 8 wks off then back FT
Anyone else having a mat leave dilemma?

Oh wow monkey the thought of 8 weeks off then back full time would fill me with dread! I would write down what you really want from them, then figure out how it would benefit them.... You're going to havetto sell the idea to them!

Also if they've paid you u for mat leave before why wouldn't they again? Perhaps you could just pretend you assumed they would and negotiate from there?

ovumahead well i got myself in a right pickle last night, the thought of 8wks only made me bread down and lots of tears im lucky in that i work for a fantastic family and my boss is wonderful too, but no-one has offered it yet....maybe its still a bit early & i should wait till 20wk scan?? But alternatively im not sure if i should bring it up now as everyone is so busy so perhaps hasn't thought about it... i know they have long term plans for my role so im not worried about them side lining me, but its just so awkward how to ask! Dont want to seem like im taking the piss cos they've always been flexible with needing time off for DS etc.
I hope im just getting myself all wound up for nothing and they'll offer to help out again! But its just not something i can assume....
Do you think it's best to write lovely boss and email detailing it all (risk of being impersonal and cold) or face-to-face (risk of putting him on the spot)? Or perhaps short email outlining my idea ending with "can we sit down when you have 5mins to discuss?" ?
I do have quite a good honest working relationship with him, just worried bout making him feel uncomfortable!

break down, not bread obvs! Lol

I'm another cloth nappyist although DD wears sposies at night (I could not find anything that a) fitted her and b) didn't leak everywhere by about 18 months). So we're sorted on that front although I'd like a few more - hopefully some lovely seller will have some at the NCT sale! Also want wayyy more cloth wipes than we have already - going to treat myself to a cheeky wipes set.

We really are sorted for just about everything else, especially as DD's baby clothes were mostly unisex. DD needs furniture for her Big Girl Room though, and I could do with a new changing bag - haven't seen anything I like yet that isn't extortionately priced.

That said, does anyone know if you can get pneumatic tyres for a Britax B-Smart 3? I love our pram/pushchair, it's fabulous, but I borrowed a friend's Mountain Buggy ages ago and really liked the tyres. But I can't find if Britax do different wheels!

I'm planing to use baba+boo cloth nappies, cloth wipes are new to me though. How many would you need? Does anyone make their own or is it better just to buy a kit?

I'm also thinking of starting with cloth nappies as a bit eco-hippy. This is my first so I have no clue to brands, etc tho'! Would ideally like a birth-to-potty set that would last for 2+ kids but not sure whether this is wishing for rainbows.

re Chinese split trousers - apparently, it's a cultural thing, and anyone near by will help a small one 'squat' to wee/poo in a suitable location (often the gutter, if outdoors) as a result they potty train v v early (perhaps by 1? not sure). I read this in a book called 'How do Eskimos keep their babies warm?' (vg) which was about parenting around the world. The author was, iirc Chinese-American married to a (maybe?) Korean-American and living in Argentina, so off to a good start on the multi-cultural parenting front!

oh and jess I think Iceland would be doable with a small. We stayed in a rather lovely apartment (via Airbnb) for the cost of 2 in a hostel. Indoors is always warm thanks to loads of super-cheap geothermal heat & reputed to be v child friendly culture. Main problem is daylight - they genuinely get midnight sun in summer and hardly any light in winter. It only got dusky in May, never properly dark so I imagine it's the opposite in autumn. Bad enough in the UK that time of year!

You can just buy flannels from the poundshop or cut up terry sheeting or suchlike, but I really like the bamboo ones and to be honest I knit so much for DD (and DC2 now!) that I think I can justify buying in wipes

Nappies... we bought Totsbots Easyfits which are all-in-ones and I still recommend them. Once DD got older we used the Little Lambs type ones with a wrap on top at night, with umpteen boosters (hence we ended up with disposables at night because by the time they were boosted enough I couldn't get them round her!). I can't think of the brand and to be honest they were second hand anyway so the labels have worn off! I don't really rate Blueberry wraps, I'm afraid - the binding at the edges just seems to wick all the wee outwards. Motherease or Rikki are much better.

Saying that, I have never been one of these people with prodigious stashes of cloth nappies since that seemed to defeat the object of saving money, so other people may have better advice!

Thanks llama for the tip on pneumatic wheels - might just buy a replacement set of wheels we've already got. On that note, might I recommend to you all the Britax B-Smart 3 - I am one of the only people I know using the same pushchair we bought before DD arrived - everyone I know, without exception, got rid of their Bugaboos/Quinnys/Silver Crosses before 9 months. And it was £500 from Kiddicare for the chassis, carrycot (which is the biggest one on the market), pushchair top-thingy, raincovers and carseat. It's still very much in use and we all love it.

One more on the nappy front: The Nappy Lady's website has a brilliant questionnaire into which you put all your requirements/circumstances and she'll advise you on what your best options are.

Also, liners. Liners are your friend - not so much if you breastfeed; we didn't bother with them for the first six months - but if you formula feed, and definitely when you start weaning, you will need liners. Trust me on this. We went with flushable ones (fleecy ones are also available) but found that the really thick type (apologies - mine are in the loft but I bought them off the Nappy Lady) will wash nicely if they've just had wee on them. Waitrose also sell flushable liners but they're definitely not as good.

Flushable liners aren't flushable in the uk, they clog up the sewerage system and end up on beaches like baby wipes and tampons.

Nappy types:
All In One (AIO) consist of a PUL (polyurethane laminate) cotton or minky (short pile fake fur) outer, absorbent tongue usually bamboo or microfibre, and a fleece inner. You stuff the tongue in between the other layers and put on exactly like a sposue, with either Velcro or poppers.

Pocket nappies are like aios but you have separate absorbent bits (thick ones called inserts, thinner ones called boosters) and you can adjust how absorbent you need it to be - some babies pee more than others. Inserts are made of microfibre (absorbs a bit very fast), bamboo (absorbs a lot but a bit slower) or hemp (absorbs loooooooooads but really slowly) and you'd usually need some combination of two of those things.

Fitted nappies are a disposable shaped thing made of absorbent material. You lay a fleece liner inside, then the fitted, then some kind of waterproof layer: rubber pants, PUL wrap (again nappy shaped), fleece or wool trousers/pants.

Flat nappies are either your traditional ferries or prefolds - lots of layers of cotton all stitched together into a rectangle. You can with fold and pin these (nappy nippas are better, no sticking risks!) Or use them to stuff pocket nappies.

I wash at 60 with a prewash and two extra rinse cycles and use half a dose of powder. Liquid and too much powder can clog the fibres making the nappies smell and less absorbent. Line dry when possible especially if you're using PUL as tumbling melts plastic.

Nappies are like jeans - what fits me perfectly will make your arse look huge iyswim. So the best bet is to either buy lots of different brands second hand or do a trial kit from your local library (I'll look for a link in a minute, this post is a hit long!). I would definitely recommend you do not spend hundreds on a single brand's btp kit before you know if that brand fits your baby.

Sorry, that's ever so long I've tried to condense 3 years of research and practice into a single post. Please ask me questions I'm a bit of a nappy addict!

Sorry, envious just because your pipes are nice and wide doesn't mean the ones up the road are. So you're probably causing a problem somewhere else up the line I'll see if I can link the article, it was on the beeb or somewhere reputable like that recently

www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31941482 basics, it it'll survive a washing machine cycle it'll be fish food sooner or later

monkey could you also add any holiday you may have accrued on, to eke out the time? I would send your boss a quick email outlining and ask to have a chat; that way they'll have time to think of options that might be available and come up with a solution that suits you both.

I feel your pain; our maternity leave policy sucks as I'm in the US; am currently trying to cobble together a plan that involves 6 weeks disability pay, 3 weeks parental leave, some holiday entitlement from this and next year, and then 9 weeks unpaid leave (which I'm busy saving like mad to try and cover...) Hopefully that should get me to 5 months but it still seems short.

My boss doesn't know yet; I have my 16 week scan on Thursday, so plan to tell her then. Should be interesting...