Jan 2016 #3 - booking in for ginger tea vs frankfurters + rapidly expanding boobs

[Blackandwhitecat3]

New thread for the January babies

gouda I loved using cloth, babies look so cute with a cloth bum And even though, before ds1, everyone had poo-pooed (lol) the idea I didn't find it too much hassle, just needed to be organized about washing and drying. Both my boys were July babies, so the drying was easier for them, so you are right that the winter will be trickier. I used a mixture of airing cupboard and tumble drier in the winter with the boys, and by that stage they weren't getting through quite as many as a newborn. I will probably do the same again.

bee I plan to buy this (or similar) www.totsbots.com/product/packs_and_kits/birthtopottykit/ - 20 is about the right amount from memory. I may mix and match though as there are so many cute ones. I would definitely recommend a net bag for in the nappy bin, as much easier to then empty into washing machine. And also I used to put a few drops of tea tree oil in the bottom of the bin to mask any smells, but tbh they didn't smell too bad - especially when breastfeeding as their poo always reminded me of Weetabix!

Edgar I will be joining you in DIY hell as of the end of July when we move - everything needs updating, and we are planning an extension and loft conversion too which we are hoping to get done before baby think we are delusional

edgar your amazing- I can't even do tge basic housework (holds head in shame)
Cheese croissant sounds amazing I have an appetite now can't decide of I want cheesy tuna pasta or French onion soup with grilled cheese...

Hmm the whole nappy thing make me guilty but will definitely be using disposables. With DD1 starting school and DD2 starting preschool in January, I think that having to wash and fold a million nappies for my newborn (as well as everything else) would be the straw that broke the camel's back. How old are your boys kep?

hanquoi I'm so sorry to hear of your loss . I hope that all is well this time around.

As long as it's got cheese you can't go wrong mrschatty

Just bought cheesy pasta for lunch. Brought mackerel salad to work this morning but I really don't fancy it now. I want stodge!

jmac your so right...trying to work up the strength to go to the shop for tuna...

coffee my boys are nearly 11 and nearly 9... it has been a long time since I've had a small person! I cannot wait to tell them - going to wait until we've had harmony results and then tell them what flavor too

Does anyone know what is looked for in the blood test part of the NHS downs screening, as in what makes you high risk vs low risk? I know the overall risk is given as a combination of the NT measurement and blood test, the NT measurement makes sense to me as it has to be between a certain level but what would your bloods show? Other than your age which you know already?!

coffee That's not on with your MIL especially as your DD is not well. I would def mention something to DH.

My MIL is coming over in a few hours to see DS. She's not too bad generally but I'm also a tad easy to antagonise at the mo so might make my excuses and head out for a coffee so she can spend some "quality time" with him.

haquoi Glad scan went well, when do you have to go back?

haquio will they give you another scan in a couple of weeks or do you have to wait for the 12 week scan, even though they put you back a week or so?

kep thank you for confirming that, I don't really know what the nappy sack bin net thing is but I'll definitely look into it.

gouda sorry to be a pain but I don't really know what else is expected apart from putting the whole nappy and poop in the bin when using disposables? What else are you meant to do?

coffee - For disposables, the main problem isn't necessarily the disposables themselves, but when people don't bother to read the packaging and think it's okay to just dump a nappy full of shit into the bin. You are meant to put the poo into the toilet before binning the nappy, but many people are just too precious. It means that a lot of faeces gets into land fill sites, where it's a major health concern.

looking - I'm not sure on the blood test to be honest. I know over here in France they do a nuchal test which is measuring the nape of the neck, and also potentially measuring the bone in the nose. I don't think they took blood though. Then again, it doesn't surprise me. Seems like the minute you become pregnant you turn into a freaking colander the amount of blood they insist on taking! Sometimes I wonder if they take so much just because we've got more blood going spare....

mrschatty - Onion soup with grilled cheese.......droooooooooooooollllll It seems to be out of season over here at the moment, which makes me think that you should definitely be eating as much as you can, since you are eating it on my behalf too

loveyoulots I had the same thing with mackerel the other day. Was trying to be healthy with omega three but couldn't bear the smell!

Loving this conversation about cloth nappies! Hadn't even thought about it but like the idea of it being more economical friendly and must be cheaper surely? The only thing I wondered is what happens when you're out and about? Do you have to take pooey nappies home with you?

goodness I decided against the soup for today it's still on my list!
Really enjoying this cloth nappy convo- I just have no idea about them I could really use you ladies expertise

Hi all. Had my scan today which went well. They put me at 9+4 with EDD 9 Jan, which is great as I had a 3 week window of what I might be, and with this date, even if DC is born at 38 wks (like the other 2) that will still be after Christmas. As it was too early for the nuchal testing, I'm going back for another scan in 3 wks. Also have a large (8cm) ovarian cyst which they will monitor and measure. I had the same with DS which dissapeared so not overly bothered at this stage.

Other good news - I do not feel sick today. To have one day of not feeling ill is fantastic, it is such a great respite.

For those asking bout cloth nappies, I did with DS and to a slightly less extent with DD (I could never get her morning nappies to last >30 mins without leaking). It can be tempting to buy a bundle of 1 type, but there are so many types out there it can be worth holding off and trying different types before committing. Also there are lots of facebook groups where people buy and sell pre-loved nappies which is great while you are still experimenting. You can often buy and sell preloved nappies for the same price, so you only loose cost of posting. Sometimes it is personal preference and sometimes the fit of your particular baby which you won't know till they are born. Also different fabrics have different drying time. I had bamboo inserts with some nappies, which are super-absorbent but would take 2+ days to dry on a drying rack in the winter. In contrast microfiber dried much much quicker. There are also some good threads on MN about cloth nappying.

edgar not suprised you're tired with all that going on. Are you not tempted to tell people earlier just to start pulling in the favours??

Sorry for long post!!!

jmac I have a wet/dry bag. It is a cotton bag lined with thick waterproof material and zipped closed. Tip anyting solid into toilet, fold nappy up and store in there. With the zip I never found it smelt unless I forgot and left it in the bag till the next day

jmac I used to just put the dirty nappy in a nappy sack and take home with me - sounds gross but itsn't actually too bad.

I agree with aloha it is worth having a look around - I used the nappy lady service, which helped me decide on which ones to try (it's free) or there are nappy libraries around for you to try. I was lucky that I tried tots bots and they suited my chunky boys and never had leaking issues. I was amazed how much they hold their value too - I used one set for both of my boys and then sold them and got back quite a lot of money.

looking from memory of reading a great thread the combined test looks at papp-a, hcg (and I can't remember if anything else) - I think they look for a level of about 1 for both, and think it one is low and the other is high is makes the risk higher. Will try to find the link I saw as it was quite interesting, but there were warnings not to look at the individual results too closely (and not sure if you are always given them) as it is the overall risk factor that is more important, and the individual results can cause some stress when there is nothing to worry about (hope that makes sense).

I found this looking - I presume other hospitals have similar but gives quite a lot of info www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/resources/patient-information/maternity/screening-for-downs-syndrome.pdf

Just thought I'd add a little to the conversation on reusable nappies. We used cloth for DS (he's potty trained now, the joy!), it IS more work that disposables but not outrageous. I'm tempted to give it a miss since we're having twins but DH pointed out that the cost savings mean we really should do it, twins is going to be tough for us financially and we already have the nappies so they will be "free" (only cost is washing).

We used Mio Solo reusable's, they are an all-in-one type which means no separate bits. They have an absorbent liner that tucks into a pocket but the liner is still attached to the main nappy, rather than separate. I would recommend them however what I would REALLY recommend is seeing if anyone near you does a "Nappy-lending kit". We did this, basically borrowed a large set of nappies (and reusable wipes) for a couple of weeks and tried them all to see what suited us (and suited DS, some nappies suit different shaped babies) - ours was via the NCT. We had 16 nappies, it was plenty and meant that in the early months we washed every 2 days. We almost always air-dried - drying outside helps keep the nappies looking and smelling fresher, its cheaper and better for the environment. We used a disposable at night, we tried various night-time cloth nappies (from the lending kit) and found them too much faff/not effective - but everyone is different :)

Finally: we used a liner to catch poo, it made is easier to just tip the poo into the toilet and protected the nappy. We used disposable liners but you can get cloth ones. We had a bag that we kept in the change bag that could hold 2 or at a push 3 dirty nappies so we could go out for the day.

Sorry such a long post :)

Oh sorry, one more cloth point: ours were "birth to potty" ones which means they fit for a good range of sizes - from newborn till 3 years in theory, we used them from about 4 months by the time we actually got round to it till he was 2.8years - he's a super skinny boy but they were only just fitting him by then. They adjust with Velcro and poppers to fit a range of sizes...

Had my booking appointment today. Nothing drastically exciting. They were running an hour and 10 mins late so I was really really late back to work and now I'm in trouble
Because of my past history of recurrent mc and pih (high blood pressure in pregnancy) I'm on the red path and consultant led care. She also took my bp whilst I was there......now I always have high bp when ours first taken but I can get it to come down. First....150/90 second.....124/72 BUT she forgot to write down the second figure and a senior mw told her to repeat it again. This stressed me out and my booking bp is now officially 150/90 and I'm considered extremely high risk and they want me on aspirin from 12 weeks. I'm annoyed as the second figure was more accurate when I was relaxed.
Oh well, I'll discuss it with the consultant at my appointment with her.

babynamechange - A quick question, but how long did it take for your all in ones to dry? Were you in the sunny season, or do you have a drier?

Also one of the main things that puts me off pocker diapers or all in ones, is the fact that you seem to have to fish around inside the dirty nappy to get the liner out. How did you find it?

Unfortunately since I'm not in the UK I can't use any of the library/trial services. I plan to order the cloth squares and a few covers to be delivered to a siblings house, and I'll pick them up when I'm back in the UK at the end of summer.

gouda I used a mixture of silk, disposable and fleece liners, and didn't find it too bad. I'm interested in drying times too, as it has been a long time since I used them. Whereabouts in France are you?

And this is the link I was talking about earlier www.thenappylady.co.uk/ - she does a questionnaire to help point you to the type that will suit your lifestyle/wants/needs. I found it very helpful 10 years ago - obvs can't guarantee it hasn't changed since then!

Hi goodness, great questions - I knew I'd forget important stuff!

How long to dry varied through the year - we used for 2.5 yrs so every season. Outside on a dry day they would be bone dry in a couple of hours but in winter, on a clothes airer in the house they would take at least 24 hrs to dry, which was a pain and if we'd had access to a tumble drier it would have been better.

You don't have to pull the insert out before washing - that would be yuck! We had a mesh liner bag that we put inside our nappy bucket, when full we would grab the top of the liner bag and pop the whole thing into the washing machine. The cycle would cause the nappies to come out of the mesh bag and usually would pull the inserts out of the nappies too. Sometimes the inserts would stay in the nappies but they would still be completely clean - just the same as if it had been thicker fabric in the first place. The only thing was that if the liner didn't come out in the wash, we would have to pull them out in order for them to dry properly - but this was after washing so they were completely clean, just wet. HTH.

Thanks coffee. crumble and bee I'm getting another scan in two weeks time, so it's not over! Until then I think I'm going to join the February group, I'm so far behind everyone here now! Best of luck to all of you xx