April 2017 #5 - second trimester! Less feeling crap, more feeling kicks

[Celen]

For all those lovelies expecting babies around April 2017

There should be a strive towards more consistent maternity care I think. I think the different practices suggests there isn't really a clear procedure or best practice for (particularly early) maternity care. Especially when you hear things about some midwives say they don't use a Doppler at 16 weeks because of concerns about the baby's skull when others do. Given how hard sonographers can push when they do an ultrasound I would be doubtful of the skull concerns myself, but if that was an actual thing then it should be across the board!

I also have the same problem skittles of no actual midwife contact for general queries, which is a pain.

I have a friend who got an Ikea cot second hand and it was still sturdy and in great condition. We got a Mamas and Papas cot bed exceedingly cheap from Preloved. Dh did all the work looking for it, he just decided the cot was 'his thing' which was great!

I am glad its not me who wpuld feel awkward contacting my midwife! Although I'm sure when you do they would be great.

MyGreenSofa jobrum I feel more reassured that the maternity assessment unit at my local hospital have said if there is any problems I can contact them directly, but I think thats only once you pass 16 weeks. They were much more useful than my GP/midwife team.

Yeah I've heard IKEA cots last longer compared to mother care and so on. Think I need to get over some checks and so some comparisons. We're also short on space so need something slim rather than anything too oversized as baby will be in our room for quite a while!

I've brought a Victorian chest of drawers which has a changing top on it for the nursery off eBay. It's in Southampton so we're combining picking it up with a visit to Ikea and the Mamas and Papas store this Saturday much to my DHs delight (he tried to tell me that Ikea had been burnt down but a gang of bored husbands!!). I did buy two onesies from a shop we like while in the States but think I'm gonna leave other purchases till the new year (although I still keep looking for bargains on eBay!!). The nursery needs gutting so I have no where to put anything either.

I've had an ikea cot before skittlesvery sturdy and loved the pocket sprung mattress too. The gulliver one, you can take one of the sides off too, possibly putting it next to your bed.

I had a nosey at some of the Ikea cots and changing furniture on the way through Ikea when we were looking at kitchens the other week and they look really good, so great to know there are some recommendations!

I also would feel awkward about contacting midwife about anything, I've seen a different person each time so far. I have been given a 'triage' number to ring at the antenatal unit at the hospital if I need to get in touch but I feel like that is obviously for more serious things, not for queries/concerns? Really hope things might improve a bit when I start seeing the community midwife at the Sure Start Centre after 20 week scan... As midwife care has not been what I thought at all so far.

Totally agree there really should be a drive for more consistency in midwife care across different trusts.

We looked at Ikea cots last time. They had this really nice grey nursery set but I wasn't keen on the chest of draws in the end. We won't be buying anything this time. We already have everything under dust sheets in the back bedroom from last time unused. I have about 3 baby grows that we'd bought for DS that were gender specific and I'm thinking about getting one of those teddy bears made from them as a memory bear. Everything else was gifts and gender neutral as although DP and I knew we were having a boy, we wanted it to be a surprise for everyone else! As I don't associate those clothes as DS's (as I didn't buy them) They'll be re-purposed for this little one.
We've decieded to swap rooms over so the new nursery will be the smaller front bedroom and DP has some time off in December so has said he wants to swap the rooms over then. I'll probably put the dust sheets back over stuff and maybe only take the moses basket out around March to 'air' it out! My mum got very excited and we straight out and bought the baby a cute little rainbow baby babygrow and vest, which I think will probably be a nice 'coming home' outfit for this one. I'm also going to ask her to buy a few more clothes bits and pieces and wash them and have them ready over at her house. Both my Mum and SIL are very excited about this baby and want to get lots of stuff for it but if it all goes wrong again at the end (or even in the middle) I don't want any extra baby stuff to deal with than what we already have!

Sorry I've just realised thats all a bit doom and gloom! On the plus side I can't bloody wait to crack out my iCandy peach3!

Helbelle I had my first pregnancy yoga this week too, it was funny but I really enjoyed it! there was 'contraction practise'

choccybiscuit Ooo Thanks for letting me know! Me and DH were definitely looking for one where the side could potentially come off.

We don't have a spare room to convert to a nursery (Living with inlaws!) so baby will be in our room for a while, so thinking something that can convert to a cot bed will be a better investment. Don't have space for any other furniture so will need to clear out my cupboards soon! Hoping to have a clear out of the bedroom over christmas, and make sure all our furniture is in the right place so we definitely know where the cot will fit. So much to plan!

marmitecheesetoast my next midwife app is 20th December and I wouldn't be surprised if it's someone covering the usual one again. I thought about raising it with my surgery, because surely a bit of consistency is important but the surgery is so awkward in general I didn't bother. I don't even know the number to contact my midwife?! My notes only have the number for the assessment unit at the local hospital.

Does anyone visit the IKEA in nottingham, I love that they have mama and papas there too! I haven't been for a while so I'm actually looking forward to my next trip.

I pulled into the M&P at Ikea park in Nottingham whilst in labour with DD! We didn't have a car seat yet - that was the planned pickup day. I have a scrap of paper in her memory box with my contractions written on it (told you I was old-fashioned), with the line "x3 in store" written on it

Our MW service seems pretty good - I have a regular lady who I will see each time, and I have the dates of my next three appts sorted already. I have their urgent and routine queries numbers, and the number for antenatal assessment/labour ward for when I need it (>20w, in labour or overnight).

Puggle I completely get it. Our nursery currently won't fit a cot in it. It has a single bed and DH's desk. I don't know when I'll turn it back into a nursery, but I expect it will be once baby is here safely. Everything can live in our bedroom until then.

We were going to go for an IKEA cot but we ended up getting one in the Mothercare sale last week.

My care so far has been mixed, everyone is lovely and professional but the communication has been shocking. My 20 week scan is coming up, which will be my third scan, and it will be in a third different hospital / town! For my previous scan, they didn't actually tell me it was in a different hospital as the first, so I turned up at my local one and they said theirs didn't open on weekends! But like I said, I can't fault the face-to-face service so far.

My midwife has been the only constant, I'm really grateful for that, I think I'd be a lot more nervous if it wasn't for her.

I've been back at work since been signed off for stress for a few days. Decided with my manager to just not tell the boss who was causing me the stress, and I just avoid her now as much as possible!

I'm feeling a lot more myself generally. Last night at Aqua Fit class it was the first time in months I've felt able to give it the full beans without everything hurting! Think my body is finally starting to settle down.

abeandhalo which mother care cot did you go for? :)
Glad you're feeling better, It's hard when work is an added stress!

Monkeyarms I don't think you are crazy to consider doing without a buggy, or at least not bothering with a travel system or needing something with a 'lie flat' option suitable for a newborn.

When they're tiny they are very portable in a sling - in fact particularly round town. I hated hauling a big travel system round shops and getting in people's way on pavements. Never have to worry about stairs, shops without lifts, going into a clothes shop with narrow aisles and dragging garments under the wheels. I found it really freeing just having DS in a sling. Rucksack for a changing bag is really handy if you're using a sling, helps balance the weight! He often slept in the sling whilst I was having lunch or a sit down and a coffee (avoid spilling hot coffee on their head though, I may have done this! )

Had my 16 week midwife appointment today - a bit rushed as she was running late but she'd obviously had a run of first time mums with lots of questions and people with more complications, so she was pleased to have a straight-forward case! I did however get to hear the heartbeat - although to be honest I wasn't that fussed (I can feel movement now so know there's something going on in there!) - but the midwife was dead chuffed she found it very easily so I had pretend to be really excited

They wouldn't check for a heartbeat at my 16 wk appointment. V disappointed. She said it'd cause too much worry if they couldn't find it so it's not procedure.

I just realised I was actually over night in hospital at 16 weeks - saw midwife at app on 15 weeks. Babies heartbeat was checked every 6 hours or so whilst in hospital.

Think midwives should at least try! Without the heartbeat and any movement it's hard because you forever worry about everything being ok.

Morning guys!

Funny enough, I'm off to ikea this morning to buy a kallax for the nursery and also take a look at cots. I've heard they are meant to be really good. Let me know if anyone wants some pictures of the cots and I can send them over x

Sussex would you mind taking some pics? If the IKEA furniture is good that could save us some money! Some of the cots I've looked at are far too expensive! We have a tiny second bedroom that we are turning into a nursery, it is currently a bit of a dumping room... not sure where we will dump all our crap when the baby is here!!

Ooo have fun Sussex! Let us know what you think of the cots. I just want to make sure they're sturdy and not too oversized really!

We have an IKEA cot got it reduced aswell it's still standing strong and great size too, will be using it for DC2!

We have an IKEA cot, it was £60 and is about to house its 3rd baby.... so I will vouch for ikea! Though I would have got one where you can remove the side in hindsight which are a bit more expensive (but still really reasonable). I think for kids stuff you can't go wrong with ikea. After many Homebase, Argos etc mistakes I am now either ikea or solid old antique. A mix of the two works!

Any advice for reasonably priced travel systems? pil have offered to buy ours but I dont have any ideas on what would be appropriate dont want to ask for anything that would seem to be expensive

You guys had disappeared off my threads!
We actually went to IKEA today and bought our cot. We were going to wait til next weekend as we have our 20 week scan on Monday but we didn't have the big 2 this afternoon so thought we would go while we didn't have to worry about them.

It's the first time we've bought a cot, we were given one for DD and it lasted for DS so it was a bit of a novelty!

We're having a cot from when my eldest DN was born.

Travel system wise, my friend has promised me one - I know you're not supposed to have secondhand ones really but it's less than a year old and I trust them it's not been dropped/damaged!

Anyone else started night time waking?

I toss and turn all night everdene, I getting a bit fed up of broken nights now. I be exhausted by the time baby is here!