May 2017 #6........ 'Half way there and trips to Mothercare'

[Adventuregame]

And the chat/moans/advice/excitement continues.............any newbies welcome !

Hmmm savage I was worried someone would say that..... I was 8lb something but my brother was 10lb 8 My DH was only 7lb something but MIL had a long 36hr labour compared to the 4 or 5 hrs my DM had with me..... seems like there's no easy way to do this!!

Morning all!
Been absent for a while, only 1 day off since 2nd Jan and feeling it now!
Sad I missed the meet up but hope I can join one before we drop.
It will take me a while to catch up on posts so quickly wanted to share my (second?!) preggo purchase so far! Yep I'm way, way behind you organised lot...
For those of you without cleaning help, I've recently been wondering how do I actually clean the bath with this bump?? Can't lean in far enough anymore and I'm really short it's quite deep.
Went full geriatric and bought an oxo good grips tile and tub scrubber- basically a long handled sponge on a stick- bloody brilliant!
Also got one of those long handle grabber things for when I drop socks and knickers in the awkward space next to the washing machine. Going to get a grey hair rinse next to complete the trio.

When I saw the midwife at my 16 week appt she said that my baby should have a regular movement pattern by 24-25 weeks and to just be aware of it. 23 weeks today and baby does move around but not in a regular pattern yet-some days more than others.
I am seeing her next at 25+6 so will ask her what I should expect if I don't feel baby has a regular pattern yet.

I bought a cloth nappy on ebay, second hand, so I can have a look and see what its like, I am also going to wash it so I can see how long it takes to dry. I have decided that we will have to use all in ones if we are going to use washable nappies, DH takes ages to "get" things and I am worried he will not put a nappy together properly or just give up and tell me hes not doing nappy changes unless we use disposible, he also hates spending money so on that front he is on board with cloth nappies.
Anyone else used cloth nappies before or planning to? My mom did with all 3 of my younger siblings and she said she really didn't notice it being any extra work.

MissMooMoo we used cloth from the start last time and will do so again this time, it wasn't any extra work aside from remembering to put the load in the machine and hang it up again. Cloth nappies were fabulous IMO. We used two part fitteds though for the most part (Little Lambs) as they are less likely to leak (all in ones may be fine as well but fit is more important). For night time you might want to look into a fitted nappy with a wool cover (I was sceptical so we didn't use those from the start but am now a convert!).

Mighty you're a genius! Didn't think about cleaning the bath DH has done it the past few times so haven't noticed bump getting in the way yet.

Great idea for the mothercare wishlist adventure, we're going to do a John Lewis visit so we have the same thing

Definitely decided we're not getting a carrier car seat, spent the past week watching our next door neighbour with her less than 6 month old daughter lifting in and out the fixed car seat, looks significantly easier than the first months of lifting out the carrier seat with an increasingly heavier baby.... yet another working from home advantage spying on daily use of baby equipment. They also have the pram I want and the ease with which they fold it has probably confirmed that one for me too

MissMooMoo good point re cloth nappies. I have considered it but I feel nervous about being in a flat and not really having adequate drying space for the washing. I think it will be a challenge anyway to dry our clothes properly. So I'll go,with disposable nappies instead and try to look at the more environmentally friendly if possible.
I haven't bought my car seat as yet, but made an appointment for Monday in the in car safety centre in Milton Keynes (www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk) to get info. I have been referring people there for a long time but never visited myself. They also have a branch in Essex and in Belfast.
We had a chat yesterday (daddy of baby and me) and it seems he still needs to ripen the idea of buying stuff. I couldn't give him particularly good answers to the question if we need both a Moses basket and a cot (bed). We live in a first floor maisonette so any kind of pram will stay in the car, and carrying a carry cot with baby in it up the stairs is likely to be problematic for my back. Can any of you relate?

Rustler some nappies dry really quickly (microfibre) so worth considering if they might work for you. If you email the Nappy Lady she could recommend some which may work in your case as she has loads of experience. www.thenappylady.co.uk/news/which-reusable-nappies-to-choose.html

Re the moses basket / cot thing, a cot might be too big from the start (some babies like being a bit more 'enclosed'). You could use one of the sleepyhead or similars in the bigger cot. We're in a house so will need an upstairs sleep solution and a downstairs nap solution. Last time it was the carry cot (which we never used on the travel system anyway, but had been given by a friend!), but if you're all on one level baby can nap in the cot.

savage the one I ordered is a bambino mio solo (after watching hours of youtube videos and reviews )
They also sell them at costco so if they work on our baby then I will invest in them.
We will use disposibles for the first few weeks probably.

And the nappylady recommended them too.

Just shared by a midwife friend of mine
www.facebook.com/maternitydirect/videos/1806921882906732/

First few weeks is just when you have OH on hand to help with laundry

Weight prediction can be way off, I was reading this the other day: <a class="break-all" href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2016/01/11/high-birth-weight-predictions-are-often-inaccurate/?referer=t.co/4fMQlJT3ZY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2016/01/11/high-birth-weight-predictions-are-often-inaccurate/?referer=t.co/4fMQlJT3ZY Bigger babies are meant to be easier to push out anyway so not necessarily a bad thing! DS was predicted to be close to 9lb so it wasn't wildly out I suppose.

Thanks Rustler seems the advice is to call if you are at all worried. I'm not sure that baby has a regular pattern just yet, but I definitely do notice if it's more or less (and it's getting steadily more and more at the moment). Plus I can often get baby moving in the evening by lying on my side - perfect for just as I try to get to sleep!

Quite nice to feel baby moving though, isn't it?

Size is very unpredictable I think. My mum is 6 stone wet through and I was 8lb. I'm 5'8 and average build and my two were 6lb10. I had scans towards the end both times and I was told they were measuring small and that I would be induced on due date, but they weren't that small

Rustler - yes, it still makes me giggle!

I'm a petite 5'4 /

Hmmm the further I get into this pregnancy malarkey the more I realise that we actually don't know that much about anything!! Anyone would think we were all individuals or something

So this is probably a stupid question.. Not being very sentimental I am buying second hand where I can. Obviously will buy new cot mattress due to risks of SIDS. But does this apply to pram mattresse/surface as well, if the baby may nap in it...?

Well I'm borrowing a friend's moses basket and intend to get a new mattress but that's not cos I've read it anywhere, just my own decision ?

Yeah, think the same applies crazy. We have mattresses for a moses basket, a carrycot, a crib and a cot bed. None of which DS ever actually slept in and I bet number 2 won't either but I guess I should probably replace??

I used cloth nappies too BTW. Mainly because they're cute tbh.

Hm. I'd be less worried about a carry cot mattress provided it's short naps and where you are near baby (and awake!) while they sleep. (Obviously I'd be more worried with a prem baby or a sickly baby.)

Fox - if you're sure it's not been slept in and is therefore untainted by bodily fluids I'd be tempted to reuse those (provided they've been safely stored, etc). From my reading the theory was that the bodily fluids got stored in the mattress which then attracted bacteria which give off nasty gasses. Still all a bit theoretical though.

Hey lovely ladies, It's all gone a bit tits up here found out yesterday my lovely nanny job of 10 years can only pay me up until end of Jan. They are self employed too and have a major money problem with their businesses.

So sad that after 10 years it could end in the next 2 weeks, no notice period, redundancy or maternity pay (had thought they might do a little something after so long). Love those kids and they are so excited about the baby.

Who's gonna want to employ a 6 month pregnant woman who's only gonna be around a couple of months?? DH self employed too and not a big earner but very supportive so I'm very lucky.

Had to leave my other main job just before Xmas due to boss totally flipping out at me/being a bully. Still have a little income from my own business but that's increasingly tricky as it's very physical..... we do have savings too but they really weren't for stretching this far!

Hey ho, I know it'll all be ok it's just a big shock at the moment especially after the pre Crimbo job loss. Thank goodness for this wonderful little wriggly baby inside me.

MIL seems to have suggested donating a fairly ancient travel cot to us. I'm begining to think it may be better just to pick up an inexpensive one instead!

Finally heard from the hospital physio about my referral for PGP, but I'm not quite sure if I'm having a private session or just joining a group class. It's in a couple of weeks, so I guess if things haven't improved after that I can look into seeing someone privately. I have been a bit less active in the last week, mostly thanks to a cold, so not quite sure how things are going.