May 2017 #9 3rd trimester!

[Rustler74]

Hello all! Now to find a way to guide you to the new thread...

Trying to figure out how many clothes we might need - it's so difficult as you don't know what size the baby will be! We are not really planning to buy much as we are sure people will buy us things, but we do need to have enough ready and washed in each size so that when baby arrives we are not scrabbling around!

With my friend now expecting her baby about a month early (after waters going this weekend) I think DH suddenly thinks it's reasonable to start getting things ready!

Are there usually good car seat and buggy offers at the baby show? I don't know if we should just buy now that we know what we want (Joolz Day 2 and MaxiCosi Cabriofix) or wait until the baby show in April.

Hey lullaby23 I'm in agreement with the 0-3mnths. I just can't see, when they're telling us the baby is like a giraffe, that despite it potentially being a normal weight, that because it's above the 95 percentile, that it wouldn't be filling out the baby clothes significantly in the length department? I don't want to be in a position where I'm having to cut the feet off things?!

MrsJW15 that's what I want to achieve, too. Just enough washed and ready to see us through.

For all those who've done this before - any views on baby wipes/washes/toiletries, etc?

I suppose absolute worst for a newborn would be that they poo (and leak out the nappy!) / throw up after every feed and need a full change, which would be about once every 2 hours, so 12 items tops assuming you can do a load of washing and have it dry before the next 24 hour period starts!

And if that is the case I'm sure you'd be after new nappies or getting better catching baby-sick with a muslin pronto :)

I have 6 of newborn vests, and babygros
And 6 of 0-3.
Im hoping thats enough to start until we see what size baby is.
We live 5 mins away from a westfield so I will send DH out if need be. Also have a large 24 hour asda closeby.
We have about 100 newborn sized nappies

Having lunch with Rustler74 now!

sanity welcome to the group. Don't panic! You will be fine. A lot of purchases will depend on what sort of baby you have, so seriously don't worry about not being prepared. There is a lot of pressure on new parents to have everything 'just so' with the perfect crib, pristine pram, coordinating wallpaper etc, before the baby even gets here. The reality of having a newborn is that all that doesn't really matter. It's a steep learning curve, but learn you do, and you will soon figure out what works for your family. So my advice would be to wait as long as possible to buy too many gadgets you may not use (I still resent the panicked £30 I spent on a sodding dream sheep that people swore would get my newborn to sleep).

On why shops still sell bumpers etc it's because although they are not recommended, they are not banned, and they make shops money. Same goes for gadgets aimed at weaning four month olds.

On the leaking out of the nappy bit... Has anyone discovered a brand of nappy that they'd swear by?

As for puke catching... I used to play netball at high school? Maybe those skills will come back to me?! One can but hope!

My view on baby toiletries is none needed. Newborns don't need much cleaning and it could actually be bad for their skin, they're largely clean except for the bum (which is covered by wiping at nappy changes!) and the mouth (again wipes / muslins if needed to get rid of sick). If you need soap for whatever reason go for the one with the shortest ingredient list and the least scented one you can find.

I'm a bit militant on this as I spent my entire childhood with severe asthma and it turns out I'm fine once you remove the 'triggers' from my environment, which include strongly scented toiletries and laundry liquids etc, and (in my case) cats. (I know most other people fall in the 'it didn't kill me' camp though.)

Wipe wise we got on exceptionally well with reusable wipes, I found they 'wiped' better than disposables, which tended to smear poo around rather than get it off the baby. We did use disposable wipes occasionally, eg if we were travelling (NB: they're not actually flushable). Water Wipes are supposed to be good and OK from newborn, although I've not used them, (see my previous comment on ingredient listings and scents...). We also used Jackson Reece wipes.

No toilleteries really required their skin is so delicate. (My first had eczema and at 4.5 we still don't use any soap)!

Vaseline is useful to put in their bottoms when they are born to stop meconium sticking. (Also helpful for keeping nipples from hurting)!

Really buy as little as you can and buy stuff as you need it or you end up buying too much.

Some where to sleep
Pushchair or sling
Car seat

5 newborn sleep suits with mittens
6 vests
Muslins
Size 1 nappies
Baby hat
Blanket
Sheets
Change mat

Huggies pure wipes are the best I have found and 99% water.

Had my GTT this morning, and it WAS three seperate blood tests. One first thing, drink lucozade, wait an hour, another blood test than another hour another blood test. My poor sodding arms.

Not at all in Pizza Hut right now...

Thank you so much, guys. So, I'm doing okay. Just need some blankets, sheets, change mat, baby hats, scratch mittens, Trumpette socks, nappies, wipes, vaseline/sudo cream. Formula (just in case I can't do boob) top and tail basin (do I need a bath yet?), a soft sponge/wash cloth.

At what point does the washes, talc and the moisturisers come out to play?

Additionally, what about a baby bouncer/rest/thing they can hang in?

Welcome Sanity.
I am a FTM and we haven't bothered with a top and tail bowl, I figure I can just use bowls I already have.
We bought an angelcare bath seat (£20) to put in the normal bath.

Hey MissMooMoo, thank you.

I think I'll definitely need a top and tail bowl. God only knows what the OH will do if he is given 'free reign' to choose any item in the kitchen cupboards with which to wash the baby's bottom from! I would wholly anticipate him seeing the non-stick inner tin from the breadmaker as a viable option!

As for the bath, I was looking at one of those shnuggle thingamebobs.

shnuggle.com/product/shnuggle-bath-with-foam-backrest

Got a bad back so was hoping I could put this one on a table top and go from there?

Definitely no hanging yet and even later it's not really recommended as they aren't properly supported by their bum. We had a Jumperoo which was fabulous, but they aren't supposed to be in them too long. And a Bumbo which again was fabulous but you can't use until they can support their own head, which is a few months down the line.

A bouncy chair is OK, but again not for long periods and you'll get more use out of it when a bit older. There's also nothing wrong with putting them down on something on the floor (on a blanket or something if you have hard flooring!) or getting a playmat. If you have older kids or pets likely to trample the newborn, perhaps a more secure environment is needed though! The 'tiny love 3 in 1 bouncer rocker' has been recommended by a friend for such circumstances.

No need for a top / tail as mentioned by MissMooMoo, use a normal bowl.

We never got a baby bath - just bathed baby while one of us was in the bath to hold him, the other did the washing.

How long can you keep a baby in a bouncer? Or laid down in something like the tiny love?

I don't like the idea of the baby on the floor as we have a cat. He's a snobby cat, so would probably just walk past the baby with a general air of disdain! I would just like to keep the bubba protected from being smothered in pet hair whilst so little...

Hi everyone, missed half the last thread as it moved so quickly and I've been so busy at work and at home (eldest DD is 5 today).

On top and tail bowls, I wouldn't bother- any bowl will do, ours just gathered dust to be honest!

I am having a bit of a wobble this week and I was wondering if anyone else has any experience of this. My previous two pregnancies were very smooth until the end where I had to have extra scans as I was told the babies were small. In the end they were both CS due to failed induction, and both weighed 6lb 10oz (so not too small!). Fast-forward to this time- I'm 31+5 today and was told a couple of weeks ago that I would have extra scans as a precaution due to last babies being small.

So far so normal, till yesterday when I saw the consultant for the first time. He did the growth scan and said, yes, the baby is on the small side. We'll see you in a week. He then said he would check the cord and placenta, and then said he was concerned at raised RI and PI values, meaning there is resistance in the cord and the baby may not be getting everything it needs from the placenta.

I now have to go to the regional hospital tomorrow to see the senior consultant, and I'm bloody terrified at what this might mean. I have three and a half weeks to work, and I'm worried they might need to do an early CS now, and I'm completely unprepared. Has anyone had this before? I'm hoping best case scenario is extra monitoring for last few weeks. This baby kicks me harder than the other two and never stops moving, but I'm worried!

Sorry that was so long-winded.

I've never moisturised our 4 year old... he's now washed with our normal soap.

Talc is not recommended, it's carcinogenic. I think it's traditionally used to try and dry off baby's bum during nappy changes, but we never needed anything like that, and if you do you can find non-talc alternatives.

Sanitys you will find that at the start they are mainly either being held or lying in their crib/basket. When they get a bit bigger they will start to tolerate being sat in the bouncy chair or lying on a mat, but only for a few minutes at a time at first. That's in my experience anyway!

Also there is no need for soap, talc, moisturiser for a good while. We also never used talc and only moisturise my smaller DD due to her eczema. She is 2 and we don't use soap on her because of this either. You can put something in the bath when they are bigger if you want, for bubbles etc, if they aren't sensitive, but no need for anything when they are very small imo.

Oh good, I'm kinda glad about the talc thing. Besides, I really didn't know what it was for - other than absorbing excess sweat?! Knowing me I'd get it bleedin' everywhere anyway!

Sorry you're having a tough time, Northernexile. All fingers and toes crossed for you that it is just a routine check and everything will be fine.

Thank you. I'm hoping it's more precaution than anything else and that nothing drastic is going to happen!

Northern fingers crossed all is OK, I hope extra monitoring is the way to go at this stage too. Is the regional hospital where you would have the baby anyway? Is there a chance that they might want to keep you in for monitoring?

Sanity not sure there's any particular guidance but it's probably in line with the new SIDS guidance of 30 mins or so for carseats at first, unless it's a fully 'lie flat' thing. And they shouldn't sleep in them if they're not under constant supervision

I know the SIDS guidelines, but my friend had her bumpers on with all three of hers from day dot. LO sleeps at the bottom of the cot anyway and she's surgically tied them to the crib to the point that she finds it a nightmare to get them off herself!

I too have been starting a list on my phone with the bits I haven't got yet.

I think it's safe to say with the amount of clothes we've been given that we have too much. I've only put newborn and 0-3 in the cupboards. I have two underbed boxes of 3-6 and the same in 6-9 so shouldn't need to buy anything for a while now 🙈

I know we have too much / are over organised but the majority of things have been given to us, we so far have

Cotbed and mobile
Changing Table
Moses Basket
Pushchair and Carrycot
2 x changing bags - large and small
ISOFIX base and car seat
Nappies sizes 0-3
Angelcare sensor Mat, camera and monitor
Nursing chair
TT Perfect Prep Machine
TT Manual and Electric Breast Pump
TT Express and Go Bottle Warmer
TT Bottle Steriliser
12 bottles
Floor jungle gym mat
Bouncer
Books and toys
Bath seat
Nappy bin
Enough clothes, shoes, hats, scratch mitts, socks, blankets and muslins to hold our own NCT nearly new sale

The only thing I can think I need is a changing Mat now

Sorry to hear northernexile, that's not nice news. On the sunny side, this baby is rather active, so why not hope that the consultant will listen to your story as well.

Sanity, try to avoid the idea of hanging or jumping as these pieces of equipment are, apart from them being 'fun',
-bulky

• unnecessary and potentially dangerous particularly the indeed with wheels see http://www.csp.org.uk/sites/files/csp/secure/babywalkerss-2014.pdf
• taking away precious time the baby needs to spend on its back or front, learning to roll and sitting
• too easy a 'solution'
• only recommended for 10 minutes a day and strictly under supervision.

I'm sorry to be so harsh about this but I've come across too many kids whose general development was rather behind due to overtime spent in one of these.

Thanks for the list and recommendations re early baby stuff.

Something lots of you could put under useful extra is a changing basket for downstairs. We have a second mat and a basket with nappies/wipes/creams in so we don't have to traipse upstairs every nappy change. if you in a flat then this isn't really needed obviously!

I went to hospital for my Physio referral this morning. She checked my range of motion which was painful but now I can barely move really hoping she has not set me back as I was doing well each day managing the pain day by day!