Due August '07 - Part 4

[tokentotty]

Welcome all !!!!

Have a fab holiday conker!!!

welcome BLM, i also am due the 22nd and just like you have started to feel really tierd the last 2 days!!

Hope everyone else is well! xx

Hi Mrs B! Yes I've still got a tremendous appetite at the mo!!! All this talk of Magnums.... I've got a voucher for a free McFlurry which I might have to use at lunchtime today

Glad all looks normal for you (btw - what's an arterial doppler??!)

Hi Pinkranger
Yay!! I've found a pregancy twin! My tiredness has just sneaked up on me all of a sudden - almost overnight. I'd got used to being able to stay up with DH until 10pm-ish most evenings from about 14 weeks onwards (I'd even managed a few 1am nights out with friends lol!!)
Oh well, back to early nights again!!

Muffins, it's like an ultrasound, but rather than just looking at the baby they use the scanner to measure the pulses of blood flowing into and the placenta and along the umbilical cord.

I have a gene thing called Factor V Leiden that means I'm more likely to get blood clots (also preeclampsia) so they are keeping an eye open to catch any problems before they gets serious.

Not affecting my cake habit at all though .

Oh, am probably also due 22nd - MW said 21st initally but all the scans say 22nd...

DH is on a contract in London at the moment, meaning 5.30am starts, so we're usually in bed by 9pm, which helps the tiredness a lot.

Morning all and welcome babylovesmuffins. I'm also feeling really tired all the time. I wish I could be in bed at 9pm but dd is rarely asleep before 9:30 so it's impossible.

Going to pilates tonight so dd will stay at mum's and go to sleep in the car on the way home. Should mean an earlier night for me.

Not just me who can't stay awazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

Wow Itchy - Zanzibar? How exotic! What's it like living there? There's a useful feature here about helping prevent backache and it explains the types of backache you can get during pregnancy. It mentions trying a support belt, which I suddenly remembered I'd bought but not used. You can get them from most maternity catalogues.

MrsB - really glad your doppler went well You don't realise how quietly stressed it makes you until you feel the relief after the scan. Mine went fine, thanks - in fact, the consultant was a bit bemused as to why I'd been referred to her as my levels were borderline and said I could choose whether to have the additional scans (all that worry!). I decided I would, and explained I wanted a home birth so it would give me extra reassurance that the baby was growing well. She was quite frank, and said home births weren't something she went along with, particularly for a first baby. I started up a thread on MN here to see what others thought and got some useful advice which you might find helpful too. It made me feel more confident to stick to my original plan should everything be ok... I do feel that consultants are very twitchy about homebirths because they tend to see the higher risk births and because there is a bit of a turf war thing going on between them and the midwives.

Oh, there's a Panorama on tonight, BBC One at 8pm about understaffing of midwives in hospitals - sounds worth catching, if a little depressing...

Saw the trailer for Panorama but looked a bit frightening (all about understaffed maternity wards). Don't think I'll watch it as am already pretty worried about the labour anyway. Mind you, have spoken to friends in the area and all give very good reports on my local maternity ward.

Anyone else signed up for NCT classes, ours start next week, just wondered if anyone has been to any?

Am booked onto ones starting end June, Funbun. Not really sure what to expect - hope it won't all be deadly serious as my DH won't be able to hack it! Let me know how your first one goes...

I went to NCT classes a couple of years ago and found them very useful. I guess it would depend on your instructor but mine were very relaxed. I'm sure your dh will be fine with it. And you should make some new 'mum' friends with babies all at the same stage. I'm still in touch with the girls I met there.

That reminds me! I need to follow up on the NCT classes - have booked on but never followed up with the booking form and payment... Hope I can still get a place

My m/w runs a/n classes too, which are free but I thought I'd go to NCT classes as well.

Has anyone else bought baby clothes yet? I've had mixed feelings about this - maybe a bit of superstition about buying too much too soon - but I'd like to be well-prepared too. I'm asking as I've just been to John Lewis and couldn't resist buying 2 really cute 0-3mth outfits now I'm feeling a bit guilty.... I've only bought a few cheapie newborn things in Tesco up until now... (I'm trying to justify the purchase!!!!)

PS - if anyone has been suffering from heartburn, I'm trying out Love Heart sweets as suggested by another pg friend! They seem to be working so far... (taste a lot nicer than Gaviscon too )

my NCT classes start on 26th June. Only realised a few days ago that one of the classes on a saturday clashes with tickets I got for Number 1 court in the Wimbledon ballot. Not sure what to do now!!!

I've got quite a few clothes now. Bought a few bits at Asda and tesco but wob a couple of auctions for bundles of 0-3 months baby girls clothes on ebay. Didn't quite appreciate how big the bundles were as I only paid £28 for them but I have had to bring a suitcase into the office so I can get them all home.

There must be 20 dresses with matching pants and sun hats, romper suits, cardigans, trousers, t shirts, track suits etc. In all there was over 120 items (mostly from next and baby gap) all in beautiful condition - loads of them still had the price labels on as they were obviously outgrown before they had a chance to wear them.

I know some people want to buy everything new but it seems such a waste when she'll probably wear an outfit maybe once before it is outgrown. Very pleased with what I got and for a bargain price.

Not bought anything new (though was sorely tempted by the tiny cotton jersey blankets in Primark yesterday) - have a lot of stuff handed on from DH's cousin though.
Also hanging fire in case the Cub is a girl and I can indulge in a Frilly Spree after the birth .
TBH there are higher priority things at the moment, like plastering the baby's room...

Forgot to say earlier, my Mum emailed me this morning and said she had a dream that the baby arrived 3 weeks early on August 9th - how's that for specific!!

I'll make sure I'm not busy on that day!

How weird though if it came true!

I would def go to Wimbledon - are you mad?

Yes, totally agree, has to be Wimbledon!

I really wanted to join NCT classes but they do not do them in my area, which is a total pain, so I'll just have to go to the local hospital for ante natal classes.

Tesco is also great for cheap clothes and toys for babies.

MrsBadger - am also plastering babies room at the moment, spent all last weekend stripping off layers of paint and wallpaper and missed all the gorgeous sun! However, am very aware if it was left up to dp the baby would prob be old enough to do it itself before it got round to being done!

Have a nice weekend all! Am off to see my nephew, 4 weeks old! Getting in the practise!

Quiet on here today. Everyone out enjoying the weather?

Hersetta - when I was pg with dd, dh worked out the exact date I should give birth in order to give him the maximum number of days off (he was working shifts at the time). I think she must have been listening because she was born on that date!

Well done on that ebay purchase! Sounds like a great deal, especially as some of it is brand new.

I've bought a few things. I had loads of white/neutral stuff that dd wore so I haven't had to get much in newborn size. I think the only things I will have that is neutral for 0-3 and above will be vests and babygrows. I have a new nephew who was born 2 days ago and my sil is not having any more kids. We have asked her if she can pass all his clothes in our direction when he has outgrown them. Should save us a lot of money.

Have a nice weekend everyone. Off to look at prams and car seats tomorrow. Think we have decided on the Pliko M&P thingy! Got a few clothes but find it hard to resist when I spot cute newborn stuff. Good job i don't know the sex coz I'm sure I'd be unstoppable.

Sunshine and a bank hol! Yippee

Hi GillL, sadly I'm not out enjoying the sunshine, just too busy at work to check in (very inconsiderate of them!).

We bought a few things last weekend at a second-hand shop in Highgate (Little Angel Exchange, tiny shop but well worth a visit if you live in north London). I got a load of stuff from a friend yesterday too, her boy has grown out of most 0-3 things now. Got her Baby Bjorn too, which is wonderful. I'm trying to restrict my buying to nursery furniture for the next few months!

Hope everyone has a great bank holiday weekend, even if it's going to piss it down! I'm off to Birmingham to visit DP's friends and their one-year-old, get in a bit of practice too! Will try and get DP to change at least one nappy, he's terrified.

Yeah, stuck in work too - but it's a bank hol weekend coming up

Gill - how many baby clothes do you need for a 1st baby? Are those things that look like babygrows without legs vests, or are vests without the poppers covering the nappy? I've bought a few things in sales - I've got about 4 short-sleeved, legless babygrows (vests?), a hat, a coat and a pair of soft cotton trouses and was wondering what else I needed... Worried after hearing that if it's a big baby I wouldn't get any wear out of newborn stuff.

Annie75

I would get 0 - 3 mth which go up to about 14LBs, i didn't get any newborn clothes (just as well as dd was 9lb 4oz).

DD lived in babygrows for the first 6mth, i found they are a lot less fuss then trying to get a baby dressed.

Annie,

I would say the only thing you'll really need at the newborn stage are sleepsuits - most babies live in them for the first couple of weeks. My SIL got through 4/5 a day when my nephew was born in january. You'll probably get loads at gifts but have them to take to the hospital with you. I bought mine from Asda - pack of 3 was £5.

Hi Annie, vests are the ones with sleeves but no legs and with poppers that go between the legs. Babygrows/sleepsuits cover the whole body. Most have feet but some don't. With regards to how many you need - it depends how often you will wash them. I had about a dozen vests and babygrows (each). The baby will probably live in vests at first due to the temperature in August and early september. It will still be worth getting a few outfits for when you go out but people will buy mainly newborn clothes for you as gifts (in my experience).

Definitely get a few bits in newborn to take to the hospital. Dd was only 6lb 9oz and even newborn clothes drowned her. Mum had to rush out the day she was born to buy tiny baby clothes. She didn't fit into 0-3 clothes until she was about 3 months old. Obviously it will depend how big your baby is but your midwife may be able to give you an idea.

Thanks Lizzie and Hersetta. So I thought 0-3 months was newborn, but it isn't? In which case I should be okay as that's what I've bought so far.

Are sleepsuits babygrows, then? or are they different? sorry to sound a bit dense, just the terminology is confusing me!