Due August '07 - Part 4

[tokentotty]

Welcome all !!!!

Thanks, Gill. Our posts must've crossed. Much clearer now - and a good excuse to go shopping!

Yay!!

just got a pram !!

Got one off ebay - only 6 months old. A Silver cross freeway with linear chassis complete with full climate pack.

Got a bargain even though I have to drive for 90 mins to pick it up.

very pleased that decision is out of the way with now!!

Nice one, Hersetta - hope it was a bobby bargain. Silver Cross meant to be v good too. I've found that my second-hand pram makes excellent storage space in the meantime

Hi August babes!!
Actually managed to do some work today and not get distracted on to MN!!
Annie - I had a giggle at your thread - do you know I looked at the outfits I'd bought when I got home last night and thought, how the hell do you put this on a baby!!! (It's a sort of top and dungarees outfit, and there are poppers up between the legs as well as at the shoulders) Hee hee!!
Hersetta - well done on your pram purchase! We've still not decided what to go for

Hi All

exciting to hear of all the baby clothes buying. I have been buying a few things too, even though I don't really need anything. I don't want to have baby in all the same clothes as ds.

Hersetta- i agree ebay is fab, I have now decided it's a waste of time to sell anything, as you hardly make any money but buying is fab. i bought a baby bundle for about $1.19 and got about 10 items, some never worn and designer brands, would be well over $100 value.

annie - as to what you need, I think you can't really go wrong with the 000 stuff and need a few 0000 for first weeks, I think it is pretty unlikely to have a big first baby, most are average size. I think about 8 singlets, 8 or more babygrows, short and long sleeved and a couple of little jackets. You probably will wash every other day, but babies can spoil a few outfits a day sometimes. Hope that helps, ask away.

I'm also balloning out, starting to get all the shop assistant questions!!!

UKI

I was told i was having an average size baby eg between 7lb and 71/2 lb, but dd was 9lb 4oz and a week early.

I still only measuring to size eg measured 38cm at 38weeks.

Morning girls

It's pathetic that this is so exciting but the first piece of new new baby kit (ie not a hand-me-down) arrived today - DH's sling.
I'd had no idea he'd be so keen but apprently a couple of years ago he saw a dad at work with his new baby in one and it spoke to his inner lentilweaver...

So one was duly ordered (in manly khaki ) and he's spent the morning round the house, making breakfast etc with a bag of potatoes in it to simulate the weight of a baby.

He is very impressed. Dead easy to put on and get the baby - I mean potatoes - in, and very comfy.

I am proud really but it is very funny!

(I am hanging fire on my sling till the Calin Bleu gauzes come out as I reckon a jersey wrap will be too sweaty for August)

well Muffins, your nursery is doing better than ours, which is still bare plasterboard, though to be fair until four weeks ago it was the master bedroom and we've redone the layout of the whole upstairs since then, so in the greater scheme of things we're not doing too badly.
Will confess to a preference for minimalism over character stuff though - currently the plan is to paint everything cream, but I have my eye on a couple of these Danish mobiles...

DS has got one of those mobiles in his room - he was given it as a present when he was born. Has only just started to notice it but has been a really good distraction to keep him still while changing his nappy - he can blow it from the floor and make it move!

I hanven't bought any baby clothes at all yet (and heve given all my old stuff away) - I'm waiting to closer to the end to see how big it's getting. Neither of mine were in 0-3 stuff as they were really long. Don't want to waste money again! Particularly this time at the end of august - if buy anything too big it will be change of season. Just hoping for lots of presents again - Not sure if any one will buy anything for poor no.3! Got loads more than expected previously - most was 3-6months and even got quite a lot of 9-12! Most of my friends have already got kids and expected me to be bought newborn stuff.

Oh dear that's a bit of a ramble - very tired still - not sure if it's being bounced on from 5.30am (grrr summer mornings!) or the growing lump!

I agree re: minimalist nursery. Just painted dd's room in cream and decorated with some Humphrey's corner pictures.

Had a couple of difficult evenings trying to get dd to sleep so I'm really tired. Last night I decided I'd had enough with her messing around so I started using the 'rapid return' technique. She kept climbing/rolling out of bed and I must have put her back getting on for a hundred times. She was screaming the whole time and finally just fell asleep at 10:40. Unfortunately she was up again at 6 but dh took her downstairs to let me lay in for a bit. She wasn't as bad tonight - she was asleep at 9:40 tonight. I think it took about 30 minutes less (I started later last night). I'm hoping it will only take a couple more nights and she'll be happy to go to sleep by herself. So much for a relaxing weekend!

lizzie- wow that's a big girl, lucky she was early, did you tear? I tore bad with ds he was 6 pound something or 3580g. I was good with the perinimum massage thing, but tore on the inside. (can't win)I'm hoping not to go through that again.

Uki

No i didn't tear, i also had what my midwife called a silent labour.

I when to the loo at about 6.30am and felt like a big kick on my bladder and started bleeding. I was still not having any contractions when i got to the hospital at 7am, when i examined by the doctor an hour later i was already 8cm but still not having any contractions (had to examined as midwife were not sure why i was bleeding).

I had her at 2.15pm after about 10 contractions it only took that long because the midwife gave me a petherdine injection which sent me to sleep for 6hours.

I hoping for the same this time.

I started out minimalist with the baby's nursery - we're just going to paint the walls cream and put up an Olly & Molly border which is neutral (cream & brown) - but then I kept buying more bits and pieces - like the mobile, lampshade and a few O&M pics for the walls!!

I'm going to make a birth sampler which should keep me occupied during my maternity leave. I found a really nice one yesterday with the Beatrix Potter characters on but then DH reminded me that he's always been freaked out by the BP animals, so I didn't buy it after all...

I like those Danish mobiles Mrs B - nice & simple - I don't want too much clutter in the nursery!

Yikes! My boss has just told me that he's heard back from the company lawyers about my maternity leave and I have a meeting with him at 11.30 this morning... I'm the first one in the company ever to go on maternity leave so it's been a bit stressful trying to make sure I get all my entitlements... fingers crossed on this one, I have my own employment lawyer up my sleeve (so to speak) but I'm really hoping I don't need to go there as I really don't need that stress atm

Will have to make sure I don't a) cry or b) get aggressive/defensive if things don't go my way... DH has instructed me to say "thank you for that information, I'll take it away and look over it and I'll get back to you"!

Fingers crossed!!

Hello ladies,

hope you all had a good bank holiday weekend. We spent it doing mostly baby things. Went looking for a cotbed and have chosen the one I want but haven't bought it yet. We then bought a moses basket - just need to pick up a stand now. Also went and picked up the silver cross pram we got from ebay which is perfect and is now residing in the baby's room. Will launder all the covers when we get back from holiday but am very happy with it.

Spent ages washing and ironing all the baby clothes bundles I got from egay and have put them in storage bags according to age rangles so feeling very organised.

One thing I am not organised about is our holiday - we leave on friday and until sunday evening all my summer clothes were packed away in storage from last summer. Had a good old trying on session to see what fits and what didn't and sorted out all our toiletries and I think we are nearly ready to go. I know i will forget something vitally important though!

Morning all

Lizziemun, your first labour sounds amazing - so quick too! I've just started reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and the labour stories in there are really inspiring and totally made me feel I could do this (she's an amazingly experienced midwife who goes for a non-medicalised approach and excellent stats around all her deliveries). It's quite 'hippy', but def worth reading if you're feeling at all nervous about the labour process. In fact, I feel as though my mind's been entirely taken over by thinking about the birth. Anyone else getting that way?!

Hersetta - glad the pram is tip-top. Nice feeling getting that big bit of kit of the way. Mrs B - am planning on getting a sling too, so let me know what you think of yours - glad your DH is manfully breaking his in (nice work!). Reckon it'll make dog walking with the baby a whole lot easier (had paranoid visions of being dragged down the road with pram and dog lead attached to pram).

Gill - good luck with the dd's new sleep routine. I'd be useless without my sleep at the moment and admire your coping.

Am feeling v guilty about reading about all the nursery decorating over the weekend. I've yet to lift a paintbrush or get any furniture. Am actually a bit reluctant to lose the double-bed in the spare room and am considering just giving the room a lick of paint and sticking a mobile over the cot. Is that cheating?

Thanks for the extra info about baby clothes - I'd better head to my next NCT sale!

Ooh forgot to say - we have gone ahead and booked a doula. Had a meeting last week and she seems lovely - feeling a bit calmer about the birth now. Just waiting for our NCT classes to put the fear of living God into me!

Hello all. I'm feeling very tired after the long weekend. Got lots done like getting the garden cleared and turf down but it's mainly the sleep training that wore me out. It does appear to be working though. The first night it was 1 hr 30 of screaming, the next night 1 hr and last night was 30 minutes. Monday morning she woke up at 4:30 and wouldn't go back to sleep so I had to get up with her. By 6:30 I couldn't keep my eyes open so dh took over. I don't know how she managed to stay awake until 9:30am! I decided that, even if dd is never happy with me leaving the room, if we can get the crying down to 5 or 10 minutes then I can deal with that. Anyway, dh will have to deal with it when the new baby is here.

We went to see our new nephew yesterday. He's so gorgeous and really small. He's only a week old so is still at the 'asleep all day and awake most of the night' stage. It's actually made me quite excited about having my baby now. Up til now I've just been worried about the birth. Dd was besotted. Kept stroking his hair and saying 'hello baby'. It was so sweet.

Hi all.
I've also started to think more about the birth recently (and fortunately I didn't watch Panorama as that would have made me even worse). I ordered a set of Natalhypnotherapy CD's yesterday www.natalhypnotherapy.co.uk/ so I'll let you know how we get on with them... Anyone else used them before??

Hersetta - let us know how the doula meeting goes - it's something I haven't looked into but sounds like a good plan.

Gill - good luck with the sleep training - it sounded as if you were making some progress. It's nice that your DD can "practise" with your nephew - it must be good preparation!!

Annie - I'm totally focussed on the birth, much more so over the last few weeks - it's funny how it just sort of takes over all your thoughts doesn't it? I've done absolutely nothing to the nursery still and I like your idea of a lick of paint and a cot mobile (definitely not cheating ). Starting to panic a little about all I need to do... think I'll have to start writing lists... we still need to buy a cot, pram, car seat etc etc. I've borrowed a Moses basket from my cousin and will probably borrow her baby bath and bouncy chair too, so I'm sure it will all be ok !!

I got everything sorted out at work yesterday re maternity leave so that's a huge weight off - didn't realise how stressed I'd been about it. Finishing up on 20th July - can't wait !! Work is such a struggle at the moment.

Anyone else been woken up by kicking at 3am in the morning at the moment??!! Think it must be the baby pre-warning me about its sleep/wake habits

Thanks babylovesmuffins. I will definitely be good practice for dd to be around her cousin while he's still so small and fragile. We can try to teach her to be gentle. I've not been woken up by kicking but I am woken up almost every night around 3-4am bursting to go to the loo.

Stop it !! Stop it !!!
You're all making me feel terrible. Am I the worst person in the world for having done nothing, bought nothing and not even really decided on anything ?? {sad}
I just don't know where to start.

Another question....have been told that when my bump suddenly goes rock hard that it's Braxton Hicks. Anyone else ??

Hiya TT, how you doing?

Getting ready for your holiday too?? I can't wait - first click of the day is on to one of two webcams in the Maldives to check out the weather.

Don't worry about not having anything yet - i'm just paranoid that she'll come early so now I have a moses basket, some babygrows, nappies, wipes, muslins, bottles and babymilk etc I can relax a little bit and hope that she hangs around until nearer her due date.

Oooh am fine thanks Hersetta. I'm about as ready for this holiday as I am for the baby to arrive unfortunately.... Found out at the weekend that my 'going out' stuff that I was taking on holiday is now just that teensy weensy bit too small so have got eff all to take with me !! It's already Tuesday, nowhere here at the Wharf where I work sells maternity clothes and I quite frankly, would rather sniff glue than head to the West End to look for anything ! In case you hadn't all guessed by now - I DO NOT like shopping !!
But.....I am well, healthy and lucky enough to be going on holiday on Saturday for a week to somewhere lovely with my DH so will stop my moaning. Besides, last time I was there I was shocked at the way most people over there dressed so am not going to drive myself mad about it !
You must be so excited about your wonderful, relaxing holiday. Go on, pop a link on to the cameras you're looking at..

Poor you. I know what you mean about the west end. I am right on Oxford street (dangerously between Debenams and Selfridges) and would love to work in the city so I don't have to get on the tube every day because up to this point I haven't yet been offered a seat on the tube (although I do hardly look pregnant).

A while ago I bought some cropped trousers with elastic waistbands in 2 sizes bigger than normal and that will do me for the evening. All my tops still fit as still haven't gone outwards that much and for the daytime i bought two new suitsuits in a size bigger and all my shorts are still OK - that's pretty much all you need for the maldives.

OK, here the webcam I check out

www.dolphin-base.com/galerie/webcam.htm

It'll be dark now as they are 5hrs ahead in the Maldives. What i have done though is added a couple of photos from last years holiday to my profile as we are going back to the same island.