Due February 2019: here come the babies!

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New thread ladies. 2 gorgeous bundles have already arrived...

Have finally bitten the bullet and bought a buggy board for DD. We walk a lot and I’m not confident she’ll cope without something - she tends to fall a lot when tired. Ah logistics! Really hoping she’ll use it....!

@Since2016 - we're going to get one too but not sure whether DS will stay put! Lol x

Paternity leave is crap. DH's company is a biggie and has only just introduced a second week fully paid paternity leave, which is great timing for us. He's then taking a week and a half annual leave so will be off 3.5 weeks total.

since2016 we'll 100% need a buggyboard for DS, he's gotten much better with walking short distances since he started pre-school in September but I'm thinking it'll be really handy if we're running late for the 9am drop off, he can just hop on. He's lazy by nature though and will want to go on it all the time so we'll have to be careful. I also wonder how I can keep a hold of him whilst pushing a prank otherwise. I've only just stopped using reigns and holding his hand (with an iron grip).

What buggy boards have you looked at? Are they universal? I desperately need one too but have been looking and seem to be being a bit of a dope!

My oH is self employed so will be completely Unpaid for Paternity 😩

@yakadee @lookingforadvice123 I found one on eBay for £30 locally! Bargain!

DD isn’t a runner - she’s v good but there’s a big difference between me having my full attention on her and pushing a pram!!! And nursery is a ten min fast walk for me - defintely more like 20 with DD... no way could I do without something!

Plus although I’ll defintely use a sling s lot more this time, I know I’ll need the pram too!

@Since2016 - my son is good but certainly a flight risk! He's just so bloody quick! Especially now that I'm a whale!!

DD recites back to me “must hold mummy’s hand - lots of cars very dangerous” 😂 little parrot. However that said, there have defintely been instances where she’ll refuse to hold my hand of her own volition. Here’s hoping she likes the board!!

since2016 yes pre-school is a v similar distance for us, and those 10 mins make a difference when trying to leave the house on time!

DS isn't a massive runner but there's a couple of v busy roads we have to take. He once ran into one, only just off the pavement, but it terrified me! Like yakadee I just can't move quick enough these days and especially with a pram. I know he'll be straight on the board though, lazy thing!

Yeah, my son is known as the 'live wire' of the family!🤦‍♀️

He's good but no chance I could let him walk next to me etc. X

@babyp160 can't you get the statutory amount if you're self employed? That doesn't seem fair!

My dh is also going to use annual leave. Last time he took a week pat leave and two of annual leave. This time the baby will be born in term time so he'll take a week pat leave then go back to work. He's going to try to take leave on non-teaching days the second week though. Although he teaches it's not in a school so is more flexible. It does mean that he has to reschedule any classes he misses though so his work load won't actually decrease.

@Lookingforadvice123 Great timing for you and amazing that they'll give two weeks of paternity on full pay!

@Since2016 @Yakadee we tried my 2.5yo on a buggy board the other day. She loved it but kept getting off and back on again so it didn't make things much quicker. I don't completely trust dd not to try going into the road and if she doesn't want to go in the same direction as me then I won't have a chance! It's also all the stopping to inspect leaves/road signs/garden walls.

@Yakadee spritz for bitz is expensive! Last time, I used salt in the bath and witch hazel on my pads, not much, and it worked a treat on stitches, at a fraction of the price. They healed really well and midwife commented how clean they were.

@babyp160 my OH is self employed too, think he's taking 2 weeks but will go back sooner if all ok and I'm managing. Doesn't bother me as he's home in time for afternoon school run which is a huge help.

Does a buggy board 'work' with the carry cot attachment on the pram (for when baby is newborn I mean..) ??? DS is 3, and although walks most places, up to 1.5 Miles (slow) but if it's a long walk he still sometimes moans that he wants to sit in the pram... I'm thinking of using baby sling a lot too,so lazy bum can sit in the pram and baby will be carried by me... jesus ladies think of the calories we'll burn off haha.

@hayley013 - thanks. I'm not going to bother. I used something similar with my first (but my recovery was very long but I had issues) and you're right, you don't need to spend a fortune.

I've got my pre - op next Thurs so will ask them for any recommendations.

@lanalawr - I know! The minute there's a cat etc there's no chance of getting him anywhere! X

My DP is taking two weeks paternity and two weeks AL. He has a really generous AL amount, which is good! Will be weird having him around all the time for a month.

Even when he goes back he works from home about 50-75% of the week so that'll be good (although he'll probably start finding reason to go to the office to get away from us )

I'm the self-employed one but just got confirmation I'll get the higher maternity allowance rate so that's a relief!

My DH is self employed so will be going between home and the office when baby is here and building up his time back in the office over the first weeks.

We tried the buggy board with our pram in JL recently with the carry cot as I wanted to see how it would work - looked fine. I’d reccomend doing that!

Yeah two weeks is all we’ll have - but my mum lives nearby and will be on hand to help thank god!

I think you’re right @lanalawr it’s the stopping to look at things - pick up stones, inspect walls, see a cat, wave to a bus... 🙄😫

Buggy boards don't work with my buggy. There is one from the manufacturer, but apparently there isn't room for the toddler to stand on it, and you'd also have to adopt a really awkward walk! It's worth looking for recommendations (or warnings in my case!) before choosing a board.

I've got a Baby Jogger City Mini GT in case anyone in wondering..

Oh defintely we wouldn’t have bought one without checking it worked! Thankfully I have a tank of a pram (had totally forgotten how big it was as it’s still in the loft) - silver cross pioneer. Pain in the ass if you can’t fit one tho!

@Since2016 I had a Pioneer with dd - they're great. I've heard that the lascal boards fit but haven't tried it myself. I swapped for an icandy Orange because I wanted two seats and it's got a built in buggy board. It's definitely not as manoeuvrable as the Pioneer.

I was hoping my husband would take two weeks but he's now saying actually he will only take one - bit gutted but hoping maybe he can do reduced hours or work from home for a few weeks after the baby comes.

Although I'm lucky that my sister and mum both live nearby (both SAHM) and both keen to help and probably way more useful for baby-related tasks than my husband will be!!

@detachablehoof - haha. I'm lucky to have a lot of close family near by too. My mum, Mil and both sisters are local thankfully! Hope your husband can sort something x