Due October 2007 ~Piggies into Porkers~

[muppetgirl]

Have I started a new thread?

Floria, I think you're being incredibly brave. ((((((BIG HUG)))))) I know you'll deny it, but it's true so don't argue.

It must be so hard having this hanging over you both. I can understand your DH wanting to know what's coming though - I think I would too - he's not suggesting anything more drastic than that is he?

Hi Apricott - how are those nice neat boobs of yours these days . My ginormous bazookas haven't actually exploded yet - for which I'm obviously grateful...

Thanks Mrs Fish - yes it's a huge relief that I won't have to give birth in the hospital car park .

Homerton antenatal seems really together... busy as all hell, but good nonetheless. Anyone here had any experience of this hospital? Just curious. A million million times better than the North Mid.

Appeared to have been cleaned in the last twenty years, for one thing...

DB
xx

Muppet stop it your making me all tearfull agin with your lovely stories.

Hello Alicet, Polarmummy, Apricott, Mrs fish, Floria, DB and everyone else!!!

DB - my husband is doing a masters too same kind of feeling its great that he's putting that effort in as well as working but I just wish he'd get on and finish it so he can spend more time looking after me me me!

More big hugs to Floria sounds really stressful situation for you with al you have been through.

Question:

I went shopping from prams with my mum at the weekend... think we've decided on the Pliko Pramette - very cleverly thought out, light and compact, which seems just the thing for a short-arsed London mum, like myself. Obviously any experiences good or bad most welcome...

But my real question is this - apart from the funky colours, what is supposed to be so flippin' great about the Bugaboo?

Seemed (to me) big and cumbersome in pram mode and left the baby very exposed in the pushcahir mode... But I'm sure I must be missing something as everyone seems to think it's so great...

[hmmm]

Anyone care to enlighten me?

DB
xx

Kittiwake - my point EXACTLY... it's supposed to be all about meeeeeee

How can he imagine that planning for our future, paying the mortgage and learning about how to help developing nations regenerate their economies is anywhere near as important?

DB I wasn't a massive fan of the bugaboo either before I had ds and just didn't get it. But a couple of my friends have them and I have to reluctantly admit they do seem pretty good. The baby can face you in the pushchair for one thing which for me was fab (I have a quinny buzz which does the same thing) - although you are meant to be able to have your baby in the pram till 6 months for most people they grew out of it sooner than this and also got fed up with lying flat WELL before this. There is also the fact that the pram changes to become the pushchair - a lot of other similar makes have a separate pram / pushchair to slot onto the frame which is fine if you have a lot of space but if this is limited it means less bits of baby kit cluttering up your space.

Would still get my buzz though rather than a bugaboo - for one thing its a lot cheaper - just couldn't justify the bugaboos ridiculous price tag.

Have to say too that the mate of ours who bought a mamas and papas pram (not sure if it was the same one you mention or not) thought its pretty badly put together and she's not that happy. Only one person though so make up your own mind. I do think M&P very successfully sells you a lifestyle - all their stuff looks gorgeous and their shops are quieter with more staff. Mothercare and other big stores that sell baby stuff tend to have harrassed shop assistants who don't know so much about their products and puts you off a bit. But at the end of the day I think has much better products. M&P has fantastic good quality furniture but personally not convinced on the merits of their other stuff....

Intersted to hear if any other second time mums have the same view of Mamas & Papas as me or if its just me being silly!!?

I can't see the attraction of the Bugaboo either tbh - the pram is so low you'd have to be practically on your knees to get baby in and out.

As to boobs. Great ta! Though I'm having trouble finding bras to fit. Bras that meet my exacting standards of being attractive yet cotton, that is. My poor sensitive nipples can't cope with polyester and other man-made fibres! Cotton bras seem to be very rare objects. Any tips gratefully received. Perhaps I should just jump the gun and start sticking cabbage leaves in there now

Apricott sorry to say that in my experience there is no such thing as an attractive maternity bra!!! If anyone out there knows different then please let me know! I have had to accept comfort over style and gone for M&S's maternity ones. Look rank but are really comfy and fit well. Also don't look too bad if they peep out of your tops as they look a bit like it is a vest top rather than your underwear you are flashing

Yeah designerbaby that just it they are just thinking about the longer term picture and like trying to save the bladdy planet when they should be spending all their energy on plumping up cushions or something.

Hi Alice - I know what you mean about being sold a 'lifestyle'...

However, after 5 hours of trailing around the west end, frankly I'd have quite happily moved in to their Oxford street store on a permanent basis...

I ended up buying quite a bit of stuff from there, so maybe I fell for the whole thing, but the stuff I saw just seemed of a higher quality for a similar price (a wee bit more perhaps, but not much). Thier sale was pretty spectacular too. Have moses basket, with stand, cotbed, matress (amazing deal on that - got both for £170 - would have been less, but we upgradede the matress) and bouncy chair arriving on Friday.

Didn't take the plunge on the pram just yet - it an important purchse so want to take my time - so just bought stuff that was on sale this time.

Gave us a free drink and pastry at their lovely café afterwards, which I thought was a nice touch (or am I just a sucker?). Lots of very friendly and well informed staff available if you needed information, but we were left alone with no hassling to browse as long as we liked.

Also liked the fact that everything wasn't in primary colours - don't understand why baby stuff is always so hideously garish - but possibly that's just the shallow designer in me?

I came away a big fan... the whole experience was lovely, the products good, the prices while not cheap, certainly not disproportionate or astronomical and for a long-hours-working stressed-out and generally knackered girl like me, it might just baby-heaven.

My bargain hunting, thrifty, no-nonsense non-designer mum was equally impressed and we couldn't be more different.

Oooh sorry - got a bit evangelical there

DB
xx

It's just so nice

{grin]

Have to say dh and I are still in 'dsicussions' about prams.

Right, here goes!

Dh is VERY clumsy especially with prams/pushchairs and we have been through a quinny (The old one), a mcClaren and finally an inglessina. He broke except the quinny. I don't want to use the quinny with ds2 as ds1 grew out of it at 12-15 weeks and I am obsessed with keeping lo's flat the pushchair things didn't go flat and ds spent most of his time strainning at the harness in order to try and sit up.

Moved onto the Maclaren and found ds was too young as when he slept his neck fell at an odd angle and when he woke he was in a bad mood and anyway dh broke it whilst putting it away so we moved onto an inglessina. It had a pushair rather like the M&P's do in that the back came up, front (leg bit) went down but it all went flat and would almost go back to being a pram when he was asleep. Used it till he was around 2 ish? Husband broke that after being to forceful when collapsing. (Got it brand new from ebay too but this has no bearinbg on daft dh)

Then bought a quinny zapp -was brill, still have but now don't need as ds 3.4 walks everywhere and says pushchairs are for babies...

Bugaboo -Like the pram thing though is way to low. The material seems very flimsy to me. The pushcahir seat looks very ridgid in that is confiines your dc to a seating position that you can't adjust and isn't flat (sorry flat thing again)

and the price........

Not heard great things about M&P build quality but that is incredibly ironic coming from our house with dh managing to break most things!

like tis one

but would use my quinny carrycot at first then onto this as it goes flat to sleep but can lift back part and drop leg bit so a good pushchair.

Oh I'm totally with you db that its a much better experience and that their furniture type products are often good quality. Certainly the stuff you have bought tends to be very good. Their bouncy chairs are lovely. Certainly not anti all of it!

I will speak up for the primary colours though - babies like them and when they're very tiny they can't see the difference between more muted tones. Thats why I chose to get garish stuff! I had a mate who felt like you did and bought loads of beautiful stuff (not just M&P) and had to go and buy the garish things when her dd didn't respond to them!

Some of the M&P toys look absolutely gorgeous but don't actually do much in my experience. In particular the baby gyms - compared with the tiny love ones (which I think are fantastic) there is very little on them to stimulate the baby. But each to their own and I certainly don't have a massive problem with M&P - just was something I noticed after having ds thats all! But this is just my opinion - enjoy shopping for your lo and if you like what you find there better then go for it and ignore me!

Ha ha DB I quite liked the Mamas and Papas stores too. It is all just a bit more tasteful and a bit less garish . Having said that I didn't buy anything when I visited the Oxford Street store on a trip to London recently. Instead I waited until I got home and bought loads of their stuff on ebay. I doin't need to buy a pram as someone has lent me one but I have bought an M&P Ziko pushchair (half price!)I have heard that their customer service/aftersales is a bit rubbish though so hope nothing goes wrong with it.

we have a quinny zapp too which is fab for travelling. Plus lives in our boot all the time so don't need to worry about collapsing big quinny everytime I go out (even though its actually easy!). Only trouble is it doesn't recline at all which means I have to make sure we're home for ds's nap.

hi all, just read through but now can't remember much,

muppet-that's so sweet

FT-maybe he is worried, get him one evening when he's all relaxed and make him hold his hand there till lo kicks, failing that, when your in bed cuddle up to him from behind so lo kicks him in the back

ejt-i've had some knitting that i've been trying to do forever but when i sit down i normally end up on mn

re; the interest thing, sometimes i feel sad as i haven't got anyone here to care about me or lo, especially when i saw my friends dp playing proud daddy the other day with there newborn, was envious but don't begrudge them of it obviously, but then i think about it, and there is good points too, no smelly socks, double bed to myself, i get to have the remote....

anyway, been for my mw appointment and the student was feeling my tummy for ages but really hardly prodding me, i had to tell her to stop because she was hurting me, still feel tender now! baby's head is still down and my placenta isd still at the front so its quite hard to hear the heartbeat, but everything was fine and i'm spot on for dates

i also sorted my maternity leave out, finish on the 20th August but am going to take holidays up till then, so i've only got Monday at work and then i'm finished, woohoo!!

hope your all ok

muppet interested on your thoughts on the maclaren - we were going to get a twin one for ds1 and ds2 as it looks pretty good for a newborn with the head hugger and everything. Not ideal as far as I'm concerned as I'd much rather have one where the baby can face me. But I figured I can still use the quinny when ds1 is in nursery and when both dh and I are out together we can have ds1 in the zapp and ds2 in the buzz. So won't use it that often. I fell in love with the mountain buggy but can't really justify it as it will probably only get used for a bout a year before ds1 wants to walk and we get a buggy board for the buzz instead. Interested in exactly what the prob was with the maclaren if you have the time?

Yehay J20!!!
Now relax!!!!!

J20!!!!! Jealous you only have one day left at work! Nice one! maybe now you'll get some rest as well as being manic diy superwoman!!

as in prodding me really hard!! not hardly, doh!

i've got an urban detour and a mamma's and papa's something or over, its got a carrycot and a seat, but both where second hand, have no idea about all the other prams and buggys..etc

will do when ive finished stripping wallpaper, wallpapering, laying the laminate flooring and painting the skirting boards and doors...not all in one day, obviously

also, i just bought a travel iron to do lo's clothes, i don't normally iron and i hate my big iron, and the travel one is really cute and was only £3.99

we had this one

which I found didn;t go flat enough for me and the shopping basket was too small and hard to get to. I found it fell over a lot when I went shopping -we lived in Hungerford at the time and I would shop most days as there was a butchers/veg shop etc. Also at traffic level which I didn;t like.

The inglesina was much better as could fit shopping, ds could have a proper sleep and it didn;t tip.

This is going to sound silly but he was a baby for longer as he was still in a 'pram.'

Quinny zapp -great for back of car, always there just in case but not good for sleeping in.

Sorry, I jknow I'm obsessed with the flatness thing

I just saw a cranial osteopath (sp?) with ds when he was little and asked him about babies in car seats all the time and said that we were storing up a lot of trouble with back problems for the future.