Hi ladies...crikey...I couldn't believe how much catch up reading there was to do this morning, and I was only on here yesterday!!!
In fact, there's so many different conversations going on, I can't even remember who said what, so in no particular order...:
Gingeme I'm definitely up for meeting up, never managed it with ds1 despite mumsnetting all the way through the pregnancy and for a good 6 months after...evening would be waaay better for me, if everyone else can manage that. Even tho I hate going into Central London
Baby Whisperer totally rocks. Well, it saved our sanity first time round. Read Gina as well, a couple of times, and there's lots of sensible stuff in there but no way was I up for that sort of timetabling, and I didn't really agree with some of it. But then I was 2 weeks late and read the BW, and honestly, its brilliant! Lots of sensible advice, without being too bossy, lots of help troubleshooting issues without telling you how to bring up your child...and a 1 page outline timetable that lasts for 4 months. Honestly, we photocopied it, stuck it to ds1's bedroom door and every morning I'd talk him through his plan for the day!!! But the best thing was getting DH to read it too - because tbh, the first few weeks I was far too shattered to think about checking the advice. But because he'd also read it (and used postits to mark out different bits) he was really good at referencing stuff and getting us on to a loose routine. So get your partners to read it too!!!
Buggies were a nightmare. I collapsed sobbing in John Lewis, convinced I wasn't fit to be a mother, because I couldn't put up or take down any of them. Of coure, being 8.5 months pregnant at the time (far too superstitious to buy anything early) obviously didn't help . Fortunately, they'd seen it all before and just sat me down in a rocker with a glass of water and some tissues....Ended up buying the bugaboo (which we loved) and then a mclaren quest for holidays and easy use as DS got bigger. Bottom line seems to be that no matter how much research you put in, you will always end up buying more than 1 buggy!
Car seats Yes, you do need to be careful, but even the 'lying flat' ones, like the Jane, aren't very good for them. So the main thing is to be aware of the issue and pay attention. In the end, we found that ds rarely settled into anything for more than 1.5 hours whilst he was very little before needing a feed or a nappy change or something, so it didn't really matter. And once they're over a few months old the issue becomes much less pressing...
Naetha that is so romantic...really!
Beller & MrsMcJnr I can't decide what to do on Monday. Of course, they might not give us the option (some of the London hospitals are a bit funny about it) but now DH (who really wanted to know at the beginning) says he's not bothered. I'm not likely to rush out to buy stuff, cos we've got everything in white from last time, but I feel like I haven't really engaged with this pregnancy very much as I've been so busy with a toddler and full time work, so in a way finding out what I'm having might make it easier to start focussing. And it would be good to set ds up for having a little brother or sister (he's convinced it will be a boy at the moment)....anyone else been through this and have any advice?
And finally...
Istanbul Spent 5 days there about 3 years ago and totally loved it!!! Wonderful city
Hope you wonderful ladies are all doing well. Sorry for such a long post...I'm still in bed with the lurgy so actually have time to type everything for a change . Hugs all round, FM xxx