Due March 2008-New trimester, new thread

[turtle23]

I'll start one!

BTW on the buggy front I'm a MacLaren fan too - all the others are pretty, but not very practical

c4it, have a look at www.homebirth.org.uk/, and also join their mailing list. The women on there are all so empowered, informed and amazing. Just reading the daily digest of the forum gives me so much information about my rights regarding home birth and how to counter the medical profession when they try to talk you out of stuff just to make their lives easier. It's given me a whole new perspective on childbirth. Even if you're not giving birth at home, it's worth looking at just to know how they can mess you around and how to be more assertive to get the birth you want.

shared care? yep, i am a sceptical recipient of this. have my 16 week check up today, with gp. will ask for my mat form and presume will have bp done. and that will be that.

i also need bloods done for the integrated test and my thyroid now, but UCH say don't have them done at gp, as the results will go missing. i have to go for bloods on monday to uch instead, a whole extra health care visit, somewhere else...

not very shared, is it?

Morning all! I am definitely feeling a lot more energetic and less sick in the mornings this week - hitting 13 weeks has made a huge difference to me. Still sleeping badly and needing the loo loads though!

I'm on shared care as well but as far as I can tell it means I don't see midwife that often and never see GP. For me it makes sense - I'm not at my closesy hospital as that one is nasty and dirty, so I'm not really in community midwife area for Queen Charlotte's, so they get my GP to do a lot of teh basic stuff. As GP is only a few mins walk away that will probably be better for all bp checks and stuff later on, but for now they've just left me to get on with it. I don't have anything scheduled btwn now and scan at 22 weeks - should I be having a 16 week check up?

Hi pinkmartini - I just read your stats and thought "that could be me - london, 30, first baby at end of March", then realised I'm now actually 31! First time I've actually realised that even though my birthday was 10 days ago!!

And turtle - I contemplated throwing out my tampax and diaphragm yesterday as realised I don't need either of them for quite a while - YAY!!!!

well i am waiting for the midwife, you can guarantee that as i dashed back from dropping the elder two at school today that she wont turn up till nearly lunchtime

re pushchairs, we have had two maclarens but i havent rated them that well, they are ok for light use etc but not fantastically hard wearing.

also had a chicco, that was CRAP broke within 4mths of gettting it, toys r us tried to tell me it was because ds2 was too heavy? ffs, yes he was a big baby but he was well within the wieght limit and he was only 8mths old.

have also had a mamas and papas, that was ok, and a three wheeled thing cant remember the make, ok but heavy, oh we had a britax too, that was good but again heavy and didnt fold up brilliantly.

with ds3 i got a bugaboo frog, i have to say i love it, have treated myself to handmade extra covers and footmuff from the snunkie lady and posh bugs etc, and it gets used everyday, also had the board for ds2 to stand on, it will be getting used for the baby but i also have a loola for the car as it folds up smaller than the frog. Not that i have been a pushchair addict at all

and lets not get onto the subject of slings, back carriers etc .........

derah - I may not be joining you on the homebirth (going to see how I feel later on) but I'll definitely be joining your cloth nappy brigade, although I need to convince DH that this is a good idea! However to do this I need to get my head round what the options are so I can present him with a fait accompli (usually the best approach I find) There seems to be too much choice and I can't get my head round them all. Is it best if I just go and find someone to show me the nappies? Reading about prefolds vs terries vs all in ones, bamboo vs hemp vs cotton etc. just freaks me out as I can't visualise what they are and my head hurts!

hi all.
loving your food chat. You all make me feel sane. Thank you so much HolidaysQueen for the article in the Guardian - that confirms a lot of what I suspected, but also has given me more concrete information about the science behind all of htis.

I didn't even know hams were off the menu for pregnancy. And here I was thinking I had done a lot of reading on the subject! Clearly not!

Preggersagain - will check the double prams and buggies you are going for. Somone has recomended the twin mountain buggy for london, as its so manoeverable?

anyone heard from mumofmonsters - wasn't it her scan last week?

i haven't been booked in yet with the midwife, and I'm 15 weeks. Long story, which I'll give to you another day, but basically I'm trying to change hospitals but my doctor is being an arse. And in the meantime, i still haven't been seen by a midwife (one of the reasons I want to change hospitals). And, I'm having twins so I should be having fortnightly appointments!! grrr

good luck to all of you with scans
xx

oooh cloth nappies and buggies are my thing atm! i have ordered in my prams already and am doing the nappy thing next week (mixture of swaddlebees ocv and fuzzis to start then moving on to bambinex and wonderoos)

took a couple of new cotbeds home last night and hopefully the matching furniture will go tonight, nursery had already been freshly painted cream with a beige carpet so just need to start getting everything sorted- may seem a little premature to be buying all this stuff but i have too much temptation at work every day and i don't have much willpower! At least its not costing me a fortune !!

i want to get everything sorted by december, all assembled, and clothes washed and sitting in drawers ready, my last twins arrived at 33 weeks so am prepared for early arrivals again . At least once everything is done is can shut the door on the nursery and enjoy christmas (without wine, cheese, pate etc )

Just sending positive vibes. Am feeling slightly better today, so will read everything I missed

HQ - Preggersagain and I can help you out with nappy choices (I know she's into them big time and I'm a nappy advisor for Surrey Real Nappy Network) but there's nothing like seeing the real thing to help you get your head around them. Where are you? We'll see if we can find you a local nappy advisor who can being lots of lovely nappies to your house to look at.

No new nappies for me this time (well, maybe a few!) so DD's are all still in great nick. If this one is a boy he'll be wearing a few pink nappies though!

HQ- agree with derah, there's no point in us saying buy these ones because different nappies suit different people and lifestyles! There are ooodles of nappy advisors around now, and someone usually visits ante-natal classes etc to show different types.

Thanks, derah - that would be fab. I'm in west London (Ealing) so anyone around Ealing, Chiswick or Richmond would probably be good. The problem is that the various shops round here only seem to stock one or two brands, whereas I want to see all the different types first and understand what they do, so an adviser would be great.
Preggers - you are so organised! The only thing I've been thinking about is the nappies as it feels like I need some time to get my head round that, and everything else I'm leaving for a while! I think cos it's my first I want a bump (as opposed to current blubber!) and to be able to feel the baby move before I'll really believe it's happening - I'm still convinced that the 12 week scan was just a video of any old baby that they just play on loop

LOL at HolidaysQueen thinking that the scan was an old video of a baby that is played on a loop.

You're all far too organised what with your buggy and nappy talk. We've got to finish the renovation on our house before the little DTs arrive. And I've got to pass my driving test! Ah well, what will be will be - I'm not going to let anything stress me.

xx

hq- believe me its not organisation, its being in a baby shop all day contemplating which things to take home- its even worse when you're the boss- no-one challenges you and says "do you REALLY need that preggers?" they just run around loading up my car with random bits and bobs that i've decided will come in handy!

On the oter hand i have found all of our suppliers are very generous people, whenever i tell anyone they congratulate me and then a few days later a parcel arrives with some free gift from that particular company so far i have some free nappies (sposies so will be donating them to mate who's scared of having poo in her washing machine, hence no washables ) two free matching fisher price bouncy chairs, two graco contempo highchairs (fgs i'm only 14 weeks preg), complete Medela pump setup, enough babygrows to sink a ship, ditto blankets, premaxx sling, and some wicker cribs, icandy are giving me the pear adaptor free- i just have to buy the apple and extras and first wheels aren't charging me for matching footmuffs!

He He, who said twins were expensive!!!

oh can i also ask- has anyone developed baby brain yet? i am in the full throes of being unable to remember my own name! Sat in the car last night and forgot how to start it (clutch to the floor to disable immobiliser etc) had to phone dh to come and get me, he put the key in, pressed the clutch started the car and patted my head saying "never mind love, it could happen to anyone- maybe its being temperamental!"

I'm thinking about getting a MicraLite... any opinions?
Derah, do you know any nappy advisors in East/Central London? I'm v. scared of cloth nappies right now, but think with a bit more information I might be a convert!

i love the micralite toro! you do need to have a go with one though as for some people they aren't too easy- all to do with step length iirc, i think mothercare and jl stock them- or a local nursery shop may have them.

one of my friends has a micralite and she swears by it, i have pushed it and it is very easy to push etc, plus you can get a carry cot, attach a car seat etc, so it is a travel sytem. the only thing i have noticed is that the seat is quite narrow, so as your child gets bigger i think they look a little squashed? but its a nice buggy

Sorry, just going back to the food talk. I was not aware of the parma ham being evil pregnancy food and I'm very disappointed as I bought some over the weekend and it's in the fridge atm. So had a look on the net and saw this:
Not only do Italian doctors not forbid the consumption of Parma ham to pregnant women; they positively encourage it. During the curing process, much of the saturated fat in the pig becomes unsaturated oleic acid, the main component of olive oil. The ham also contains large amounts of vitamins and trace elements, and a good balance of proteins to fat. Professor Andrea Strata, the chair of food science at the University of Parma, has concluded that its high protein content and "easy digestibility" make it an ideal food for expectant mothers. As far as toxoplasmosis goes, Parma ham is also safe, but with one important proviso. You must make sure that you eat top-quality, certified prosciutto di Parma, and not the cheaper, generic prosciutto crudo.

Also have been eating cashew nuts even though midwife said no nuts. But when my sil was pregnant her nutritionist said cashews were good to make baby clever.

Eat the ham, eat the ham, eat the ham

I used to live in America where they act as though they are all pregnant all the time and think unpasteurised cheese will kill you [well, not everyone is like that obviously] and they use the word "fresh" to describe wine.

If these things were so dangerous to eat surely we shouldn't eat them any of the time?

My midwife just told me not to eat peanuts, but other nuts are fine. I swear they just hear some rumour and go along with it. She also told me no shellfish, but when my doctor told me that and I said "what, even CRAB? " she said, "well if you like it just make sure it's properly cooked" and then started telling me about how she used to love catching crabs.

I can't even mention the peanut thing around DH as it makes him crazy for some reason. I have to say that I can't really see how it can possibly make a difference, as I'm not allergic to peanuts.

I'm amazed you all know what kinds of prams are cool in your areas. I have absolutely no idea and there are tons of babies where I live. So much to learn. I had just about decided to follow turtle and merryberry on the McLaren thing but now 3MB is making me rethink it. I'm so impulsive about these things. God knows what we will end up with.

On the nappy thing - I'd also like to think about cloth nappies (may not be possible as I'm afraid of putting poo into a non-existent washing machine ) but didn't know there were so many kinds. Now I feel kind of intimidated.

Also cloth nappies did weird things to my mother. She still insists on washing all clothes in the way she used to wash our old terry nappies. It's very weird and kind of funny but I really want to avoid becoming the sort of person whose kitchen is full of basins of steeping clothes belonging to adult children.

Derah...I have an irrational fear of real nappies. I am willing to think about using them if someone will explain them to me. I haven't used them since the old days when your only option was pins and droopy bits of cloth and plastic pants. Have things improved? Where does one find a nappy advisor (and why don't I have a nappy incentive scheme in my area?!)

As for the sturdiness of Maclarens...they don't last forever, it's true. If you are ever going to get on a bus, go in a car, etc. it's worth it. Also, I turf my kids out of pushchairs and make them walk by 18-20 months, so...

I hadn't considered real nappies until you ladies started the debate. Had a little surf and found this link where you can check if your London borough is part of the scheme www.realnappiesforlondon.org.uk/

You can ring them up and request an info pack and application form and when you get the MatB1 certificate (whatever that is)you send them a copy with the application form.

Turtle, my goodness, yes, cloth nappies have moved on! They come in all shapes, sizes and colours, no more pins and lovely waterproof wraps instead of plastic pants. The choice is overwhelming but they're lovely and highly addictive. DD loved her nappies with the cow prints and asked for her "moo nappies" every change time! You can get nappies now where you just have to stuff a filling inside and it's ready to go - no folding, no extra waterproof cover, just do up the poppers or velcro and that's it. Just as easy as a disposable. I used those kinds for nursery and for grandparents who might be intimidated by the more complicated 2-part system.

Brazillianmum - well done for finding that link!! I had a quick look for West and East London nappy advisors for e14mum and HQ but couldn't find anything except the lollipop network, who have advisors in most areas.

The thing with cloth nappies, I found, was to hang around on nappy forums for months before baby is due, so you can get familiar with types and names, and then look up the ones that seem popular to see what you think. If you start early, then you can slowly get used to the idea and not feel so overwhelmed. Also try to see them in real life if you can. It's best to buy off the internet because choice is so limited in shops and they tend not to sell the nicest ones for some reason. I would have bought prefolds (which hardly anyone likes) if I hadn't discovered internet shops because that's all they had in the high street shops 2 years ago. The choice is getting better but still not nearly good enough. Most of the online shops will also give you good advice on which nappies might suit you depending on how you'll wash/dry them etc. Try the nappy forum on here for a start!

Yay, cloth nappies for everyone!!

I don't think I could face having to empty real nappies [nose pulling] especially when its the black meconium stuff at the start. Also, I like the disposables because of the way they hold the urine away from the skin. This has to be an advantage to prevent nappy rash.

Having said that they at least come with velcro so you don't run the risk of stabbing the lo with the pin!

Anyway, enough of nappies, are you all well?

I have just skipped through the thread and realised its mainly about food, dopplers and prams.

I have to say on the pram front I'm such a tight arse! Will not buy expensive ones and am using the same pram as last time which is a Graco Quatro travel system. DD walks mostly now at 20mths and because I CM I do have a crappy double graco as well for emergencies.

On the food front I have to say I don't bother with all that can't eat this and that crap, as far as I'm concerned in this day and age its not likely to get food poisoning from anything in supermarkets and since I haven't been poisoned in 32 years I don't see why I should be now. With dd I ate liver (craving infact) and pate and brie and wine and 5 cigs(tut tut tut) and still came out with a 9lb 12oz baby who has no allergies and is above average intelligence, so what harm?

I have still been thinking about a doppler though....but I will resist!

I have to admit that with real nappies some of the prints I've seen are enough to make me want them. If you use them on a breastfed newborn do you not need to have about 40?!