Due June 2020: thread 7. The one where babies appear

[AndddddHerewegoagain]

Hi everyone. Starting another thread!! Hoping we start having babies appear very soon!!

@newbyxx awesome news! The 3rd baby of our group !! (I have a feeling I'll lose track of the number quite soon hehe) xx

Congratulations @newbyxxx on your baby boy!!! The babies are here so exciting!

@newbyxx Congratulations! That's fantastic news! And a lovely weight too! Glad you're both doing well :) xx

@newbyxx congratulations! I hope your labour went well and you are enjoying all you snuggles 🥰 We were due dates buddies so envious you have your one in your arms already. Hope you are both doing well 💝

Congratulations! @newbyxx Hope you are feeling OK and get to go home soon :-) ☺️

I have the gro egg on throughout the night the monitor the temp in preparation. Also bought a 0.5 and 1 tog grobag. We'll have to see!

@kez437 I was late to the party (didn't know about birth clubs ) but we're due the same day still

@newbyxx Congratulations! Fantastic news. Enjoy those snuggles xx

@MsMiaWallace We got our DS a Nintendo Switch (preloved!) as he's been asking for one constantly for about a year. He'll be 6 soon so we're conscious that he's old enough to remember life pre-baby and are basically just doing whatever we can to make positive associations!

On that theme, do any of you other 2nd timers feel sad and a bit guilty for DC1 that it's no longer going to be just them? I am feeling really emotional when I look at his wee face knowing that in a couple of weeks he won't have me and DH all to himself any more

@SerBrienneOfHouseTarth oh goodness yes! Even though I know mine won't remember life pre-baby, she's too young to understand what the changes really mean too, as much as we try and explain it. I feel a bit guilty working so late, potentially until I'm in labour, because I won't get this time of just her back (wasn't totally planned, but still). I worry about the day the novelty of the new baby wears off, which will probably be day 2!

@BirdGarden yeah to having another due date buddy 😁 this is my first so I am convinced I am going to go overdue or at least trying to prepare myself for it. That being said we got a Chinese tonight as I was too hot to cook and the fortune cookie said a big event would change our lives forever next week so you never know 😂

@SerBrienneOfHouseTarth I have a stepson who just turned 8 who spends half if not over half the week with us and I am worried about this. He is well able to remember life before baby and because he isn't with us all the time when he is he is the centre of everyone's attention including my family and all of hubby's so it is going to be a big adjustment for him. We've been trying to strike a balance of making him more independent and preparing him to be the 'big' brother and spending some quality time with him too but it's tough. Hubby thinks he's going to be great whereas I think he's going to be distinctly put out by the baby by about day 3 🙈

Congratulations @newbyxx so happy for you 💙💙 have you chosen a name yet?xxx

Congratulations @newbyxx fantastic news! ❤️❤️

Congratulations @newbyxx ! Enjoy your time with baby 👶🏻 🤗

Regarding the heat, yes I second that idea about blocking out the sun. Definitely use blinds or blackout curtains to keep the sunlight out. Yes it sucks to make the room dark but it will help to keep it cool. Ice in front of the fan also works as an air con hack. U can fill up an empty gallon of milk with water and freeze it and use that (they do it in Mexico) . Or u can also just look into an air con. Pay attention to the type of windows you have though as it will need an outlet for the hot air from the unit. Also I recommend an air purifier which doubles as a fan . I have a dyson that is amazing but u can get cheap ones too that work fine. It will help with any allergens !

My husband and I bought this mini air con unit 2 years ago and it’s been worth every penny during the humid heatwaves we’ve had! It’s powerful enough to cool down our bedroom. It’s quiet enough for us to sleep through, but then I don’t like to sleep in absolute silence so I quite like it, others might find it too loud.
I’m not sure if we can have it on during the night once baby is here though as I worry about her getting cold, but thought we’d use it before bed to get the temp of the room down and then stick to the fan during the night.

www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/sf8000e/amcor-sf8000e

@newbyxx Congratulations!! Such wonderful news!! Hope you're feeling ok? Enjoy all the snuggles.

@MsMiaWallace I haven't bought or made a gift yet for my boys from baby but I'm thinking of getting them a little something that can help entertain them over the next few weeks, especially as my husband isn't as used to being the one in charge of entertainment and stimulation as me.

I've bought a wooden toaster and pizza set for the kitchen, some Gelli, slime and crackle Baff and some kinetic sand for them both for now, but also thinking of getting my toddler some plastic dinosaurs and a new dino book (he's dino mad), which can then go in all of the above as well as water, and then maybe some Pokemon figures for my 9yo as he's obsessed at the moment and the toddler plays with those too.

@newbyxx congratulations!

Re: heat. I've had a 3 month old in a hot flat during a hot summer where he was in a baby grow and that was it during the day. My toddler will be 3 in August and he was in baby grow and socks, or a thin sleepsuit during the day, with a thin sleeping bag on top at night, or swaddled in a thin blanket right at the start. Our room is really warm so we might have the fan on still even when baby is here. I'm expecting to the do same with baby re clothes and layers.

Our groegg in the toddler's room has never not been red or orange but it doesn't seem to concern him too much. He has blankets and pyjamas on. We use the groegg more as a night light to be honest.

@kez437 that's incredible about the fortune cookie, of all the things to say!!! That would be quite a story if it were true. Not all first babies are late, I think you only have an extra 1% chance versus second/third/fourth/fifth time mums. I am so convinced I will be late that I don't stop working until the 5th; husband has put all his hypothetical money on this weekend.

What's everyone planning for during recovery time once baby is born? Have you planned who will do what, cleaning/cooking/laundry etc? Was thinking about it the other day. In the Mexican culture apparently you have to do absolutely nothing for 40 days to re cooperate (usually a family member/ mom looks after you) but not sure how realistic it is these days! My mom was supposed to be here by now to help me out but with Covid..... who knows when I can fly her over. My in laws are just downstairs though so I know they will help if needed.

@SerBrienneOfHouseTarth my 9yo was 6 when his brother was born, so he was very used to having us to himself, especially during school hols when it was just me and him for so much of it. I was really worried about how he would react, even though he was excited about it.

(Sorry, pressed 'post' too quickly)

It didn't go anywhere near as badly as I'd feared. He loved him and wanted to hold him a lot, and was very understanding of my needing to feed him and hold him a lot and everything. He enjoyed the weeks with more of Daddy's time during his paternity leave and we tried to do little trips out as normal so it quickly became the new norm that the baby was there and went along. I made sure to include him in things and spend time with him when the baby slept, or we watched a series together while I fed baby, so we still had our time. The difficult time has been more of the toddler stage as the toddler steals his toys and wants to play with him all the time.

I'm a little worried about how the toddler will react the new baby. He seems oblivious to the fact that baby is coming and has seemingly not noticed the growing bump or anything. He's ok with sharing us with his brother but I'm not sure about sharing me with a baby. At least DH will be around for the first few weeks to give him more attention and hopefully by then we'll be able to distract him with playdates and time out at the park or wherever.

@Kez437 aw thank you. It sounds like you made your step sons birthday really fun! I Stayed up way too late baking the cake and getting everything ready, I think I will need a couple of lazy days after today to recover! Dd having a good birthday so far though.

Re hot weather / hot bedroom... my dd was born in 2017 heatwave too. We lived in a sweltering hot 1 bed flat in London at the time and during the hottest nights she would wear just a short sleeved vest with either a Muslin over her or no cover at all. When it got a bit cooler she would be in a sleepsuit. I know it seems like a minefield but you will instinctively know! Just don’t go by baby’s feet and hands to feel their body temperature, touch their back or chest and you should be able to gauge how warm or cold they are.

When it was mega hot through the day we would even sometimes drape a wet muslin over her for a few mins when she was getting really grumpy with the heat.

Haven’t got a “congratulations you’re a big sister” present yet, can’t decide what to get! She has bought her baby brother a book and toy, she loved wrapping it up and is very excited that she’ll have to help him open it and read the story to him.

Ps congratulations @newbyxx!! Wonderful news. How are you feeling? Hope you are recovering and managing to rest as and when you can! You’ve done an amazing thing!!

My ds is 3 and he got big boy lego that his cousins have. We get it out when the baby is asleep and have reinforced how the baby is too little for Lego its only for big boys.

It allows us to just have our time as well

We have a Paw Patrol toy stashed in the cupboard for DD from baby and DD picked out a soft toy for her to give him when he comes home. I need to somehow wrap it in secret

@rinoa - my family aren't as far away as yours, but we don't have any within 300 miles so I'm not sure we would've had any help anyway, covid aside. With my daughter my husband worked away all week and was only home for weekends, but I had family within half an hour. To be honest I found it really hard to put her down and couldn't bring myself to allow anyone else to clean the house (mum wiped the kitchen a few times for me though). Never gave her to my in-laws for help, and my mum held her once for 15 mins when I was REALLY desperate for a shower in the heatwave! I had planned to keep her in a sling so I could crack on but it was just too hot so only did it for things I really needed two hands for, like taking out bins. I can only say that somehow you'll just "manage" - I had picnic food that I could grab from the fridge/cupboard and throw on a plate a lot. I ate a lot of quiche and kept glass bottles of tap water in the fridge for one handed cold drinks.