Aug 2021 - half way there!

[HopefulB]

@wimbler - EDD 29 July, surprise 💛
@Champson - EDD 22 August (but really June/July), TBC 💖💖💖
@coffeeandrainbows1- EDD 4 August (but most likely July), Boy 💙
@Jessicapebbles - EDD 5 August (but having C-section at 39 weeks, so really July), Girl 💖
@Smurf123 - EDD 5 August (but likely to be July) 💛
@WhatEvenIsSleep - EDD 2 August, Boy 💙
@Smushty14 - EDD 6 August, TBC 💛
@Rattyclife - EDD 6 August, TBC 💛
@Dia12 - EDD 8 August, Girl 💖
@Biscuitcat - EDD 10 August, surprise 💛
@ElonaWise - EDD 11 August, TBC 💛
@Runnergirl123 - EDD 11 August, TBC 💛
@PurplePansy05 - EDD 12 August, Boy 💙
@Srtdr - EDD 12 August, surprise 💛
@Daffodil21 - EDD 12 August, Boy 💙
@Inmypjsagain - EDD ???, Boy 💙
@BananaHammock23 - EDD 13 August, surprise 💛
@MrsB2019x - EDD 13 August, Girl 💖
@Magik01 - EDD 13 August, Boy 💙
@Carefree1 - EDD 15 August, Girl 💖
@DressyGerbera - EDD 15 August, surprise 💛
@lucyrp - EDD 16 August, undecided 💛
@BertieBotts - EDD 16 August, want to know! 💛
@WolfMother326 - EDD 17 August, surprise 💛
@Caz1226 - EDD 17 August, Boy 💙
@Lille4 - EDD 17 August, TBC 💛
@Redskinsucks - EDD 17 August, TBC 💛
@RockyRockyRoad - EDD 18 August, can't wait to find out 💛
@Smallbean27 - EDD 19 August, surprise 💛
@WatermelonKisses - EDD 20 August, surprise 💛
@Alittlexmasmagic - EDD 22 August, surprise 💛
@Millymay13 - EDD 22 August, TBC 💛
@Whatshouldbemyusername - EDD 22 August, surprise 💛
@LottSE20 - EDD 22 August, TBC 💛
@Notinthestarsigns - EDD 23 August, TBC 💛
@LaceyMermaid - EDD 24 August, TBC 💛
@Fran919 - EDD 25 August, surprise 💛
@northernsquirrel - EDD 26 August, surprise 💛
@LyraShaeLilly - EDD 27 August, can't wait to find out 💛
@ame88 - EDD 28 August, TBC 💛
@diamante11 - EDD 29 August, Girl 💖
@HopefulB - EDD 29 August, TBC 💛
@CountryGirl84 - EDD 29 August, TBC 💛

@Ready2020 I'm so sorry to hear that. Wishing her and you all the best, it must be so difficult

@PurplePansy05 so we decided to go for the Joie i-spin 360 and this carrycot/pushchair: www.online4baby.com/for-baby/12635/Joie-Chrome-DLX-Pushchair-inc-Footmuff-Carrycot---Pavement

It means we won't be able to put the car seat as a pram, but I'm hoping that won't be a problem? Where I drive to for the food shop is 30 mins away, so that would only give me an hour in town of 'safe time' in the car seat, which would be a rush. There is the option to buy the car seat to fit in it separately though so that is still an option if we do find it a problem.

We also went for this mattress: www.thelittlegreensheep.co.uk/natural-crib-mattress-38x89cm/
I didn't even know you could get natural mattresses like these, so thanks to who linked it up thread (sorry I can't remember who it was). It was more than I was intending to spend on a mattress but I figured he'll be spending a lot of time in, and we got the crib for £10 off marketplace

Oh I was also planning on making some muslin cloths from old bedsheets we don't need anymore as they don't fit our bed - will the fabric be ok for this? Our bedding is mostly 100% cotton with a couple a 50/50 mix. They seem unnecessarily expensive and since I'm about to have a lot of time on my hands I thought I may as well 😂

@PurplePansy05 I’m trying to find a way to organise my tabs, I have so much baby stuff open. Will look at the app Bertie recommended too. NCT do a course www.nct.org.uk/local-activities-meet-ups/baby-first-aid but I’ll definitely look at nhs options first.
I’ll let you know what we end up getting after our JL meeting on Saturday! We think we’ve narrowed it down but I guess we won’t know for you until we stuff in real life.

And as a side note, I don’t know if I was looking at a fancy website but I was shocked at the cost of muslins!

Does anyone's partner just seem to always miss the baby moving about? I feel kinda bad for my OH! She moves a lot but seems to stop when his hands are on my belly. I think his hands are quite hot though and he maybe presses too hard.

Haha yes that's totally normal at this stage. Later they kick much more and it's easier to catch. You can also stick things like a remote control on your bump and they will kick it and make it wobble!

Muslin fabric is very different to bedsheet fabric, it's a wider weave which makes it more absorbant. Bedsheets would probably do fine for mopping up but they aren't quite the same as muslins, which doesn't necessarily matter! Originally muslins were used as nappies which need to be much more absorbant than just puke/dribble catchers anyway.

Supermarkets/Boots are best for basics like muslins - this isn't too expensive? www.boots.com/baby-child/new-in-baby-child/mothercare-pink-muslins-6-pack-10290041 You could probably get away with a couple of packs of 6.

@Daffodil21 Great choices! I've not even looked at Joie prams, for some reason I looked at all their car seats but nothing else 🤦🏼‍♀️ The car seats are definitely up there. But it's also a great buggy, I just read up on it! Excellent price too! I hope you and your LO enjoy it! 😊👍

@Inmypjsagain Re muslins, I bought a lot from Aldi - best prices I could find and they are ok. I also ordered some today from Jojo Maman Bebe as I had 15% off. Generally though, cloths are so overpriced for something that effectively wipes off the sick and other body fluids 🤣 xx

I've indulged myself in a couple of pretty muslins with nice fruity prints on, but will mostly get more reasonably priced ones! Thank you for the Boots link Bertie, I'll have a look there 😊

Thinking of nappies - those of you who have babies already, do you have any recommendations for nappies? And also, do I need a barrier cream/nappy cream for a newborn? I'm getting confused with advice not to put anything on newborn skin but also other advice to use a barrier cream!

Joie pushchairs like their car seats are absolutely brilliant for what you spend! Such good value as a company generally. I like that cheap doesn't mean poor quality. OK they are not premium like some other brands but sometimes you don't want or need that.

Oh yes Aldi muslins when they have their baby event are the best!! Those ones (from the UK Aldi as they came from MIL!) are the ones we have which are still the softest after 3 years being used as general snot rags and spill wipers. Most of ours have gone all hard and crusty now so I was thinking of replacing some of them.

Oh £10 for 6 is fine, I think I must have been an expensive website, one (quite large and pretty) for £18!!! There was a pack of 3 for £29! But precisely, I feel they should be mega cheap considering what they’ll be wiping up 😂 I actually haven’t really looked at boots for baby stuff- they’ve got their parent club too for points haven’t they?

Honestly I’ve never been into baby stuff until recently and I was so naive!

Maybe I'll just buy some muslins then 😂

Good to hear your comments on Joie! I was a bit concerned because they aren't nearly as expensive as most others.

Just opening our Amazon delivery of the day - the food of love book, nipple shields and a breast pump. How exciting 😂 plus a video monitor which is apparently DH's new toy!

Oh, @BertieBotts I’d not heard of Mutsy, the Evo looks like it may be an option for us? (Must fold small, be able to cope with grass/hard pack path, and have a cot option)

@Ready2020, sorry to hear about your sister, really tough news at anytime but especially when there’s limitations on seeing people.

Baby’s really moving about today - massively distracting at work!!

I don't use any creams unless my child's skin is red/sore. Then I like Weleda Calendula Nappy Change Cream, as it smells nice and seems soothing (I've used it on myself too!). Or we use Bepanthen if it's really bad but only because we got a free tube from hospital!

I hadn't heard of Mutsy either until I came here and saw every other person pushing one and thought they looked nice! It's OK - I really like certain aspects of it and others really annoy me! We got it second hand and I think I'd have felt overcharged if I'd bought it new.

Love the parent/world facing option, compact fold (it fit in our Suzuki Swift boot, although not with the carrycot). Carrycot and seat unit are nice. We have it in a gorgeous electric blue/turquoise which is slightly almost metallic? With a brown metallic frame and it looks really smart and lovely. Hood is nice and big. Raincover works properly. Recline goes almost totally flat and is really easy to use. Like the bumper bar as well. Shopping basket is really roomy, lovely to steer and it's small enough to get into the buggy space on the bus, even when 2 people with buggies are on at the same time. The modular footrest is really clever even though it took me ages to work out how it worked. We used the carrycot for daytime sleeps for ages. You can put it down on a flat surface. Defo fine for some light countryside terrain although it doesn't have as much suspension as some of the pricier models - I didn't really know about this before but didn't really miss it either? We live right by a wood and we go walking in the wood most days.

Less keen on -
Harness is way too big even on the smallest setting for anything smaller than an elephant. Maybe this was changed in a later model? I don't know it just always seemed really loose and impossible to make any smaller. Plus it's such a fucking pain to force them through the tiny slits to change the height - although TBH having done a couple of these in the shop, this is not easy on any buggy, I don't know why they make the slits so tight.
Seat is quite shallow meaning once DS2 was actually sitting in it, rather than lying in it, it felt like he was falling forwards and hanging out of the buggy all the time off the straps, didn't look comfy for him at all. He was also looking enormous in it by age 2 and I changed it for a roomier seat. He is a tall/big 2yo though.
You can't actually fold it with the seat unit on. I mean you can, but it doesn't stand up properly, there's nowhere to grab it and it's hugely heavy so there's no point doing this. I found it really annoying to fold it in 2 parts.
You can't unclip the bumper bar at one side for them to climb in and out, it's either all in or all out.
The top is sealed off so it's hard to attach a generic footmuff.

I had a Bébéconfort (Maxi Cosi) Loola Up with DS1 and I loved that buggy - prob still my favourite one I've had of the (??? 7) I've owned. Best thing about that was (aside from the harness height slits being EASY TO USE) the seat cover was machine washable and reversible so you had two colours in one 😍 and it had a summer side and winter side with a cosier fabric for winter and a keep-cool fabric for summer. God it was brilliant! I don't think they make it any more. I had the cover in brown and cream which sounds horrible but I got the footmuff in mint green and chocolate, so it coordinated and I always felt like I was pushing around a big ice cream :o

We are now using Britax B-Agile as our main buggy and I am really impressed with the build quality of it actually. It's ancient, probably about 12 years old. We only paid €30 on Marketplace for it but once I cleaned out the wheel axles it's absolutely mechanically sound and works perfectly! I wasn't as keen on the Britax Smile though, it didn't seem anywhere near as sturdily built.

I never really post on here however always read all your comments - am I the only one who has only bought the odd item of clothing and nothing else? You all seem so prepared! 🤦🏻‍♀️

You defo will not be. Only reason I have most things already is that I'm on DC3 :o

@Ready2020 I'm so sorry to hear about your sister

@MM1993 nope your bit the only one... I have a lot of the big things from my son but they are all still tucked away in the attic. I haven't bought anything yet for this wee one and probably won't until closer to the time. I do have a few outfits from pat pat in my online basket mind u

Does anyone know is it OK to go to the farm?? We have season passes as we bought it as ds birthday present last year as he loves it.. Finally outdoor things are reopening here in Friday and I really would love to take ds to the farm. I won't be touching any animals (except maybe the puppies as they are far too cute!)

You just need to stay away from any ewes and lambs :) It's fine to generally be in a farm.

@BertieBotts you should really write a book!!! Such thorough reviews!

@Daffodil21 a nipple shield.... another thing I need to google 😂

@MM1993 I’m really researching stuff atm but we’ve not bought anything yet- all we have are some little outfits we’ve been bought. We’re going to JL to see items in person (and hopefully get a discount code!) but probably won’t start buying until June ish, unless we see a really good deal somewhere. (That is, if I can make up my mind because I still think there’s too much choice! Whenever I think I’ve chosen something I see something else that I think might be better 🙈)

Someone mentioned The Food Of Love and I've just checked and it's only 99p on Kindle!

I'm not sure it really works as a Kindle book but at that price, I just couldn't resist. I will read it on the Kindle app on the computer if I have to.

On another book note, last time I bought (and loved) Birth Skills by Juju Sundin. However, I never finished it. I did use some of the info in it but not a huge amount. I got it out the other day and read the rest of it and FFS the exact chapter I needed (all about posterior labour) was about 2 chapters after I had read up to! I don't feel too bad because TBH, I would not have taken it in at all in advance. But knowing what I know now and being able to contextualise DS2's birth that info is really helpful and has helped me calm down about the possibility of having a back to back baby again, because it actually has some really useful tips about how to deal with it. I think I will actually make a dual birth plan now, one for a back to back baby and one for a well positioned baby and ask them to check when I get to hospital (I had no idea they could do this!) and proceed accordingly.

So I know it's early but if anyone is after a book about birth, I really recommend it. I like the way it's not geared towards any specific kind of birth - she really doesn't care if you have an epidural, an induction, a c-section, a waterbirth - she just recognises that there are useful tools which can help you through any of these experiences and lays them out so that you can choose whichever sound like they might work for you. Some of them are a bit weird TBH but you know what, that's probably why it's great because what sounds useful to me might sound weird to somebody else. Anyway I will be rereading the whole book again from the start. It's also only £2.99 at the moment on Kindle. I think I paid more and I would say it's worth more, so def worth it at that price.

@MM1993 definitely not alone, reading this thread was making me start to feel a bit anxious but I’ve now started taking screenshots of posts with ideas for when I feel more ready. We have bought a pram, but only because my DH found the same one my SiL has that we liked for a cheap price on e bay.

I am working on the basis I will see what people are kind enough to offer us as hand downs and then buy the remaining bits in the last month or two (or even after baby is born so I can judge what we need). But I totally get that other people want to be more organised or feel more ready.

Well the purpose of the thread isn't to induce anxiety or to compete who's more prepared, but to exchange opinions. Obviously everyone gets different gifts/hand me downs/stuff from older babies/second hand purchases and everyone gets prepared at a different pace. Someone with a planned section in early Aug might be in a different place than someone due in the last week. Equally, I personally want to buy sooner and pack things up/wash them ready in advance because of the fact the renovation will inevitably slip by several weeks at best, so I don't want to be stressed to death a week before due date. I think as @LottSE20 says, screenshots for whenever you're ready to buy are very helpful, it saves a lot of time frankly if someone has already read up on something/thought about it/been through it with their older DCs.

I am guessing we are more read than we thought as the lovely backpack recommended by @biscuitcat has sold out in under an hour (I actually wanted to get a black one, but it was gone before I got round to ordering, not long after you posted). Sale was on too, typical! 🤣 Just wanted to say good choice - they have superb reviews!

Anyway, this thread is hands down the most helpful sounding board there is to me, especially now in the pandemic and I'm eternally grateful to you all 🙏😘💐 xx

@Daffodil21 I've just seen your post about the lack of classes in your area. Not sure if you'd want to do them online, but if so, Baby Academy UK offers them. I did two free of charge workshops with them this month (I've linked them up on here before), one was great, one was so-so. I think they still do some free ones so you could have a taster of what the paid-for sessions might be like. I probably would have done them had we not booked NCT before. xx

On the muslin front I found the aldi ones the best not only for quality but the size too! Could not get on with the bigger ones! Lots of small ones were better in my opinion! They get to smell quickly so you wouldn't get the best use out of a big one before it had to go in the wash. I used numerous cloths a day 😂