Due March 2008-New thread as we all talk too much [smile]

[turtle23]

Not very original, but the thread WAS becoming ridiculously big.

preggers - ouch ouch ouch. that is not good news

I've just had a very upset voicemail (was in meeting) from my best friend. She's 34 weeks and they've just admitted her to hospital for the rest of her pregnancy as she was diagnosed with severe placenta praevia at 20 weeks and looks like they are now very concerned about it. She has a 20 month old (my goddaughter) and is understandably very upset about being away from her for so long. I'm off to visit tomorrow once she's settled in, but has anyone got any advice - what doctors might do (early CS?), what the risks are etc? Any advice on what people who are in hospital for a long time would appreciate by way of things to do / eat so I can take in some decent things with me tomorrow. Also anyone got any advice on what to do for a 20 month old whose mum is in hospital? I might be doing a lot of babysitting for an unhappy little girl over the next few weeks and not really sure what to do with her!

Preggers, poor you. Ring the council and scream at them. Let those pregnancy hormones out.

HQ I bought a hug a bub after reading the reviews on MN. Will have to try it on my friends 1 yo. You can use it as a sling or as a carrier as well.

On the car seat front we will be getting the maxi cosi to attach to the xplory.

hey HolidaysQueen, this thread has some ideas in it. No clue myself, but we'll be thinking of you!

HQ - Winter Wonderland starts this weekend in Hyde Park www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/

Think it would be fun for a child of any age (and adults!). Sorry to hear about your friend, that must be rubbish for her. Suggest getting her lots of books, non baby related, pref trashy chick lit if she likes that sort of stuff. Magazines, the usual stuff. If you have or know anyone who has a Nintendo DS could borrow that for her?

One of my friends had a baby today, little Stanley, such a cute name!

so sorry HQ- didn't read your post properly... pre-* just caught my eye! Prego-brain here... good thing I'm not in charge of much today!

Tori not even started my Xmas shopping yet so late this year, usually got everything by december or know what i am getting but due to all the house stress not even had time to think about it.

You are really well organised getting most of it done, beats all the ques.

e14mum - that MN link was fab as it is the same circumstances even if a different thing. I hadn't even thought about the fact that she won't have baby stuff sorted - that's one thing I can definitely do for her.

lauren - thanks for the link and the present ideas. Trashy chick lit is a great idea for my friend!

Thanks for comments on slings etc. I will definitely have to try out the baby bjorn before saying no - and looks like my friend's new baby will now be here by Christmas rather than the new year so I can test it out on him/her when he/she and mum are finally out of hospital!

HQ, sorry to hear about your friend. what a nightmare but hope it all turns out ok. I'm sure lots of people will have ideas and I have no experience of staying in with babies but I know people who are in hospital long term and a few things they appreciate - home cooked food, a mini dvd player and some good easy watch movies, ear plugs, ipod to borrow with some talking books, knitting needles, christmas card making stuff if she can be bothered....another idea is to package up lots of little things she can open in her own time, new book, new underwear, a cosy nightie, some yummy socks, a magazine, a few treats to eat - give her something to do after you've left...

anyway - good luck

Also HQ, not sure if it has been mentioned but maybe you could get her a really nice notebook/baby journal and she could start doing that? The thing that everyone wishes they had time to sit down and do properly she actually does and she may feel more useful doing it.

I know knitting/cross stich isn't everyones bag but it certainly kills time and with knitting she would again feel like she was doing something for the baby. Plus, lots of catalogues of things she wants to buy, if she is anything like me the pleasure of making lots of lists will make the time fly! She'll be remotely the most prepared mummy on the block!

hiya everyone, been having a quick catch up on how all of you are doing!
we had our 22 week scan last thursday and have found out i'm having another girl! i'm so excited because as awful as it sounds i don't think i'd like a little boy! i like the girlyness of dresses and princess'!! i've already bought an updated bugaboo, dd1 had a frog so i've splurged and bought a cameleon for this one, now i know its a girl i've gone a bit mad as well! poshbug pink fabrics ordered and custom made pink car seat covers too!
when i had dd1 i was only 18 so i couldn't afford little luxuries, everthing was as basic as they come! think i'm gonna make up for it with this one!

wasn't sure if people knew this but if you are in need of gaviscon (like me!) you can get it on prescription, i got the massive bottle free because of excemption, saved £9!!!

i have all my christmas shopping done and wrapped now, very pleased with myself! we go disneyland in 12 days so i need to have everything organised so i dont come back and panic!!

Hello ladies

Thanks for your support about the nasty homebirth ladies. I'm over it now, but I do worry about other potential homebirthers being put off by their madness!!

Preggers - ouch ouch and ouch again!! Your poor poor arm!! I prescribe chocolate.

HQ - your poor friend. No practical advice I can think of apart from what others have said. As for pram suit, I'd suggest you get at least one. We only had one for DD but we used it lots. I also used to zip my stretchy fleece over her when she was in her sling, so extra cosy.

Right, must go cook.....

Perhaps cross stitch would be better as (I assume) you don't need to 'learn' how to do it.

Do you have an ipod you could lend her? You could fill it with free podcasts from iTunes for her.

I think my baby will be as bald as a coot as I have no indigestion at all.

HQ I CM so can suggest lots of tips for toddlers!!
handpainting/ drawing with washable pens.
mock baking using melted chocolate and rice crispies/ cornflakes.
Building tents
Singing nursery rhymes and reading stories.
Take her to a soft play area/ park if the weather is ok. (kicking leaves and throwing them seems to be a hit for my dd!)
helping with kitchen things like loading the washer, emptying it, getting things out for meals/drinks like milk from fridge etc.
sticking things to paper like material/ tissue paper, tin foil, feathers, sequins, leaves and twigs to make pics.
Play Doh
Cbeebies if you need a rest!
If you go onto a toddler activities website they give tons more ideas.
Hope this helps and I am sure lots of others can give more suggestions.

HQ- forgot to say what about a box of her every day toiletries/ makeup and some sort of pamper kit? As well as the other suggestions. They seem to be the things people run out of and DH may be less competent to buy!

I got a lovely letter from the Child Benfit people today confirming that my details are among those "misplaced" and that they're very very sorry.

I feel much better now!!!

You lot are so awesome (that sounds so American, but it's the best word I could think of!) - your suggestions are brilliant and I'm going to use loads of them. Thank you!

I spoke with my friend's husband this evening. Turns out she started bleeding yesterday afternoon and when they called the hospital they told her she had 5 mins to get there - they arrived to find a whole team on standby ready to whisk her into theatre! They managed to find a strong heartbeat though and bleeding wasn't as bad as they thought, so they've decided to hold off. Apparently the baby is very big, which is a bit of a Catch-22 - it means if the baby is born now then it should be absolutely fine, but being so big means that it is more likely to be born early as it is putting extra pressure on her placenta and she could haemorrhage at any time - hence the complete bed rest in hospital. At the moment the consultant reckons they'll try and get her to 36 weeks before they do the CS, but she's being seen daily so they can change their mind at any moment. She's definitely in the best place and apparently feeling much better about it than she was when she phoned me. I'm off to see her tomorrow and will tell her about all you lovely ladies who are coming up with fab suggestions of things for her to do! She's not very good at being cooped up so I won't be surprised if she gets through all of your suggestions by the end of the week!

Night, night all

Tori - thanks for toddler suggestions. I'm sitting on Thurs and maybe also on Sunday as well so I will definitely need to use lots of these up. It'll be good training for me with my own LO

HQ - on the Baby Bjorn question, you can't use until 6 months (or when they can hold head up) so you'll have to start with a sling either way. I had DD (now G thank you LO) when I carried my friend's son one weekend last year and I didn't even notice. On the snowsuit issue, I asked my friend in canada (ie cold - she doesn't have one for her newborn) this exact question and she reckons a snowsuit is not worth it this year. They'll not be going out much in March/early April and be so bundled up anyways that by late April/May a jacket and blankets/footmuff etc will be enough. I took back the snowsuit I had bought and will look to get one next year!

CL, I went to Sitram yoga this evening at the SoHo sentre. I didn't see you there :.) but I thought I'd tell you it was a bit rubbish. Bad room, dirty mats and not enough of a stretch ifykwim. I might try their other classes/locations but most likely will stick to my tape at home. By the way, it was very weird to be one of the senior pg's in the room at 26 weeks!

Derah - the only one who is a troll is that women who wrote those awful things to you - shame on them!

Spugs - tons of maxi cosi on ebay...

Everyone else - have a good Tuesday!

derah, am also curiously awaiting my 'we lost your details letter'. also my self-employment details from another branch of the glorious hmrc office. waiting is the operative word makes me laugh in exasperation the whole debacle. i used to be my organisation's info security officer for the london region. it ain't rocket science. what sort of weird culture did they have going on up there I wonder??? still rolling with disbelief that when they lost the first set of cds, the same spod simply sent another set, the exact same way!!!

saw joke somewhere: 'what does gordon brown want for xmas? oh, don't go mad, a coupla cd's would be nice'

am tired as all hell of being kicked in the bum by this LO. not used to it from ds1, as those kicks all front of belly.

HQ, we had a baby bjorn with DS2 and altho i didn't have the big boob issue (not 'blessed' that way ) you can use it from birth. There are different kinds, there is a minimum weight but i can't remember what that is as ds2 was over it from birth! We used it for about 8 months!

sor,ry forgot to say that if they are in a sling some of their warmth will come from you so i would get a snow suit for peace of mind but tbh you might not need it.By the time you are needing to walk around outside with LO it may not be so cold after all. Some bootie type shoes and thick trousers over the top will work just as well (and a coat obviously!)

Hi All

Sorry to hear about your break Preggers - as someone else said chocolate is needed!

HQ - hope your friend is ok - big hugs from us all for her and her DD1.

I've got my 3rd scan tomorrow (24+1) after the worrying comment about short femur bone and fact that it could be one of the signs of Downs at my 20w scan, the hospital sent me a letter for another scan and to see a consultant - fingers crossed all ok!

Wanted to ask you all about ante-natal classes - what do you get offered in your area/what are you doing? I had a panic last week (bearing in mind 1st time mum at 36 yrs old!) when got letter from hospital saying their labour class (eve and day) was full, as was waterbirth workshop and active pregnancy course I asked to do. They could only confirm me on relaxation classes (fat help at how to get this LO out!) I then contacted local NCT and they've put me on "waiting list".... is this normal? Should i be panicking/buying books/DVDs now?

All guidance appreciated (including telling me to stop being a worrier/paranoid )

Great news - my friend is being released from hospital! She saw the consultant this morning who was really pleased with how quickly the bleeding stopped and how strong the baby's heartbeat is so thinks it wasn't "the start of the end" as such but a more minor bleed. She lives within 5 mins of the hospital so they are happy that she can get in quickly enough - so she has to stay at home and take it fairly easy over the next few weeks. It's last chance city though - if she bleeds again then she's definitely in for the duration!

My friend is just so relieved because she can spend time with her daughter and husband in a much comfier and cosier place than hospital but at least now is a bit more mentally prepared for the fact that she may have to spend a lot of time in hospital.

Thanks for all your suggestions - I'll probably be using a lot of them anyway as she'll still be confined to the house, and to the sofa, so will need lots to keep her going! Great news for now though

HQ, great news for now - how lovely will feel like a real boost for her I should imagine.
Mummofbillythekid, sorry I can't offer any thoughts - as a first timer myself I don't know how important these classes really are - sure someone here will offer useful advice!
hoep everyone is doing ok. I've realised i've done no exercise for weeks except walking to the bus....I think i need to do something somehow!

happy tuesday all.

I have a new obsession- ham and cheese. Sandwiches particularly. Yum!

I too have done not much excersise recently. Feel bad about it, but I haven't got the time/energy/routine to get out there... and a bit stuck for ideas.

Good news about your friend HQ!