Due Sept '08: We're halfway there part 2....

[LittleConnie]

Come on over!

hi, you don't have to stop driving at all when preg but may not be insured for 6 weeks post c section. You can buy a little gizmo for pregnancy which adjusts the seat belt, think mamajojo have them.

good to hear advice on skirts - I have only seen a white rara style miniskirt which wd not have suited me age 20 let alone age 40!!!
It never occurred to me to tie something under the bump - that is a great idea! cos some elasticated skirts just hang down like some horrendous tent making you look maaasive. a little scarf tied underneath wd look gd.

Jealous of folk who livenear YSP - I love it!!

re car we have had ford focus est for several years - abs fab!
won't be big enough with DS3 though cos not quite enough room for car seats so we are looking to change. There are lots of helpful threads on cars on mumsnet. we are debating the pros and cons of a 3 plus 3 seating arr versus a 7 seater.

debithescot very normal to feel less excited by no 2. I felt quite depressed about how unbonded I felt to 2nd preg - I just got pg so quickly (once decision made to try) I wasn't ready for it and was worried about affect on no 1. It was all fine in the end for me though - seeing no 2 was as fab as seeing no 1 for me. I looked into the subject and found that many women feel less excited/bonded to no 2 when pg but it is usually ok in the end!

the seat belt gizmo is not mandatory BTW just more comfy and possibly safer

omg he has hiccups forgot how nice that was!!

i have ordered the streety and that's it now promise

have bought theee cutest little clothes from pumpkin patch at the weekend got a little tank top with two tiny guitars embroidered on the chest and some little vests with guitars on and some teeny weeny combats looove it i think i will make it my new fave (if not slightly overpriced) baby clothes shop!!

i like harry too but it doesn't imo go with our surname

the bee in the states is the same price as it is here..except it's in dollars, so it's 50% cheaper.

omg I have just looked down and noticed that my feet have been replaced by balloons!
I'd heard there would be some puffiness...is this going to get worse as the summer gets hotter and I get bigger?

Has any one used a wilkinet carrier with a newborn? Thinking of getting one.

Hello all,
We have our scan tomorrow. Our 8yo is getting time off school to come with us. I hope he enjoys it. I was worried about taking him in case something is up with the baby. Then my SIL said, well they wouldn't blurt it out in front of him. I want him to feel involved.

I can't believe how much pushchair talk there has been on here. Maybe when we have had the scan and all is well, then I will feel like buying stuff.

LouiseAnn think positive!!!

hopefully nothing will be wrong.

i think it'll be magical that your little son gets to see his sibling tomorrow!

i still feel a little bit weird about buying baby things.

louiseAnn am sure all will be fine but they wouldn;t say anything in front of your ds anyway as he won;t be allowed in for the actual scan itself

dd (2) came with us and she wasn;t allowed in as she was under 16, there were signs every where saying that they weren;t allowed in even accopanied by an adult as it is an important medical procedure and all that, so dh had to sit in the waiting room with her until the end of the scan where they both came in (and i couldn;t see anything myself anyway while she was doing all the checks anc measurements anyway) and the scanner lady was nice enough to ask me if i wanted to know the sex straight away or if i wanted us all to be told together (we did the latter)

i felt wierd about buying stuff before my scan too but since have gone maybe a little overboard

I think it must depend on where you have the scan whether they let kids in. I had to take dd to my last scan, and that was fine, although they do have notices up saying they prefer young children to be supervised as they can be too lively and make it difficult for the sonographer to concentrate. Luckily dd sat there being a complete angel. I hope that she'll manage that again as I don't think I have much choice but to bring her along - only a week to wait now

there were no signs up for 12 week scan but they do the 20 week one else where at lgi

I took ds with me yesterday and when the sonographer said it was a boy, he cheered!!!

I think NHS Trusts vary in their regulations.

Scan day for me tomorrow!

Went to Leeds this afternoon for bridesmaids dress fitting...it doesn't. My bump has grown a lot in the last two weeks and there's a band under the bust that now doesn't sit where it should, it rode up and pushed the bust up. Coz its a boned corset it kept its shape and looked absolutely fine, but felt odd coz my boobs aren't fitted in the bust bit of the dress! I guess I'll just have to breath in all day . Its not long to go now.

I went to gap and loved the skirt someone here had recommended, but sadly it was only in size XS (ROFL at prospect of even fitting that round one thigh) but I got some great under the bump cropped trousers for £4.99 and a gorgeous beige cardigan. Then I followed the advice of someone else here and went on a non-maternity elasticated skirt hunt. Found myself in a jumble sale Primark and got a cheap cotton skirt for a fiver that can also be worn as a dress with the elastic bit over the bust. Its not my all-time favourite item of clothing but at that price it very much fits into the 'it'll do' category. Also had to get a new strapless bra for the wedding coz there's no way my pre-pregnancy one will come close to fitting!
So all in all a successful, if very rushed, afternoon. Dd was very happy with her godmother and didn't seem to have noticed I'd gone, which I doubt will be the case tomorrow when I leave her with someone she barely knows while we go to the scan. I'm sure it'll be character building or something like that!

Thanks for replying sunshinemummy - I think my husband would be the same, he is a great parker too! But I only learned 4 years ago so I am nobody to criticise non-drivers! I avoid driving where I can too but I do drive to my folks' (in the Midlands) and to see friends further afield every now and then. eandz most of my London friends don't drive on a daily basis - only if they are going places en famille on holiday in UK or to visit friends/family elsewhere - in town a lot of people get black cabs with the children in pushchairs which is not especially safe but you do see it a lot.
micromum I wore Isabella Oliver wrap tops right up to the end last time - think there must be a knack maybe! I have struggled to find a decent white t shirt as most are quite roomy over the bump - to wear with the Gap skirt we have been talking about, as Gap's own tees were making me look really scruffy. I finally gave in and ordered two IO cap sleeve ruched tops and they fit beautifully. Their ruched stuff is really great if you prefer form-fitting stuff (eg to wear with flared/looser bottom half). Not cheap at £35 for a tee shirt but I know I will wear and wear them.

PS good luck tomorrow carrieon and glad you had some luck with the shopping.

we've worked on a compromise with ourselves. since we have street car... if we use it more than 4 times a month (on avg) over 3 months starting this saturday then we'll buy a used s40...

the good thing is that all our family is in London so it's really going to turn into a non issue when the next relative decides to tell us we're making a mistake not buying a car before the baby is born.

anyway... woah!!!

i have to say some of the mn'ers on this site are really really mean!!! i had a problem earlier, so i posted a thread in a wild angry heat of rage... gracious me! Some of the women are just awful. But I guess it's a good thing I can ignore the thread now that I've resolved my issue.

like flies on a dead horse.

anyway, if i buy a sling to carry the baby in, will i not need a pushchair?

eandz just come across your post and some people can be really out of order. I hope you feel better for getting it off your mind, but don't bother going back to the thread - not worth it. Big hugs - or should that be high five? I never could work out when to use a high five.

what was the post about, i know what you mean btw i posted about a baby name and got called allsorts some people are just bitches and i do not know why they think they can be soo rude and hurtful because you don;t use their reals names

i would think you would still need a buggy i could never make a baby carrier work for me at all, plus if you go smewhere for a couple of hours or actually buy anything it will be difficult with a sling once the baby is a couple of weeks old (they weigh more than you think)

does anyone like the name dominic that's the name of the moment anyway that dh and i can agree we both like but not sure

Only if you have an absolutely remarkable back! I find a combo worked best (gives babe time off his back and avoids flat head) but I always tend to be in favour of more equipment than less .
The Bee looks ace but I tried my 2 year-old daughter in it and it was very snug round the body and shoulders. Mind you she's getting tall in her Cameleon as well. I guess two years' worth is pretty good use.
Sorry to hear you have run into some troubles on here - it happens. People do tend to speak their mind online (and judge others) far more than they would in real life - I wouldn't take it to heart.

slinkemalinki can you really fold it one handed? i find that they sometimes advertise this and then it's nigh on impossbible just sold the loola as i could fold it easily one handed but could not get it up (pardon me) which one hand at all as the handle bars needed opening out iykwim

the seat on the streety is supposed to be bigger apparently will find out anyway when it comes !!

we stopped using the micralite fastfold with dd as she was looking too big for the seat and she's two too

Eandz, I read that post at work so couldn't reply (can't ever remember my password) and I have to agree, you got some really harsh responses. For what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing saying no to your brother. It's your child, your birth and you need to have things the way you need them to be around you.

Forgot to say, about slings and buggies, it depends on what kind of sling and your little one. Ones like babybjörn might well become uncomfortable quite quickly while I found wrap slings comfy enough to use for hours on end. It's quite nice to have a buggy as well though. I think dads in particular are quite keen on pushing the baby about in the buggy. My dh would hardly ever let me have a go =)

I bought a pushchair only because grandad offerred to buy. I was going solely with slings and would wait and see. I ended up getting a great deal on a scandanavian pushchair with v similar design to a mclaren techno xt but makes the techno look decidedly average. It turns out that my three yr old fits perfectly in it. Now she can use the pushchair and dd2 can be carried in the slings!

wrap slings and mei tais are super comfy. As already said, you can literally carry a child for hours in them. The day after new years, i carried dd (30 lbs) for 4 miles, alseep in a mei tai across the Peak District. I have about, erm, 15 of them. they make babybjorn and similar look and feel like instruments of torture.

digitalgirl - I've used a wilkinet for both my girls - I inherited it from a friend. It seems a bit challenging to get it all tied up at first, but it is absolutely brilliant and super comfortable, and it really only takes 2-3 practices to get the hang of it. The best thing is it's infinitely adjustable, so you can get the baby tied in just how it suits you. My dp used it too and got on well with it.

eandz - I used the sling a lot, but wouldn't be without my pushchair too. If you're doing a full day out with the baby you might not want to use the sling the whole time. Mine was always stuffed under the pushchair just in case though! Also - if you end up with a caesarean you will probably not be able to use a sling to start with anyway (the baby would be bumping /rubbing against your scar), something else to bear in mind!

Eandz I saw your thread and thought it was a dreadful situation that you were in but you seemed to handle it quite well. I hope it works out for you.

Re. slings - they are great but if you're out and about for the day you have a lot of other stuff to carry as well - spare nappies, spare outfit in case of poo emergency, bottles (if you're FF), bibs, wipes, nappy bags, portable changing mat, not to mention your purse and things - so I do think it's wise to have a pushchair as well. I've got so used to having the big basket of the Bugaboo to put my shopping in that I can't stand to carry shopping home if I don't have it with me!