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

[LittleConnie]

Come on over!

lollipop I had no idea what I was doing with ds. Dont worry I think alot of its instinct anyway.
LOL I remember being in hosp after the birth when all visitors had gone. I became obsessed with packing and re- packing my bag, i just wanted my bag neat. Honestly, I had not a clue what to do with ds and was placing all my efforts into my bag. The women in the next bed must of thought I was mad- looking back I could see her giving me strange looks.
The pooh is quite sticky the first couple of days anyway thick and black and very very smelly- Disposables for sure!
Anyway, I Still dont know what I am doing this time but I do know that regardless- YOU GET THRU IT
Its the best thing in the world.

Oh eandz ds was born with skin that looked all burnt red and horrid. I was told that this was because he was overcooked. (12 days late) maybe thats what your friend meant. It soon sorted itself out though.
Ds also had a funny cone shaped head due to the ventouse and cuts on his cheecks from the forceps. But to me he was still the cutest most adorable thing Id ever seen x

Mamamufin,

if that happens to my ds, should i just baby oil him? or vaseline? will the skin shed itself or will it stay like that forever?

How soon are other people starting maternity leave? I decided going to start at end June when will be 30 weeks. Far earlier than planned but had awful week at school last week and was in tears most days and just not feeling like I coping with work and a nearly 2 year. Am I really feeble to start that early? Didnt stop til 36 weeks last time but am getting myself very stressed and miserable at the moment and taking it out on DD and DH

Thanks for the link potxola, I'll add that to the shopping list! Funny how we bought nothing for dd, everything was donated, but this time I'm going bananas buying things, absolutely no idea why!

And thank you everyone for the compliments on dd (she is very cute ) and the comments on the scan photo, only 19 weeks to find out if our speculation is correct...and to think of a boy's name! We always loved Caleb but then dh's cousin used it, but dh is coming back round to it, and I'm in love with the name Finn at the moment. If I had my way it would be Joel or Ben, but dh has vetoed those. I'm sure its a boy coz we only agree on a girl's name!

lollipop check out the bumgenius. I am a washable nappy fanatic with quite a collection now ( this is supposed to save us money ) but oh my goodness yes use disposables for the first week or two - meconium is more like tar than tar is, iykwim!! It really is a sight to behold, and to clean.

Baths - babies don't get dirty really, but we found a quick dip in plain water a v.useful part of bedtime routine from quite early on. I think we started bedtime routine at two weeks, didn't always work, but made us feel like we had some slight control over what was going on!

Threads - not the maternity leave one please, us SAHM's don't get any!! Loving the 'counting down' idea coz I really am. Some people I know are getting married on the weekend I'm due, and this morning I was able to say '18 weeks, 6 days and counting'!

Kirstygem - You take maternity leave when you want to, don't let anyone else make the decision for you. I am taking mine at 34 weeks because I have a 2hr commute each way and there is no WAY I am sitting on that bus for longer than I have to, not in the summer. Is it possible that you could get signed off sick for a couple of weeks to try and get back on track, get some proper sleep and let the stress wear off a bit, then when you go back in if you instantly get worked up again you know you definitely should take your maternity leave early. Don't underestimate how much pregnancy wears you down, you might just need a 'holiday' as it were.

Carrieon I just worked out how long I have left - 15 weeks and 3 days! I can't quite believe it, that is SO much closer than I thought! The first 12 weeks went SO slowly, now the days seem to be speeding by.

Thanks for everyone's input re the nappy situation, I shall definitely go with your advice about getting some disposables first, might even get them soon to put in the nursery! GOD, SOMEONE STOP ME!! This is getting out of hand now, I can't seem to get into my head that I still have 15 weeks and that everything does not have to be done this very instant! It's not like me at all, I'm normally completely unorganised and always just wing it!

Kirstygem, I'll be starting mine end of june when I'll be 32 weeks I think. If you feel you need the time off then go for it. I might have wanted to work a bit longer but my contract runs out at that point anyway and I must admit that I'm quite looking forward to it.

Do you have anyone sympathetic nearby who'd be willing to take your 2 year old off your hands for a couple of hours every now and then to give you a rest?

lollipop we have that mattress and I think it was worth spedning the extra on it. the zip off top is great as it washes and then dries really quickly. And the mattress doesn't feel shaped or lumpy at all and ds has been in it 2 years. If it was bigger I'd sleep on it!

With nappies I'd recommend getting small packs in a couple of different brands and sizes. Don't be tempted by a good deal to buy 3000 of the same brand until you know that they work for your baby. For example we found Huggies were aweful with ds when he was tiny but Tescos and Boots were fine. Now I only use Tescos as they are the onlyones that work for him.

kirstygem don't feel bad about going on maternity that early, I can sympathise with the trying to teach and look after a 2 year old thing. How many days do you do? I also had a horrendous Friday last week and could have packed it in but I can't bring myslef to leave before the end of the year so the maternity pay doesn't start till Sept. If you were able to work those extra 3 weeks you'd get an extra 9 weeks pay. But don't forget that your health, your babies health and your 2 year old are the most important things, not the money.

I vote for the counting down thread too. Although I did think the farting one was funny too!

so umm who knows anything about reusable diapers? i agree that the first 2-3 weeks should be spent with disposable ones (i remember the poop fest we had with my siblings when they were all first born)...

i also remember that the pampers brand leaked with my baby sisters.

Carrieon I just realised you get 10% off Bump to 3 products with the mumsnet code plus another 10% if you buy a swaddle and a grobag.
My ds was 12 days overdue and came with an emergency C-section. He had very dry skin, but it sorted itself out in 3 days. The cradle cab also sorted itself out with baby oil.
His nails were huge, I remember it very well.

This is for all the new mums
When My ds was born almost 4 yrs ago, I was very scared as well. I had nobody to help me or advise me, my mum is quite old and old fashion, so it was better at the end not to ask her any questiond to avoid continuos criticism. We had no visitors or helpers.And we don't have anything to do with my family in law.
It was just me, my baby boy and my dh. He went back to work after a week.

If I, who never had hug a baby before, learnt to do it you all will.
Girls, I don't know if the BF has something to do with it, but the baby and me just learnt together, became one and everything I had read from books just made me feel I was going to be ok. I became very confident and I promise that when your baby looks at you when you are caring for him, it feels right, natural and you will experience the most intense love possible. The MAMA instinct just makes you stronger and a better person and you learn on your feet.

I didn't know about mumsnet then. Now I know that if I have a doubt, there will be always a mum willing to help me with her experience.

Between us there will be mums who will have babies that cry all the time, others that will have problems to latch on, other will be hungry all the time etc....BUT we will be helping each other. There will always be someone here to calm us down. SO let's be positive.
I BF my son till he was 2 and I have not even considered I might have a problem this time, BUT there is always the possibility, isn't there? We will deal with everything girls.
You can puke now!

maybe whoever posts the 980th post has to do it?

Sorry not going to start the new thread just now - it's 9.30pm, way past my bedtime and I'm fading fast!!! Just wanted to say a quick helloooo. Still waiting for my scan - but as someone said it's not a 20 week one but 22 weeks, as that's standard at my local hospital. Only 5 days to go.

On re-usable nappies - they are GREAT, but I too was really intimidated by the range of options. First time round we just never got round to it. Second time we inherited some from a friend and then never looked back. So buy some in - you can get a trial or variety pack to see which you like, plus you can get them second hand on ebay quite reasonably. If you leave buying them till after you've had the baby you'll never get round to it!!

OK ... must get some sleep before I fall asleep at keyboard!

"Counting down" gets my vote too - glad for it to be nothing I am too embarrassed to have work colleagues notice over my shoulder!
Sorry for making assumptions eandz. Because you have always been so definite about it (and I thought you mentioned a celebration or something before) I assumed it was a religious thing.
I think a daily bath is a bit ambitious (and unnecessary). Babies smell beautiful! Bottom in the sink if you have to and bath every 3 days or so at first I reckon. The snake thing is nonsense - some are a bit flaky, but you won't come across a whole skin in the bed or anything!!
I did the survey at nappylady.com (or something like that). I'd love to use reusables. But not sure if that is pie in the sky (like my desire to avoid gas and air in labour!!). We've used nature baby for a long time and I find them excellent. At least parts of the manufacturing process are more ecofriendly than the big brands. Although not as good as washables of course.

Just popped in to moan really, sorry.
My eczema has really flared up - my arms and neck are all read and itchy, yuk. I'm quite glad it's gone all cool, so I can cover up.

Also, does sciatica always cause pain down your ;eg? Today i kept getting a shootomg pain in 1 buttock when I was out walking - really painful, but it didn't spread to my leg.

Must go to sleep, I'm always so tired / emotional / stressed at the moment, though p did help out more than normal this weekend, so I had lots of time for me on Saturday which helped a bit.

Anyway, goodnight

Slinki,
no no, your not making assumptions. I was afraid when I found out that I was having a boy that I'd have to appease the Jewish side of my family as well as the other sides.. so I figured I'd have to hold a bris on one day, and then separate events for everyone else on different days...but now that my immediate family wont be coming straight away i can just hold one consolidated event without any religious prescription...

so your right about what i was going to do, but i don't have to do it anymore.

Leonie,
I hear your point, and it's true that not everyone does it. I just don't know anyone who hasn't done it. But thats all besides the point. I feel quite strongly about it myself...but we'll see how strongly I feel when I have my baby.

Hello! Thank you for the welcomes. Been away for the weekend so didn't get to look at MN until now.
I've been a bit of a lurker for a while in MN. I've posted a handful of times. I thought it would be nice to join in for once!
Will have a search for the due date list.

potxola: I'm Welsh. But yes, my nickname is Spanish, from the cartoon: Los Pitufos. That was my nickname for a while when I was younger.

potxola Where in Spain are you from? Where do you live now?

Debbiethescot - That has sealed it, I've ordered the mattress! Thanks for your help.