Due Sept '08 - Counting Down Rather than Up Now!

[Sunshinemummy]

Thought I'd do this and post my last comments:

Hi all. Glad to hear more good scan news!

We had MIL visit this weekend and she is such hard work. She literally never lifted a finger and kept going back to bed every couple of hours. I've asked DP not to let her come again for a while as it's hard work waiting on someone.

We also finally put DS in his 'big boy bed'. Went quite well - he went to bed no problems, but he woke up at 2am crying as he'd got stuck under the duvet. He was then awake for a couple of hours so I'm feeling shattered today. Anyone of you with older children got any tips?

Slinkie we'll be near each other for mat leave won't we? We can have some fun together I'm sure.

Meglet I'm the same as you with the whole bf thing. I hated it last time and was relieved when I gave up. I keep veering to and fro with regards to trying it for this baby. I had such a happy time last time round, really enjoyed the whole experience, and am worried that attempting to bf will make the whole thing fraught.

[mustsleep]

how much exactly are the reusable nappies to start with though?

has anyone else already got a ds, did you find that when he was newborn his nappy leaked all the time even when you had pointed his willy down? i thought it may be jsut because he was so small but dd was smaller and no leaky nappies was wondering if it was a boy thing?

[Pidge]

Lots of councils offer some help with reusable nappies - so it's really worth checking that out with your local authority. I'm trying to find if there's a complete list somewhere of who offers what, but no luck so far.

[Pidge]

Don't know how up to date this list is, but worth checking out. Ultimately though, have a look at your local council website to see if they offer any assistance with real nappies.

I must confess, despite good intentions, first time round we planned to switch to re-usables after a month or so, but just never got round to it. Now I know how easy it is I really wish we'd done it.

We used Moltex env friendly disposables when not using reusables, but be aware even these still contain the gel, which some people are uneasy about. The only brand which don't contain that gel I think are Tushies (but we found those leaked, whereas our reusables didn't!!).

My biggest tip with reusables would be don't fret too much about what kind you want, because you will get freaked out by the choice and run away! Just try something, and take it from there.

[hopefully]

My council is West Sussex, but it's probably always worth phoning up the counciol and checking, as those that don't offer free ones sometimes offer a grant towards the cost of reusables, I've heard.

OMG, on top of my eyebrow drama, I somehow forgot to put deoderant on this morning! What on earth is wrong with me? Am not too smelly yet, but will be adding another item to the list for the mad dash to boots at lunch time!

Re hairiness, my tummy is ridiculously hairy, but seems to be the only area affected. in fact, I think leg hair growth has slowed

[LittleConnie]

damn my borough hasn't joined the real nappies scheme. does anyone know where I could buy a small starter pack of different types of reusables?

[kirstygem]

gracie I too am very very wet, keep going to bathroom to check as feels like have totally wet myself.

[Sunshinemummy]

Hi all - hope all is well.

Yay we booked a holiday! It's not our normal thing - we're going to a Mark Warner resort in Kos, but we're guaranteed the weather, DS can spend some time in the kids club so we can sleep, loads of water sports for DP and I get looked after (no cooking or organising). Going on 31st May - the day after our 4d scan - so can't wait. Not need to work out what to take!

On other things mentioned for the lists:

Dummies - I know some people don't like them but I did hear that babies need to suck and dummies do help them. DS has had one since being very little and I have no problems with them. We limit the dummy now to bedtime and he accepts the rule really well (although he will sometimes try and flout it). I'm going to do the dummy fairy thing at some point but other priorities (bed, potty) come first.

On weaning - I did Baby Led Weaning after hearing about it from a friend and it has been amazing. No pureeing and the baby can pretty much eat what you eat from day 1. DS's has a great range of food and is really good with cutlery because of this approach. Aitch's blog is fab if anyone is interested.

Swimming - I couldn't get DS into a Waterbabies class (all booked up in London) so I ordered the DVD from their website and used the principles. DS was ducked underwater from a very early age and because of this he has no issues with getting his face wet, jumping in etc. In fact he's pretty fearless. He can't swim without armbands yet but we have a lot of fun in the baths (or bintiden as he calls it). Really looking forward to having access to a pool every day on holiday.

Oh and on the discharge thing - yep totally normal. Along with that and the wee leaking out every time I cough or sneeze, I'm pretty much permanently wet!

[meglet]

mustsleep i have a tattoo on my tummy too and it pinged back to normal after I had the baby.

[hopefully]

Am v envious of your holiday sunshinemummy. DP and I are just desperately trying to pay off our last bit of debt so we don't have to worry about it when the baby arrives, so camping's going to be as exciting as it gets for me this summer!

[eandz]

the joys of pregnancy...i practically leak from every orifice except my mouth and thats only when i'm not drooling over my latest craving.

is anyone else getting a bloody nose in the morning? my doctor said this was normal...but have never heard it before.

[Gracie14]

Thankyou all so much for your reassuring comments - I think I'm going to try the pad thing and see what happens. Glad to hear its not just me though.

I will be back to catch up later. Frantic at work Roll on August when I don't have to be here.

[lollipopmother]

Mustsleep - It looks like you can't get packs on ebay, I'm amazed at that, thought it'd be a sure thing! I filled in a questionnaire on The Nappy Lady (here) and she came back with two suggestions tailored to me:

Needed from birth:

Bucket @ £6.70
Nappies ? Bumbles nippa 18 @ £7.80
Wraps ? Motherease Rikki Medium White 4 @ £8.50 (or eco theme patterns @ £8.75)
Boosters ?Triple layer terry for night time 3@ £1.60
(Liners ? Ultra liners (pack of 100) 1@£2.95 if required.)
Nappi Nippas pack of three @ £3.75

Subtotal £189.65

Needed later:

Wraps ? Motherease Air Flow Large White 4 @ £8.50 (or eco theme patterns @ £8.75)

Subtotal £34.00 Total cost of system: £223.65 Less 5% discount: £212.47

Or this one -

Needed now:

Bucket @ £6.70
Nappies ? Cotton Tots Size 1 Nippa 18 @ £7.00
Wraps ? Motherease Rikki Medium White 4@ £8.50 (or eco theme patterns @£8.75)
Liners ? Pack of 10 fleece liners 2@ £7.50 (or Ultra liners 100@£2.95)
Boosters ? Triple layer for night time 3@ £1.60
Nappi Nippas pack of three @ £3.75

Subtotal £190.25

Needed later:
Nappies ? Cotton Tots Size 2 Unbleached 15 @ £7.00
Wraps ?Motherease Air Flow Large White 4@ £8.50 (or eco theme patterns @ £8.75)

Subtotal £139.00

Total cost of system: £329.25 Less 5% discount: £312.79

[Pidge]

Littleconnie - you could try Green Baby or spiritofnature. But to be honest second hand ones are a brilliant way to go - I think lots of people sell on ebay, and you may even find a trial mixed bunch.

We ended up with tots bots and an imse vimse wrap. But we started with (inherited from a friend) these rectangular nappies, that you folded in three and then put inside a wrap. I must say the shaped, prefitted ones are easier (i.e. no folding).

[Pidge]

lollipop mother - crossed posts, I'd just popped back on to recommend the nappy lady for advice!!!

[lollipopmother]

EandZ - The nose thing is very common, it's due to the body asking for all the membranes to be engorged with blood, unfortunately the body doesn't seem to be able to distinguish our lady parts from our nose parts! I have never had a nosebleed in my life but I have a bloody nose all the time at the moment, have had since about 8 weeks.

[mustsleep]

meglet mine did after the first baby,but unfortunatly it developed a stretch mark in the bottom part of it that messed it up and then i put on more weight during my second pregnancy and i think this one will finish it off completely it's strange it's like when you let a balloon with a picture on it down it's the same but not quite right iykwim

lolli yes that's exactly what i'm going to do after this pregnancy when i've lost all the weight (she says optimistically) i'm going to go into the tattooist near us and ask him what he could do with it i think that part of it could just do with redoing as it is ten years old and has faded anyway and then see what he says about the stretched bit i have a tattoo on the underside of my wrist of three stars one for each child - remember if you start having names done you will have to have each child's initial done - me and dh are on about having our wedding anniversary done in roman numerals at some point but i can't decide where to have it done

how do you find out whether your council does the nappie scheme? would it be on their website am going to check now

[mustsleep]

wow lolli that's a lot of cash but i suppose if they last for the first year when you add up the cost of the disposables it's prob cheaper

actually i have just worked it out and it;s the same as the bottom figure... hmm might have to look into that - although i am glad i didn;t with dd as our washer did work properly and i spent a lot of time hand washing

[mustsleep]

i'm the same with the nose bleeds and am during every pregnancy,luckily i never suffer when not pregnant

[lollipopmother]

Mustsleep - Arrrgh! I started off thinking of getting 3 stars on my wrist, one for each member of the family, how funny is that! I decided against it as I thought if I had a second baby then 4 stars would look a little odd. I thought re the letter that I could have 1 on my wrist, and then if (if) we had a second then I could have it on the back of my neck under my hairline.

As for the nappy money, I read somewhere that the first lot there is a bit of savings, plus you can sell them on if you don't use them again, thus recouping some money. If you keep them for a second baby then you're in the money as you save nearly 100% as it were. Damn custard-brain won't let me remember where I saw those stats though!

[meglet]

mustsleep I was wondering if stretch marks messed up tattoos.

On the subject has anyone started getting stretch marks yet? I didn't get them first time and so far I haven't got any. I will be gutted if they appear this time round, but it may be too early.

[Sunshinemummy]

Oh and update on the bed front - DS went to bed no problem last night again. He woke up about 23:15 crying (he really was sobbing his heart out) so DP put him into a Grobag and, after calming him down, I put him back in bed. He didn't peep again and when I went in this morning he was out of the covers, upside down with his feet on the pillow!

[mustsleep]

meglet it's just unfortunate it happened to occue there! it's just messed the colours and the lines up, not sure if they will tattoo over a stretch mark either?

the first time i did not think i had any at all and was really smug,i didn't realise some don;t come up until after your tummy has gone i had some really red ones but after a couple of months they went completely!! after dd was left with some but not red just a couple of silvery ones- haven;t seen any yet this time so fingers crossed

by the way i am a total slattern and keep meaning to but forgetting to moistutize,shave,pluck, fake tan have completely let myself go but i don't care

[hopefully]

I have no stretch marks as yet, but then my bump isn't enormous yet, and i am prone to them, so i am fully anticipating that joy! although am bio-oiling religiously in the hope of minimising, if not avoiding them. On the other hand, the ones I have on my hips from being a porky teenage and on my boobs from them growing quickly when I was 13 or 14 have almost completely disappeared, really not visible from more than about 3 feet away, so i'm not too concerned.

I have 2 tattoos, but thankfully both on my back, so no stretching worries!

sunshinemummy your DS sounds like he is coping admirably with his strange new bed - people have told me so many horror stories about moving them, but yours doesn't seem (too) horrendous!

[lollipopmother]

I've got horrible stretch marks on my boobs and on the side of my legs/bum/love handles. It's because I seriously overate at Xmas, didn't know I was pregnant of course then so went for it, and now i've been eating non-stop ever since. I have put on about 2 stone since November I should think. HORRIBLE! My stretch marks are all red and blobby at the moment, I hope they go away like Mustsleep's.

[WombFor1More]

Hello everybody, Just a very quick update.

Had scan today, 21+1wks and all is absolutely fine, still a boy too! Little monkey didn't stop moving so took ages which was quite nice! All dates etc still bang on so that's another one down for those 20wk scans. Anyone left still??