Due May 05 part 4

[fisil]

Here it is ... let me start:

Name: fisil
Due: 26th April officially, 3rd May unofficially
Children: ds (just turned 2)
About me: work full time (teacher, head of dept), live SW London with dp & ds
Anything else: think its a boy

Hi Logic, Sounds like you had a lovely weekend, me and dp must get around to doing something similar! Not sure where to invest the Child Trust Fund, and whether should go high risk in shares or low risk in savings. I'm going to speak to my dad about it this weekend as he has done various financial jobs and see what he thinks. Are you hoping to add to it on a monthly basis? I'm hoping to set up a direct debit to add to it every month, but I don't know how much we'll be able to afford as I'm not sure exactly what my take home pay will be when I return to work part time, so it may not be much at first!

Hi LittleB, we want to go for a Stakeholder account of some sort. I doubt that we will put extra money into it at the moment but at some point I will go back to work and might think about it then. It's worth applying for Child Benefit as soon as the baby is born too...

Thanks for raising this issue about the trust fund checks. It reminded me to talk to DH about it before he runs off and deposits it somewhere. Not sure what we'll do. Though, I probably lean towards medium risk.

I hope our check finds us. They will only send it to the address where you were when the birth was registered. But, we moved! Oh well, I suppose it will get forwarded.

Hi all. I should be an expert (work in marketing for a bank) but I'm not! But I believe that most people in the know suggest that equities (i.e. shares) are more appropriate for long term investments than into regular deposit accounts. Yes, shares go up and down, but over a long period you're going to get a better return than savings accounts can give you. I feel like I should be prefixing this with "this is purely the view of .... and in no way reflects the opinion of ... Bank..!"

This is a quiet board! We've been looking into the CTF. Think we'll go with the stakeholder. Not sure where yet. I heard that Royal Bank of Scotland was offering vouchers incentives worth £250, but when I asked more about it I found that most of that saving involves the purchase of expensive holidays that we wouldn't have otherwise purchase. So, I found £10 worth of useful vouchers (ToysRUs and Adams -- £5 each). And, I can't say that I find ten quid to be adequate incentive to give them some £1200 per annum for the next 18 years. So we are still researching the options on where to put this money.

Hi Guys, haven't been on this for a while so it was interesting to read whats been going on.
Just want to change the subject for a second. Does anyone know where I can get a maternity coat/jacket from? It's so cold at the moment and the one I have doen't do up aroubd my tummy now so could do with getting a maternity one. But do you think I can find anywhere? NO!

I have no idea. I stole DH's coat. Poor DH. He must be cold.

I'm with you SamCattie!! Only have a tiny bump but it's not gonna be long before I have to get a new one. Just bought one of those long thick cardigans with a belt from Topshop that keeps me warm but won't keep out all the other elements! Only 20 quid in the sale though

Samcattie, There was a thread on the main board about maternity coats a while back, I think you can do a search on them and it should come up with suggestions. I'll just be using dp's coats, but I can still fit into mine at the moment.

Hi Ladies,

Would suggest that you look on ebay for a bargain. I have a simular dilmena as I have a wedding to go to at the end of Feb and do not have the cash to splash out.

Sorry to go off on a tangent. I had my scan last Thursday too, but haven't been able to get online (as work part time, and hubby is often 'ebaying' on home computer - will address the balance when I'm on maternity leave!), anyway - I'm going to be having a little girl!!!

We're so over the moon.

Oh, congrats preggars. I remember we went for scans on the same day. I've been wondering how it went.

Hi all - and congrats on the little girl preggars.

Coats - I bought a massive man's fleece when pg with ds cos it was summer and we were going to NZ so there was no chance of ever finding a maternity one. It wouldn't do for anything posh, but it keeps me warm!

I've been hiding from this thread a bit while I've been feeling so down. I'm back at the GPs tomorrow, and hopefully she'll agree that things have improved. I realised I couldn't actually believe that there was going to be a real baby at the end of all this, so I bought a beautiful little outfit from Monsoon today and got them to wrap it all up carefully. And we booked a holiday in Greece for the beginning of July! So I'm beginning to believe it!

Samcattie, I am having the same problem with coats. At the moment, I am managing with a woolly maternity jumper from mothercare and I will soon be borrowing dh's fleeces. My mum did buy me a lovely poncho from m&s but it makes me look a bit like a bat

Congrats Preggars, at last another girl! I was beginning to think that I would have no-one to discuss ponies and barbies with!

hiya fisil, glad you are feeling better. Having something to look forward to is lovely.

Sorry to hear that you've been feeling unwell Fisil, I hope you are feeling better now. It is hard to believe that there really will be a little baby after all of this isn't it, I go through all the motions of getting ready, but I'm still not sure that it has completely sunk in yet. A holiday in Greece sounds great, I hope you have a good time.
Congratulations Preggers. must be so exciting to know what you're having!

I got my pregnancy & birth magazine today and in it it said that Jojomamanbebe are selling a maternity coat with hood for £40.

Does anyone know where I can get a really nice fleecy pram blanket/shawl in neutral colours from? I am not brave enough to buy a pink one!

Have you tried blooming marvelous. They at least used to carry a neutral all natural cotton line of shalls and clothes to mash (for baby).

Thank you ladies - am still so excited. DH got all DS baby clothes down on Sunday. I offered the excellent condition stuff to my SIL, who is also expecting (but first), but they want to buy all new, so I've given some to charity and am sticking the really good stuff on ebay in the hope we can put it towards a tall ball wardrobe for baby. I'm please that there was a lot of neutral stuff for my little baby girl

Is anyone else starting the nesting thing!

Logic, I think you can get neutral in Mothercare and Marks & Sparks, and probably heaps of other places. Next time I'm shopping I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Uwila - did yo

Don't know what I was going to ask you Uwila reading that back. Pregnant brain strikes again!

Thanks for the hints...

I was cleaning the curtain rails and the tops of the wardrobes yesterday so I've definately started nesting. Not my normal behavious at all

I would love to know if my bump is boy or girl as the thought of all ds "stuff" up in the loft is killing me - i want to get rid of it all or wash it and have it ready for may. I hate thinking of all the clutter (for want of a better word) that no. 2 is going to bring into my tiny house, but I am really looking forward to having my baby. I think it will be a minimalist baby household if that is humanly possible. Is that a terrible way to be thinking?

I am also wondering if, by the law of averages, that maybe it is a girl as there seem to be more boys expected here so far?

Northstar - I know how you feel. The baby stuff kind of takes over! I got the fab rattan box from Habitat last time anf it stores all downstairs toys quite nicely. I'm a bit of a tidy nut, but I do love having toys about too, makes it all homely doesn't it

You never know Northstar. Tis the season for boys. I moonlight on the June bord (my due day is 29 May) and almost everybody is having a boy. I think of everyone who has had there scan and found out the sex, ONE is a girl. Can't remember how many boys... at least 7 or so.

Northstar, I'd love to know too, although I have a hunch mine is a boy, no logic to it, just a feeling. I'm going to Blooming Marvellous in Bath in a few weeks time to buy some baby things, I like their neutral baby outfits with brights animals and dots on, I think the cream and white can be a bit plain and I expect we'll get given some of those. I'm nesting too, dp keeps telling me to slow down and not wear myself out! My nesting isn't restricted to the house either, have bought vegetable seeds and starting some off in the geenhouse in the hope of feeing baby homegrown organic veg puree in the Atumn/winter! And planted apple trees, with dp digging! Its so exciting, wish I could do baby nesting things all the time instead of having to go to work - much more interesting and should be working now .

Wow - good for you growing veggies. It's really nice to make food for the little one, let alone actually growing the veggies. 10 out of 10!!