Scan you see it yet? Due in Jan 09

[fourlittlefeet]

Am keeping us in antinatal rather than in preganancy so newbies can find us! Have posted for tink on her thread.

x

when i was a child i used to put warm water into the almost empty marmite jars so i could drink it. its great!!!
i dont know about marmite and philadelphia and onion bagels but marmite and cheddar cheese sandwiches are lovely.

littlesquirt i loved minus nine to one and have read it loads as well.

we should do a book review for all the first timers.
a must haves and total waste of money list might be helpful for them as well.

Buckles - welcome, I like marmite but the thought of drinking it ughhh!

Littlesquirt - I loved Jools Oliver's book - I thought it was a great read and learnt a lot as I am also a first timer and have made a note of a few things in the book to remember. I thought it was a really honest account of her experience and would recommend it.

I love marmite!

I went to NCT classes last time (forgotten who was asking about these) - they were fab but I regretted not going to the NHS ones too as even though everyone I spoke to said the content was a bit rubbish, they were more tailored to the local area than the NCT ones and told you all about the protocols the midwives had to follow in labour in the local area. To be honest that kind of information would have been more useful to me in the labour I had with than knowing the finer points of partner massage. If you can I would go to both. I'm going to go to refresher classes with the NHS this time so I get a bit more clued up as our maternity unit has been overhauled and a lot of things have changed.

My favourite books are the Kaz Cookes Rough Guide to Pregnancy - its the only one I haven't given away and I had about 15 books last time - I bought a job lot at an NCT sale! And Blooming Birth, which I have mentioned before.

On the total waste of money front I could write a very long list! I have become a minimalist when it comes to baby stuff - I have realised that most of it doesn't get used all that much and just takes up space and costs too much! Things I wouldn't be without though are:
baby sling
brightly coloured bouncy chair (we got rid of our flashy one that vibrated and things and just got a basic one with a couple of toys on)
soft padded playmat with brightly coloured toys (they can't see pale colours when they are tiny)
plastic changing mat and a bunch of small towels (old ones fine) for laying on top to mop up the inevitable accidents (otherwise the wee runs all over their clothes!)
small muslin cloths/bibs/cheap tea towels for mopping up milk and vomit
baby sleeping bags
a couple of swaddling blankets for the early days
a bed of some description
a car seat that clips onto a base rather than using the seat belt
sleeveless/short sleeve vests (easier to put on than long sleeved) and sleepsuits with poppers all the way down the front and feet attached
and my reusuable nappy collection

I ended up bottle feeding too so needed all the clutter that that entails - if you are lazy or disorganised then definately breastfeed if you can!

Anything else we didn't really need, although some of the other things you can get have had their uses at times. Once she was old enough a highchair was a must but we bought that at 6 months old, and we bought a pram at about 8 weeks old - just used the sling until then.

I also went to NCT classes with my first - I'm not sure how much of the content I remembered but I made a great group of friends that were my lifeline over the first few weeks. This is my third and one of my original group is expecting her 3rd a few weeks before me. They also did 2nd time mums groups round here - really good if you went back to work after your first and have forgotton what its like to have a baby 24/7.

I agree with LenniEd on the baby stuff they really don't need much at first. The one thing we were given that was invaluable was a 'bouncy chair' that went flat and didn't bounce , have lots of gismos etc. I used it loads downstairs, the babies really liked it as they could see around.

I did need a pram though, I had a csection with my first and couldn't have used a sling to begin with.

So nice to see the sun today though - am sat in the garden with the laptop.

hello everyone!
LenniEd, fabulous list,thank you muchly of reminding me not to go crazy. Though I should know better, what with this being no.2..
Our bad buys included a moses basket (it was just too small from the start), a baby bath - we used one of those baby support things in our bath, much better..

Oh lordy, I have to go, Holby Shitty is starting!!

Just one question for Mel - do you mean that you can buy new covers for the MB separately? if yes, how much for?? does this mean I can buy something secondhand that has worn fabric but as long as the metal/plastic bits are sound, I'll be ok?? Please say yes to these things, it'll make me so happy....

Scan went well - just have to wait for my quadruple blood test to be processed to get my downs risk but there was a nose bone and nuchal pad was ok (1.5mm).

Baby was asleep (whoever asked earlier) - like my DS was, so had to go through the whole rigmarole with this one as well - banging bottom on table, lifting up hips and shaking vigorously from side to side, coughing, getting up and walking around, etc. etc.

Useful things (and not so useful)
sling - never used it (baby too heavy and usually wanted to put shopping on the buggy!)
bouncy chair - yep absolutely the cheaper the better, don't bother with vibrate and rock, just buy two or three so you're not carting them up and downstairs!
dimmer switch on his light - 100% great
disposable changing mats - expensive but really saved on cleaning the changing mat and also great for laying baby on for nappy off time.
swaddeling - baby would NOT be swaddled!
baby sleeping bags - 100% definitely - get a 2.5 tog for January and then you'll need the lighter ones for May onwards.

I would have loved a dimmer switch but our lights have 2way switches so we couldn't have one - I got a nightlight from Ikea for £7.99 instead - they are ones you can charge up and look like little aliens. They give off enough light to see but not enough to wake the baby up too much whilst you are doing night time feeds and/or nappy changes.

We got the bambino merino sleeping bags once DD was about 3mo - they can be used in summer or winter and last until they are about 18mo and they feel lovely and wash well. Up until then I used grobags or other brands - DD had reflux so we had about 5 as she would sometimes be sick after every feed, but you only need a couple if you haven't got a sicky baby.

Wonder if anyone can shed some light, i spoke to a woman from the NCT last week & book my Classes (in colchester) she said she'd send everything in the post, but that was about 2 weeks ago, and haven't heard a thing!

Hmm!! Anyone any the wiser as to how long before i should be expecting the stuff? as we are due to move house soon & i wouldnt want the stuff to slip through the re-directed mail?!

Havent got a REAL bump in the evening, but tummy feeling much firmer and rounder, plus its the evening that i'm eating ALL my food, as i feel SO sicky all daytime! I've eaten out twice today- feeling like a right porker!

Scan a week tomorrow, Exciting!! Even though they WONT reschedule it for earlier, so will be TOO late for nuchal. Stupid NHS. Grr.

spink, yes you can get spare covers, i have just sold a spare set of single covers for £50 in the adtrader they were the cabana stripe. they cost about £85 (for a set of plain ones) for a single MB from mountain buggy depending on what design they are. you can also get almost any spare from them. buggies like bugaboo and phil and teds are the same, you can buy almost anything as a spare.
i wouldnt buy a well used graco, cossato or similar buggy because the cheaper makes are not made to last and its not worth it. but buggies like mountain buggy and bugaboo can last for years of constant use. mamas and papas are so expensive to buy and the bits cost a fortune and they just dont last well.
in my opinion, from experience, getting a good quality make secondhand is much better than buying a cheap buggy new.

rrayray - I would keep ringing - I got a cancellation which is why mine was a week earlier than expected....

oh and my must have baby buys are

• motorised swing (total life saver)
• moulded baby bath seat
• great buggy with carrycot
• maxi-cosi car seat with easybase
• cot/cot bed with a cot divider (so baby can be feet to foot without having the whole cot)
• baby bouncer for the bathroom so you can have a shower and keep an eye on them *sympony in motion cot mobile
• baby sleeping bags (you can get newborn size as there is a weight limit on the 0-6 ones)
• baby bjorn active baby carrier (more supportive for your back than some of the others - i used to keep it in the car and use it for small trips)

for later on
bumbo
jumperoo

i am using moses baskets for the first time with the twins just because they will probably be small so will use them for longer and i can take them downstairs.

*i didnt use the bottle warmer, hot water from the kettle is much faster

• i didnt use the top and tail bowl or the baby bath or any of the many baby toiletries the baby mags tell us are needed.

Hi all, just popping on before I go to bed.

Scan results seemed to be ok today, though my hospital does a combined test where nuchal fold test is put together with blood test results so I wait for a letter, or if it's bad news they ring. I think the letter took about 10 days first time round. She told me very firmly that nuchal fold measurement doesn't mean much in isolation.

Sonographer and dp seemed to get a good look at the baby.

I have my next scan date for 21 weeks on 16 September.

I didn't get on to an NCT course last time, this time I'm doing one starting on 27 November too! I'm not sure whether it's going to be mostly first timers or others who've already had a baby, but I'm pleased as it will be daytime - I can take time off work for antenatal courses and it will be when we already have childcare in place, and it's just 2 days with dp and 1 morning on my own. 8 evenings 8-10 pm on the other side of the borough and 2 buses away which most of the "local" ones would have really been daunting, and I'd have had to go on my own while dp looked after ds. I'm also doing a one day refresher hospital one.

I also found the bottle warmer a waste of time, and found cold water sterilisation much easier than the electric sterilisers - you put liquid or tablets into water and put your clean things that need to be sterilised in there. I'm very much hoping to breastfeed more successfully this time, it all went very wrong last time and I spent so much of ds's first few months just crying my eyes out. And bottle feeding involves so much faff and clutter, I'd definitely prefer not to worry about the extra equipment involved when we're away from home etc.

Very tiny babies can be washed in a washing up bowl. HVs here recommend not using all the Johnsons products, quite drying, water's often enough - now we just use baby shampoo but nothing else in ds's bath.

Morning ladies, as a first timer I am finding your list of essentials (including all your tips) very useful and am making notes - thanks, please keep the tips coming in!

oh booksgalore i did the room temp milk as well it saved alot of time. i will be doing it again. also i used to wash and steralise the bottles and put them in the fridge. then if i was going out or night time feeds i used the cartons of SMA and just took empty bottles. if baby needed a feed it was just a matter of emptying the carton into the bottle and away we went. if i did use powder i used to fill the bottles in the fridge with cooled boiled water and add the powder when needed. i used water from the kettle in a bowl to warm the bottles. if i was out i had a thermus flask the bottle warmer one with a beaker on the outside to put the bottle in and fill with water from the flask. i never had to ask a waitress to heat bottles for me.

i had a movemet sensor as well it saved me alot of worry. when they get bigger and go in the big cot without the dividers they can wriggle off them, giving you a huge panic in the night when the alarm goes off. it is another reason why mine will be in moses baskets for the first bit so i can have one monitor on each baby. i did think about them being in the same cot but the sensor might be picking up the same baby if something happened.

morning

gr8 news on scan fym

i did nct and nhs classes with my first.
nct classes are great was only 10 of us a nice close group and we are still friends with them now.
will just do nhs one this time round.

essential items for me with 1st were :-

baby bouncer - we have one with a bar that has dancing fish on and bubbles and plays lovley soothing tunes she loved it.

activity gym with inflatable ring

tommee tippee nappy bin

tommee tippee bottle steriliser

moulded bath seat

Books galore and Elkie glad the scans went well

I have never done an antenatal class i kind of thought it a waste as i used to take them! I have muddled through somehow.

My baby essentials list is much the same as everyone else. The only thing i have found invaluable is a pram not buggy. Some of mine have been tummy sleepers and for a stress free day out either shopping or staying at a friends for tea or a holiday etc... the carrycot was a godsend. It meant they would sleep peacefuly and just think they were still in their own surroundings. I would get a good carrycot and not bother with a moses basket (only had those for the twins and didnt use them really) Most of the carrycots flash up about being breathable etc... nowadays.

Having a carseat that clips on to the buggy was also essential and i could CRY that this was introduced after i had the twins 10 years ago. It really would have saved my sanity and my back! They were in the infant car seats for about a year as they were tiny, it also meant when i was nipping in to a friends or toddlers i could leave one or both in the car seat and hold the other. Of course you cannot hold two babies easily while having a cup of tea. There may not be somewhere safe to put the babies on the floor etc... I had to carry both baies in car seats with various paraphenalia you need with two in to everywhere!!! If i could have had some kind of chassis to clip them on to MY GOD my life would have been so much easier!

That is my tip for the day twin ladies

I also saw this and it looks fabulous! Especailly with twins. It does seem very expensive though.

baby gym was also v useful

I have to say for first timers benefit that some of these 'best buys' do depend on your baby so you will inevitably have stuff you dont use

my baby was an absolute whopper, so baby bouncer was useless as by the time he could use it he was too heavy .

The twins were born at 29 weeks and very poorly, they were on Apnoea monitors and all sorts before they were released from hospital. I assumed they would give me them to take home, Sam came home on oxygen anyway so had a sats and heart rate monitor on permanently. They would nt let me take the apnoea monitors home! I remember paniking but they said you will panic more if you have them as they can go off for everything and will make you jumpy and nervous.

I have not used any kind of sensor\breathing monitor since. It was scary going cold turkey.

*marmite - gr8 especially with dairylea or cheddar
my daughter is obssessed with marmite already 2!!

*books - i have dk pregnancy questions and answers love the pictures of development and covers everyting else 2

practical parenting your pregnancy week by week as it has a page for development of every week you are pregnant and covers everything else too

watch me grow is gorgeous shows 3d weekly images they are amazing

i have said this before i think in this thread but the contented little baby book is great if you want a routine, luckily she does one for twins as well. i have already worked out a feeding routine for the twins that fits in with the older childrens routines. the main idea is to get as much of the daily intake of milk during the day so they learn to sleep through and dont wake because they are hungry. it worked for my little boy who slept through at 6 weeks.

lg&t thsi is a big fear of mine, having the twins that early. you must have been out of your mind with worry. did you have a c-section? i think i am busy buying all the bits i need now so i dont have to worry later and to take my mind off what might happen.
i now have lovely matching mamas and papas moses baskets. they are really nice and i will wash all the fabrics get some new matresses next time in am in mamas and papas.

I did have an em section, i went in to labour a week before they were born but no one believed me! I just knew something was up. My waters went on the sat eve and they were out an hour later, one went transverse and the top twin (waters still intact) meant it had no room to turn, i was fully dilated when they took me to theater.

It was hellish. There is no reason why you should have a c section, with a glimmer of hope i would have pushed for a natural birth.

Have now had 4 VBACS 2 of which were planned home deliveries.

morning,
tis lovely and sunny here, planning to take ds to the beach later. Yay! not so yay that my new maternity jeans from Seraphine aren't great on me, I was hoping to sashay down instead of skulking in my ill fitting rags. Grr maternity clothes. Comfy, yes. Flattering, no. BOOOO. Will be trying IO jeans next. Anyone had them and liked them??

Right. Enough moaning.
I have 2 questions...
Floradix - is it ok to take this at the same time as taking a pg vit & mineral supplement? ( i use the Boots 'mum to be' one)

And - this one is for mel -don't suppse you've got a link or contact details for anywhere that does the mountainbuggy spare covers? I had a bit of a look on the web yesterday but no joy..

thank you.