Due in June 2009: The final quarter - packing our bags and remembering to squuueeeeeeezzeeeee!..

[Ineedmorechocolatenow]

Here it is!

Morning Juners!

ermin yeah, I was catching up while having breakfast! It's ok, we'll be facing worse things once this LOs arrive
Thank you and everyone else who's been giving advice on sanitary towels/pads. How confusing the issue of breast pads, though... there's such a big variety and you cannot just choose one and stock up as you don't know if that particular one will be the best for you I guess buying a pack of each at first will be the best option... Hon, I hope your tummy is fine by now

Tee yay on the good night's sleep! You've had quite a good week on the whole Good luck at the GP's.

Hi Daisy, and another Juner falls into the garden trap! Enjoy!

Doris about the car! I hope it's a tiny little thing you cannot even notice at your DS trying to say your MIL's name! Sooo sweet! And don't worry, you can be as biased and drooling as you want

Dreamy hope your cold gets better soon at your DD's sudden fascination with your boobs!

LittleSarah I think you can call them to pick them up if you forgot to ask for them before, don't worry.

I don't know if I'm forgetting someone

A sleepless spell for me last night but then I dozed off (God knows at what time). I'd love to go to town today and buy some hospital bag things but the weather is not helping It's reaaaaally foggy and coldish... We'll see. 30 wks today!!!! Wow!! I have a lot to read for my dissertation so I'll start my day soon

Have a lovely morning, Juners! (waves)

Argh, just when things are supposed to be sorted!

Dd's nursery phoned to say they had had auditors in and I owe loads of money! How is this possible? The guy couldn't seem to indicate what I owed for when, he kept talking about a cheque that bounced in December but that was repaid in January, and looking my bank details I know since September I am up-to-date.

Looking back over the summer I admit I may owe a bit then, financially things were a bit messy and my accounts are in a mess, although I'm sure I paid a couple of cheques (unfortunately cheque stubs have disappeared so need to find out from bank to make sure!). Looking then I perhaps do owe a few hundred pounds but he seems to be talking about close to £1500.

Anyway, he'll send me a statement but I'm wondering how helpful that will be as he couldn't seem to say where exactly I missed out payments himself! Also he's happy to have a payment plan which is fine but I'm more worried about working out where they are in the wrong (as I am sure they are somewhere!) and proving it. Just seems like something I really don't need right now.

ARGH again.

(PS Doris, those look very good but I can't seem to find anywhere to buy them!)

Morning all

tee, maternity pads should be with the other baby stuff like the breast pads etc. Always do a maxi night time pad that come in a blue pack that are thick like mat pads and i've found them to be just as good. Tommee tippee breast pads are very similar to the ones mentioned by MrsMcJnr and like someone else said are pretty good.

Congrats to your dsis choccie!

Bunny, great news the packing is almost done!

Must dash, will catch up properly later

quick question

I have been told for the first while you use cotton wool and water to clean baby how long do you do this for? Also I have noticed that pampers and johnstons have brought out sensitive wipes which is basically only water on them, would these be suitable to use on a newborn? like i mentioned earlier want to go to boots today and get basically everythig i need for my bag...think my rep for being an organised freak like Monica Gellar in friends is showing again

LOL laura! I admire your honesty!!! I have such questions in my mind too and then I stop myself from asking them for fear Juners will say "waaaaaaaaaaaait, you have time, lady!!!"

Do you guys know what kind of bag you will be using to take to the hospital?
I was looking at new bags but dh sensibly suggested we use our plane-cabin wheelie luggage.

My friend had her CVS results and the baby is fine, yay! That's a nice way to start the day, I'm so pleased for her :D

We're off to mothercare and I can't remember exactly what I wanted from there, do I own up to dh or do I wait until we get there hoping it'll all come back to me once there ;)

naat I know which hospital I would be transferred to, it's downstairs from the birth centre so it makes sense not to be transferred anywhere else. It's just that everytime there's a list of bad hospitals, slow to respond to government guidelines about cleanliness and infections, there it is at the top of the list.

june i had purchased a 2 bag set from argos for £10 back in january so using the big bag fo my stuff and the smaller bag for baby - I dont know whether I am packing way too much tho

June I'll use a small wheeled bag for my things and a small bag I bought back in January for the baby. DH will use one of his sports bags to take his things.

Great that your BC and hospital are in the same building! I'd have to be transferred (10 min away) to another hospital because the Royal Infirmary doesn't have a maternity ward. I know what you mean about guidelines and reviews, those can get you down...
Oh, don't own up, it'll come as soon as you cross Mothercare's door

lauraloo re: wipes v cotton wool and water. Starting off just with water is good because they're such sensitive little flowers to begin with. If the family has any history of eczema it's advised that you hold off the wipes for at least the first few weeks, but it really depends on the sensitivity of baby's bum and how much you're getting out and about, and just need wipes to be practical. I know some mums who use wipes straight away with no probs too. I get eczema so always used fragrance free sensitive ones and never had any problems with my DC. This time round I've got in a pile of biodegradable eco nappies, wipes and nappy bags too, so that I don't feel guilty on the days I don't use washables

laura - re: wipes, I seem to remember that there are two ingredients to avoid. I think one is alcohol (which is in most wipes) and something else. I remember seeing some advertised as sensitive but they still had one of these substances in them. like erm says, cotton wipes really are the best in early days. I got the ones in long strips that tear off - so rectangular shaped and large.

naat - my neighbour thinks my gardening habit is a nesting instinct. I'm not sure about that, but definately want something lovely to look at while breastfeeding.

I think the kind of wipes you want are fragrance and alcohol free. I know my skin reacts to perfume+sun together with a big ugly rashy thing.
I think I want to use just cotton and water for the beginning; dh wants wipes but he and his siblings did have eczema when they were little so I might be able to change his mind.
We didn't go to mothercare in the end, ended up in babies'r'us instead and got the above wipes as well as some cotton and maternity pads. They seemed to have good prices for them.
Also got a small wedge-pillow to support my bump while sleeping. they had some funky pillows like the ones we were talking about before on this thread but they were £25, I can't remember how much we'd said they were.

We had a quick look at baby monitors there, gosh, which ones are you buying??
Dh wants one with a video/screen (I think that's not necessary, is it?).

june lol at your DH wanting the most hi-tech gadget available! Monitors are useful for when the baby is in bed and if your house is large enough to mean you won't hear your LO crying. We never used ours after we went to bed - all the snuffling would have kept us awake, and anything approaching a cry was clearly audible and woke me up straight away.

I got our monitor off ebay second hand and in perfect condition. I'd go for a make you've heard of, a range that suits the size of your house and the option of changing channels in case someone in a nearby house has the same one and you start hearing their baby - happened to us once and was really weird until we worked out what was happening!

HI everyone

Thanks for all your well wishes for dear sis. Not sure what clamping of the cervix onvolved exactly but sounds weird. I mentioned it to my OB this morning and he had never hard of such a thing. When he asked which hospital she had delivered in it turned out that he worked there himself for 6 years!

Baby Monitors - I originally bought a Tomy Classic Advance but took it back and changed it for a BT 150 from Argos. I looked at the reviews on MN and wasn't happy with the Tomy one as we had it before and it kept getting lots of interference and also stopped working?!

Reading through all of your posts is such fun. I can tell that many of us are getting baby fever!

Maternity Pads - agree, get the biggest ones that you can find. I had to double up on thick maternity ones last time but always bleed heavily.

I will definately be cleaning baby with cotton wool and water for the first few weeks. Their skin is so tender. Can anyone offer advice on cord care?

DS1 got an awful infection in his and I followed the hositals instructions using cotton wool and water for that. With DS2 I did the same but once a day I used a sterile wipe to go around the edge. I was so paranoid that his would get infected. haven't bought the wipes this time.

Got to see baby on scan again today. Very quick scan but very nice all the same. LO was yawning away

I asked OB about my tummy pains, diahria etc (been ok this week) and he thinks that my immune system has been very low and therefore I must have picked up a bug that I couldn't shake.

I also told him that I cannot seem to stop wanting to eat the wrong things and he simply laughed. He obviously doesn't think I have put ob too much weight but if I keep eating like this I will be one big mama

ooops - noticed that my typing is rather rushed .

Hello all. Just been gardening for an hour, now inside for cup of coffee and put my feet up for 20 mins before DS is awake....

WRT baby wipes, I'm going for cotton wool and water, if only to avoid the looks of horror from the midwives who gave me and DH the skunk-eye when we used wipes with DS in the hospital ! DS had NO problem at all with the wipes (Pampers Sensitive), no history of excema in either of our families though after about a year he had some behind his ears (down to an allergic reaction to the baby shampoo I was using, can't blame this on the wipes!) I think after a few weeks, we'll move onto wipes (like ermintrude said).

choccie - We kept DS's cord clean with a cotton bud and water until it dropped off (most disgusting, after about 4-5 days). It did go a little yellowy and nasty looking just before it fell off but was a perfect little tummy button underneath so worth it in the end .

We have a BT monitor too, choccie and it's been brilliant. We still use it for daytime and evening sleep but, like ermintrude said, we don't bother taking it to bed as we can hear DS without it. Believe me, you soon get super-sensitive to the sound of your LO's cries....

Sorry to hear about your nursery troubles LittleSarah. I can't believe it's such a monumental cock-up. That's such a lot of money! I hope you get it sorted soon.

Well, FIL is out of hospital this afternoon, and it's such good news. I hope we can catch up with him at the weekend (once DS is fully clear of his bug). Going to start on the nursery and packing the hospital bag over the next two weeks so really excited!

choccie like you, I'm craving all the wrong things and not eating what I should. I've already eaten DS's Easter Egg and will
have to buy him a new one before DH finds out.....

Hope you are all having good Fridays..

P.S. How cool are these smilies!

Afternoon all

Another vote for cotton wool and water for the first few weeks here! Same for cord care choccie, sounds like you were doing the right things, maybe just unlucky? Have heard salt solution can work if infection is suspected. Also avoiding baby bath and similar products for the first couple of weeks, babies don't really get dirty in the way the rest of us do! I like the huggies pure wipes myself, never had any problems with them.

Well, after all my bitching about the antenatal unit (June, we seem to be in the same boat!) I saw the obs physio yesterday and she was lovely! Shes given me more exercises to do and I felt i'd done a full workout by the time she'd finished Put a back on my face anyway!

The kids have all finished for easter now, no peace and quiet for the next couple of weeks

Hi all

Okay, dumb question of the day: If you use cotton wool and water, where do you get the water? Bring a basin of warm water into changing area? I will be changing the baby in its room, when I am home. And what about when out and about?

Tee yup, a little warm water in a dish. And yup, it does become a bind. Out and about, most changing areas do have a sink so you can wet the cotton wool in warm water there. You have to be careful to dry as well, and only use cream if baby has a rash, not as a matter of course. Their early poos aren't much really - takes 'em a while to be able to really fill a nappy, and more

Hi Juners!

I'm loving these new smileys!!!

Anyway, just came back from town and I've been catching up with your posts... believe me I take a notepad and a pencil each time, as there's so much advice around!

I went to boots but ended up buying only the lansinoh breast pads (which were highly recommended by some Juners), then I'll get some others (and cheaper ones) to supplement.

I'm doing too much research, I think... I never buy right away hahaha, I aways "shop around" before making a decision... But as a result I'm knackered now with all the walking I did

Anyway, thanks choccie, ermin, ineed and bigcar for all that useful advice. tee your question was a very good one, actually... I hadn't thought about the going out and about part .

Bigcar, glad you had a good physio appt.

Ineed yay on FIL's discharge! I hope he keeps on well.

June I got my "chorizo-like" pillow from Ebay at 11GBP. But I think I understood you've already bought one

Anyway, I also went to the library and did some reading for my commentary so it was quite a complete afternoon. I must wait for DH now and then go to Tesco...

Question, I saw in some of the hospital lists (I think it was MrsMC's that arnica was mentioned... what's it used for? I saw it today and it said "for bruises or injuries". Now I'm afraid of the answer

tee - I kept a tupperware container of water (with the lid on) beside the change mat and just changed it every morning. Obviously only dipped fresh cotton wool in. Was really handy and saved it being knocked over.

june - we have a BT monitor. We opted not to go for the screen as wanted to be sure we didn't get paranoid. Bedrooms almost interlinked so no need for monitor in bed. Great when you are lying in the sun while they nap.

naat - arnica helps you heal quickly inside - just general healing. Arnica really is amazing stuff. My friends brutal ski injuries were gone within a week after putting it on each day, so I was impressed then.

You use Arnica 500 for the first few days and then reduce to a lower dose for a few more days. I've got it written up somewhere. I'll check it out.

Arnica is great for healing inside as Daisy said. You can buy the tablets in a small vial from Neals Yard.

Baby Monitors - didn't go for a video screen one either as I just thought I would end up obsessively watching lo.

You can buy a top and tail bowl from most nursery suppliers,Mothercare.Tesco etc. It's a very handy little bowl as you can keep your cotton wool and creams etc in one side and put the water in the other. I know thats not really what you are supposed to do as you should have water in both sides, 1 side for top and 1 side for bottom but I found it handy that way.

bigcar and Ineed thanks for the cord advice.It was just something that had crossed my mind again and I wanted to be sure I was doing the right thing. Cotton buds a great idea.

ineed lol that you ate DS's Easter egg . I am seriously contemplating doing the same. Just gobbled up a bar of liquorice.Haven't eaten that stuff in years.

Thanks daisy and choccie for your answers re. arnica

I'll catch up a bit later, ladies!

Baby Monitors: I've just ordered the BT150 from Amazon. Had good reviews and such.

I'm going to be packing and loading up on baby stuff this weekend and next! Just have to figure out what bag to use!!