Due in September 2009: we are now officially blooming!

[StealthPolarBear]

Even if it doesn't seem like it most of the time

Hello

I'm a newbie here so wanted to say hello

I'm expecting my first baby on 17 Sept. I haven't felt any movement yet.. well, I don't think I have anyway, I can't decide if it was me or the baby (lol!)... so am desperately looking forward to the first proper kicks!

Look forward to chatting with you all

Welcome to firegal! - looking forward to feeling the kicks here as well!

Good advice on the buggys - a sling sounds really nice and is not something I thought of, would be nice to keep baby close

Hi Firegal

I've thought about pushchairs a lot - we've got 10 fairly steep steps up to our front door, which opens onto a narrow hall, and we don't let our daft cats out of the front door due to living on a nasty rat run, so I have to get in before one of them tries to make a run for it... Oh and we have a little car (VW Polo). DH wants a sling at first and I'm inclined to agree with him - any more advice on those gratefully received.

On the pushchair front we hovering around the Maclaren XLR, on the basis that they last well, judging by the locals. Although I was noodling around the internet yesterday and saw Maclaren are bringing out a sooper dooper bugaboo-esque contraption with a reversible seat, dashboard on the handle and headlights - seriously. details here only on the US site so far, where it costs $900!! But I'm a sucker for a cupholder...

Good news about the scan Neddie

oh and blue76 I was 12 when my sister was born and it was brilliant.

LizLemon- moby wraps are great. My friend has an ellaroo and apparently thats good too, however my dp would wear anything that bright or stripey! Moby are good because the do very man friendly plain colours. The slingmeet in our area is great. You can go along to a meeting when you are a bit further along, there is a big group in SE London. You can see and try loads of different types or slings and carriers, the ladies are very helpful, lots of people go while still pregnant. It saves you buying a sling then realising you don't get on with it. You can find out when the latest meeting is if you google slingmeet and search the forum in the london bit.

Liz - that buggy looks great. I looked at the spec and couldn't find anything about a reversible seat - not that it matters I suppose as we won't be able to afford it anyway

Re slings - I had a baby bjorn with ds. It was good (esp. for dh) but ds was a big baby and I found that he got heavy very quickly. Also sweaty - he was born end of June. The other problem was that he fed so very frequently and it was quite fiddly taking him out/putting him back in all the time. Even slings need a bit of research (doesn't everything to do with babies!)e.g. if you or your partner are tall you will need one with good support etc.

Now what I want this time is a simple pram (with normal wheels - not huge ones at the back) which I can attach a car seat to if necessary. I had a look at the Pramette. The frame seemed quite flimsy (? plastic) but I guess that is so that it stays light. I don't really need it to be light as I only want to use it for walking. Pushchair-aholics - grateful to tap into your knowledge

Oh and Liz - maclaren buggies do last very well.

Hi girls - welcome to the newbies

Had a shite weekend - had a minging headache all day saturday and felt REALLY sick all day, then was awake from 4am the next morning cos it had turned into a full blown migrane!!! Joy!! Spent the whole day yesterady throwing up and trying to ignore my dd playing her xylaphone!!!!!!!!
However, much better today - hoping its a hormonal thing and this is a turning point into blooming'ness?!?!

Had 16 week midwife check today - she took AGES to find the heartbeat but heard it eventually - definately a train!!!

On the whole pram saga - which I too am currently in the thick of - I need a double buggy and have luckily been able to aquire one from SIL which is a bonus. My dd is 14 months now but I have used a mothercare 'urban detour' 3 wheeler travel system which I bought when she was born (am gonna have to sell it now tho so if anyone's interested give me a shout - I'm gonna put it on ebay when I can be arsed for £70 - cost £350 new) - can't rate it highly enough -it is quite large and heavy compared to some of the 'light weight styles, but the 'drive' is beautiful! - I used to have a dog so I walked 'off road' style everyday and even tho I bought a light buggy I've never use it cos it's just crap compared to the detour.
So definatey have a test drive of of your chosen model - and think about how much walking your likely to do - if like most modern day families it'll be a case of car-tesco-walk round park-car-visit someone-home, then don't spend £600 on a decent pram (like my SIL has just done!! they only ever drive places or walk round town but spent £700 on an all singing all dancing thing!!)- if yor gonna be dog walking or hiking then invest in a good sling and a pram to suit.

Hope this helps

Hi all,

Sorry to hear you've been so poorly fairysparkles. Today has been the first day I've actually felt borderline human!! Although the pregnancy porridge brain is still going strong sometimes feel like I'm losing it completely!! Glad that they found the heartbeat eventually, I don't have an official midwife appointment now until after my 20 week scan but I'm lucky that I work in a children's centre where a midwife comes in once a week and she's lovely enough to listen to the heartbeat everytime, which is just brilliant and so reassuring, although the baby bounces about so much she can struggle with finding the heartbeat for a while too!

Loads of info on the buggies which is brilliant!! I'm completely lost amongst them all, was looking at the Britax vigour, if anyone has any thoughts, info, experiences; positive or negative???

LizLemon, I went and had a look at that Maclaren and I have to say that it looks pretty cool, esp like it in the blue, will have to hope it becomes available over here soon as I feel a 'test drive' is definitely in order! I too am a sucker for cup holder and I love the headlights, lol!!

There's just so much to think about and take into consideration and then the choice is immense, I'm sure it's the hormones but sometimes I wake up stressing that we'll buy the wrong buggy, lol, not quite sure what horrors could happen if we did but still!!

Really excited about buying the bigger things, as only have a few baby gro's at the moment, doing lots of research at the moment but still wary about committing to anything. I'm sure you're all aware but just in case www.kiddicare.com is a pretty good site for bargains and product reviews.

Hi ladies, Glad to hear al the good scan news and really jealous of all you feeling movements, im just over 18 weeks 2nd pregnancy and still not felt anything deffinate. I did hear the heart beat last thursday though which was great.

On the pram front, i hate the big graco travel system i had for dd so definately selling that. Last year i worked for mamas and papas for a while and really love a lot of what they have, on the other hand some of it is total s* This time im going for the pliko switch, its quite light and doesnt fold too big, the seat unit is reversable so baby can face me with a true lay flat pram liner from new born and than sat up from later on.

I've also decided against getting the mamas and papas car seat as with dd I did use my travel system quite a lot without realising it wasnt really great for her spine development. So im going for a maxi cosi car seat with the easy fix base (unless I talk dh into the new car i want with isofix)

lizlemon I've jusy checked that pram out - it's ace!!! Only in America tho, eh? Figures...

Really do recommend the mutsy traveller carseat! We've got a carrycot to go with the system but I don't think it's going to get used much due to the size of the carseat which sits on the chassis.

Hello ladies, i first joined this thread when I found out i got pregnant back in jan, but wondered if i could join again (hopefully i can keep up to speed again!)

I had a mmc in september, took 3 months out b4 trying again and was lucky enough to get pregnant a the first attempt again...im due 26th september...

had a reassurance scan at 7 weeks due to the mmc and also because i had a lot of brown discharge at 5 weeks...but thankfully all was ok...had my 12 week scan on 17th march, which was totally amazing....now just waiting for my 20 week scan 12th may....which cant come soon enough especially as my nausea, tiredness etc stopped at 13 weeks, hoping thats not a bad sign! may get in touch with my midwife to see if i can go in to hear the heartbeat...

bump has also been getting bigger, but not too sure if that is the baby or just from eating too much!

anyway, hope every1 is having a good evening...hope to get to know you all, all over again..that is if u'll have me!!

Welcome back Sabs - so glad all is going ok

blue76 there's a note on the UK site that says it'll be over here soon.

So an easy fix base is different to an isofix? Car seats are a whole other kettle aren't they? I'd never even heard of mutsy but it looks brilliant.

Thanks for the info about the slingmeet ladylush

I will get a car seat, pram and other stuff from my friends in Hanover - that is if someone is driving over between now and September.
I also definitely want a sling of some sort. I take the bus all the time and watch them squeezing in two prams next to each other etc, doesn't look like much fun.
But I also often see tiny babies in front-facing buggy types and don't think that's great, even if they lie flat. Anyone else here believes that they should face you while they're tiny?

I had my 16 week appointment after all yesterday and it restored my faith in the NHS a little - the doctor was lovely and sounded like he was actually interested. He talked to me about breast-feeding, said my blood pressure had actually gone down since January and found the heartbeat fairly quickly. (It didn't sound like either galloping horses or a train though). He was surprised I wasn't given a 16 week appointment anyway as a first-timer and did understand that I was worried after a fall though said that only full belly-flops or a hockey stick in your stomach were likely to do any harm (hence to recommendation not to go horse-riding or skiing or play hockey).
So I feel much better now after a weepy few days and hope that it'll stay this way for a while!

So sorry to hear about sciatica and migraine - hope those will ease quickly too.

Hi,

Just popping in to let you know I am still around. Have been running round like a headless chicken between the kids, work and all the rest of it.

I have an appointment with a specialist team of Midwives this week to discuss my depression and anxiety.

Been having trouble sleeping with really vivid nightmares, I know it is just my subconscious working through my fears but I want this to stop any ideas?

Welcome firegal and sabs

I'm really annoyed - I paid 99p for a gender prediction on ebay. The guy had done over 800 and only got 11 wrong! He had listed the reasons for his prediction. I wanted to copy and paste these into here but my email has been deleted as it's over 30 days! Anyhoo, he said things such as your nose spreading, dh gaining weight alongside you, bump shaped like a basketball, headaches, heartbeat less than 140bpm, indicated I'm having a boy. There were a few more but I can't remember them! Lots of people had bought the test AFTER they'd discovered the sex and he was right!

7+3/4 sheets today - same as 3 weeks ago

Morning

Great advice re buggies ladies. My mum bought the travel system for ds, and whilst it was nice it wasnt what i would have chosen myself, but when its not you paying you dont feel like you can say you want a more expensive one.. Just before dd came along i bought a P&T, it was the best buggy i have ever had. I sold it (obviously) as neither of the liked sitting in the back and as i wasnt having anymore i figured i didnt need it.... whoops! Even though it is quite big when folded, it is very light and so nice to push around. I am thinking of getting the P&T Vibe this time as it looks so comfy. Dd loved the cocoon and it was so handy when she had fallen asleep to just lift out the buggy and put in her bed - no need to wake her up. DD will be 2.5 when this one comes along so i do need to have a seat for her, although i do have the maclaren techno twin but dont like the idea of the baby being in there straight away. BTW P&T do do a car seat and travel system adaptor.

Welcome to the newbies

TPT at 17wks = 7.5sheets - same as last week. Also jumped on the scales and have only gained 6lbs so far.

Hope you're okay mummyhill
I suffered from terrible nightmares in first few weeks. I too am prone to anxiety attacks. I found that reading a nice book before bed helps loads. Sounds sad but it worked for me. I remember when things were particularly bad I read 'bad mothers handbook' which made me laugh out loud. I bought Skellig the other day cos I want to watch it on Easter Sunday and it's great so far. I probably sound like a freak but find that reading kinda helps me escape a bit. Hope this helps!

Mummyhill - I had really bad dreams for the first 2.5 months, mostly involving thinking people were in the house or it was on fire etc, may be a coincidence but when I started taking Complan before bed, only as a way of getting extra vits and cals in me, they stopped altogether, cant say I sleep very well (need the loo too much!) but have no bad dreams, maybe it was a bit of a vitamin deficiency or something. x x

TPT @ 17+2 = 8 sheets (posh paper for a change!), tried the scales as well for the first time since I was 5 weeks, have managed to put back on a stone of the stone and a half I've lost so am quite pleased considering I seem to be surviving on cereal and salad!

When my boyfriend was diagnosed with throat cancer, the only way I would fall asleep was listening to Harry Potter CDs. I had read the books so could drift off without thinking I would miss something and at the same time they distracted me enough from worrying thoughts. I never dreamt though. Not at all - or at least I woke up not remembering a single dream for the whole year and a half. They did come back shortly after his death but thankfully he only appeared in them twice - and in a sort of nice, comforting way.

I'm really sorry to hear about your nightmares, mummyhill, and have no recipe against them, sorry.
I think counseling can take a great weight off your shoulders. I found talking to somebody who is not at all connected to it did help, and you don't have to worry about worrying them! Like I wouldn't want to talk in depth to my mother because it would make her sad and even more concerned about me.
I hope it will all get better for you soon.

Liz - it wasn't me who mentioned the slingmeet - sounds like a great idea though
Mummyhill - sorry to hear about your A+D Have you had your thyroid monitored recently (you're hypo aren't you)? That will make both worse if it's not stable. I had terrible dreams too. They seem to have tailed off a bit now thankfully, but it does disrupt your sleep which in turn makes you more anxious. Vicious cycle. Hope the midwives are helpful. Most community mental health teams have a perinatal service too aimed at supporting pregnant women (think it's up to a year post-natal as well)with mental health difficulties which may or may not be pregnancy related. A+D is a very common mental health difficulty, but can be very debilitating.

Thyroid levels are fine at the moment, meds were increased to 175mcg about 2 weeks ago. My local mental health team don't do perinatal services, my psych has basically signed me off till I decide to ask for meds. He might try and get a cpn to meet me at about 36 weeks to get to know me before baby arrives and hopefully come out to visit postnataly.

That's a bit poor mummyhill You need support now, not just postnatally.

Really sorry to hear about your A&D mummyhilll and the painful experiences you've had Thusnelda. My Mum suffers with depression and it's not an easy illness to manage but the positive side is that you are aware of how you feel mummyhill and just keep pushing for help from the doctors and midwives, they have an obligation to support you.

With regards to the sciatica some people have been getting I was having some pain and found that bump bands (3 for £10 from new look, or I think topshop do one too) have been really good in just giving that bit extra support. Of course it depends on how bad the pain is, but it's an option, they also stop the tummy popping out from under your normal clothes if that's something that worries you! My friend the MW also recommended big pants, I think Trinny and Susannah-esque all in one supports, to help the muscles as they can't do the job they normally do as they are looser than when you're not PG.

I have found that a extra long pillow has helped with getting more comfortable in bed, you can also use it as a 'v' pillow and when the babies born a feeding pillow. Still waking up regularly, but reading has helped with nightmares and pillow with comfort so getting there!

Has everyone had a 16 week check up as I have not and haven't even had one mentioned to me? I have seen the dr last week as I was feeling really ill, turns out I had a urine infection and sciatic pain, so a course of antibiotics and I do seem to be feeling better.

Sorry if I've repeated anything that's already been said, haven't had chance to read through the whole thread as a newbie!

Sprinkle, I wasn't offered a 16 week appointment either - and nine weeks between scans! In the end I made an appointment with my GP surgery (I had been given no indication at all that shared care was an option), and this time the doctor was really nice, seemed interested and fully understood that I wanted to be seen at 16 weeks. So maybe if you insist, they'll give you a check-up too.