Lemon top 1st to pop then ensued impatient Brood. Who'll be next? Come place your bets and join us on our November thread!

[Ninjacat]

Because you chat sooooo much!!!

ursigurke dd 31st Oct, 37+2
VenusInfers dd 1st Nov, 37+1
Tamlin dd 5th Nov, 36+4
Scarlotti dd 6th Nov, 36+3
Fubble dd 6th Nov, 36+3
Kyte dd 6th Nov, 35+0 (CS)
Helips dd 9th Nov, 36+0
Sleepless dd 9th Nov 36+0
Southernbelle77 dd 14th Nov, 35+2
Tigger dd 14th Nov; 35+ 2
Pavlovtheforgetfulcat dd 18th Nov; 34+5?
Ninjacat edd End Nov (a little secret, as Lissy)
LissyGlitter dd 22 Nov 34+1
longwayaway dd 23 Nov 34+0
Laugs dd 26th Nov; 33+4
skorpion dd 29th Nov; 33+1
raggie dd 30th Nov; 33+0

claired21 - We have decided on reusables too, after disposables at the very start to deal with meconium which I think I read can pretty much ruin reusables - sounds plausible but anyone know if it's true? So wondering which kind did you go for? I am hopelessly clueless - DH has been doing lots of research about it though, bless him!

By the way, I think to be completely organised at 14 wks is a BIT weird. What is she going to do for the rest of her pregnancy?! We are all getting impatient now and that's with bagloads to do still (some of us..!).

Koumak due 28 Oct, 38+5
Wook due 31 Oct, hmm 38+2
ursigurke due 31 Oct; 38+2
VenusInfers 1st Nov, 38+1
Fruitpastels due; 4 Nov
Maman2tom : due? 37+6
Comma due: 4 Nov, 37+5
scarlotti due 6 Nov: 37+3
Trikken due 6 Nov; 37+3
Fubble due 6 Nov; 37+3
Kyte due 6 Nov; 36+0 (CS)
Hobnob57 due 6 Nov; 37+3
Tabbykat due 7 Nov 37+2
Helips due 9 Nov: 37
Sleepless due 9 Nov:37
Weston due 13th Nov: 36+4
Becky due 14 Nov; 36+2
Tigger due 14 Nov 36+2
Southernbelle77 due 14 Nov 36+2
ErikaMaye due 16 Nov; 36+0
EasyEggs due 17th Nov; 35+6
Ninjacat edd: End Nov (shh, it's the same as Turtle but scared of going over due)
Turtle23 DS 22 Nov: 35+1
LissyGlitter due 22 Nov 35+1
beepbeep due 23 Nov: 35
longwayaway due 23 Nov: 35
Laugs due 26 Nov; 34+4
Claired21 dd 29Nov; 34+1
skorpion dd 29 Nov; 34+1
raggie dd 30 Nov; 34wks

I'm definitely joining the BH club, woken by bad back ache at 2am, contractions started at 3am, by 4am contractions strong and regular, started to panic slightly then suddenly nothing!! Oh well...next time maybe

Claire i get internal exams all the time ( at least once a month plus internal scans) but then i'm in france where they get you naked and in stirrups at the drop of a hat Oh the joys of being pregnant over here!

please stop kyte i'm drooling red wine, paté, camembert..arrgh i'm surrounded by the blooming stuff overhere. Not too go long now...please!

am jealous, step-cousin gave birth day before yesterday. she was due same time as me. little Isla. havent seen piccys yet tho.

I used reusables with DD and they are all out and ready for this one now. We started off intending to use bambino mio, but very soon went onto a kind of mixture.
In hospital it was disposables, then when we got her home, she wore bambino mio wraps, with a muslin folded into a pad with a flushable liner wrapped round that. As she got bigger, we changed onto using the bambino mio inners with a flushable liner, until we discovered that normal old fashioned terries work just as well, folded into a pad with a liner wrapped round, are much cheaper and dry quicker. Plus the terries are one size, so once you have a couple of packs of them, you just need to buy wraps. By the time she was one, she was in the full blown old fashioned kite folded terry with a pin and plastic pants, but that was because we were skint and couldn't afford the more expensive wraps (the plastic pants are dirt cheap, well worth having a few in as spares) MIL bought her a couple of all in ones as well, but we hardly used those as they take ages to dry and she grew out of them so quickly.
It is well worth seeing if your local council do a grant scheme. Mine did with DD, but unfortunately my new council doesn't.
DD is now in disposables, mainly due to us living in a shared house last year with limited access to the washing machine, but also because the reusables started to leak when confronted with a wriggly and very wet toddler!
I would really recommend reusuable nappies though, much cheaper, more stylish and there's something satisfying about a washing line full of nice clean terry nappies

Oh, and you get to feel smug when people moan about the council only emptying the big bin every fortnight - ours was often not even half full

Koumak due 28 Oct, 38+5
Wook due 31 Oct, hmm 38+2
ursigurke due 31 Oct; 38+2
VenusInfers 1st Nov, 38+1
Fruitpastels due; 4 Nov
Maman2tom : due? 37+6
Comma due: 4 Nov, 37+5
scarlotti due 6 Nov: 37+3
Trikken due 6 Nov; 37+3
Fubble due 6 Nov; 37+3
Kyte due 6 Nov; 36+0 (CS)
Hobnob57 due 6 Nov; 37+3
Tabbykat due 7 Nov 37+2
Helips due 9 Nov: 37
Sleepless due 9 Nov:37
Weston due 13th Nov: 36+4
Becky due 14 Nov; 36+2
Tigger due 14 Nov 36+2
Southernbelle77 due 14 Nov 36+2
ErikaMaye due 16 Nov; 36+0
EasyEggs due 17th Nov; 35+6
Ninjacat edd: End Nov (shh, it's the same as Turtle but scared of going over due)
Turtle23 DS 22 Nov: 35+1
LissyGlitter due 22 Nov 35+1
beepbeep due 23 Nov: 35
longwayaway due 23 Nov: 35
stormfly due 23 Nov: 35
Laugs due 26 Nov; 34+4
Claired21 dd 29Nov; 34+1
skorpion dd 29 Nov; 34+1
raggie dd 30 Nov; 34wks

So many of you sound ready to sprog - can't wait for news! laugs - for a light read, I would go for good quality children's literature such as Eva Ibbotson's Star of Kazan, Hilary McKay's Permanent Rose series, something by Joan Aiken or maybe Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge (which isn't about horses!). Much better than trashy chick-lit.

Empathies to those not sleeping - ds has cough and temperature at the moment so waking lots. Brain feels trashed - might as well get used to it...

raggie - no idea if meconium comes off anything, it's hard enough to scrape it off the baby! I plan to use reusables but will do disposables for the first six weeks till the breastfeeding is sorted. Note to self, avoid pizza, hope you are better now pavlov.

raggie we've used reusables since we finished our packet of newborn pampers we bought for the hospital. I've only ever used one kind, on recommendation of a friend, and have been really happy with them. They are Motherease onesize, so basically they do from birth upwards (but can look huge on some newborns) and all you need to do is buy different sized wraps as they get older. DD is still in them at night and is nearly 3. They definitely win the practicality contest - dead easy to use, quick-drying (usually overnight in a centrally heated house), the airflow wraps allow a bit of air in and minimise any nappy rash (a friend's DD's rash only ever disappeared once she borrowed our nappies), and pretty much NEVER leak (even with full-blown food-intolerant explosive poo). But there are lots of very, very cute nappies out there if you wish to look into the cuteability contest side of things.

Massage was lurvely, but oddly I have a sore back now

And I had to pay for my dentist check-up which I was about because my dentist has recently stopped doing NHS and so I'm not eligible for the free NHS dental care I have my pretty white card for! Grr.

I've been really unsure what to do re nappies, but all this talk of reusables has made me think I'd like to try. We used the eco-disposable nappies for dd as mum brought us about 6 months worth!! Just text a friend to ask if she still has her reusables as she isn't having any more kids so might sell them to me! Not sure what make they are. Any to avoid?

Kyte glad you had a nice birthday, and am drooling at the thought of red wine and pate, yum yum!

sleepless I am due the same day as you and also feel nervous about the baby arriving and the sleepless nights.

Had my acupuncture done this morning and it didn't hurt at all. My back is still very sore though and have booked another session for Friday. I am a bit disappointed that it hasn't cured it first time round although it does feel a tiny bit better than yesterday so hopefully it's done something.

Also, my potatoe printing was a success! Ds loved it and we made some lovely birthday cards for dh and my mum and grandad. Now just got to get on with my Christmas cards! We used glue and glitter too and now there is glitter everywhere, despite hoovering and wiping down, oh well, the joys of arts and crafts with a toddler!

Sorry this is a long one...

Re nappies, I used an "independent" website (although I think they only recommend from 3/4 providers and not the whole market) and they conduct a survey on the website where you put in what factors are important to you so they can recommend a particular type. Mine was thenappylady and worth a look, they appoint a local adviser who can talk through your options on the phone and has been really helpful for me.

One of the questions asked is height of parents and as I'm 5'9 and DP is 6'3 they recommend a particular brand which is suitable for taller babies. We also won't have much opportunity to dry nappies as winter baby & we don't have a drier, so they recommended nappies which are practically dry when they come out of the washing machine.

Our hospital has asked us to take disposables so we'll also have disposables at the start but hadn't thought of the meconium issue, would a liner not catch this? I'm still new to all of this so not sure!

We're going for flexitots nappies which look like disposables except made of material, and which have velcro fastenings so easy enough to put on hopefully, inside of which we will put a liner (went for flushable - don't fancy trying to wash poo out of reusable liners) which will collect solids & we will have boosters (a kind of sanitary towel shaped piece of 3-ply or fleecey material) for night-time as this increases absorbency for longer gaps between changes. Outside of the nappy, totsbots flexiwraps. But bear in mind that this is based on our own circumstances and may not be best suited to others.

I've also gone for reusable wipes, which will apparently save us about £300 over 3 years from the example calculations on the website, which assume you'll go through a pack of wipes a week. I'm not 100% sure about these. They just look like flannels but you're supposed to make up a mixture with water and various concoctions which can include camomile tea and store them in a tupperware tub to keep them wet & carry around with you rather than a packet of wipes. Might be a step too far for us but in view of the huge savings I'll give it a go!

Total order was about £280 and once we start on reusables, probably after first month or so, this should do us until the baby is at least 25lbs, at which point we may need to spend £35 on 5 bigger wraps but that is all. And I've been told the nappies will be reusable for baby no 2 if decide we like this crazy game.

Re ultra organised pregnancy friend, maybe she is just a very organised person (don't know her all that well) but I too suspect she will be bored witless if everything is organised and bought too early. Maybe she will move on to knit an entire baby wardrobe, crochet various blankets, design and create her own reusable nappies and possibly even express milk before the baby arrives?! I wouldn't be surprised.

Thanks for the book ideas Stormfly. I haven't read any of those, so will look for them all.

I'm very impressed with all of you doing reusables. I'm too lazy. DH is very keen (and was last time) but since I am the one at home doing the washing, he doesn't get a say. Laundry is by far my worst job.

laugs I too am the ultimate mrs lazy, but I just hated the idea of the landfill - they reckon Henry VIII's disposables (if he'd had them) would only just be starting to degrade now! I found that amongst all the routine tasks involved with a baby, one more didn't break the camel's back. And a bag of eco-diposables on hand for those disorganised days helped a lot at some stages.

Claire I'd like to try the washable wipes is it cheaper to buy flannels from tesco and chop them up do you think? We always stuck to cotton wool and water for DD - wipes just seemed to encourage rashes. But a tub of wet wipes that could then be bunged in the machine with nappies sounds appealing. Finding a bin for pooed cotton wool wasn't always easy and I didn't like flushing it.

Henry VIII really? God.

hobnob we paid £7.34 for 36 washable wipes. Here are the recipes for storage solutions after they've been washed.

Basic Recipe

1 or 2 cups of warm water 2 tbsp of baby or olive oil 2 tbsp of baby wash (e.g. liquid baby wash)

Even More Basic Recipe!

Plain water

Alternative Wash Recipe

1 camomile tea bag 1 cup of hot water 1 tsp of baby or almond oil 1 tsp of baby bath or shampoo 1 drop of lavender oil

Easy Wash Recipe

Brew a Camomile and honey tea bag in Hot water and allow to cool This is very good for teething rash/caustic poo as camomile is very soothing and honey is a natural antiseptic which doesn?t sting and aids healing. For nappy rash you can soak a flannel in this mixture (slightly warm) and lay on the night nappy.

Alas I am not using re-usables, on account of DH being absolutely against them. I am using naturebaby disposals to appease my conscience a little. I might try some others too, so any recommendations, fire away!

Have felt terrible all day, managed to eggshell paint one entire door both sides and the door frame, and pick up a bouncy chair from an ebayer who I won from, other than that, pretty useless today. I have not been sick, but have a very sore tummy (or chest, seeing as that is where it is now!), really bruised.

Hallway is almost complete, needs another coat, touching up, a little bit here and there, and half the doors need eggshelling still, but the plaster coats have all been done, and maybe another full coat over everything, then done. We are hoping to be upstairs by middle of next week, shame we will have no carpets up there, but run out of money until November! We have the carpets in the hallway being laid next week though.

Have a scan tomorrow, 36 weeks, check position and growth, should all be fine. off to catch up on posts

I have had a vague read through but brain not really functioning after 2 nights with little to no sleep I'm not really taking anything in

Sorry to hear so many of you are having "false starts" or annoying practice runs. It doesn't sound like it will be long before we have some new arrivals to be jealous of coo over though

Ds3 has been awake on and off all night for last 2 and I feel and look like a walking zombie. Topped today with dd waking up with an absolutely streaming cold so she hasn't been in the best of moods either.

Dp has been practically invisible around here since Sunday morning as work is packed and not likely to see him for the rest of the week. Also not around next week when it's half term so I will have all 4 of them and be stuck indoors with nothing to do. I can see how much fun this is going to be!

Re nappies. I love the idea and reasoning behind using reusables but I'm afraid as lame as it sounds I really don't have time to use them. Me and the washing pile already have a very love hate relationship

No news on any sign of baby here. 36wks today, bag still not ready, crib still not bought and clothes to still sort through. Me, disorganised? Never

Laugs, Raggie (and others thinking of using reusable nappies), it's worth checking if your council will refund some of the cost of buying them. East Herts will give me £35 on production of a receipt - which of course ain't a lot of cash, but it all helps. It's designed as a reward for not adding to their landfill burden.

We don't have a tumble dryer so I have bought a single BumGenius nappy from e-bay to trial whilst using disposables for the first few weeks. As recommended on Mumsnet! They are microfibre and so are meant to be quick to dry. They're one size ones like the Mothercare ones Hobnob is using.

Claire I like your reusable wipes plan. A couple of tubs in the changing bag and a bit more washing sounds do-able.

Re the changing mat discussion a couple of days ago, I've ended up just buying half a meter of that plastic tablecloth stuff with a nice pattern on it. Because it's 1.4m wide, there's plenty for several mats. It's waterproof and folds up into a tiny size. Of course it's not padded, but hoping that isn't going to be a problem.

Stormfly you are right about the good teen stuff to read being sooo much better than some novels written for adults. Even some of the genres I would never normally touch are great when written for teens- e.g. I would never ever normally read a book set in feudal Japan or a fantasy novel but really enjoyed all of Lian Hearn's Nightingale Floor series.

I know I've recommended this one before but definitely a brilliant read is 'Can Any Mother Help Me' which I have kept by my bed for comfort reading for ages. It's about the lives of a small group of women in the 30s, 40s, 50s and onwards from young motherhood to old age- they wrote to eachother and made a little magazine of articles and letters which they posted round- all in the days before Mumsnet but all the things they wrote about show all the same concerns that women and motrhers have now. It's a FAB book.

Nappies we used a mixture but found that ones made of Bamboo were really soft and dried well and 'Fluffles' were also good. Going to get some Totsbots with stars on all in ones this time as I hated faffing with the nappy, wrap and liner when out and about, so ended up relying more on disposables if we went anywhere. Sticking with disposables for night though, have to compromise there! Agree with lissy that there is nothing wrong with a good old terry square either- esp with those snapper grip things, so you don't even have to use pins.

Grr, my mum has been lovely and bought us a double buggy, but is being very annoying about it! First she rang me up to see if I wanted it (her friend was selling it secondhand) and said she would text me a picture. The text didn't work for some reason, so I said that if it looked ok to her, I would have it. She insisted I needed to see a picture, so i asked her the model, so I could look it up online. She added a link to a website to her facebook, which I looked at, and said ok. Then she told me that the link wasn't the actual model, just an example of a tandem pushchair . Then she texted me a make and model, so i looked that up online and again said yes.

Tonight she rang me up to say she had collected the thing, and told me another, completely different make and model. It is a good job I hadn't gone online and bought any accessories based on her previous information!

I mean really, did she think I didn't know what a tandem pushchair looks like? Plus I kept saying that, as long as it wasn't too tatty, it would be fine. Apparently it still has it's labels on and everything. I'm hoping DDs old car seat will fit the back, as a new seat would cost over £70, which is a lot considering we don't have a car. I did find having the car seat really useful with DD though, I could just lift the seat out if she was asleep or whatever, and it was useful if we unexpectedly got offered a lift somewhere. Although I suppose we can't very well carry a toddler seat everywhere with us, so that benefit may be out of the window. A car seat does make it rear facing though, which is meant to be good for the baby. I know they say not to get second hand car seats, but how bad is it really?

Lissy DD's 1-4 car seat is second hand. The plastic is usually guaranteed for 5 years and no-one usually uses them for that long. As long as you trust the seller, I think it makes great landfill sense to re-use them.

Well DDs baby car seat was second hand as well, but we bought it from one of mums best mates, so we could trust it hadn't been in an accident. Just not sure if I can trust an ebay seller in the same way.

I think I will try the old car seat in the new pram at the weekend when they bring it and see. I know it fit in my friends pram, and that wasn't the same brand, so maybe they all have the same fittings.

Went to DS1's parents' evening today and he's doing really well and is a bit of a star I asked him what he wanted to do as a special treat for being so good at school and he wants to visit my mum! So sweet.

oh dear. DD is playing up. She is still awake and not playing ball. She is currently bashing her bottle against our newly painted hallway walls refusing to go to bed

wook I made a list of book recommendations from this thread months ago and have been gradually working through them at the library. Yours has been on the list but who's the author? Haven't been able to find it yet!