Pample, £25 sounds a lot more reasonable! I have a bit of a 'thing' about M&P anyway, I really dislike them - not sure its entirely justified, I just get really mad when I go in their shop and see all the overpriced stuff that you really don't need. It's like they are trying to sell the idea that to enjoy your baby you have to have all this matching wallpaper, furniture, cot bedding, mega-expensive pocket-sprung mattress etc etc - and pay a fortune for it! But I am very tight careful with money and I am anti-capitalist so I get mad when babies = profit. Sorry for the rant! M&P are obviously not the only shop but they seem to be the most prevalent and round here (v middle class) it's like you haven't got properly ready for your baby until you have spent thousands in M&P .
Babyducky, sorry you had a bad time with BFing - good for you for trying again. Was it the latch - I think that is a big cause of it not going well. Hope you get the support and confidence you need this time. Apparently because women never see other women BFing (on TV, in public etc) they have no idea how to latch their baby on properly. It makes sense! In cultures where everyone BF'd and it was out in the open they didn't have half the problems we have in the West . Another major problem we have here is how many people are so quick to undermine your BFing - midwives, HVs, even your own family a lot of the time . The best tip anyone ever gave me was stroke your nipple along your baby's cheek (roughly from ear to mouth) and they will then turn their heads and open their mouths wide to latch on. Or stroke your nipple down the baby's nose. Never just stick your boob in a baby's mouth (midwives always seem to do this - let the baby come to you ). It's all about confidence, if you go into it thinking 'it's not going to work' it probably won't.
Weehector, lucky you on ML already, great news on the bargains.
Cazem, I know what you mean about cost of nursery and really wanting your mum to have the baby. We asked DH's parents if they would pick the DTs up from nursery at 4pm twice a week and give them tea till Dh got home and they said no! I was really annoyed, it was only a couple of hours twice a week, but they have their own life too and didn't want to get tied down. Bit different to your situation but I know how frustrating the childcare situation can be! Have you looked at childminders - they are cheaper, can be more flexible and the home environment rather than nursery environment is lovely IMO. I love my CM!
Aussie, that sucks about your work!
Vix, the time goes so slowly doesn't it. Not for your second or third baby but I remember first time round I was so glad the dts were going to come early because I don't think I could have waited another 3-5 wks, I think I would have exploded with excitememt. Sorry about your friend, mc is so devastating and many people think it doesn't matter because the baby was so small so people can be a bit 'get over it' .
It's definitely a good idea to get hold of some nappies to try them before buying loads new. I do think using real nappies will be very hard for you with everything else on your plate. If you are going to be outside the home a lot it will be easier to just be able to remove a nappy and chuck it in the bin (contents included). Also, other people will be able to change the baby for you, which they can with real nappies too but sometimes they don't know how. If you get a soiled nappy with cloth you need to go rinse it in the loo and that can be a pain if the loo is not right nearby, and then you have to store the wet nappy somewhere till you get home to the nappy bin. And with cloth it is not just chucking them in the machine - that's the easy bit - it's hanging them up to dry which is the time-consuming bit (and finding somewhere to hang them along with all your other washing. If you feel passionate about it go for it but it will be a lot more labour-intensive than disposables. I have some nappies actually that I dont use, they have some life left in them, you'd need wraps though. I will post them to you if you like and you can have a go with them and see if you like them, before splashing out on loads of new ones.
Girls, yes that is a fear of mine too! Third time's a charm . I was worried about that the first time too but actually in the end my labour was so painful and long there was no way I could have just woken up in the middle of the night and had the baby 30 mins later!