October 2005 (#6)

[Joseyjo]

carry on ladies....

Wow - lots of posts today.

I got a parcel this morning containing my reusable nappies. They are so tiny and soft and cute. I have bought pink and flowery ones mainly so I am going to get a shock if the sonographer was wrong. My family and friends all think I am insane for buying washables but I have been corrupted by mumsnet.

oooooh a new thread!

triceratops my DH wants us to use reusable ones with Boo. My argument is that if he were at home to wash them / sort them out, fine! Otherwise it's disposables for me. I'm not easily corrupted! Though I am buying fast degradable ones and am also recycling all my household waste possible to balance out the environment!

What are the fast biodegradable ones you are getting elf? Thinking of trying to be a bit more environmentally sound this time. Used natureboy once with ds1 but never again - was constantly changing them, but willing to give something else a try.

Btw, it's a while since I've been online as PC problems galore. Hopefully all sorted now. Feeling reasonably OK - 28+5 today. Very swollen left foot but right one seems OK. Also, occasionally sprog gives me a hefty kick down below which seems to be followed a few hours later by blood in my wee (no accompanying pain) - which then clears up within about 12 hours. Has anyone else had this and is it anything to worry about? Not due to see my midwife for another week and a half yet and don't really want to bother her unnecessarily.

Seem to be all clear for home birth, as long as sprog is head down. Have agreed to "delayed active management" for the third stage - ie. no cord clamping until after cord has stopped pulsating but then syntocinon (or is it syntometrine?) and cord traction for delivery of placenta. Still due to see consultant at 34 weeks but don't think she'll be able to talk me out of home birth. Still worrying a bit about it all happening to fast (last labour was 2 1/2 hours start to finish) and not beging able to get midwife / dh/ kids sorted in time.

Keep meaning to show my boys the homebirth programme on Discovery Home & Health so they have some idea about what it's like if they do end up being at home / within earshot for the delivery. They're both really excited about the pending arrival - both want sprog to share their bedroom although I have pointed out it will be with me until it stops waking up in the night (by past experience around 9 months although haven't told the boys it will be that long!)

im a clothie im afraid! Will use disposables for the first few weeks - newborn poo is DISGUSTING!

Jess wears cloth nappies, so i wouldnt do for one and not the other now would I !

Go on girls..... try it - you'll love it!!!

i am with you j&bmummy... i have found a laundry service that deliver clean and collect dirty once a week from a bin you store outside. while i am in hospital (minimum 5 days cos of c-section) i am going to use "eco-disposables" though. don't fancy having to pack them up to take home!!!! the lady that organises the laundry also supplies disposables, so i just have to tell her what i want which is quite handy.
dh was v nervous about spending lots of money on reusables when we don't know anyone who has used them or tried them or anything. this way we have no initial outlay, just a weekly cost and as there is no contract we can cancel it whenever we want. i am hoping that after a few months we will be happy enough to spend the money on our own reusables and wash them at home, but i may be so lazy by that point that i can't be bothered . i think the laundry service is the most expensive way possible to keep bubba in nappies long term but hey... it is only money . we will just have to wait and see how it goes.

Josey - wish i could do that! As I do Jess's nappies anyway, cant see the hassle of a few more!

Ive still got all of jess's first size ones, and will be getting some small sized tots bots for the new baby (im a recent convert to these for jess!) to be honest, im a nappy addict!

Initial outlay is a lot but compared to buying packs and packs of pampers etc, its SO much cheaper! And nappies just go in the wash with the rest of the days washing!

ohh a new thread

dp also wants to use reusable ones. - we tried them on ds and didn't get along with it. so i am not convienced just yet
but i told him if he does the searching around and buying and testing i'll give it a try!
and certainly for the first few weeks it'll be disposable!!!!

besides that not much happening really!
did some more gardening today; slowly it looks like a garden again

and i picked up the cot for bubs (got it on ebay for £28 !!!!) - i also bought a few bits for the labour bag (pads, pants, newborn nappies)
so at least i have started

well, it's only 9 weeks to go; and next week i'll have my 'placenta' scan and will find out if it's even earlier!!!! wouldn't mind

besides that all the normal pains and aches happening: swollen feet, headaches, pelvic pain, breathless ... the usual

hope everybody is doing allright

absolutely - the initial outlay is only expensive if you then decide that it is too much like hard work and stop using them!!!! my dh is not sufficiently convinced by the concept to be happy with me spending the money. mind you i am not arguing at the idea of having someone else do my washing for a bit !!

also... went to a friend's house for tea tonight and ended up giving her 11 month old a bath and entertaining her 4 year old.
was thinking about a small gap (~18 months) between this baby and the possible next one, but getting up off the floor holding an 11 month old (and a pretty small one at that) was not easy!!! maybe i will put those plans on hold for a while.....

it isnt easy! i have a 12 month old now and got, i ache!!!

Oh, HERE you all are

I WOULD have been tempted by reusables, but have been advised that I will need to use disposables because baby will be in plaster casts up to her thighs for the first few months. (Reusables hang lower/more likely to leak, do you think?)

Feel so full of love for her today. What a cute foetus she is

Poor little baby Hester. I do hope she won't be too uncomfortable. My heart goes out to you both. I feel so protective of my own little wriggler, I can't imagine what you must be going through.

Hello all. Re the nappies, I have decided on reusuables, but like several of you have opted for biodegradable ones for the first couple of weeks until I get the hang of it all. I am going to order them online as none of the shops round here sell them, but haven't decided which ones to get yet. Don't forget as well that there is no point in using biodegradable disposables and then shoving them in a normal nappy sack which won't break down in a million years. I have found some nappy sacks online that degrade in 60 days.

I am absolutely exhausted today and found that my walk from the train station to the office took 20 mins instead of 10. Perhaps I will pick up some energy from somewhere....

Hope you all have a good day
MB

I'm with you on the exhausted state Mawbroon. Just came back from a walk into town, only went to the bank and 1 shop and I'm knackered!

I now have a cot, moses basket and a tonne of clothes. Sorted them all out yesterday - have way more than I thought!

Just treated myself to a box of Celebrations (been hinting to dh for 1 for ages - but no luck!) so I'm now going to scoff the lot!

I too want to use cloth nappies. We were recommended to try the Mother's Aid range as they are a 'birth-to-potty' concept, one size fits all (with a very clever popper system)- you just have to buy different sizes for the outer waterproof wraps. Anyone else had any experience of these ones before we commit to spending £200+?

Also, i think we'll be taking your advice J&BM and using dicposables for the first few weeks, as i don't relish the thought of having to wash meconium out of fabric. Or maybe i could just save that job for horrible Mother-in-Law, as she's insiting on coming down straight after birth, even though i'll be recovering from my C/S

A warning about eco-disposables - a lot of them will LEAK because in my experience they don't fit as well as the leading brands like pampers. I would pack only the TOP BRANDS (Pampers/Huggies) for the hospital because the last thing you want is to be scraping newborn poo off sleepsuits and your bed - JESSICASMUMMY IS RIGHT when she says that newborn poo is stuff to be feared!

I used cloth nappies once dd was out of the newborn-breastfed-poo stage.

I will be using Huggies (hate pampers nappies and wipes - react with jess for some reason!) for the first few weeks as MP states.... the cheaper ones arent much cop in the first few weeks - newborn poo is scary toxic stuff and got its evil!

All in ones with poppers - we have a wonderoos and although its a very good resuable nappy, jess just doesnt get on with it at all.... hoping it will be better for a smaller baby as Jess's legs are just so chunky! THe only downside to popper nappies are that they dont seem to fit "chunky" babies, but would last you at least 9 months i would have thought.

Ill be using kusies ultra all in ones during the day as thats what ive got left over from Jess but will be getting some tots bots and possibly another couple of wonderoos.

I wouldnt bother with just one type of reusable nappy for the simple fact there are so many out there and are all so good.... and it is so hard to NOT buy every single one! Ive been so good until a fellow MNetter sent me a tots to try and now im hooked.... spending £40 a month now on "cute" nappies for the hell of it, but hey, thats only the equivalent of 4 packs of disposables which i would have gone through at least anyway!!!

I liked pampers new baby personally...

Can I just boast and say SPD or no sodding SPD I'm still walking loads I doubt I could actually go to work though, as I'm totally weird! I'm feeling quite good! Except for the terrible indigestion and the pelvis that I'm trying to ignore and the very very strange mood swings lol... You're very chatty atm... will try to catch up soon

You all make me laugh - I had no idea that newborn poo was so scary

Triceratops - thanks so much for your caring words about my wee one. I do feel very protective of her.

And I'm with you all - so TIRED. Can barely drag myself through the day. When do we get that late-pregnancy surge of energy and nesting instinct? Cos my flat could really do with it...

hester - sorry to hyjack this thread but I've emailed you a couple of times to work from my hotmail address - can they get through to you?? Didn't want you to think I've forgotten you .... Hope you are doing OK!
SL xx

morning all,

with you on the tots bots, they are the ones i think i'll use. Any advise as to what to buy to get started. How many of each size do you need and what about liners?

Also very tired and moody at the moment. Nesting like mad (30 weeks). Even made scones!!!!

Got scan in two weeks to see if i need c section as have low lying placenta, quite worried already.

Lexie - I really wouldn't worry unduly. Unless you've had any bleeding or anything since the 20 week scan to indicate it's still low, it will most probably have worked its way up to the right place by now. 9/10 of low lying placentas seen at 20w have 'righted' themselves by 32w. And even if it hasn't, having an elec section really isn't that bad. I had one first time and am due to have one with this pg and I can honestly say it's not an issue for me at all. Dd's birth was so calm and positive, and the recovery for me wasn't a fraction of the hassle I'd been expecting.

Have been feeling very stressed out the past few days. There's more hassle with my brother's travle insurance in trying to get him repatriated to this country and muggins here is whom everyone is turning to to sort it all out... which I don't mind as such, because he's my brother after all, but I could really do without the hassle. My SPD is agony - can't wait to see my osteo today. And I heard from my friend yesterday that her sister who was due about 10 days after me lost her baby at 21 weeks due to an infection, and I'm gutted for her. They hadn't wanted to tell me up to know in case I was upset. I feel awful for her.

It's my wedding anniversary today - 5 years. Dh is taking me to a posh restaurant tonight and I'm going to have two glasses of wine I've decided. Hope everyone else is feeling ok. Haven't even thought about nappies yet. It's only just occured to me that the baby will need them - it's been so long since I've had to change one!

moomin happy anniversary!!!!!!! enjoy your 2 (!) glasses of wine

re nappies: with ds we tried cotton bottoms, and nope, wasn't for us! didn't fit properly and leaked alot; was quite tight too! maybe jm is right and they don't fit chunky babies - ds certainly was one of them

and maybe before you buy the whole lot, try to get a trial-pack and see how you get on. then you can decide if you want to go for the whole lot!

and i am with you on the tiredness! isn't it just so exhausting walking around a bit.
it's only a 5min walk into town for me but oh boy, it's getting difficult. especially the few very tinywiny little hills i have to master!!!!

sorry to hear some of you suffer with spd!!! i think i have very slight pains but it still hurtssssssss

oh, had my 32wk checkup yesterday (with gp) and everything's fine! she had troubles first to find the heartbeat properly (i wasn't concerned, i could feel her kick around all the time ) - she thinks that bubs head is very low down already. hmmm, could be right. having some bad pains down there lately!
BUT i'll have another scan on monday (re placenta) and then i'll find out for sure what she's doing in there
not sure if i want the placenta up or down. planned cs would take the decision away from me

weather is grey in grey and rainy! so a day in i suppose! but that's allright too, i've got sooo many things to do, still!
i did manage to buy a few things for my hospital bag though very proud - and i've got a cot for bubs. but that's about it

I got a baby bath like a bucket. The old baby bath we used for ds used to do my back in when I tried to empty it and it was tricky holding on to slippery ds. This one is supposed to let them curl up and be more comfy.

I bought one of each tots bots, slinky minky, fuzzy bunz and kushies. They are all so cute. I am going to use pampers newborn for a couple of packets as I found that they were great with ds but I hate their wipes. Huggies wipes are more textured which really helps them scrape the mess up. I can't believe that I am going to have to change a girlie nappy , boys are much much easier to clean in my experience.