November 2010 - From Flump to Bump!

[hmmSleep]

This is the new discussion thread .
Stats thread here

yes bodysuits are essentially vests for the baby but with poppers under their bottom, they help hold the nappy in place! and you will get through LOADS of them, my ds4 still wears them and he is 2yrs 4mths!

i would say what hmmsleep said, but more than two hats, i tend to keep some spare bits for baby under pushchair, in car etc, so that we arent caught short if they puke/poo etc and also its good if when you go out you take a spare top for yourself incase baby is sick on you etc

i have been given a lovely snowsuit thing for in the pram but it doesnt have legs its just a sort of cocoon on the bottom half but with a hood and arms, much easier to get the baby in and out of. and i agree totally re cardigans/little jackets etc, they are lovely but i try and get the ones without hoods, as babies spend so much time lying on back in pram/carseat etc and i just dont think they can be comfortable lying on a scrunched up hood. same goes for babygrows that do up at the BACK, honestly not only are they a nightmare to do up, but i dont think they can be very comfy for baby to lie on? but that could be just me?

as for nappies i only normally buy one packet of newborn, but i have big babies, maybe get two packets in but you can always send your partner out to a 24hr tesco to get nappies!

as they are winter babies little socks and booties will be good, i used to put socks on underneath the boys babygrow, as then they would stay on and just helped keep their feet warm, as little baby feet (and hands) can get very cold easily. infact you can get little trousers for babies that have feet in as well, they are very good, i think mothercare do them quite cheaply in packs of two?

but mainly new babies wear babygrows! and lots of them.

OH i know get some of those nightie things for night time, they have sleeves but then no legs, just a long gown with elastic at the bottom so when you change babies nappy in the night you dont need to be fafffing with poppers and getting legs in and out of a babygrow! MUCH MUCH easier, pumpkin patch had them on sale for £3 the other day? and i know mothercare sell them as a pack of two for £10. honestly they are fantastic!

right i am off to bed, it would appear that baby must have grown as all of a sudden i am feeling a LOT more kicks, which is lovely, but sometimes takes me by suprise. hoping that the madboys will feel their baby sister kick soon, they are so excited

These lists and ideas are brilliant, thank you very much indeed guys! It's really helpful to know what you actually need.

I have a question - what size do you get? Because I think my baby's going to be quite long - do you get everything newborn, or a mix of newborn and 0-3 months? Does it matter if things are a bit big?! I am concerned I'll buy everything in the smallest sizes and then it won't fit...

Loving all the bump photos! It is amazing to see all the different sizes and shapes. Mine has definitely grown since that photo last week. And I'm eating like a horse now!

I'm ignoring all the "what you need" lists for now because I can't go shopping this month. July is a very expensive month for us with the two ds's birthdays and my sister's hen night. Also we had dd's birthday and mine and dh's) in June. So shopping is being put off for a while...

Pidg - I think mainly 0-3 but I always like to buy a couple of newborn bits so they have something that actually fits, and so you have a wee keepsake of how small they were

Thanks for that Wallace! I'm such a cheapskate I can imagine my son is going to spend his whole life in clothes 'to grow into' but then it seems such a waste to buy everything newborn and then buy a whole new set of everything four weeks later! FWIW I think it's probably good to hold off on the shopping anyway - it's only going to sit in a cupboard for weeks...

Agree with Wallace. Mostly 0-3 month but v nice to have an outfit or two you really like in newborn size.

We underestimated with clothes for DS. Sicky baby. Ended up buying extra multipacks of babygrows from Sainsburys and Mothercare. They're great. You don't need to be dressing newborn in complicated daywear.

4madboys, I'd forgotten about baby nighties, thanks for the reminder, they're great!

I agree mainly 0-3 months, and I had tiny babies 5lb10 and 6lb14, it doesn't matter if things are a bit big.

Also remember you'll be getting new baby pressies, especially if it's your first, (people seem to lose interest a bit with subsequent ones!), and scrounge whatever hand me downs you can from friends and relatives. I've just been offered one of those rocking feeding chair and stool sets, will be great for night feeds when little one goes into it's own room eventually.

No plans to actually buy anything yet either, just trying to get an idea of how much money we're going to need! Will probably get to the shops in September when dcs start school and pre-school, I'll have the whole of Sep and Oct weekday mornings to myself, what bliss .

Re sizes, DS was only 6lbs 4oz, and was in tiny baby-sized clothes for the first six weeks. He was then in newborn until about three months, and 0-3 months from 4-5 months. Then he caught up!

I'm saving buying a snowsuit until DD is born, as she might be tiny or a whopper.

DS's snowsuit didn't fit him until the summer, then he'd grown out of it by the autumn.

I have so much more stuff than that hmm!!
Can the more experienced mums tell a first timer what are the little things that aren't essential but are really worth buying?

Thanks for the tips everyone! Having said I wasn't going to buy anything, I strayed onto Asda's website and bought a couple of newborn things - they are really cheap and delivery is cheap too. Right that's it, no more internet shopping for me . Might need to get DH to hide the credit card.

What I've already got:
baby clothes
snowsuit
sling (2)
grobags (2)
blankets
sterilizer
breast pump
muslins
change mat
gym
bouncy chair (2 - one upright traditional, one lays flat)
floor mat
reuseable nappies and bucket
bath set (bath, top 'n' tail bowl, towel etc)
more baby towels
toys and books

Still to buy:
bed and bedding - thinking of getting a hammock bed
car seat
buggy/pram
change bag
toiletries - cotton wool, nappy cream, materninty pads, breast pads, nipple cream etc)
reuseable wipes
baby monitor
BFing pjs
BFing bras

Anything else? A lot of this stuff is given/loaned I haven't actually paid for all that much really, though I did go a bit mad online when the mothercare sale was on!

That is v impressive magnolia - all I have so far are a pram, some clothes and some lovely bedding (thanks to balijay ), but I have been promised a few loans, like a sling and Moses basket, which I'm hoping were sincerely meant!

OK, another question - if you're planning on BFing, do you need to get the whole pump and steriliser business before the baby comes, or can you leave it till afterwards? Thanks again oh wise experienced mums - it's really helpful being able to pick your brains like this.

I have - thought the steriliser and bottles were given to me - I only bought the pump and then it was 1/2 price.
I admit I have a big worry about BFing though, and if I struggle to BF I want to express and bottle feed EBM rather than use formula if I possible can. It's my biggest worry actually, even more of a worry than the birth. I think that's why I want to have everything in place for expressing as then going to 24hr supermarket and buying formula isn't my only option if I can't BF. Does that make any sense? I know my worry is probably a bit irrrational though

Glad its still going well Nomore! BF - I found BF class at NCT really reassuring and helpful - and even if you don't go, you can still ring them up for some advice. I had pump etc before Ds was born - but I didn't use it for about 6wks (and then it took quite a bit of getting used to!).

Lights! That's what I meant to say! Think about your lighting. If baby is sleeping in your room, you need a really really soft nightlight that you can turn on when s/he wakes up and wants feeding - or when you just want to check on him/her. Anything even slightly bright will upset baby and wake you/DP.

I didn't sort this out in advance and spent first couple of weeks looking at DS by repeatedly pressing keys on my mobile phone. Felt like useless pretend mummy.

nomoremagnolia bon courage! You'll figure bf-ing out. It's about 100x easier than expressing and bottle-feeding, if you possibly can. I do know one mother who had to do that, cos her DS was given a bottle or nipple shield a lot and then rejected breast. She deserved an OBE for her efforts. Totally agree on the magnolia, btw. Spent so many years in nasty rented houses, magnolia paint still makes me feel a bit ill.

Hello MT How are you?
I have signed up for NCT classes, so hopefully they will help - especially as the best my midwife could offer for ante-natal classes was the phone number of someone who does 'birthing lessons' it seems the local PCT have scrapped NHS ante-natal classes around here.

I took cot light off the suggested list as I didn't really know why I'd need one, but I'll add it straight back on pronto!
A friend's DW expresed for 6 months as she found she couldn't get the latching on right - that's my worry, having bigger breasts I've been told that getting the positioning/latch can be difficult. I think that's why I have such a comprehensive back-up plan. I don't want to have to resort to formula until I've tried everything to BF, ut I'm scared that at 3am one morning I'll crack and send DH out to get formula.
The name nomoremagnolia came about after we'd moved out of military married quarters into our own home.

Nomore - I'm fine thanks! You know where to find me!

I found a bf pillow REALLY helpful - meant I didn't have to try to hold the huge weight up.... But being on the higher end of the cup size didn't have any problems for ds apparently! And dh helped to make sure he was latching on OK - because of the NCT classes! However, if your dh can't be at the class, they might have at least a dvd or somehting that you could borrow for him to watch so that he can help.

I know someone that had all the washable nappies before the birth - then everything was a bit much and she used disposables for a while - and never got round to using the washables. I do know some people manage from the start (we didn't, we got a range to borrow at about 7wks and then bought the ones that suited us and ds best and worked from there) but you might find its all too much to start with - but don't let it put you off!

ha ha magnolia, my dad was RAF and i too HATE magnolia paint, oh god its soooo nice to be able to paint my house just how i want it!

re breast pump i dont think its essential at all to have one, or bottles etc before baby is born, i think i got one when ds1 was a few weeks old? i have always found the avent hand pump to be very good and have avent bottles as well.

first three totally bfed until 3yrs old! then with ds4 i was ill when he was 4mths and spent time in hospital so ended up bottle feeding, but we literally nipped to tescos and bought bottles and a steriliser the day we needed them (and a new microwave as we bought a microwave sterilser and then realised our microwave didnt actually work anymore) but if you have a big tescos nearby then you can get bottles, pump, steriliser etc whenever you want, if you are interested in a certain brand etc might be worth looking around in advance, tho i think tescos stock a few diff brands, certainly the main ones anyway

goes off to look at the asda website.........

Pidgin, I'm going to get it in ready, like mistlethrush, I didn't actually need it in previous pregnancies, failed to get dd to accept anything but the breast until 11 months , then only introduced one bottle of expressed milk a day to ds when he was 6 weeks (wasn't going to have the dd scenario again!).

I did find I needed to express occasionally just to relieve extremely painful engorgement though, which they say not to do as it just encourages more milk, but I couldn't resist! I also know a few Mum's who really couldn't breastfeed for various reasons, being put on certain meds etc. The thought of having to suddenly rush out and buy bottles, perhaps at a really inconvenient time is just too much.

nomoremagnolia, I must admit I found breastfeeding really hard, very very sore cracked bleeding nipples, mastitis, thrush. Was told at my support group my latch was fine, just have very sensitive skin. The only reason I stuck at it is dd refused the bottle, glad I did though as once my nipples toughened up (like leather by the time I'd been bf for 11 months!) it was far more convenient than the hassle of sterilising and preparing bottles.

I found expressing a nightmare, took forever to get the tiniest amount of milk out for me, but apparently that varies person to person. You might (fingers crossed) find you're a natural!

I have a confession (and it's all your fault ) - I've just been to Tesco and Mothercare and now my 'things to buy' list is rather shorter! I was looking online at the things I still need and saw Tesco had the baby monitor I want reduced, so off I went and along the way a few baby clothes ended up in my basket too. Then I had a mothercare gift card to spend - and ended up buying an outfit for baby with the gift card and then bought two sets of BFing pjs in the sale! OOOOPS!!
I got given a whole birth to potty nappy set for free, so if I don't get on with them and end up buying something different I don't see I'm any worse off. My BF is a lollipop lady so she'll put together a trial pack for me, but I'm more than happy using reuseables on her 3 DC and on my niece, so I hope I'll be OK with them.

oh, forgot to say MT I'm intending to get a couple of packs of newborn disposables (so I can get the associated freebies from boots/tesco etc) so there'll be no pressure to use washables from day 1, though as soon as we're into any kind of routine at home I'll try to start using them.

We only have afew more things to get I think.....like bottels, pay up for the pram but thats not getting deivered til the last week of October, mattress for the crib, etc.
DP went out today and bought paint and a lovely wooden blind for the office soon to come nursery, think it may be starting to hit him a little now
Thankfully SIL would take no for an answer in buying the mattress for the cotbed, my mum said she would get the highchair later on and my stepnan said she would get the bath & top&tail as she didnt want to get clothes as I am sure we will get many from people.
Thinking about making a start on the hospital bag after my 28 week app and make sure its all sorted abd ready to go when we get back from Spain when I will be 34 weeks

oh question before I forget!
Is anyone waking in the night with cramp? I get it atleast 2 to 3 times a week now in my left or right calf and I never got it before, its so bad I cant help grab my leg and shout out in pain resulting in waking DP would trys to carm me by running my arm, back or something and then my calf hurts for the rest of the day

Hiya,

Very useful lists thanks. We have bought nothing at all here!! As a teacher approaching summer hols, all this will soon be redressed...

Especially useful about the baby nighties/hoods comments, as a novice, these things had not occured to me and I was just going gooey over fluffy outfits with cute bear ears!

Got 24 week midwife appointment on Monday, anything unusual happen at this one?

Rinnyx I do keep getting cramps as well, feel it coming on earlier evening but don't know how to stop it before 2am! Went to aquafit last week and got it really bad in the pool, did not enjoy having to stretch at the side in lycra!!

Lots of movement now in the bump, love it

Also...

I have a sore right shoulder pretty much at all times, gets worse by evening. Anyone else? Any tips?! Just going for power of positive thought at the minute. It isn't that effective!

Gaga can you self refer to antenatal physio? The physios the local hospital here have a really good reputation and I don't think the pain needs to be pregnancy related.

I was thinking of tasking DH with changing our light switch to a dimmer switch, must remember . . . .