December 2010 - good-bye flat tummies (as if I had one... ha ha ha)

[Persnickety]

Right, I've done the honours. This is our new thread.

And don't forget the stats thread

silly question from a first timer bout pushchairs coming up.

If you don't have the carry cot thing, does the other bit still enble the baby to lie down?

DF lots of prams do lower down so that baby can lie down, but you have to check that they do.

Any working mums out there thought about maternity leave yet? I started mine at the last minute with DD (literally - I started it the day she was due!). Would like to leave it as long as possible this time round too, but have to start it boxing day at the latest.

df, just check that the pram is suitable from birth and lies flat. have you been down eddershaws? they have some fab stuff and some prams that you wont find in mothercare etc.

i'm itching to atart shopping. dp has put some money away so that we can go shopping after the next scan. pil are buying the nursery furniture and my mum and step dad are putting £400 towards the pram so i'm treating myself to a more expensive one than i normally would of got.

what are people doing about finding out if it's a boy or a girl? i don't know if i will be able to stop myself asking!

I've provisionally put 29th Nov down as a possible start date for my mternity leave but I may try to leave it longer. Due date is about 11th Dec so that's 2 weeks before. I really want this baby to come early as MIL is arriving (though not staying with us) on my due date and I am terrified that she won't give us any peace. Will probably come late though dammit!

Is Eddershaws only in Swansea?
To be honest I am going to try to do everything as cheaply as possible so probably ebay for a lot of things.

I am not finding out the sex of the baby, though my DH wants to. He really wants a boy - is that typical for new dads?

max i was thinking of working until dec 17th if i can. due 24th dec. if i finish any earlier i will end up bored out of my mind! and it's perfectly timed for christmas half term so i wont have to arrange childcare for my dc, bonus!

Eddershaws on hadfield road, just off penarth road. tbh i don't think i will buy anything there except the pram if i choose the icandy. i just love looking at the things they have. a crib thats about £750 for example! just a bit of fantasy for myself. the new mamas and papas shop had a fab sale on aswell. had to drag mil away from everything in there.

I've got a micralite toro for dd which I love so I'm planning to buy the carry cot for that. It's been great on buses, tubes etc. I found that I really need to be able to push one handed so I can use a brolly, phone etc so hated anything that I couldn't do that with. If I didn't love the torro so much I'd probably go for a bee which is also great.

Although I'm not due until 19th dec I'm planning on stopping mid to late nov so I can get organized and spend a bit of time with dd. Last time round I tried to leave it as late as possible but had dd a week before mat leave was due to start and was able to take her to the final nct class! The look of shock on everyone else's faces as reality really hit was priceless!

morning ladies

hope you're all ok

Re mat leave Im a student and will be in my 3rd year, term eneds on Dec 10th (baby due on Dec 1st) so will be working right up until I pop, then have Christmas and Jan off, go back new term Feb 4th - thats all the leave I have.

Re pushchair we will be using our bugaboo we bought with DD - however I am trying to choose a new fabric colour to get, as ours in yellow and Im not so keen on it any more.

Im 19 weeks tomorrow, and apparently his / her little feet are now an inch long, how amazing is that!!

Im feeling much more proper kicks and movements now, and I have felt the odd kick in the outside too now, although DP hasn't managed to get there in time yet to feel them!!

Hope everyone is ok - when are your next scans? Mine is on the 15th July.

Also, is any one having a 3d scan? We had one with DD and I thik will have one again...

Only 3 weeks till we move and Im doing lots of packing, so sorry if Im not on much between now and first week in August

Have a good day ladies xx

I am due December 5th and planning to go on maternity on Dec 1st but take 2 wks holiday before that just in case peanut is early. I am not sure if I want to stay 6 months or a year out of job. It really depends on DH's work and I am worried if he gets laid off as his company was bought recently... If he stays at work and there is no danger of me losing my position, I will stay with the baby but I am very worried that I lose my mind out of boredom! I am hyper active and a famous workoholic at work. Even at my wedding day, I gave my blackberry to my sister to check for emergencies... so not sure if staying home is for me. We shall see... My 21 week scan is on July 27th and I can't wait to find out the sex. I love to have a girl and a boy and sometimes I think I will be disappointed no matter what it is as I can't have both at the same time.

at those of you having a boy and a girl!

DF My DH would prefer a girl ... although this might be largely because we can only agree on girls names!

we can't agree on any names apart from one for a boy. He's rejected all my girls names though I have one which I have wanted since before I even started thinking about children which he really dislikes

I'm going to push for it though ;)

Hello Ladies,

Can I join in please? I've been on the MC Grads thread until now but would like to join here also as am lurking a bit and seeing some great advice and chats on all the things I'm thinking about now i..e prams cots etc

I'm due on 8th december.. haven't felt the baby kick though.. have felt some bubbles but think it's just hunger bubbles. I'm 18 weeks tomorrow so hopefully it might start soon.

DF, since you really will, in the most literal sense of the word, have to push for it, I think he should let you have your cherished name!

Welcome HappyGirl. Don't mind us - we're all a bit retail obsessed in the last couple of days!!

Felt my first proper kick two nights ago. So cool. Was almost glad that DD had wet her bed so that I was awake to feel it at 2.30am! Didn't feel the first one till 20 wks and I am 18 wks at the moment, so it was a nice surprise.

Aaaaarrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!!.... [runs screaming for the nearest exit, misses, and leaves slightly plump woman shaped hole in wall]

[coming back in rather tentatively] All this talk of prams, carry cots, travel systems and buggies has kept me silent for the past few days as I haven't even begun to think about such things. How on earth do all you ladies (the first timers) know as much as you do? Where's the starter guide for total noddies???

My SIL has said she has a Quinny in the loft we can buy/have (what do you reckon the ethics are on selling things to rellys? I personally would never sell something to a relation or close friend if I'd finished with it) but I have no idea what it is, so guess I'll wait and see. And I wasn't planning on doing any shopping for bump till after about 26 weeks.

Re Mat Leave though - I'm hoping to work as close as I can till the end, particularly as its Christmas and thats when all the fun stuff happens at work, but I've slightly said I'll wait and see, as it depends how uncomfy I feel. I've heard some horror stories (including from a physio several years ago who reckons I'll be bed bound for the last 10 weeks of pregnancy).

Has anyone else been passed "the List"? I've just been handed a list that has been handed from first time mum to first time mum, with all the essentials for the hospital and the first few months. And some of it is really scary. (Though thinking about other bits, such as the hats, makes me well up with emotion that I'm getting something so tiny for Christmas!)

Right, off to spend the rest of my lunch hour researching the whole pram/buggy/carry cot/travel system malarkey. There must be a dummies guide somewhere on t'internet...

PS Welcome happygirl. We hope you like it in here. Sorry about the draft my hole in the wall caused - I'll send someone round to fix it soon. Pleased that this pregnancy is going well and hope you're not too nervous.

happygirl1 Welcome... We are a chatty bunch so hope you keep up with us...

whatwillsantabring there is no guide for dummies. However, from the the day you start thinking about prams suddenly all you will be seeing around you are prams!!! colourful prams on the street and in grocery shops!!

I remember reading Shopoholic and Baby and never understanding the chapter about prams and how obsessed she was but here we go... I am obsessed. DH warns me every night that I can only talk about one baby-shopping-related item after one mature topic....

oh - I want a copy of the list!

I have an NHS one which says for the baby at the hospital I will need 'clothes for the baby' which is next to useless when you don't know what new-born babies wear!

WWSB, you make me laugh. I remember the horror of pram shopping first time around. It was so confusing - there was just too much choice. I don't think there is a beginner's buying guide for baby (perhaps MN could write one...actually, I think they do have a section in their very excellent guide to pregnancy) but you have a lot of second and third timers here whose mistakes you can profit from!

My choice for what not to buy would have to be the purpose-built change table, which is just a chest of drawers with a silly arrangement of raised sides on the top, which means that most of them can't actually be used as a normal looking chest of drawers. Your basic chest of drawers with an anti-roll changing mat on top is just fine. Oh, and top and tail bowls. Just pointless.

I had a version of The List. My hospital bag was ENORMOUS. I had everything - except a piece of cotton wool. And they wouldn't let us leave until DD had wet her nappy - for which we required one wet piece of cotton wool as proof. It was with some real difficulty that we persuaded the nurses to give us one piece of cotton wool.

Sorry - epic post but also couldn't resist responding to the point on buying things from family. When we had DD my SIL and BIL sent us a price list of the things we could buy from them. And they weren't exactly mate's rates. I was OUTRAGED. I didn't want them to give them to us - but an offer of a few bits and pieces to borrow would have been nice. When my sister had her DD I told her to back up the truck and take the lot - only too happy to get it out of the house for a year or so!

SlightlyTired and WWSB I NEED the list! I would never take cotton wool to hospital with myself!!! One would think they have tons of that around?!

Just a happy first time mum story: last night I tried a prenatal pilates DVD and for each of my stomach excersices the peanut would do a double turn or some sort of dance in my tummy! She either loved the crunches or got scared of them... She was so active that I actually stopped as I couldn't stop laughing... I was burning 1.5 times the normal calories

Huh - spoke too soon:
www.mumsnet.com/guides/pushchairs_from_birth.html

Oooh, you've asked for it now, PJen. Here goes:
?Maternity notes
?Birth plan if you have one
?TENS machine if you're using it - but you'll probably have it on on the way to the hospital anyway
?Something to deliver in - a long t-shirt or nightie you don't care about
?Hair elastic to keep hair out of face during delivery
?PJs or nightie to change into after the delivery - something that buttons down the front is best for breastfeeding. Depending on how long you're planning to stay in hospital you might need a couple of sets of PJs.
?Nursing bra
?Dressing gown and slippers for wandering around the hospital in
?Something comfy to change into to go home - nothing tight around the waist - in fact, your maternity clothes are the best bet (sorry ladies)
?Clothes for baby (take a few sizes as some babies never fit into newborn size). You will need a handful of grow suits - they get dirty quickly. If they are on the large side it is easier to dress the baby. Don't take anything that goes over the head unless you're a baby-dressing pro - poppers down the front and legs are a much better idea. Take a hat for baby as well. They like to put them in hats when they are first born to keep their body temp stable. I would also take something lovely and warm for transferring baby to car - bearing in mind it will be December. Either a wrap that is suitable for car seats (ie something with holes in it for straps) or an all in one fleecey car seat liner/cover
?Nappies
?Wipes or cotton wool (frankly, cotton wool and water is never going to get that meconium stuff off them - that stuff is like tar - so I would say take wipes, but revert to cotton wool if there is any nappy rash going on - and see my point in previous post re cotton wool!).
?Portable change mat (There was no change table at the hospital - I ended up changing her on my bedsheets, with predictable consequences. (And nobody changed the sheets either...)
?Muslin cloths for mopping up any baby sick.
?Lansinoh lanolin ? essential if breastfeeding, even if only for a few days. It?s expensive but anything left over can be used on heels!
?Breast pads - a lot of these are plastic backed which is not ideal from a thrush/mastitis point of view. The Nature Babycare ones are not and I think they let you breathe a bit more. I think also the Johnson & Johnson ones are OK.
?Maternity pads. Rather a lot.
?Disposable knickers or knickers you don't care about. I found disposables the easiest till I left hospital.
?Small bottles of water - drink, drink, drink - constipation plus stitches Down There equals not a lot of fun.
?Snacks - chocolate, dried fruit. See above remark re constipation.
?Toiletries
?Something to read (I took loads of stuff and didn't touch any of it but you never know!)
?Towel (my hospital didn't supply towels - but make sure it is an old towel you don't care about)
?Change for parking and for payphone (although I used my mobile in the hospital...!)
?Earplugs because the wards are the noisiest places in the world, even if you manage to get a private room which you can in some NHS places
?Camera

No doubt other ladies will fill in the gaps for me

SlightlyTired - wow that is a fantastic list! Just read through it and realised how much I have to do!! Just copied and pasted that now to get organised!

ps thanks for the welcomes ladies1

who ever asked what does a new born wear - vests (body suits) and sleep suits over the top, and a blanket.

Get cotton, and lots of them, as you will go through several - please dont dress your new born up like a mini adult, feel so sorry for babies dressed up in outfits, they look so uncomfortable

oh, and you can rent a tens machine from boots