Preparing to TTC in 2022

[WingingIt09]

DH has agreed to starting to TTC baby #3 in April/May. We already have a 2 daughters (age 4 and 2). I'm so excited to start trying! I think it's going to be a long wait until we can start actively trying!

Starting to think about things to do to help prepare my body. I'm currently on the progesterone only pill so thinking of when to stop it. I have 5 days left in this packet and then one packet left after that in my current prescription. Don't know whether to stop when I finishes this packet or at the end of Jan after my next packet. Any experiences of how long it takes cycle to regulate after the pill?

I need to try and eat healthier as I've been so bad recently with Christmas but I'm a healthy weight so not too worried there. Also ordered some TTC vitamins which I remember from previous pregnancies is good to take 3 months before TTC.

Anything else I could do? Is there anyone else who will be starting to try later in the year and so excited that you're already on here 🙈?

Thanks everyone some great advice here!
I definitely would have spent good money on a moses basket... 🤣

Sounds like amazing tips everyone! I’ll be doing this all for the first time and hoping to get most things secondhand as that’s better for the planet too.

Can anyone tell me what a travel system vs just a car seat means?? I’ve been looking at the Cybex ones because they are popular with my friends but are they just being flashy?

The other question is has anyone attempted or is tempted to try cloth nappies?

Sorry I’ve been a bit quiet, storm Eunice has been hitting me in the form of Pms 😬😆

A travel system (I think!) is the whole shebang - pram, bassinet, a car seat which clicks into the pram (useful if you don’t want to wake them up) and sometimes a pram bag.

If you spend good money on anything make it car seats!

@NarnieJoy I am not sure I am familiar with cybex...

Travel system generally refers to a pram chassis and various things you attach to it i.e. pram carrycot, pram/pushchair seat and the bucket style car seat that has a handle that you can take out the car and clip on the wheels or carry baby into the house in. They can grow out of those quickly if you have a big baby like I did.

Then there's car seats which remain fixed in the car which you can get rear facing for longer and my version of this goes from newborn rearfacing with inserts right up to the last car seat they will need, my dd is average height and weight of an 8 year old and still fits easily in it as when you pull the headrest up it expands in width too.

I used cloth with my DS for quite a while but he was a heavy wetter and skinny and I tried a few options and nothing worked for us for long.I also didn't have the money to trial many others as I'd bought a birth to potty pack in one brand. I never got round to trying again with DD and sold them all. If you do I would recommend a library or trialling a few second hand before buying a bundle of something that doesn't work for you.

@NarnieJoy same as @HippeePrincess I tried cloth with my eldest DD but I was getting continuous leaks and ended up going to disposable. I have friends who rave about cloth nappies though. I'd recommend going to a nappy library to work out what brand actually work for your baby once they arrive rather than buy a birth to potty set like I did and then have them not work 🙈🙈

Travel system refers to a bundle with the pram chassis, carry cot and pram seat (for when their older) and a car seat. I believe the cybex is meant to be a good car seat brand but not used myself. There are certain brands that do testing above and beyond the UK regulations for car seats (which quite frankly are awful). Definitely do thorough research around car seats as some of the ones that are on sale and pass regulation are quite frankly horrifying in their safety! As I said in an earlier post - Car Seat Advice UK group on Facebook is an amazing resource for info on car seats.

So would people suggest not having a bucket car seat at all? And just get a rearfacing car seat fixed? Or do you need one to leave hospital?

@NarnieJoy for me personally they are just a faff! I don't like babies being kept in carseats any longer than absolutely necessary anyway. And I find it a lot easier to carry just a baby than a big bulky car seat 😂
My only question would be about leaving the hospital because I know they can be a but funny about it? I might just tell them I'll take the baby in the pram and they're welcome to come with me put them in the car 😂

I think they can be a good option for some people depending on lifestyle and preferences but if I was looking to save money and at longevity I’d just go with a good quality fixed one which goes through all the stages.

@Dreamingof3 yeah that’s the only place I could think they could be funny. I guess we could borrow a bucket one from a friend if they insisted

@WingingIt09 just to say as we are nearing 1000 posts, if we’re planning to copy the list of members to be the first post on the new thread and want people to be tagged & get a notification I think you have to “@“ before the usernames - from what I’ve seen on other threads I think that’s right, does anyone else know?

I hope it’s ok for me to (very tentatively) join here, I’m starting to seriously think about ttc but there’s so much to think about and I don’t know who to speak to. Dp is brilliant, and he had 2 teens already, were in the process of buying a house together but it’s a rather complicated situation (don’t want to out self) that won’t be fully sorted out until 2 years after the completion! But we can’t wait that long really as he is mid 50s and I am mid 30s.

I’m utterly terrified of something going wrong, us not being able to conceive, or the child having disabilities due to our ages and it’s taking all of the excitement out of things. That and loss of wages during maternity and how that could affect our remortgage in 2+ years down the line.

All I ever wanted was to be someone’s wife and a mum, and I want desperately to feel excited and happy but I’m so scared of things going wrong 😔 I’m a bit of a planner whereas he is much more of a go with the flow type. We have discussed me coming off contraception and the more I’m reading about how long it can take, the more I feel like I should do is ASAP even though I’d rather be in more of a settled position, maybe that time will never come! Is there ever a right time?

That aside, I want to give it the best chance, but it sounds like a minefield if supplements etc. What really is the best thing I can do at this stage of slightly obsessive pre planning?

If it’s a seat that is going to be redundant quickly I just wouldn’t want to be wasteful!
My DH is completely twitched by kids staying in car seats for too long, I’m not personally against a doona but he’s read the stats and done the research and it’s a no.

@HippeePrincess I think that’s right you have to @, we can just use the calendar and make the name “prep to ttc 2022 cont.”

@Dreamingof3 I’ve bought a ‘big sister’ top for my daughter as an announcement for my husband. Fingers crossed it fits her when I need it! Haha

@LucyLoopyLu such a difficult one with cost. I think if I was to do it again (as in if it was the first one again) I would definitely spend less. We got a really expensive travel system but I honestly am not sure I would have done that again. I preferred baby wearing and my LO hates being in the pram now she can walk. It’s a brilliant pram but she wants to walk everywhere so seems a bit of a waste with how little use it’s generally had. You can pick up such good quality stuff second hand

I've used cloth nappies with both my boys very successfully, love them I used to work for a cloth nappy company so if anyone needs any advice there feel free to ask.

I love an infant car seat. Especially for winter babies. Find it so much easier to get them in car seat in the house, wrapped up in blanket and then just carry them out to car when ready to go, otherwise you have to carry them out somehow wrapped up and then unwrap them to get them in the seat (and potentially getting soaked yourself while getting them strapped in) and then wrap them up again. With other kids in tow especially I think they are really useful. I will definitely use ours again for the third time, we will have three car seats in a row on the back seats, so I will have eldest's ERF seat in the middle which he climbs into and then click the infant seat in once he's in - he'd struggle to get to the middle seat if we had three fixed ERF seats in the back.
Also to be able to bring them in the house if they've fallen asleep. I know it's not recommended to leave them in a seat for too long, but when you're sleep deprived and they've finally dropped off after a quick journey to the shop, being able to bring them in and leave them asleep just long enough to grab a cup of tea is invaluable.

@NarnieJoy we had the cybex zcloud I think it was. Fab car seat but nothing to compare it to I guess!
Also use cloth nappies with my daughter. Once you get the hang of the wash routine and figure out what works best for you they’re fab. A bit of trial and error to get there though. There are some really good cloth nappy Facebook pages which I used to trawl through to get as much information as possible

I am planning to use cloth nappies this time around.

Welcome @Excited101

I personally found having the car seat that comes out the car really useful for the following reasons:

• getting baby in the seat in the warm and dry
• putting in on the travel system for those 5 minute nips into the shop where your popping in for 1 thing rather than faff with taking them in and out (didn't use for longer times though as you have to be careful with length of time in the seat)
• nursery run (only relevant for those with older kids though)

I also tried cloths first time and it was a disaster from start to finish: continuous poop leaks, lots of wet outfits. I think dd would fit them better now she’s older actually but I sold a lot of them. I buy biodegradable ones instead now as a compromise.

New thread up ladies since we've almost filled this one! I've tagged everyone on our tracking list (I think).... took me 3 attempts as DD2 kept climbing over me and the thread then disappeared on me twice before posting! 🙈🙈 If I've missed anyone sorry! Please do come and join us on the new thread x

What is the new thread called? I can't find it 😢 x

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/4487237-preparing-to-ttc-in-2022-part-2

@hevann - same name as this one but also "Part 2" at the end