August 2021 Babies - They Had To Be Gorgeous, Just Look At Us

[PurplePansy05]

Welcome to the chattiest post-natal club on MN!

We spent a year together chatting about all things pregnancy and baby...

...we've tried and tested countless baby products...

...exchanged hundreds of tips...

...talked about all the big things in life, all the little things, the good times and the tough times...

...we had a good laugh together 😁...

...and somehow we now have gorgeous 3 month old babies without looking a day older ourselves 😅 (must be that good laugh!)

Graduates of the August 2021 (and thereabouts) thread:

@Smurf123 & baby Sophia 💖
@wimbler & her baby boy 💙
@Jessicapebbles & baby Ebony💖
@Inmypjsagain & her baby boy 💙
@PurplePansy05 & baby Leo Alexander 💙
@WinterBabyof89 & baby Rosie 💖
@Winecoffeeteamum & baby Emily 💖
@Ready2020 & baby Rowan 💖
@Magik01 & baby Isaac 💙
@Hoares3 & baby Ellis 💙
@Daffodil21 & baby Elliot James 💙
@sarah13xx & baby Freddie 💙
@MrsB2019x & baby Ella💖
@biscuitcat & baby Rowan 💙
@Whatshouldbemyusername & baby Arya-Nyah 💖
@notinthestarsigns & baby Erin 💖
@Aaaaa1519 & baby Anum 💖
@Angelesque & baby Isaac 💙
@Millymay13 & baby Ethan 💙
@WolfMother326 & baby Alasdair 💙
@BertieBotts & baby Alex 💙
@RandomCatGenerator & baby Solomon 💙
@lucyrp & baby Evelyn Rose 💖
@HopefulB & baby Chloé 💖
@Mmr224 & baby Alasdair 💙
@Smallbean27 & her baby boy 💙
@Fran919 & her baby girl 💖
@Caz1226 & baby Dougie 💙
@Ava50x & her baby boy 💙
@dirtyfries & baby Frankie 💖
@ame88 & baby Lily 💖

Sorry if I've missed anyone, please join in! xx

@BertieBotts that’s sensible! We’ve always done big Christmas presents but imagine that will all change from next year!

@Inmypjsagain I was looking to see if I could get the next size car seat up but didn't find any good deals on the next size Cybex, @BertieBotts could I ask, would you tend to go for the Cybex Sirona or one of the extended rear facing ones you suggested?

@sarah13xx we're planning on bringing our tree in soon! We've had the same one for a few years as we bought it in a pot, so it comes in for December and goes out again the rest of the year. I think it'll be too big to get in soon!

I think we have a coldy baby 😔 Rowan is super sneezy and snotty - though luckily still seems fine in himself. He's another one fussing more at the breast than usual - he seems to be getting windy halfway through a feed again, which he's not done for a few weeks

Depends biscuit, is Rowan tall? If he is, then the Cybex Sirona will be no good as it's super short in the shell. It doesn't even last until 105cm usually even though it's supposed to. Out of the spinning ones I don't rate it very much, I think Joie is best if you're on a budget, or Britax Dualfix i-size for a more mid price one.

The extended rearfacing seats up to 25kg are in general a great buy though, as they last longer (will definitely get you to age 4 even with a very tall/big child), take up less space in the car, they are super sturdy and secure but easy to use (low sides) and they are actually designed for children to use them rear facing longer term as that is normal in Sweden. I think sometimes with the two way spinning ones the rear facing mode is only really expected/designed to be used up to about 2 years old, even if it's approved for longer weightwise, and so the manufacturers don't think about an older child's comfort and leave very little leg room etc. Or if they have leg room then they take up a lot of space in the car.

The downside of them is that they use tethers to fit which can be a bit fiddly (but you only have to do it once per car) and they tend to only be rear facing so you would want to be pretty committed to rear facing as you can't turn it around. That is a plus for some people, but others get a bit anxious about it. I would say if your worry is "I don't know whether my child will still want to/fit rear face past age 2/3" then not to worry about it, as once they are already rear facing it doesn't really occur to them that FF is an option, and the 25kg seats are comfy even for older children. If it's "I am not really fully on board with ERF and don't think I want to do it that long" it might be better to get a spin that has a decent FF rating as well, and see how you go. You can always buy a bigger RF or FF car seat later when they are growing out of it or when there is a new sibling on the way.

@Inmypjsagain she's had both of her jabs and due her booster anytime soon too.

Currently sat in a&e and have been since 10.30 this morning as DS decided to drop a load of Geomag on DDs head 😓 was saw by the nurses straight away who said she's fine but have to wait to see the doctor. Going to miss the school run ag this rate

Hope Evelyn is ok @lucyrp 😘 and that Rowan gets better @biscuitcat 😘

Thank you for sharing re fussy babies when bf, I thought it was just mine! That's reassuring.

@BertieBotts while on the car seats, would you happen to know if MaxiCosi Pearl 360 has been safety-rated yet? I know Pebble 360 (that we currently use) has but judt curious about our future upgrade xx

@sarah13xx aw cute!! Looks like lots of people have them in their baskets so hopefully they'll order!

@Inmypjsagain £40?! That's extortionate!! I bet it will be amazing though and you'll end up being glad you spent the money. We're going on a little Santa train in a couple of weeks 🙊

Oh no @lucyrp! Glad your DD is ok though

@lucyrp oh no how stressful! Hope all okay xx

@Daffodil21 my husband just said it’d £40 for all 3 of us and we get a goodybag which isn’t as bad so I was wrong earlier! Ahhh the Christmas train will be fun, wonder if we’ll have anything like that here….

Also lack of storage was mentioned earlier, I am wondering where all the stuff we’ll accumulate will go. I think in the new year we’re going to order snug sofas that have storage under the seats, that might be a good space to hide the more garish toys? I’m struggling with bathroom storage, we redid the main bathroom with quite a style that’s kinda on trend atm but isn’t particularly practical- it’s lacking in storage areas and I’m wondering why we made that bad decision! 😬

We’ve definitely had a massive growth spurt so I wanted to get him weighed and measured officially, there’s a centre locally we can go to see the midwife, so I called to get an appointment and I was given….. 1st February 2022!!!!! Madness. We’ll have to find the tape measure and scales and DIY!

@Inmypjsagain sounds like a plan - I’m ordering an ottoman bed for when we move back to the UK and probably a wall bed for the nursery / spare room so an unused bed isn’t taking up valuable storage space! We move back early next year and oh my we’ve accumulated a lot of stuff while we’ve lived in Asia, as well as vast amounts of baby stuff…

Looking to buy a baby seat online soon - she one item that I’m definitely not comfortable buying second hand. Any and all advice on non-isofix ones welcome…

@RandomCatGenerator How old is your car? I thought all cars for quite a while have had compulsory Isofix fitted in? xx

Carseat.se have their Black Friday sale on at the moment if you want extended rear facing. Lots of non isofix options if you look at rear facing up to 25kg.

You'll want to stick to R44.04 / R129 if you want to bring the seat back to the UK, some Asian countries allow both these regulations and the US one which is FMVSS something, so you can buy both standards. Also if you're in a country with poor regulation you may find seats that claim to meet the standard but are not really up to scratch or are even counterfeit.

To be honest, I'd just wait until you get here, it's much much easier to travel with an infant carrier and I presume you'll get a new car when you move rather than keeping what you have now?

Sorry just catching up. I’ve never heard the 4oz rule for breast milk. Ds has been having 5-6oz bottles sometimes. Whoops!! That said he doesn’t always finish them. Still don’t really understand that but I shall do some reading on it!

Pansy sorry o thought I'd replied but must have lost the post. They didn't check the pearl 360 in the last which test, only the Pebble. But I expect it will be fine as maxi Cosi seats are normally good.

@BertieBotts oh I didn’t realise that about the sirona. We have the cybex base and cloud z just now with the plan of buying the sirona but he’s super tall for his age I think (someone asked me if he was 7 months yesterday?! 😳) so maybe that’s a lot of money for something he won’t be able to use for long 🤦🏼‍♀️ I really love the cloud z, the only horrendously stupid feature of it is when you want to take it off the pram to put it back in the car you have to push a button down on either side at the bottom of the handle so unless you have three arms to be able to then lift the handle when it’s released it’s impossible to do. I end up carrying it with one hand either side to get it to the car. Always think did they not try this out in the design room or what? 🙄😂

@Inmypjsagain ohh hamley’s will be amazing! Ours is just a local farm park who are obviously quiet in the winter and have decided to sell it as a Christmas themed thing with a Santa’s grotto to get people in 😂 they’ve even been clever and advertised it as ‘baby’s first Christmas’ in the advert for during the week so if you book the farm park you get a free ‘first Christmas’ grotto visit with baby-friendly things to do, no crafts etc. it’s definitely a money maker 😂

I caved and put the tree up tonight.. he was supposed to put the star on top but cried and wanted to go to bed as I tried to get him to hold it so I’m leaving it off until he’s in the mood to do it so I can take a picture of him doing it every year 😂🎄

@biscuitcat that’s a great idea having a real tree in a pot! Saving the environment too while you’re at it 🎄

Thanks Bertie!

I'm hanging up Christmas lights tonight, the cats are having a ball 😳 Leo is awake and watching us, very cute. Tree this weekend, we're getting a real one! We took him to a local farm few days ago and he met Santa, it was actually really enjoyable 🥰 xx

I’ve left the pram at my mum’s because she’s taking him tomorrow afternoon for a few hours. I’m going to have to take the dog a walk with him in the baby carrier tomorrow instead of the pram. Every time he’s in it he basically screams until he falls asleep half way round the walk. I always worry I have it too high, too low, too tight, too loose etc, even after watching the video on how to wear it 🙄 it’s the ergo baby omni 360. I’ve just looked up when they can forward face in it and it says 5 months, I think he’ll like this way better but it does say you should only do it for short periods of time and it’s safer wearing them facing you still. When are people planning to wear them forward facing? Do most people use them or stick to the pram? I always just find with the dog the pram is easier. It’s impossible to even bend down to put the dogs lead on when he’s in it

@PurplePansy05 aww that’s lovely 🥰 a Santa’s grotto must be a farm park thing!

Thank you @BertieBotts that's so helpful! Rowan is fairly tall so maybe moving away from the Sirona and going for something else might be a better idea.

@sarah13xx yes that's such a stupid system with the Cloud isn't it!! Great car seat overall but that's just so annoying 🙄

@Inmypjsagain do any of the baby groups/youth centres around you have scales? I've weighed DS at baby sensory as there are baby scales there

@sarah13xx we have the cybex sirona for dd. She’s 3 in a few weeks and still not grown out of it at all. She’s around 95cm tall I think. She’s very happy in it. But yes j agree with the stupid way of having to take car seats off the pram. The maxi cosi and besafe we have for ds is the same. I bet it was designed by a man 😂

@sarah13xx We have the Omni 360 too and I share your thoughts. I like it a lot less than I thought I would. DH usually carries Leo and he's usually snoozing happily in it but I'm always concerned about his positioning. He just never looks right in it to me and like you, I can't wait to have him forward facing. We used it maybe 10-15 times? It's a bit better now he's grown and doesn't drown in it anymore but it's not my favourite piece of kit yet. xx

The Christmas trips people have been to/are going to sounds lovely! I think Christmas is going to be really special the next few years with the magic of Santa. I don’t think we’ll end up doing elf on the shelf though…

@biscuitcat never noticed scales but I’ll check because I feel we need to double check our measurements!

We measured him on the changing mat (6 times to be sure we weren’t getting it wrong) and according to the red book he is 98th centile for length and 31st centile for weight. I’m not sure how the 2 correlate but does that mean he’s not heavy enough? He was 25th centile at birth for weight and 42nd for height.
It makes sense he’s tall because he’s suddenly got longer than the nct babies and he’s wearing mainly 6-9months, so I don’t think we measured wrong but just a bit worried he should weigh more? Has anyone had their babies measured lately to compare? I don’t know what’s normal and google isn’t too helpful! (We also have the cybex so Sod’s law he’s tall and won’t fit it for long!)

@PurplePansy05 yes he’s definitely not drowning in it so much now. There was one day he was screaming/crying and generally getting himself into a state in it and his mouth was in line with the strap that comes up from it to go to my shoulder so he kept like biting the strap and making angry noises 🙈😂 but I was thinking I don’t think that strap should be right in your face like that either. I’m going to watch the video again and I think try putting it on tighter to see if that’s any better.

Do you use a pram suit or anything with it? I’m always scared to put any big layers on it but as I was freezing to death at that Christmas fayre last week I noticed so many people with babies in carriers with big snow suits on. Is that okay? To be fair they were facing out so it’s maybe a bit easier then but I feel like he’d be all squashed with a big thing like that on in it. But at the same time, even with the zip us in panel on my jacket, his feet and legs must be freezing