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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

When should you be prepared?

21 replies

MommaBee97 · 24/01/2018 22:04

So I'm 16 weeks pregnant, just found out I'm having my second daughter! I remember with my first how I took my time with getting everything we needed, clothes, the nursery etc. But this time around time seems to be just flying by, and with 2 children to provide for I just want to make sure im fully prepared for when my little one comes along! You never know when they are going to turn up! When is too early to be fully prepared do you reckon?

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Lemontwist · 24/01/2018 22:12

I'm 14 weeks with no 3 and I know what you mean! My two are in school but I work full time and am in the middle of working towards a professional qualification. I've hardly had time to stop and think really.

To be honest I don't need much organised I don't think. We're in the middle of decorating the bedrooms so may as well give what will be the nursery a lick of paint.
I have some bits but got rid of loads too.
I think as long as baby has somewhere to sleep (we have bedside cot), a few bits to wear and a car seat we'll be ok. Hoping to be quite minimal as there are so many things available that wouldn't get used.

SweepTheHalls · 24/01/2018 22:13

I was fully prepared when Dd(no. 3)was about 6 months old!

isthistoonosy · 24/01/2018 22:15

What do you class as fully prepared?

My kids are 3 and 4 yrs old and we haven't decorated their room for them specifically. If your having a second daughter, other than a few special outfits for her is their much to sort out?

MommaBee97 · 24/01/2018 22:32

Well I only have a few outfits for our baby at the minute, it's the main things like nappies, toiletries, bedding etc. When should we have everything prepared?

OP posts:
isthistoonosy · 29/01/2018 05:14

I had enough nappies, clothes (out the loft and washed) and formula, bottles, steriliser etc to last a couple of weeks by the time I was around 8 months pregnant. But I've an hours drive to the shops and we knew OH was going to have to work the first couple of weeks after I gave birth to DC2.

Desmondo2016 · 29/01/2018 05:17

My youngest is 14 months and im.nearly there...

Ekphrasis · 29/01/2018 07:11

Well I vaguely know where all the clothes, pram and paraphernalia are in the roof...

I'm going to get a sleepy head around 34 weeks I reckon but that's it.

My main focus is lots of clearing out of junk and rearranging storage simply as I know I'll struggle when I've got a baby and dc1 and had a section!

PrimeraVez · 29/01/2018 07:26

With DC1, we were super keen - all the nursery furniture and pram had been bought by 20 weeks. We had a beautifully decorated nursery, drawers full of clothes etc etc.

I'm now 20 weeks with DC2, and apart from a pack of sleepsuits and a box of nappies I got on sale in the supermarket, we have yet to get anything else. We are going on holiday in a few days and have agreed that when we get back, we will start going through all of DC1's stuff to see what we have, what needs replacing, what else we need etc etc.

TriJo · 29/01/2018 07:37

38 weeks with #2, being induced this afternoon, still not prepared tbh! I have a Chicco Next2Me to put up this morning...

Wellthen · 29/01/2018 17:16

People love to show off about how unprepared they were. As if it’s a bit uncouth to be excited and enjoy baby things.

Too early for me would be everything before 20 week scan - I want to know everything was ok first.

Too late would be if you don’t have the essentials (nappies, clothes, bed, food, car seat and buggy if needed) by 36-38 weeks.

But to be honest, but what you want when you want. Who cares?

HolyShmoly · 29/01/2018 18:48

I'm 21 weeks and we started buying a few small bits last week after the 20 week scan. Mostly just some muslin cloths and a sleeping bag from the Aldi baby event as they were cheap. I also bought a bag of 0-3mth second hand clothes off ebay because I was super excited about it being a girl! I've also started putting a pack of waterwipes in our weekly shop to build up a store of these.
Other than that I plan to have at least the car seat, travel system, cot and basic bits like some nappies, etc and everything in the hospital bag by 35 weeks. I'm hoping to breastfeed so I'm not splashing out on getting much feeding paraphernalia either way until I know if baby takes to the boob or not. I'm sure I'm jinxing myself but my sisters all went over their due date with almost all of their kids so I'm not expecting this one to be particularly timely either.
We're also not decorating the baby's room until after she's here. Partly because we'll use it as a guest room while we have a larger influx of visitors and partly because DH wants to decorate it with his dad as a bit of a male bonding thing.

But as I'm me and it's my first I probably will have nearly everything bought and sorted shortly after we hit the 24 weeks and relax a bit more. Including all the bits I really don't need to rush out and get since we're 5 minutes from a 24hr asda! I'm buying a ceramic dinosaur this weekend for the room that we aren't doing up for months...

harrietm87 · 29/01/2018 18:53

I think there can be a lot of pressure to have an insta-perfect nursery etc, but the baby shouldn't even be in a separate room until it's 6 months old. We will do our nursery after the baby is here.

Otherwise I'm aiming to have everything by about 35 weeks. I'm 30 weeks now and have ordered pram and bedside cot but that's it. Plan to get the rest of the essentials over the next few weeks.

Lifeofpies · 29/01/2018 19:24

DS was prem and a surprise, no hospital bags and wouldn’t fit in newborn clothes/nappies. DH managed to go out and get nappies, muslins, preemie clothes etc from boots immediately.

This time from 24 weeks we will make sure we have available -
Car seat
Cot and washed bedding
Breast pump
Wipes
Sling
Some 0-3 and newborn clothes
Washed muslins
Feeding pillow (just because I got on really well with it before)

Not bothering with buying a monitor until after baby is here as we’ll be in the same room.

Queeniebed · 30/01/2018 10:51

Bag packed from 25 weeks (friend with very premature baby got me organised) - never even managed to get it out of the car before baby popped out! - bought little and often and family also got us bits as we went along. We decided not to bother with decorating the room as baby only went into another room at 8 months. When another comes along we are going to leave babys room as it is, redecorate the small room then have a big swap around and then another when we put the cot away for good

AccrualIntentions · 30/01/2018 10:54

I had as much prepared as I wanted by 37 weeks. But I was being induced at 38 weeks and was for some reason absolutely convinced it wouldn't be any earlier (it wasn't). For everything I wasn't completely organised with, there's Amazon Prime. The nursery still isn't finished but DD will be sleeping in our room for a few more months anyway so it doesn't matter.

AccrualIntentions · 30/01/2018 10:56

Oh, and I didn't get anything at all until after the 20 week scan but I can be superstitious.

ohthegoats · 30/01/2018 11:11

I went shopping for stuff at 35 weeks (I'd ordered it all online, just went and picked it up at various shops), sorted all the hand-me-downs I'd been given, washed it etc at around the same time. Only had 15 x vests, 10 x white babygros, 10 x coloured babygros, couple of little hoodies, a star-fleece thing, a hand breast pump, a couple of little hats, a sling, a blanket, a sleepyhead, 4 gro-swaddles, a gro-egg, a changing mat and a bedside cot with some little cot sheets for sleepyhead to go on. Car seat was borrowed between his babies from my brother. Put it all into a chest of drawers on the landing (our house was a building site). I put together the bedside cot at around 39 weeks when I went on mat leave and put it in the spare room.

I didn't move anything in to our bedroom/get changing mat out of its bag/set up the sleepyhead or anything until we were home from hospital. My in-laws were annoyingly waiting for us to get home, so we left child downstairs with them and went up to get things sorted. They had cooked dinner for us, so I put on my sling, went down and put child in to it, ate some dinner, drank a weak G&T then went to bed with baby. I didn't buy any formula or anything, since intended to try breastfeeding - I'd taken photos of the supermarket aisle and products I wanted, so I could give those to someone else to head out for emergency formula if needed. I had a hand pump, but didn't use that for a little while.

We sorted out her bedroom, including buying a big cot etc, when she was around 8 months old and moved into her own room. We co-slept until then. I also never really used a buggy - we bought one a couple of months in, but because of where we live, I couldn't use one easily, so carried her pretty much the whole time (right up until she was 3, at which point... walks).

I think if I was doing it again I'd do the same - we've sold all our stuff, since I'm too old/menopausal for more, but I'd only need one evening online and a day to collect stuff again.

EastDulwichWife · 30/01/2018 11:21

At 23 weeks we've got nothing other than a few clothes and two muslins... We've got a date pencilled in to go pram shopping at 28 weeks, and will pick up a sling, pump, mattress and bedding then too. That seems about right for us, so long as the baby doesn't come too early!

Justanotherzombie · 30/01/2018 11:24

If you have a baby at 34 weeks you're not bringing it home and none of its clothes will fit anyway so 37 weeks is soon enough. Any earlier and you'd have time anyway to get organised.

happymummy12345 · 30/01/2018 11:28

I'm very superstitious and refused to buy anything until the month before I was due. Even then I only had what I needed to take to hospital in the house, the Pram and crib were stored at my mums, and not at ours until the baby was coming home.
Also I don't like nurseries I think they're pointless, and I knew the baby would be in our room as long as possible, so I never bothered.

Steeley113 · 30/01/2018 11:43

No point getting too organised too quickly. I know it’s exciting and people like to have everything but even if baby comes early (like pre-34 weeks) they’ll have a hospital stay so you will have time to prepare. Just have a bag for yourself ready around 28-30 weeks in case you’re admitted for problems, doesn’t need to be anything special. Just some nightwear, pads, wash stuff and clean underwear. As for all the nursery photos, absolutely pointless. They don’t use them until they’re older. I’m on my 3rd and my spare room is still the play room and will be until she’s 6 months when I’ll shuffle the furniture around and pop the cot in there. They don’t even need a proper bedroom until they’re older!

I’m 30 weeks and have my travel system, Moses basket, bouncer and cot because I had them already/found a good deal. I’ve been given tons of clothes so they’re packed in her wardrobe. Just need bottles but I’m not worried about getting them just yet. I’ll wait til I see a good deal.

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