Anyone else due August 2020?

[Jem9153]

How are you feeling if so? How far along are you?

I’m due 12th August, 21 weeks 1 day today, first baby and I’m having a boy!

I’ve felt a bit overwhelmed with this whole pandemic and the unknown of whether it’s going to be better by then! Fingers crossed for the best.

I also really want to start buying things but feel bad for shopping online given the current scenario, I just don’t want to leave it all til last minute and be really unprepared.

Would love to hear from you all

@squashie34 I don't think I could cope throwing up for 12 weeks straight never mind men haha.

@Beth804 people keep asking if we're doing middle names but it's a swift no from me, especially if we have a boy was hard enough coming up with one name never mind 2.

I'm not overly enjoying being pregnant with the heat, but it definitely helps being in lockdown. I'm not stressing over my body changing for once in my life, I'm fascinated by it. For now at least. I do however hate the need to slow down, being sick randomly, heartburn, tiredness and people constantly asking for bump photos.

@StephD2020 breathlessness is real. Especially during and after eating anything big. Got so bad the other day I had to take my inhaler.

Anyone have any tips to make walking a little easier before my poor dog gets fed up with only being walked half an hour a day?

We've got our pram and car seat, got a great deal on a Mamas & Papas Flip XT and Pebble Pro bundle from online4baby, and it arrived less than a week later!

I've got my eye on a Cicco Next to Me, just holding off on ordering until we receive a refund on council tax we're due that will cover it (discovered we'd overpaid by one month last year, result!)

A friend is passing on her Mamas & Papas cot, it's waiting in her garage until we can pick it up and then I just need to get a new mattress for it.

My dad's partner sent us a Ewan the Sheep, and I've started to look at ordering bits for the nursery - we've decided on a safari theme so I ordered a Llama changing mat from JL the other day, and I've got various other bits and pieces saved on chrome.

@StephD2020, my MIL is insistent that I need to have my hospital bag packed from 28 weeks, so ordering maternity pads etc is next on my list of things to do!

I have bought nothing so far!! we’ve been lucky in that friends are giving us a next2me crib, a sling and a Moses basket so just need to collect those at some point. Hubby doesn’t want to order nursery furniture until the painting is finished in there as we haven’t really got anywhere to store it other than in the nursery. And my parents have amazingly kindly offered to get our travel system for us so just need to decide which one to go for and buy it! Which I want to do soon in case delivery times are long - I’m so paranoid about not being allowed out of hospital with the baby because the car seat hasn’t arrived yet!! . Also need to get some clothes sorted, we’ve got two babygrows so far and a load of stuff my MIL has given us but a lot of that is not newborn size.

In other news, just went for our walk and my goodness, I have never had such swollen hands!! they’ve always swollen up a bit when on long walks (even before being pregnant) but I think the heat today plus being pregnant has just made them ridiculous!! Had to run a sink of cold water and stick them in when we got home, they are now starting to calm down... might have to start walking earlier in the day as today was just tooooo hot.

I just can’t get over the sheer exhaustion I have felt this past week. I feel like I’m back in my first trimester again I can’t bear to do anything! I think my little man has had a growth spurt & it’s literally sucked any energy I had out of me. Although along with the breathlessness I’m starting to worry I could be anaemic

@mable88 I'm getting the swollen fingers too when out on walks. I've had to stop wearing my rings when I go out on a walk as they get so tight and uncomfortable!

@mable88 I’ve not noticed my hands getting swollen but my wedding rings have gotten too tight so they must be slowly swelling up. My feet get too hot at night sometimes so have to wash them in the bath with freezing water at stupid o’clock in order to be comfy enough to sleep. The joys of pregnancy eh!

We also went for the Flip xt3 but ordered from Mamas and Papas to arrive in July. I’m now getting paranoid it might not turn up as I haven’t had a single email apart from the order confirmation one and have read some horror stories online I emailed them today to ask if it can be bought forward so we’ll see!

Apart from that we have a bedside crib, baby bath, changing unit, sling and some clothes. We got them all on sale or second hand off fb marketplace so good prices on everything.

Has anyone thought about what to pack for the hospital bag? I’m not planning on doing it for another 4 weeks (at 30 weeks) but haven’t a clue what to put in there! Tried to watch some YouTube vids but got overwhelming and I don’t want too much!

I've just had a thought, could be the worst symptom yet so i'm really sorry..

Has anyone randomly got skin tags on their body? I've got loads all of a sudden, just tiny tiny ones on my chest mainly.. and a few other places 😔

@Nfblues I have literally just managed to get my engagement ring off... 4 hours later!! Will definitely start leaving them at home when it’s hot I think!

@Oldestchild90s yes! I found one on my chest that was never there before, that’s the only one I’ve found so far...

@Nfblues we've had a bit of a nightmare with mamas and papas delivery since lockdown. We managed to get to the store the Saturday before lockdown and had a personal shop and bought the travel system (Occaro), cot, dresser, and wallpaper for the nursery to have delivered to the in laws as I didn't want to tempt fate with the pram in the house. Delivery date was given as a particular date a week later.. no email48 hours before delivery like they said but helplines were closed and it didn't turn up. I emailed but had no response so I've found the best way to contact them is to direct message on Twitter - anyway it then was scheduled to arrive again a week after that and we got a message saying there was no room on the lorry so didn't get delivered. Finally got it 3 weeks later but no wallpaper. I've been chasing that for the last month and then Thursday they told me they're sending 1 roll of wallpaper (I ordered 3) and the other two when it's back in stock. You obviously need to wallpaper together to make sure it's the same batch number so we've abandoned hope with that and cancelled the wallpaper, and received a £30 gift card as a gesture because it's been going on since the end of March. Was all a bit of a s**t show to be honest, but I do get deliveries are hard at the minute, so I'd see if you can get it any early than July to make sure there's time for them to delay etc!

Sorry only just caught up with this thread just now. I do feel lucky that I'm feeling very good this pregnancy but that probably has been helped by being in lockdown and taking it easy a lot more this time. I'm really enjoying feeling the baby move and I'm pretty sure we won't have anymore children so I'm trying to make the most of it.
I'm definitely bigger this time, more so round my bum and my boobs are bloody massive. I had to start wearing one of my nursing bras the other week as they were so uncomfortable 🙈 I'm not weighing myself though. I didn't throughout my first pregnancy so I have no idea how much I gained.
We've got the Venicci travel system from my first and it is good value for money and very well made. I still want to get a sling and a decent pump- I have my eye on the Elvie one. I managed to get a sleepyhead on eBay so that's sorted now. I have a wardrobe full of clothes, most are hand me downs from my first. If I have a girl I'm going to be buying a whole load more though! I had a dream last night the baby was a boy- I'm sure I'll have another boy as we have loads in the family. No names we can agree on yet 😬

@nfblues I haven't really thought about hospital bag yet but my friend that had a baby last year sent me a list of things I'll need for it. So thought I'd share with you in case it helps at least give you an idea of essentials you'll need to pack...

° Moisturiser - hands and face
° Lip balm
° Slippers
° Dressing gown
° Nightie
° PJs - pack a couple in case you have to stay
° Maternity pads / Adult nappies 🙈you’ll need a couple of packs of these
° Nip pads
° Stuff for shower

Hope that helps 😊

Just to add to @JMill13’s list my friend also told me:

Flip flops/sliders for the shower
Nipple cream
Huge granny pants (ones that go relatively high up in case you have a section)
Juice/snacks
Phone charger

Just to add a few other things to the hospital bag list that people have told me and I'd never have thought of

• bottle of lucozade to keep energy levels up

• those little Robinson's squash squirt pots to make warm hospital water a bit more interesting

• a couple of the pre made bottles for baby (like a primal) incase you can't breastfeed or the hospital doesn't supply

--flip flops rather than slippers to wear in the shower too

• cooling spray/fan

• an indulgent moisturiser to feel a little pampered after your shower

-earplugs for the ward

-nipple cream and spritz for your bits

-Empty water bottle so you can pour warm water whilst you pee after to help the stinging

-fibre drink for the first bowel movement

• your green notes (might be stupid but they won't be sitting in hospital bag with the other stuff so I know I'd be likely to forget to grab them in the rush if I had to go to hospital quick, so going to stick a sticker on my case to remind me 🤭

I'm waiting for my boots order to arrive next week then I'm packing my hospital bag. I'm 28 weeks Sunday and with this obstetric cholestatis I have I want to make sure it's ready incase of early induction (plus it's better than doing the housework)

One of my friends also told me to put some lavender oil or aloe Vera onto maternity pads and put them in the freezer(?!)

Ok I'll add my lists in here (compiled from 5 friends who have recently had babies)

Me:
Dressing gown (lightweight)
nightdress/pjs
Slippers
Flip flops for shower
Bikini for water birth
Washbag
Deodorant /face creams
Hand soap
Lip balm
Hairbands
Tissues
change of clothes, comfy clothes for hospital
Mobile phone and charger
Nursing bras. Bring two or three.
Nipple cream
Breast pads
Towels and flannel
hairbrush
Underwear/Disposable knickers
Sanitary towels (Maternity ones!)
MEDICAL NOTES
Squeezy drinks bottle, easier to drink out of when in labour
Paracetamol
Tens machine
Food / snacks
Prunes / prune juice for pooing
Peppermint capsules / tea for wind
Laptop/iPad
AirPods
Cooling spray
Gel fanny pads
Going home clothes
DH to pack his own bag for snacks

Baby:
Two or three sleepsuits and vests.
Baby blanket.
Nappies. Your newborn will go through as many as 12 in a day
Nappy bags
Cotton wool
Nappy cream
Formula mini ready made bottles
Muslin squares x4
Hat and scratch mitts cotton
Car seat

Just waiting on a couple of the sleepsuits and vests and then I'll start packing mine too! X

@bert2020 update on the house - our mortgage guy put our residential application in on Wednesday 8pm, Halifax did a desktop valuation on Thursday morning and it was approved by Thursday 2pm!

Next hurdle is our buy to let mortgage on our flat - just waiting to hear back on that but I reckon it won't be until next week now because of the bank holiday weekend. Once that all goes through we will be all systems go so 🤞🏻

Thanks @StephD2020 that's a fab list! Going to add a couple of things to mine I've missed off.. like hairbobbles- omg imagine forgetting one of those!

@squashie34 yea my friends really came up trumps on the list front! Has defo kept me busy (and calm!) during lockdown.

Has anyone been filming their bumps kicking? My phone is full of footage - god only knows what I'll be like when she's actually here! 🤣 x

Great lists thank you, I feel a bit head in the sand with actual organisation but need to get a wriggle on really.

Great news @StephD2020 hopefully it continues along nicely.

What sort of bag is everyone packing for their hospital bag? I was thinking of a small carry on size suitcase and a little hold-all so I can split between the hold-all for things I'll need in labour etc and the suitcase for if we have to go to the postnatal ward for a stay. Will I look like I'm moving in? 😆🤣

Should add to that that normally people say pack a separate bag and leave it in the car then your partner can get it if you need to stay in, but seeing as on the labour ward it's a 'once hubby is in, he stays in' and can't go out and come back, you'd have to take it in at the same time wouldn't you. Also would we need to take the car seat in too? I feel like that's tempting fate a little 🙈

@squashie34 I've got the cabin bag and hold-all from Storksak - the cabin bag for me and the hold-all for the bean. Gonna get dh to pack a cabin bag too as although he won't need it he can put some extras in there for me just in case! Car seat we will leave in the car x

@squashie34 I suppose the car seat is up to you, but considering partners are only allowed to stay for an hour after baby is born at the moment I suppose your DH could bring it when he comes back to collect you?

Great idea @Lolxx!! Partner will have to take his own bag for his snacks as there's going to be no room in mine 😆

Thanks for these lists for hospital bags. Very comprehensive and helpful.

Has anyone been getting clumsy by any chance? I managed to knock two drinks clear over yesterday. Got the table, floor and sofa I am never normally clumsy. Can't even blame actual bump for knocking them over

@StephD2020 Every time i go to film the kicks she stops 😒 quite funny really. I just have a camera roll of fails!

Wow some of those lists are amazing, i'll definitely steal the ideas!