Due April 2021

[BoJingle]

Is around who's due in April 2021? How are you feeling?

I was in a thread on here in early pregnancy, dropped off when I joined the buddies Facebook group, I'm still in it but its not really for me.... I miss having a place to go to chat pregnancy though.

Merry Christmas.

Thank you all for your support/somewhere to swap experiences.

Hope you all had a fab Christmas yesterday even if plans had to change ❤️

Just reading a bit below. I'm feeling at a loss for comfy bras/nursing bras. I was a 32hh, am now a 34j and still growing. I don't know what on earth to do, nowhere seems to go that high 😭

Merry Christmas ladies! Had a lovely day with DH and our 3yo. She was so excited all day and an absolute joy yo be with. Its so true that kids make christmas!

RE nursing bras apparently the royce blossom is great for bigger boobs. Im still in my underwire 36ff from debenhams that I bought for my last pregnancy and used for a few months. I was a 34E before pregnancy and ranged from 34D to 36G during my last pregnancy and until I stopped feeding my first born. I've heard underwire is fine until 36 weeks, but then swap for a stretchy unwired bra as sizes can fluctuate a lot. "Boob or bust" is great for advice on this. I do find it so frustrating that everything stretchy seems to come in S, M, L etc as so often the band is too big and the cups too small. So if anyone has suggestions other than the royce blossom I'd be keen to hear!

@OneStepOneStumble

Hope you all had a fab Christmas yesterday even if plans had to change ❤️

Just reading a bit below. I'm feeling at a loss for comfy bras/nursing bras. I was a 32hh, am now a 34j and still growing. I don't know what on earth to do, nowhere seems to go that high 😭

Same here. I’m at a 34hh in bravissimo at the moment (was a 32f before), but I’ve got a lot of space around the band for when I grow more. Haven’t found anywhere other than bravissimo as I’m looking at I/j so there’s space for a breast pump.

Made the rookie mistake of trying a bralette from Costco...didn’t cover even a quarter of me . Will have a look at Royce.

If you fins somewhere please let me know!

I'm late but Merry Christmas everyone!

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! Anyone else in tier 4 feeling a bit like plans to buy baby things in the sales has been a bit ruined? I was looking forward to my first browse around a baby shop and getting some things cheaper while they’re one sale.

I’m wondering whether to risk it and buy things like a pram online without trying them out first - what is anyone else planning to do? It’s not ideal but who knows how long we will be in lockdown for. We live in London in a flat with no lift and most people around us seem to have one of about 3/4 models of lightweight pram. We were in the park yesterday trying to check them out without looking like we were staring at people babies haha!

I've risked it! The one we wanted but had ruled out due to the cost is half price! I just don't know when shops will be open and it's too good a deal to miss. What's the worst that could happen?!

@LuckyFlash I’m in London too. We planned to go to John Lewis when lockdown was over but didn’t manage it before we went into tier 4. We haven’t bought a single thing either. The only thing I’m relieved about is that the products we’re looking at aren’t really reduced in the sale so we’ve not lost out too much.

We had a virtual video call with John Lewis and Mamas and Papas on Sunday. It was really helpful as they showed us the prams and cribs, etc we’re looking at and showed us how it works. The only issue is we couldn’t try it for ourselves but apart from that, it was really good to do. I’d recommend doing that as it’s the next best thing.

Ps we’ve been doing the same - looking at other people’s prams as we walk past them!

@LuckyFlash if you can do enough research on the things you want online then I'd definitely risk it as you don't want to wait too long and not be able to get things! Like @MsHedgehog said Mamas and Papas will do a virtual thing to show you prams etc or look at YouTube videos of the ones you like the look of to see how they work and then read the reviews online etc? Other than a pram what else do you need to get?

@MsHedgehog I didn’t know about virtual viewings! Great shout I’ll have a look into it - this will definitely help. Which pram did you go for? Most people in my area seem to have a bugaboo bee or the babyzen yo-yo. Leaning towards a bugaboo because the yo-yo looks a bit flimsy in reality but hoping we might find a sale as the bugaboo is expensive with the whole kit.

@firsttimemomtobex we need everything lol. We have a Moses basket that’s an heirloom but need all the new bedding and we have a pack of babygrows and a blanket that we were gifted at Christmas. Other than that we are starting from scratch! Only 25 weeks so feel like we have time but don’t want to leave it too late. A balance between being prepared and not cluttering our flat too early... the pram and a carrier are the main things I’d like to see in person though everything else is easy enough

@LuckyFlash infababy travel system is 50% off so think Im going to go for it. Wasn't what Ive been looking at, but ticks all the boxes and for under £500. Really wanted to make sure I could use it for off road running, but from all my research think I can and it looks better than the out n about.

@LuckyFlash hopefully you can get an online viewing for the pushchairs then! We went with the Oyster 3 but don't know if it'll be too big/bulky for you. Our cot bedding I got from Asda and a company called Bloomsbury Mill for curtains and duvet cover, Shnuggle bath and all nursery furniture from Mamas and Papas, some prints for the wall from Etsy and then clothes wise we've just been mainly buying from supermarkets when we do our food shop Asda and Sainsburys have some lovely stuff! We also got a Next2Me from Amazon in the Black Friday sale so as you can see we have pretty much everything but I just couldn't wait to buy it all haha!

We bought our pram in black friday sale without having test driven one....just took the plunge after watching youtube videos and reading reviews...think we're pretty happy with it! Agree virtual viewings sound like good idea particularly if you can find somewhere unbiased that aren't just going to promote their own products. Most of the other big bits and pieces we're getting as hand me downs from friends and family, so we're lucky. I've started collecting things for nursery decor but am going to have to wait a while longer to nest (even tho am desperate to!!)....my dp is in the process of demolishing the spare room for renovations....keep reminding him we're working to a tight deadline here

This last week I've really started to see my belly dance around when little one kicks - weirdest thing but I love it! Definitely getting stronger.

I did all of my pram deciding online 3 years ago and when I went to see them in person it really didn't make any difference because I'd done my research so I'd really already made my mind up. I hope you all get on OK with your online purchases, are online sellers offering a returns period?

The main thing on my shopping list is a moses basket. I'm looking at the shnuggle one and may buy soon as they have a good discount code atm but I've since seen one at Asda which looks almost the same but is half the full price, but still cheaper than the price with 25% off so I'm trying to decide if its too good to be true or I should get the cheaper version.

My baby is still lazy, it does move but not anywhere near as much as its (his) big sister. I'm really starting to think this baby is a boy although I don't know why.

@LuckyFlash We’re also in a flat so need something compact! We’re leaning towards the Bugaboo Fox 2. Our shortlist was the Ocarro, the iCandy Peach, the Yoyo and the Fox and the Fox is in the lead.

The iCandy just looked too bulky and heavy whereas the Yoyo is good for only city living. Even though we’re in a flat in Zone 2 and I’m a city girl through and through, DH loves his country walks so we need something for all terrain, which is between the Ocarro and the Fox, but we prefer the Fox because it’s more popular. I have looked at the Bee at all yet. There’s just so many to choose from!

Sleep wise we’re going to get the Next to Me. We have a second bedroom but it’s currently the office and we decided it’s best to keep that as the office for now. If working from home carries on into the spring, wouldn’t be fair on me to banish me from the living room during the day whilst DH works, just so the baby can have his own nursery. We plan to sell up next summer (if we can get the whole EWS1 form issue sorted...!) and then get a proper nursery sorted when we have more room. I do feel a bit disappointed we won’t get to have the experience of decorating the nursery for our first child, but I guess working from home like this was never a thing before!

@MsHedgehog we could be living parallel lives! We’re also (slightly reluctantly on my part) trying to sell our flat to buy a house a bit further out but it’s not going as quickly as hoped thanks to all this uncertainty.

We’ll definitely be keeping the spare room as an office for DH/room for grandparents to stay for as long as possible. Luckily our master bedroom is huge so we can dedicate a corner to the little one

@LuckyFlash Sounds like it! The joys of having a baby whilst living in a City! Where in London are you based...?

And yep, that’s another reason for keeping the second room...it’s got the spare bed which my mum will be staying in when she (hopefully) moves in for several weeks when the baby is born!

@MsHedgehog we’re in Walthamstow - how about you?

@LuckyFlash In Greenwich, so not too far! Although we’re looking to move out to somewhere in the north west / west direction rather than further out south east!

@mshedgehog
I'd say the downside of the ocarro is that its REALLY heavy, so if you're in a flat / using public transport a lot might not be the best option...thats my one criticism if it (its what we went for - mainly for the big wheels).

All this time off work plus sales means I've gone a bit crazy with baby purchases....I even ordered my first load of nappies as had 20% off code ... crazy I know... whats everyone else planning on doing? We want to go the reusable cloth nappy route but its such a big investment upfront and so many different styles /types I'm worried about forking out hundreds £ and them not being right for us. So have decided to do eco disposables (kit and kin) for first month or so, and then get a trial pack from a nappy library / buy in a few different options once bubs is here and see what type we like best for going forward.

@Ttwinksy my sister used reusable nappies, so planning on using them and see jow I get on. She said they are good when you are at home, but she used disposables for when they went places as it was easier. I've bought 2x packs of size 1 nappies ready for hospital bag and first week. Ive also bought loads of second hand clothes off FB, lots of jules/boden/frugi 🤭 can't resist! Got a cot (2nd hand again) and ergo baby carrier (new black friday sales). Feel pretty sorted.
We are moving house hopefully before end of Jan, ours is sold, mortage approved and surveys done, so just waiting to sign contracts really. 3 bedrooms so can have a designated baby room 🙌 then office/spare bed in another.

So anybody else got loose ligaments before pregnancy and now with relaxin hormone they are even worse? Im like a puppet, I keep dislocating my shoulder 🙈 happened in the middle of my milking shift this morning! Had to carry on milking cows one handed 🤭 It doesn't even hurt that much anymore.

I agree with @Ttwinksy on the Ocarro. It's a real work horse and has held up well to all sorts of heavy use and looks like new really after 2 years but it is heavy. I wouldn't want to lug it up and down stairs, it would drive you mad @mrshedgehog

@Ttwinksy and @BoJingle Thank you so much! The lady at Mamas and Papas said it was lightweight, but we were conscious she was marketing their own brand to us.

Sounds like we will end up going for the Bugaboo Fox 2. With so many more parts of England now going into Tier 4, it sounds like we won't be able to give it a go anytime soon, but I've asked around and several other parents keep recommending one type of Bugaboo or another, so seems the best option!

What has everyone decided to do about day sleeping? We'll have a Next to Me by our bed in the bedroom, but we want something for the living room too, but don't know what!

The only thing that annoyed me about the fox 2 was the opening/closing mechanism. I was completely sold on it before we went to JL, I’d watched all the videos and reviews and finally we agreed on price.

Then the fold down was just a bit shit. Lots of things to press and twist, and the uppababy and egg were so easy. The shop assistant said that iCandy was too, but I wasn’t drawn it it (don’t know why).

Also, both JL and an independent shop both said that they thought the older chameleon range is better than the fox, so if I was fixed on bugaboo they’d recommend that. The JL person even said I could get a good second hand deal !

@MsHedgehog I've just googled to see if they've made the ocarro lighter as mine is 2.5 years old. They have not so she's either full of it or she's never done more with it that push it up and down the shop floor 😂 It's a fantastic product and the weight isn't problematic or that noticeable when lifting it in and out of cars but there's no denying it is heavy.

Day sleeping I'm not sure. I was planning on a shnuggle basket for downstairs but I've gone off the idea. I've just ordered a close caboo sling and DD always napped in the sling so I'm thinking a basket might be a waste of money.

@greyskyclouds I loved the egg, it was so expensive though!

I'm a bit jealous that you are all pram shopping, I loved the process last time!