September 2021 Thread 5 (half way there!)

[Bubbles1st]

Welcome to the 5th thread ladies! As we start to hit the half Way point here is the list so far. By thread 6 we should have all known sexes for those finding out. Happy to update as we go along so feel free to message me once you know or if you want adding.

@Noodles4Me - 26th Aug 💙
@Scotti84 - 27th Aug 💖

@Sceptre86 - 1st 💛 tbc
@KHR1 - 1st 💙
@CherylLW - 3rd 💙
@deedeebythesea - 3rd 💙
@Squibble84 - 6th 💛
@leftitlate37 - 7th 💙
@bewitchingnight - 8th 💛 tbc
@AdventuresAwait - 9th 💖
@mumof23188 - 9th 💙
@Bubbles1st - 10th 💙
@FTEngineerM - 12th 💙
@Maybebaby29 - 14th 💙
@Taybz - 14th 💙
@Kirky658 - 15th 💛 tbc
@Hopefulmummie - 16th 💖
@Mamabearwhere - 17th 💙
@aurora2021 - 18th 💖
@unicornpower - 20th 💛 tbc
@Sophieandtiger - 20th 💛
@bluemagicalsky - 21st 💛 tbc
@Jay3004 - 22nd 💙
@SP2Bx - 22nd 💛
@Rach921 - 23rd 💛 tbc
@SproutingSprout2021 - 24th 💛
@RadDarwazeh - 25th 💛
@crobo87 - 25th 💙
@d0nut - 25th 💛tbc

Woop woop pram shopping done, we've gone for the ickle bubba stomp v3!

@Kirky658 oh I think that is one we are considering as does the carry cot turn into the seat unit?

Did you get a travel system or just the pram? Finding it hard to buy without a car seat included!

just catching up with everything! @Kirky658 sorry u had crazy long wait at MAU but glad everything is ok. Dont blame u on the running front, feels gutting when think it wont happen eh, but its only temporary right? ive bought a back and bump support in vain hope it will help me but if it doesnt hey ho. I walked, and shuffled round 3.5k last night and was a monumental effort. Just think need to be realistic this might be it for running! ive been swimming for a couple months, im not good at it, but find 30 mins a few times a week is great. exciting on the pram shopping too, u r v decisive!!! we looked the other week but havent chosen altho think know which we will go for!
going to check out all these changing bag options! still feel u guys are so much more organised than me and DH!
love love love these cute baby gros u guys have bought! going to have a look :)
still gets loads of random tummy jabs, pokes - obv v glad hes doing ok in there but just still find the sensation so strange, takes me by surprise when suddenly see my tummy move and feel this punch! it's crazy how quick mybump has appeared out of nowhere, 21 weeks had nothing, be 23 tomorrow and think its pretty clear now!

@bubbles1st yep they showed us in the shop the carrycot like zips off to form the seat, it's very clever, or the car seat clips onto it too. Really easy to use, and very light too! We opted for the full travel system x

@leftitlate37 oh honestly the wait was ridiculous but I'm just glad our little girl is doing fine. That's all that matters. Yeah you're right on the running, only temporary for a few months. I've bought a new maternity swimming cossie so I'm going to start some aquarobics classes to at least try and get some exercise done still alongside walking, so at least it's something. Haha yes I went in having a good idea of what we wanted so the pram was a pretty easy buy. Again I'm just feeling overwhelmed with the feeding and bottles side of things tbh. We'd booked to go to the lake district beginning of August but might cancel it due to it being a good journey away and go to my parents caravan in Wales instead, we can take doggo, visit the in laws and there's a big hospital 10 mins from the caravan site so I'd feel safer too as I'd be about 33 weeks then. We are considering taking bub at about a month old to see DH's Grannie in Scotland, about a 4 hour drive from us, but unsure how realistic this would be with bottles, sterilisers, travel time in the car seat etc....

@MrsTD88 @Sceptre86 sounds like we’re in a similar position. My daughter is 4... and starting school on my due date. (Fabulous timing!! 🙄🤣)
My daughter is currently very keen to have the baby in her room... we’ll see how she feels long term! But we would like them to share so we can maximise the rooms in our house! We considered moving... but we love our neighbours and street too much! And I didn’t want to be saddled with a huge mortgage on maternity leave!
We are hoping to put the cot in our spare bedroom when baby moves out of our room initially, but in the longer term, we’ll be planning bunk beds I think!

Hi due on the 24th with a little boy!

Aww congratulations @LittleAurora. That is a lovely scan picture x
@SillyBry my dd starts school two weeks before my due date. She is super happy about having a sister and wants her to sleep with her. Lo will be in with us for 6 months and then in the box room (currently my son's room) till she is about 2. At that point we will be buying them bunk beds. My ds is moving into our spare room. I'm hoping that we can use the box room eventually to store some of their toys and then hopefully move to a bigger house so we have some spare rooms.

I feel a bit guilty that my due date is so close to her starting school. I'm unlikely to be allowed to go over my due date due to previous complications. Just hope she settles in OK.

@Kirky658 we live in Scotland and took my dd to see my family in Manchester (about a 4 hour drive) when she was 6 weeks old. It was mostly fine, we stopped regularly to get her out of the car seat and for breastfeeding. We stopped in a topps tiles carpark as she had done a poo and I needed to change her. Unfortunately she wasn't quite done and as I opened her nappy I got a real fright. I had to take cover it was that bad. Anytime we go back to Manchester we point it out to her. If you feel physically up to it go for it x

My girls share have always shared a room, there’s a 2 year age gap. It has its downfalls such as when one wakes up randomly, the other tends to wake up too and you’re left with two unsettled children at 3am. But even with that I (and they) love sharing and it’s just a lovely bonding experiencing. They’re currently going through a phase of camping out on their bedroom floor so they sleep on their bedding on their floor and they love it. It also makes toys and books sharing easier too because then everything is in one place

@sceptre86 hahaha that did make me chuckle!!!! Lol. I'm just worrying about the rule that they can only be in their car seat for 45 mins or so at a time, would be a pain having to stop so regularly 😔 have to see how it goes. As you can all probably tell I'm a massive overthinker and worrier and like to have things planned so I know what's happening ASAP!

@Kirky658 definitely have a look into it but I’m sure it’s about 2 hours they are allowed in the car seat for. Hope that’s right so it makes it a bit easier for you 🤞🏼🤞🏼

Yeah I thought it was 2 hours too @Kirky658 so a nice decent pit stop half way up and you should be fine :)

@cherlw @sp2bx thanks ladies, I think my bestie told me 45 mins when she had her little man 18 months ago but maybe I misheard her! Just been reading up about it and they recommend no more than 2 hours so that should be fine x

@Kirky658 I agree with the others & someone on here said it as well that it's 2 hrs they can stay in the car seat. So
That should definitely help things.

My friend has the same pram that you've bought & she said it's brilliant. They went for the full travel package as well & is one I'm seriously considering but want to see it 'in person' so to speak & try it out

At our pram/car seat appointment they told us they’re allowed in the car seat for 45mins at a time up until 6 months old then it’s 2 hours at a time. They told us in the shop though that they baby only needs to be taken out for a minute or two after 45mins before they can go back in.

@Kirky658 I used the guidance in this article (or one remarkably similar to it) when I had my first baby: www.madeformums.com/news/newborn-safety-in-car-seats/

In essence: No longer than 2 hours at a stretch. If baby is younger than 4 weeks and travelling for over 30 minutes there should be breaks every 30 minutes and an adult in the back of the car to monitor them.

I'd definitely wait until baby is over 4 weeks old to do your trip, but you should be fine after that as long as you have a pit stop or two!

Based on my experience travelling with my first baby I'd certainly consider a 4 hour car trip once baby is past 4 weeks old and you don't have to stop as frequently. I would try to avoid making concrete plans, though, as you never know how you'll be feeling at 4 weeks. It all depends on recovery from (and type of) birth, how feeding is going, how baby is sleeping, etc... crucially, I found driving long stretches challenging due to sleep deprivation!

@leftitlate37 my bump has also popped (23 weeks), I've definitely moved past the 'eaten too much and bloated' phase! 🤣

Me too! I'm almost at the point where my belly button is going to pop out & at 23 weeks still got plenty of growing to do.

@Poppins2016 interesting article, thank you for sharing. It's funny (not haha) that when all my family & friends were having babies 10 or so yrs ago they'd think nothing of walking round town with the baby in the car seat, or meeting for a coffee with friends & baby is in the car seat the whole time. I'm now debating whether it's worth getting a pram with the travel system, or just getting a separate car seat that just stays in the car all the time.

@GWhiteley I agree!

But...
I must say that I'd recommend getting a pram/travel system that enables you to attach the car seat (or has compatible adaptors if it's not purpose made).
We decided not to bother with my first and it could be quite inconvenient for short trips out (i.e. just popping to a shop for something), especially if baby had fallen asleep in the car seat... e.g. I used to hate having to inevitably wake my (sleep hating) son in order to put him in the pram for all of 10 minutes before going back in the car seat.

I will be getting car seat adaptors for the chassis I already own this time around. I know I won't regret it!

@Poppins2016 that's certainly food for thought, as hadn't thought of that scenario. Perhaps the travel system is worthwhile then.

It is a bit frustrating the whole 30 minutes thing, as my parents live 40-45 mins away from me. That would mean stopping part way there to take baby out for a bit & so making the journey that much longer! And what do you do with the baby once you've stopped?

@GWhiteley ... but it's only the 30 min guideline for the first 4 weeks or so and in that short time visitors should be coming to you anyway! (If possible of course...)

After that the 40-45 mins should be fine. I have to say I'd be inclined to do it anyway considering it's only an extra 10 mins on the "guideline" but I'd sit in the back with them just to be on the safe side. Like you said in previous post, these guidelines never used to exist, so as long as you aren't making the journey multiple times a day (!) I think you'd be alright...

@GWhiteley I made a long (1 hr) car journey for a wedding (overnight stay) when my son was 3 weeks old. We just stopped in a car park, took baby out for a cuddle/fresh air and that was about it! Admittedly it did feel like a bit of a palaver... but as @SP2Bx said, visitors will preferably come to you with such a new baby and not the other way around!

Gosh, I haven't logged in for a while, there is a lot of catching up to do! Need to check out all the recommendations :) just an update that I have had my 20 week rescan at 22 weeks and everything looks okay. Last time baby was being stubborn and wouldn't move at all, this time wouldn't stop moving. Sonographer repeatedly said this one is a right monkey haha! Unfortunately they couldn't tell the sex again so we are having a surprise due 8th September

@KHR1 at the age of 2 I was finding I could usually go out with just a drink, snack and nappy 'clutch' changing bag for DS (perhaps some additional clothes if activities necessitated). He's be almost 3 when this baby is born and I'm planning on taking the essentials for him in the same bag as for baby. Fingers crossed he'll be potty trained by then, so fewer nappies to carry, but I guess we'll see! A friend has just had her second baby with a similar age child and she's done the same (all supplies in the same bag).

As a general aside, on the changing bag note, I LOVE clutch style changing bag/mat combinations, I've been using the same one (washed!) for 2.5 years now (similar to the one I linked to but bought off Amazon for much less...) These bags are great for moments when you don't want (or need) to lug a big changing bag around.

@SillyBry bunk beds are genius, such a space saver!

Congratulations @LittleAurora 💙

@Sceptre86 we live in Scotland too! Our little one starts school in August too, by the time I use up holidays I'll finish work roughly a week or so after she starts school but will likely be working from home by then. I agree with the travelling, my sister is in Lincolnshire and we just made lots of stops when DD was a baby. @Kirky658 we had an unscheduled stop for projectile vomit once, that wasn't fun! Luckily we were close to a random Lidl and managed to get lots of wipes, febreeze etc to deal with the smell until we arrived at my sister's 🙈 I used to sit in the back with baby while my husband did the driving.

@Mamabearwhere I love that, it reminds me of sharing with my sister growing up. It creates a great bond and best friend for life ❤

@GWhiteley I would second that chassis adapters and a car seat is a lifesaver in certain situations... I wouldn’t advocate keeping them in there for too long... but SUCH a pain if they are asleep and you simply need to run into the shop to grab milk and a new-mum emergency chocolate bar 😉🤣
Or even taking them into health visitor appointments etc - just carrying them in in the car seat.
It’s not long before they move into the next stage up, which you don’t have the option and it’s suddenly a bit of a pain!
(But it does drive me nuts when I see people around town using it as a main pushchair!!)
You can get little mirrors that you put on the headrest so you can see baby in the rear view mirror, which is really handy and reassuring! Plus, if we were going for a longer journey, one of us would generally sit in the back, just to keep an eye. But it’s such a short time you can only got 30-45 mins before getting them out - and generally just lifting them out for 5 minutes is enough.