June 2023 Babies ☀️ (thread four)

[firsttimelondonmummy]

Hey all,
We are getting close to full so getting another thread ready 😊

Thank you all for your support! Makes me feel less insane 😂 they absolutely were just trying to be nice but I don't think they realise how important it is to me!

@BellaTheDarkOverlordthats what DH has suggested, that they keep it at theirs for babysitting purposes. Just seems stupid to pass off a free pram, DH is so money conscientious and don't want him to be upset!

@firsttimelondonmummy that's a lovely idea! We had a covid wedding and didn't get any presents so quite looking forward to our baby shower, as selfish as that sounds!!

@C1umsyGiraffe not selfish at all! ❤️
On this occasion we were just fortunate enough to not need the gifts and preferred to support a great cause rather than to upset people due to being so fussy and a terrible pair of liars 😂

@C1umsyGiraffe your feeling are totally valid. I have three buggies ! One at my in laws , one at home and one at my parents. Both parties picked a buggy of their choice .

(If you are able to - please try and get a pram of your choice ❤️)

gifts are so hard - everyone has such different choice . I had a amazon wish list and if anyone wanted to give anything or contribute they could it didn’t have to be purchased from Amazon . My wish list mainly contained items under 30 pounds . Anything over I hid it on my wish list from viewing as I didn’t want anyone to spend anything above 30.

@BellaTheDarkOverlord Omg 😱 the comments about not getting a hysterectomy- that’s your choice !

@firsttimelondonmummy @Kladebs Sending lots of well wishes !!

@Zaalfruit those Amazon lists are a great idea as I believe it tells people once an item has been purchased to ensure people don’t double buy too.

Thanks for the well wishes too @Zaalfruit 🥰

I've just hung up a load of baby washing. I treated baby to a matching set of fairy detergent and softener. They smell so lovely!

@DrinkingAllTheGin Fairy non bio are the best!
Me and my sister have super sensitive skin and their pods and conditioner are the only ones that don’t make us flare up 🙏🏻

@C1umsyGiraffe I think it is perfectly reasonable to want to choose your own pushchair, it’s such an essential piece of equipment that you will use day in and day out, I would feel very put out at having this decision made for me.
Like @firsttimelondonmummy I have a terrible poker face and I’m beginning to struggle with the growing selection of pink nylon items I am being gifted by kind family members.
I measured fractionally under the normal measurements at my last midwife appointment and am now waiting for a date for a check up growth scan, can’t help but worry a little even though I have read that bump measurements are pretty inaccurate.
Wishing the best of luck to everyone having check up scans this week x

@dresslol why is girls stuff all that gross pink shade - it annoys me so much . Even bottles why are they pink - I went for the cream mam bottles as the pink foxes mam bottles annoyed me.

If anyone is thinking of expressing and using the Elvie pump, they have a 20% off flash sale until Thursday this week! Thought I’d share ❤️

@Zaalfruit it’s crazy isn’t it, such loaded gender expectations already foisted on tiny babies! And all in that sickly pink, ick.

I’m feeling rather unorganised compared to everyone here, after an early purchase of a pushchair and probably far too many 0-3 clothes I seem to have stalled!

there was mention of a summer baby list… anyone have more of a clue than me?

Also what is your list of household/nursery essentials?

all help gratefully received x

@justbelieve I got told not to buy until you know you can breastfeed as it’s my first and there’s a risk I won’t be able to 😢
It’s aggravating me as I like being organised and I’ve not been able to plan on that front at all.

@dresslol bang on! They are forced into gender expectations from such a young age, it’s awful. I’m actively buying to avoid!
No dinosaur or cartoon clothes, no blue or green no ‘boys toys’.
Me and my partner have had a huge chat about it and will be buying gender neutral wherever possible.
I also hate superhero bedding and rooms so we will be avoiding those movies 😂

@firsttimelondonmummy the films can be the worst influence, the Disney princess movies can be so backward in their gender types, I was really strict with my first two girls, no TV, no screens, no phones or computers; I do think it really helped with avoiding gendered expectations of society and it removed all advertising influences so my kids never asked for any plastic crap.
Lockdown rather scuppered that plan though and the girls have their own laptops now and screen time is creeping up.

@dresslol 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 to everything you said!
We are both very sporty so that’ll be the thing we use to entertain when he’s big enough all being well.
I’d prefer laptops to phones and iPads.
My dad younger kids are glued to their phones all day and evening.

I've never done more than 24 hours breastfeeding before, always switched straight to formula.
Really want to try this time but express too, so I can get help with feeds when there's the option.
I'm so confused on all the different pumps, and I'm on a low budget.

Had scan, twin B hasn't moved, she's still lay transverse but twin A has moved from head down to transverse. Good weights at the mo, 2lb 10 &. 2lb 5. Both fine 😊

If you are after some unsolicited (sorry) breastfeeding/ pump advice. This was my experience. I breastfed for 13 months:

• didn't buy a pump before baby was born as didn't want to spend the £ if couldn't breastfeed. Still think this was the right decision. BUT I would have something in your house that you can express with, or easy access to get something quickly (hand pump or haaka). I had a traumatic birth, a lot of blood loss and it took 5 days for milk to come in and when it did, it came in so hard and fast that I was so engorged we couldn't get any out through hand-expressing (even a lactation consultant couldn't) and the baby couldn't latch as my boobs were too hard and rigid. Admittedly it was lockdown and deliveries were delayed but I'd buy something cheap (£15 etc) to have just in case! I don't want anyone to experience what I did when I genuinely thought my breasts might explode!
• if you do need to pump and up supply etc you can hire hospital grade medela pumps to start you off. They are enormous and you will feel like a cow but it saved my ability to breastfeed. They are only about £50 a month to hire so a good option until you know if you are continuing
• after a few weeks I bought an Elvie and it was the BEST decision I made. The freedom to move around and not be tethered to a plug is a game changer. 100% recommended.

@Zaalfruit Thanks x my mum can make horrible comments all based on looks. I know I'm the fat child to her as my sister and brother are built like sticks and I'm slightly chunkier. She always asks how much weight I've lost when I see her but I'm not dieting which she knows. I try to keep my DD away from her comments.

I'm not too fussed about colours of clothing. Friend gave us tonnes of blue clothes from their boy. SIL gave us loads of pink stuff from their girl. It'll be a mix. I buy what I like the look of however no dresses with tutus attached, I draw I bloody line at those for babies! 😂

@dresslol I'll have a look at summer baby list. DD was summer born too and I suppose lots of short sleeve bodysuits, hats, maybe sun shade attachment for pram. I wonder about purchasing a thermometer for house for if we have a hot summer again. We have a ceiling fan in our room so that should help.

I've packed baby hospital bag and used my old army style backpack which has loads of room. Just need to add in blanket, another set of ready made bottles and wipes to it.

Thank you @BellaTheDarkOverlord your list would be really helpful.

Great to see and hear that little one is doing great at todays scan.
We also got some lovely 4D images of him 🥰

Awww they are brilliant @firsttimelondonmummy 😍!!!
So so cute. How many weeks are you? We're thinking of getting a 4D in a few weeks , excited to see what he will kind of look like as the standard scans don't show much do they.
When we had our 16 week private scan she quickly put it on 4D and tbh he looks pretty scary 😦 hoping he's put on a bit of weight since then haha

@Belami we had a 4D at 18 weeks and I agree it was terrifying 😂
I am 26 weeks 5 days! I didn’t expect it to be so clear tbh it really shocked me.
Sounds weird but we think can already see who’s features he has e.g partners lips and nose and my chin/ chin dimple 🤣

Also thank you @Belami 🥰

So cute those pics! I was thinking of getting one but on all my scans dd2 is covering her face with her little fists so I don't think I'd get a decent look at her anyway 😅I've been trying to work out what she'll look like though. DH has really dark brown hair, I'm dark blonde and dd1 is auburn/ginger. I'm thinking she's going to be dark haired or another lovely auburn/ginger 😍

@BellaTheDarkOverlord ah I’m so jealous that’s such an exciting potential range of features! We are both dark haired with dark eyes so don’t expect we will do much guessing work 😂
Saying that my parents are dark hair dark eyes and my sister came out bright blonde and was till she was 13.
I used to tell her she was adopted, such a mean big sis 😫🤣 we are besties now though!