Can you Aussie Mums help me please?

[KellyC75]

Hello :wave:

I am emigrating to WA in less than 3 months!

I have 3 Children already, with the youngest only 9 months old, I am also expecting a new arrival in February

I have so many questions, from 'where to buy baby things' 'whats the maternity care like' to 'how do you live a 'normal' life with spiders & snakes that can kill!

Im hoping that some of you Aussie Mummys can help me?

 

[Betheney]

I find this thread so incredibly adorable.

Just like anywhere the maternity care can be good or bad. The biggest question will be if your going to go public or private. I was public and all my family were public and we all had fantastic maternity care. I know you have all your check ups with MW in the UK but it's not like that in Aus. We do have midwife run clinics but they're hard to get into and there isn't that many of them. I had shared care which meant i had all regular check ups at my GPs office (do you call them GP's in the UK?), because the care was shared between him and the hospital. Then halfway through my pregnancy i went under just the hospitals care and was part of a maternity clinic at the hospital i saw a different doctor every check up but an obstetrician overlooked all my notes and file even though i only met her once but i have an incredibly easy pregnancy if i had more problems i would of met with her more often. I liked this because as far as i know if you want an obstetrician without having to pay alot you need to go private and even then i beleive you still have more out of pocket. It also depends if your a low risk pregnancy like me or a high risk pregnancy. My friend was high risk and in the public system so she HAD to have her check ups at the hospital because it's where all the neurologists and specialists were that could help her. Also if your in public 2 midwives deliver the baby at the hospital not a doctor unless there's problems i think. Also your stay in hospital is usually alot longer in Aus than the UK, the midwives like you to stay and recuperate. Generally you stay 3 days if you have a normal pregnancy with no complications and the baby doesn't have jaundice. If you have a cesarean you usually stay 5 days. Everyone likes staying a few days in hospital, you have help and professionals and pain killers!! lol. If you are private i beleive you can stay longer and your husband can stay with you, where as they usually can't in public.

What i find adorable is the fear of snakes and spiders. lol. It's not like your home will be covered in them and they hide in every nook and cranny. It highly depends on where you live, if you live on a farm expect a few snakes a year. If you live in the suburbs or in the city you'll probably never see one. Just because you see a snake also doesn't mean that your instantly dead, snakes don't see people and attack them, just let them be on their merry way. Also not all snakes are deadly, i beleive the red belly and the brown snake are the really scary deadly ones. So if you see a black snake with a red belly stay far far away and also the brown snake! I'm 24 and i think i've only seen one red belly black snake in my life and i was like 7 and we lived on a farm and the more deadly brown snake i've never seen. Plus i think they incubate for the cold months so i think there's like half a year where they don't exist. Spiders? I don't think that many spiders are deadly.... I'm sure some are but i've never heard of someone dying from a spider bite, mind you i can't remember the last time i've heard of someone dying from a snake bite, i'm sure it's happened but it is rare. Many spiders aren't deadly and if your that afraid of them when you see one kill it. They don't sneak up on you and get you when your least expecting. I see daddy long legs and huntsmans all the time and neither are particularly dangerous so i just kill em or leave em alone. I saw a nasty looking spider out in the garden the other day so i killed it, even though it wasn't really near me. You can use certain fly/insect sprays that's designed to go around the outside of your home that can reduce the amount of bugs your home will get.

But seriously you'll probably think nothing of it once you've lived here for a few years. My dad is an old farm man so he's immune to any sign of danger :-S He once picked up a huntsman that was in my car and wound down the window and dropped it out and then had a bit of a chuckle that it bit him. I hate huntsmans they are the most creepy, gross looking spider and they look deadly! but they aren't. After seeing so many for so many years they will stop bothering you once you tell yourself that they aren't dangerous that many time. I go into a room now and if i see one i'll name him, i always say as long as they don't come near me they can live in the corner of my wall.
Huntman! GROSS!
https://www.westaust.net/wildlife/huntsman_spider.jpg

Love

 

[KellyC75]

Thankyou so so much Bethany for taking the time to reply to me ~

I know that here in the Uk, we are really lead to believe that spiders & snakes will be after us as soon as we get out of the airport!

Also I was having a picnic here on a blanket in the park & so many spiders & bugs were walking over me & my Daughter, I thought....Eeek, what if it was a redback in Australia!

Thankyou for putting my mind at ease & sorry for sounding a bit silly!

Where do you normally buy your baby things? I have all my Daughters things here, but we arent shipping much at all, so will need new cots, toys etc...

 

[Betheney]

I'm in VIC which has alot of baby bunting stores, they're like a mega store kind of baby store and they have a website, Toy's r us have a baby section that is also reasonably big, but other than that there really is just small independently owned stores, or where i used to live there was no big baby super stores so friends got their baby stuff from target, big W, Kmart.

Where about's in WA are you moving to? are you going to be in more like one of the outback areas? WA get's pretty hot and your moving right around summer :-S it's going to be a bit of a shock.

I can't remember the last time i saw a red back spider but if it puts your mind at ease mmy brother was bitten as a baby (when we lived on the farm) mum said he went from being a happy happy baby to vomitting by the time they got to the shopping centre and here he is alive and well. The hospital just fixed him up and he's fine.

I just found this article that tells you the two most poisonous spiders in Australia is the red back and the funnel web. You will be quite surprised to hear that no one has died from them in a very very very long time, we have anti-venoms available and you have days to administer it after you have been bitten if you need it at all (most people don't). No one has died from the most dangerous funnel web since 1984 when they made the anti-venom and before that it was one death per year. So as you can see it really isn't the dire situation it appears to be. lol. When we lived on the farm even as 5 year old kids it was habit to bang your shoes against the ground in case there was spiders in them. lol.

so in summary worst case scenario you do get bitten your probably going to be perfectly fine but if you have a worse reaction to the majority of people you just get an anti-venom.

https://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/australian_spiders.html

It's the bloody crocodiles i'm terrified of!!! lol. Probably becausee i've never lived in an area where they live. So it's much like your fear of spiders and snakes. You'll know if your in a crocodile area and if you are just stay away from the water. lol. Everytime i hear of a crocodile death the story always follows as "althought known as a crocodile infested area the family still built a house by the water and even though successfully living there for 5 years it seems a crocodile has finally taken one of them" or the "they never usually come this far up the river" IT ONLY TAKES ONE BLOODY TIME!!!

Snakes i don't know so much about....

LOVE

 

[wouldluvabub]

Ha ha your so funny! I am the BIGGEST sook ever when it comes to spiders and snakes. I have never seen a wild snake in my life and I am 21 and grew up in a house that backed onto bush. As for spiders I just keep a can of bug spray around completely drown any I see.. Yes I have one in my bedside table so I don't need to take my eye of it before I can get to the spray.. Only thing worse then a spider in your room is a lost spider in your room! Ha ha I also have on in my bathroom lol but as I said I have a BIG fear of them!

As far as where to buy your baby things I can't be alot of help as I am from Victoria which is the other side of Australia so I am SURE it is a bit different!

 

[MikaylasMummy]

hehehe this thread made me chuckle..i am on the central coast in NSW..baby stores, i like babies r us as they often have lots of specials and cots, nappies, cradles ect are often half price and there is always at least one on sale. i got most of my swings, playmats cradles ect from there. as for clothes i wouldnt go toys r us they are often overprices for what they are i have found..i LOVE LOVE LOVE pumpkin patch for all the kids nice outfits but they are one of the most expensive stores so if you dont like to spend a lot i wouldnt step foot in there!kmart, big w and best n less are the best for cheap but cute kids and babies clothes. target has become a bit more expensive these days but its my second favourite to pumpkin patch so i get the remainder of my baby clothes from there..lol.so pumpkin patch, target, kmart, big w and best n less =)

with maternity care it depends on you pregnancy really. i have very very complicated rare problems in my pregnancies(the only two iv had anyway) the first baby i went through the public(free) system..through my pregnancy i had no problem until the end, you have no choice if u think something is wrong and want to be heard about an induction, csection or any of the like.i had really high bloodpressure but NOT preeclampsia but i had to wait with high bp for 4 days until they could fit me in for an induction..i ended up having major complications at delivery HOWEVER i could not fault the hospital for their handling of an emergency all the drs peads and nurses were flooding the room..in a public hospital there is a lot more hands on deck and they have more equiptment i think..however after the birth although my placenta was in peices and i immediatley got shivers and a bad temp they left a chunck of placenta in me that was there for four weeks til i pushed my way in to have them see me and get it removed(after being very very sick obviously for these four weeks) the difference with private is it is much more about your choice. your care is very personalised as you pay for your own private obstetrician and the private hospitals are much more happy for you to duck in ANYTIME you feel something may not be right..that was the biggest positive for me in my second pregnancy as i had a cervix giving way at 20weeks so any pain i panicked and since i was used to the public system i was worried the midwives would get annoyed at me just coming in but the first time i rang they were amazing and forced me to agree that any time at all i was worried or just had questions to go right in to the hospital and see them. the one time i went in for monitering i got treated very well..and the actual hospital was much nicer..but you pay through the nose for the obstetrician and you MUST have private health care for the private hospital otherwise its a few thousand dollars..

as for the snakes and spiders..i lived in the country for the first 7 years of my life and dont think i ever saw a snake..likewise as an adult i have only seen very small snakes and i live in a suburban area but one that backs onto a rainforest..although once there was a bright green snake hanging from our roof..
spiders however..i would say i am borderline arachnophobic..im not sure what its like overseas with spiders, so i cant say theres a normal amount..but i totally depends on where u live..my parents living near the rainforest had a few spiders outside but nothing i would deem deadly..you just squash them or spray them and although i would totally get the heebyjeebies doing it they really wont kill you..at my oh's parents house there is tonnes and tonnes of redbacks outside in all the kids toys..his dad hunts them out everytime the kids want to go outside..unfortunatly i would say a red back could probably be more deadly to a small child..although most places have a hospital nearby and if u get there quick enough not many things can kill you..hope this helps and your not too scared..a majority of spiders that get inside are huntsmans and daddy long legs..even i am not afraid of daddy long legs, and huntsmens look like the most disgusting scary things ever but dont bite/hurt you as one person said her dad was bitten and laughed(eeek!!)

 

[Betheney]

ooooooh baby clothes. I could talk for hours on baby clothes.

Where i live in Melbourne there is a monstrous sized shopping centre they brag the biggest in the southern hemisphere but i think it's by number of shops and not the physical size. They have so many baby stores and i'm addicted to all of them. You probably have most of them in UK like GAP and such. My favorites by far are Seed and Bardot Jnr, they are expensive but they're the best if you don't want to go to high end fashion like ralph lauren and such. I think country road would come in 3rd! oh they have the most gorgeous clothing for our little tots. I buy most of my stuff from these 3 stores. But there are tonnes others Run scotty run is cute they have alot of bright colours usually and alot of T-shirts and hoodies and jeans and more sensible childrens clothing but they have extremely small sizes!! trust me when i say that. I'm yet to find an item of clothing that isn't way too small of theirs, Eva wear 2 sizes up of theirs. Then i guess there's Osh Kosh, i like osh kosh they have some really cute stuff, the girl stuff is really pink and girly colours which i'm not really into plus i'm a bit of a snob and stopped buying Osh Kosh when they started selling it at the major outlets like Big W and Toy's r us (babies r us section). Kmart, Big W, Target all have really cheap stuff but i've never shopped at them, the only stuff i have from those stores were gifts and those clothing items from there aren't very good quality, but you would expect that as it's so cheap you get what you pay for i suppose. I like pumpkin patch, it's got some great stuff, outside of target, big W and K-mart they would have to have the most amount of baby/kids clothing shops out there, every major town is guaranteed to have a pumpkin patch i don't buy much there as i find every baby is always dressed head to toe in pumpkin patch and i hate when i see Eva wearing the same stuff as someone else, i mean i have 3 pumpkin patch stores in a 15 minute radius of my house, if i change that to 30 mins it would probably more than double. But i am in a capital city so it's different, when i lived in the country the closest one was 40 mins away and other that probably over an hour. David jones and Myer have great baby sections, i prefer david jones but Myer nearly always have a sale rack and Bardot Jnr at 50% off is quite exciting......

I could talk for hours about baby clothes, Eva's wardrobe is effing amazing, that child has the most divine clothing.

This is a country road hat
https://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/262057_10150299271869468_654784467_9150567_6362687_n.jpg

This is a Bardot Jnr dress, i cant really remember how much it cost but i think it was around the $40 mark maybe more maybe less, but it's actually a top in a larger size but she'll wear it as a dress then a top. If i'm spending that much she's going to get some bloody wear out of it.
https://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/283373_10150330933674468_654784467_9486144_2023019_n.jpg

Run scotty run Pinnafore and a seed top.
https://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/293241_10150344650164468_654784467_9623897_7453148_n.jpg

Bnb need a baby fashion section, i could talk for HOURS!

 

[KellyC75]

Ladies ~ You are all stars

Thankyou so much for your replies, I really appreciate it

I am still nervous about the redback situation, mainly for the kiddies My Daughter is a drama queen already & even if she hasnt really hurt herself, you'd think it was something terible! So im worried about knowing if a spider has bitten her

I cant believe its only 50 something days until we fly!

 

[angiepie]

Don't be too concerned about spiders. Redbacks tend to stay out of the way. I've only ever had 2 encounters with them and one was tiny. Just be mindful of them in the garden and dark places. One little one I encountered was in a drain in the back yard of my boss' house and oddly, a large one on a garden hose in my mother's backyard. This is an unlikely place though as it was in full sun. Just keep crawling insect spray or spider spray handy. Failing that, squish them with a thong [or flip flop, whatever you call them]. Try not to be freaked out about it or it may rub onto your kids!

I live in Sydney but in a bushy area so we have some spiders and I've never been bitten. On my hundreds of camping trips I've encountered many dangerous animals and never had a bad experience. The saying that they're more scared of you is true. Stamp your feet and make noise they will go away before you even see them! Otherwise retreat slowly.

 

[KellyC75]

Don't be too concerned about spiders. Redbacks tend to stay out of the way. I've only ever had 2 encounters with them and one was tiny. Just be mindful of them in the garden and dark places. One little one I encountered was in a drain in the back yard of my boss' house and oddly, a large one on a garden hose in my mother's backyard. This is an unlikely place though as it was in full sun. Just keep crawling insect spray or spider spray handy. Failing that, squish them with a thong [or flip flop, whatever you call them]. Try not to be freaked out about it or it may rub onto your kids!

I live in Sydney but in a bushy area so we have some spiders and I've never been bitten. On my hundreds of camping trips I've encountered many dangerous animals and never had a bad experience. The saying that they're more scared of you is true. Stamp your feet and make noise they will go away before you even see them! Otherwise retreat slowly.

Thankyou ~ That is very re-assuring

I know we have to 'be aware'...But I just dont want it taking over my life

You dont find them lurking under toilet seats do you?...

 

[angiepie]

Haha. Why do people always think this? I have never encountered a spider, snake, frog, mosquito or Christmas beetle in the toilet. Although I do encounter my cat drinking out of the toilet a lot ever since we broke the lid. I think I have heard one snake in the S-bend story when I was a little kid & it was in tropical north QLD. Seriously, nothing under or in the toilets. It's really not like people make seem.

 

[Betheney]

i've seen alot of frogs in toilets, they like the damp

 

[angiepie]

i've seen alot of frogs in toilets, they like the damp

Really? In Melbourne? Weird, maybe coz it's rainier? But here in Sydney I've never encountered that. Seen thousands of toads in QLD and Northern NSW tho. They're so gross,

Oh wait, there was one time a tree frog [it was the greenest little guy I've ever seen!] that somehow got into my parents house one summer and the little guy ran out of moisture and got stuck to the carpet! But then my dad found him, ran him under the tap and put him back in the yard. tree frogs are a pleasant surprise though.

OP, he looked something like this. https://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/addfiles/images/mrbbg/green_tree_frog.jpg Harmless little guy, I'd love a frog as a pet but my cats would eat it.

 

[KellyC75]

Haha. Why do people always think this? I have never encountered a spider, snake, frog, mosquito or Christmas beetle in the toilet. Although I do encounter my cat drinking out of the toilet a lot ever since we broke the lid. I think I have heard one snake in the S-bend story when I was a little kid & it was in tropical north QLD. Seriously, nothing under or in the toilets. It's really not like people make seem.

I think in the Uk, when people talk of Australia, this is what they say...I think the spiders under the toilet seats come from when it was outside toilets...I am not using outdoor public toilets I must admit!

I really do appreciate your re-assuring posts

i've seen alot of frogs in toilets, they like the damp

In house toilets!?!

 

[Betheney]

Not in Melbourne it was in NSW when i lived in Newcastle, and it was in my primary school. lol. So yes they were outside toilets but it was seriously a weekly thing. We weren't in any kind of forest area or anything either.

 

[angiepie]

Interesting. Well it is kinda rural, more so than Sydney anyway. Ah well, I'd laugh at finding a frog...not a spider or a snake though. Thank goodness I don't live in Queensland and find snakes in my house [happened to my aunt TWICE, once in Brisbane and once in Coffs Harbour] or have crocodiles in the local storm water. :O I like the non-tropics. It's rather 'safe' in comparison. Although I do have to fight off Ibises and Seagulls from my lunch, occasionally. Ew.

 

[Leopard]

With the toilet, the most common thing we get is a frog in the toilet. Had a huntsman in there once, but we just relocated him to the backyard.
Redbacks have a tendency to hide in the corner of sheds!
Watch out for mice though, they love kids cereal in the cupboard, so make sure you get some sealed containers!
As for snakes, well they prefer to avoid people (unless you have a stupid cat that brings home a tiger snake and it kills her )
Bugs are not too big of a problem, though midgies and mosquitos drive me up the wall!

 

[KellyC75]

With the toilet, the most common thing we get is a frog in the toilet. Had a huntsman in there once, but we just relocated him to the backyard.
Redbacks have a tendency to hide in the corner of sheds!
Watch out for mice though, they love kids cereal in the cupboard, so make sure you get some sealed containers!
As for snakes, well they prefer to avoid people (unless you have a stupid cat that brings home a tiger snake and it kills her )
Bugs are not too big of a problem, though midgies and mosquitos drive me up the wall!

Thankyou Where abouts in Australia do you live?

We were SOR in WA in March & the mosquitos were just terrible!

So, now im NOT getting a shed, a garage or a cat!!

And ewww about the mice in cereal! Is that even in built up areas?

 

[Leopard]

Oh yes, even in middle of the city you get mice; especially when the annual mice plague sweeps over Aus. Personally I a in QLD but my cousins reside in WA along with a few friends. Cats are awesome for mice and rats, but when it comes to snakes some are just silly. Though we had a ginger dairy cat a few years ago and he killed every snake he came across, we thought he would die from a snake bite but a stomach infection got him instead.

As I said, with the mice just go down to your local cheap store (like Crazy Clarks, Dollars and Sense, Go Lo etc) they usually have really cheap seal-able 'tupperware' type containers. I've never paid more than $9 for a set (usually about $2-$5). We store everything in them with labels. So sugar goes in one, flour in another, cereal usually goes in the sealed cereal dispenser. So they are an awesome investment. Also another tip is after you have used a coffee jar keep it for your hubbies nuts and bolts etc, they come in real handy!

 

[KellyC75]

Hi Girls :wave:

I am now an 'Aussie Mum' too We arrived on Friday

I have a question about formula milk, if anyone can help me please, back in the UK, I used Aptamill follow on milk, my Daughter is almost 1 year old & im wondering what to do, as if I am to continue with formula, I need to choose a new brand....