Due in June 2014!(88 sunflowers), 37 (blue), 24 (pink), (48) here!

[Boothh]

Oh yeah I need to update my boots thing to be in parenting club again!

 

[trinity_enigm]

Glad the physios working out for you! After moaning this morning I'm actually having a relatively pain free day- I think it must be because I swapped my boots with a slight heel for flat ballet pumps today so think that might be helping. Will see how it is tonight as usually gets worse in the evening.

As much as I want to feel better, it blooming typical that I'm feeling better today as have a midwife appointment tomorrow and don't want to bring it up if it's righted itself but also don't want to miss the opportunity if it's just a good day iyswim?

 

[minni2906]

Definitely feel you ladies on the pain. My hips have been killing me since before I knew I was pregnant! I have tried everything to relieve it but nothing seems to work. Little girl will be worth it though.

 

[Sizzles]

Thanks for the info re Bounty packs ladies. I agree that a pair of scratch mitts barely counts as 'baby clothing' and isn't worth going out of the way for. I've already bought a pack of scratch mitts (maybe a couple of pairs??), but it never occurred to me that it wouldn't actually be necessary! I shan't buy any more - as you say, many of the sleepsuits come with built-in scratch mitts.

Oh my goodness! OH and I have just had an hour long conversation about travel systems/prams/car seats! It's defo a case of 'confused.com' at our house! I've said that the only real way to tackle this is to talk to our friends who have babies/young children and also to go somewhere where we can be guided. His concern is that anywhere that sells these things will have sales in mind when they advise us, but I still think it's a starting point. How did you all come to a decision on what to buy? And also, how many car seats do you end up having?

 

[joeyjo]

Personally I bought a baby car seat but don't like using them on a pushchair so never bothered with the adaptors etc for the pushchair.

With the pram/pushchair you need to decide what is important to you...
Size - most importantly folded size & your boot size!
Ease of fold - especially important if you take buses etc.
Parent facing - how long for just till 6mths or thru the toddler years (my son is 26mths and still parent facing. I feel the benefits of parent facing increase as he gets older!
Bassinet/carrycot, soft baby nest or lie flat seat - in the UK all these options are ok in June IMO but here in Spain I think a soft baby nest type would be too hot, likewise in a cold environment a lie flat seat could be harder to keep baby warm in.
Car seat able to go on wheels if that's what you want
Shopping basket size (surprisingly important!)

Car seats - we have had an infant carrier and then upsized to kiddy seats with an impact shield. We looked at extended rear facing seats but they were difficult to fit in our old car. We have baby seats then our kiddy seats are 1-12yrs. So 2 seats per kids. We only have one car but I would consider buying duplicate car seats if we bought a second car so we could have 1 person drop off. & the other pick up etc...

 

[LalaR]

We have isofix car seats. My little girl is still in the rear facing baby carrier but will move into the next stage forward facing before baby arrives. Both fit the same isofix base so we have 2 bases. (Maxi cosi pebble and pearl with the family fix base.)
We went to a mothercare expectant parent event for info/advice and there was no pressure to buy.

I was keen for a lie flat carrycot option for our pram so we could use it for night sleeping for trips away and daytime sleeps in the house. It was so handy! At 6 months we moved onto the pushchair with lie flat setting if needed. Now baby #2 is coming I'm hoping to find a tandem with a carrycot.

 

[1eighty]

How are you ladies dealing with pgp/spd?...did anyone else find it easy to get referred to physio or anything like that?

self-referred and an appointment within a week. any time i need to see them again, i call up and again i'm in within a week i have exercises which i'm supposed to do but keep forgetting, advice (not to overdo it basically, if i go out for a short walk on monday i'm to stay in on tuesday etc) and a super sexy tubigrip to help support the bump.

I've also got to collect my free change bag from boots. It's quite good the freebies you can get.

hell yeah! i signed up with everyone BUT boots the last time, so this time imma get me a free change bag

And also, how many car seats do you end up having?

we currently have 4 carseats for 1 baby. HAHAHAHAHA yeah. the infant carrier that came with his pram, he was in that til his head reached the top. then we moved him to a group 1-2-3 but felt it was too upright for him as he'd still fall asleep in the car easily at that stage, so got a second hand group 1 forward facing but reclining one that he's in at the moment. my dad has the 1-2-3 seat in his car as he has taylor quite often, then i got a new 0-1 seat (rear and forward facing) for the minion for when he outgrows the infant carrier. will look into another 1-2-3 seat for dad's car when the time comes, and then booster seats for later. *phew*

I was keen for a lie flat carrycot option for our pram so we could use it for night sleeping for trips away and daytime sleeps in the house. It was so handy! At 6 months we moved onto the pushchair with lie flat setting if needed.

this is where the umove is great. the infant carrier will do for the minion to sleep in (taylor did for a while when the colic was bad) and the main pram lies flat, it's where taylor has the majority of his naps today. so in a pinch all we need is the pram and carrier and a couple of blankets for staying over places.

 

[Ibelieveitwil]

1

 

[Boothh]

I got the bounty pack today from boots and was quite impressed I actually got loads of stuff!
A hooded towel
Mini sudocrem
Pack of dettol wipes
Sachet of ovaltine
Some fairy washing tablets
And some decent sized samples of cussons hand sanitizer, stretch mark cream and baby bath. Gonna get the Emma's diary bags when DH gives me the vouchers I made him print out that are still in his work bag lol!

So I went to hosp again today and have been given lots of vit D supplements.. 5 a day!! So thinking I must be quite deficient. Also had my thyroid checked and calcium levels.
AND I saw my old consultant from when I had teddy today and she straight away asked me if I wanted to change to her clinic instead of the one I was already under and I said yes! So feeling a lot happier now I have a consultant I get on with!

 

[trinity_enigm]

Ok I am sure that the fruit tickers are wrong. I've gone from a grapefruit which has to be a maximum of like 15cms to a cantaloupe that has to be about 25 cms. I have another size visualiser on an app that I've just discovered that says I was a grapefruit at 19 weeks, a cantaloupe at 21 weeks and an eggplant for the last couple of weeks. It's so very random!!

 

[Sizzles]

Ok I am sure that the fruit tickers are wrong. I've gone from a grapefruit which has to be a maximum of like 15cms to a cantaloupe that has to be about 25 cms. I have another size visualiser on an app that I've just discovered that says I was a grapefruit at 19 weeks, a cantaloupe at 21 weeks and an eggplant for the last couple of weeks. It's so very random!!

I'm with you there Trinity! I'm kind of ignoring the fruit ticker now, but still red the 'info' part. I agree that it seems completely random, although I think the earlier weeks were ok.

 

[joeyjo]

My pregnancy app says baby at 23weeks is 11.5inches long and the size of a large mango - 11.5inches is a massively large mango!!!

I've been feeling a bit weird about the approaching V-day next week. Almost don't want it to arrive, I don't think I'll feel relaxed until more like 32weeks and obviously I really want baby to cook till term. I didn't feel this apprehensive with the others but last time I shared a due date with a close family friend, her baby arrived over 3 months early and it was so surreal to look at him and know that inside me was the same! He is doing remarkably fine but they had such a hard start - he was their first, the thought of going thru what they did and having the other 2 to look after and being in a foreign country is terrifying I know it probably won't happen anyway but to me V day just doesn't really feel like a landmark this time.

 

[LalaR]

I know what you mean joeyjo, I'm at v day today but I worked for a wee while in nicu and I know how scary a very prem baby would be. Hoping our squiggle cooks for a long time yet.

 

[Boothh]

Jo I know what you mean, it is scary and it only gets scarier with the more responsibility you already have! Hopefully none of us go before 37 weeks and all have lovely healthy babies x

 

[trinity_enigm]

My pregnancy app says baby at 23weeks is 11.5inches long and the size of a large mango - 11.5inches is a massively large mango!!!

I've been feeling a bit weird about the approaching V-day next week. Almost don't want it to arrive, I don't think I'll feel relaxed until more like 32weeks and obviously I really want baby to cook till term. I didn't feel this apprehensive with the others but last time I shared a due date with a close family friend, her baby arrived over 3 months early and it was so surreal to look at him and know that inside me was the same! He is doing remarkably fine but they had such a hard start - he was their first, the thought of going thru what they did and having the other 2 to look after and being in a foreign country is terrifying I know it probably won't happen anyway but to me V day just doesn't really feel like a landmark this time.

Try not to think of it in the bad terms but the good terms- none of us want a little premmie because it's a hard start in life but it's better than the alternative- I'm just pleased that my little bubba has a chance now that he/she didn't have before but I still hope it stays cooking for as long as possible.

 

[Boothh]

I got the bounty pack today from boots and was quite impressed I actually got loads of stuff!
A hooded towel
Mini sudocrem
Pack of dettol wipes
Sachet of ovaltine
Some fairy washing tablets
And some decent sized samples of cussons hand sanitizer, stretch mark cream and baby bath. Gonna get the Emma's diary bags when DH gives me the vouchers I made him print out that are still in his work bag lol!

So I went to hosp again today and have been given lots of vit D supplements.. 5 a day!! So thinking I must be quite deficient. Also had my thyroid checked and calcium levels.
AND I saw my old consultant from when I had teddy today and she straight away asked me if I wanted to change to her clinic instead of the one I was already under and I said yes! So feeling a lot happier now I have a consultant I get on with!

Forgot to say there was also a 7 days worth of pregnacare!
Definitely worth filling the form in from the first pack x

 

[1eighty]

re: the fruit tickers - depends on where the fruit is. in the uk, a "large" avocado is perhaps 2/3rds - 3/4ths the length of your hand. in zimbabwe, a "regular" avocado is longer and fatter than your hand. similar disparity is found in eggplants, mangoes. lemons and limes over there are huge compared with what you get in the supermarkets over here. even bell peppers are larger, though not by such a large margin.


afm: i'm in at the shrink tomorrow. i think i need back on meds asap. my moods - unstable but tolerable until recently - have begun to cycle in a way that i can't predict, and the cycling is getting faster. i'm really struggling, esp when DS has a bad night/day. so, best to get it sorted now and get something i can take and safely BF with after.

 

[Sizzles]

I was very excited to pick up my Bounty pack today. (for those of you who may recall, I had trouble getting the initial pack, but in the end they sent me one).
Mine had:
a hooded towel
2 Persil washing liquid samples
1 Fairy washing tablet sample
1 dishwasher tablet sample
Asda scratch mitts
Mum & Me mini samples (as Boothh listed)
mini pot of sudocreme
sachet of Ovaltine
Pack of Dettol wipes
A weeks supply of Pregnacare vitamins

I excitedly told OH (he was less excited!) that in a few weeks time I get to pick up another freebie pack! (Emma's Diary) It's the little things...

 

[Boothh]

Sizzles - those mum and me samples are huge for samples arnt they!! Like travel size amounts not stingy like usual I'm really impressed with them!
And I thought the vouchers in were quite good too like quite big savings with them, they have deffo improved in the last 5 years x

 

[BabyMaybe917]

I know what you mean, I am in quite a bit of pain myself, but I think that it may be because I am overdoing things a bit. I'm not doing anythingabout it right now, except try to slow down a bit, but it's easier said than done!
Anyway, it's V-day for me today!!!

Happy V-Day!!!

Thanks for the info re Bounty packs ladies. I agree that a pair of scratch mitts barely counts as 'baby clothing' and isn't worth going out of the way for. I've already bought a pack of scratch mitts (maybe a couple of pairs??), but it never occurred to me that it wouldn't actually be necessary! I shan't buy any more - as you say, many of the sleepsuits come with built-in scratch mitts.

Oh my goodness! OH and I have just had an hour long conversation about travel systems/prams/car seats! It's defo a case of 'confused.com' at our house! I've said that the only real way to tackle this is to talk to our friends who have babies/young children and also to go somewhere where we can be guided. His concern is that anywhere that sells these things will have sales in mind when they advise us, but I still think it's a starting point. How did you all come to a decision on what to buy? And also, how many car seats do you end up having?

We had two brands that I narrowed down based on safety testing, friends recommendations, and online reviews. I ultimately decided on a Graco. I'm not sure what options you have where you are. It's a pretty common/popular brand around here though. And the one I found has the most adorable pink/purple colors!

Ok I am sure that the fruit tickers are wrong. I've gone from a grapefruit which has to be a maximum of like 15cms to a cantaloupe that has to be about 25 cms. I have another size visualiser on an app that I've just discovered that says I was a grapefruit at 19 weeks, a cantaloupe at 21 weeks and an eggplant for the last couple of weeks. It's so very random!!

I've used a couple different apps from my phone trying to find one I like and I've found the same thing. Some of them give measurements for one week then a week later the other app gives the same measurements. I finally just picked the one that was easiest to use and go by that. It's all a general idea of size anyways. Our baby girl measures ahead pretty consistently in weight and length measurements so it's probably off even more because of that.