MSE pregnancy club II

honeybe21

ive lost my belly buttons its official and just 17 weeks its now an outy. its time to get the maternity stuff out which in all honesty im gutted about because before ive managed in non maternity stuff and i hate how much it all costs for how little its worn.
i think im going to start adding baby stuff to shopping from now on aswell so im ready thanks for that idea.

chocaholic110

lunastar wrote: »

hello!! can I join in this thread please, been TTC for our first baby since mid dec and got a positive result just over a week ago. I think my EDD will be the 27th Sep (same as foreversomeday) but have not been to docs yet - appointment on wednesday!!
what will happen at the docs appt??

Nic

Not a lot if anything like my doctor. All I was told was to make a booking appointment with the midwife for when I was 8 weeks pregnant.

Chutzpah

Yes, that was pretty much the same as my wife. Had to wait over a week for an appointment, he told her he had to see a midwife and also told her she could do with losing some weight!!!

chocaholic110

Chutzpah, I agree with you on the male thing. OH and I have had a bit of a traumatic week what with me being admitted to hospital with pre-eclampsia, then having an emergency section because the baby got distressed (not connected with the pre-eclampsia) then post-birth I've developed a liver disorder.

Everyone is very focused upon how I am and forgets OH has had a week just as bad and possibly worse than mine as he has had two of us to worry about. I've noticed this week he's sleeping in more (he's a 5am get up person usually) and he's lost nearly a stone in a week and I can see how he has been affected by it all.

Plus, he's reacted to the baby totally diiferently to our previous two, whether through events of this week or because he's 10 years older than the last time and more mature (though he was 30 last time so you'd think he'd have grown up by then!!) but he's much more emotional and says things that I woldn't expect (He's a very male, non-touchy-feely type truck driver and doesn't like to talk about feelings usually!)

honeybe21

Chutzpah wrote: »

Yes, that was pretty much the same as my wife. Had to wait over a week for an appointment, he told her he had to see a midwife and also told her she could do with losing some weight!!!

wow i feel lucky the only bad experience i had was with a nurse when i had the winter virus and morning sickness and was told to drink cola to ease sickness and be grateful i wasnt like one of her other patients who was 22 weeks pregnant and cudnt get out of bed through sickness.
i walked out almost in tears and gave in and had a lemsip as cola didnt help lol.
thankfully my midwife is genuinly lovely and very funny and always asks my partner how he is and how hes feeling aswell.my doctor is was also very very good getting me an appt with midwife the next day.

chocaholic110

Babies on a budget...we've tried to do it fairly cheaply, though we've been lucky as I have a friend and a cousin who've both recently had baby boys who were quite big so I've had lots of practically brand new newborn gear passed on. Plus, I was given a moses basket, bath, baby bouncer so didn't have to buy them (though did get a new mattress).

If you aren't fussy about second hand things (and lets face it, your baby won't mind) I also got a cot (only 8 weeks old), baby sling, steraliser and a pushchair to stay at Grandma's house from Freecycle. Baby stuff seems to come up fairly regularly and you can always ask and see what you get offered. I plan to freecycle everything i've been given once we're finished with it. I think the only things we've really bought brand new have been the travel system, mattresses, baby grobags, a snow suit and a room thermometer (which was probably not necessary but for my peace of mind)

Also baby bundles of clothes sell fairly cheaply on ebay. They are mostly hardly worn - everyone ends up with far too much, and again baby doesn't know they're second hand. you an always resell them as well once you're finished.

Lots of companies throw freebies and vouchers at you. There is a board somewhere on here with a list but we've got cuddly toys from Cow and Gate and Aptimil and a changing bag from the Boots baby club. Plus, we plan to collect the free nappy system form Argos soon. Boots are especially good for vouchers. We got a good deal when they had baby expert stuff on buy one get one half price and I also had a voucher to get them half price - ended up getting the first item half price (because of the voucher) and the second one free (half price because of the voucher then the other half off because of the instore deal). We stocked up a lot of stuff that way! Plus I've built up a lot of bonus advantage card points using Boots vouchers for baby stuff and we got a load of wipes etc when sainsbury's had BOGOF on them. you just have to watch out for where the deals are really.

Also, when you have a baby, people want to buy you things! You could wait and see what you get, or when they ask what you want, tell them. My Mum bought us a lovely baby gym half price in the Boots sale. It feels a bit cheeky to ask when you're the recipient but I bet you've bought plenty of baby presents over the years!

Finally, think for each item - do I need it? Will I use it? The mothercare catalogue is filled with gorgeous things that you would never actually need / use. They look nice but think whether they're necessary (eg cot sets look lovely but you can't use a duvet on a baby under 1 year and you can't use a cot bumper once baby starts to sit up so is there any point buying them except to make the cot look nice?)

honeybe21

a friend i had, had little money just the maternity grant and wanted to sepdn half of it so £250 on a pram.

another thought that they HAD to buy a baby wipe warmer to protect babys skin from cold wipes?!!!!!!

Fritha_2

Chutzpah wrote: »

And maybe I should expand on my earlier rant about everything being very female-orientated: if you look at all the info you get from a man's point of view it is all on how you can help support your pregnant partner. There is very little talking about how you should be feeling and maybe where you could go for help and support.

My friends recommend this book, it's basically one of the pregnancy books but for blokes. It's really very funny and actually quite helpful :-)

honeybe21

thank you fritha im going to see if they have that book at the libary for my fella.

rjh090384

hey everyone. bought me a pregnancy wedge courtesy of ebay bargains!! loving it!! quick question. i am a dental nurse and needing a maternity uniform. does anyone know if my employer has a legal right to buy these for me or do i ahve to fork out myself. been googling but obviously not very well cos i cant find much!