pregnancy moneysaving

starlite_2

ha, but one thing i forgot to mention...forced moneysaving! I have saved a bundle now i'm not smoking or drinking, and at the moment the thought of takeaways makes my stomach turn....
also why no underwired bras? surely they help to defeat gravity at this crucial time..and i can't think of medical reasons against it..please enlighten me?

donna-j_2

I think the bra advice is conflicting. I read somwehere that underwires were ok until they start to dig in underneath or under the arms. I'm still wearing underwires with no problems.

Jay-Jay_4

The underwires on bras can press on developing milk glands thereby causing infection. If you imagine little reservoirs of milk being squashed by your underwire, therefore stopping the milk from moving freely, that's why underwires are bad news for pregnant boobiedoobies.

jo_b_2

Lillibet wrote:

I'm not saying you aren't right Jo B but this is not the adivce I have been given, I have been told it is fine to wear underwired bras during pregnancy up until I start to produce milk, and not to wear one from then onwards if I intend to breast feed or whilst feeding. Might be worth getting this clarified?

Does seem to be conflicting advice there!

Just done a quick google search and found this on babycentre:

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/expert/553047.html

Becles

If you wear small knickers like tanga style anyway, you don't need maternity ones. I just wore my normal knickers and they sat under my bump.

I bought a huge bag of maternity clothes cheaply from the local paper classified. Some were nice and some were fumpy. I picked out what I wanted, then sold the smaller bag of 'rejects' in the paper to someone who liked frumpy clothes!

starlite_2

what about stuff for the baby? i am not superstitious like most of my family who advise to wait a while before buying anything for the baby, but if i see something at a good price surely i should get it now (for example my friend is about to relocate to brazil and is wanting to offload all her prams, clothes, cot etc, which will be free to me and something I cannot pass up on, or say buy one get one free nappies..am i jumping the gun here?..i am now 12 weeks-ish along with two good ultrasound scans so feel I really shouldn't be panicking.

Lillibet_2

I stared buying & stocking up as soon as I had had my 12 week scan & knew everything was on track. Even thoguh I still ahve 14 weeks to go last week we decorated the nursery & built the cot (which you needed a degree in mathmatical engineering for, let me tell you:o ) I am by nature a planner & can't bear the thought of leaving things to the last minute when I will probably be to big & uncomfortable to do these things, plus you never know when the last minute is going to be!

The other advantage of buying in advance is that you have time to research your purchases & make sure you really need items (you'd be amazed how much is unecessary in my opinion) & if you do need it to check you are getting it at the best price (nothign beats free through!). Our travel system was delivered last week ; Ex-display model off of Ebay delivered with gurantee for £75 inculding accessories instead of the next best price of £300+ in John Lewis! No way we would have got this kind of deal if we'd waited until the week before Spud is due:D

Spendless

Oh dear I feel like I'm scaring people here, but I lost my first baby at 17 weeks (after a scan revealed he wasn't going to live).

I had bought quite a lot of baby items and I couldn't face packing them away. My MIL and SIL did this whilst I was in hospital. I couldn't even bring myself to ask where they'd put them.

In my next 2 pregnancies I only bought stuff after a scan revealed that the baby was Ok.

donna-j_2

From babycentre (http://www.babycentre.co.uk/expert/553047.html):
There does not seem to be any concrete evidence to show that wearing underwired bras during pregnancy may be harmful. However, there appears to be a potential risk. Many midwives and retail outlets advise against purchasing underwiring in pregnancy. The reasoning behind this advice appears to be that the rigid wire may interfere with the natural changes in size and shape of the breast during pregnancy. This may obstruct the increased blood flow or "squash" of the developing milk duct system, causing pain, discomfort and possibly mastitis.

Changes to the breasts start much earlier than most women expect. By the sixth week of pregnancy tenderness and slight enlargement has already taken place. It is not uncommon for the breasts to become "lumpy" in the first three months as the milk duct system begins to develop. The dark skin around the nipple (areola) becomes more prominent and darker in colour. The veins beneath the skin are more visible due to the increase in blood supply needed for growth and development of the breast, in preparation for feeding your baby later on. There is a gradual increase in size during pregnancy and, on average, the breast will increase by 5cm and 1400g.

These changes show why it is important to wear a comfortable, supportive bra. Depending on the size of your breasts before pregnancy and the rate of growth, some women need a maternity bra sooner than others. Many retailers nowadays offer a free fitting service to ensure you get the correct size. You need a comfortable bra which supports the increasing weight of your breasts and does not compress the breast in any way. You may need to be measured two or three times during your pregnancy.

A good maternity bra will have wider shoulder straps than a fashion bra, support panels and adjustable back fastenings to allow longer use as you increase in size.

So the secret is in the fitting. If you do wear an underwired bra at any time in your pregnancy make sure that the wire does not put pressure anywhere on the breast and don't sleep in it. It is much more likely to dig in to the breasts when you are lying down, possibly causing problems.

Mine don't squash so I'm happy to keep wearing them. It seems to be one of the many things they have decided we 'shouldn't' do while pregnant without much evidence.

From the Observer:
To underwire or not to underwire, that is the question

Sunday December 30, 2001
The Observer

I am five months pregnant and need to keep changing my bras for a bigger size! I keep hearing conflicting views as to whether or not I can wear under-wired bras during my pregnancy.
Tracey Spicer London SW11
Apologies for my absence last week but I had an urgent rendezvous with Father Christmas. Now then, Tracey, of course you can wear underwired bras when you're pregnant - they're not radioactive. The reason the advice is conflicting is because your breast size (as you are finding out) fluctuates a great deal during pregnancy and it is essential that you are properly fitted for a bra, otherwise you will be uncomfortable and your breasts won't be well-supported. With an underwired bra, there's not as much scope for error as with an non-underwired bra. But if you were to get fitted regularly, there's no reason why you couldn't.

jellyhead

my breasts are just too painful for underwires (especially under the arms) so i'm in frumpy maternity bras, i'm 28 weeks. i've gone up one cup size and one size around the chest. i think it would probably be bad to wear the underwired bras you had before getting pregnant as they'd be too tight, but as long as you're wearing the right size and they don't hurt i don't see why you shouldn't wear them if you want to. i'm also wearing sleep bras in bed but they're starting to feel tight around my chest.

during my first pregnancy i had to keep buying new bras, i went up 4 cup sizes and afterwards although i lost all my baby weight i stayed 2 cup sizes larger, i wasn't complaining but now i'm pregnant again i'm thinking they're too big, i liked being DD but an E cup is quite unecessary :rotfl: it's difficult to predict how much the under bust is going to grow, so bra extenders are a good idea. i hadn't thought of that - what a muppet i am! i've bought some maternity bras off ebay but to be honest they're not that supportive, i think they're past their best, maybe they were worn after the birth too or have been washed incorrectly. asda sell maternity bras for £7 each though, if you can find an asda with a maternity section. don't bother with their tights, they're lovely and comfortable around the belly but the leg part is very restrictive, even the extra large tights will only fit your legs if they're matchstick thin. i've had mixed results with the maternity clothes i've bought off ebay, mothercare is the only place to buy maternity clothes for miles around, so i've bought clothes from next, dorothy perkins etc. off ebay not knowing if they were the correct size for me, and they weren't. but i've also had some great bargains, now i know my correct mothercare size i've bought more pairs of mothercare jeans off ebay and they'll be fine.

you say you're not one for trousers but when you start getting big it will be difficult to shave your legs - some days you might want jeans to disguise legs you couldn't be bothered to shave for a few days :rotfl: i'm also wearing gypsy skirts, my belly's got huge this past couple of weeks though and the skirts look a bit odd as they're shorter at the front now, they show my ankles, and i haven't shaved them for days lol! if your baby is due in autumn you might prefer jeans by then if it's cold and you're not comfortable in tights.

i saw in a catalogue, it was either jojomamanbebe or PHP some trouser extenders for using in the early months, they're similar to the bra extenders, just a triangle shaped bit of fabric with buttons and buttonholes to entend the waistband of your trousers. would work for a couple of months i reckon, but by the 3rd trimester you'll want maternity clothes no matter how frumpy they look.

i'm wearing my usual knickers, but in the last week have had to roll the front bit down a bit lol! asda also sell maternity things and granny knickers but i haven't tried them. i got paper knickers cheap by using discount codes for redoute, they charge around £7 for a pack of ten, i used a £5 voucher with free postage so got them for £2, you could just buy cheap knickers and throw them away i suppose.