MSE Pregnancy Club 28

pink_petal

welcome to the thread newcook!!

We've also been looking at ISAs and bank accounts but definitely waiting til I come back to work after maternity leave before we open one, or at least til we put anything in it. We may open one sooner to put any money she's given when she's born so I'll be interested in what others think are good deals! We thought about the lifetime ISA because if I take it til I'm 60 then that would mean our daughter would be 23...which is quite a good age to get the money I think. I don't know all the ins and outs though so will need to do some proper research.

I definitely need to invest in one of those birthing balls, we were shown at our birthing class how to use them to rotate and help the cervix dilate when in labour...every little helps!

Kynthia

Ruby, the ball needs to be high enough that your hips are higher than your knees when you sit on it. Otherwise it adds pressure to your pelvis. So inflate it fully or buy a big one. I think if your 5'7" plus they recommend 65cm. I need to give away my 55cm one and get a bigger one.

Beckyy

I got a birthing ball on amazon, there are some quite reasonably priced. Mine is by Birth Ease. It's worth making sure you get one that comes with a pump (unless you already have one handy).

Kynthia

I had a day off child free yesterday. So I got my whooping cough and flu vaccines in the morning. Note that the flu jab one left my arm sore and the whooping cough one didn't, so I was glad my sore arm wasn't the one I sleep on.

I then went for a brief tour of the local midwife - led birthing unit. It turns out they run them three times a week and you don't have to book. It looks fab! Dad's can stay overnight, each room is large with a permanent or inflatable pool, there are birthing balls/birthing stools/couches and there's a kitchen for you to make hot drinks and snacks. I'm very happy to go there.

Then I went to Mothercare where there is a small sale and bought some new clothes for the baby. It was fun to buy some pretty things as I felt I missed out last time when I didn't know what gender I was having. I also picked up a starter pack of baby milk to take to the hospital or for the first few days at home. It's a few bottles of ready made formula with sterilised disposable teats that affix to them. It seems handy for if you are hoping to breastfeed but want to be ready with formula in case it doesn't happen and then don't have to worry about having sterilised bottles to hand.

Then this morning I emailed Kiddy, who make lay-flat car seats, and found the adapters needed to affix it to my existing travel system are the same as for Maxi Cosi carseats. Result, as I already have them as that's the carseat I used last time. Plus I ordered a buggy board for my daughter to use.

It feels so nice to get so much done. I hope you all well and looking forward to the weekend.

ThinkPink

I got one of the sma starter kits and am so glad I had it as I wasn't able to breastfeed. The hospital had little bottles and a range of teats so as we were in for so long we used a couple of the starter kits then went on to the cartons and the hospital bottles and teats.

If anyone has a wilko near them I recommend their cotton wool roll, it's only £1 for a roll and it lasts ages plus it doesn't leave bits all over baby like we found the superdrug pleated roll did. We also got a pack of water wipes for the night time changes which makes things much easier (saves having to go to the bathroom and wait for warm water!!).

I would also just make you either have plenty of change for the hospital car park or check that the machine takes cards or notes. I still can't believe we spent about £80 on car parking for oh to visit us whilst we were in!!!

psychopathbabble

With parking at the hospital, ask about buying longer term tickets if it ends up you are staying in. When my friend was in hospital I got a ticket that lasted a few days from inside the hospital rather than at the machine and it was significantly cheaper.

Of course, depending on the hospital and car park, you could always leave a note in your car saying 'labour ward' as they probably don't check too often!

Kynthia

Ha ha, you've reminded me of the parking when I had my daughter. The hospital car park was pay and display and my husband was miffed that he'd paid for three hours when we first went in but was sent home at only 2cm. When we went back 4 hours later he clearly wasn't keen to make the same mistake again, despite the fact I was screaming and pushing. So he dropped me at the entrance, parked, paid for an hour and wrote 'giving birth' on a piece of paper. I think it was 6 hours later when he got back to the car and there was no ticket despite our concerns. :T

psychopathbabble

Kynthia - bless him! exactly how I feel most of the time when I get there, minimum charge is £3 for 3 hours but im usually only in for half an hour! I think if you buy the tickets from the bit inside (can never remember what it's called but it's a little cashier window) then the hospital gets the money too rather than the car park company.

I was given tickets to mums net baby fest today so after we collect DH new car (he has given up his A5 for a more practical SUV type car) we will be heading there. Not sure we actually need anything but I like going along to these things means we also park at Westfield so I can drag him into some shops too!

Beckyy

NHS sites are free to park in throughout Scotland. I know hospital parking charges in England are high... but £80 is awful to expect anybody to pay :eek:

7 days to go here. Baby still very active, bump feels much lower but I don't know if he's fully engaged yet as whilst I'm getting more pressure low down he still seems to be able to move a fair bit - not sure if he could if fully engaged? Very strange thinking this could be our last weekend as just 2 of us.

I hope everyone is well?

euronorris

It's worth checking with the maternity unit about the parking policy for giving birth. At our hospital, when you go there to give birth/induction, you buy a ticket for minimum time and then go and tell reception why you're there. They then give you a ticket (for free) where you can scratch off the date and it's valid for a week. You can leave and come back then (for the dad's) so it's not super expensive on the parking.