New baby / post birth advice

[Theninth]

I have the opposite problem. I couldn’t eat much in pregnancy from sickness then feeling constantly full. Now I want to eat everything, especially chocolate and sweets & especially when feeding. I didn’t gain too much In pregnancy but have gained since I think
It’s hard to know what to expect in terms of getting back to weight/shape - anything online isn’t real life, I can’t seem to find any pics from just average women rather than fitness bods or people who’s job is to look good. People seem to only post if they‘ve got something to show off I think....unless everyone snaps back and I’m in the minority

I'm with you on the chocolate Early days breastfeeding definitely gives me more cravings than pregnancy and I'm all about the bread and chocolate! My sister was the same, she didn't put any extra weight other than bump on during pregnancy because she was sick every day, then had major post natal cravings and put on weight in the first few months after birth.
Everyone's bodies will react differently It took me at least a year after my first to really start getting back to where I was before baby. I didn't loose much after my second before getting pregnant with third so I'm now the biggest I've been but not going to be hard on myself. Most importantly I'm going to focus on recovering, physically, getting enough rest. My osteopath is going to help with diastatis recti as I had this after second but really taking it easy and enjoying as much as I can babies first year because it really does go too quickly

 

[Definitelyme]

Yes I was the biggest I’d ever been before getting pregnant this time, and at the end of pregnancy I was another 3 stone heavier again. It will take a while to drop down, but I’ve optimistically ordered myself a few new bits today as I was ordering stuff for the kids. Luckily I don’t like tight clothe so I’m hoping I can squeeze in to some thing in the next month or so my sister just told me she is pregnant () and needs the maternity clothes back ASAP so I’m on a tight schedule to fit back in my own things!

 

[StrawberryCream]

I weighed myself for the first time since pre pregnancy this morning and Iv gained 3 and a half stone (oops) thankfully im not going to any weddings or on any holidays this year! I’ll give myself a year to lose it as my will power is not the best

 

[Kit123]

I weighed myself for the first time since pre pregnancy this morning and Iv gained 3 and a half stone (oops) thankfully im not going to any weddings or on any holidays this year! I’ll give myself a year to lose it as my will power is not the best

It's so easily done isn't it. I have such a saggy belly now but I just don't have time (or the inclination) to work out. I go for walks as much as I can but some days I just don't have the energy! Baby is seven months now so I'm not going to worry too much. Will be back to work soon so hoping being on my feet all day will help

 

[Icbaaaa]

New to this thread but dipped in and out of the pregnancy one!
Had my baby 2 days ago and still in hospital cos I'm really struggling with getting the pain under control from my csection. Does anyone have any advice on how to make things a bit easier at home with getting up and around? I can't remember too much from my recovery from my first section 2 years ago except that it was paaainful but I've for a toddler to factor in with a newborn and trying to recover myself too! X

 

[Definitelyme]

I weighed myself for the first time since pre pregnancy this morning and Iv gained 3 and a half stone (oops) thankfully im not going to any weddings or on any holidays this year! I’ll give myself a year to lose it as my will power is not the best

I gained at least 3 stone in each of my pregnancies. By the time I was on my third it never really got off again so this time I was heavier than I’ve ever been. I also have zero willpower so it should be fun losing weight

New to this thread but dipped in and out of the pregnancy one!
Had my baby 2 days ago and still in hospital cos I'm really struggling with getting the pain under control from my csection. Does anyone have any advice on how to make things a bit easier at home with getting up and around? I can't remember too much from my recovery from my first section 2 years ago except that it was paaainful but I've for a toddler to factor in with a newborn and trying to recover myself too! X

Getting up is horrendous. I use my elbows a lot as leverage to push up, and also I always roll my body to the side rather than sit straight up. It’s been hard (I am 10 days post section and now off pain relief as it was actually giving me headaches) but finally feel I am getting there.

 

[CrimeJunkie]

Ladies what prams/travel systems do you have for your little ones and how much did you pay? I'm due in July and just started looking for a pram and there's just too much choice!

 

[Lulu Goss]

Ladies what prams/travel systems do you have for your little ones and how much did you pay? I'm due in July and just started looking for a pram and there's just too much choice!

Haven’t had my baby yet (just like to be nosey on this thread to have a look at what I can expect once they’re here ) but we ordered our pram this week. I went for the joie versatrax travel system. It included all the bits for the pram, the carrycot, two car seats and the isofix base and was £500.

 

[Stimpii]

Ladies what prams/travel systems do you have for your little ones and how much did you pay? I'm due in July and just started looking for a pram and there's just too much choice!

I’ve got the Mamas and Papas Sola2 and paid £320 for pram and carrycot. I was looking at newer models and then spotted it in Argos in the sale. I had the original Sola with my first 2 and couldn’t justify some of the more expensive prams as won’t be reusing it as no more babies for me.

 

[Kit123]

Ladies what prams/travel systems do you have for your little ones and how much did you pay? I'm due in July and just started looking for a pram and there's just too much choice!

I brought a second hand Cosatto for £65. I also have a carrier and sling which I love using.

 

[Theninth]

Ladies what prams/travel systems do you have for your little ones and how much did you pay? I'm due in July and just started looking for a pram and there's just too much choice!

My mum bought our pram when we had our first baby in 2016. I wanted a travel system with big wheels that would be suitable on most terrain as the pavements in the village we lived at the time weren't the best, also one that could be converted to a double because we planned on having babies close together, with a good sized basket. We went for the icandy peach, it is definitely pricey but it ticked the boxes for us and we are still using it now on our third baby so we (my mum) got our monies worth out of it.
I would work out what features are important to you, what kind of terrain you will mainly be using it on, then you could look on review sites at ones that tick the most boxes within your price range. If you have a Which account or know someone that has they review a lot of models. I've bought extra adapters for our icandy on ebay and there are always people selling their travel systems/prams on there and gumtree, some as good as new.
If there are any stores open near you that you can go to to get a feel of what they are like to push, that helped us although not sure if that will be possible now with covid restrictions.

Also measurements for your car, hallway etc.. to make sure what you like fits.

 

[StrawberryCream]

Ladies what prams/travel systems do you have for your little ones and how much did you pay? I'm due in July and just started looking for a pram and there's just too much choice!

I have an icandy peach I bought it 4 years ago for my first and using it again for this baby, I love it! We got it as a bundle with the maxicosi cabriofix carseat and car seat adapters for the chassis

 

[Icbaaaa]

Ladies what prams/travel systems do you have for your little ones and how much did you pay? I'm due in July and just started looking for a pram and there's just too much choice!

I've got the Joie chrome DLX set with the i-gemm and I-travel car seat w isofix, paid about £490! I've only used the car seat and it's so lightweight. I had a silvercross the first time around and it was just so big ans.bulky and found it quite hard to push it!

 

[littlepup]

Ladies what prams/travel systems do you have for your little ones and how much did you pay? I'm due in July and just started looking for a pram and there's just too much choice!

I think it really depends on what you need. Will you be mostly on pavement or off road? Need to take public transport or something that collapses small for the car? Potential to convert to a double at a later stage?

I got a bugaboo cameleon secondhand for £100 but we went to John Lewis and picked it as the best for our needs then I looked to see if I could find a decent second hand one, prepared to buy new if not. We needed something for countryside walks, no public transport or pavement. It’s decent, I like that you can (at quite an expense) change some of the trim for different colours so it can be personalised but I’m glad we didn’t pay £800 because there are a few things that are really annoying and I would look for if choosing again.

- better basket, while I don’t do my shopping with it so didn’t think it mattered much, I now realise it’s good to have a large, accessible basket to put the change bag or spare blankets etc in.

- I’d make it lock together when down. It’s easy enough to to put up and down but it doesn’t lock when collapsed so getting it in and out of the boot without it half springing open is painful. Not a prob if you don’t put in car slot obvs.

- Make cup holder removable - so silly but the cup holder, a mega handy extra, once added is fixed and makes it about 5 inches wider so really awkward to get through door ways. I’d just check adding any extras wonchange the dimensions in future.

We have a joie car seat which fits in but they just changed advice to allowing them to be in it even less time & at 3 months it’s almost already too heavy with her for me to unclip and pull off the frame which you have to kind of do with one motion alone so it’s becoming redundant as part of the travel system. I’d still go for a car seat that’s not fixed in the car for a new born though as they’re not easy to get them in and adjusted so it better to do that in the warm house and carry them out than bending over an open door in the rain. Also, the seat itself is warmer for a winter baby putting them into one in a cold car. Plus it allows you to carry them into appointments/ shops in Something other than your arms.

Sorry for the essay I spent sooooo long on all this though and didn’t really come across these points x

 

[Definitelyme]

I’m not much help with prams for newbies as I use a sling, but I actually found the opposite of above with the car seat. Because we don’t use a pram our newborn car seat being portable is really a bit redundant for us, and I remember last time it wasn’t long until we left it in the car and just popped baby in and out as needed. If you don’t think you’d be using the car seat attached to a pram a lot (especially with the new time limit guidance) then I’d think about going straight for a fixed car seat, which spins (we have the joie 360 for our toddler and it’s fab).

 

[littlepup]

I’m not much help with prams for newbies as I use a sling, but I actually found the opposite of above with the car seat. Because we don’t use a pram our newborn car seat being portable is really a bit redundant for us, and I remember last time it wasn’t long until we left it in the car and just popped baby in and out as needed. If you don’t think you’d be using the car seat attached to a pram a lot (especially with the new time limit guidance) then I’d think about going straight for a fixed car seat, which spins (we have the joie 360 for our toddler and it’s fab).

I’m definitely getting to the stage now where it’s too heavy to carry car seat with baby in and have been looking at the 360 too but what do you do about the seat being cold to put them into? Just warm the car up a bit or? And what about if you need to pop into a shop really briefly say pay for petrol or post something, do you leave them in the car or take them in in arms or always have sling on or...?

I’m also going to try a sling again but she doesn’t like it so I worry I’ve got her legs wrong and we both stress out - lockdown has been so shite for peer support with things like this any top tips?

 

[WhatABore]

I’m not much help with prams for newbies as I use a sling, but I actually found the opposite of above with the car seat. Because we don’t use a pram our newborn car seat being portable is really a bit redundant for us, and I remember last time it wasn’t long until we left it in the car and just popped baby in and out as needed. If you don’t think you’d be using the car seat attached to a pram a lot (especially with the new time limit guidance) then I’d think about going straight for a fixed car seat, which spins (we have the joie 360 for our toddler and it’s fab).

I second this! We bought the 360 with my second and it's so worth the money!

I’m definitely getting to the stage now where it’s too heavy to carry car seat with baby in and have been looking at the 360 too but what do you do about the seat being cold to put them into? Just warm the car up a bit or? And what about if you need to pop into a shop really briefly say pay for petrol or post something, do you leave them in the car or take them in in arms or always have sling on or...?

I’m also going to try a sling again but she doesn’t like it so I worry I’ve got her legs wrong and we both stress out - lockdown has been so shite for peer support with things like this any top tips?

Maybe I'm mean, but I've always just put them straight in the car seat I've never warmed it up or anything haha.
Paying for petrol I always make sure I go to a pay at pump.
And going into shops ect I'll either wait until my partner is available or I'll get the pram out as its quick enough to do

 

[Theninth]

I’m not much help with prams for newbies as I use a sling, but I actually found the opposite of above with the car seat. Because we don’t use a pram our newborn car seat being portable is really a bit redundant for us, and I remember last time it wasn’t long until we left it in the car and just popped baby in and out as needed. If you don’t think you’d be using the car seat attached to a pram a lot (especially with the new time limit guidance) then I’d think about going straight for a fixed car seat, which spins (we have the joie 360 for our toddler and it’s fab).

My mum has a 360 in her car for when she's on Nanni duties, it's so much easier! I have car seat envy

 

[Tui]

It’s definitely a kind of grief. I was a mess after my first emergency section for months. I felt like a failure and then when baby wouldn’t breastfeed it was even worse. Turns out she had sepsis which was missed and we ended up having to formally complain. For my second pregnancy I was so much more clued up and ended up complaining about quality and consistency of care mod way through he pregnancy and stood up for myself much more. The birth reflections team worked with me after my first birth and then again during this pregnancy to help me voice my anxieties and what I wanted for this birth in terms of communication... all turned out to be a waste of time as ended up birthing alone with bloody covid!

God giving birth alone must have been horrendous. You are stronger than me!


Pram wise we have an Uppababy Vista. Definitely a pricey option, it’s our first baby and have a few friends who highly recommended it. One bonus is it is good on grassy/uneven ground! We took it around the fields and slopes around our in laws house in rural Wales yesterday and baby stayed fast asleep even on a 45 degree incline gravel path there are other prams that are perfectly good prams for a lot less money, part of me choosing the vista was a bit of a treat to myself

 

[CrimeJunkie]

Thank you so much for the advice everyone!

I actually already have the car seat and opted for the Joie 360 as it’s been highly recommended to me by everyone. So the car seat part of the travel system I’m not too worried about as we won’t use it much (other than if my partner uses his car and they go out without me). I did suddenly wonder though, when baby is born will they allow us to just carry her out to the car when we leave?! Or do we need something to transport her in from the ward to the car? Ugh so many things to think about!

I live in the city so need a pram that’s good for pavements etc. I saw loads of recommendations for the Mamas and Papas Ocarro one on the pregnancy thread, it’s a lot of money but I guess it’s worth paying a bit more so that it lasts!