I am a STM but wasn't really sure where to post this question and would appreciate feedback from other STM+. Do any of you have experience with having a subchorionic hemorrhage? I didn't have this with DS and have yet to see my ob (was diagnosed in the hospital this week) and am a bit anxious about it to say the least.
I had a large one with DS. I had one super heavy bleeding episode at 15/16 weeks and it petered out within a few days. It was large enough they put me on a week of bed rest until it stopped and luckily I didn't bleed anymore after that. It was more a big scare to see the blood than anything else. They checked him with an ultrasound a few times and he was strong and healthy. Went on to still be considered low risk enough that I had an out of hospital birth center birth with zero complications.
@lahansen If you go on Amazon you can look up "Merino wool infant sleep sack" or variations of that. The actual sleep sacks are pretty expensive but there are also Merino wool swaddle blankets, pajamas, and baby gowns. You can then go check other websites for sales and such because Amazon doesn't do sales a lot imo.
The thing that stinks about wool with a baby is that you have to wash it a certain way however Merino wool really only has to be cleaned when it's pooped/spit up on (for babies) or actually dirty. Airing it out it generally a good way to keep it fresh. I've had some Merino wool shirts before and they were amazing. Sadly I outgrew them.
I've thought about not swaddling, but it's such a good sleep cue in those early months. We always swaddle until baby starts repeatedly breaking out of it. I think the standard now is to swaddle with the hands up by the face and out of the blanket - which sounds like it'll be broken out of by a few weeks old. Maybe it'll last long enough to get through most of the startle reflex wake ups?
@lahansen They make these wearable blankets that I used a lot with my 1st as we lived in a trailer with no heat. It's like a potato sack sleeper with arms that I would layer over his sleeper and socks.
As far as carriers, I'm small and I tried to use a couple structured ones but they were too uncomfortable for me. Then when I worked in the infant room at a daycare for over a year I started to hate wraps. You could tell what infants were in a wrap all day at home because they wouldn't let us put them down. That's fine if you're a SAHM but at a daycare you have 4 babies per teacher and you just can't hold one baby all day and it was super frustrating.
Can anyone recommend a good monitor? We have one that is okay but the signal always goes in and out depending on where you are in the house. Ideally I want one with video, that says the temp in the room on it and can have 3 connections (DD, baby and playroom). Any thoughts?
@hopeful87-2 We have a Motorola video monitor. I think it can have up to 4 cameras. It has the temp and you can move it around the room (which I love once they move into a toddler bed). I like it a lot.
Babywearing: I love mei tai style carriers. I tend to havr smaller babies and they fit great with knees together as infants and then provide more structure as they grow to toddlerhood. I will need a new one this time around because my infantio brand i bought with DS#3 made its way through 3 other friends after we were done with it!
Swaddling: I have had success swaddling my babies. But, I agree with others that you should start with blankets or less expensive swaddle blankets before deciding if its right for you/baby. You really only need two maybe three anyway.
Frankly for my son swaddling made no difference. He had silent acid reflux so no matter what was restless the first 4 months. The only way he slept well was a slightly elevated pack and play and the swing. The swing was a life saver. I was actually borderline PPD due to lack of sleep and once we got the swing it got a little better.
STM and +...did you have the NT screening? Mine is scheduled for 12 weeks and everything I've read makes me super anxious about it. The high rate of false positives, people going through hell for nothing...any thoughts on this?
@bklynchica we declined both times with my prior pregnancies, and will decline this time as well. It's a very personal decision, but for us we knew that we wouldn't choose to terminate, and so we didn't want to add worry about false positives/etc.
@bklynchica. We've done the NT screening once, declined with our other two, and will probably decline this time again. With my first, they found some cysts on his brain (the kind that are really common and hardly ever worrisome, can't remember the name). So then we started having more ultrasounds to follow up, and then they saw that he was breech and they started worrying about that way earlier than necessary. For me, it caused way too much worry to be worth it in that case. But I can see how it could be very beneficial to have time to prepare for having a child with a disability. No choice is the wrong choice. You'll make the best choice for you!
I have tried the zipadee zip, woombie and magic sleep suit on 2 of my kids when they got too big/strong to swaddle. They didn't like any of them. My suggestion would be to wait and see your kids preferences before buying lots of that stuff - might need it, might not. Might need it but they don't care and wont sleep and you can't do a darn thing about it.....
totally not jaded.
Totally agree with this! Don't get too much of this stuff in advance because it's impossible to tell what will work for your baby.
On a related note, if you think your baby "hates being swaddled" I highly recommend having someone with swaddle experience try for you, so you can at least be sure. My first was a bit of a nightmare as a newborn and I thought she hated swaddles. We hired a nanny around 11 weeks and on the first day she had our baby taking swaddled naps in the crib for 2+ hours She had never let me swaddle her, and had never slept in the crib before. She only napped for me when she finally passed out on me. Mind blown! So basically, don't be afraid to ask for some help from a pro!
@bklynchica we did the NT with my son and will again this time. they just said everything was fine last time so no worry. I do think they can make people get worried for nothing but because I am high risk the doctors always push for the extra higher level ultrasound and the opinion of the MFM on consult.
We declined the NT scan and probably will again. it might be different if I were high risk or had genetic issues in either of our families. It's a very personal decision. For me, it would probably make me worry more than I need to.
Nov 17 BMB May Siggy Challenge: Mother's Day Fails
Sorry to change the current topic. I have recently been focusing on a registry, and was curious about clothes sizes and quantities. My dad said two out of the three of us kids went straight into 3M clothes, skipping NB clothes altogether! Is this common? And how many of each article of clothing is recommended? A week's worth? Two weeks?
Sorry to change the current topic. I have recently been focusing on a registry, and was curious about clothes sizes and quantities. My dad said two out of the three of us kids went straight into 3M clothes, skipping NB clothes altogether! Is this common? And how many of each article of clothing is recommended? A week's worth? Two weeks?
Thanks in advance!
DD1 was 6lbs 9oz 20in and wore newborn for a little over a month. She wore 0-3mo until she was about 5 months. After that she had a growth spurt and was on track age/size wise.
DD2 was 8lbs 9oz 20in and fit into her newborn clothes for not even a week. She wore her 0-3 months until she was 1 Month. She has been way ahead ever since. She's 17 months right now and wears a 3t or 4t lol.
Considering the average size baby is about 7something lbs, I think it's safe to buy a few nb outfits right away but keep the reciepts just in case! If you end up having a small baby you can always go out and get more afterwards.
Did anyone's doctors offer the blood tests (Harmony, etc.), and if so, was this in addition to the NT scan or in lieu of it? Mine didn't even mention it last time, so I'm not sure if they offer it.
I'm A FTM but I do plan on doing the NT. We aren't going to terminate regardless but I'm a planner and need to know what's coming. I think it's a really personal decision.
My concern is getting a false positive on the NT and having to go through amniocentesis for nothing. But I'm sure we'll go through with it. And the NT screen is when we hope to see the amniotic membrane separating the babies. Just nerve wracking, all of it. I totally get why some opt out.
@Thea17 all of the babies in my family were big (over 9 pounds) so we didn't get ANY newborn clothes for my first. Then she ended up being 7lbs 10oz and needed newborn clothes for a few weeks. We were so shocked! So maybe have a 3 pack of newborn onesies on hand just in case, and you can always buy more if you end up needing more!
I don't plan on washing all the new baby clothes before baby is born. That way they'll have the tags and I can return pieces. I'll have enough for the first few days and have DH or visiting family wash a load of baby stuff once we know the size. I was small but I was early my my mom was a size 2 and 17. My sister was on time and 10lbs.
@bklynchica We declined with DD and this time as well. I agree that it's a personal decision. My husband feels pretty strongly against it because he works in medicine and he thinks sometimes too much information is not helpful since many things resolve themselves and it wouldn't change what we do with the pregnancy either way.
Sorry to change the current topic. I have recently been focusing on a registry, and was curious about clothes sizes and quantities. My dad said two out of the three of us kids went straight into 3M clothes, skipping NB clothes altogether! Is this common? And how many of each article of clothing is recommended? A week's worth? Two weeks?
Thanks in advance!
My son was born at 36 weeks and was 7 pounds. Had he stayed in, he would have been huge and we knew he was big from the ultrasounds lol. He was 6 pounds and 8 ounces at two weeks when we got to bring him home from the NICU, I got NO NB clothes at all and we had nothing for him to wear. Had to buy an outfit st the hospital gift shop (still huge and way overpriced haha) and then stop at target on the way home. He was in nb clothes for almost 8 weeks!!! He is still a peanut.,. 27 pounds at almost 3.
Long story short, I would at least get an outfit or two in nb just in case.
@bklynchica P.s. With your case it obviously sounds different where it may be more necessary due to your twins. I'm sure it's really nerve wracking but also that your docs wouldn't put you through testing that wasn't necessary. Good luck with it and I hope you get the results you are hoping for!
@Thea17 - I would go with everything @slaven said. Keep tags on things and wash what you need once you know baby's size. I had one baby that was 7lbs and another that was 9.5lbs. They were both also really long, so neither, not even the 7lb one, fit in NB clothes.
How much clothing you need depends on how often you want to do the laundry. Keep in mind that tiny babies spit up, drool, and blow out poop all the time, so plan on a minimum of 2-3 outfits a day. In the winter, a newborn outfit for us is usually a onesie under a sleep and play, so both of those would get changed with each outfit change.
For the NT, we didn't do it with our first and won't do it with this one. We have no prior history of any genetic disorders in either of our families, and it would just provide us with worry if we got a false positive. But it's definitely a personal decision. If your family history has genetic disorders, or if you just really need to know, then go ahead and do it.
As as for the clothes question, we had a pretty good assortment of newborn clothes because that seems to be what everyone buys for baby showers. My son probably wore half that stuff. He was 7 lbs 7 oz when he was born, but by 2 weeks he already weighed 10 lbs, so he wasn't in nb clothes very long. As for how much clothing, I'd say a week's worth of onesies is good, so probably 14ish outfits. I also registered for those plain white onesies because they're amazing and go with anything and hide spit up really well! 0-3 month clothes were awesome for us. He was probably in that size for a good 2 months or so.
NB question - DD was 7lb 14oz and we were expecting her to be bigger based on family history and u/s estimates. She was swimming in her 3m clothes and my mom went out and bought NB sleepers and onesies, which she wore for about 6 weeks. DS was 9lb 5oz and I shoved him into NB for about a week before it wasn't worth it anymore. Haha. I would just buy a few NB to have on hand and if you have a little baby, you can get more.
Sorry to change the current topic. I have recently been focusing on a registry, and was curious about clothes sizes and quantities. My dad said two out of the three of us kids went straight into 3M clothes, skipping NB clothes altogether! Is this common? And how many of each article of clothing is recommended? A week's worth? Two weeks?
Thanks in advance!
Honestly you never know until they're here. My son ended up being 3 1/2 weeks early and only 4 lb 13 oz. He was in newborn size for like 3 months or more. Even at 3 1/2 he's still on the small size and is still in a lot of 2T clothes. I wouldn't really bother putting much clothes on your registry because people are going to buy clothes that they find cute regardless of if they're on your registry or not.
Re: NT scan. I'm getting one. It's a personal decision due to genetics. I'm not sure I'd go through with an amnio, but I'll decide that later if need be.
Re: Newborn size clothes. See what you get at your shower if you're having one. We received no newborn clothes, didn't buy any in advance and ended up bringing home a 5lb11oz boy. My husband had to run out and get newborn clothes after dropping us off at home. We got about a week's worth of clothes and he was in that for about 6 weeks before moving to 0-3/3 months. I'd buy some and keep the tags on if you're worried, but I think it's too early to be worried about our baby's size. I agree with not putting too many clothes on the registry. I doubt many people pay attention to that and will just buy what they want.
I am curious about babywearing (I hate that term though lol!). I know I want to get something, but not sure what is best, especially for an infant. The unstructured slings make me nervous because it looks to me like baby could just slip right out of you don't fold it just right.
I used a moby early on with my son. This time I plan to try a k'tan because it seems less complicated. Once he was a little bitter, I started using a SSC because it was more supportive and less complicated. I used a lillebaby with my boy, but eventually got rid of that and bought a tula which I liked okay, but sold that and bought a Kinderpack, which I absolutely adore and was able to wear him in forever. Seriously like forever, I still wore him occasionally at age 5.
For this little one, I will get the k'tan for the early days and I already have an infant kinderpack waiting in the wings.
~Mom to an amazing Jan 2011 boy~ ~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
I am also looking for advice about keeping babies warm in the winter. Our winters aren't very severe (the lowest we get is in the 20s or high teens, and that's only a couple of times a year), but our house is only wood heated and not well insulated, so the ambient temp is usually pretty low (in the 50s at night). We're fine with that (put on a sweater!), but I'm worried about keeping a baby warm at night with no blankets. Any tips or suggestions?
Wearable blankets (sleep sacks) in fleece will be your best friend. You can do a fleece footed pj inside the fleece sleep sack if it's really cold.
~Mom to an amazing Jan 2011 boy~ ~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
I will swaddle #2 until college if that's what it takes
Truth. I'm not even sure my son knew he had arms for the first few months. There are products out there now to help transition away from swaddling like the zipadee zip, which I'll try if needed. But, team swaddle 4 life over here!
~Mom to an amazing Jan 2011 boy~ ~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
STM and +...did you have the NT screening? Mine is scheduled for 12 weeks and everything I've read makes me super anxious about it. The high rate of false positives, people going through hell for nothing...any thoughts on this?
It's a super personal decision and I don't think there's a wrong answer either way, but my perspective is this: I have a child with genetic issues which are not detectable with the current available testing. I desperately wish they were, because the first year of his life was absolute hell for us. We had no history of genetic problems on either side and were unprepared and confused and just didn't know how to help him. If there had been ANYTHING I could have done to better prepare, I would have gladly done it.
~Mom to an amazing Jan 2011 boy~ ~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
Sorry to change the current topic. I have recently been focusing on a registry, and was curious about clothes sizes and quantities. My dad said two out of the three of us kids went straight into 3M clothes, skipping NB clothes altogether! Is this common? And how many of each article of clothing is recommended? A week's worth? Two weeks?
Thanks in advance!
It's so hard to tell, honestly. I'd recommend not removing tags ahead of time, and your partner can do a load of laundry right after the baby arrives. They estimated the day before my son was born that he'd be "eight, eight and a half pounds - easy." He was 5 pounds 15 ounces (I was just fat? No clue.) Everyone had told us to skip the newborn clothes and get 0-3 - this advice had me out at Walmart with my 3 day old baby buying preemie clothes.
This baby's daddy is a BIG guy, so I'm not buying anything preemie, but I'll buy both NB and 0-3 and see what's needed.
As far as what to get, honestly, just consider how often you feel like doing laundry. I always always always (even now at age 6) overbought clothes so I'm going to try hard not to do that this time. I'm planning to buy 5 sleepers in newborn, 5 in 0-3, 5 kimono-style shirts, and a coming home outfit. Other than that, people will buy us outfits I'm sure. We are CDing and will be doing laundry pretty constantly anyway, and I don't have a problem throwing a load in - I'm not exactly beating the pj's against rocks in a river. THAT said, there is nothing wrong with stocking up if laundry is a bigger deal for you - when my son was born, we didn't have a washer/dryer - so I wanted way more in the rotation.
~Mom to an amazing Jan 2011 boy~ ~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
Re baby carriers - I had a k'tan with my second and loved it! I used it for several months. But a note with sizing - I would size down one from your usual shirt size. You want it to be tight, and I've found that they run bigger than most shirt sizes!
Re: FTM questions for STM 4/8
Started Dating: 2003 Married: 2013
Started TTC August 2016
BFP: 2/1/17 MC: 2/8/17
BFP: 3/8/17 MMC: 5/1/17
BFP: 7/23/17 EDD: 4/5/18
BFP: 2/27/20
The thing that stinks about wool with a baby is that you have to wash it a certain way however Merino wool really only has to be cleaned when it's pooped/spit up on (for babies) or actually dirty. Airing it out it generally a good way to keep it fresh. I've had some Merino wool shirts before and they were amazing. Sadly I outgrew them.
TTC since August 2018
Swaddling: I have had success swaddling my babies. But, I agree with others that you should start with blankets or less expensive swaddle blankets before deciding if its right for you/baby. You really only need two maybe three anyway.
On a related note, if you think your baby "hates being swaddled" I highly recommend having someone with swaddle experience try for you, so you can at least be sure. My first was a bit of a nightmare as a newborn and I thought she hated swaddles. We hired a nanny around 11 weeks and on the first day she had our baby taking swaddled naps in the crib for 2+ hours She had never let me swaddle her, and had never slept in the crib before. She only napped for me when she finally passed out on me. Mind blown! So basically, don't be afraid to ask for some help from a pro!
be prepared.
Thanks in advance!
DD2 was 8lbs 9oz 20in and fit into her newborn clothes for not even a week. She wore her 0-3 months until she was 1 Month. She has been way ahead ever since. She's 17 months right now and wears a 3t or 4t lol.
Considering the average size baby is about 7something lbs, I think it's safe to buy a few nb outfits right away but keep the reciepts just in case! If you end up having a small baby you can always go out and get more afterwards.
TTC since August 2018
Long story short, I would at least get an outfit or two in nb just in case.
How much clothing you need depends on how often you want to do the laundry. Keep in mind that tiny babies spit up, drool, and blow out poop all the time, so plan on a minimum of 2-3 outfits a day. In the winter, a newborn outfit for us is usually a onesie under a sleep and play, so both of those would get changed with each outfit change.
As as for the clothes question, we had a pretty good assortment of newborn clothes because that seems to be what everyone buys for baby showers. My son probably wore half that stuff. He was 7 lbs 7 oz when he was born, but by 2 weeks he already weighed 10 lbs, so he wasn't in nb clothes very long. As for how much clothing, I'd say a week's worth of onesies is good, so probably 14ish outfits. I also registered for those plain white onesies because they're amazing and go with anything and hide spit up really well! 0-3 month clothes were awesome for us. He was probably in that size for a good 2 months or so.
Re: Newborn size clothes. See what you get at your shower if you're having one. We received no newborn clothes, didn't buy any in advance and ended up bringing home a 5lb11oz boy. My husband had to run out and get newborn clothes after dropping us off at home. We got about a week's worth of clothes and he was in that for about 6 weeks before moving to 0-3/3 months. I'd buy some and keep the tags on if you're worried, but I think it's too early to be worried about our baby's size. I agree with not putting too many clothes on the registry. I doubt many people pay attention to that and will just buy what they want.
For this little one, I will get the k'tan for the early days and I already have an infant kinderpack waiting in the wings.
~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
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~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
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~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
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~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
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This baby's daddy is a BIG guy, so I'm not buying anything preemie, but I'll buy both NB and 0-3 and see what's needed.
As far as what to get, honestly, just consider how often you feel like doing laundry. I always always always (even now at age 6) overbought clothes so I'm going to try hard not to do that this time. I'm planning to buy 5 sleepers in newborn, 5 in 0-3, 5 kimono-style shirts, and a coming home outfit. Other than that, people will buy us outfits I'm sure. We are CDing and will be doing laundry pretty constantly anyway, and I don't have a problem throwing a load in - I'm not exactly beating the pj's against rocks in a river. THAT said, there is nothing wrong with stocking up if laundry is a bigger deal for you - when my son was born, we didn't have a washer/dryer - so I wanted way more in the rotation.
~EDD Nov 18, 2017 with my IUI success story~
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