@gomillis I also got a ton of blankets! I also got a few just this past Christmas! What did you do with them all? I have so many that sit in the corner of the room, rolled up all cute, but we never use.
@riatortillaxo I kept the ones that were special to us and I donated the rest. They're in a tub somewhere safe for now. I'll drag a few of them out when the baby gets here.
We got a handful of mostly very lovingly handmade blankets I will treasure, and a couple inexpensive fleecy ones that got a lot of use being thrown over the carseat, or down for a change mat.
BUT THE HOODED TOWELS!!! :s :s :s I forget exactly how many, but twenty would not be a stretch.
@riatortillaxo and for anyone else who has a crap ton of blankets, check with your local NICU. Most take blanket donations and it's a great way to add some comfort and cheer to the sweet babes who are there. We donated all of our blankets to our NICU after ds2 came home. The nurses always put fun and bright blankets in with him and it was always nice to see the bright patterns and colors in despite all the tubes coming out of him. It gave me a measure of comfort. You can also donate old clothes as well. They will take newborn and preemie sizes.
We found out we are having another boy and literally need nothing. I kept everything from DS (i mean every freaking stitch of clothing, its really bad🤦🏼♀️) and was hoping to give it all away in one fail swoop but it turns out I'll just keep it and try to organize it somehow!
That being said, my mom asked me about a shower/sprinkle this weekend and although I don't need anything I kinda feel guilty about not having one to celebrate this little one. We are probably going to have a small, family get together. Now, if my MIL and work offers one I'm not sure what I will say. I'm from the south and southern women love to throw a party so I don't want to be rude and refuse but I want nothing else to come into my house🤷🏼♀️.
gsmomplus1 I did the same thing with my daughters things. Now I can get rid of everything, but I'm going to keep the cute infant clothes. We plan on trying for the third in the future, but I'm not holding on to those things for another three plus years. For a sprinkle you could just ask for a diaper fund or diapers and wipes. Plus getting a couple new cute outfits never hurts.
Married: August 2012
TTC #1: July 2015
BFP 1: October 30, 2015; EDD: July 6, 2016- Team Pink
@gsmomplus1 I kept most everything too. I’m excited to go through it all and decide what to keep vs donate and hopefully open up some more storage space. I would do the sprinkles more for the celebration than the gifts, maybe just focus on diapers and wipes if you do disposables, baby medicines that you likely used up, books or things that your older son could use. It’s also ok to register for things the baby will use when he’s a little older, like shoes and pants that your older son wore out and aren’t really usable anymore. I’m also shameless about registering for things at Target and then returning what we won’t use for a gift card to use to get things as you need them.
@blackgirlmagic yes that is what I was thinking, just diapers/wipes/gift cards if people want to bring something, but I would really just like to get together with my friends/family I don't get to see often, watch them drink wine and celebrate our growing family.
@roo_baby thats a great idea! I have always said IDK how ppl consign little boys clothes that are 2T and up....our DS totally ruins his! (well that or I'm a crappy launderer). I wish I was excited to look through his stuff! I don't know why it overwhelms me so much but it does and that's why I haven't done it yet. I legit have 500+ pieces of clothing to go though, and I probably bought less than 1/3 of it. Also, great idea about the Target registry! I have never thought of that....I'm doing Amazon for the 20% of diapers thing but I'll be hitting up target as well now!
@gsmomplus1 LOL at "watch them drink wine." Every so often, I think it might be nice to throw a little sprinkle for this baby, and then I have to edit the image in my head with the reminder that I won't be the one actually enjoying any sparkling. Currently, I'm leaning toward saving the celebration for a baptism brunch in which I can partake!
I think baby sprinkles are fun! Mostly for just celebrating the baby and the mom. I've never seen someone do a registry for one. Most people just bring an outfit or diapers. It sounds like your situation is different though Wildrainbow. In a "typical" situation I would sideye things like cribs and carseats for a second baby.
Married July 2014 DD born June 2016 Second due August 2020 (team green!)
Does anyone have two daycare dropoffs? My daughter is enrolled at a preschool that doesn't take babies. I don't want to switch her because she's thriving. So that means dropping my daughter off at one place and the baby off at another. I feel like that's a lot. Especially since I'll have to take the other kid into the first dropoff. Surely other have done it??
Married July 2014 DD born June 2016 Second due August 2020 (team green!)
@samsonator that will be our reality too. I’m stressing big time but will make it work.
My friend has offered a shower and I will likely take her up on it. I’ve started a registry and if people use it great if not I will use my completion code. I probably won’t need a lot of clothes because our older one is also a girl. Right now it’s mostly got consumable things or some newer versions of things that have worn out.
I probably will do another Target registry for the coupons and samples. And on the off chance someone wants to buy us something. Maybe I'll use it for registry completion if I decide to get rid of one of our car seats. I HATE our convertible. I was really pleased with the registry bag. We got a Dr. Brown's bottle, which ended up being the only bottle we've used for #2, who couldn't nurse.
@samsonator we will likely have 2 drop offs but since they are going to be 4.5 years apart I think it’s going to be our reality forever. Hoping my husband can take our preschooler most days and I’ll drop off the baby and pick up both.
@coldlife I got 2 or 3 of the target bags last time cause they kept running out and everyone knew I was looking for them and would ask every time they went. They were really good and I used the actual bags a lot. The amazon welcome box is also really nice. Between the two we never had to buy any bottles or travel products.
I would recommend signing up for both registries (and any others with perks) just to get the goodies even if you don’t share the links with anyone.
@samsonator I see it at my baby's preschool all the time. Parents are usually picking up the little one at EOD with the big one in already in tow. I think that must be easier than potentially carrying an infant in and out of school with the big kid for no real reason. 🤷 But idk
@coldlife I got 2 or 3 of the target bags last time cause they kept running out and everyone knew I was looking for them and would ask every time they went. They were really good and I used the actual bags a lot. The amazon welcome box is also really nice. Between the two we never had to buy any bottles or travel products.
I would recommend signing up for both registries (and any others with perks) just to get the goodies even if you don’t share the links with anyone.
In our experience, Amazon Prime was a total rip off. We don't have it so can't get that bag. I've heard it's one of the good ones though.
@coldlife I really think the usefulness of Amazon Prime depends on where you live and what you use it for. For us, we live in the Atlanta Suburbs, we often get next day delivery with our Prime, and my kiddo watches a lot of the kids shows available through the Amazon Prime free streaming selection. I've also rented a few books for my Kindle that I otherwise wouldn't have messed with through the Prime member services. I know I have friends in the San Diego who utilize Amazon Fresh, it's available to us in our area but we haven't tried it (no desire too honestly). There are a lot of little perks to it, one thing I use it for is if you have Amazon Prime you can subscribe to one Twitch (a live streaming website) account/channel a month for free with it. I use that subscription to support gamers I enjoy watching. Different channels have different perks for being a subscriber, the one I use it for lets Subscribers watch the replays of lives streams immediately after it's aired and not have to wait for it to go up for free on YouTube later in the week when I have a lot less time to watch.
So really, I think at this point if we as a family had to get rid of all member services/streaming services except for one, Amazon would be hands down what we kept.
We get a ton of value out of Amazon Prime, plus there's a discounted version called Amazon Mom (or at least there used to be). I wouldn't sign up for Prime just for the welcome box, but if you already have it or are thinking of getting it, it's worth it IMO.
@roo_baby do you know if the welcome bags/boxes change seasonally? I'm eager to get mine just to see what's in it, but wondering if waiting would make more sense if the items are tailored to the season.
@samsonator almost? You sign up, create the registry and then review their checklist and check off each category. (You don't actually have to add an item from each category in order to check it off.) Then I think it's just a $10 purchase from the registry, and you qualify!
@rivercitynik I'm not sure, but I was thinking about holding off JIC 🤷
@samsonator we will have to do 2 drop off and pickup since DS1 is 5 and goes to kindergarten in the fall. We are looking at one daycare that will offer before and after care from DS1 elementary school but we are still trying to decide what we want to do with DS1 for school next year.
Question... has anyone brought a birthing ball with them to the hospital? I’m currently using an exercise ball with my workouts, I’ve never used one before and I really like it and could see it potentially being helpful when it comes to labor and delivery.
My question would be- did you bring your ball fully inflated? Or deflate and inflate when you got there? Did you bring it and not use it or did you use it and what were your thoughts? TIA
@charhar0820 You might want to ask your office if they have some available on the premises. I asked last pregnancy about birth balls, and the midwife I spoke to said they had tons of them, so no need to bring my own!
@charhar0820 Our hospital has them as well! If your doesn’t I’d probably bring it inflated and chick it in the trunk. It’d likely be a pain to have to inflate it there. They can be awesome tools throughout pregnancy and labour. I lived on my birth ball for the last 2 months or so of each pregnancy and loved it in early labour with my second but couldn’t STAND sitting on it when I was in active labour, it made my contractions unbearable. Weird. With my first I had an epidural so I couldn’t have used/balanced on it anyways!
@charhar0820, brought one? No. My birth center had one already. I bounced on it quite a bit in early labor. They will probably do it, but definitely put an absorbent pad on top!
@RedBaramid, yea, I'm sure it varies. We've lived in a lot of smaller towns, and, well, the shipping "guaranteed" time frame has frequently been far from it, in our experience. Or we've had items take a long time to "process" before getting put in the mail.
We watch very little TV, and, of that, Amazon has very little that we're interested in. Almost any movie or TV show we looked up, they didn't have (we'd have to pay extra). And we don't have e-readers. So basically, we were only purchasing it for the shipping. And we get free shipping anyway! I just wait until I have at least $25 or $35 (can't remember) of items to purchase, and I get free shipping that just takes a little longer.
I've also found they don't always have the best price. So I'd caution anyone to price check before just defaulting to Amazon! Target and Fred Meyer/Kroger both have pick up pretty much immediately in store options so you can shop and price check online. Diapers, for example. For disposables, I buy store brand, typically Comforts (Fred's) or up and up (target). For a big box in the size my daughter is in now, it's 14 cents per diaper in those two brands. Mama Bear (amazon's store brand) is currently listed at 24 cents per diaper. Wipes are the same price.
@gsmomplus1 it's popular around here to do a diaper party for STM's! Usually with a raffle as a way to win a prize instead of doing your typical shower games.
MH had a diaper party before DS. In his circle its a thing, like its expected with every kid. We got literally a closet full of diapers and wipes. I didn't buy diapers until DS was 15 months, even later than that for wipes. Its definitely helpful. I fully expect he'll have another this go round. They don't make a big deal just all the guys, wings, beer, bring diapers and probably a game on TV. As far as my shower, I had 12 ppl attend (which is a good crowd for me considering our families live out of state). The registry this time is more so for people who want to send us something but live far away. I want to have a shower in our hometowns this time bc we NEVER get to celebrate with our families, we literally havent since our wedding, who knows when we'll get another opportunity. It'll cost us more in travel than the gifts we'll receive likely but I just want to have this one thing with them since we didn't last time. And I dont feel bad about it at all.
STM DS (June 18 BMB vet) Married Aug 2016 Me 30 / DH 34 CS scheduled 7/26-8/12 Due 8/30
Okay sounds like a lot of you will have 2 dropoffs! I don't know why it's stressing me out so much. With my daughter we did a center, but I'm considering a home daycare for #2. Has anyone done both and have a strong preference?
Married July 2014 DD born June 2016 Second due August 2020 (team green!)
@samsonator we did a home daycare for DD when she was a baby and moved to a center “preschool” when she was 2. I’m planning to send #2 to the home daycare even though DD’s school has an infant class. I loved the home daycare environment for an infant. There were only 4 babies and a max of 14 kids total, so it felt very intimate. I had direct communication with the provider who ran the daycare every morning and evening (vs having 3-4 different teachers giving me updates). She kept my bottles and washed/sterilized them for me so I could just bring bags of milk each morning. Honestly, it felt like I was leaving my daughter at grandma’s house or an aunt’s house and it was very comforting for me. However, the home daycare has shorter hours, more closures/vacation days, there is no administrative person to report things to if you are unhappy with something, and there was no parent community to be a part of. I also think finding and trusting someone who runs a home daycare can be more challenging than finding a great center.
How are you guys not murdering your existing children? I mean that in the most loving way possible. I am not sleeping well at night between the dreams, the aching hips, and the insomnia and when I wake up in the mornings I need to not be spoken to... for like an hour. That's not happening of course because on what planet does a 5 year old understand that mommy needs quiet time? To get up before her to get some quiet time would mean waking up at 5am and that's not happening with how late I'm falling asleep at night. My moods have become SO unstable. I feel awful when I snap at her and of course I am in tears and apologizing to her that mommy shouldn't have said XYZ but oh my gosh I really don't think I can survive 6 months of this...
@RedBaramid I feel you. This morning my son cried and whined for 15 minutes because I’d made cereal for him instead of oatmeal. Our mornings are very tightly scheduled because we only have an hour and a half before leaving for work, so it threw everything off.
@RedBaramid My kid screaming at the top of his lungs directly into my eardrums first thing this morning has me feeling the same way. I was finally like, "If you can't use your inside voice, I'm just going to put you outside." And it's grocery day, so...yay! Send help.
@RedBaramid oh no, I'm sorry you're struggling. I just tell myself it's the hormones and it won't last forever! You'll have SOME good days in those 6 months too!
@RedBaramid I feel you. I raised my voice at ds2 yesterday while he was pitching a fit in the grocery store. I am done with toddlers and their unstable moods. H hasnt been home very much to help because of his ridiculous work schedule and commute, so I've basically been solo parenting. Hugs and solidarity, mama. I'm right there with you more says than not.
@RedBaramid Oh my god, I’m with you! I have a 3.5 year old and a just-turned 11 month old baby. I am still on mat leave with my baby. I have one more month of leave and YES I am counting down. I’m dying over here. My baby is up 2-3x at night and wakes up for good around 5:30am (this morning it was 5:12). After an hour and 45 mins of keeping her quiet so she didn’t wake her older sister, and then an hour of listening to the baby whine and scream while I tried to feed them both breakfast, and get myself and older DD dressed to take her to daycare, I called my husband in tears and told him he had to come home. I am feeling so sick and I am beyond exhausted. I’m nearing my breaking point, honestly. We just aren’t meant to be pregnant while breastfeeding and raising babies who aren’t sleeping through the night. At least I’m not. I am barely keeping it together over here. I have to say that seeing me cry into the phone shocked both my girls into silence. Even the baby stopped crying and just stared at me. Momma is losing it!!!!
@RedBaramid@laur84ns@wildrainbow I’m so sorry! Hang in there everyone! Lately my daughter has been pretty sweet, but sometimes I think she can sense when I’m feeling worn down and weak and pushes my buttons extra hard then. Btw my husband is making me pretty crazy the past couple weeks. He also seems to know how to make me a crazy person when I’m already on edge!
Re: Ask a STM+ February
BUT THE HOODED TOWELS!!! :s :s :s I forget exactly how many, but twenty would not be a stretch.
That being said, my mom asked me about a shower/sprinkle this weekend and although I don't need anything I kinda feel guilty about not having one to celebrate this little one. We are probably going to have a small, family get together. Now, if my MIL and work offers one I'm not sure what I will say. I'm from the south and southern women love to throw a party so I don't want to be rude and refuse but I want nothing else to come into my house🤷🏼♀️.
@roo_baby thats a great idea! I have always said IDK how ppl consign little boys clothes that are 2T and up....our DS totally ruins his! (well that or I'm a crappy launderer). I wish I was excited to look through his stuff! I don't know why it overwhelms me so much but it does and that's why I haven't done it yet. I legit have 500+ pieces of clothing to go though, and I probably bought less than 1/3 of it. Also, great idea about the Target registry! I have never thought of that....I'm doing Amazon for the 20% of diapers thing but I'll be hitting up target as well now!
DD born June 2016
Second due August 2020 (team green!)
DD born June 2016
Second due August 2020 (team green!)
Craft Blog
So really, I think at this point if we as a family had to get rid of all member services/streaming services except for one, Amazon would be hands down what we kept.
DD born June 2016
Second due August 2020 (team green!)
@rivercitynik I'm not sure, but I was thinking about holding off JIC 🤷
I lived on my birth ball for the last 2 months or so of each pregnancy and loved it in early labour with my second but couldn’t STAND sitting on it when I was in active labour, it made my contractions unbearable. Weird. With my first I had an epidural so I couldn’t have used/balanced on it anyways!
@RedBaramid, yea, I'm sure it varies. We've lived in a lot of smaller towns, and, well, the shipping "guaranteed" time frame has frequently been far from it, in our experience. Or we've had items take a long time to "process" before getting put in the mail.
We watch very little TV, and, of that, Amazon has very little that we're interested in. Almost any movie or TV show we looked up, they didn't have (we'd have to pay extra). And we don't have e-readers. So basically, we were only purchasing it for the shipping. And we get free shipping anyway! I just wait until I have at least $25 or $35 (can't remember) of items to purchase, and I get free shipping that just takes a little longer.
I've also found they don't always have the best price. So I'd caution anyone to price check before just defaulting to Amazon! Target and Fred Meyer/Kroger both have pick up pretty much immediately in store options so you can shop and price check online. Diapers, for example. For disposables, I buy store brand, typically Comforts (Fred's) or up and up (target). For a big box in the size my daughter is in now, it's 14 cents per diaper in those two brands. Mama Bear (amazon's store brand) is currently listed at 24 cents per diaper. Wipes are the same price.
Married Aug 2016 Me 30
CS scheduled 7/26-8/12 Due 8/30
DD born June 2016
Second due August 2020 (team green!)