Randoms - Week of April 3rd

byrneme · April 2017

Have any thoughts, questions, feelings, fears? Spill them here!

This is a good place to ask questions to a broader audience than the weekly trimester check-ins so those with experience can chime in!

LoveDontCostAThing · April 2017

So, I got another beta today, and I listened to the message a few times and had DH listen because this number is crazy. She said my beta is 227,136! Could she be reading it wrong?? Could it be 27,000? Progesterone is 68.31 and Estradiol is 863. I am 6w1d. At 5w1d they saw one gestational sac and yolk sac.

Kp214 · April 2017

I am wondering what are some items that everyone is registering for or just outright buying. For example, I love the graco click connect travel system and the Graco pack n play playard with bassinet. I've heard the medela pumps are great.

teebric · April 2017

@LoveDontCostAThing that does sound extremely high! I think I was getting those numbers right around the 8-9 week mark, definitely not at 6 weeks. Sounds more like the nurse should have said in the 20,000. I just googled the averages for HCG levels (I used to check it out after every beta) and the normal for a 6 week singleton is between 1080-56500. I guess it doesn't really matter as long as the levels are increasing though...

@Kp214 I only ever had a couple of things bought off my registry which was a little annoying. We were fortunate enough to be given a bunch of furniture from friends. As much as I'd have loved to have all new stuff it relieved a lot of the financial pressure. Hopefully someone with more success with their registry will be able to help you out. Good Luck!

teebric · April 2017

Any tips to survive a long car trip (3+ hours)?? Will pretty much be 37 weeks and have to go say goodbye to DH Nana on the weekend.. any tips would be appreciated

tvh1982 · April 2017

If your snuggle pillow isn't too big bring it (or any other pillow(s)) I know I was very happy with 36 weeks to have my pillow with me on my plane ride @teriulbricht
I also bought a second handed besafe car seat Pregnancy belt. It was very comfortable.
Check how often you pass by public bathrooms, so you can plan a break on time. Bring enough to drink and snack. And if you're not driving an eyemask so you can take a nap.

wifeinraleigh28 · April 2017

@LoveDontCostAThing I always reference this chart:

Always listen to your doctor/nurse over the internet though. If they think you're good, then you're good! I don't have any personal experience with beta #s at that stage since I only had 2 beta draws... at 10dpt and 12dpt (so around 4 weeks along).

@Kp214 We put everything on our registry and the things that didn't end up getting purchased for us we bought ourselves. We got the City Mini GT, and got the car seat adapter so we could also get the Nuna Pipa car seat. It works great together. And we got the Graco PNP with the cuddle cove to keep in the living room. Instead of a swing, we ended up getting a Nuna Leaf, and we're going to hold off on any other things to put her in until she's here and we know what she actually likes! My sister gifted me her Medela pump in style but I have yet to use it (obviously). She loved it though!

byrneme · April 2017

@kp214 I think it's just personal preference on how long you want to wait for things to come off your registry. We bought our furniture ourselves since it just seemed easier but were pleasantly surprised when my parents bought our travel system (I thought that would be one we'd end up doing). My eye is now watching the same PNP @wifeinraleigh28 mentions above b/c my plan is to use that instead of a bassinet in our bedroom.

Hey @wifeinraleigh28 , I'm heading your direction tomorrow to visit some friends, what's up with the weather on Friday/Saturday lol. I feel we are hitting the two days that are kind of chilly sandwiched between some gorgeous weather!

wifeinraleigh28 · April 2017

@byrneme The weather is so up and down in the spring! But fortunately nothing looks too cold coming up. I don't mind 60 degree weather now that I'm in 3rd trimester

Kp214 · April 2017

@wifeinraleigh28 thanks. It's helpful to read what others have considered and ultimately decided on. It gives me new things to think about with my own considerations.

@byrneme thanks. I'm not really sure if my parents will buy anything big, so we may go ahead and buy the bigger stuff ourselves. I just don't know when we will buy anything big.

Polythene Pam · April 2017

@kp214 We registered for everything and were surprised that friends/family went in on some of the bigger items. Some places will give you a discount if you register with them so like we had a nicer jogging stroller that no one purchased, we bought that on our own after our showers. Must have bigger for us were the rock n play, pack n play, jogging stroller with adapter for carseat (just clicked in), and carseat/base. Things we were given and ended up rarely using were a swing (others say this is a must have, my daughter hated it, I wish I'd waited and borrowed someones

, not big but the bumbo, and a bassinet (daughter had reflux and hated it). Every kid is so different, if you can wait on anything, our daughter slept in our room for 3-4 months so I could've put a lot of things off in hindsight

babylonghorn16 · April 2017

@Kp214 I have the Graco Downton Click Connect Travel system, Graco PNP sleep (bassinet and changing station), and a medela pump! lol! I have yet to use, but they look great. The click connect travel system is really easy to fold down and very light weight. A couple other things I think are important: a swing (we chose the Graco one to match the PNP), a nice diaper bag (ju-ju-be backpacks are GREAT), plenty of swaddle blankets, diapers of different sizes (not JUST nb), wipes, sound soothers (to mimic sound of the womb), 4 oz bottles, and a boppy for feeding! I think you can get by without everything else. Hope this helps. We got almost everything we asked for on our registry... so some people do follow!

Good luck!

Kp214 · April 2017

@Polythene Pam thanks! I will check into whether or not places give a discount to register. That would be great! That's good to know about waiting on some stuff.

@babylonghorn16 it's like you've seen my amazon wish list! I have the Graco Downton click connect travel system and the Graco PNP with bassinet and changing table on there. I haven't decided on which medel pump yet, but I will be buying that myself. I hadn't thought about a sound soother! Thanks for the suggestion. DH likes a white noise machine for sleep, so if our LO takes after him, that will be needed.

Polythene Pam · April 2017

Oh YES to sound machine! I swear it's why my daughter is a good sleeper (or was till she turned 3

I forgot a good carrier too, something like moby when they're itty bitty and I liked the boba when she got bigger.

babylonghorn16 · April 2017

Oh yes, carriers! I have the Baby K'tan (for me) and LILLIEbaby (for hubby). We live in Texas, so had to shop around for light-weight, breathable options!

@Kp214 I have 2 sound soothers - one that stays in nursery and one that's mobile. I'm already IN LOVE with the mobile one - VTech BC8211 Myla The Monkey Portable Soother. So cute and so functional. We charge with our phone charger (android), so it's very convenient for us!

dragonfaerie · April 2017

Be sure to see what breast pump your insurance will cover. I got the Medela pump in style Advanced for free

teebric · April 2017

Thanks for the tips @tvh1982 I plan to make a few stops along the way to break it up and stretch out my legs and back. I especially like the eye mask idea for napping!

Something I never thought about was how the capsule was going to fit in my car. I have a reasonably large car but my Nuna Pipa takes up so much room on the back seat that I have to have the front passenger seat pretty much all the way forward! I'm so disappointed that I never considered this as sitting in that seat is really uncomfortable, hopefully we won't be doing any long trips once baby is here. Just thought I'd share in case it helped someone else!

babylonghorn16 · April 2017

Yes to what @dragonfaerie said!! I went through aeroflow breastpumps. They worked with my insurance and made it very simple to see and research what I was eligible for - I just provided them with a prescription from my OB (took a pic and emailed), and they did the rest! It was easy and painless. I highly recommend!

byrneme · April 2017

So I had found this on a Pinterest board and looked into it and LOVE it so I bought it outright and removed one of our sound machines from the registry (I had multiple people tell me one for the nursery and one for the other floor of your house you spend the most time on). Part of my falling in love is the automation - anything I can control from my phone I'm all over. I also love the lighting features.

https://www.hatchbaby.com/pages/rest#

Kp214 · April 2017

Thanks, @Polythene Pam @byrneme @dragonfaerie. Those are great suggestion that I hadn't considered! I appreciate them!

wifeinraleigh28 · April 2017

We have 2 sound machines too... a regular dohm sound machine for the nursery and this portable one that we can bring with us anywhere: https://www.amazon.com/myBaby-SoundSpa-Sound-Machine-Green/dp/B01N9EZFJI/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1491491140&sr=8-3&keywords=portable+sound+machine

As for carriers, I got a k'tan and DH got the lillebaby (like @babylonghorn16). My sister also gave me her ergobaby carrier to use once the baby is bigger and I don't want to use the k'tan anymore. I've heard that once your baby is heavier, you want a more structured carrier to distribute the weight better.

Other must haves we registered for:
infant bath tub - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000067EH7?colid=3NZBAB3PXTENA&coliid=IDA3DPLNLWYS0&ref=br_ADD_TO_CART_title_link
swaddles (both the velcro swaddleme's and the Aden + Anais muslin blanket swaddles)
mirror for the car - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I27OHCY?colid=3NZBAB3PXTENA&coliid=IM2G6VRZK1KH4&ref=br_ADD_TO_CART_title_link
ubbi diaper pail, which we actually tried out this past weekend when my nephews were visiting... it really does the job! Couldn't smell a thing.
wide neck newborn bottle set, which I heard are best for breast-fed babies - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GDF8GU?colid=3NZBAB3PXTENA&coliid=I1C6XA2W7DK7V&ref=br_ADD_TO_CART_title_link
Graco blossom high chair to match our PNP
hands-free breast pump bra so you can multitask while pumping - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00295MQLU?colid=3NZBAB3PXTENA&coliid=I10I4XTE1C62QX&ref=br_ADD_TO_CART_title_link
baby monitor - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ECHYTBI?colid=3NZBAB3PXTENA&coliid=I1QIQHNJOL75LD&ref=br_ADD_TO_CART_title_link
kick n play piano gym (which I heard is just super awesome, and I can't wait to use it)!
boppy pillow for nursing and infant lounging
bassinet to go in our room for the first 3 months (didn't think it was worth it get a really fancy pricey one) - https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=32647946&cp=2256245.2256271&parentPage=family
play yard for when she's mobile - https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=16055016&cp=2255983.18816716&parentPage=family

Also put on there hooded towels, wash cloths, burp cloths, sleep gowns, zippered pajamas, plain white onesies in assorted sizes, booties/socks/scratch mitts, baby shampoo/body wash, bedding for the bassinet/crib/PNP, feeding accessories (bowls/spoons/bottle brush/boon drying rack/dishwasher basket), breastmilk storage bags, pacifiers + clip, all kinds of toys and books, humidifier and air circulator, teething toys that you freeze, keepsake box, etc.

My in laws bought us the Nuna Pipa and City Mini GT so that was super helpful!

I'm probably forgetting some things but our registries were quite long and included just about everything we could ever need. I know that STMs probably will disagree with some of the items we have, but live and learn