holy god, i'm terrified after reading all that!!

Mrs W wrote:holy god, i'm terrified after reading all that!!

+1 - we are still very, very early on the baby making road but am trying to get my head around the idea so thought this was a place to start. It reminds me of the Wedding day checklists from the Wedding planning days!

Super start though girls...my "preparing for baby" list has expanded from "#1 Come off the Pill" to lots and lots of items...I'm almost knowledgeable now!

In the hospital I was in i was using witch hazel on the pads as i had stitches, and the nurse told me to stop using it, she said to keep the area as dry as possible, so i would literally dab the area dry with tissue and i had no problems all healed up very quickly.

Grunge Bride wrote:

Delish wrote:You should definitely use that many, you'll use 5 or 6 a day and use the small size for at least a month or so, all depends on the birth weight of baby and how fast he or she gains weight.

Hi girls, great post!

I bought 2 packs of newborn Huggies (2 x 27) and 3 packs of size 2.

The newborn ones are back on special in Tesco - should I buy more? If I'm most likely to use more than 2
packs of newborn, I'd rather not pay full price at the time....but if I'm more likely to use size 2 I'd
rather stick with few newborn ones!

I wouldn't go mad buying too many of the smaller sizes - I ended up with loads of leftover ones as the LO moved up to size 3 pretty quickly (used size 2 only for first few weeks).

Also muslin cloths are great to have for burping and posseting - you can get a big pack of them in mothercare - I always had them around. Also useful to put under their head in the cot to catch any spews from going on sheets - less washing!

MrsGiggles wrote:I second that about the pads - stock up on as many as you can. I have only stopped bleeding and I'm 5wks post labour! It only got light in the last 2wks & as I had stitches I found the green maternity pads v.comfortable. I tried the bots maternity pads and found them crap!!!

Set up an area in your bedroom for changing nappies during the night, I have a drawer with some of DS vests,babygro's, blankets, muslin squares as you dont wont to be looking for them in the middle of the night!

Try out your sterilser, bottle warmer etc before baby arrives.

Have an open attitude when it comes to labour, anything can happen so be prepared for all options.

Dont stock up on to many packets of newborn nappies, my DS is out of size 1,2 already & I've still a few packs of these left.
Also dont go crazy on newborn clothes, my DS was 9lb 130z's and never fitted any newborn clothes, so pack some 0-3 month clothing in your hospital bag.

If you are attending Holles Street, we were told to leave my labour bag in a locked room in Fetal Assesment and my DH was told to get it after the birth. I was in a panic for weeks before it making sure I had all sorts of stuff but never got ti use any of it and TBH didn't make any difference. After baby was born DH got the bag & maidwive dressed DS.

Yep, I pretty much second everything here. Had a set of drawers in kitchen too with changing mat on top, and all the clothes to hand.

Accept before the baby comes that the house will look like a tip - and don't worry yourself about it - and don't be worried anyone else will care!! People fret over the silliest of things.

Just about breastfeeding - if it works it works - if it doesn't don't sweat it. Do what you feel is right. It worked out for me, but I went in with an open mind (and a bag full of soothers, which the nurses passed comment on almost everytime they came in the room - not recommended for breastfeeding apparently) - didn't stop my LO from latching on!

I'll be going to antenatel classes so I'm sure I'll find out all about the basics, but for some reason I'm obessesed with finding out how often you feed new borns and change them. I know obviously its different for all babies but its something thats been on my mind. I dont know yet if I'll breast feed so I'm more so talking about bottle feeds. Any feedback from experienced mothers? x

DublinAngel wrote:I'll be going to antenatel classes so I'm sure I'll find out all about the basics, but for some reason I'm obessesed with finding out how often you feed new borns and change them. I know obviously its different for all babies but its something thats been on my mind. I dont know yet if I'll breast feed so I'm more so talking about bottle feeds. Any feedback from experienced mothers? x

Dublin Angel my DS was every 3/4 hours bottle fed but it realy does depend on your baby as soom babies need feeds more often.. you normally have this worked out within the first few days.. your baby will let you know

Even though I am on no.2 I just read all of this thread and some of the stuff is so helpful even as a refresh before baby no.2 arrives, please God.. Thanks girs

when packing your hospital bag put a few nappy bags/jiffy bags in - its easier to send home the dirty clothes then. I packed each vest and babygrow in a separate bag - that way if DH was changing babs it was just a case of grab a little bag and replace old with new
Dont stock up on any baby products - you dont know how sensitive babs skin will be. We got lots of presents of J&J talcs and bath stuff but we never used any of it. We still use silcocks base and Aveeno
Rather then buying expensive moses basket/cradle bed sheets I just used a pillow case. It meant if babs was sick during the night it was a quick change and I didnt have to worry about them coming off the mattress.
As soon as you arrive home with babs make all the usual noises ie telly, hoover, washing machine etc. DD is able to sleep through the loudest of noises now - they are so used to it from the hospital its only when they come home and all of a sudden people start to hush that they expect the quite.
set up a changing basket/box in the sitting room /kitchen - we had a wicker basket with nappies,creams, vests, babygrows etc. saved us running up and down the stairs - this was a godsend and also kept the place reasonably tidy!
if you dont like visitors seeing you in your jammies then just leave an outfit laid out on the spare bed that you can quicky change in and out of when people arrive/leave!
Dont even think of offering people tea/coffee - if they want it they can make it themselves!
Have a look at some of the equipment before babs arrives - be sure you know how to use it/assemble it/ check does it need batteries etc


not sure if they are of any use but seemed good to me at the time

most of all enjoy it!

Great thread girls, i've just got my long awaited BFP and reading all this has been very helpful

I am now freaking out!

Thanks to everyone for this!
i'm determind to be as organised as i can be before baby arrives so this will be a great help!

+1 on all hints and tips above

We all know hospital food is bad... but its really bad. I was in for 5 days and was dying for some good food. One day our option for tea was sausage roll and chips or spring roll and chips . Definitely not the best nutrition especially after giving birth and trying to BF. Have some snacks (cereal bars, flapjacks etc) packed in your bag and get your OH to bring in food every evening. Also remember hospital teatime is 5.30pm and you won't get another meal until breakfast (you will get a cup of tea at 9pm-ish) so have some supplies especially if you land in the ward after this time.

Having said all that, the tray of tea and toast given after birth is the best you'll ever taste

FoundHome wrote:+1 on all hints and tips above

We all know hospital food is bad... but its really bad. I was in for 5 days and was dying for some good food. One day our option for tea was sausage roll and chips or spring roll and chips . Definitely not the best nutrition especially after giving birth and trying to BF. Have some snacks (cereal bars, flapjacks etc) packed in your bag and get your OH to bring in food every evening. Also remember hospital teatime is 5.30pm and you won't get another meal until breakfast (you will get a cup of tea at 9pm-ish) so have some supplies especially if you land in the ward after this time.

Having said all that, the tray of tea and toast given after birth is the best you'll ever taste

I never got to taste the famous tea and toast as I had a section and had to wait for ages before I could eat and by that stage it was breakfast.
TBH, I found the food in The Rotunda great, had plenty of choices etc (was private, so maybe that was the difference) and it was quite healthy and nutritious.

i was in st lukes in kilkenny and the food was great.. healthy. they did put on my chart that my appetite was poor.. well if you had have given me a second tray i would have wolfed it down too.. get DH to bring in cereal bars etc.... esp if you are BF'ing as you will be starving..


section mammies i recommend sitting on the chair during the day and walking as much as possible. i found i hurt myself getting in and out of the bed.

Amberjack wrote:

FoundHome wrote:+1 on all hints and tips above

We all know hospital food is bad... but its really bad. I was in for 5 days and was dying for some good food. One day our option for tea was sausage roll and chips or spring roll and chips . Definitely not the best nutrition especially after giving birth and trying to BF. Have some snacks (cereal bars, flapjacks etc) packed in your bag and get your OH to bring in food every evening. Also remember hospital teatime is 5.30pm and you won't get another meal until breakfast (you will get a cup of tea at 9pm-ish) so have some supplies especially if you land in the ward after this time.

Having said all that, the tray of tea and toast given after birth is the best you'll ever taste

I never got to taste the famous tea and toast as I had a section and had to wait for ages before I could eat and by that stage it was breakfast.
TBH, I found the food in The Rotunda great, had plenty of choices etc (was private, so maybe that was the difference) and it was quite healthy and nutritious.

I had a section at 9am (not rotunda) and they wouldnt give me anything till about 4pm I was absolutly wall falling with the hunger. I also had gestational diabetes so that didnt help although they said my insulin would return to normal within an hour of delivery. Didnt find the food great at all either and I was private, and the portions were tiny!! Plus im veggie so Im sure they were glad to see the back of me