Hellobee Boards

@TravelBee: Welcome!

@SunshineMcC: We looked at one home daycare and two centers for DD. One of my best friends uses the home daycare and we liked it, but we could not make the hours work (8-5). So we ended up looking at centers that had the hours we could work with (6:30-6:30). DD was due Nov 2 (sidenote: born Oct 29th...making Wed her 1st birthday!!), and we put a deposit down for her spot in July. So I don't think it's that crazy to have to put a deposit down in January.

We aren't sure what we are going to do after this baby. I would like to keep them both at the center because I really like it. But it is not cheap ($17k a year for one). So DH would like us to look into home daycares again that could save us a lot. But I'm not completely on board with giving up a lot of the benefits of the center....

I've been offline for a few days, but just caught up on where everyone is at! Just wondering, has anyone had a yeast infection while pregnant? I've been having thick white discharge over the weekend, and some very mild itching. Then this morning I woke up and noticed brown spotting I called my clinic right away and they said to take Monistat 7 and if it doesn't clear then call them back in a week once I've taken the course, or if things get worse. I was hoping they would tell me to come in and get checked out because I am SO worried about the brown spotting. They said the spotting is sometimes caused by the yeast infection. I'm 17 weeks today... I just want to know that the little guy is ok in there!

@Mrs. Sunshine: thank you! yes, i am trying to stay calm. I will start the monistat tonight and keep my fingers crossed that the brown spotting is nothing.

@TravelBee: In my flap I forgot to say welcome to you! happy to have you join us!

@Mrs.Pinecone316: I haven't! I'm 18+2 and doing a gender reveal at DD's party this weekend. I have told a lot of people in person, just not social media.

I haven't told work yet and am not sure when I will. I'm friends with some people from work on FB so it's still not been announced.

@loki: Yeah, I don't know how you would have managed with being so sick! My bump is only visible if I wear fitted tops, but for work I wear mostly dresses that are not fitted in the tummy area. Here is a pick of me at work today. (Excuse my messy office). You would have to know what you were looking for to see a bump!

@NeekieRose: oh ya totally, i would never know! your bump pictures make it look much more prominent

@Mrs.Pinecone316: No, and we're not going to. There will probably be an eventual bump picture at something we go to so that will out us.

So I just told my boss, who is an incredibly awkward man to start, his reaction... I was wondering about that, followed by dead silence. No congratulations, nothing. The emotional pregnant lady in me almost burst in to tears...

@Banana330: Ha! Or maybe it's not funny. I'm just picturing your awkward boss. My VP is a woman and super awkward. She never congratulated me last time. Just thanked me for planning my leave around our busy time. Which I didn't do this time. So who knows what she is going to say this time. Something super awkward for sure.

@Banana330: so sorry it wasn't a better reaction from your boss!

@TravelBee: welcome!!

I sound like a broken record, but I am still getting sick. Still. At 17w5d. I was getting better and thought the sickness phase was over but nope. Still getting sick at least 3x a week. Today I felt awful at work.

I am happily wearing maternity clothes and it's just so much more comfortable than trying to squeeze pants around my stomach.

We find out the sex in a week and I'm getting super duper impatient! My side of the family thinks it's a girl and myself and hubby's side thinks it's a boy. Can't wait!

I posted this on another thread but I'd love to get opinion from you guys. Did any of you second-time-moms skip straight to a convertible carseat? And if so, what was your stroller experience? I'm feeling very opposed to the infant carseat since people say that their babies grow out of them in as little as five months (yikes), but I also don't want to buy a $$$ bassinet attachment for my stroller. We're getting the Baby Jogger City Versa which supposedly is not okay until 6+ months, though I have seen several people post online that they used the stroller earlier than that with a Snuzzler or with the convertible carseat insert switched into the stroller. Any thoughts? Will we get dirty looks for torturing our baby if we do something like that? I am kind of figuring I'll end up babywearing for most of the first few months anyway (we have an Ergo).

@Boopers: I forgot to say i'm still getting sick too. Yesterday was an awesome day, zero gagging or puking. Today puked by 10am and super gaggy all day. ugh.. hoping it's clearing up though!

@PawPrints: yeah, I didn't use it at all! I actually ended up returning it and then not re-buying a stroller for a number of months because I had no use for it. We live downtown, so I walked a lot, and she liked to be cozied up rather than in the stroller in any event. I got the umbrella stroller when we were leaving for a trip to England because we were going to do days and days of walking and I didn't think my back could take carrying that big lug with that much walking!

@PawPrints: hate to play the devil's advocate, but my LO had many naps in her bucket seat and I loved how I was able to pop her out of the car and bring in the seat without waking her. We used the infant seat up until 12 months, but for the last couple I just left it in the car. I thought I'd baby wear a ton but I really didn't with her. However, I'm hoping to do it more with LO2. As for stroller, we were handed down a Quinny with a bassinet which was awesome for the first 6 months but they are pricey and I wouldn't have bought it myself. We ended up buying our own smaller stroller and started using that at 6 months. I think you can definitely do without a stroller for the first 6 months if you plan to baby wear, but I really did love pushing a stroller and going for long walks with LO. Plus with an April baby we are going to have months of nice weather to walk around. I'm definitely pro infant seat and stroller to use early on if you can get them for a good price!

@Rockies11: thank you so much for the reassurance re. spotting! I can't believe you barfed in your boss's garbage - such a "hollywood movie moment" and HORRIBLE I am sure but maybe you will look back and laugh?! Hope you start to feel better soon

@delight: @NeekieRose: @marionberry: Oh I'm actually really not on the fence at all about the convertible vs. infant seat, we live in an urban walkable area and just spend so little time in the car that it's very hard for me to imagine we'll have much use for carrying napping baby straight from the car to a stroller. (And when we do drive somewhere, it's typically a 5-15 minute drive). My question was more if anybody has experience with putting a <6 month baby directly into a stroller (with a Snuzzler or other insert) or alternatively just babywearing for the first 6 months. Thanks for the experiences though, that does help me understand why SO many parents go for the infant seat (I had been a little baffled when I was reading thread after thread about people having to switch to convertible at such young ages).

@Boopers: i'm still sick too. i'll have a good day and think it's all over and then the next day, bam. i actually don't throw up much anymore but i am still super nauseous and really gaggy. my appetite is back but my food aversions are still brutal. we went out for dins last night to order my FAVOURITE appetizer and i couldn't get it down. boo!!!

what carrier would you guys recommend? i want to get one but there is so much info about all of them. based on the discussion, i presume you can start using them as soon as baby is born??? i know nothing about them but i'm interested! educate me.

for the last few days i have had this weird cramping pain in my left abdomen. it feels like what i thought implantation felt like... sometimes it's a dull ache that lasts for a couple of minutes and sometimes it's a sharp twinge. i am starting to get worried about it and wonder if something else is going on. i think i might have to go to the doctor about this but wondering if anyone has any ideas? it's worse when i cough (yes i still have my cough, two months later).

@marionberry: oh i will have to try to swing by babies r us, didn't know they would let you try them!

ya i think i will get it checked out. it doesn't really feel baby related. for a while i thought it was maybe RLP but now i think it doesn't feel like it's like stretching, it feels sharper than that and maybe... deeper in? i dunno. i'm worried about how to explain it so they don't just write it off as a pregnancy system.

@loki: I am sure you will be able to find a good baby store that will let you experiment with a carrier to find the right fit. there are stores that specialize in "baby wearing" and they are usually super good and helpful and passionate about the subject. I found this easier to do with a baby, because you can also see if the baby is into one thing over another, but most places have baby dolls you can experiment with if you're just looking for fit.

I own all the carriers - or at least one of each kind of carrier, and have used them all. Ergo is my favorite! There are three main kinds of carriers:

1. Slings and wraps - these are just pieces of cloth that have little plastic rings sometimes, or sometimes they are just cloth. You have to ninja them into actually holding the baby, so you have to be good at tying things and watching youtube videos to figure out how to work them. Upsides - super versatile in terms of what position you can put the baby in, and you can change up where the baby is positioned as the baby gets older. You can get really beautiful wraps and different materials and weaves and so forth, so they can go with your personal style. They are also great to position infant infants over the breast so you can feed them in then while you go about your business. Downsides - there is some controversy about infant suffocation if used incorrectly, but they all come with instructions about safety so as to avoid that. They can be super hard on your back and shoulders because there is no support for them to sit on your hips. Other downside is the ninja thing - I could never figure out how to get her in a position that I felt was truly secure, but that said, I totally totally suck at that type of thing so if you suck that that type of thing, it may not be your thing.

2. Soft structured carriers - these are the ones like Ergo or Mei Tai or Koba or Tula. They're like backpacks, and the baby faces inwards (although some now have a rotation outwards you can do, but I have heard that doesn't reallly work) in a seated position. They can be worn with the baby faced inwards towards you in the front, which is when they're little, or on your back when they're bigger. Upsides - easy to use, they disburse weight onto your hips so way less back strain, you can nurse in them. Downsides - some babies hate them - particularly very active ones, they still do pull on your back a bit, they're sort of hard to get the baby into at first, and the baby is in the position that they're in so less flexibility than a wrap.

3. Structured carriers - these are like the one from the Hangover - Britax or Baby Bjior. These face the baby outwards, and the baby dangles by his or her crotch. Upsides - really easy to get the baby into, active babies who don't like to be constrained like them because their arms and legs are free. Downsides - there is a big controversy about the dangling thing being uncomfortable for the baby, versus the seated position of the soft structured. I read a thoughtful and well researched article that said that this actually isn't really a substantiated thing. If it was uncomfortable for your baby, you would know it, hahaha. Downsides - don't disburse weight well onto hips, so it hurt my back more. I couldn't really use mine also because I had a c-section, and where the weight sat was right above the c-section line, so it was just too painful.

So anyway, that's my novel, lol. Oh also, most "baby wearing" stores will not sell the structured carriers and will say lots of awful things about the dangling thing, so you'd have to try them on at toys 'r us! And from a personal style perspective, slings and wraps are more "hippie", soft structured are semi-hippie, but you can get neutral designs that are more "yuppie" and structured are more "yuppie" than "hippie" lol.

@Rockies11: thank you for that amazing run down!!! Soft structured sounds the most like my deal but I will have to try them on to be sure. I don't think I could handle the slings/wraps. I've seen them used and they just look too complicated for me. I want something my husband will be able to use too...

@brownie: oh good to know about the infant insert. ya they're pretty expensive. i want to try to find one second hand, if possible!

@loki: I have 3 carriers. The Ergo is my favorite. I used it all the time when she was little (and still use it now occasionally). I found the Ergo to be great when we were out and about. A friend lent me the infant insert and it was great. I love that the Ergo has a zipper pocket and an open pocket to carry your phone, wallet, and keys. It is definitely like a backpack, which is why I did not like it for use around the house. For around the house I used the Boba (like the Moby wrap). It was really easy to tie and use and so comfortable for around the house.

Lastly, I do have a bjior that I picked up for $5 at a consignment sale with the idea that it would be great to use outward facing. I've never used it.

@Rockies11 did a great job of giving a run down!