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@oliviaoblivia: Yeah. Two would almost be my whole paycheck.
And I just looked up the FSA dependent care account limits and am flabbergasted it maxes at $5K a year.
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@oliviaoblivia: agh! 5700 a month?! That's insane! It's going to cost us $1800 a month to have our two in day care. Very depressing.
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@littlebug: eeek your intuition was right! congrats!!
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@lauren0817: I started registering this week and we're pretty much done. We're planners, especially me, and with DH's schedule and mine (police officer and nurse) we don't have much time together to get things done. I'll add gender specific items if there are any I want after my 20 week scan. Furniture is a gift from my in-laws and we are getting that in September, around 24 weeks.
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@MaryM: Ugh I started getting daycare quotes. Looks like for full time it will be about $1300/month on average, but I'm hoping we can work our schedules to be 3 days/week which is about $850/month. I'm going to change jobs after leave (and I'm taking 6 months) so I'm hoping I can get something per diem and a bit more flexible than where I am now.
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@MaryM: all your ligaments are loose so things will slip and pop
i saw the orthopedist Monday because my SI joint has been KILLING me on the right side and he said it's from all the relaxin hormone and things loosening up to make room for the growing baby.
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@mrs.shinerbock: My Dr's office has the same policy, I have to wait until 8/31. With my son we found out at 17 weeks so the additional wait seems like torture
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Funny we're talking about when scans are scheduled. My SIL just called to say hers is scheduled for 5 weeks from now...and she's 12 days behind me.
I think I'll be pushing to get in earlier! Work is going to be super crazy in September, so maybe I'll use that as the excuse.
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@oliviaoblivia: Holy shit. Ok, well, I'm gonna stop complaining about what we're paying then....
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@kristinleigh: wow good for you for being organized! Any tips on how to choose everything? I started looking into strollers/carseats and at the pace I'm going I might not have everything done by the time baby comes
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@Lauren0817: my hip pain has mainly been concentrated in my extreme lower back, like the tip of my spine and the back of my pelvis. It just feels really sore and hurts to walk. But again, this is usually after a couple of hours of poor posture, so hopefully if you can avoid that, you can avoid the pain!
Since I am a teacher, I used my summer break to do my registry. August and September are so, so busy for me and my family shower is mid October since it is long distance and doctor said no flying at 32 weeks or after.
I started with the easy stuff (pacifiers, bottles, onesie packs, etc) and moved up to the more important, detailed items. I mainly used Amazon reviews and Hellobee Gear Guide. I still haven't decided on car seat or stroller; I want to go see those things in person.
One frustration though: I listed everything on Amazon, since it was so easy to use. I knew though that in the end I would need to move most of the stuff over to target because my older relatives prefer to shop at brick and mortar stores. Well I tried that last night, and discovered that Target has much higher prices and limited availability of any of the clothing or sleep stuff I wanted. Also I prefer gender-neutral items for practicality but all their options were gendered. I didn't try Babies R Us bc I've heard some bad things about their user-friendliness. Anyone have a good experience with them?
@kristinleigh: glad I'm not the only one with the registry thats mostly done!
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@DesertDreams88: I registered at Babies R Us, because I only wanted one registry and I wanted something with many store locations for convenience. I had no problems. We registered in store, but I made some changes on the website. For things we bought ourselves, though, we mostly bought from Amazon or Buy Buy Baby (with 20% off coupons).
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@DesertDreams88: I had a lot of problems with my Babies R Us registry with my first. So many that I refuse to shop there now. If I were to do it all over again I'd do Amazon and a local baby store or BuyBuyBaby. I wouldn't register for clothes because people will just buy what they want to buy as annoying as that is.
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@lauren0817: I had major hip pain with my first two pregnancies around 13/14 weeks and it resolved as quickly as it came. It came back towards the end, but everything is uncomfortable then anyway. Hope you are feeling better soon.
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Speaking of preople offering us stuff, I got home to this on my doorstep.
We told our meighbors this weekend. Their youngest is 11, so they passed along some books. I joke at work that I moved back in time because my neighbors are so friendly and gift us so much stuff (produce, plants, now books!)
ETA photo. Duh
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@MaryM: we had a neighbor gift is a huge box of books too.
we were the last of our friends to have babies so all of our friends were giving us clothes. We hardly bought any clothes for him for the first 2 years! It was so nice!
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@MaryM: wow that is so nice! Haha so funny that I was saying earlier that I'm sure goodies would be arriving soon
It sounds like you live in a lovely neighborhood!@desertdreams88: ughh that pain sounds awful! Hope it starts to let up soon. That's a great idea to start with the small registry items - I started looking into stroller and carseats and was thinking whoa this is hard! You can always keep your registry on Amazon and if someone wants to buy the item somewhere else then they can just mark it off on the registry
That might make it a bit easier for you at least -
@oliviaoblivia: happy to hear that the hip pain was short lived! I actually don't have hip pain right now, but was just asking lots of questions about it just in case I do get it
I like to know what *could* happen - it helps me to feel a bit more prepared for all of these new things!
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@DesertDreams88: I didn't have a lot of problems with my registry personally, but as someone trying to buy something I need or buy off of someone else's registry I hate BRU. They are always out of whatever I'm looking for, it's not on the aisle they say it is on, they have the item that was registered for at the BRU that my friend goes to, but not the one I'm at, etc.
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@oliviaoblivia: and that's why I don't live in Ontario. That is TERRIBLE.
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@littlebug: Delurking to say congrats!!
!!!!
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@lauren0817: I think I started my registry as soon as I got to the second trimester last time, but didn't make it public until shower invitations went out. I wanted to be able to keep track of things I found early on, but I still gave myself lots of time to change my mind
@DesertDreams88: I used Babies R Us last time, and very rarely shopped there afterwards. Their return policy is AWFUL. They'll only give you back whatever the lowest price was in the last few months, and since everything goes on sale at some point you rarely get back what was paid for it. I found myself returning a lot of things for store credit that we didn't use and I felt like I got ripped off. I was also really surprised that most people ordered things online, even when given the in store option. People sent me gifts before the shower even though they were coming.
I have an amazon list started now, just because we need to replace a few things and I want to keep track as we do research. I'll probably just register at target for mountains of newborn diapers, because they go FAST.
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@lauren0817: We've had our eye on and been researching items for over a year! I knew the stroller I wanted and DH is a police officer and has his carseat tech cert so he knew what to look for in a seat for our particular cars, etc. Everything else I kind of just went with recommendations from friends. A few people I had check over my registry that have kids said "You don't really NEED half this stuff... but you're going to want to register for it anyway" lol so I guess I have things on it I most likely won't use they're saying but that's fine. I feel like I will use everything and I have a justification for each item! We are doing cloth diapers and exclusively breastfeeding (no pumping until 6 months is the goal) so I didn't register for diapers or bottles.
Also I used Buy Buy Baby. And I did the registry primarily online because it's too overwhelmign to me to go around with the scanner at the store. I've been adding/removing things daily.
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@birdofafeather: Thanks!!
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@kristinleigh: I'm a CD mama, too, but I'd highly recommend at least getting some 'sposies to keep as a backup. Maybe don't register for them (we didn't) but at least make sure you've got a stash available.
With regards to registry, we did BRU and Amazon. If I could do it all over again, I'd do strictly Amazon. As others have said, BRU registry services sucks. Their return policy is the worst. This time around I have an Amazon "registry" going, but unless someone asks if we need something, I plan to just keep it for us and then use the completion discount when we can.
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@littlebug: Oh I will have some on hand! I just didn't want to register for them and then people buy me extra that I don't need!
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@kristinleigh: Ok. I figured, just wanted to make sure! Nothing worse than suddenly realizing it's 2am and you haven't gotten the diapers out of the wash!
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On registering, are there any checklists that folks would recommend for a first time mom?
I think I used a martha stewart one when I got married and it was helpful for suggesting how many place settings/sheets/towels etc. a couple would need.
Is there anything handy like that for babies? (I'm sure I could google, but wondering if you had a favorite one)
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@cvwood: I agree, I think I would have been fine just registering on Amazon, but I was very concerned with making things easier for people in case they like to shop in store. If I register this time I will probably just use Amazon, or possibly Buy Buy Baby, because DH does not like to shop online.
@lauren0817: I started with the big stuff. I love my Chicco KeyFit for an infant carseat. Strollers depend so much on your needs, but I wish I had just gotten a snap n go type stroller (and later an umbrella stroller). We are not stroller people, and live in the suburbs.
My anatomy scan is four weeks from today, I will be 19+4. My OB does them in house, and just schedules them whenever you are due for the every four week appointment. Last time I was at almost 22 weeks. I had an appointment today, and everything looked good.
I had a lot of random pains in my first pregnancy, but they would come and go.
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@MaryM: I really like Lucies List for gear reviews and as a checklist. Three years later and it's still my go to when I need something.
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@oliviaoblivia: Thanks! I'll check it out
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@cvwood: that's a great idea - thank you! I think I will start working on my "secret" registry now and then will have plenty of time before people start asking about it
I am such an Amazon fan (I buy everything there!), so I think I will try to stick with Amazon as much as possible BRU sounds awful!@kristinleigh: awesome -thanks for the tips! I need to check out Buy Buy Baby sometime soon. I have only been to BRU to buy registry gifts for friends and was so freaking overwhelmed by those few experiences that I'm scared to go back
@littlebug: Awesome to hear another Amazon recommendation! I use Amazon for everything else, so it makes sense to do most (or hopefully all) of my registering there as well
@marym: great question (I was just thinking the same thing)! So far I have been looking at this list (http://www.lucieslist.com/baby-registry-basics/), but I would love to hear any suggestions
@mdf106: awesome - thank you! I started looking at strollers and car seats and there are so many options! The snap n go frames do look very appealing - I want something light so that might be a good option for us and will give us more time to pick out a bigger stroller.
That's nice that you can have your ultrasound at your normal doctor - going to the hospital does seem kinda scary
I figured it is a good opportunity to check out the hospital though so I am looking forward to that part of it.
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@MaryM: ditto Lucies list!
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Yeah, I'd love to stick to just Amazon, but I have 10+ aunts over the age of 50, so..... my mom told me they need a real store
For our wedding 5 years ago we registered at Bed Bath Beyond, Target, and Amazon, and only 3 out of 150 guests used the Amazon registry! So, I imagine it will be similar. Thanks for all the feedback on the BRU registry system, glad I stayed away. Buy Buy Baby sounds great, but there are no stores around here or my hometown @cvwood: & @lauren0817: Good point, my registry is secret too
My workplace scheduled an important meeting during my gender ultrasound appt for next Wednesday, so I called with fingers crossed that they could get me in at another time, and they bumped me up to Tuesday! Woohoo
It's not my anatomy scan; my OB likes to do gender USs anytime after 15 weeks. I'll be 16 weeks. I hope the shot is clear!
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@DesertDreams88: thats awesome that you get two ultrasounds
can't wait to hear the news - yay!!
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Wow, this Lucie's List site has totally sucked me in for the past hour! I love the writing style and it answered a lot of questions I still have
thanks @oliviabolivia:!
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@DesertDreams88: yeah it's a great site and we used it exclusively for planning our potty training our DS.
I don't want to jinx anything but I'm on my 2nd day of very minimal morning sickness. It's the bet I've felt in months! Cautiously optimistic!!
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@DesertDreams88:
@travellingbee: yay for feeling better! Hope this is the end of ms for you! -
Ugh. We don't get an anatomy scan until Sept 8th! I'm so impatient!!
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@travellingbee: great news! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that feeling good is here to stay
i saw the orthopedist Monday because my SI joint has been KILLING me on the right side and he said it's from all the relaxin hormone and things loosening up to make room for the growing baby.
!!!!
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