The Great Baby Gear Debate

1 day away from being 17 weeks and I am already throwing myself into research regarding baby gear shopping!!

There are just so many options out there and I am really at a loss as to which way I want to go.

(1) First of all, whilst I've ALWAYS wanted a Phil & Teds Sport (you may remember my dribbling over it when TTC). DH even gave me the go ahead to put the $700 pram and doubles kit on layby but.....

I've found a few other options that are a little less expensive and more 'baby friendly'.

(2) I was pondering the pluses of using a sling again like we did with Ella. Granted it wasn't for very long as she out-grew it quickly. It'd save us money by not having to purchase a new pram and Ella could keep her stroller for as long as she needs it.

And to compliment the above, I was contemplating buying the Safe n Sound Unity baby capsule (3)for baby to use for the first 6 months to make sure that Ella is, indeed, ready for the booster we've put on layby. And a bonus of doing this is that the capsule will fit onto our existing stroller without having to buy a new one to accomodate bub (it doesn't fully recline).

However, each of these options have their negatives.

For example:

1) Price. Whilst I know it will be money well spent I am also finding it hard to justify that sort of money for just a pram. And I do not know how long Ella will need a pram for so perhaps a bit of overkill (even though the P&T is light enough to use as a stroller with new bub)

2) The sling idea with a toddler as well may not work out so well unless Ella is in a stroller too. The sling will not be a long term thing as I'm sure bub will outgrow it soon and I'm not sure how long I could carry around a big bub for.

3) I cannot really see a negative with this apart from the fact that if Ella needs a sleep or gets tired of walking, there is no seat for her. This is where the P&T was so appealing.

If it were a perfect world I'd get the P&T and the capsule but then there is not much point in having the stroller. Or the capsule for that matter.....

A few other things I've been pondering getting:

*A glider chair for breastfeeding
*An electric breastpump to ensure best breastfeeding relationship possible this time around!

I've also been stocking up on new MCN (modern cloth nappies). I've chosen a brand called Baby Beehinds which are a one-size-fits-all (OSFA) fitted nappy. Fitted basically means that they need a cover. I've also invested in some terry toweling flats (old fashioned cloth nappies) and was tempted to try those out on the newborn. If that fails they can be used as burp cloths :)

I have quite a lot of MCN from when Ella was younger but they're all mediums and mostly girly so they could become redundant if the next bub is a boy!

Speaking of which. I think DH and I have decided what we're going to do regarding finding out the sex of bub. Our next scan is on the 12th March so we don't have too much longer to decide!!

I have offered the suggestion of this:

I find out what bub is but he doesn't. He doesn't really want to but I kind of do. So this way, it'll still be very exciting that one of us will have the suprise of finding out at the birth.

So this is the plan for now but we'll see if it changes in the next few weeks.

PREGNANCY BLOG

So I know I haven't been updating this thing and keeping any followers I may have informed after our BFP but I just feel as though this is our TTC blog - it almost feels wrong to continue it as a pregnancy blog.

Seeing as I am lazy and can't be bothered starting a new blog and linking it to this one, I've decided to start writing in this one from now on (when I remember of course!)

So I am now 16 weeks and 2 days. It seems to have flown by amid the busy schedule myself and Ella have taken on, not to mention the days that seemed to run into one another due to the horrid morning sickness I've suffered.

I know that there are worse cases but suffering from nausea and some vomiting since 5 weeks and still every now and then takes a lot of energy out of a pregnant woman!

I only suffered for a month at most with Ella but this bub has been different already. I've even had to resort to Maxolon, an anti-nausea pill safe to take in pregnancy!

We had our first scan at around 6 weeks (thought I was 7w but we were out by a week) and saw the beautiful little heart beating away. It was the tiniest little blob and the heart beat was a tiny flicker in amidst.

We also found out that my husbands brother and his wife were expecting too. Originally we thought they were the same gestation as us but turns out she is nearly a whole month ahead!! Fancy not realising you're pregnant until 13weeks!! It happens often apparently but after our journey with TTC it is very hard to imagine.

We had another scan at 12 weeks as well as our first trimester screening blood tests. All tests came back well and bub has a very low chance of any defects that the 1st TS test picks up.

It was like de ja vu all over again when the sonographer told us bub was measuring a week ahead already!! He was quite rude and abrubt about my weight (the only negative person so far) and I felt really uncomfortable. He referred to Ella as "it" when I told him she'd been a big bub - "Did you have IT here in Geraldton? I'm VERY suprised they LET you".....ummmmm??

We didn't even get to hear baby's heart beat which I didn't realise until after we'd left. So suffice to say, after spending $200 on the bloods and scans, I will not be going back to the private hospital for tests from now on.

I had a doctors appointment the other day in which I got to hear baby's heartbeat. All is going very well at 155bpm, bubs heart rate is good. My fundas (a measurement taken from top of uterus to pubic bone) height was spot on for dates though so perhaps baby's growth is slowing down?

I have another scan in a few weeks time where we can possibly find out the sex of bub. I am in two minds about finding out because on the one hand I am curious to know so I can be 'prepared' if it's a boy - something about needing to be in control perhaps? And on the other hand I LOVED (in the end) the fact that we couldn't find out with Ella and finding out her sex when she was born. I might get them to write it down so DH and I can mull it over a bit more.

Other than all this, everything is pretty boring. I have been feeling movements since about 12/13 weeks. It's very early apparently but I felt Ella at 14w. And maybe due to the fact that I have big bubs and (apparently) my uterus tilts makes it easier? Who knows.

Well I hope this is a big enough update for everyone :) Until next time!