Buying second hand baby goods

I have six weeks to go and I must admit I am getting quite excited/anxious/fat/chocolate obsessed.

I am busy getting all prepared for baby number two and it seems to all be going well. Todays blog posting is about buying second hand goods. With the first baby you normally have a little more free cash and buy a lot new but with number two any free cash normally gets used on take aways on a Friday night. So for number two I am on a second hand bargain hunt!

Buying second hand can bring lots of bad imagery to mind - like I said in a previous posting - the idea of pushing my way past some fat smelly woman to buy a worn out baby grow at a sale is not my idea of fun. But with the internet and free ad papers it can be done soooo much easier. Additionally today we live in a very disposable culture. If something is broken we tend not to fix it but just replace it... this is not helping the planet nor our pockets but none the less it is something I am guilty of doing too. By buying second hand we are ensuring that things get well used and not thrown out or wasted and we are also helping the environment by ensuring we are not over producing goods.

This time round I have decided not to buy my pram/pushchair new. Mainly because I sold my last Mamas & Papas travel system for such a bargain price on Ebay last time (as I was unhappy with it) I knew that other people could be selling theirs too for similar bargain prices! I was partially right except this time I have decided to go for a Bugaboo which is possibly the most expensive and popular travel system on the market!

I purchased a Bugaboo Frog for these main reasons:
1) I like the name... he he only joking
2) The pushchair is rear and forward facing
3) They are very maneuverable
4) I can put a buggyboard on it if necessary
5) It can fit with my Maxi Cosi car seat
6) There is a strong second hand market
7) My mum will hate it :-)


So I ebayed and purchased a red Bugaboo Frog (which are discontinued now). It is great and in fab condition. I got some extras too and all for £200 (a saving of over £300). I will blog how I get on with it as the proof is in the pudding!

I have also bought a second hand Maxi Cosi infant seat (£40). This is a little dodgy for some people as apparently you should only buy car seats new to ensure they haven't been in an accident but I am an honest person who truly believes others are the honest too - who on earth would sell a car seat that had been involved in an accident? Other than a sicko...

Play Gym (£10) and Baby Bouncer (£10) have also been bought second hand.

So far that is a saving of over £430 costing me only £260 instead of approx. £690...

And it's environmentally friendlier :-)

Baby Blog: Chapter Two, Baby Two!

It's been a long time since I have concentrated on this blog and now I have a good reason to start it up again...

It's time for baby number two!!!!

Before I commence on the second chapter of my blog I just want to say a big thank you to everyone that has commented on this blog in the past. I really have enjoyed hearing that people have a) been interested in my ramblings and b) found it of some use.

So... (yeah I still like that word) here I am blogging a little earlier than last time. I am 14 weeks pregnant and am feeling like this time I might have a bit of a better idea of what to expect. Which is, for all those out there who don't know... hell... for a little while at least :-)

I live in a world surrounded by babies now. Most of my close friends are either pregnant or have recently given birth. When I had Maria I was the first in my circle of friends to have children and to be honest it was a tough trot. I was too tired and in a zombie like trance to even post a blog most of the time. I think the first six weeks were the toughest. Anyway - let's hope I am a bit more prepared this time.

Right - my husband is moaning at me as he wants me to talk work... boring!

Will blog again soon... when I have something to say as at the moment I haven't got much of a bump and I kinda forget I am pregnant most of the time as I am too busy running around after my daughter.

Right bye for now.

Maria Age 2

I really should start a blog called 'My Toddler Blog' now as my daughter is approaching two!

This is just a little blog to tell all those new mums out there that there is light at the end of the tunnel! If you are so tired you can't think straight, smelly and sitting in your pajamas as you haven't had the time (or energy) to get dressed yet... don't worry. Things WILL get better...

My daughter is so so so so cool now that it was all those early dark days are well worth it. Course I didn't doubt that... ;-) She laughs, chats, jumps and plays - it's great. I would order another three if I could get them all age two!

Right, best sign off... I still don't have time to dedicate myself to a blog like I used to!

x

Perfume

My daughter is now 14 months old and it is only now I feel I can commit to writing my blog again...

The past year has been a whirlwind! I described this time to a friend as 'The best time of my life and the worst'. When you have been there you will know what I mean.

I think the biggest hardship of being a parent (or is that mum...) is that there is no escape! No home-time, no quitting, no holiday, no cigarette break (not that I smoke but you know what I mean). There is always something to be done. Even as I sit here now tapping away I am conscious of the washing piled up in the wash bag in front of me, the washing up in the sink and the boxes that need packing as we are moving this weekend!

But instead I thought I would talk to the world. Far more exciting.

So, the name of this posting is 'Perfume'. A strange title you may think but I will explain.

During my maternity leave the days were long and selfless. So selfless sometimes I didn't even get to wash! Nice. I just about remembered to eat at times. Blimey, just re-read this paragraph and it sounds like I was on death-row! Let me add some nice things quickly before someone comes and takes my child away. My daughter (and life) is amazing. She is so funny and so rewarding now it was well worth the 'dark days' at the beginning. Now where was I? Oh yes, so time for yourself was scarce and getting dressed up and looking nice a rareity! I used to dream of the days gone by when I wouldn't leave the house for work without a splash of perfume...

I am now back at work 2 days a week and absolutely loving getting back to my passion of designing. I am also loving putting on my splash of perfume again.

:-)

Early Waking

Wow, it's one thing after another with these babies isn't it!!!

My new issue is now early waking. From about 8 weeks my daughter slept through the night, which is very fortunate. She went down about 9.00pm and woke around 7.00am. That then changed to going down around 7.00pm and still waking around 7.00am. Which was heaven after all the frantic feeding of the early days.

Unfortunately things have now changed again. Maria is consistently waking earlier and earlier. First it changed to 6.30am then 6.00am and now anywhere between 5.00 and 5.30. Grreaaatttt.... I have tried:

1) Putting her down later. Didn't work.
2) Introducing a dream feed at 10.30pm - that makes no difference either.
3) Tiring her out in the day with lots of outings and visiting. Nope that didn't work.
4) Limiting her daytime sleep to strictly no more than 3 hours. Nahhhhh....
5) Making sure she settles herself to sleep (see posting 'Should a baby be left to cry?') No, No, No.

What is worse is that even after I have fed her she still doesn't want to go back to sleep! It's official my daughter doesn't want to sleep unless it purely on her terms!

Any ideas as to how to get her to sleep 'til 7.00am are greatly appreciated!

Should a baby be left to cry?

My daughter is now three and a half months old and is currently rocked to sleep on nearly every occasion.

Having spoken to other mums and reading books such as Gina Ford Contented Baby I have come to realise this approach may cause me problems in the future. Unfortunately my daughter doesn't like to sleep. She will have a good moan about it - even in the pram when I am out and about (passers by saying 'arhhh, she's hungry' which really annoys me cos she isn't!). If I try to put her in her cot when she is dozy or not completely asleep she will normally cry until I pick her up again then she falls asleep. She has slept through the night from 6 weeks so I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. Until now...

She is starting to wake in the night and is not settling herself back to sleep. She may be hungry which seems to be the case but it has highlighted the problem of me only being able to get her to sleep by rocking.

Health visitors and Gina recommend putting your baby down in their cot when their eyes are flicking and they are dozy. Then if they cry (and you are sure they aren't crying for food, winding or nappy) then allow them to until they fall asleep (but not letting them cry for more than 5-10 mins). I never liked the idea of that but now it is becoming apparent that a) my back can't take the rocking anymore and b) she needs to learn to settle herself (especially if she wakes in the night and it isn't for food).

So what is right? I think it is all a question of choices. I love rocking my baby to sleep but I can't do it forever! I may have to limit the amount of time I rock her now... as hard as it is for me and her!

Feedback on Pliko Pramette... so far!

I thought I should give a bit of feedback on my Mamas and Papas Pliko Pramette.

So far I have used the pram and the Primo Vaggio car seat. I feel that the car seat is a) too heavy b) too upright for my baby (i.e she pukes every time I put her in it) and c) does not adequately shelter her from the weather when I use it as an infant carrier. Additionally fitting it in my car and threading the seat belt through the back of the chair is really awkward... oh and clipping the handle in place is difficult too. So all in all not impressed with the car seat. A lot of my fellow mums all seem to have a 'Maxi-Cosi', and they do look cosi too! Although I am not sure of the age they can be used until. The Primo Vaggio can be used until your child is 9kg (approx one and a half stone).

As for the pram - I use it an awful lot and nothing has broken! It is good in the shops as the wheels spin any direction, it is light and looks cool! On the down side the pram seems to dip at the head end (my mum continually complains!). I have checked the manual many times and it is not a construction error on my part. It just dips!?! Also it is not very cushioned so I have to place a blanket under my baby. Another negative it the pram has to be converted to the pushchair to collapse down which is awkward when sticking it in the car.

So if you are considering buying the Pliko Pramette make sure you consider these negatives... by the way a friend of mine bought a Bugaboo and complains about that too so maybe moaning is a mum thing!

Gotta go - screaming child!