Tip: Immunisation

When you are visited by your maternal health nurse they give you all of the info for your local community immunisations... What they don't tell you is that you can go to your GP and have your baby immunised there... We didn't know this for Marley's first immunisation and went along to the community option, we were there for close to two hours, waiting to be served, then waiting for the oral immunisation then waiting for the injections... All the while you are around sniffly kids with your newborn, listening to all of the children cry when they get their needles, its a pretty horrible experience... On the other hand if you book in to be the first appointment of the day at your GP (to lessen exposure to randoms sickness) you are in and out in 15 minutes, without the build up and constant heartbreaking crying of other kids...

Tip: Bibs

If you have a dribbly baby, much like mine, you will find yourself with a store of bibs... I have found that the button up bibs are best as the velcro ones get stuck to other things in the washing machine, sometimes ruining other fabrics... As your baby gets older it is also easier to rip off velcro bibs, while button ups seem to stay on...

Target matenity bra

The Target maternity bra is not super supportive, but super comfy, great for bed (in those early months when you need to sleep with a bra on)… I do love these bras, for at home, wouldn't wear them out as they don't do your boobs any favours... Only downside is they only come in black and white...

Bonds maternity/breastfeeding singlets

Bonds singlets

These come in great colours and are very supportive… The downsides are that they don’t quite keep their shape and run a size too small… Having bought only one size bigger then my pre pregancy size coming out of hospital I had no chance of fitting into the ones I had bought, so maybe get one a couple sizes big for the initial start and then once you have lost some of the weight try the next desired size on? Like the Target ones the bra pops down which gives an amount of exposure but if you are wearing the singlet under a normal top then the top comes up, bra comes down and you cant see anything except what the baby has in its mouth... 8 months on I am still loving these singlets, highly recommend them...

Target breastfeeding singlets

Target singlets

In my experience there were two singlets for breast feeding available from Target, I have two of each...

Version 1
This singlet is just a plain singlet which has the fold down tabs with slits where your nipples can pop out to feed... This is the ultimate in discretion, but there is NO SUPPORT at all! How do they expect women carrying an extra kilo or so in boobs to waltz around with no support? I highly recommend not getting this one!

Version 2
The style of the outside of this singlet is the exact same as the other, but it has a built in bra, the supportive bra bit folds down which does allow an amount of exposure, but I recommend wearing these singlets under your normal top, so the top comes up, the bra come down and there is hardly any skin outside of what the baby needs... It also has the bra clip at the back so you can adjust the size of your bra between the usual three options as you change of the time you feed... I highly recommend this style on par with the bonds maternity singlet...

Tip: Clothes for the early days

When you bring your precious little bundle of joy home you will probably already have many many outfits , so before you get to that point keep in mind that in the very early days (sizes 0000 and 000) there is a good chance that you are going to be too tired to be changing your baby into tricky outfits... I highly recommend just buying a bunch of onesies, babygros, rompers, whatever you like to call them... They are easy to get on and off, easy to change nappies, just plain easy... I would save my cash for hot little outfits for when they are a little bit bigger and you aren't quite as tired...

Up the Duff - Kaz Cooke

Up the Duff - Kaz Cooke
From www.kazcooke.com
The new edition of Up the Duff is out now, with all the favourite features including week-by-week info on what's happening to you and the baby and Hermoine's hilarious pregnancy diary, plus new stuff for blokes, all the latest on medical tests including when to have them and why, what you need to know if you're trying to get pregnant and what to do if it's not happening, help with feelings about post-baby body image and sex, and all the latest medical and emotional help you need, including stacks of recommended websites, contacts and books on special issues.

This book was recommended by a friend... If you only buy one pregnancy book this should be it... The week by week low down is very user friendly and makes for good reading for both you and your partner... Humourous but factual, Mark read this to me once a week so we were both up to date with how my pregnancy was progressing...

Target gym get up

Target gym get up

A lifesaver for the ever growing belly as you continue to work out… The pack included everything for a work out session (maternity singlet, t shirt, leggings and belly band), and for a reasonable $60… The downside is that the quality isnt quite as good as expected, but they easily last one pregnancy which is still really good value in my opinion...

Note: Targets belly bands arent good quality in general, the pumpkin patch ones are great and keep their shape all the way through...

Tips - Toys

A good idea is to buy toys that are machine washable...

From around 3 months babies want to put EVERYTHING in their mouths so your toys need to be clean, the best toys we have are the ones that can be thrown into the machine as soon as they are dropped on the floor with no fuss... We have a lot of toys with mechanisms in them so they cant be washed, this is a pain, making time to surface wash them us just another thing on the never ending list of things to do...

The Contented Little Baby Book - Gina Ford

This book is great to give you an idea of how our day could go with a new born... You might want to keep in mind that this sort of strict routine may not work for everyone... At 7 weeks I implemented it, tailoring it to suit our needs, and from the first night she was sleeping 9 hours straight through the night... That in itself makes me feel like this book is worth its weight in gold... There is a lot of information, and reasons for the routines and most importantly the actual routines... Definitely worth a read, I treat it like a bible!

Juju Sundin’s Birth Skills Book

This book gave me a feeling of empowerment before I even went into labour… For the first twelve hours of my labour we used lots of the skills mentioned and I did feel that they helped… It was also a good way to involve my husband in the process, both reading the book, planning the techniques and utilising them... After twelve hours I opted for an epidural, but would recommend this book even if you are planning on an epidural...

Juju Sundin’s Birth Skills Book

Taken from http://www.jujusundin.com/

This objective of this book is to bring you and your partner right ‘inside’ the classes in my specialised birth skills education programme in Sydney.
So many of you are wanting to learn powerful and effective skills to help you through labour pain. So many of you want a clear, simple, yet informative manual for your partner who may be resistant to long detailed childbirth, parenting and breastfeeding books. It is sometimes difficult for these same partners to extract from these books the vital information and practical ideas to help you on the day. They need to know exactly what their role is during labour and exactly how to help you through your pain – and even if you have chosen a medically assisted birth, your partner still needs to know what to do for you at home, in the car, in the car park, getting you through the hospital entrance, in the lift, and during your initial monitoring. So many of you are in country areas and do not have access to these classes. This book is also for the busy working woman who doesn’t have a lot of time and is saying ‘just tell me what to do and how to do it – I want the short list and I want the detail and it has to make sense’. This book is also for all the women who are feeling anxious and fearful about childbirth. I can assure you Sarah and I both relate to you, and we wrote this book for you too. When I am on the phone taking my class bookings, I think off the top of my head, about 90% of women express their fear of childbirth. What I say to them is, ‘once you come and learn about the labour process, all the powerful positive hormones and chemicals at play, how you can influence those AND learn powerful tools and techniques to help you, then your fear will be turned into a working machine of positive, powerful, purposeful action. And, your partner will learn exactly what to do to help you with this. Sarah and her husband used these same tools and techniques for the birth of their two children. When I first met Sarah her attitude was ‘I’m just going to have an epidural’. By the end of the course her attitude was ‘bring it on’.So this book is all about the tools and techniques I teach, and have been teaching over a thirty year period, and all about how the learner experiences those lessons. That’s where Sarah comes in. You will learn from me, and you will experience the class as though you are right next to Sarah on the floor. Many couples say that what they learned at classes was inspirational. I find what Sarah has written in Birth Skills inspirational. We loved writing it, and we hope that you love reading and learning from it.

Aveda Ante Natal Massage Chadstone

Aveda Chadstone
Shop 408,
Chadstone Shopping Centre,
1341 Dandenong Rd
Chadstone VIC 3148
(03) 9948 8324

I was given this massage for my 30th birthday, I upgraded to a full hour, figuring it would be best for me and the baby... I wanted to use it while I was pregnant as I was having some coccyx pain and they advertisedpregnancy massage so I thought it would give me some long term help...

On entering the staff were lovely... Maria was my masseur, and we had a good talk about my needs etc as a pregnant woman before we got to the room... The waiting area was lovely... The room was a beautiful space, lovely ambiance, but very small... There was lovely relaxing music on, but half way through the massage it became more like electro with loads of bass, making me think more about moving then being still...

Maria started with a foot soak and massage which was lovely, and really set me up to think that this was going to be the best massage ever... But after that things went a little downhill, they advertise as having pregnancy massage which is why I chose to go there whilst pregnant, once in they said that they don't have pregnancy beds so the massage would have to be on my sides... Getting a pregnancy massage when you are that big on your side just doesn't make for comfort, besides the hope of being on your tummy is half the excitement...Maria gave me what felt like a rub down, no deep work, nothing to make me feel better long term, just a very light running of the hands over the body... I specifically stated that my coccyx was killing me and yet she didn't go there at all, strangely she did rub my belly, she did ask first, but I was caught completely off guard and agreed...

The second half of the massage was on my back, which really hurt my hips and butt... So by the time it was over I felt like I needed a massage... The best bit was the scalp/face massage at the end, I probably would have been happier if she just did my feet and scalp/face - the definite highlights...

Avent Isis IQ Uno Electric Breast Pump

Pros:
I like the speed that the milk comes out, taking less time then a full feed to get a full feed out. I like the setting, you can set the speed and then continue to go about whatever you like doing without worrying about it. Much better then the manual pump!

Cons:
it does fall over if stood up on its own, always hold it up if your milk is in it. Have to use an extension cord to reach the couch or pc. Sore nipples if using it for too long/more then once a day, this can be relieved by removing the cushion plastic insert...

Overall:
Awesome pump, glad I bought it, you can get it on sale often online so check that option before purchasing... Definitely recommend it, makes life easy...

Avent ISIS Manual Breast Pump

Pros:
Nice design, good flow of milk comes out, easy to use, will definitely take it travelling with me...

Cons:
Get sore hands after doing it for a while, sore nipples if used for too long/ too many times in a day...

Overall:
If you couldnt afford an electric avent isis breast pump I would recommend this, it is easy to use, but obviously not as fast and fuss free as the electric... I used this mostly when my milk first came in as my breasts would get engorged, it was a relief to hand express a little so bubs could latch on easily...

Beema Swallow Pram

Pros:
easy to steer, rolls over anything (harsh surfaces), seat lays flat, bassinette great for sleeping, fits through shopping aisles easily, folds down easily and quite compact...

Cons:
there are no cons - there are no issues with this pram, its exceptional...

Overall:
This pram is amazing, we have taken our baby everywhere with us and it is great that it will go anywhere, even in farmers markets in paddocks with potholes... With the bassinette it is a perfect bed for a newborn in the home as well as another way to cart your baby around... All in all great value for money, highly recommended!