SE Baby thread NLC

[graeme]

Toys for your baby are a funny thing. Everyone buys you the really educational top notch toys that cost a fortune but we've found out its usually the cheapo colourful ones that they enjoy the most.

Ailsa's most chewed thing is a silicon drinks coaster that she picked up at somebody's house. So, we bought 6 of them and just chuck them in the dishwasher when they look like they've been on the floor too many times. Bright colours, safe and cheap, and great for teething as they're bumpy on one side. Should be sold as a baby toy.

The £30-ish "Ewan the Dream Sheep" is the best thing we own. It has magical hypnotic go-to-sleep powers, and if it broke tomorrow I'd order another immediately.

Of course, her favourite toy is always the one that is juuuust out of reach.

[Shug]

Excellent - think that sheep might be a purchase. Fits in with the local decor as well.

[whaleys]

Amazon for nappies and join their family club

[Shug]

Just looking at that Family club thing - small print says that after three months (if you don't cancel) you're opted into the Prime service, which now includes streaming video (which I trialled and dumped as the quality was awful compared to Netflix) I take it that's the only route - there's not a Family only sub you can pay after month 3 - don't fancy a £79 annual charge, which now includes a cost for stuff I don't want to use.

Anyone done the sums to see if you save over £79 annually with the 20% discount on some baby items?

[graeme]

Prime and streaming flim/telly are bundled now. Anyone who had Prime before at £49 gets telly added for nowt for the remainder of the subscription year, but new customers have to pay £79, as will existing customers next year, and there's no way to split the services and ditch the sh*t telly bit.

I'd say if you make a point of using it, rather than driving to Costco for example, then yes, you'll save. We're quids in just on free postage. You're probably saving £10-£15 per month on nappies vs Tesco. Worth checking your Amazon history and see what you spent in postage last year. You probably spend half the subs fee anyway without even thinking about it.

[Shug]

Doubt it - given I work with them pretty much every day, I try to give as little of my personal money to them as I can

[whaleys]

We've got Prime membership (have been now for a couple of years), we buy so much from Amazon, for us the free next day delivery bit pretty much pays for its self in the first few months and over Christmas we find it brilliant. I realise though that some people don't like Amazon or buy from all over but I'm at a stage now when I buy something I don't want to wait 3-5 working days, I want it the very next day

On the baby note, we bought the Maxi Cosi Tobi car seat and a few other things from Amazon and I couldn't find it cheaper anywhere else. With a family club thing voucher code I got an extra £40 off the order (£20 of which was of the car seat) which made it a real bargain. Its that sort of saving every now and again coupled with the hundreds of parcels we get from amazon a year that makes the £79 (although I've only paid the £49) to date well worth it. We've also found that having Prime has meant we've ended buying more from Amazon.

Also to date I cannot fault Amazon returns process, its quick, easy and convenient.

Just to note, I am no way affiliated with Amazon, reading this over it looks like I could be doing a bit of PR for them

[pete]

Congratulations to all...

Errm. I didn't think I had anything to add. 'cept this.

1. Don't worry. It'll be fine. Folk have been doing this for years.
2. In our experience you get loads of free stuff, we hardly bought any clothes for Mil before she was 2 and we didn't HAVE to buy any. For a while I just thought it was because folk were really nice (which they are) but I think a bigger driver is folk just wanting all the stuff their kids have outgrown gone, out of the house. Folk arriving at our house with slightly younger children often leave with us chasing them down the street shouting "Wait there's more stuff to take!"
3. Get a decent pram, which pump up tyres so you can go for long walks. Walks are the best bit - the rest of it is essentially awful.
4. For the first year you take loads of stuff wherever you go so big cars are ace, we got an Omega - full size pram + travel cot in the boot and room for Dad to sit in the back.
5. We used a nappy service and they were ace. (Although ours since stopped trading when the owner retired). I only mention this to show how middle class we are.
6. Get a cycle trailer. Really. It's ace. You can shop with it and cycle and they love it. Fill it with books and teddies and you can have a whole day out.
7. It's essentially awful, the first 2 years are dull as f.ck. But after that it gets a bit better. Try and remember that at 3am.
8. Try and get out of going to the birth if you can. It's not magical unless you're idea of magic is seeing someone you love in excruciating pain for several hours. Your being there isn't going to help and if she loves you she won't subject you to it. You will be no help unless you have access to pharmaceutical quality drugs.
9. You won't be able to get out of going to the birth so follow Graeme's advice and do try the gas and air. Take a book. And earplugs for the screaming. And snacks.
10. Don't trust the medical staff (varying competence) or the other patients (thieves).
11. You can't affect anything anymore, not anything that matters anyway, so stop spending time researching baby seats ('cos they are all the same) and take your missus to the pictures/ theatre/ a gig/ while you've still got the chance.
12. People will tell you that it is all worthwhile when you look into their eyes and they smile. Or when they grab your finger for the first time. This is self delusion brought on by watching too many chick flicks so don't be surprised when it doesn't happen to you. It's mainly alternates between boring and awful.
13. Oh and whilst it's not a magical or spiritual experience when I see/read or hear about bad things happening to children I cry. I didn't used to. They should warn you about that.
14. Did i mention in the end it'll be fine? Probably. But a bit awful now and for quite a long time. And really boring.

pete

(After the brief foray into talking about aviation and think we can all agree i have sunk back to my normal level of helpfulness).

[Shug]

Thanks Pete - we can always rely on you to sugar coat things.

[Shug]

We've got Prime membership (have been now for a couple of years), we buy so much from Amazon, for us the free next day delivery bit pretty much pays for its self in the first few months and over Christmas we find it brilliant. I realise though that some people don't like Amazon or buy from all over but I'm at a stage now when I buy something I don't want to wait 3-5 working days, I want it the very next day

On the baby note, we bought the Maxi Cosi Tobi car seat and a few other things from Amazon and I couldn't find it cheaper anywhere else. With a family club thing voucher code I got an extra £40 off the order (£20 of which was of the car seat) which made it a real bargain. Its that sort of saving every now and again coupled with the hundreds of parcels we get from amazon a year that makes the £79 (although I've only paid the £49) to date well worth it. We've also found that having Prime has meant we've ended buying more from Amazon.

Also to date I cannot fault Amazon returns process, its quick, easy and convenient.

Just to note, I am no way affiliated with Amazon, reading this over it looks like I could be doing a bit of PR for them

Listen, for the general customer, they are great - I would never challenge that. Just like Tesco.

And, even moreso than Tesco, the suppliers are the ones who actually take the brunt of the pain - Amazon don't actually pay for any of this service they provide. Backlashes are already starting to happen from manufacturers who are getting increasingly annoyed by the demands that Amazon place on them, which no other retailer would have the gall to do. And this is not a 'win' for the customer in the long run if manufacturers have to start limiting the lines appearing on Amazon, or worse, increasing costs across all retailers to cover the Amazon requirements. Consider that in a lot of the avenues that Amazon is really starting to bite, there isn't an overabundance of margin for retailers or manufacturers anyway - it's not like fat cats are getting it in the neck!

Anyway, that was a thread drift of biblical proportions. Back to weans.

[jason]

Being a bunch of gadget-orentated chaps, as we are

…for no particularly logical reason whatsoever - I'm glad nobody has suggested video baby monitors. We'd never heard of such a thing till going through our 'preparation process' several years back, and were taken aback (OK - I was aghast) at not only how it's possible to be over-worried, but also that it's the only time in a modern life where the little one can be free of video surveillance!


/end of random musing

[graeme]

Motorola MBP36 video baby surveillance privacy-intrusion psychological-damage-inflicting spy-cam NSA edition. Great thing. Another "would replace immediately if it broke" item.

[Shug]

Being a bunch of gadget-orentated chaps, as we are

…for no particularly logical reason whatsoever - I'm glad nobody has suggested video baby monitors. We'd never heard of such a thing till going through our 'preparation process' several years back, and were taken aback (OK - I was aghast) at not only how it's possible to be over-worried, but also that it's the only time in a modern life where the little one can be free of video surveillance!


/end of random musing

Having seen Graeme's in action, I'll be buying one. Not for any particularly nanny-state reason, but to gauge when sprog is just having a bit of a huff and when it's going to be an extended burst requiring attention. I see the benefits far outweighing the negatives - it'll make us less mollycoddling, not more? Not like you sit staring at it for hours - if you hear a cry, you look to see what junior's up to and gauge, as opposed to traipsing upstairs and potentially disturbing more.

Simples

[rossybee]

Lots of scarily truthful sh1t

Just wait til they're teenagers, doing standard grades, and especially females with their monthlies.

Then the fun really begins.

[whaleys]

if you hear a cry, you look to see what junior's up to and gauge

I have to admit we have a camera in our wee ones room. Instead of the camera monitor we use a Foscam Fi9821, that way when we don't need it for the wee one we can re purpose it for something else. You get the foscam app for your mobile device/phone and you can check it whenever you want. We found that we were hearing squaks or bangs (when she was older and head butting the cot) and were going in the room to check to only disturb her. As Shug said, you're not sitting looking at it constantly or anything, it just lets you check up on them without possibly waking them and honestly, you don't want to wake them

We also use on of the BT HD baby monitors, we have the "BT Monitor Pacifier" and just bought the 250 for the next one. We really like them and they get good reviews.

Not sure what other people think of this but we got a tommee tippee nappy bin, really handy for the middle of the night nappy changes, no messing around with bags etc.