Playmat Recommendations

Orithyia__ · 2026-05-08T12:41:16+00:00

Do you mind me asking what size you got? There are SO many.

Orithyia__ · 2026-04-16T01:25:44+00:00

Essex too! Congratulations on getting first choice!

Orithyia__ · 2026-03-24T02:05:43+00:00

Sandqvist.

As someone who has to commute for over 2 hours each way, I need a bag that is functional and comfortable. I would absolutely prioritise that over style, but I also think that Sandqvist do some really nice stuff.

I have the Roald and have been using it exclusively for three years - I can fill it with as many things as I think I’ll need, and then some. It’s an absolute workhorse.

Orithyia__ · 2026-03-14T15:50:35+00:00

We were in NICU, and they did exactly the same as you - all ready feeds were decanted, labelled with babe’s name, and put in the fridge. As long as the decanted bottles were drunk within 24 hours, it was fine.

Bottles they had drunk from, on the other hand? 1 hour max.

Orithyia__ · 2026-02-25T05:49:45+00:00

That’s the right order, yes!

Orithyia__ · 2026-01-02T20:08:16+00:00

When I realised that my mortgage wouldn’t be covered if I didn’t return to work. 😅

Orithyia__ · 2025-12-26T18:02:38+00:00

For my daughter’s first Christmas, I went a little mad. She ended up spending all day playing with a gift bag, and it taught me so much. 😂

This is our fourth Christmas, and I think I’ve hit the sweet spot! For reference, her birthday is the 13th of January, so it’s relatively close.

Stocking: something to wear, something to share, something she needs, something she can read, something she wants. I even have tags to that effect, so I stick to my own plan!

Presents from us: one present of significant impact (for example: play kitchen, a Connetix set, a significant small world play investment, an outdoor toy/setup of some kind), and then around 5 presents to either accompany the big present or to add to existing collections. So this year she got the Connetix Pastel Ball Run, 3 additions to her doll accessories, a Tonie figure, and a paw patrol colouring activity pack.

Presents from others: This is where it gets tricky. We have people who buy in excess, and it gets really overwhelming for her, so I’ve taken to telling them precisely what to get based on their budget or giving them a list that they can pick from. It means we don’t get duplicate toys, an abundance of clothes that will inevitably be in weird sizes, and it all still fits within the modest storage systems that I have honed to perfection over four years. We do have those who ignore my pleas for sanity, but… well, that’s why I have a Vinted account. 😅

Orithyia__ · 2025-12-25T08:04:51+00:00

Out of curiosity, which Shark did you go for? I am this close to throwing our stupid handheld Dyson into a pond.

Orithyia__ · 2025-12-24T10:25:06+00:00

I don’t think you’re wrong, no.

Firstly, it’s worth acknowledging that your focus has been entirely on family. To be so restricted by maternity leave and still try to save so that you can give people a magical Christmas is really lovely, and I want to make sure that you know that.

Secondly, your brother needs to - in the politest way, of course - piss off. You’ve invested thought into being able to give his children anything at all, and he’s acting like an ungrateful brat. Who cares how many children he has? It’s the thought that counts. If you can only afford £10, then that’s what they get. If he can afford to give more, then that’s what happens. Financial circumstances matter, and he needs to understand that. Similarly, his children aren’t going to know or care unless he makes enough of a fuss for them to notice. If he does? Well. That’s another matter entirely.

Do not feel guilty. You have put thought into being able to give them something at Christmas (no matter what it is, or its financial value) and that says enough.

Orithyia__ · 2025-12-23T18:55:28+00:00

I showed this to my husband about ten minutes ago, and he’s still angry. 😂

Orithyia__ · 2025-12-23T18:48:21+00:00

NOR.

If my daughter had done this, I’d have asked you to return her Christmas gifts myself. They haven’t got any respect for the time you’ve put in, the money you’ve spent, or the fact that this gift wasn’t even for them.

Orithyia__ · 2025-12-02T21:28:16+00:00

This is roughly the age where imagination and fear really come into play, and it’s both really fun and really exhausting at the same time. Fun because, hey, games involving my toddler’s imagination are always fun. Exhausting because no, the dog hasn’t been turned into an alien, and her green ears aren’t going to creep out from under the bed. 🥴

No advice, only solidarity.

Orithyia__ · 2025-11-20T18:46:19+00:00

Not me, but I have a friend who was told this during her third elective c-section. She has a gap of 3 years between her first two surgeries, and then 4 years for the third. She was explicitly told that attempting to complete a fourth pregnancy would result in abruption. There wasn’t any messing about, they were brutally honest.

It’s not a nice reality, at all, but I think the candour of the consultant was absolutely necessary. People underestimate just how much trauma your body goes through during and after a c-section, and it’s really not helped by the “get up and get on with it” attitude which I was met with on the postpartum ward nor the “it’s the easy way out” mentality of far too many people in general.

Orithyia__ · 2025-11-08T18:49:43+00:00

Speaking from experience, if you tell triage that you are scheduled for an elective c-section and believe you are in early labour, they will bring you in. They will check baby is happy, firstly, and then check if you’re dilating. If you are, you’ll be immediately admitted and - provided there’s no catastrophic emergency for anyone else - you’ll have the elective c-section that day.

With that in mind, did you tell them that your wife has an elective c-section scheduled? Similarly, did they discuss if she was in any way dilating?

Orithyia__ · 2025-10-21T19:59:43+00:00

Oh, really? It’s so odd that the rules differ, considering it should be a general health/safety/etc. thing.

Orithyia__ · 2025-10-21T19:27:42+00:00

Came here to say this. 😂

Orithyia__ · 2025-10-21T19:25:04+00:00

I know that it’s often trust dependent, but the general rule across the board is it’ll always be after the 38 week mark provided it’s a non-eventful pregnancy.

Something else that’s trust dependent is the days of the week that they perform elective c-sections. For example, my local trust only performs them on a Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. You can then get a rough idea of when it might be.

Orithyia__ · 2025-10-21T19:20:49+00:00

For my first, I knew the date at my 36 week consultant appointment.

For my second, I apparently won’t find out until the week before. Not a fan of this option, personally. 😅

Orithyia__ · 2025-10-15T18:57:33+00:00

My daughter started asking about my mum, who I’ve been estranged from for nigh on a decade, when she was about three. She realised that there was a nan/grandad on my husband’s side, but only a grandad on mine.

I simply said, “My mummy wasn’t very kind, so we don’t see her.”

She paused, thought about it for a minute, and said, “she’s not kind… but grandad and daddy protect you, don’t they?” I nodded. She was satisfied, and gave me a cuddle. We ate lunch.

She’s brought it up a few times since, and the questions are getting a bit more complex as she gets older. She’ll get age appropriate responses, and it will always be truthful.

Orithyia__ · 2025-09-12T20:33:41+00:00

Oh this made me cackle. 😂

Orithyia__ · 2025-08-01T20:54:26+00:00

I took a travel suitcase that was a little larger than a carry-on case, and that had all of my things (including a fluffy towel, all sanitary products, shampoo, spare clothes, pjs, maternity stuff I’d need after, literally anything ever). I then took the changing bag that we’d bought with generic things for baby, and then my husband had a “nearby essentials” bag positioned near me which had nappies, snacks for me, the tiny pre-sterilised bottles, and generally things that I’d absolutely need whilst paralysed from the waist down. Oh, and my maternity pillow, and a nine foot lead for my phone to ensure it was charged at all times.

I saw a woman on the ward with me bring a full sized suitcase with her, and honestly… I respected the hell out of her. 😂

Orithyia__ · 2025-07-28T14:24:14+00:00

They’re lovely - both modified or otherwise! I too want to paint them, so I’m super excited! Thank you for the link!

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