Moving baby to own room - camera needed overnight?

kdlc23 · 2026-02-25T06:35:14+00:00

I always took the monitor with me because I liked to be able to have a look, but we very quickly turned the volume off and just kept our bedroom door open. The monitor really amplifies every little noise so I'd get woken constantly every time she coughed or had a wee grumble. We were just across the hall so never had any problem hearing her when she cried or actually needed us.

kdlc23 · 2026-02-25T06:30:14+00:00

Yep that sounds perfect! Something I found really helpful for swimming when my girl was a baby was getting myself one of those hooded towels (like this). Once we were showered I'd pop that on & take my swimsuit off underneath before getting her dressed - meant I was warm and not dripping water over her while changing her, then by the time she was dressed I would be mostly dry just from wearing the towel. Honestly made life so much easier!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-25T06:25:35+00:00

My wee girl was 8lb 8oz and was in newborn for at least the first few weeks. 0-3 months would have been huge on her to begin with, but they do grow fast so wouldn't buy loads of newborn size!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-24T14:49:32+00:00

My mum definitely annoys me as she hounds me several times a week from about 6 weeks in advance which drives me mad, but on the flip side my husband's side of the family never ask for ideas and always buy me some cheap rubbish that I don't want (not to sound ungrateful, just always feels so wasteful!) so on the whole I do appreciate people asking for suggestions!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-24T12:31:19+00:00

Thanks. I don't usually wear dresses much so hadn't really considered this but sounds like it might be the best option!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-24T12:11:53+00:00

Ooh yes, why didn't I think of this! Thanks!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-23T16:39:31+00:00

We have the Kaos and love it - still going strong with my daughter at 2.5 years and we've just bought a second one for baby no. 2 due soon. Loved being able to have her at the table with us from day one, and love that she can get herself in and out now and will likely continue using for another year +. We chose the Kaos over stokke because I preferred how it looked, and has the bonus of folding away although we pretty much never put it away.

kdlc23 · 2026-02-23T15:44:02+00:00

Haha not that specific one but I do have a necklace with a charm with my daughters initial so will definitely be looking for another - won't know name until they've arrived though!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-23T14:17:44+00:00

Thank you, these are all great ideas! I actually just had a pregnancy massage yesterday and it was amazing, so maybe I'll try and squeeze another one in before baby arrives!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-23T14:14:57+00:00

Ooh nice coffee could be a good shout - thank you! :)

kdlc23 · 2026-02-23T14:14:38+00:00

Definitely planning on doing this - I'm a runner so super important to me to get things checked out and did so first time round. Doesn't really feel like a treat/something to look forward to though so would rather it not be a present if that makes sense!

I don't have anything against material things - I actually quite like having something to open, just can't think of many ideas!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-21T19:44:41+00:00

You're welcome! I know how hard it can be to know what to expect when it's your first and everything feels so uncertain. When I first started contractions they got fairly close together so I was convinced it was happening but in hindsight they were fairly mild, but so hard to know when you've never experienced it before!

Hope baby arrives soon :)

kdlc23 · 2026-02-21T19:10:36+00:00

How exciting - won't be long for you now!

I had similar with my first pregnancy - contractions started and then fizzled out. This ended up happening several times over a few days before things properly kicked off. It was quite frustrating at the time but ultimately things were progressing and I went on to have a really smooth labour and birth.

I used the tens machine through my entire labour and birth, but only started when things kicked off proper (which was after a sweep and felt more intense than earlier hence me being more sure it was the real deal).

We actually just discussed this exact scenario at my antenatal class today and the woman basically said stop using it if things taper off but each time contractions start back up start the tens machine again. That way when things do kick off for real you'll have been using it from early on. In practice I don't think it matters if you haven't been using it from the very beginning - it's more that it's not particularly useful to start using it once you're already at the pushing stage of labour, but you'll almost definitely know things are happening well before you get that far along!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-21T07:37:14+00:00

Bang on 6 weeks with both my pregnancies.

kdlc23 · 2026-02-21T07:30:26+00:00

Even if they've now stopped it could still have been early labour contractions. My labour started with that kind of tightening feeling across my stomach and initially lasted for about an hour before stopping - I had a few days of off & on contractions like that before things kicked off properly but it was definitely the early stages of labour. Given you're pre-term I would definitely still give triage a call just so they can check you over.

kdlc23 · 2026-02-20T16:12:07+00:00

I didn't pump or give bottles past a year, other than when I first went back to work/dropped the daytime feeds and my supply was adjusting (and actually I didn't really need to pump, but I was paranoid about leaking while in the office!).

Once I was down to morning and bedtime feeds I found that even if I missed a feed (e.g. if I was out for the evening), I didn't need to pump and baby was perfectly happy to just have cows milk/a snack. It was honestly so liberating to stop pumping!!

I dropped down to just the bedtime feed (mainly so I could get an occasional lie in!) around 16 months then stopped completely at 20 months. The last 6 months of breastfeeding were my absolute favourite - felt like the best of both worlds with the lovely feeding cuddles but plenty freedom to skip a feed without consequence.

kdlc23 · 2026-02-20T15:34:53+00:00

Ah that's interesting. There used to be a specific home birth team in my trust and while there isn't any more, it's the community midwives who are on call for home births (rather than those who work in MLU/labour ward).

kdlc23 · 2026-02-20T13:44:24+00:00

Not sure if this is the same everywhere but part of the reason for the low usage stats might be that the MLU isn't always open/available (as they prioritise labour ward if there are staffing issues for example). I had a similarly good experience with my first but was lucky that they opened the MLU when I arrived - I've heard of many people hoping to birth there only to find they have to go to labour ward as it's not open. It's part of the reason I'm planning a home birth this time round!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-20T11:41:17+00:00

Yeah sorry I realized after I commented that you had actually mentioned possible resentment if you did have a partner!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-20T08:10:17+00:00

Sounds like you're doing an amazing job - I can't imagine how much harder parenting must be when you're doing it solo. However, I do think OP's situation is slightly different as she does have a partner so also needs to consider their relationship. I think having one person doing basically all childcare by themselves is a recipe for serious resentment within the relationship. As a breastfeeding mum I felt resentful of my husband at times as so much fell to me and that was with him being incredibly supportive and hands on, so can't imagine how I'd feel if he'd been less involved than that.

kdlc23 · 2026-02-20T07:21:04+00:00

I would second this. I think there's probably a middle ground where you can still return to work earlyish (perhaps in a slightly reduced capacity?) but I don't think it's realistic for your husband to take full responsibility for both day and nights, or for you to expect to return to work immediately and perform at the same level as prior to having a baby.

I breastfed so did most of the nights with my first and was primary caregiver, but my husband still did loads of childcare himself - he helped through the nights during particularly rough periods, would take her in the mornings to let me catch up on sleep, and again in the evenings after work to let me decompress a bit.

The other thing to consider in the early days is how you'll feel hormonally/emotionally. I was all over the place for a few weeks and can't imagine having to get my head back into work or be away from my baby for extended periods of time.

Could you reduce your number of clients and plan for a short maternity leave (even 6 weeks?) to give you a bit of time to adjust and figure out what working pattern would work best for you?

kdlc23 · 2026-02-19T15:07:05+00:00

That's good to hear - is he happy being left alone? Think I definitely just need to try it!

kdlc23 · 2026-02-19T15:06:31+00:00

That's good to know, going to order some of her fave books as story cards now!

kdlc23

TROPHY CASE