Silver Cross

Ok...most parents will know what that title means, I will explain to others.
Last night I was watching a "documentary" about how much it cost to "raise" a child...all very topical given that the Duchess of Cambridge has just given birth.
They kept going on and on about how much everything cost...of course every new parent buys brand new for every child....get real...they don't!
Anyway, the MD or whoever he was from Silver Cross was saying how good for business it would be if the royal couple chose a Silver Cross pram/pushchair for the new baby, and how disappointed they all were that the royal couple had chosen a Bugaboo, (hope I've spelt that correctly,).
It got me thinking...if it was really good for business, why didn't Silver Cross gift the royal couple a sturdy Silver Cross pram or pushchair? Surely that would have made economic sense in the long run, gift one item to ensure the sales of many more?
Maybe I'm wrong...I seriously hope that Silver Cross baby transport is as good as it always was, and the canny parents will still chose to buy Silver Cross.
There were many other items I was cringing at during the documentary...of course the royal couple can not be seen to be using second hand goods, but the money conscious parents do....
And I hope the new baby will be using terry towelling nappies rather than disposable ones, after all, it isn't as if Kate will have to actually wash them!  After all, "Grandpa" Charles might have something to say about the eco  unfriendly disposable nappies.
And in answer to your question...Yes, all three of my children had a Silver Cross pram and pushchair.  The pram was given to me by a colleague of Dad's who had three girls, and had used the pram for each of them.  And the pushchair...bought new for Samantha ....but was still in good condition after Edwin no longer had use for it, around 8-9 years later.
So...yes, by all means buy cheaper baby items, but if you do...be prepared to have to replace them!
And the four dozen nappies I bought for Samantha lasted through all three babies as well.

Ante natal sessions should be compulsory, or should they?

If you don't want to read a gripe, move on to the next blog.
You know how you can say "What's on your mind?" on Facebook?  Some of the recent things that have been posted on my wall have riled me just a little.
Last week, a friend posted how she couldn't wait for her "son", (and she has already given the baby a name.....my sister-in-law was assured she was expecting a boy, and had a beautiful baby girl,) anyway, I digress.  She posted how she wanted to hold her babe and nurture him, she's still got around 8 weeks to go, so babe would be premature and more than likely have to be put in an incubator if he had been born then.  So I just put how as much as she was looking forward to baby arriving, she shouldn't wish a premature birth, for various reasons.  I got a snippy reply, and I mustn't have been the only one to post similar, as she took the post down.  This person has moaned all through her pregnancy...publicly on Facebook.  She just needs a copy of Gordon Bourne's Pregnancy, then she would know what to expect. 
The second "mum", (and she is actually a Mum and has been for 17 months,) posted that her baby's nappy had exploded after only 16 hours of wearing!   Why was the baby in the same nappy for 16 hours, she then went on to say that nappies usually lasted 20 hours before they were due to explode. 
I was taken aback by this.  Surely that poor baby has a very sore bottom.  I'm not speaking out of turn here, as I have three children, well they are all young adults now, but mine were only left, at the longest for around 8 hours, without a change, and that was if they slept right through.
I blame disposable nappies for the "it only lasted 16 hours" comment, as they just get heavier and heavier as the resin in them absorbs the urine.  But what the manufacturers don't say is that the filling can react with urine, as it did with my daughter.  She had disposable nappies for a holiday we went on, and I decided to use the pack up when we returned home.  I carried on changing her as I usually did, when she was fed, when it was obvious she was wet, or dirty, but she developed a rash and I can only conclude it was from the disposable nappies.  They don't let the skin breathe as easily as a terry nappy does.  I stopped using them there and then, and her sore bottom cleared up immediately.
So....prospective parents should go on ante natal classes, to learn the basic good practice of caring for a baby.  And possibly to have explained how heart breaking having a premature baby can be.
I've finished having a moan now.