We took a week off over both of our birthdays and went up to Edinburgh for a few days. I went to Uni there and Sam and I first lived together in the city so we have lots of great memories of our time up in Scotland and good friends that still live there. We also thought it was a great opportunity to tell our friends face-to-face that we were having a baby rather than by phone or text.

All of their reactions were great and we ended up coming away with some wooden rattles my Grandad had made that I gave to my friend as my first gift to her daughter 5 years previously. She had kept hold of them for when I had my first baby which I really wasn’t expecting and was such a lovely gesture since my Grandad died 4 years ago now. We were also given a cot by another friend which was fab as it was one of the big items I was worrying about buying so to get a fantastic quality one for free really helped.

Generous friends and family

What I have found so far is that friends and family are extremely generous when they find out you are pregnant and they give you lots of their old baby things to have. It’s like becoming part of an exclusive little club where you share funny stories and tips and are more than happy to pass on items to friends rather than sell them to strangers. It must be hard to give away some items that remind you of your child when they were a new born but I guess seeing a friend make use of it is the next best thing. I can’t wait until some more of my friends have kids so we can continue the cycle!

Book recommendations

Oh, my friend Karen also gave me some good book tips too as she knows that I like to read up about things! Despite loving the daily updates in my apps, a couple of reference books for Sam and me sounded like a good investment:

Pre-baby’s arrival:

What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Heidi Murkoff. A one-stop shop for tips and information from trying to conceive to a week-by-week breakdown of your baby’s development and the changes you can expect to experience. Very much expands on the summaries found in the Apps I spoke about in a this post.

Commando Dad: Raw Recruits: From Pregnancy to Birth and Commando Dad: How to be an Elite Dad or Carer: From Birth to Three Years, Neil Sinclair. One for the Dads/male carers it promises hints and tips of “surviving” the changes you and your partner will go through in a humorous Army Officer style. I’ll get back to you with a review once Sam starts reading them…

Once baby’s here

New Toddler Taming: A parents’ guide to the first four years, Dr Christopher Green. Karen said it has been really helpful with her toddler with great advice and tips.
Wonder Weeks, by Hetty van de Rijt. My sister recommended this too, it’s added to my “Wish List” to buy nearer the time.