Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

Hi all,
I'm about 35 weeks and I feel like there is so much to do and not very much time! There are a few big decisions (each "big" in their own way) that I feel need to be made, and I feel like I can't seem to pull the trigger or make any progress on anything right now. These are the things on my mind at the moment, and I feel they are pressing because we NEED to make decisions so I can get things in order before the baby is here. Any insight or advice on any or all of these topics is appreciated:

1) Cord blood banking / clamping. Having a hard time with this because I don't want to kick myself in the future for not doing it because of the expense when we can, technically, afford it. It is still $$$ for the tiny chance we would ever God forbid need the cells. And there's no guarantee they could be used for the child we bank them for. What was the tipping point for you to either do it or skip it (or donate).

2) Stroller. Registered for the 2015 uppa Baby vista but didn't get it. Now we need to decide if we are ponying up $860 for the vista or do we downgrade and get something else. thoughts on this? We like the vista for the possibility of converting to a dual stroller if/when we have a second child, but should we spend so much money now for the possibility of a future child?

3) Newborn photos. I am having a hard time with the price tag, but like the idea of capturing the moment while she is still so new. DH is not fully on board, thinks their creepy, but I think we can have some traditional photos and we'll like them later.

I just feel like there are so many decisions that need to be made asap.

And, cherry on top, my husband is having knee surgery in a week, so he has his own issues on his mind. And we are in the midst of some annoying but necessary (and expensive) home renovations.

Someone tell me to breathe!!

TIA

Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

Ok, deep breath and relax.

1). We did cord and tissue for dd1 and will do it again for this dd. cancer runs in our families, as it does most, and Gd forbid down the road I needed it for dd and it could have helped her I would want to do everything I could for that chance. If you can afford it, I would do it.

2) the vista is a great stroller, espec the new 2015. But it is a lot of money. There are other strollers that convert to a dual tandem stroller. City select, britax b-ready (the one we have).

3) we did newborn photos and will do them again for this dd. I love them and cherish them. There are lots of photogs that do them and there's a big price range. Do what you're comfortable with. Also, the hospital employs newborn photogs that come around to your roo. Although ours were a HOT MESS. I was trying to nurse, felt and looked gross and dd was hysterical. Those pics sucked, but when we had our own photog at our house, dd was a dream. She brought a heater, white noise machine and we got the best pictures. I also was showered and had makeup on and wasn't bombarded in the hospital with whenever they showed up and also had visitors

Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

1) Not banking cord blood. I was gung ho about it before I did actual research and talked to professionals. But my doctor as well as a few doctor friends I have actually talked me out of it. It doesn't seem necessary for us.

2) Love, love, love the uppababy vista. You can always look on Craig's list or Long Island Buy Sell or the NYC thread on what to expect. Maybe even ask on the parenting board. I always see people trying to sell their UBV. We have a hand me down vista and it's awesome. I can't believe it's two years old. It handles so well.

3) Newborn pics are a must have for me. They're only that small once. Our photographer is very reasonable. I didn't want to go crazy and splurge on pictures but I wanted something done well.

Hope all goes well with your DH. You'll figure it all out, just go with what your gut tells you :)

Message edited 3/25/2015 9:38:40 PM.

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

OK, I booked the newborn photog!

I'm having the hardest time with the cord blood. It's such a big expense and such a small chance it can be used! But there is that tiny tugging feeling inside me that I don't know what I would do if we ever needed it and didn't have it. I like the idea of donating, which our hospital does, but only if you give birth on a weekday. I feel like this decision is outside of my paygrade, haha.

Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

1- I did public cord blood banking. It is free but you can only do it if the hospital where you deliver participates in the program. Like a pp stated after doing a ton of research and speaking to my MFM specialist I decided against private cord blood banking.
2- $860 for a stroller is just too much money to spend when there are great choices for less than half the price.
3-If you can afford the newborn photos you should go for it. I initially was undecided and when I decided I wanted to do it dd broke out with the worst baby acne. I did photos at four months as part of a family photo shoot but looking back it would have been nice to have professional newborn photos. Check out Cathryn Elizabeth photography her rates are competitive.

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

Message edited 3/25/2015 10:47:34 PM.

Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

Didn't even consider cord blood banking so that was an easy decision for us.

Would never spend almost $900 on a stroller. Waste of money IMO. There are plenty of great strollers for a fraction of that price. You could buy a single and then a double later on if you need one for less the price of that one stroller.

NB pics are worth it to me. I used Kelly Murphy Photography the first time and will be using Picture Perfect Fun Photography for #2. I would have used Kelly again but she's having a baby and I didn't think she'd be available. Both photographers were reasonably priced for great work.

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

1. I did not do cord blood banking with DS. It's an insurance policy that may not prove helpful even if you need it. That being said, if my hospital does the public banking, I would do it. Why not? Can't hurt.

2. I have the vista. Great stroller but I did have some problems with it. The folding mechanism stinks. The other thing is that they nickel and dime you for every single accessory that many strollers already come with, like cup holders. It's still in fairly good shape after 3.5 years and will be used for this baby. The steering and wheels are definitely superior to other strollers on the market.

3. I had newborn photos. Glad I have them but they are also jammed in a box somewhere now.

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

Take a deep breath and everything will be ok:) the first thing you would have to do is to decide whether or not to do the blood cord banking. For us, we went along with it- this was never a question of doubt for us.

I have the Uppa Baby Vista (last year version) and am sooo pissed that the newer version will be having the outward facing second seat. Now that i am pregnant again, this is super important to me. The City Select with the second seat will still cost about $700 so i would personally splurge a little bit more for the Vista. They have great customer service as well. For newborn photos, i think we did them at 8 weeks for my son... These were definitely worth the money. These are pics that are super special so i would splurge on this as well. See if you could find a newbie photographer to keep costs down perhaps. Good luck with everything!

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

We didn't do cord blood. I looked into it and the cost was so high. I just couldn't justify spending so much plus annual fee for something very unlikely. We put money in a college find which we think is a better use of funds, for us. Donating wasn't an option. I've never second guessed this decision. Do some research but make sure you review factual information, not marketing of the companies that profit from this.

We have city select and I love it. But I lived in city with DD. Now in suburbs we drive more so I would have been open to cheaper options. I'm happy I just had to get second seat this time and it was cheaper than uppa. We didn't receive it at our shower but got all the accessories and add ons and used some gift cards on the stroller itself.

We did and are doing newborn photos. If I could afford it, I would get professional photos every month lol. I just love photos. It's a special moment you can't capture once it's gone. I found a reasonably priced photog and was very happy with this choice.

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

I know how you feel! I'm not as far along as you (I will be at the half way point tomorrow), but still have a lot to do and trying to find time to do it. We have vacations, my oldest DD graduating from high school and a big bash, then getting all of her stuff for college, and being preggo. My youngest is just 18 months and a girl and we are having a boy so I'm stuck on the stroller thing too.

I like the uppa baby vista but I'm not trying to spend so much money on a stroller and DH thinks that's insane to pay that so we are going with the Chicco Double Romantic. He prefers the tandem and side by side or tandem doesn't matter to me so we are going with that which is only $299 and I plan on using my 20% coupon at BBB.

Cord banking I'm not doing.

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

Here's my take:

1. Cord blood: technology is not here yet. Very few kids (?14) have gotten their own cord blood back (may be higher rate to treat other child... Like on the brochures). If technology is not there yet, the method of freezing may not be perfected (like 5 years ago for IVF embryos).

2. I think $1000 is crazy for strollers. Seriously, it's a cart that holds baby. I Have been very happy with my Citimini and would have been fine with a cheaper one.

3. Get a good camera. This is a very good investment! I have a huge pic that we took at the botanical train show. We love it much more than any posed pic.

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

1. I did not do cord blood banking, so easy decision for me there

2. I personally wouldn't spend 1k on a stroller

3. I did not do newborn photos, I took them myself and made my own birth announcements on Shutterfly and they still came out nice. This time around I have a friend who is a photographer that generously offered to do them for me as she is venturing into newborn shoots, but I wouldn't have gone out of my way to book one.

Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

I did not consider cord banking personally.

Why not consider the Uppa Baby Cruz? I love it. It's slimmer than the Vista. All the same great features. You really don't need the bassinet.

I didn't do newborn photography and didn't miss it. We have a great DSLR and caught some great pictures ourselves.

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

I know everything seems overwhelming right now because you are so close to having the baby, but it will all be fine.

1. We went back and forth on the cord blood banking as well. After a lot of reading and research, we decided not to do it. It didn't seem worthwhile given the low likelihood of actually using it. I agree with some of the others that the technology is not where it needs to be.

2. We have the Uppa Baby Vista. It is a good stroller. It is difficult to open and close and it's quite heavy. I do use it often because I've gotten used to it but that will probably get harder as I get bigger with this pregnancy. We ended up buying the Uppa Baby umbrella stroller and now with baby #2 on the way, are looking into double strollers. If you are on the fence about spending the $$, then you shouldn't. There are lots of other great options out there for less $.

3. We did newborn photos and I love them! You will not regret it for a second spending on them. It stinks that it's another expense on top of everything else at the same time, but absolutely worthwhile. You will have these photos for the rest of your life and it goes by SO fast. Even now, DD is almost 20 mos, and I look back to those photos and they make me cry because she's grown so much in a short time.

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

I feel your pain. Just relax and breathe. One thing at a time.

Here's my take on your questions:

1. We're not doing cord blood banking. I hope I never regret that decision but I am a paranoid crazy person and don't like the idea of my baby's DNA banked somewhere. Call it "6th day paranoia". I watch too many movies. We ARE going to do delayed cord clamping though. I read studies. Its endorsed by the WHO. I'm anemic so it just makes sense for me to give my child a shot at having a higher blood volume.

2. I got the CitiSelect. The 2013 or 2014 version (I forget which one) is available through albeebaby.com for under $400. All of my friends with multiple kids SWEAR by this stroller. Luckily my friends all chipped in and got this for us so we didn't have to buy it ourselves. I would seriously look into this model.

3. I know you already made decision on NB photog but I was in the same boat as you. They're REALLY expensive but I agree with the PP that they're only that little once and I know I would kick myself if I didn't capture those moments with REAL photos (not just ones we took ourselves) that we can have forever. I'm hoping to pull the trigger on NB photog myself tonight.

Good luck!! We only have another month to go!!

Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

I ended up delivering 4 weeks early, so, yeah...

1) Cord blood, we were debating, but never got to finalize a decision by the time we delivered, was going to do delayed clamping, ended up with an emergency C, so everything went out the window.
2) Never even considered that one, we registered for (and thankfully received) the Britax B-Agile travel system. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Makes things so easy for us.
3) again, b/c of how early DS arrived, we didn't schedule newborn photos, but my DH did a gorgeous session himself (photog is his hobby, he's such a stereotypical asian sometimes), they came out amazing.

Take deep breaths, it all gets figured out!!!!

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

1- we did not do cord blood banking. I did my own research and it is also very $$. We would have done public if our hospital offered it but they did not

2 - I could not spend that much on a stroller. Ours was about $400 and i thought that was alot. as much as we used it, I am glad we didn't get any more expensive. It really is a waste

3 - We won 2 free newborn shoots for DS1... don't even ask, we just got lucky. I was not going to spend the money, but I really loved all the pics. So now for DS 2 we will be doing them. Knowing we didn't pay last time makes it a little easier to spend $500 this time.

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

Thank you for all the responses, I feel a little better.

The more research we do about cord blood banking, the less convinced I am about it. I think we are leaning toward delayed clamping (which my Dr. said can be done so long as everything goes fine and its not an emergency) or possibly donation, if it is during the week.

I booked the newborn photog, so I'm excited about that!

We are going to BBB for a "shop appointment" with a stroller specialist this weekend. I'll feel better once I get to see some more options. I like the cruz, but its still expensive.

Thanks again!

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

I never did cord banking and never even considered it.

I didn't even want to spend the money for the city mini so no way I eoukd spend that kind of money unless I lived in the city and was going to use it all the time.

Newborn pics- again never considered it. I can take cute pics of my baby and my BIL is a photog if I wanted some nicer ones

Re: Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

Feeling overwhelmed / having a hard time

1) DH and I decided against cord blood banking right from the start. While we would love to do it, its just financially not a possibility for us right now. In addition to paying a storage fee, I believe all OBGYN's charge a collection fee which is out of pocket and not covered by insurance. A lot of literature now supports the benefits of allowing the blood in the cord to flow back into the baby. This is what we will be doing. My OB called it "milking" the cord -- getting the blood that's inside to go back into the child before its clamped and cut. You might want to check it out! There is no collection fee for this.

2) I got the 2015 Uppa Baby Vista stroller from my MIL for my baby shower -- its a pretty awesome stroller and the 2015 has so many great features that earlier models didn't. I love that it can be converted to a double stroller (or even a triple with a stand-on peg board) for future children. While many say that the bassinet that comes with it isn't necessary, I really like that feature. While the baby is still small and a "newborn" I think its perfect for long walks when the baby is sleeping. While you can attach the car seat to the Uppa Baby system, I just feel that baby will be more comfortable at times in the bassinet. With all this being said, had my MIL not offered to buy it for us, there is no way we'd pay that much for a stroller. We were originally registered for the Graco Modes Sport Click Connect System -- it was around $429 and that included the car seat. Keep in mind that the 2015 Vista does NOT include the car seat -- they sell 3 adapters for other brands (Maxi Cosi, Graco, and Chicco) or you can buy the Uppa Baby Mesa car sear which doesn't need an adapter and clicks right in ($279). I'm gonna PM you about the car seat as the 2014 isn't being produced anymore.

3) Newborn pics were an absolute must for us. We shopped around for someone reasonable but who still does great work. If money is an issue, always ask if there are any options that would reduce the price. The photographer we feel in love with only had one package option on her website which I felt was way more pictures/outfit changes than we needed. I e-mailed her and asked about a "mini" session option with half the number of retouched images and she said it wasn't a problem at all -- I'm still getting full reproduction rights and all the retouched pics on a CD so I can make my own birth announcement. The worst they can say is no, so ask!