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...and remember to take tissues - the miricle of that little tiny heartbeat got me sniffling every time!!!

Did anyone hear Martha Kearney getting really narky with him a couple of weeks ago on Woman's hour? She very effectively put him in his place - it was great listening. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00sfhs4 Edited to say it was actually Jenni Murray and to add the link - I'm guessing she is a working mother - she gets very irritated with him

Oh dear, maybe its time for Science Fiction then(Bleugh! but boys seem to like it) a bit of Asimov or some of the shorter Peter F Hamiltons.....

Holes by Louis Sachar is very excellent ( for teens or adults) and what about the His Dark Materials trilogy, by Phillip Pullman. Coram Boy jamila Gavin(?SP) is great and is a very quick read which can help to inspire - And The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)is a great book too, a bit more challenging and dark but great none-the-less. So great to see a thread in the family room for families of older children!

I would give giving it up a go right now...I remember being sure that the bottle was entirely necessary for one of mine's sleep routine and panicked about the impendng sleep doom when we left it behind once - but when I put my daughter to bed she went straight to sleep and we never used it again. Probably easier than having to negotiate with an unweildy 2 or 3 year old. Sometimes the trappings of the nighttime routine are for us as much as for them!!! Good luck!

I'm sure the "ride" is equally good on either of these, but for me, a the Islabike would definately be better because of its Pneumatic Tyres and the fact it can live outside, Likeabikes get very splintery after they've been wet and dont hand down or sell so well. Also it looks like a proper "Big Boys Bike"!

A big bath!

Yes I think we did bath sharing from the outset - though I must say I dont tend to bath tiny babies every day as they dont seem to get so dirty as a toddler. I found I never again needed a plasticy prop-your-baby-up thingy ever again once ther was an older sister to cradle the baby in the bath while I washed them....maybe its different with boys though - Ive only got 4 girls.....! As for settling upstairs on their own, I did all sorts of different routines for different children, usually a compromise between something to suit the family dynamic and the requirements of the baby (and the capacity of our house - kids sharing rooms etc etc). It all seemed to muddle along fine. As Ive said, the more kids there are, the more flexible everyone becomes (even the previously unbending 2 year olds!)

She'll really want the new baby to be in the bath with her, so I'm sure she'll agree to slightly cooler temperature, and then you can top it up with hot and bubbles to make a big girl's bath afterwards which she can enjoy while you sort the wee one out.

Number two is easy peasy - I wondered why I'd made so much fuss about number one! I remember looking at my second daughter and thinking "...babies sleep alot" I felt I had to be in a constant state of readiness for my first, always listening out for a whimper - Second and subsequent babies needs are not always met instantly, and I think they (and the parents) are calmer and happier for it. Now I have four children and often mothers of one child comment on what hard work it must be and how they can barely cope with one, but I always tell them, and truly beleive, that 1 child is by far the hardest work, 2 children is less hard, and having 3 or 4 doesnt feel like any more trouble either. What exciting times are ahead for you all - I envy you your "due in September club" maybe I could come along as an alumni....!!!

I went to school with a girl called Ophelia Balls.

I have no advice on how to dibilitate an attacking dog, but can responsd to the OP'a question - "am I being neurotic?" I can remember often visualising falling down the stairs while holding my first baby...I thing I never worried about before - I think its a normal to have these thoughts and work through them with a first child as the enormity of your love for your baby and the amount these helpless little bundles depend on you dawns on you. Its part of the "life recalibration period" Does that make any sense or do I sound like a nutter?

It is a fantastic nursery - lots of my friends kids went there and they had a super time and have grown up to be lovely weel rounded kids. However - kids can only start after they are 3, and they are limited to 5 morning, or 5 afternoon sessions only until they are four, which isn't always convenient when trying to fit work, other kids, etc etc around it... have a chat to them about their hours.

An Antique Compass -so he can always find his way (and in the meantime, pretend to be an excellent Pirate!)

On the whole, I am pro innoculations, but having researched BCG a bit a decided not to go ahead with it for my children. It is quite hard to catch TB unless you spend fairly proloned time time close to sufferers ( for example sleeping in hostals or as a nurse...) also, the efficacy of the innoculation is not that high - only between 50% and 70%, ( http://priory.com/cmol/bcg.htm) compared with the standard 95% upwards of most other vaccinations. Also, if you do contract the disease, having had the innoculation can obstruct diagnosis. The protection only lasts for 15 years or so - so I decided to give it a miss unless we ever looked to be in more danger of catching it, at which point I would reasses. What a lot of decisions we have to make for our little ones!

The Dawn Chorus is very loud at the moment - and will remain so until well into June. When mine were young this always made for an early start for everyone. Very often kids have the rooms at the back looking over the garden where the chorus is much louder than on the street side. Like all things with kids - it will pass....and be replaced by something equally frustrating!!!

While hoovering, I found my daughter's plastic tiara on the ground and put it on my head to get it out of the way, then I forgot about it until I casually ran my hand through my hair while choosing bacon at Sainsburys... Very hung over at work (years ago) I sat at my desk trying to work out why I couldnt get my computer to work as I would expect before I realised I was holdng the mouse upside down - try it, its really disconcerting. I had a pair of shoes I liked so much I bought them in two colours, one day I went to work with one foot in each shade. I have too many moments of madness to mention - I can think of loads more - moments of sanity are more rare!

The garden centre on Lordship lane near the station usally has it

This Always loved it - and now I sing it to my children at bedtime....never so beautifullyl as Ella Fitzgerald or Mama Cass though....

I dont have an actual recommendation but when I've asked the NHS therapist about private help they always say that anyone from this list http://www.rcslt.org/speech_and_language_therapy/how_to_find_an_slt/howtofind is fine. Keep trying with the NHS though as the therapists at the Townley Road clinic are very good and so convienient if you can ever get an appt - beleive me, I know how frustrating it is.

I dont think these are thick moments - no reason to think you would already know the answer to these things - it would be way more stupid to go out and buy loads of stuff that you'll never use!! I think you may as well buy a couple of blankets - you may or may not need them in the summer at night (depending on temperature), but you will use them when you are out and about with the buggy (for warmth or sunshade)- maybe in the evenings when it is a bit cooler...and Autumn will be along in no time so they won't go to waste. I think youll need some long and some short babygrows - for hot days and cooler evenings. It all seems complicated now but when baby comes along you'll just think Ooh you look a bit hot/cold and take a layer off or put one on accordingly. How exciting for you to be making these plans...I am a little bit jealous!

I would say that 1 child is the hardest work - the whole life recalibration thing that Keef wrote about is one factor - but also the undiluted intensity of your relationship is exhausting. I have four and I feel although there maybe slightly more to do it is much less hard work (if that makes any sense) Younger siblings have a lot more people around them that love them - which really lightens the load. Ruth, hang on in there - the first bit can feel like an endurance test. Try to see lots of people so that you get adult company and help. You will get through it and feel like yourself again.

Hope I did'nt sound too vitriolic! - I do think what you are doing is really worthwhile and I wish you the best of luck with it, we rarely get to discuss this openly and the last thing I would like to do is divide the "camps" further. Having said that (!!) Please do bear in mind that comments like "Personally I love breastfeeding and would not of picked anything else for my child" are difficult to hear when you have bottle fed - surely there are circumstances where you too would have considered something else.... Only meant as positive input - genuinely not a critisism as I do understand your sentiment. Also - if you ever had any use for someone with very mixed experiences of feeding as I do (One b/fed for 2 weeks and then fed expressed for 1 month and then bottle fed, No 2 entirely bottlefed, number 3 lived her whole life in intensive care so never fed but I did express 7 times a day for her, No4 breastfed for 3 months, no 5 breastfed for 10 months) and a open view to feeding choices I would be very happy to hear from you.

I think that I would have maybe succeeded with b/feeding the two (of my four) children that I ended up bottlefeeding had there been feeding consultants as opposed to breastfeeding consultants. When things arent quite going to plan you have advice from either the hardcore "you must breastfeed or be deemed evil" or from the formula advertisers. I remember feeling that once I was considering offering a bottle, I could not consult with the midwives/hospital/la leche/nct any more and would have to take future information from the back of a packet. From this position its very hard get help or support to go back to mixed feeding, expressing and feeding or indeed to get back to fully breastfeeding. It feels like youve chosen to go to the dark side and therfore you're on you own. Support for new mothers is the way forward - not doctrine.

I laid my kids on the bed and took some photos and then printed them out.