gwod

This happened to me to - my toes are curling just to remember it! Just to second what Ann said - feeding with expressed milk can really give your boobs the chance to recover - also I think it can help with the latch because while you are in so much pain, it is very hard to get it right because of the wincing and reluctance to take the baby off the nipple and reposition if the latch isnt perfect. The midwives dont seem to suggest this - I wonder if they feel it is the slippy slope to bottle feeding - but for me it gave me the respite I needed to recover (physically and mentally as I was so upset)and start afresh. There is lots of talk about nipple confusion but all babies in special care start feeding like this and many go on to be successfully b/fed. Best of luck

The Infant Feeding Co-ordinator can be contacted on 020 3299 3833. I would try to visit her before the birth at one of the drop in clinics (in same building as all other maternity services at Kings, cant remember which floor) to meet with them as I think this would afford you a better chance of them visiting you after the birth (if this is what you want to acheive). Good luck with the start of yor big adventure!

Ooh! I forgot..... buy big granny pants that nearly come up to you belly button- anything else irritates the wound!

I have had one "normal" delivery and 4 C/sections, 2 of which were at Kings. On all four occasions I was amazed how quickly my body recovered...infact I think I was more well than I was after my difficult "normal" labour, (2 days of bed rest was preferable to 2 days of labour!). Kings is indeed a bit of a trial, but it's only a couple of days and you will be so busy with your baby, learning to feed etc etc that the choas will feel fairly unimportant. The route to a quick recovery is usually to get mobile as soon as you can, but I realise this may be difficult for you with the SPD so I wonder if you should talk to a physiotherapist behorehand to think about suitable excercise for you and even maybe arrange a post natal visit for while you are in hospital. Also if you think you may be stuck in bed for a bit longer than most, perhaps you could arrange in advance for a breastfeeding councellor to come to you to help (if that is what you are planning). It is helpful to be able feed lying down as it means you dont need to keep getting out of bed to pick up and put down your baby which is difficult when you are sore, instead keeping them in bed with you which is gives you more independece (and is cosier!!!) Incidentally, I found it just as easy to bond with all my babies however they were born, and had breastfeeding success and failures in equal measure so don't feel that the birth process had any adverse effects on the children at all! Feel free to ask any other questions - good luck

I found antenatal breastfeeding clinics to be not very helpful. Learning to breastfeed without a baby is a bit like learning to swim without getting into a pool! You already know the theory - its just the "putting it into practice" that you may (or may not) need help with - and the coping with any specific problems that you and your baby may (or may not) have, as they come up. I would advise using the b/feeding clinic and consultants at the hospital as much as possible in the first few hours/days of your baby's life - go every feed if you can to check your progress. Incidentally I really struggled with breastfeeding with my first - never tried with my second and found it easy peasy with my 3rd and 4th, I think I just was more relaxed as I knew that everything would be OK if it didnt work out, wheras first time I branded myself a bad mother for even considering giving up. Best of luck!!

Parenting never goes entirely to plan. I did mixed feeding very successfully with some of my children - so don't feel that your breastfeeding relationship is over if you dont want it to be. As for heating up formula on trains - I used to take a fat, food sized flask of hot water with me and chuck the whole ready made carton in it - easy peasy - and remember - unless you decide you want to stop breastfeeding - you'll still conveniently have your boobs with you! I remember with my first baby, when I first decided I needed to supplement with formula, I stood in Boots in the formula aisle under a big sign that said "Breastfeeding is Best for your Child" weeping, so I do sympathise. She is now a loving, happy, healthy, smart 11 year old. Wishing you guiltless, sleepful, peaceful evening.

Hanging washing on the wasing line for the first time this spring! Mmmmm smells so good.

Again, not the same experience, but I found when we were considering schools that it very hard to understand their admissions criteria. I couldn't get to the bottom of how they aligned Southwark's obligation to allow kids in by distance, with the places allocated by "scholorship" which incidentally didn't really feel like a real scholorship as it amounted to very little benefit to the children or the families. I asked lots of questions about it during the open day but couldn't get to the bottom of it. This was one of my reasons for not putting it at 1st choice despite being offered a scholorship and receiving a letter reminding me to put them at the top of the list....all a bit peculiar and not transparent enough.

I'm ill so won't be needing Gloria's Transit on Monday after all.

dulwichmum Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > OHMYGOD! Clearly. And what are these turkey > twizzlers of which you speak? Are they organic? Do > they stock them in William Rose or Waitrose? No...more the stuff of Bernard Matthews and Lidl....

Getting the bumps at school on your birthday.

We all eat Turkey Twizzlers....Jamie Oliver has been trying to thwart us with his do-goody foody revolution.

Lordship Lovely - I think the original poster was enquiring about these Gap Year managing Companies and they do exist - I only explained what they did an provided (current) links. Please dont think I'm bitter - just jealous - as I said, I'd love to take 6 months or a year to travel - it would be a blast...and I hope my kids get the chance to do it.

These are the sort of companies you mean WOD, as far as I understand it, you imput your requirements, (for example get tan, do something worthy to further validate my Oxbridge application, hook up with fit boys from Dulwich College) and they make an itinerary for you (eg Do Tefl course in London, Work in Bogota teaching kids English, Hook up with fit boys from Dulwich College for Carnival in Rio) they then take a cut on any part of that that needs purchasing http://www.gapyear.com/ http://www.realgap.co.uk/ I agree, hard to imagine the benefit other than having a really good time - I am sure you could do good works and gain confidence in London if that was the driving force of your plans - but I can't blame students for wanting to travel and have fun....I'd like to too!

It is a non prescription antibacterial and antifungal. Here it is. http://www.expresschemist.co.uk/brolene-eye-drops-10ml.html From memory I think that it is not recommended for kids under 24 months.

You can also buy eye drops called brolene over the counter (they are not antibiotic) which are very effective. GPs often like you to try this first as its good to avoid the Chloramphenicol until after they are 2 if you can help it. Really worth getting some in advance of the appt if you can. Also when bathing with cooled boiled salt watet - dont cool it completely as the warmer water breaks up the crusty bits a bit better. Hope shes well soon

KalamityKel Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Don't bother throwing you're dummies out in > response it wont do yourselves any justice. KKel, You're mistaken...you must throw your dummies out to avoid nipple confusion!

Snowboarder said... "Luck, to some extent, I reckon. And someone once told me you only get what you can cope with (I'm not sure whether I found that reassuring or not!!!)." ...or, more likely, you cope with what you get!!

yes - I would agree with you Fuschia, one of my daughters suffered from a kidney condition (she has 4!) and there was no way she could be dry at night until we had resolved some of her health issues so there's no use getting stressy with them about weeing. Using the mixed approach I described in my last post worked very well for my other 3 children and helped us quickly understand that all night time wees (and some daytime) were accidental for my daughter with 4 kidneys, and that therefore her issue was different, which led to early diagnosis, support for her condition and eventual happiness and dryness all around. I guess, in the end, its always about listening to each child.

You can also use a mixed approach - reward and praise for any wees that he can do in the potty in his room during the night, but leave him in a pull-up to help contain any accidents...I think it helps them to understand the concept that a nappy is just for accidents - not for pre-meditated wees!! Also put the pull-up on before the bedtime story - as they sometimes wee in it straight away, while they're wide awake, and its a good opportunty to have a little chat with them about weeing in a potty or loo if you can manage it. I really think night lifting can help too....if only to help achieve some dry nappy nights which gives you the chance to give him lots of positive praise. Good luck!!

My eldest 2 are also exactly 2 years apart....when I told my first that I had a baby in my tummy she asked me if I had eaten it!!! I think you can tell them as soon or as late as you want - the toddlers dont regard it as a big deal - its one of those things that can be trickier with older kids.

I love this stuff.. Games You could do musical statues styley game where everyone can tiptoe around a "fly" like fairys and stand still when the music stops (youll have to find some magica fairyesque music). Tooth fary game where one kid "sleeps" and others try to sneak a tooth out from under ger pillow or near her Musical wands. Kids pass a wand around and drop out if they are holding the wand when the music stops. Last one gets a prize. Stick the wand on the fairy. Food You can turn a round table into a toadstool with red fabric and white sticky dots (and stools look good like this too if you have them) Stick stars on your straws to make wands to drink with Cheesey wands - cut cheese and pineapple with star shaped cutter and put on coctail stick Merangue toadstools - make blobs and stems, assemble as mushrooms, sip in choc and put white choc buttins on as spots Toadstool cake - bake cake in buding basin and measuring jug (both ovenproof) and assemble as toadstool and ice accordingly (choc biscuit for little door and window in stem ...maybe jellybabies with almond/choc button wings frollicking around underneath...or plastic ones that you can give away) Fruit kebabs -could look like wands and kids can make their own Rebrand anything normal with a fairy name....jug of juice becomes Fairy Dew etc etc dont forget to have loads of sparkly fairy dust to sprinkle about - you can buy edible glitter which would be fun on food!!

I have it twice too. The first time very mildly and the second time full on. Ive also had german measles twice....(I may be a freak). The deal is you can only get shingles if you've already had chicken pox....that's why more Americans get it as everyone is inoculated against Chicken Pox by law.

Molly, I did mixed feeding from about 2 weeks with my first due to b/feeding troubles, bottlefed no2 from the outset, and breastfed no's 3 with one bottle in the day from the outset, No 4 bfed and added a bottle after about a month. Turns out it all worked fine, all kids will adjusted healthy and happy. I think it shows that we mustnt feel there is one holy grail of parenting - lots of ways work! (Only ever tried one sort of teat!)

I think that babies have a real growth spurt at about three weeks, both developmentally and in size, so this super feeding will pass, and your day will regain its structure. I have always done mixed feeding and none of my kids got confused between boob and bottle, but when they are small, feeding is slow however you do it, (as is sterilising pumping and washing!!!) so I would give in, make a flask of tea to have beside you in the sitting room, get a big box set of your favourite HBO tv series, and invite your chums to come and chat to you while you and your baby snuggle up for a giant feedathon. Its fine if nothing gets done, no-one expects it of you right now - you're growing a little human. Good luck!