GinaG3

The forecast keeps changing, last I saw met were reporting barely any more snow, more sleet until after Christmas, in and around London anyway. Clux, my family are all snowed in, in Oxfordshire. Funny, I lived there for 14 years and only ever got snowed in once, when we lived literally middle of nowhere!

What can I get you Mummy? A nice sandwich please, oh yeah and a cup of strong coffee.. Sorry we only do fries and coke.. This is the 21s century Mama!:'(

Dulwich common horrendous, traffic at about 5mph. Really heavy, blizzard conditions. PUT YOUR HEADLIGHTS ON! So many people without them on!

Men have their uses.. Sometimes. I long for a nice peaceful bath without a toddler coming a splashing over the side of the bath. Not very relaxing. I've had 4 lie ins in 2 years!

I believe there are many loop holes, just as regular infant formula. I see it all the time too, definitely for sale on Lordship Lane. Goats milk actually contains over double the protein of human milk and infant formula. This can cause severe dehydration in young babies and put added pressure on the kidneys. There is a lot of people out there who use it and their babies thrive very well. But as with everything this is not always the case. If I remember correctly a UK E.U policy change in 2008/2009 advised health care professionals not to recommend the use of goat milk based products in infants under one year of age.

I suggest you research the use of goat milk formula in infants before trying it. Its not approved for infant use in the UK and is actually banned in many countries across the world. It provides inadequate nutrition for infants under one. Just so you know, you can find more information on the net and from DoH. Last I read it was illegal for sale in the UK pending labeling issues. Unsure of the situation right now.. My sister breastfed for 2 months before switching my niece to soya formula then onto goats milk at 18 months due to eczema and psoriasis. She still suffers now at 5 but not as bad. My mother breastfed my brother until he was nearly 2, he suffers the some of the worst eczema ever seen by the dermatologist. My mum actually changed her diet whilst continuing to breastfeed (this is the best choice with eczema baby) she completely cut out all gluten, diary and wheat meaning she became 100% vegan, the eczema gradually passed and my brother is now a completely free of eczema 11 year old, this was not expect when he was 1 year old. I know you were asking about bottles but thought this might be of a bit of interest. By the way, the doctor/dermatologist will prescribe formula on prescription when they find out what would be best for the individual baby.

I've just bought a new bike, does anyone know how/the best way to protect it for free? I don't want to have to spend even more money on top of an already expensive bike! Do the police/safer neighbourhoods not offer a session whereby you can go and they take all the details and mark your bike?

Ha. Amazon had my parcel returned to them when the snow blocked it getting to its destination and wont refund till its back in their possession, its a joke! Its been 4 weeks now, so take it no refund?! If you go to Silvester SO 90% of parcels are amazon.co.uk they are sent 2nd class delivery (when you select FREE - super saver delivery) so are the lowest priority. Royal mail need some snow tires (or something) on their vans, then they wouldn't have such a backlog and be having to pay extra staff to deliver it. Oh everybody is losing!

My daughter was the same. I was so exhausted. She used to do 5 minute naps and no longer than 1 hour solid sleep at night, and thats if I was lucky. Or she would lie in bed all night grazing. I'm sorry to say this is just something we put up with for a little while. I used to lay feeding for 5 hours to get her to sleep!! It was killer! I couldn't get her to fall into a routine no matter how I tried. Do you co-sleep? I did and loved every second of it all snuggled up, but this became increasingly hard for us, by the time she was 14 months (a long way off I know) I bit the bullet and put her in her own bed next to ours. Things changed instantly. She obviously couldn't smell me in the night so didn't wake up to feed or if she did she left it hours. I know toddlers and babies are completely different but if you are co-sleeping perhaps it may be good to try moving baby next to you in own bed..? P.S she went to bed at 11.55pm last night and 12.45am the night before (...yawn)

Water, water and more water. It was my savior throughout pregnancy. Although I was radiant first time too, not sure about the next...

My daughter did this at the same age. It lasted about 3 weeks, stopped and then she started sleeping through. Could it be transition to longer sleep times? I'm sure its just a phase, a lot of baby do the same at this age. Of course it could be teeth, no doubt molars are trying to cut at the minute.

anna_r exactly the same here! She will press middle button then become fascinated with trying to make a call or send a text. At this point I politely confiscate my "ice-phone"

My daughter (nearly 2 also) loves talking tom, drawing den, nature appy, chuggington, toddler flashcards. Loads more but cant think off top of my head, shes using it right now!!

anapau glad somebody helped you. This is the same as happens to me, I've had it since I was twelve. One rush to hospital when I was pregnant. No other answer for the excruciating pain or loss of breath. Spontaneous pneumothorax noted but wont diagnose. Out of interest would you mind talking to me over PM. No worries if not. My dads lung completely burst whilst diving 11 years ago. He drove himself to hospital and was then airlifted to Royal Brompton, it was a scary time for all the family. My mum was pregnant at the time. He was given a 50/50 chance and pulled through surgery. He has had no problems with his lung since! The human body is a powerful system. Hope you feel much better soon.

I have to say I think I'd be inclined to have a home birth. I wanted one with the first anyway. P.s beat this - my cousin is about to birth her 4 at 24

I sympathize with you a million times over. My daughter was exactly the same. She is a very clingy even in toddlerhood. I used to sit for 5-6 hours a time feeding. Lie in bed at night not able to move because my boob was constantly in her mouth or she wouldn't sleep. I'm really sorry to say this is something that just took time for her to grow out of. It became a lot easier at around 4 months and the feeds became more predictable and didn't last as long. As Ruth said it could be a number of things. I was happy to let my daughter comfort feed and even now at knocking on 2 I still feed her to sleep and let her comfort feed whenever she wants to. This is a personal preference, some parents choose not to allow their baby to do this. Browse around the Le Leche League forums for information and pro's and con's of allowing your baby to find comfort at your breast. Your slap bang in the middle of one of the biggest early growth spurts, you may find this time very tiring but there is light at the end of the tunnel, we can all vouch for that. Best of luck.

Thats my immediate conception out the window then. MiniG3 has been sleeping through for the last 7 months and became best friends with her cot at the same time. Partner doesn't want anymore kids so young so I'm popping a pill everyday for good measure.. I don't know why we bother take mens thoughts into consideration!!

Amen, newcomer! I've got Christmas all wrapped up. Now I get to relax for the few weeks everybody goes hectic. Ahh, summer Christmas shopping!

Ha! Well I'm entertained by this thread. Jealous too, congratulations Ruth. I have no idea how to handle another child whilst giving birth. I think men just reckon we can multi task through labour too. So I'm sorry I'm useless.

Silvester Road is apparently dealing with 5,000 parcels at the minute. These date back to December 1st and any parcels due for delivery in early-mid November should be assumed lost (as I was told by SO). I have already had 2 parcels returned to sender and 2 parcels lost. It is a joke. Apparently they have managers and higher staff out delivering parcels. Of course recorded and tracked parcels get priority so will be the only packets being delivered. Anything else comes after, they are hoping to be back to normal within a week.

Exactly the same thing happened yesterday on Dulwich Common, stand still traffic because a bus driver scraped a car. Police didn't arrive for ages either! The guy went to wipe the marks on his car then noticed it was just dirt, and still didn't drive on..

I'm still awaiting a parcel that was sent on 12 November, been told to wait until the backlog has cleared. Annoying as if it goes missing I've lost money.. And this couldn't even have been the snow, so I'm not taking that as an excuse when I speak to them again tomorrow.

Me and my partner are total opposites on this subject. He is one of two and would apparently 'rather have been an only child' I don't think he would honestly. I'm one of 5 and I want a larger than one child family. I couldn't bare the thought of my daughter ever feeling lonely or sitting playing toys on her own. I was always dead set on having 3, but after having my daughter and taking into account my partners views on the subject I have decided on 2, he still has just the one in his head, but he has been given 6 years maximum to make his decision... *fingers crossed* of course there is always unplanned pregnancy! I don't mind all the no holiday, stuck in at weekend generally. I'm at the age where I should be out clubbing with friends every weekend, but my life is more important than that now and I have more meaningful things to do. Personally I'm the sort of person that would give an arm or leg, maybe even both for another child and would sacrifice another 2-3 years of 24hr care and attention because I always think I can do stuff for myself later on. I understand how you feel 110% though, my daughter is on the brink of turning 2 also and I feel for the first time in the last 3 years (including pregnancy) I'm not completely chained down.. Best of luck with your decision!

Well done you, congratulations.

Silvester road are open, I called this morning trying to find my parcel that has been lost since first week of november.. Grrr! They shut at 12.30 I think, check though I may have seen extended hours till 7pm somewhere!