susyp

tried them all and oatley the only palatable one - I have it in my cereal myself- tried almond milk and it's revolting! oatley is ok. susypx

also it may be that as they have got older/got married etc they are just a bit more lazy and less sociable - so keep plugging away. maybe join some new groups/sports - where you can socialise not necessarily in the bar etc . I only say that as i have just failed to go along to a birthday do as honestly i would rather just stay at home and have a glass of wine in front of the tv. But I went out in a dragon boat this morning and had a fantastic time. tomorrow i am taking my daughter to an outdoor swimming pool. I think people change and you can't expect things to be the same. I try and value the times I do go out (or get dragged out) but also make my life full with new and exciting challenges. Not sure I have explained that well as a little drunk on my wine at home but I definitely don't felt lonely. I felt more lonely in my 20s with a huge group of friends. I am really happy just doing lots of things I enjoy doing, with different groups of people. I probably have only a few good friends now but just do a lot of stuff - some of it with my daughter but a lot of stuff on my own. You'l work it out I am sure. Change is hard. susypx

In a cafe near me one weekend i sat through a discussion a mother was having with her 2 6/8 year olds about whether they would prefer to go on a driving holiday through america or fly to the italian lakes. I kind of got the impression they would have preferred a bucket and spade holiday in the UK! susypx

i know nothing about technology but our mac kept crashing as it wasn't holding its charge - it basically needs a new battery so now we just have to keep it plugged in all the time - has he tried that - sure it's more complicated than that but thought it was worth a mention! It's probably slightly newer than 2004 and the battery has died despite not being used for work or anything. susypx

my daughter slept with me until she was 2 and then we took the rails of her cot down and persuaded her it was a big girl bed and she was happy enough to go in it. I found before that that I just got more sleep if she was in with me! Once they start wanting to be a bit more independent i think it is a bit easier. She still sleeps with me if she is ill . susypx

she's having a few physical set backs recently - she has noticed that some other children her age can swim, ride a bike without stabilisers, now the monkey bars. So I'm going to have a push on getting her confidence in the pool up and probably invest in some private lessons so she can skip some levels and enter with her own age, and a friend's child does tennis after school so we're going to try that as something for her to get into. I remember beng rubbish at all sports and being miserable about it but i think if you are actually taught things well you can learn anything! oh and we're going to go and practice on the monkey bars at the weekend. ! susypx

Hi all My 5 year old has been getting very upset this week because she can't swing her legs high and backwards and forwards on some bars they have in the school playground - they're kind of like those monkey bars you swing across. Shes been upset every night about it - it's obviously a current craze with her friends in the playground. So I said today that we would go and practice when she came out of school - we did and there was another girl in her year doing it who was swinging all over thep lace and was completely brilliant at it. So my daughter got really upset - i had to half carry her home she was so distraught! this other girl was about half her size - my daughter is in age 7 clothes and so very tall for her age. So i very stupidly said, to try and calm her down - look that girl is tiny, you are just much taller and heavier so it's harder for you. She told my husband at bedime just now that she is too heavy and that's why she can't do it - so she'll never be able to do it! so stupid of me to say that - i;m really worried now i've given her a complex. Any ideas on how i can rescue this tomorrow? susypx

Or - get hubby to pay for a pedicure for you ;- susypx

no didn't go to the informal meeting where it was announced. I'll ask though. I think my daughter would be fine either way really but if this had been done when i was young i really think my school days would have been a lot better! Would break up the cliques which can cause such misery for some children. And i think it is good to get used to making new friends regularly. Which would help going to secondary. thanks for confirming my thoughts! Susypx

Is this a good idea? our school normally mixes the classes throughout the years - but now they won't be doing so. just wondering what others thought? thanks susypx

Hi - I am sure I have seen a good looking car head rest that my 5 year old could use (wears 7 year old clothes so tall) - when she falls asleep on long journeys she always wakes up with a frozen neck she can't move and screams - so we need something her head can rest on. Can't find anything that looks halfway decent. Can anyone recommend one that works? thanks Susypx

Great thanks lots of good ideas there! Susypx

Hi I am stuck as to what to get my sister for her birthday, she is mid/late 30s, has a 18 month old, i always get her toiletries but it seems so dull. Not really into cooking , gardening etc. What would YOU like? One of my best presents from a friend that i received was solar fairy lights for the garden but my sister and her family don't really have anywhere to put them. Would be nice to get her something good this year! thanks! susypx

Hi no advice to offer but just to say my daughter does this and she is now nearly 5 - it's very frustrating as she gets sent home from school as when she coughs it is very dramatic and she vomits , so i understand, but she misses an awful lot of school because of it. When she gets a cough the first few days she always vomits quite a lot, huge amounts too - and we think it is because she can't tolerate the mucus in her stomach - she always has a tummy ache during a cold and then it turns into a cough and she vomits many, many times! Our entire back seat of the car has been covered in vomit on occasion. not much fun, she doesn't sleep at all really when her cough is very acute, susyp

Hi all - just wondered if anyone had any advice on this? Yesterday afternoon we went and bought my daughter some sandals from russell and bromley. It being saturday afternoon it was very busy and she was quite fractious and difficult - so we found some and i wasn't sure about if they were going to rub her - she insisted they were fine - we were at loggerheads and the shop assistant suggested we take them home and try them at home to see what she thought. this was at about 4.30pm yesterday. this morning -we get up and she tries them on and being in a better mood - admits they rub. they fit, but they rub her, and from my experience once a shoe rubs it doesn't stop doing so. So we take them back - we arrive as the shop is opening , and i have also decided as her feet are a size bigger we should get some school shoes - so we do - and then i ask to exchange them (school shoes considerably more expensive), they look at the soles of the sandals for ages - as if to basically say i am lying when i say she has only worn them for about 10 mins inside - and then refuse to exchange as soles are marked. We have wooden floors - apparently on the receipt it says only to be worn on carpet but the shop assitant the day before never mentioned this. we speak to the deputy manager who is UNBELIEVABLY patronising and supercilious and unbending. we're going to call the head office tomorrow, but having done a google search - it seems we are not alone in having bad service there. so i will also contact watchdog as it seems quite a good story to me if there are lots of people with bad experiences here. l does this seem bad to anyone? we hadn't even had the shoes 24 hours and she literally wore them about ten mins inside. it seems that some many shops are bending over themselves to be good to customers in this climate and yet russell and bromley behave like this. I've never been treated anywhere the way i was treated this morning. susypx

thanks so much saffron for all your advice, will look into a menthol plug in. and pripolla - it may be worth investigating - how did they diagnose? I had a test once and just had to puff into a tube and they said no not asthma as the puff was good ? I do think that she is just very suceptible but definitely might be worth a referral just to make it more managable come next winter. i've now got her cold so waiting for my own cough to start in next few days! I put her to bed tonight after a chilled out day at home with daddy and she was straight off to sleep, with calpol - and not one cough yet. it's just very tiring having a coughing all night child as i know so many people on the forum have experienced! thanks again susypx

It's always related to a cold so I don't think it's an allergy or underlying issue? She missed 3 weeks of school last autumn cos it kept recurring - and she vomits mucus with it - sent her in today and she was home by 0930 as had vomited. And even though I take her to a lovely warm private health club to swim she always gets a cold. So just worried as she misses days and days of school with each cough and there is no point her doing swimming lessons as she ll miss tons - so I am trying to teach her but its hard without going every week. I get very bad coughs so feel it could be genetic. Is it still worth being referred - surely it ll get better as she gets older? Just got told off in pharmacy for giving her 6 plus med so we re back to calpol now! Susyox

Hi , my daughter gets really really chronic coughs and is up all night with them - they can go on for days. She has just got one and is now nearly 5, so i thought I would bite the bullet and get her 6+ medicine - i gave her benylin chesty cough 6+ which has guaifenesin in it. She's been having very bad tummy ache in the early part of the night and very bad wind - however i often have to wind her anyway and the mucus she gets does give her tummy ache - but it has been a bit worse this time. She woke up at 5am this morning and I gave her some more mediceine - then she came in ten mins later saying the med had given her tummy ache and she had't had it before i gave her the med - this accords with what I was starting to work out - as her wind at night is a lot worse than i would normally expect from mucus. So i looked to see if any dairy in the medicine - but none obviously. I just found this on net doctor " Expectorants such as guaifenesin are thought to work by stimulating receptors in the stomach, causing a reflex increase in the volume of fluid produced in the airways. This decreases the thickness of the secretions in the airways, thus loosening phlegm and making it easier to cough up." I am assuming this is what is giving her tummy ache? I only give her one spoon or one 1/2 so not full dose. Is this because she is too young for it or am i doomed with a child with chronic cough who can't take the medicine?! Can anyone recommend any cough medicines without guaifenesin in? Will just get some calpol today to replace it as hopefully she is coming to end of cough, but just thinking about next time. thanks so much Susypx

i got ours from m and s

I had this with my daughter for a time , when she was just over 4, i found that reading lots of book from the library about doctors, watching get well soon, and pointing out people that we know who are doctors (lucky there) helped - basically a lot of education! She used to run around the surgery screaming- so it was quite extreme. Also helped trying different doctors - we found a lady who was nice and good with her. She tolerates it now I would say! susypx

Ill find out where it is from and pm you x

Yes I suppose the more we go the less spluttering! Trying to get her signed up for lessons next term. She just did go to the toilet and pretty Much emptied her entire stomach so felt better after that! She does drink a lot I think so maybe its just the volume. If I feed her lots and lots it definitely seems to help and even though she says she can't eat she does manage to eat once she sees it! Thanks x

Hi me again, having a neurotic weekend clearly... my daughter always has bad tummy ache the day of and day after swimming. anyone else experienced this - i don't want to stop taking her but it's not nice for her susypx

the chances of my daughter eating spinach ,watercress , kale = zero - i only got her to eat broccoli when she was quite little by showing her her friend eating it!! very impressive to get him to eat those! susypx

I think adding in the neocate that she might have about 600mg on a good day. So those figures are encouraing thanks mummaB. And yes they could be sun spots actually as she has caught the sun the last ten days (being a red head) and that is when they appeared. ginag3 - my mum has vit d deficiency and is using a special sun lamp to help - she had a lot of joint pain with it. It is very difficult to supplement I know. She also had chronic vit c deficiency (ala scurvy) and NO doctor we saw agreed with me, my dad didn't agree and basiically told me to keep out of it, but i insisted on going to appointments as my mum said i could. She had black and blue legs, with little red dots all over them, and was breathless. We saw about 4 different doctors and specialists and noone would take my idea seriously. Then I persuaded her to try taking a vit c drink - within 2 days the breathlessness had gone - and the bruises faded really quickly. But she has a very limited diet due to IBS. Thanks for all replies very reassuring. I think we will try and boost the calcium naturally and try some tinned salmon maybe on her in a sauce and a bit extra oatmilk at weekends. See how it goes. susypx