ryedalema

I just bought some Baby banz from Old Kent Road Mothercare - they seem to be doing the trick.

Thanks for your advice...cold turkey seems to be bearable at the mo (and I'd forgotten I can take meds now!). Lots and lots of cuddles for little one (who seems to be in weaning heaven and not missing the boob a jot)..and if it takes up to a fortnight to 'dry out', that's all the time I have left :(. Btw - totally agree with the 'normal' thing. I meant pain-free not gravity defying...sadly those days are long gone. Thank G for Bravissimo. xxxxx

Oh - well done PRD!! Here's some very well deserved virtual G&Ts. (they only look like beers, but we PRs know better!) :)-D:)-D:)-D

Sorry in advance for the overshare everyone - I hope there's some sage advice you can give me about this though. Sadly as little one is 6 months old and I have to go back to f/t work in 2 weeks we've taken little c off the boob. I'm going cold turkey so that I have a fortnight to deal with any physical problems either for little c or myself. My boobs are obviously now solid as, (it's only been 24 hours) but does anyone know: - how long it might last? - a way of soothing them without going back to square one (feeding again) - a better way of bf weaning? Please don't chastise me for stopping - it's not an easy decision ;-( Thanks so much to you all. C xxx

Sorry I read that after I'd posted - derr.

I had to express on the French motorway as we dashed to the Ferry for which we were very very late! (Not driving btw!) I had boobs out, pump in hand, a muslin tucked into the top of the window so that people overtaking us didn't crash. Soooo glamorous!

Hi Molly - I'd be happy to help. Loved both of mine - not as good as a year's free calorie-free chocolate or lying on a beach in the Maldives perhaps, but def. not half as bad as I thought it would be or planned/prepped for.

liink to flamenco dresses on ebay. link to flamenco shoes on ebay.

Aww - thanks for all the fab advice and thoughts everyone. I'm feeling much more positive about going back - GB stiff upper lip my Dad would say. And after yesterday's budget I'd say keeping the one I've got is def preferable to looking for a new job. We're c.?600 per year worse off according to the Beeb's budget calculator ;-(

Don't worry Ruth - little c's in a nappy too, has been for most of the day and was last night (well for most of it). I'm more worried about the killer mozzies that seem to be everywhere rather than the temperature right now. I've welts on my arm from them - they better not get near the little ones or I'll nuke them !! Grrrrr.

Our nursery is quite hot so we have a fan on in the corridor and youngest is just in a nappy. We'll cover her up when the temperature drops - she kicks everything off anywaya and cannot stand grobags ;-(

I agree with the above, but also here's a few things we tried that definitely worked (but may be a little unusual). - let her see you going to the toilet (however much you'd like a bit of privacy) and let her see 'what you do' - use the potty yourself - I did, it's a bit of a logistical/flexibility issue but helps demystify it - let her teddies use the toilet and really praise them when they are done - get a potty training book featuring her favourite character if you can - our daughter is Dora obsessed so it helped when Dora showed her how - as well as sticker charts (she has stickers for everything now) we had/have a moneybox above the toilet - keep the potty around all the time so that it becomes a feature of the room and not scary anymore. I think it's about it being a natural thing and not something to be scared of or intimidated by. Just my thoughts - good luck with it x

Hi Barry - I know Honor Oak isn't one of your stations but is there a number I can call there? My husband thinks he's left his credit card with them and it's not so easy for me just to drop by (no parking and juggling two little ones). If you could PM me a phone number so I can contact them I'd really appreciate it. Love your work btw xxx Oh, and screens..deffo!

I'd agree Polly - I didn't/don't particularly want to be treated differently. It's just that our HR suggested to me that I didn't need to have it, just before I left. I could just be scored as 'average' and move on. Would seem like a good option to take right now given the angst it's causing.

Hi all - I'm still having sleepless nights about this (sigh) and expect it'll get worse before it gets better. One thought occurred to me last night - do I have to have an appraisal at all given that 3/4 of the year being appraised I was pregnant? I think my HR business partner suggested that I could just be scored as average and not actually have to go through the process. I'd really welcome your advice xxx Oh - and good morning everyone!

Ok - I was ignoring the reposte about 'looking after you in old age' but three have referred to it now. It's a silly old cliche that 'people' say, hence the 'blah, etc, blah' - NOT something I personally believe in. Nor do I believe in sireing children for body parts.. End of tangent - now about the tr*ll...

As a Mum of two very young girls there's lots I could say about how out of order the OP is here. But actually, I wouldn't mind paying a premium on my travel card if it guaranteed me a seat and I didn't have to plead with a scowling commuter that actually my need was greater. It's the excruciatingly embarrassing standing while others ignore you and studiously examine their finger nails that depresses every day. That and serious b.o. from people who don't know how to use their showers while enjoying the throws of morning sickness. Can't wait to see what others think here...watch out for the Mummy massive! Oh and btw - who's going to look after you when you get old? blah etc blah.

;-) thanks for these...you've some really good tips which I'm going to follow up this afternoon. The only problem about talking to my HR department is that she's the Director for that too, and stays at the Head's house so they are very close. Ughhh - any tips for getting around that? I sure feel a bit 'where do I go for support?' internally.

Wow - thanks for all of this. I will def. look at the job market (never stopped actually ;-)) and I think i will just 'suck it up' and prove them all wrong. My current mantra is (and sorry for the cheese!) 'a job is for now...a family is for ever'. xxxxx

Thanks for all your kind words - it makes me feel much better that others think she's out of order too. Ruth - I'm in communications so sadly judgement/confidence are a big deal (same as any job I know ;-)) Kristy - your pm didn't come through (and so sorry you've had a sh!te time too), but don't stress, I know you have your hands full right now. Btw, that's the first time of Quincy - why do horrid illnesses have such cute names?? Smiler - yes I'm on mat leave and these incidences happened while I was pregnant and looking after a toddler by myself (OH working in Birmingham). Sadly - my boss's boss is the CEO, whom I'm not allowed to approach direct (he's not a mummy lover anyway so I wouldn't expect much sympathy there). Olivia - thanks ;-) Any other thoughts - my husband thinks she's b**lying me (sorry i know it's not swearing but I don't like the word). Sex discrimination? Could that be the case when she's a she too? Sadly no union, but we have an internal union of sorts - they are pretty toothless (as it were) though, and I'm not sure they'd stand up for me with these senior peeps.

Hi EMC - I've just done our family budget (we're only just coming out in the black!!) so we'd definitely be up for it. Having said that it'd just be me as my husband will be at work - would that suit? Also we rent - does that out us out of the running? xx

I'm going back to work soon and have been having keep in touch days, which mainly consist of meetings with my boss (four now). At each meeting she's emphasised a few incidences of poor judgement/confidence on my part which will be reviewed 'properly' in my appraisal. This is on my third day back (deferred from January when I was on mat. leave). When I've asked her to give me details of the incidences she has been really vague and said she won't mention names but that I've been abrupt and sometimes lacked judgement in the tone of my dealings with senior colleagues - my CEO is one of them and she has asked me never to approach him direct again. That will mean that I have "a very challenging time when I return to work"- her words. I know of a couple of incidences early on in my pregnancy when I've snapped at people, then immediately said sorry as I'm incredibly remorseful when it comes to stuff like that. She's also kept saying how wonderfully my interim has done "but don't let that worry me as she's a different person". I'm feeling seriously unwelcome - and actually said that to her yesterday. She said "if I'd wanted you to leave I'd have told you". Now - I'll hold my hands up to any incidences of poor judgement/confidence before my pregnancy (April 2009 onwards) but what are my rights after that - does anyone know? I'm feeling seriously anxious about going back to work and quite frankly don't think she is helping me with my 'confidence issues' by repeatedly talking to me about this. Can anyone help?

Agree about making antibiotics taste nice. Big C is allergic to liquid penicillin (the suspension liquid, not the actual medicine) so it's that Clarithromicin (sorry, had a good stab at spelling that) stuff each time. Tastes like ear wax - yucchh. (Not that I know what ear wax tastes like..obv!)

I totally agree with Intrikat - this junction is a nightmare...I have to turn right into PR from ED Road twice a day and the oncoming traffic always jumps the red lights - by a lot. I can only think that the timing is wrong on the other side - surely not that many people jump lights? I know this is tangential for idm's Father's incident - sorry idm!

Hi KM - you poor thing and poor M! I've found that roleplaying works - if you haven't tried this already try the Peppa Pig books with Doctor Brown Bear (or her favourite character). Big C now loves giving us medicine as she pretends to be Doctor BB. Also - peer pressure in the nicest possible way can help. If it's not contagious Big C could come and help persuade her that medicine isn't that bad. Someone wisely advised me once - that if you really want your child to do something, get someone else to ask them to do it. Just a thought and good luck xxx