Pickle

Such a personal thing, and everyone's different as you can already see from this post! Both times round we started off with the babies in our room in a moses basket, both times by 6 weeks we had moved them into their big cots in their own rooms. A combination of reasons for us: - Mr Pickle and I are light sleepers and found sleeping with the baby in the room near on impossible due to the baby snorting/snoring/snuffling/sneezing - I never found BFing lying down particularly comfortable, so found I was taking the babies through to their nurseries in the night to feed them in my rocking chair. On the occasions that I did feed in bed I would fall asleep then wake in a complete panic worried that I'd squashed the baby (very unlikely I know, and I have nothing against co-sleeping, but it really freaked me out!) - until baby #1 had his tongue tie fixed I was having to express at every feed and bottle feed him - once again this was easier to do in the nursery rather than in bed - neither baby slept very well in a moses basket, and when moved to a big cot seemed a lot more settled. They didn't like being swaddled, and both now sleep like starfish! And as controversial as it might be, I did take the view that Mr Pickle had to get up and go to work in the morning, so felt it was only fair to let him get a decent night's sleep where possible. Saying that, I was very lucky both times round and my babies only ever woke once or twice a night - I may have felt differently if I was up hourly! To be honest I think it's hard for you to make a decision on this before you've actually had the baby. Wait till he/she arrives and see how you feel. Good luck, P x

How about heading along to Powerpramming? Liz is a local (posts on the forum) and is an expert when it comes to post natal exercise. I went 6 weeks after having #2 (although didn't have a c-section) and found it excellent - if nothing else it gets you out of the house and you get to meet other like-minded Mums.

I wash my own, and find it really easy. I'm another dry pail fan - simply flush liner and associated nasties down the loo and pop the rest in the bucket. Straight into the machine on a 60 degree wash and they're done. Dry within a few hours on the line in sunny warm weather, or overnight on a clothes airer when the weather gets colder and we have the heating on. I think I prefer doing it this way, as as far as I'm aware you don't get your own nappies back when you use a company? I much prefer knowing that only my baby has been wearing them!

Ha ha ha, the leftovers thing strikes a chord. Both Mr Pickle and I were left gutted today at lunchtime when the little ones polished off their cheesy toast without leaving us a single crumb... we never make it for ourselves as on a health kick but can justify eating the kids leftovers. Muslins are probably the worst thing for me - there was a day where a trusty muslin was used to wipe snot, dirty faces, baby sick then used as a changing mat at bathtime since it was already so disgusting, then (instead of being put in the wash, where OBVIOUSLY it would go at the end of such a day) unwittingly given to my daughter in her cot to use as a comforter. No harm done, immune system like an ox ;-) My youngest has a thing for cat food, no matter how hard I try she still manages to get her hands on a few morsels from somewhere... and I admit that these days I've pretty much given up fighting it. If she choses to eat Felix's foil specialty rabbit in gravy for dessert, so be it! I'm a good Mummy, honest!

Don't get me started! When I do go (very infrequently these days) to get my daughter weighed I refuse any "advice" from the HV as honestly feel that I know more than they do! Absolutely shocking system as far as I'm concerned. I reluctantly went along for my son's 2 year check (waste of time, for anyone wondering if they should do it!) to be asked whether I was worried about the fact that my son was short. He's not short, perfectly average. She also asked whether he could talk, while he was right in front of her saying "look Mummy, there's a tractor over there, it's red, there's a bike, I'm gonna ride it, can I have a snack, I'm thirsty...". Grrrrrrrrr. Winds me up, better stop posting now :-S

Try not to worry too much about what the HV's say when it comes to weaning (or really, anything, in my opinion!). I was "advised", due to my son being "small according to the graph in your red book" to not be scared to give him fatty foods. When I asked her to elaborate, she said "things like chips are good". He was 7 months old. Extra salt and vinegar?! Let your baby lead you. My son took to solids really well and gradually worked up to 3 meals a day, daughter wasn't interested until well over 7 months old when she suddenly decided to start eating for England and gobbled down anything put in front of her. My loose structure in terms of fitting in milk feeds was 7am (ish) milk 8am breakfast 10.30am milk 12 lunch 2.30 milk 5.00 dinner 7pm milk It seemed to work for us. My daughter has dropped the 10.30am feed and is almost at the point of dropping the 2.30pm feed - and eats 3 meals (plus 3 "puddings" such as yoghurt/fruit, and anything she can grab off our plates/floor/cat's bowl) a day. Have fun with it. Weaning can be really stressful if you let it get on top of you, but if you relax and let the little one lead the way it's much easier. P x

Oooooh, very nice indeed, well done EDF team! Is it just me, or did anyone else find they had the jitters last night when the forum wasn't available?! Just typical it was down on an evening where Mr Pickle was out and there was nothing decent on TV! I had to do ironing instead :-S

We didn't have a water source in our garden yet had lots of toads. They seemed to live mainly under a passion plant that grew over our fence, so it provided shade and damp for them. Not sure how you'd go about encouraging them to move in - don't know if it's as simple as finding some and relocating them?!

To be honest I really think it's up to you how you approach it, there's no right or wrong way :) But I know what you mean, sometimes it's nice to be told what to do to eliminate that self doubt that always creeps in! My son (now 2.5) was breastfed till 10 months and had also had occasional bottles of Aptimal. When he stopped BFing I moved him to 3 bottles of formula a day - he tended to take around 8oz morning and night, and about 5oz early afternoon. When he turned one I swapped his mid afternoon bottle to cow's milk, then once my tub of formula ran out I switched all his feeds. We had no problem doing this, like your little one he had been having cow's milk in cooking etc. so I felt confident that he'd cope with the milk. I never bothered with the follow-on milks, to be honest I see them as a marketing ploy by formula companies to keep us spending money! Cow's milk combined with a good nutritious diet of solids will provide your baby with everything he needs. The one time we did buy some (to use on a long haul flight) he really wasn't fussed with it. I'm pretty sure the guideline in terms of quantity at around the age of 1 is for them to be taking around 1 pint of milk, in a combination of bottles, food (including yoghurts), on cereral etc. which is pretty easy to achieve. By around 16 months my son had dropped the mid afternoon feed, and the morning one by about 18 months when he started being a bit reluctant to eat breakfast after having had milk first. He still has a drink of milk before bed now, but the last few nights has only had about an ounce... so I think his milk drinking stage is over completely which makes me sad that he's growing up! If your son will take milk from a beaker go with it - the one problem we had with our son until just last week was that he'd only drink milk from a bottle. I'm sure loads of people have 2.5 year olds that still drink from bottles, but when I (stupidly) let it slip to a health visitor when there getting my 1 year old weighed she made me feel like the worst Mum in the world! Ridiculous!! My daughter has been a bit different, in so much as she point blank refused a bottle until just a few weeks ago, and she's 13 months old. She's still BF in the morning, but now has a bottle of cow's milk early afternoon - and this evening has gone to bed after having had a bottle... a bit of a milestone - the first night in just over 13 months that she hasn't been breastfed before going to bed. Next step is to attempt getting someone else to feed her and put her down for the night! Try to relax about it. By this age it starts to get easier to tell whether they're getting enough of everything, and before you know it he'll be telling you what he wants (generally not milk, fruit or veg!). Good luck. P x

I've always attended the Tues clinic even though I'm registered at DMC - the time for the DMC one doesn't suit us, and I only ever go to simply get my little ones weighed - they've never argued with me despite the notices they put up to the contrary.

We used to get loads of toads in our first house in ED (Jennings Road) and still get a few where we are now. The Jennings Road toads were very friendly, always used to come in the back door if it was open in the evenings!

The clinic that I've always gone to at Townley Road (pre DMC moving their clinic there) is Tuesdays from 10am. P x

I was also a Judy Blume fan in my teens - although from memory one of them ("Forever"??) was quite risque in terms of sexual content so not sure how you'd feel about a 13 yo reading it - it was the one that was always out from the school library as we all fought to get our hands on it! The Laura Inglis Wilder books were fab, my Mum had read them as a child so I remember being very sceptical as a rebellious teenager, but loved them. Timeless. How about the Flowers in the Attic serious by Virginia Andrews? Another favourite of mine which I've re-read quite recently and really enjoyed all over again. I loved reading when I was a teenager, really hope my kids also enjoy it. Well done for encouraging your daughter - here's hoping she enjoys some of the fab suggestions so far in this thread.

I'm scarily like my Mum, despite years and years of being in denial. A recent 6 week holiday in NZ staying with her made me realise just how alike we are. "You will sit and EAT your dinner, and you will NOT get down from the table until it is finished" "I have had enough of this nonsense" Basically most of the phrases I use with my kids come from my Mum. And most are said with a much stronger kiwi accent than I have as we tend to say them the way Mum does... "ut's a but chully outsoide today". Although these days our biggest similarity seems to be an obsession with weather forecasts and the ability to get washing dry. Thankfully I'm not quite as bad as my Mum when it comes to hanging the washing out - she (verging on OCD I think) must always use the same colour pegs when hanging something requiring more than one. Same applies to socks - both must be hung using the same colour. I even bought her a big bag of pegs that were yellow, thinking I would simplify the process for her, but she still insists on using her trusty bucket of multi-coloured ones. I know Mr Pickle is waiting for the day when I do the same!

What time? Hope to see you there.

My daughter has just gone through a biting phase, I sympathise, the pain is horrible! I used to release her grip by shoving a finger in her mouth, say a firm "no", and wait a while before letting her latch again. After a while I could sense when it was about to happen so could pre-empt most of the time. Thankfully she's stopped doing it now. Good luck!

My first baby was mixed fed and I used Aptimal - no real logic for it other than it was the first one I saw when I went to buy some (he was tiny, losing weight and tongue tied, so we were advised to supplement with formula). He was absolutely fine on it, I did once try him on SMA but he wouldn't take it. However I don't think there's really much difference between them to be honest. Re: the refusing a bottle post (sorry, can't remember who it was) - my daughter is now 13 months and has only been accepting a bottle for the past few weeks. I tried different types etc, but in the end she suddenly just took a bog standard Avent bottle (cow's milk) and hasn't looked back. She's still breastfed too, but seems just as happy with a bottle. She has a "muzzy" in her cot for sleep times (just a good old white muslin, I have 12, so no risk of losing a beloved comfort object!) and I let her have it when I give her a bottle, it seems to have the same soothing effect, so might be worth a try for you if your baby has a comfort object. P x

To add a bit more (sorry, am procrastinating, should be packing for a holiday!)... if you decide to go down the routine route (which I did with no. 1, not so much with no. 2) don't attempt it from day 1 like so many of the books suggest. The first few weeks will pass in a blur, the next few you're starting to learn a bit more about your baby, about you as a Mum etc. For me it was around week 7 or 8 when we'd got the hang of feeding and were getting used to our "new" life that I started thinking about how we could structure our days and nights. Any earlier than that and I know for sure I would have caused myself unnecessary stress. In the run up to the birth, politely decline well-meaning friends offers for you to try changing their baby's nappy, bath their baby, feed their baby etc. in order to prepare yourself for the arrival of your baby. Maybe it was just me, but I seemed to be swamped by babies while pregnant. At the end of the day you don't need practice, by the end of the first week you'll be a nappy changing expert, so save yourself the work while you can!

... also, if you can spare the cash, get a cleaner. Takes away the stress, means your bathroom is clean for all the visitors (who I'm sure aren't judging, but I was always paranoid!), and importantly avoids any tension between you and your partner over who should be doing it. I hired one just before I had baby #1 with the plan to go back to doing it myself after a few months, 2.5 years later we still have one and I wouldn't be without! Best money I spend every week by far.

First time round I didn't realise that the pushing would feel like pooing, and my son is quite lucky he wasn't born in a toilet as I was totally convinced I needed to poo (had gone from 2cm dilated to fully dilated in 35 mins, so none of the midwives realised I was ready to push and were happy to let me go to the loo!). Made it much easier 2nd time round knowing what the sensation was like. Regarding swaddling, we never got on with it at all, with both kids. Once out of hospital, where they were swaddled by the midwives to such an extent they didn't bend, they never seemed to like it and were always fighting to get out. In the same vein neither liked being in a moses basket, once again I don't think they liked the confinement. Both were much happier when moved into big cots and put in sleeping bags. I'm sure this has already been said (sorry, haven't had a chance to catch up properly with this thread), but make the most of every minute of spare time you have in the run up to the birth. Honestly. If you have 30 minutes with nothing to do, sit down, read a book, have a cuppa, and cherish it.

It does sound like a good idea, but I agree with Moos regarding the time - 8am is too late, certainly in our household, where the kids are up and have had breakfast by then. I'd find it too difficult to go back to bed by then (silly, I know!) as would be up and dealing with the day.

I have to agree with you BQC, we live nearby and often when walking home have to stop while cars turn in, only to reverse out without looking for pedestrians. Maybe we should get the local kids to make a sign?! ;-)

When we travel to New Zealand (quite frequently) we hire car seats through Plunket once we're there - much easier than carting a seat with you - might be worth checking whether there's something similar you could do in Australia?

You don't need to be worrying about it at 6 months if you're planning on sending him to a state school. Things may be different if you choose to go private though, however I'm unsure how that process works.

I agree with Ladywotlunches... it seems with my two (2.5 and 1) no matter what time they go to bed they still wake at 7am, so I put them to bed at 7pm. For us, if they go later, they just end up grumpy the next day! They do go through phases though - can you convince your LO it's still night time if you give him a short feed and put him back to bed without too much talking etc? Or try leaving him a little while before you pick him up if he's not upset? Sometimes my little girl wakes and chats to herself for 10 mins then goes back to sleep! Hopefully he'll settle down again eventually for you, anything before 6.30am just isn't considered morning!