Pickle

Good luck to everyone due in the next few days. I think Nicky was in for induction yesterday(?) and hope that it goes well - hopefully nobody else has to endure the process taking 3.5 days like I did! Hope all the new mums are doing ok. I'm currently sitting with daytime tv on, a deliciously warm little girl on my lap having a lovely long feed. Wish they stayed newborn for longer! She's done the school run already (at 1 day old) and we've been to Sainsburys and Starbucks this morning, shopping for birthday supplies as my oldest boy turns 5 tomorrow!

Thanks - having been through it before I'm a lot more relaxed this time, especially as I've caught it early. She seems to be feeding quite well despite it, and a lot of the different latch techniques I learned 5 years ago seem to be flooding back to me!

I'm so glad this thread exists... 99.9% certain that my new baby daughter is tongue tied just like her brother was 5 years ago. I rang Katie Fisher thus evening and have an appointment to see her on Sunday where she will diagnose and snip. With two other children to look after I don't have the time/energy to go through the Kings route, so figure ?90 is worth it fir a quick resolution this time round.

Congratulations Steph! Looking forward to meeting up with you all soon. My mum arrives from NZ on Thurs and is staying for 3 weeks so I'll be free to meet with just Kate while she looks after my big babies.

Just wanted to add what an amazing support I had from Erika (Lanes midwives) - not only has her care been fantastic over the past months where I've been I'll, but yesterday she was with me for the long haul, arriving to start me on the drip at 4pm and not leaving hospital until after 7am this morning. She has been a caring ear on the phone for me over the long induction process, came to visit whenever she could, and was great at pushing things along in a busy maternity ward and making sure I was heard. There were other Lanes midwives around last night with various women and it was immediately obvious that they care passionately about the ladies they look after. Cate had been here since 8am and was still going strong at 2am determined to see the process through with her client. such a brilliant service - thank you ladies, if you're reading!

We took disposable single use Tommee Tippee with us when we first went to NZ, as well as a couple of regular sterilised bottles. We took ready made cartons and had no trouble getting them through security, but you can buy them at boots so don't worry too much. Having done the return flight to NZ around 8 times now with children in tow (first trip when son was 15 weeks old) we've always found it to be fine, and have never found either our kids or others around us to scream the whole time. Just try to relax, take a familiar item of bedding, and enjoy the flight.

Hooray, I finally had a baby! Kate was born at 5:05am this morning after a very long induction process. I escaped c section by a mere 20 mins. Here I was thinking #3 would just fall out! She is exactly 38 weeks gestation today, so has had the longest cooking time of all 3 children. Feeding really well, sleeping peacefully, and I hope to be discharged later today. Pippa x

Yes, have been in since Friday but unfortunately no luck so far. I'm a bit of a mess, missing my kids terribly :'(

Steph, if I ever actually have this baby and get out of hospital you are welcome to have mine x

Potassium is supposed to help, which bananas are full of. Horrible thing to have, I sympathise

It seems to be a very strange business approach - surely tapping into the Mum and baby Market during the day makes financial sense?! Will be interesting to see whether it stays busy or not.

Also, the Nappy Lady website is great for advice, take a look on there. I've got quite a collection of nappies for my baby (hopefully making an appearance this weekend) - you're very welcome to pop over and have a look at the different styles if you like?

You don't need a tumble drier, I had two children in cloth for over a year and managed fine without - winter is easy as you can use a warm room or your radiators, and an outside washing line is ideal for the warmer months. In terms of how many you need, it will depend on how often you plan to do washing. Generally I did a nappy wash every other day, and had about 18 nappies which was plenty. In the early months you need more, but as they get older and move into bigger sizes you'll find that you stop using so many. It's very difficult to know what will suit your baby before she arrives, especially as a first time cloth user. I would suggest looking out for people selling off bits and pieces and build up a small collection of different brands, then once you've been using them for a while decide which ones are best for you and go from there. Personally I've always found two part nappies better for the first 6 months (where you use a nappy with a waterproof wrap over top) and all in one types once they're weaned (blueberry and Itti Bitti being my favourites). Good luck. Be warned that cloth nappies can be very addictive!

No, I never tip them and they don't expect it (if they do they are very professional at hiding their disappointment!). You'll find the first couple of times Ordering online is slow, but once your favourites are saved it's really quick to do - if you're an existing tesco customer you load in your clubcard details and everything you usually buy will be automatically loaded.

I use mainly Tesco, sometimes Ocado. I find Tesco are reliable, have good delivery slots, and they don't provide short dated products. Works out cheaper than Ocado for bulk buying, and their club card gives good monetary discounts. The drivers carry your shopping to the kitchen, and they have the option of delivering without bags which I like. I gave up on Sainsburys years ago after a series of deliveries with most items missing, or really bizarre substitutions (sorry, no chicken breasts available, thought you might like some black pudding instead type situations!). I've been shopping online for over 5 years now, when I very occasionally go to Sainsburys to do a weekly shop I'm reassured paying a few ?? for delivery is money well spent!

I remember being told to wait 6 weeks before ntroducing a bottle od expressed milk - baby 1 ended up needing it from about day 3 due to feeding problems and we never had nipple confusion problems. With baby 2 I waited about a month as just wasn't organised enough to express, and she point blank refused a bottle until she was 15 months old! The sooner the better IME, and it is brilliant having someone else do the late evening feed. P xx

I massaged some into the bump this afternoon and have been experiencing definite tightenings ever since! Could just be braxton hicks but have spurred me into making sure my middle of the night contacts are available. Having never gone into labour naturally I don't really know what to expect if I do! Might give the clary sage bath I was planning tonight a miss, hospital bag isn't packed yet :-S

They are constantly around the area, we get them knocking at the door every couple of weeks, usually quite late at night.

I've had a bath in it this evening (much to the amusement of my children, as I never have baths and they found it hilarious!). Not terribly fussed on the smell and it hasn't done anything that I've noticed... I shall persevere!

Thanks Molly - not sure I could stomach caster oil! I wouldn't use it neat on the bump, would definitely mix with a carrier. This was actually the one way I was advised to use it by the guy at Healthmatters, who seems to know his stuff. A bit of Googling shows some people who swear by it and others who claim it put them to sleep with no results whatsoever. Willing to try anything that might help get things moving naturally pre-Friday (or help move things faster when the induction takes place). There's a nice bottle of red wine looking longingly at me, it's been a long 8 months!

Determined that nothing is going to stand in the way of me and my induction at the end of the week I've got myself some clary sage oil. I have a number of friends that swear by it, but they've all been overdue when they've used it, whereas I'll be 37+3 when induction takes place. I've heard & read varying ways to use it: - in the bath (mixed with milk?) - directly on the bump (mixed with a bit of olive oil) - in an oil diffuser What did you do? Did it work? Happy to try snorting it through a rolled up ?50 note if I thought it would help get things started (joke, of course). My vague plan is to start using it this evening, gradually upping the quantity until Thursday night when I'll drown myself in the stuff! Any first hand experience welcomed!

Try an online auction? Get some bits and pieces donated by businesses if you can and auction them off - I know a few people who have done this and been quite successful. Good luck

The Transport Museum in Coventry Garden? My son first went when he was about 3 and loved it, caters well for families and lots of space for them to run, especially if you can go mid-week. You can take a packed lunch, or go for pizza somewhere afterwards? Last time we went there was a brilliant street performer outside which kept us entertained for another 20 mins.

Goodness Elli, congratulations! So pleased to hear that the little one is doing well and that you're home with him so soon after his early arrival. Take care, Pippa

Santa was kind and delivered an iPad this year. I'm preparing for a hospital stay and would like to have some tv/movies downloaded to watch just in case the wifi at Kings is unreliable. Being a bit of an Apple novice, I'm not sure whether there are options other than iTunes available to me? Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks