Pickle

I was just wondering if any of you have suffered (or are suffering) from OC in pregnancy? I'm 33 weeks into my 3rd pregnancy, with symptoms getting worse by the day - last night being my worst night so far. I also had it in my two other pregnancies - starting at around the 30 week mark both times. I am a member of a few online OC support groups, but it would be interesting to hear from others in this situation locally. For me the hardest thing is trying to explain to others what's wrong, as people don't tend to take it seriously when they're told the main symptom is itching - I often get people responding with "oh yes, I suffered from itching when I was pregnant". It's such a hard thing to explain, although after the night I had last night (woken by it at 1am, tried unsuccessfully to get back to sleep until 2am, got up at 2 and sat downstairs in the cold attempting to get the attack under control until 4:30, back to bed and finally asleep at 6, alarm goes at 6:45am...) I would say that it's the kind of itching that makes you want to get a piece of industrial sandpaper and take layers of skin off until you reach the source. It's under the skin, feels like you have millions of little creatures running around (although might be different for others I guess). It centred around the feet and hands, but I find during an "attack" it spreads to just about everywhere. Horrible. I wake up most mornings with bleeding hands and feet due to the fact that I've been scratching while asleep :( On the plus side, it's thanks to this condition that I've always found the newborn stage quite easy as have always managed to get more sleep with a new baby in the house than OC! Anyway, is there anyone else out there suffering that wants to share tips and support?

True Buggie. The school nursery that my daughter attends has 25 children in it, and four staff members (mixture of teachers and TA's), and I think this is standard. I'm also a fan of Magic Moments creche, like Fuschia says it's a lovely nurturing environment. The only downside is that the grant doesn't apply, although most children leave to go on to school nurseries at around 3.5ish. My son went there until he was nearly 4 (started at 2.5), and daughter from 20 months until 3 years. They still talk about it all the time.

Thought it was a pretty rubbish final (although still watched it). Highlight for me was the two pretty ones from Westlife, can't sing, but have smouldering looks down to a fine art ;-)

Your best bet, if you want her to just go to nursery for the 15 hours, is to put her name down at school nurseries. You may have a chance of getting into the Goodrich nursery from where you are (I know quite a few kids in there are from the Lordship Lane estate, which must be close to you). The good thing about school nursery is that you get a real feel for the nursery and staff by being there a bit before drop off time, and certainly at Goodrich it's easy to chat to staff after the session. You can also volunteer to help with class trips, help with reading etc etc. The only hurdle will be that due to term times and when the new intakes happen, she probably won't be offered a school nursery place until September 2012, so it depends whether you want to wait that long. P x

Goodrich is from 1-4pm

Oh Bee, please try not to worry. You will be amazed at how you have enough love for more than one child, and you'll also find yourself looking at your older child through new eyes as you marvel at how much he's changed since he was born. Sure there will be tricky times, but the good outweighs the bad. Right up till the minute my daughter was born I had doubts about how I would bond, and I struggled with the pregnancy (almost felt resentful at times). But as soon as she arrived everything changed and I wouldn't change a thing. I'm expecting #3 in a few weeks time having had a small age gap between the first two, and find myself approaching it completely differently this time round. I remember having the same worries as you when I was pregnant with #2, especially as my son was still so little and dependent. This time round I'm excited, and think the older children are going to be great with their little brother/sister. Wishing you a speedy labour! P x

Sheepskin now sold subject to collection, sorry to all who replied! p x

Congratulations Alix! How exciting that the bumps are starting to become babies, makes it seem more real doesn't it?! Only 5 or so weeks until my induction which I know will go quickly. As a complete aside... is anyone in the market for a sheepskin (lambskin) seat liner for their buggy or carseat? I mistakenly ordered two from Amazon last week so have one needing a new home. It's a Bowron stroller fleece (they're lovely, I had one for my other two children but sold it on the forum ages ago thinking I wouldn't need it any more...). Will make a carseat lovely and snuggly, and they are brilliant as a seat liner in any type of buggy (our old one was used in a Bugaboo Cameleon, McLaren and Phil n Teds over it's life). The one I have is completely new, in it's packaging, and cost me ?35. I can't return it, so would love to find someone to take it off my hands. Happy to sell for ?30 to a fellow winter babies club member and can deliver. P x

Crystal7 - Bellingham is perfect for someone with baby and toddler as it's completely contained, they can go off and do their own thing without you worrying too much. They do food, cheap and cheerful type and not terribly healthy (nuggets and chips type meals). Definitely worth a visit. I think what you "need" from a soft play changes as your kids get a little older - these days my two happily play on the equipment by themselves with no need for intervention from me (other than snacks/drinks), so I tend to prefer places with decent seating, coffee and space for me to knit :) From all the places I've been I think Beckenham best meets the needs of Mum!

Agree that Little Rascals is great, and lots for the littler ones to do. We go to Beckenham a lot (daughter does gymnastics there) and love it - you have to pay to park (70p an hour, max 4 hours). Have never found it too manic - weekday mornings tend to be the best if you get there early. I think it's one of the cleaner soft plays around and they do decent food if you want to make a morning of it and have lunch. Only been to Gambardos once and that was enough, very very scary (for adults and children alike!). Stopped going to Peckham when they introduced the "no adults on the equipment" rule, as found my kids couldn't quite manage the top section by themselves, but got bored on the ground level equipment very quickly.

Bromley is good - easy to get to and loads of shops both in the Glades shopping centre and out on the high street.

I saw Misha B on This Morning (I don't usually watch daytime TV, honest!), she was as smug as smug can be - she knows that not winning is the best thing. I saw a few people on Facebook posting links to some kind of fixing "scandal" involving the winner's single by Amelia Lily available to pre-order, not sure how true it was, didn't look at the article properly. I don't really care who wins, would prefer it not to be Marcus as don't feel he really has any future as a pop star, he's much better suited to cabaret or musical theatre in my opinion.

Another nice option if you've got transport (not sure how easy it is on buses etc.) is Beckenham Spa. They have a lovely warm teaching pool with various sessions held during the week. By far the cleanest pool we've used and excellent spacious changing facilities for families.

Fantastic, congratulations!

Not much use if you need them now, but I always found the Boots own brand were identical to the Lansinoh ones for a fraction of the price, especially if you get one of their many "buy 2 get 1 free" type offers. (adds breast pads to the growing list of things I realise I don't have...)

My son loved a product called "Clippo" at around that age, it was sent as a gift from NZ but you can buy it in the UK, example here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Playskool-Clipo-Vehicle-Starter-parts/dp/B004SNVG12/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323020161&sr=8-1 They still use it now, so it's a good buy!

I have no idea what an epi-no is, but from the little I've gleaned by reading this thread have decided I'm too scared to look at the website :-S

My NCT classes (not in East Dulwich) were similar to those that others have experienced. I was booked in for a planned induction a couple of weeks later due to obstetric cholestasis... a condition meaning that from 37 weeks onwards there is an increased of stillbirth. NCT teacher was adamant that I was making the wrong "decision", had me convinced that an induction meant my birth experience would be a medical one and that I had a 99% chance of a c-section, and spent most of the time praising others who had "chosen" to go the natural route. As it turned out, my labour, despite being induced, was completely natural, no c-section. Her advice was completely misguided and medically quite dangerous really. For me there really was no choice - risk going full term and loosing my baby, or being induced at 37 weeks and holding my baby in my arms. I know not all NCT teachers are like this, but it certainly put me off going to any more classes in subsequent pregnancies.

Goodrich are having theirs on Sat 10th, not sure of the times though (must pay more attention to notices!)

Sorry to hear you're having problems. I agree that you should push to see Claire Kedves at Kings, she really is the one that knows the most about breastfeeding related problems. We used Jill Dye (it's me that recommended her to Saffron I think!) for our problems (which were tongue tie related), she is a lovely lady who will not only give great advice, but also help build your confidence, which for me was crucial after weeks of battling to breastfeed. I wouldn't hesitate to use her again, she is excellent. Although she costs (not extortionate), the major benefit is that she will come and see you at home. Good luck, Pippa x

When my son first got his Tripp Trapp (about 15 months from memory) we just used the front bar and it was fine, although he has never been a climber (still isn't, aged nearly 5!). Daughter had one right from day 1, so we used the baby set at first then removed it and went to just using the front bar when she was a bit more mobile. We had a harness, but I found it really fiddly and more trouble than it was worth. Daughter definitely pushed the "you must stay sitting" boundaries a lot more, but they learn pretty quickly if you're consistent. I removed the front bar at the point that she started climbing up and down by herself (she's quite petite, so climbing out with the bar on was easy, but means they climb higher than they would without it on). They are the best seats ever, my two love theirs, we're going to end up a 3 Tripp Trapp family once the baby arrives.

I think I realised about age 8 when I peeked out my bedroom window on Christmas Eve to see my Dad walking up the driveway carrying the canoe that I was told Santa had delivered the next morning :) The following year I heard "Santa" muttering away under his breath on Christmas Eve attempting to assemble a trampoline... My brother and I kept up the pretense for years for the benefit of our younger sister (10 years younger than me) which was great fun - we used to get really carried away writing her notes from Santa, leaving footprints etc. I think she ended up pretending to believe until she was about 16 just so she could see what else we'd come up with!

Yes, I'd be interested to see proof. In the years I've been using DMC I've always rung a local 0208 number, and spoken to one of the staff that sit in the office behind the reception desk.

Sorry I haven't been particularly active on this thread, or attending the nights out - now in the throes of obstetric cholestasis and having a bit of a miserable time (at least having had it twice before I know what to expect!), so not really up for socialising at the moment as dealing with the other two kids is enough for me on very little sleep! Will definitely be up for meets once I've had the baby. Now that I'm ill I'll be induced at 37/38 weeks, which brings my due date back to around the 14th January. P x

We're on Upland (middle, near Goodrich/Underhill) and have water.