Ruth_Baldock

I don't drive, but my MWs said 4-6wks, some insurance companies say 4wks if you have power steering and abs. Whatever that is ;)

duly noted. *makes note. falls asleep*

Hmm, you see, I used to use it, but it wouldn't show up/or if it would, the results wouldn't last. I had the standard coloured one, not the lighter one, too. Wah.

Personally, I think 7mo is a little too young to be sending a babe to a nursery full-time. If cost is a factor (obviously) could you nanny share? You get the benefits of a nanny, so lots of attention, and another little one for all the social interaction. I believe most nurseries have waiting list and commitment periods- we JUST got our son into one, but he doesn't start until he's 22mo. He's been on the waiting list for several nurseries since he was 6wks old. He's 17mo now.

I've noticed I look a bit panda-ish. More so now than when I had a squirmy newborn. Hmm. I'm sort of fed up of looking ropey all the time, so thought I'd ask a forum of equally tired Mums if you all have any recommendations for under-eye concealer at all? Nothing too 'heavy', i.e of a polyfiller consistency. Or maybe I should put a bag over my head and be done with it? Could have a snooze and no one would notice...

I can do monday and wednesday of that week, but not the Friday as it's my first wedding anniversary! Made it a whole year and managed to get pregnant again, good show for me and mr b :)

Otta; kings is actually in Lambeth so the births need to be registered at lambeth town hall; bit of a buggEr, I wanted to register Cheeky S in camberwell because it's opposite our house, practically. Clare- I'd offer you and the babes a lift if I drove!

Yeah, I reckon so. It's for added protection, I think. I think a sheepskin liner would do the trick nicely. Have you seen if anyone on the forum is flogging theirs? We were conned into buying a baby cocoon for our phil and teds. Now I am wondering how necessary it was (read: not at all, probably).

god it's sometimes a bit of a lonely/stressful job being a mum - whatever cheers you up!! Also - people like me mean that others can snap up bargains on the forum....:-) Couldn't agree more, actually. Now that I think about it, our Bee arriving BANG in the middle of Seb's 4mo sleep regression/my husband working 17hr days was the highlight of my year, possibly...

WAY off with mine- I was scanned at 38wks, they thought he was a 10lb-er. At 39+3 he was born, weighing 8lb 6oz. I have been given similar guff with this once (currently 31wks) and I am ignoring it...

I think if you're genuinely going to use ONE pram, use it for everything and every day, then a huge price-tag isn't so bad. As I am yet to find a 'one size fits all (occasions)' one for myself, I get a bit bitter about how much they all are. Bloody, BLOODY phil and teds. Agree you have to be totally happy with your choice, too, as you're going to use it everyday (unless you babywear, which is another ballgame entirely). I remember refusing to use our non-household name umbrella buggy because I was convinced everyone would smirk at me. Hindsight proves that everyone was probably too tired to notice whether my baby was in a Stokke or a wheelbarrow at that point... I have actually given the Donkey a test drive (with Cheeky S and a borrowed 7wk old...) and my GOD it was a monster. I don't think it even looked nice?! Saying all that, I am now going to undermine myself completley by saying I've always loved the look of the Chameleon, and having tried one out with Cheeky S in, he loved it too :/ totally ridicolous for our flat/lifestyle and price-range though.

Cuppa Tea, yes, exactly the same here. I remember having a cry to Mum about my Son's constant illness and his asthma, only to have my Mum say 'Yes, well, you were like that but since your Dad buggered off, I was on my own and I coped...' My Dad didn't bugger off, he died. And she 'coped' by continuing to do controlled crying with me despite any illness. So thanks, Mum. Grr.

Mellors, I am raging on your behalf. Have had the same speech from my mum :( husband probably can't take his 2wks either. Time to join a commune.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1376544/Bugaboo-Donkey-Would-YOU-fork-1-200-pushchair.html

I think so, was in JL in Bluewater. You have to buy lots of 'bits' for it, I think.

I'd kind of be inclined to agree, Otta. Their version of the double pram ('donkey' I believe it's called) is about ?1200. I DO think they're pretty though- and was definitely swayed by all the nice design and ting on the bee. TBH we borrowed an OBaby which reclined flat and, whilst didn't do parent facing, did the job just as well...!

I've been thinking about this a lot recently, too, after re-reading Naomi Staden's book, which has a chapter on the relationship between you, as a Mother, and your own Mum. If it's meant to make you closer and have a new level of 'respect' for each other, then I am afraid this isn't the case for me either! My Mum is a consultant obs. and throughout my first pregnancy was pretty dismissive of my 'new age, hippie' ideas. (I wanted a homebirth and I didn't want any pain meds. Got the latter, not the former). She breastfed all of us for donkeys years, but when I had supply problems, instead of encouraging me to keep going, she said 'Oh, just chuck in the towel' which wasn't what I wanted to hear, and when I continued to bf my baby until he was 11mo, she'd make comments about 'Don't you think that's enough now? I don't know WHY i bothered to feed you all for so long...'. I don't know whats happened to her, but we've always had a lot of 'issues' anyway, unfortunately. We're currently not really talking due to her excellent line in guilt tripping re: not seeing Cheeky S enough (err, make the effort, then?!) and after a flippant comment re: my BP/VBAC. (Which was, for those interested, "If you were one of my patients, I'd be scaring you into a c-section at 37weeks. It's only because I LOVE you!" I thought, if that's love then you can keep it, thanks...). However, being a Mum HAS brought me and my MIL closer. She's very intefereing and annoys me a lot sometimes, but we have a new level of honesty between us now, and she'll reguarly say things like "Breastfeeding in my day was 10 mins each side...not the way you do it...BUT now I think about it, it makes MUCH MORE sense to do it your way..." Or she'll call me up when she's looking after Cheeky S to say how happy he is, and how that's all down to me making him confident and secure. It's taken us 17mo to get to this point, but she's more of a Mother to me than my own at this point. I don't know whether to be sad about this or not. She's still insane when it comes to my Son and thinks that BLW and babywearing is the work of the devil and that anytime he has to have anti-biotics I am RUINING his immune system etc, but I can take that with a pinch of salt now :)

Like Snowboarder, we have had many, MANY buggies... Started off with a Jane slalom. The frame weighs nothing but the carrycot was so heavy, I couldn't use it at all :/ then we got a bugaboo bee which I loved in huge amounts and wad all set to use forever and ever until I found out we were expecting again, with an 18mo age gap. Sold the bee, have a Phil and teds which I am not a big fan of at all; quite bulky and we have loads of stairs to lug the folded thing up. We just bought a maclaren triumph and honestly, we should have just bought one that fully reclines and used that from the offset! Nice and light, folds easily, fits on the bus/train, fab fab fab. Wish we hadn't waste over ?1400 on buggies now...

Hi all, My toddler + inside venues is normally challenge, hence why we didn't show our faces today :( husband could have reigned him in but he's pretty much done everything for the past few days and I felt guilty :/ I am real, and pregnant, and not a strange lurkeri promise! Hope to make an outdoor meetup soonish if there is time for one before All the babbies start arriving...

Another vote for the medela swing!

I think it's a slight myth that giving a bottle of formula at night helps baby sleep longer stretches; didn't work for me or anyone I know, and mixed feeding just made wind even worse.

Our ergo arrived last week and my husband has been happily wearing our inquisitive 16mo old on his back frequently since then. Baby loves it, my husband finds the constant pointing and 'whassat?!' from y son distracting though. I've tried him on my back too but he wasn't too keen (likes mummy cuddles lots ATM, he's clocked that he's got less than 2mo until the world will no longer Soley revolve around him) I'd listen to everything BSP has to say up there ^ she's the babywearing queen. To summate this useless comment; go for an ergo!

Well, I'm not parent of the year, but Seb's head control was always really good. We tried him in it quite early on, and he liked it, so we started putting him in it for short amounts of time. We also put him in his bouncy chair, with things at his feet (cushions etc) that he could kick about and 'jump' from, if that makes sense? All of this was done with him securely strapped in. He was the same, always wanted to be held upright, pushing on his legs and 'jumping'.

"She only is really content when being held upright as she loves being upright and pushing up on her legs." How is her head control? If it's good, may I suggest a door bouncer?

I went back to work when Cheeky S was 10 months old; he had two reliable breastfeeds a day from me at that point- upon waking, and bedtime. Anything else in the day was as and when he fancied; sometime's he'd want to nurse lots in the day, other times he was totally disinterested. I offered him water and very watered down juice to make sure he was hydrated, and he also had lots of Ella's Kitchen smoothie pouches too (still a big fan of these). It wasn't too much of a problem, I didn't cut down any feeds when he was with me, and he didn't seem too fussed about not having boob access when he wasn't with me, and my supply adjusted itself so that on my days off, I could still feed him if he wanted in the daytime. He had water etc from a sippy cup (free flow ones that make a huge mess when Cheeky S decides to water the carpet with them) or a 'grown up' cup and straw (ikea plastic tumbler). Both messy but both very successful, never given him anything other than milk in a bottle,I'm quite stuck in my ways like that. My MIL, who looks after him when I am at work, initially gave him 3 x 9oz bottles of forumla but he definitely didn't need it, and I have to admit, I got very angry and put the kibosh on that asap.