sillywoman

My boy was the same last year when he started yr7. I found a quick email to his teacher often clarified what the homework was. It took my boy all year, but he seems to have the homework diary thing cracked now. Touch wood.

Don't know if this is the right place to post this? I'm wanting a lunchbox for my 9yr old with a shoulder strap for ease of transport on his bike. Not into disney or any 'character' stuff. Can anyone point me in the right direction? BTW I've already tried The Great Little Trading Company, Letterbox & Ebay.

Congratulations Heidi, what a beautiful boy. Welcome to the world of Motherhood - I hope you've got plenty of people looking after you for a couple of weeks or so?

HI sian&tony Welcome to the area. Ed is a lovely place, I hope you'll be very happy here. I occasionally attend St B's and have done for the last 14 years. It's a thriving and busy church with a big emphasis on family (lots of kids groups at the family service etc.etc.) You'll be welcomed and your new baby will be a delightful and very welcome addition to the St B's community. I recommend the family service on Sunday mornings at 10am. A lot of my close friends both attend regularly and live in ED so you won't be alone. ED is a big place and depending on where you live St B's might well be your closest church, or you may just prefer the feel of it, or love the architecture or something. Whatever - Rest assured that whatever your reasons for going to St B's they will be glad to have you and you will be able to find plenty of like minded people there. If you would like to chat a bit more about it you can PM me.

Hey, that doesn't sound too bad. If she was induced Friday & had the baby Saturday - as inductions go that's pretty good (hopefully?) Congratulations on the safe arrival of master HH, as culykaren says 'let the fun begin'!

Dulwich Hamlet is catchment area only. It's not a church school, so no church places. Siblings and social need get priority, but after that it's who lives closest. My daughter has a friend halfway up Elfindale - if not further -who was at the Hamlet with her after attending Bessemer for a couple of years.

Our experience is the same as Minders - though we haven't reached the GCSE stage yet. Our kids (starting yr9 and 8) have very different levels of academic ability but are both well catered for and seem very happy. So far. Touch wood.

Check out 'The Good Schools Guide'. The Charter's in there apparently. It should give you a sense of the schools strengths. The Kingsdale /Charter debate has been done to death on this forum. It doesn't seem as if anyone wants to go into all that again. Sorry.

I've been wondering and wondering whilst I was away. Pickle's curry, star jumps and pineapple advice is good, as is sex and long walks (just a bit further than you feel comfortable going). Poor old you HH, rest well in these last days, the fun starts once he's out!

Does anyone know?

been to bookshop & bought; Judy Blume "Forever", Amanda Godbersen "Luxe" (hmmm::-S) and Judy Blundell "what I saw & How I lied". We also have "Ann of Green G's", la Blume's "Blubber" and Eva Ibbotsen's "The Star of Khazan". We're off now. Wish us luck, and me endless patience!

Sorry Helena H, should have put "as straightforward . . .as it seemed to be . . ", apologies. Really need to pack now. EDF sooo addictive!

Some lovely advice here, but it would seem that an elective cs is not such a straightforward decision for Heidihi as it was for Helena H due to the added complication of her skin condition. Definitely a decision that needs some sound professional advice and careful thought. Hats off to you Heidihi for getting as much information as you can on which to base your decision. Incidentally, I would like to add that each birth is it's own experience. Whilst it's lovely to hear different stories of different kinds of births it's not always helpful to generalise negatively about 'friends' who didn't have such good experiences regarding one kind of birth. I'm sure every midwife can point you to women who've had straightforward, vaginal births (breech and cephalic), planned Caesareans, and emergency Caesarean sections all of whom had good experiences (and likewise with the not-so good). If you keep an open mind then emergency c/s doesn't have to be traumatic, it's just 'plan B'. Good luck and god bless Heidihi & Claribel. I'm off on my hols today, will look forward to hearing about your beautiful babies (whichever way they get out!) when I get back.

Same as the other posters.

Thanks Pam! It's sensibleman to a tee.

I think I'm more like my Nana than my Mum, she and I had a very strong bond and she was my mother figure for a lot of my childhood. I miss her every day (she died when DC2 was 3 months old, nearly 12 years ago) and bitterly regret not understanding more of what she did for me, and for my Mum when she was alive to tell her. My ED name is because of her. My Mum can't bear to speak of her and was always very scathing about her when she was alive. She used to say she was a very 'silly & sentimental woman'. I'm also soppy and sentimental and I cry very easily, at stupid things just like she did (adverts, someone doing a really cool wedding dance on youtube yesterday!). It doesn't make me less of a woman, just as it never diminished my Nana to me. So to me being a "sillywoman" is something I'm proud of. I feel very envious of those of you who have lovely Mums to whom you are close as I know I'll never have that. It terrifies me too that my daughter might reject me in the way my Mum rejected hers. In the end though, I can only be myself and support my daughter all I can. I hope we'll have a good relationship as she grows, but family history does seem to be against us.

Belle Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I totally empathise with the experience of trying > to figure out the logistics of bottle feeding - I > too did it while being completely knackered and > unable to process the information I found on the > web! I do think the article is right that it'd be > useful to get some advice on all this before the > birth as part of ante natal classes etc. > >On behalf of antenatal teachers - We're not allowed to teach the mixing of formula as all the research shows that if you teach it in a group environment the information isn't retained sufficiently accurately and the risk of one or more member of the group mixing formula incorrectly, thereby causing some health issue for the baby is increased. On a personal level, with child 1 I started mixed feeding at about 6 weeks (pressure from Mum, rod & back and all that. What a dumbo!), We bought a pack of SMA, I read the instructions on the side, all very straightforward and done in steps, and mixed up the bottles. I don't recall any difficulty at all. Have the formula manufacturers stopped printing step-by-step instructions? Mind, I was careful not to be doing the formula mixing in the middle of the night for the first few days. I can see that wouldn't be a good scenario - but would it be any better struggling to recall what your antenatal teacher told you about how to mix a bottle several months ago?

Hmm, I do understand your concern Linzkg, but if you had still been breech and were opting for vaginal delivery you would have been urged in the strongest possible terms to deliver in hospital. I think you have found it difficult to get a midwife to deliver a known breech baby at home, you would have had to fight very hard indeed. I don't know your circumstances at all - I'm guessing maybe shoulder dystocia? - but to those of you about to have babies please don't be alarmed by Linzkg's hinted at story. If a Mum of a breech baby was aiming to deliver vaginally the baby's heart rate would be very carefully monitored, if the cord was around the baby's body then as soon as baby began to descend into the birth canal the cord would begin to become compressed and this would show up in the baby's heart rate - at this point a c/section may well be indicated to get the baby out safely straight away. Whilst size can be an issue for some babies and Mums, it's by no means an issue for all. labour and birth, whilst for most a safe but intense experience, still carries an element of risk whatever method of delivery you choose. My suggestion is; Get as much accurate, evidence based information as you can, and make decisions based on this, and your knowledge of your own personal situation and preferences. Be prepared to change your plans as the experience of labour unfolds and listen to the midwives you have attending you, their aim is the same as yours, a healthy Mum and healthy baby.

Hmm, the kids do listen to audio books on a regular basis, but she's going into yr9 in September & GCSE choices are starting to happen. I want her to be able to read the set texts for be GCSE's all the way through without giving up because 'it's boring', and I have sneaking suspicion that audio books have allowed her to come lazy about her reading skills. Like any learned skill, reading needs regular practice to keep the skill from degenerating - hers has definitely degenerated. Am sure it's individual to my daughter, but I don't think audio's have done her any favours.

Cathy Walton is a consultant midwife at Kings, she has years of experience including vaginal breech deliveries. Having said that I do know plenty of women who've had successful ECV and gone on to have straightforward labours all at Kings. As Fuschia said, Leonnie Penna is the best Obs consultant to see if you can. Babies can turn right up until, and even during, labour.

Wow, what a brilliant response. Thanks everyone. You're right Ko, as I'm reading the thread I'm thinking "ooh yes, I'd forgotten that one". It's a lovely journey back into childhood. Anne of Green Gables seems to have been a popular one - is it a bit like 'What Katy Did'? And in a similar vein I've already tried her with the Little House on the Prairie books, no joy - aaargh my broken heart. Sometimes I wonder at this alien creature I've raised. We do have a Malorie Blackman, but when offered it as possibility she turned her nose up at it - teenagers! I don't know Paula Danzingers work, but will clearly have to check it out, not so sure about Jilly Cooper - I do remember loving her bonkbusting books, but I think I was a bit older, maybe 16 or so? Thanks for the practical advice too, the arrangement we've come to is that she chooses 2 books and I chose 2 books, if she reads all four start to finish then she can have a dvd of her choice. So far she's chosen "blubber" by Judy Blume and "Rumors" by I-don't-know-who (Red House catalogue). I've chosen "the Star of Khazan" by Eva Ibbotsen, and currently "What Katy Did, but I might switch that for 'Anne of Green Gables' because you have all mentioned it so frequently. I don't want to push her so hard I put her off, but she's a bright girl and is beginning to fall behind a little from her peers in English because she doesn't read enough so he vocabulary and grammar are showing signs of immaturity. She starts books OK, but gets bored quickly and doesn't finish them. I'm hoping that the incentive will help her overcome her impatience and give her some insight into the value of perseverance. Too tall an order? We'll see. If anyone had more suggestions please keep 'em coming, as I'm going to keep some of these books on a list in my diary for Christmas and Birthdays. They're just too good not to read! It sound like other people are finding the suggestions interesting too.

No probs Moos - highjack away . . .

Have tried with Philip Pullman, no joy. SHe does like the ubiquitous J Wilson, but I feel at 13 she should be moving on a little from her books. Might try the Noel Streatfield books actually, hadn't thought of those. Never heard of Michel Magorian - will investigate further. Buggie: we will attempt a trip to the library, though we're really, really bad at getting books back & then I feel guilty & hassled for ages until I get around to getting them up there. I know what you mean about making it a chore by giving her a set amount, but she's the kind of kid who needs a bit of a deadline & some incentive (in the form of a dvd if she reads 4 by the end of the summer - I know, I know, Oh the irony!) to get stuff done. Great sugestions guys, it's certainly got me thinking a bit more . . .

Polmoche Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What does she like in general (wider interests?) Ummm, doesn't talk much to her 'old people' parents. Likes trampolining, plays the flute, likes acting I school plays (wants me to get her an 'agent' But that's a whole other thread!), main interest is her big group of friends - so other teenage girls really. Does that help? Melbournegroover; Count of MC, hadn't thought of that, might have to dig it out of the attic . . .

Am trying to encourage reluctant 13yr old to read more. Have suggested to her that 4 books over the 6 week break should be do-able, though secretly I'm hoping for more. She can read perfectly well, she's just a lazy whatsit who's somehow lost the impetus. Would like recommendations for a mixture of fun trashy novels and some classics that wouldn't prove too arduous. I myself am feeling a bit brain dead on the subject, and having tried and failed to tempt her over the last year have lost confidence in what I think makes a good read. So I'm turning to my wider community for advice - any recommendations gratefully received.