Saffron

We only tip on rare occasions, like once when the delivery slot was late in the evening and the weather was appalling, or once when I forgot (!) that I had a delivery and the Sainsburys driver waited for me to return home.

buggie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > While Bugglet wasn't a grazer, it was v difficult > to get her to feed, and the big bit of advice > Joanne (one of the br feeding consultant mw's @ > kings) gave me was to use the same boob for any > feeds within 3hrs to ensure bubs got the hind milk > and wasn't too gassy. There's seems to be a large variety in production and letdown dynamics among women, and every baby's latch is different too. We had a similar newborn (eg, frequent feeder) and were given similar advice, re feed off same breast w/in the hour. This didn't work out for us. In fact it made things a great deal worse! What made things better was always offering both breasts at each feed, but then alternating which breast you start a feed on (to ensure getting hind milk). Every mother-baby dyad is different, so you may need to try a few different things to find out what works best. Re wind, Little Saff was sometimes very difficult to wind. Sometime I would try for ages with no success. If no wind comes up soon after a feed, then there may not be any. Finally, the appearance of digestive pain in babies is not always from trapped gas. Sometimes it is due to normal physiological changes in adujusting to the digestive process (even in b/f babies). It will pass. Do you have a postnatal doula or someone to help around the house? I had zero help, and it was torture. Family all lives miles away, friends all work, no doula, no cleaner, husband working weekends too... what was I thinking?! If you live near to us, maybe Little Saff (now 2 years old) and I could pop round sometime to give you a break? We're in SE4. There are quite a few stay-at-home parents in Dulwich and surround. Hope you find someone to help. xx

I found Asda was cheaper but didn't always stock the brands I wanted. We mostly use Sainsburys, have heard good things about Ocado though. It's also worth looking into smaller delivery companies like Abel & Cole, if you want organic and eco-type products.

Phone the MediCtr at VicSta? They do private jabs etc for babies. http://www.medicentre.co.uk/Flu_outbreak_cases_leap.html

Yes, that's my understanding of the MMR as well. Some children don't respond (or produce a very low response) to the first immunization. Therefor the second MMR is meant to improve "blanket" immunity within the community, as well as catch those children who require a second jab for full immunity. A third MMR in the pre-school years shouldn't be necessary. (Sometimes an MMR booster is recommended between 12-15 years old, esp'y if you are in an area where there has been a measles outbreak, b/c it has been found that immunity may have waned by the teen years for some individuals.)

My daughter was about the same age when we had this problem too. Is your LO ever dry after naps? Here's what I did... I made sure my daughter's bottom was an clean as possible. I just used wipes, patted dry, and applied barrier cream as normal. Then I made sure she had plenty of fluids by giving her all her favourite drinks. I put her down to sleep for a short nap. The second she was up from the nap, I took her nappy off and followed her like a hawk. We mostly have wooden floors, so puddles weren't a big issue, as long as they weren't on the sofas! Luckily w/in about 5 min she did a wee standing up. I was able to catch about 20 mL which is more than enough for a dip test. Our result showed nothing abnormal, ie no UTI (also meant method was effective enough not to cause cross-contamination). Best of luck xx

Sanne Panne Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I know I know.... but since we're discussing > generalisations I trust it won't be taken any more > literally than "the parisiennes" :) Hahaha! Yes, was very much meant to be tongue-in-cheek!!:))

Clarity doesn't come with continents. It holds a world of its own. ;-)

We saw teething pain in Little Saff loooong before any teeth erupted. Sometimes the teeth are moving below the gums and causing pain.

Phew, glad we're able to find some levity in this! A (childless, male) friend actually posted the link on my Husband's FB page, and I think he meant for it to be taken seriously!!??

The book --by its own admission-- looks at a small group w/in a narrow band of society and draws comparisons to hyperbolic generalisations. So much so, that I can't see it as anything other than ridiculous! (Do people really make money out of this? Geez, I need to change jobs!) Monkey, we'll look out for you at the playground: Elegant French mum with impeccable toddler. (I'm the disheveled and slightly crazy-looking mother with run away stylie toddler girl of course ;-) )

Any thoughts on this recent article? http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/01/parenting-france-britain "First British women came under attack for being chubbier and less chic than their stylish Gallic sisters. Now another critical salvo has been fired across the Channel, this time over our ability to bring up well-behaved children." I think the thing that stands out most is how misogynist it is, and the book the article refers to was written by a women. But is this one woman's conclusion correct? I wouldn't like to think so, but I bet she sells loads of books anyway!! Interesting food for thought. xx

Try communicating in a language it understands... urinate around your own back door. Nothing says p1ss off like, um, p1ss. xx

Bravo!! Yep, that's a tough one. It does sound like you were very gracious about it. :) It should definitely be a two-way street, as you say guest as gracious as host, but it seems as though there's always one who hasn't read the road signs!! (Must say I find it particularly annoying when the irritating guest is someone I'm related to, bring on more silent fuming grrrr!!!)

When travelling alone with Little Saff, I found the hip-carry postition to be the easiest to get her in/out without help in the Ergo. I had a few practice runs at home first. xx

Hannah Ferry is a qualified Art Therpist who lives locally, but also might be able to travel, and she has experience with children. Please PM me for more info. xx

Maybe if you feel like you have confusing or conflicting advice from the specialists, your GP can help you to sort through it? I guess it's never really wrong to ask your GP for help. There were definitely times when I felt like I was being bounced around among specialists (for other pregnancy issues, not GD), but MWs were mostly able to sort things for me. Agreed you should see a specialist dietitian if one is availale, whether referred by GP or MW. xx

GP could give you a referral to a dietitian (but the MWs ought to be doing this anyway). As other have said, this type of diabetes can often be controlled by diet alone. (If insulin production is low, why would blood sugars drop overnight, unless you are taking exogenous insulin (which I don't think the OP mentioned requiring yet)? Or maybe that is just my misreading it??) xx

Ask a pharmacist or look online for info about silicone sheets for scar therapy. I had these recommended to me by a dermatologist. There are many different brands. I think ScarAway is a popular one. Vitamin E and a high protein diet also help diminish scars. xx

LittleEDFamily, case of the child at the adults' table... if it were my child, I think I would have just had the child sit on my lap, instead of asking everyone else to squeeze up. Or, I might have sat with my LO at the kids' table. There may be some ongoing reasons that you don't know about why the child didn't want to sit with his cousins, or preferred to sit with parents. One big table for everyone is nice, but not always logistically possible. In the end, however, it does fall to the hostess to be gracious about it, and the other guests should follow her lead. xx

I have an artist friend who does this. If you can't find a kit, PM for my friend's contact info. xx

RE: texting. You have to take it in context. The nice thing about a text is that it's immediate, and you can still send a card/call/email later. I would never use "text speak" in a text message to say thank you though, that IS lazy. And just a text alone really isn't enough for formal occasions, surely? But equally, a nicely written text is better than nothing, no? I was invited to a very special, but not formal, family dinner at the house of some Hindu friends from Mauritius. All the food was traditional Hindu/Maritian, and I certainly wouldn't have refused any of it! (And luckily I didn't have to b/c it was all fab!!) There were about 14 people of various ages squeezed around one largeish table. My friend's mother had cooked for us all, while my friend and his father poured drinks. The Maritian way is to be very polite, but also manage to make guests feel relaxed and welcome. It's very lovely. When I left late in the evening, I had to travel clear across London on public transport to arrive home. I sent my friend a text to say Thanks and also to say that I arrived home safely. The next day I put a card in the post to his mother to thank her personally. Was that the wrong thing to do? I would be mortified at the thought that my text had offended them! :-$ Of course the Maritian way is to be very gracious about these things, so I doubt if they would take any offence or tell me if they did!! Surely it falls to the host(or hostess) and guest both to be gracious, but the ultimate responsibility to keep the occasion running smoothly falls to the one hosting. The best host/hostess will be able to deal will churlish guests with wit and charm, even though she may be fuming inside. If you don't like someone's dinner party behaviour, don't invite them back (or have some tricks up your sleeve if you must invite them back). I generally find that ignoring/not responding to bad behaviour works well with horses, dogs, and badly behaved guests. To the guest who asked for champagne, serve white wine (or tap water!) in a champagge flute with a wink. ;-)

Looking at it from the point of the dinner guest, if you have an allergy, you absolutely must tell your host. But, if there's something you don't eat b/c you just don't like it, AND you don't mention this, then you're just going to have to take your lumps on the night! That might mean eating fishpie through gritted teeth, or it might just be leaving aside the peppers on your salad. Thank you emails/cards are nice, but I'd never expect them. Personally, I'd only send a thank you card if it was a very special occasion. If it was an informal dinner (i.e., close friends over for an informal Sunday roast), then I'd probably just drop them a little text. I don't mind flowers on the night, but I might point you towards the cupboard where the vase is if I'm busy stirring pans. ;-)

Oh dear. :-( Nevermind. The trouble is of course that baby poo (any poo) contains bile, which itself can be a "setting" agent. ClareC's cold water soak methods is very good b/c it capiltalizes on the relative solubility of the stain while wet, using cold water to prevent the bile from setting. Did you use hot water with your carpet cleaner? That might have set the stain. But even so, there are lots of modern stain-removal techniques that can tackle set stains. Don't suppose the carpet was covered under her household insurance? That's probably wishful thinking. But if it's new, was there stain guarantee with the purchase? Is it an area of carpet that could easily be cut out and replaced, or covered? Or just (cringe) prepare for LOTS more baby-related stains over the coming years? xx

womanofdulwich Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > isnt it really bad for you to be carrying that > amount of weight? Nope. Unless there is medical reason why you can't carry the weight (eg, slipped disc etc), there isn't anything inherently "bad" about carrying 40lb (or more), as long as the sling is properly fitted. xx I had a Baby Bjorn and a ring sling when Little Saff was <1. The Bjorn was easier to adjust, but the ring sling was better for breastfeeding. When she was a bit older, I had a Hip Hammock (side-fitting sling), a Wilkinet (soft-tie front carry sling), and an Ergo. The HH was easiest/quickest to get her in and out. The Ergo was the most versatile for positioning (front, back, side etc), but the WILKINET was FAR and AWAY the most comfortable. Also, unlike the Ergo, you LO can face forward in the Wilki in the front-wearing position. Whereas, no matter how well-adjusted, my Ergo always shifted a little, the Wilki had a firm fit. The draw-back was that the Wilki required a little more time to put on. I still have the ring sling and Wilki, but I don't use them anymore. If anyone wants to borrow them for a test run, I'm happy to lend (and would sell for very nominal fee). Husband still occasionally wears the Ergo, but I'm sure I could lend this for a test run too. I think we'll be looking to sell it and get a framed-style carrier in a few months! xx