Saffron

It depends a bit on your shape and the shape of your baby as to which sling you'll feel comfortable in. I had a ring sling for bfing Little Saff. It took a lot of effort and adjusting to get her comfy in it at first, but once she was in she was very secure and could suckle or drop off to sleep as she liked. She was in this sling until around 5 months old. As it was summer I did tend to get very warm with her snuggled up against me. I guess that's a problem with most slings in warm weather. Not all ring slings are created equal. If you think a ring sling is for you, look for one with larger rings which makes it easier to adjust. Padding on the shoulder is also useful. An open tail and unpadded sides will also make the sling more verstile. The unpadded sides may initially make the fabric more tricky to adjust, but you'll have the advantage of making better adjustments w/out it (at least that was my experience). If you can afford silk fabric, I think it would be a benefit b/c very lightweight silk is still very strong, althgough cotton is fine too. Be sure to check that the sling is age appropriate. I think most ring slings have a suggested starting weight for Baby. I think I still have my ring sling somewhere. Let me know if you're interested to try it, and I will dig it out. I also have a Wilkinet sling and a Hip Hammock you could try. xx Edited to say: Try a You Tube search for different sling types and you can find info/demo videos for some of them.

This used to happen to my daughter from time to time. In our case it has been just a phase she went through periodically. I wonder if there is a developmental link? There have also been rare times when she wouldn't nap all day. She'd go through one of these dry spells for some days, then a new nap routine would sort itself out. It might just be your son's body trying to adjust to a new sleep phase? xx

supergolden88 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > she woke me up at 6am today saying very > loudly "remember mummy we made a deal if I stop > sucking my thumb!" I suppose I have only myself to > blame! That's a great sign if she wants to give it up on her own. :)

If she's still sucking her thumb at this age, it's likely that the behaviour has become set in the neural pathways, known as stereotypy. Her need to comfort herself as she feels tired triggers the stereotypic behaviour. Tyring to stop the stereotypy before she is ready to replace it with something else will only result in rebounding of the behaviour, ie the thumb sucking will come back even stronger. You are likely experiencing some rebound now from her earlier round of 'giving up'. The fact that you report that she feels she needs to hide the behaviour from you just shows how deeply ingrained it is. She is still very small. For now I would just let her suck her thumb. Let her know that it's ok, and you'll try again for her to give up when she feels more ready. If you feel you must make an intervention because you notice trouble with her teeth/speech, try something like Fuschia's suggestion of hypnotherapy for children. However, it's likely that as your daughter grows up, the behaviour will cease on its own. Or, when she's a bit older you can gently help her to replace the thumb sucking with another type of soothing, like reading to herself, music, drawing at bedtime etc. While possibly undesirable, thumb sucking is certainly not dangerous, and it does not necessarily result in malocclusion of the teeth. I really wouldn't make a battle of it. Good luck. xx

Try getting some cranberry down your little one. (The drinks are no good, too much sugar and not enough of the active cranberry components.) Cranberry has a molecule which helps make the walls of the urinary bladder and tract too slippery for bacteria to adhere. This helps the body clear the infection and also makes urinating much eaiser and less painful. Look for something like cranberry sauce. You can probably give it to your daughter in a syringe. As an adult, I find 2-3 Tablespoons 3x daily for a couple days works wonders. You could try giving something like 10 mL 2-3 times a day to your daughter. I've had a UTI so bad that I was weeing visible blood. I wasn't able to get to see a doctor for two days, and cranberry really saved me from total agony. Don't stop the antibiotics, but do try cranberry for your LO. I hope your daughter feels better soon. xx

Totally agree Vik. Don't even worry about the solids. Definitely don't withold the milk. It's more important your LO have milk than solids. What type of weaning are you doing? I have a copy of Baby Led Weaning floating around the Forum somewhere. I'd be happy to loan it to you. Your LO might just be expressing her independence via the medium of food. Try leaving out solids for a week. Then reintroduce them as finger foods only. Or let her spoon feed herself. Giving her control over the food may make it more interesting and fun for her. xx

Hi all. Sorry we can't make this one. Perhaps next time... Wednesdays usu good for us, although I'm at uni full time from April 4th till the 22nd, must have my dissertation submitted by Easter. Hubby will have Little Saff. He has taken her for the occasional day or two before, but this will be the first time he has her 9-5/5 days a week! We're in town over the Holidays. Love to meet up with anyone. Hilly Fields park is looking very pretty this spring. Ladywell park is also nearby us. If the weather is warm enough, there's a shallow in the brook where little ones can dip their toes in safely. xx Edited to add: Fuschia, your inbox is full. xx

A super read! xx

Our wooden worktops have a hardwearing varnish -- they don't require oiling. The area around the sink does look like it could do with light sanding and revarnish, but it's been this way for a couple years and not gotten any worse. Otherwise the wood looks nice, makes the kitchen feel really 'warm'.

Moos Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Saffron, am trying the Pantley technique for > Twosling's dummy settling... bless the little pop, > he's quite a sucky baby, and think he's a bit > young to take it away altogether. Some moderate > success, but unfort means he takes a long time to > settle, and he's waking 2-3 times an evening at > the moment even before we get to the 11pm feed. > Sigh. Doesn't he realise when Glee is on? > > That's a roundabout way of asking what reverse PPO > might be? Well if the PPO is for getting the dummy/bottle/nipple OUT... surely there must be some way to 'reverse' it so you can get the bottle IN? When you invent a way, be sure to publish it so you can get lots of ?????! :) xx

Reverse Pantley pull-off technique???

Choumert is ok. Mr Saff and I looked at a rental in that area last year, but it was too small a space for the money they were asking. In general the area is fine, culturally diverse, plenty of shops/transport etc in walking distance. Tell your friend not to take the first play they see. Have a look in surrounding areas too.

It is all a little more 'tender' though, when your child can't talk yet. The playground is a different place for example for a 1 yo compared to an 8 yo. xx

Mellors Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think you need to plan to take the baby round > with you on the day - at a few days old they are > really too unpredictable re > feeding/sleeping/crying to leave with somebody > else. If you take a pram with a carry cot you can > pop baby in there when they are asleep? I totally agree with taking the baby with you. Even if the ceremony is 'no children', a newborn in arms is not the same thing as a child running amuck. Also, you may find that you really don't want to leave your baby with anyone else. For the first few weeks or months, you may feel like you want your baby with you all the time. If you have a good sling, a newborn will happily sleep in it. When I was looking for slings for Little Saff, I saw some very beautiful silk ringslings online. They were all too expensive for me for everyday use, but a wedding would have been a great excuse to buy one! xx

You could also try a baby hammock instead of a basket. There are many benefits to baby hammocks in that they have a fit and motion similar to a sling. Someone had a secondhand baby hammock for sale a while back on the Forum. xx Edited to say I found a couple of links... http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?25,624332,624332#msg-624332 http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?25,627780,627780#msg-627780

My baby (now a 1 yo) hates schedules. It's not true that all babies like routines. Just as all adults are different, all babies are different. You are not making a rod for your own back. You're doing a super job of being an instinctive parent! If you have time to read a different type of book (eg not 'baby whisperer' type), please read Jean Liedloff's book "The Continuum Concept" for a very different point of view on infants and their place in society. http://www.continuum-concept.org/ http://www.continuum-concept.org/cc_defined.html xx

Offer lots of finger foods, and you'll find you can skip a lot of the 'weaning equipment'. Especially as it's coming up to summer, plenty of soft fruits are coming into season. Many vegetables such as squash and sweet potato don't need to be pureed. Just steam them in chunks a size your baby can hold. Most of all, have fun. xx

Go on R_B be pushy! It's one of the few times in life when you can honestly get away with it. xx

IrishNKiwi, I'm sure this is a difficult time for you with your daughter being ill. Illness in children often makes parents feel upset and desperate to help. You should know that the World Health Organisation does not endorse homeopathy in place of convetional medicin for serious childhood illnesses. Homeopathy works on the placebo principle, which means the patient must be self-aware and aware of the treatment. A child of 12 months will be neither of these, so homeopathy will not change anything except your perception of the illness (placebo by proxy). However, that shouldn't stop you from seeking other types of alternative / wholistic therapy. You might want to investigate osteopathy, reflexology, baby massage etc. If you choose to pursue any herbal treatments, you will need to let your regular physician know. Many herbal remedies can have side effects in infants and also interact with conventional medicines. xx

Wow I LOVE this thread. If you shop online, try People Tree for a mix of modern/quirky and classics: http://www.peopletree.co.uk/ :)

A lactation consultant told me that sucking a dummy can help stimulate Baby's degestive system - a good thing! I think the reason dummies have a bad name is that it doesn't look great to see a 4 yo with a dummy in one hand and a packet of crisps in the other. Eek. Right now your baby is so new and tiny and just wants comfort. There's absolutely no reason not to give her a dummy. If you want to take it away while she sleeps, try experimenting with letting her fall asleep a little deeper first. Have a look at E. Pantley's sugestions for gentle removal techniques: http://www.pregnancy.org/article/when-your-baby-wakes-frequently-feed-pantley-pull xx

Gussy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > my point was, I'm not convinced this > is NORMAL. > > Maybe those that think > it's normal aren't helping the situation. Yes, actually it is normal for toddlers/children to act aggressively, sometimes frequently. Children experience the same level of emtion and emotional conflict as adults. However, children lack the capacity to understand and control their feelings (actually, I know plenty of adults who still struggle with this!). It's often a classic case of misplaced aggression. The child is upset by something that happened ealier and later acts out aggressively towards a totally unoffending individual. It can also be the case that the child is simply copying aggressive behaviour seen somewhere else (eg, TV, school etc), without understanding fully the consequences of their actions. What's not acceptable is for parents to do nothing about this type of behaviour. But if you are the parent of a naturally aggressive child, it's not always as easy to correct their behaviour as simply saying 'No' and taking him/her off the playground. Of course it's damn hard to sympathise when your LO is the one who's just been smacked in the mush! > > I wonder if it was always like this or it?s on the > increase? Are we too lenient these days? If you look at the research on interpersonal violence in the UK and Western society in general, it has been falling steadily and quite dramatically for several hundred years. This general decline often has often been puctuated with periods of increased violence; however, these are minimal compared to the overall decrease. It really does seem you've had a run of bad luck, and my heart goes out to you and your little ones. Perhaps you're just in an area with more, erm, shall we say 'boisterous' children? When these children get together at playgrounds and softplays, as others have observed, it does seem to whip them into a frenzy which can result in more aggressive behaviour. If you have a long morning/afternoon free, you'd be very welcome to join me and Little Saff at the playground in Hilly Fields park. It seems generally to be a little quieter there than eg Goose Green. Pending some better weather, there is a really nice lawn for picnics and general running around with lots of space. And of course you're always welcome at ours for tea and biscuits afterwards. xx

We have similar floors and some stairs, also cats and a toddler. I got a Hetty Hoover last year... Like Henry Hoover, but pink with eyelashes. :) It weighs 6.9 kg. You can get hepa bags for it. And the website offers free advice. http://www.henryvacs.co.uk/acatalog/Hetty_Vacuum_Cleaner_HET200A_.html

I have no problem with people not vaccinating their pets, but you do have to be aware that you *may* lose them to preventable illnesses. We weighed up the pros/cons and decided vaccination was the route for us. I just find it hard to believe that we need a re-restart on the immunisation scheme b/c we were 2 weeks off schedule! My understanding of immunisations (and I am generalising here) is that once your pet (or child etc) has done the initial course, immunity should be very good against specified pathogens. This immunity will then fade over time, more slowly in some indiviudals and for some immunisation types. I suppose the vet's mandate is to reccommend that all animals get as close to 100% immunity as possible? If we don't re-restart the course, will they just end up with 90% immunity or such? I'm generally pro-vaccine b/c I believe in disease prevention. But this is torturing my pocketbook, not to mention extra stress for kitties :( @Ridgley: You can check with Celia Hammond for info on costs etc xx

We missed our cats' vaccinations this past winter. (Please don't judge us! Lots of other things have been happening. My father-in-law was ill then died, hubby working 8 days a week, baby awake 3x a night, etc...) Our vet's advice was rather than give booster immunisations, we should start the immunisation course over again. I agree and was fine with this. So we took our cats in and had the first set of jabs. That was all fine, but here's where it goes a bit funny, imho. We were supposed to have our cats back for the 2nd set of jabs at three weeks. Hubby and I have been very busy, and I've not been well. So we weren't able to keep the 3 week appointment. We booked them in as soon as we could, but this made for a 5 week gap. Now our vet says that b/c we are 2 weeks late, we will have to restart the immunisation course AGAIN. My understanding of immunity is that 2 weeks really should not make a significant difference. This seems like a bit of a scam to me. Are we being 'had' by an overzealous vet???? (Also when we had to rebook -- and we said what it was for -- they didn't tell us we'd have to restart the whole course!)