Saffron

i give up

Ah, I see what you mean in a developmental/practical sense. I was thinking more in a philosophical sense.

I saw a lightening flash too. It happened just after I switched off a light, and I thought it was a problem with the light at first. A second later there was a rumble of thunder. Mystery solved. (I did switch the light off/on a couple times, just to make sure I wasn't losing my mind.) It wasn't even particularly loud thunder but seemed to come from nowhere!

Forumites, just curious to hear your opinions on the matter. Is the high price of London rentals damaging the ecomony? http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2012/05/17/rents-out-of-control-how-londoner-are-being-fleeced-by-greedy-landlords/ But what, if anything, is the answer? As, the case for more formal rent controls seems to be perishingly small in the current climate. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/davehillblog/2012/jun/12/what-is-case-for-london-rent-controls Or is this just an ever-present problem of London life that we have to get over???

Yes, discuss with dr for medical advice, etc, etc. In the meantime, start with half a dose? See what your milk is like the next day? One thing many studies (and some doctors!) fail to realise is that being ill in itself can diminish your milk supply. If a small dose of well-timed painkiller and/or decongestant would help you rest better, then the amount by which your supply could hypothetically be diminished by the drug might be offset by the amount your supply is increased by getting good rest. You could also think about taking a lactation supplement with the decongestant, like blessed thistle and fenugreek. Something to dicuss with a good lac consultant, I think! I had a terrible respiratory infection after my daughter was born. I got fobbed off by a number of medical people who were probably genuinely ignorant of what drugs a lactating mother can/cannot take. I remember being in tears b/c I was told all I could have was a vicks stick. What utter bollocks. The amount of time I spent coughing & sniffing myself awake at night was surely worse for my milk than anything else! Hope you're feeling better soon. xx

However, Aljazaf et al (2003) did find that pseudoephedrine significantly decreased milk production, but they acknowledged that their conclusion was limited by small sample size: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2125.2003.01822.x/full

http://jhl.sagepub.com/content/16/4/319.short Nice et al (2000) Review: Breastfeeding and Over-the-Counter Medications

nimby Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks I think we are all agreed stupid to get > upset at being told you are talking hearsay. But > its not a disgrace just a failure to understand > the meaning of one word. I'd dispute that you're actually applying the definition correctly in this case. hearsay: 1.Information received from other people that cannot be adequately substantiated. --> The information could be substantiated by the school. hearsay: 2.The report of another person's words by a witness. --> The OP is reporting her (or his) own personal experience of a text received from the school. Her report of her experience is not hearsay. It is her actual experience. Now, the contents of the text could be hearsay, except that they could be substantiated by the school. Also, if a police report has been filed by the school, this would also substantiate it. So until we see some evidence one way or another, how could we either confirm or deny this as hearsay? It is merely a report. Or was it that you were hoping this was hearsay b/c you don't want it to be true?

When sleep-deprived first year with baby: Pyjama bottoms and breastfeeding top... was lucky if I remembered to put both boobs away before going out...

Yes, definitely try it before your labour starts. Mr Saff had the settings wrong when he switched mine on for me, during labour, and it was very painful!! Once we got the setting right, it was very helpful. The only real problem is that if you like the TENS but want to labour in a pool, you'll obviously have to take off the TENS. I didn't want to take off my TENS to get in the bath, though I think the water would have helped. I had such a short intense labour that we never even managed to set up the birthing pool. I bought an inexpensive TENS and used it all through my initial labour. I think the connections came loose a couples times b/c it would stop working, but DH got it working again. Then just before transition it broke. (However at that point I really didn't care b/c I was just concentrating on the labour, and the midwife was able to give me some gas & air.) So perhaps renting a higher quality TENS machine is better than buying a cheap one?

Agreed, a cuddle from nursery staff has been very soothing for my LO too. I also made sure that she knew who all the staff in her room were by name and that she could say (sort of anyway) all their names. (You could use sign language for a younger child too). Good luck, sounds like you're getting there!! xx

Another vote for Giles Davies on Barry Road. Ella Keepax who practices out of Harley Street is also very good. xx

Bobby's bear, I had some similar concerns as to yours, and Smiler's assessment of the situation is the same one I reached as well. For these and other reasons, I decided to look at alternative education styles. I've found the Montessori style suits my daughter very well. She's in a Montessori nursery school (St Patricks, Waterloo) for 3-5 yos, and I'll be hoping to move her to a Montessori primary school when she's old enough to start reception. Two striking features of the Montessori system are its emphasis --at all levels-- on learning through play & creativity, and mixed-age classrooms. In addition, rather than testing all children at set levels, the Montessori principle is to track the individual progress of each child. If these sound familiar, it's because many of the Montessori priniciples have begun to filter through to state education systems both here and abroad. In particular, I've read that more and more state schools in Britain are beginning to adopt Montessori principles (though not experienced personally, as we're not at that level yet with Little Saff). There are also several private Montessori primary schools in the London area, including one in Forest Hill and one in Croydon.

malumbu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >... Interesting > that I can divorce nuclear weapons from nuclear > power. Do they generally get lumped together? How odd. They are such very different things.

I was with the Oakwood Midwives for my daughter's birth in 2010, and they were amazing. I think you have to be registered with the GPs at Forest Hill Road Group Practice to receive your antenatal care with the Oakwood Midwifery Service. http://www.foresthillroadgp.co.uk/clinics.asp Unfortunately I cannot recommend the GPs or HVs at FHR Group Practice. I had a terrible time with them, and received both incomplete and incorrect medical advice. And adding to the insult, reception staff were often grumpy and unhelpful. I've since changed GPs and registered with a different group practice. I've heard that a lot has changed at FHR since then, so I don't know if maybe it's better now. So when you think about changing your midwife, think about the HVs too. If the HVs at the Lanes were ok, stick with them?

No surprises there.

Don't feel you need to hide it if you don't want to. Wear your feelings with pride (even the negative ones)! You made an incredible sacrifice of yourself physically and emotionally to bring your child into the world!! My birth experience with Little Saff was fine, but the early weeks and months following it were awful. It was a storm in a tea cup as multiple unrelated health problems rebounded and got mixed up with breastfeeding complications and postpartum depression, all of which my NHS health consultants failed to diagnose accurately. This left me questioning the legitimacy of my problems, then finally seeking private medical consultations. Eventually I changed NHS providers, and my new doctors have been excellent. Getting the right treatment and support is so essential for your mental and physical health. Sometimes when people ask about my "baby moon" experience, I have to say how awful it was for months on end. When I talk about my postpartum depression, it's like their eyes glaze over. They don't want to hear it if you don't have something nice and lovey-dovey to say. I've tried very hard not to let other people's ignorance get me down. I don't think women should ever be made to feel ashamed or like they can't talk about the incredible sacrifices they've made for their children. There's a current disdain for instrumental births, but when they were invented forceps were a miracle of modern science. They saved babies' (and probably mothers') lives in a way that no other birthing intervention ever had until that point. I'd hazard a guess that they're only eclipsed in their usefulness by the relatively recent advent of safe c-sections. Having endured a forceps delivery is an incredible sacrifice to have made for your family. Wear it with pride. xx

We had lots of "poo issues" from early days with Little Saff, to the point where the midwife sent us to the A&E b/c that's the fastest way to be seen by a paediatric specialist. After extensive examination, including checking bloods and electrolytes, everything came back fine. The Paeds consultant said that there is huge variability in breastfed babies' poos. Basically, he said that all things being equal (ie, no fever, bloods ok, etc) that it's normal for the poo to vary a great deal, even within the same baby over time, and that grunting and straining were good signs that Baby's intestines are doing their job. Later (around 2 months old), when the HV thought we had supply issues (we didn't), and she was unhappy with Little Saff's weight gain (it was fine!), we saw a private paeds consultant: http://www.harleystreetpaediatricgroup.com/dr-jack-singer.html . It was very reassuring, but not cheap. Have you tried taking a probiotic supplement yourself? The refrigerated probiotic capsules will have the most concentrated formulation. The health shop on LL probably has these or something similar. Some people think reducing tannins in the diet helps. Foods like red wine, choc, and tea are high in tannins. (Personally I never found and difference, though my friend swears by it.) Have you spoken to a lactation consultant? (They are often as knowledgable about what comes out as what goes in!) You might be able to get a phone consultation with someone at Kings. You can also call NHS direct: 0845 46 47. Tell them you're concerned about the waiting time and ask for specific interim advice. xx

I don't think it's unusual for the first few weeks to be tough, even if the settling-in went well. Give it one more week? It's a big adustment to make. xx

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21269910 Does that mean mat services were spared? That, at the very least, would be sensible, with Lewisham having a high rate of teenage pregnancy (the highest of any area in London?) and a large proportion of older mothers giving birth. Sadly I think we can expect more closures of this type. Time will tell.

LondonMix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > To those of you like SJ who believe this was just > some Whitehall type proposal totally divorced from > medical / clinical considerations please note that > clinicians were very involved with coming up with > the Kershaw's recommendations: > > > 24. A clinical advisory group ? composed of > clinicians from all NHS organisations in > south east London, and a patient and public > advisory group ? formed of > representatives of Local Involvement Networks and > patient councils ? have fed > directly into a TSA advisory group. > 25. An external clinical panel has provided > additional scrutiny to the development > of the draft recommendations. The panel was > assembled to act as a ?critical > friend?: an independent group that fully > understands the context of the work and > can provide constructive criticism and ask > provocative questions. In carrying > out its function, the panel has provided the > programme with valuable insights, > based on independent clinical expertise. It has > played a key role in challenging > the development of draft recommendations, for > example, to emergency and > maternity services and is supportive of the > proposals and options in this report. That doesn't get my vote my of confidence either because there are people who participated in these groups who have strong objections to the way the groups were run. AND, there are many clinicians outside these groups, who object, and whose views are equally valid.

LondonMix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So the viable alternative is something those who > oppose the changes at Lewisham understand but > refuse to articulate! > > I have been trying to find a credible argument > against the closure (that the analysis in the > report is wrong on any front / that there is a > better alternative etc). If someone who is > passionate about this actually has any information > like this from a credible source, I'd like to read > it. Just because the report reaches certain > conclusions doesn't mean that should be the end of > the discussion but I do want to engage with actual > facts and analysis... > > Saffron Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Use your noodle. Nope, just not going to waste anymore time putting it on a spoon for you, so that it can be spat back in my face like a weanling.

Did you have any settling-in time at the nursery -- time that you spent in the nursery with her before she started going on her own? Sometimes settling-in time is free, but more often I think you have to pay. We had two weeks of settling-in time with our daughter when she was 2.5 yrs (no nursery before then). At first she only went for a couple of hours, and I stayed with her the whole time. Then she stayed longer, and I spent less time with her. My daughter loves her nursery. She's 3 years old now but still sometimes asks if I can stay for 10 minutes at the nursery with her. Usually by the time we get there and she sees her friends, she justs gives me a hug and runs off. I don't need to stay with her. Although I think she likes the idea that I would stay if she needed me. (I'm lucky that my work is flexible about time too.) I know you're two weeks in already, but would your nursery be willing to allow you some settling days with your daughter, where you stay with her in the nursery for a little while?

I was also going to suggest putting up ads at the localish Uni(s). Postgrad students in particular often have fairly flexible university schedules. You could vet potential candidates by speaking to their uni tutors and/or program coordinators as character references.

Use your noodle.