Saffron

Here's another location for private imms: http://www.childrensimmunisation.com/chickenpox/ .

Chickenpox virus is usually mild in children, but serious complications can and do occur even in otherwise healthy children after contracting the virus. One serious complication of which most people are unaware is inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) which can lead to permanent damage. I've also been confused on the one-dose vs two-dose strategies. I think I had originally read one dose gives good immunity but that it wanes rapidly. Therefore it was recommended that it was two doses 6-12 wks apart to give 98% immunity. However, looking at the CDC's webpage (cp imms standard in the USA now, so they have a mass of data), they recommend the first dose around 1 year old, and the second dose before entering reception class (4 to 6 years old). http://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/vaccination.html Immunised immunity from chickenpox virus does diminish over time. Some sources are recommending that teens and elderly or at risk patients be re-vaccinated. Whereas, contracting the virus gives longer immunity, it still leaves adults exposed to developing shingles (a re-emergence of the dormant virus) later in life. One way to prevent this is to have the shingles vaccine in adulthood. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-shingles.pdf Although someone with shingles cannot give shingles to another person, shingles emergence can infect babies causing chickenpox infection which can be life threatening. Contracting chickenpox virus is generally thought to give good and lasting immunity; however, a small segment of the population is at risk of contracting chickenpox more than once. It is currently thought that there is a genetic component to this for some people. So, no, having chickenpox does not make it certain for everyone that s/he will not contract the virus again. It's only better to have had chickenpox in childhood if you're not one of the unlucky ones that ends up with scars, pneumonia, or permanent cerebellar ataxia of the brain. And you'll possibly end up needing a shingles vaccine in adulthood anyway. The CDC webpages have more info http://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/about/overview.html .

Definitely worth speaking to a lac consultant and a GP. GPs want to help but often aren't really up on current treatments. A lac consultant should be able to work with your GP on this to find the most effective treatment. xx

Last year we started the imms at the MediCentre at Victoria. My LO had the first jab, and we were scheduled for the booster. Then I became very unwell, and I failed to get her back for the 2nd jab. We're starting nursery this Sept, so I will definitely be redoing this immunisation. I thought this would me starting over from scratch, but CDC webpages (see additional post below) indicate that we're still in good time to receive the second dose up to around 5 yo. I've already heard from 2 separate sources of cases of Chickenpox this summer. I'm wondering if that means that this year the virus is exceptionally potent, as it's usually a winter/spring virus. Talking to a friend of a friend recently who said how very unwell one of her little boys had been with chickenpox a couple of years ago. I think the child was around 4 yo at the time. She wasn't even aware that there is vaccine. Here is the info for MediCentre: http://www.medicentre.co.uk/ They recommend making appointments in advance, and I think the Vic location is the only one that does children. Call for more info 0207 510 0300

Jill Dye (07816 136 477) is a certified private lactation consultant, as originally recommened to me and Hubbie by Forumite Pickle. Jill can come to you. I think she charges around ?35/hr, and initially spent about 1.5 hours with us. I think we called her on a Saturday, and she came the next day. She may also be able to recommend someone else if she is unavailable. xx

We had a similar issue a couple of times with the handle of our Bugaboo Gecko. It happened during a period when I was often switching between the forward and backward handle settings. Hubbie had a look, removed some fluff, and clicked the handle firmly in and out of both positions a couple of times. It was fine after that. It's probably something to watchout for on any buggy of similar design. Also I think no matter what buggy/pram you choose, you should keep an open mind about needing to buy a different one later b/c circumstances can change even if it seemed at the time that you bought the most comprehensive buggy ever.

from - probioticsinpractice.ie also- Actimel.co.uk See more on actimel/probiotics in general on Wikipedia. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well for comparison, Actimel's two main ingredients are the same as ice cream, ie dairy+sugar. For arguments sake, I'm fairly certain ice creams aren't specially formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of infants or young children, but we could debate till the proverbial cows come home whether ice cream is "bad" for children under 3 years old. Interesting, I don't know of any research to suggest that ice cream shortens diarrhoea or has other health benefits, though most of us have given ice cream to our young children! There are probably other probiotic formulations that do not contain the sugar that Actimel does (incidentally, check out how much sugar is in yogurts specifically aimed at children!), which would make them more suitable for infants.

Hurray! xx

Surely that's just covering their arses for stupid liability cases, b/c the product research was not conducted on under-3s? It also doesn't conclusively mean that the product is "bad" for under-3s. And it certainly does not equate to ALL probiotics being "bad" for children. There is conclusive, peer-reviewed evidence (look it up for your selves, it's easy to find) that certain probiotics can shorten infant diarrhoea and replace gut flora lost to antibitic treatment.

We ditched the cotbed for a fouton around 14 months old for the same reason. If you want to keep the toddler bed, you could try dream tubes to keep your LO from rolling out of bed.

If you're thinking about buying a used buggy, look at Bugaboo Gecko. The Gecko is similar to the Cameleon, but a bit smaller and a couple less features. We had a Gecko, and I loved it. Bugaboo discontinued the Gecko when the Bee was introduced, but you can find complete Geckos on ebay for around ?200 I think. One great thing about the studiness of Bugaboos is how well they last! We never had problems with any of the major components of our Gecko the 2+ years we had it. If you do need spare parts, many Cameleon parts are interchangeable with Gecko, or you can find parts on ebay. We gave our Gecko to friends with a new baby a while back, and the buggy scrubbed up just like brandnew.

Occasionally our long-haired cat brings an unwitting slug into our house tangled up in her tail hair. Husband and I have been known to have heated debates about whose turn it is to pluck out the enmeshed offender.

Hmm antibiotics are a double-edged sword for gastro bugs anyway. I mean, even if your LO really does need antibiotics, the drugs themselves can deplete beneficial gut flora, possibly causing more gut upset. What about probiotics in the meantime? Despite some recent scepticism, I did look into this (b/c Little Saff likes yakult/actimel). It does seem that the consensus is that probiotics can be useful in treating infant diarrhoea and would also be beneficial in replacing lost gut flora if antibiotics are needed. You can buy common probiotics in a poweder form I think. These could be added to whatever drink your LO keeps down best. Hope things impove over the weekend for you. xx

Hmm, didn't know childcare vouchers could be stockpiled. Husband is self-employed and only has been for a few years, so we're still on the learning curve there I fear! Emc, not meaning to sidetrack the thread off topic, just hoping to get a bit more dialogue about childcare & finance issues in general. How did your interview piece go? When I start work next month, my salary will be the larger income in our family compared to Hubbie, although we both have good career potential. However, it may be Hubbie who is looking to reduce hours at work. I heard that this is becoming more common, for the wife to be the breadwinner and the husband to do more childcare. Anyone else in similar situations? Kittysailing, I totally get what you're saying about just sucking up the losses for childcare in the early years. Even before I started looking for childcare, I sort of assumed it would take at least half my salary up front. So I felt fairly prepared when I started looking at actual nursery fees. DH however seems to think a ton of bricks has fallen on us. But who wouldn't want to pay a little more to get good quality early years care? Hey, some people are even giving up their jobs to stay at home with their children... so I hear!

We just accepted a place at an ME(UK) registered Montessori nursery. Their standard is 2 wks free for settling-in period. The first day is just a couple of hours with a parent in place, then it moves on in increments from there, similar to what others describe. Before accepting this place, I looked a several nurseries, and their settling-in policies varied quite greatly. For me the settling-in period is very important, and the emphasis placed on good settling-in was one of the reasons I chose this nursery. However, the overall cost of this nursery is slightly higher than average, which may explain why they are able to offer this time for free.

Oh dear! :-( So samples were negative, but your LO still has D&V? When Little Saff had a much worse gastro bug last year (compared to what she's had recently), our GP said persistant diarrhoea (5+ days) tended to be 2ndry bacterial infection. But he also said that it does sometimes happen that stool samples in particular give a false negative. Did your GP offer any advice about antibiotics?

Only found out for certain at the beginning of summer that I would be returning to work fulltime in Sept. Yes, we probably should have had Little Saff down on some nursery waiting lists from last year, but not knowing what/when my work situation would be, it seemed like a lot of money to be plunking down application fees left, right, and centre (some places want ?50 just for filing your paperwork!) for a nursery place we might/might not need. Added to the fact that we've been talking on/off for a year about moving house. And, even offered a place previously, we would not have been able to afford a nursery place unless I was working anyway. So we didn't apply for any waiting lists last year. A scramble for childcare this summer has demonstrated that most of our local (SE4-ish) nurseries were (a) full, (b) could not offer the days/times needed, © did not have a suitable enviroment (eg, too small). I found a certified Montessori nursery 5 min from my work near Waterloo station. The nursery has its own kitchen for hot lunches, and a private outdoor space. Plus, nursery staff take children on days out to local parks and activities. They've quoted ?815 monthly fees for 3 full days (9-5) per week. I thought this seemed just a bit on the expensive side of average, London and the SE in general being notoriously high for childcare costs. But, I thought given the quality of care and location near my work, it seemed about par for the course really. DH, however, is holding his head in agony. He thought childcare would be a "a few hundred per month". As a new postdoc, I'm not going to being making heaps of money, but I feel like if I don't act now to get back into work then I've lost a major opportunity to make a future place for myself in my field. Nevermind being forced "to give up work", I feel like childcare costs are a massive impediment to even starting work! Soooooo, I can go back to work provided I can come up with nursery fees, but I can only pay the fees once I go back to work. Anyone else see the problem here? (Your solutions in 50 words or less by Monday evening please. ;-) )

Racer ramp, similar to a marble maze but with large balls suitable for a toddler. We got one as a first bday present, and 2.5 yr old Little Saff still plays with it. EverEarth does nice wooden ones, available through Jojomama I think.

Ok, so a very quick google scholar search appears to show that the consensus is that probiotics may not prevent infectious gastrointeritis (jury is still out on prophylaxis essentially), but they do show that they may reduce the duration of infectious diarrhea in infants and children. A lot of prepackaged yogurts and probitic drinks have a high sugar content. If the rest of the child's diet is fine, I can't personally see how an actimel or yakult pot is a "bad" thing.

On what evidence is he basing his assertion?

Diatomaceous earth: http://www.fleacontrolbook.com/naturalfleacontrol/diatomaceous-earth-the-a-miracle-cure-for-flea-control/

AC22 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I managed to step on a slug with my bare foot the > other night while taking the rubbish out.. not > nice.. went right through my toes! At least it wasn't fox poo.

A lot of the stain remover formulas say they work in one application, but really I've found many stains need re-treating in practice. In theory, oxygenated bleaches should help with oxidised stains, but in practice I've found that they can also remove colour from children's clothing. As it turns out, a lot of children's clothing is dyed with vegetable-based dyes. So you can remove the stain, but also damage the colour content of the fabric! Ah, we live and learn, eh? I have a hypothesis that rust remover should help remove banana stains (oxidised potassium stain?), but I've never had a bottle of rust remover around when I needed to test this. Sometimes soaking the stained area in fabric conditioner, washing thoroughly with liquid dish soap, and completely rinsing the fabric before applying stain remover helps. This 2-step process helps remove oily residues which prevent stain remover penetrating the stain.

Have you read the Baby-Led Weaning book by Raply and Murket? You're welcome to borrow my copy. The library also has a copy. Even if you don't end up doing full-on BLW, it's good to offer Baby finger foods right from the start of weaning. Plus the BLW book also has developmental information on chewing & swallowing, allergies, nutrition, etc. It's a short and interesting read. As far as first foods good, I found that of all the store-bought breads, pita bread or crumpets had the lowest salt. You can cut them into long strip that Baby can easily hold. Frozen pita bread is also good for teething. Celery, carrot, broccoli, etc dipped in humous were favourites here. Slices of slippery foods, like peaches, can be coated in baby rice to make them easier for Baby to hold. Some foods that don't seem great for weaning can be made easier for Baby with a bit of ingenuity, like raw apples. Remove the apple's skin, then use the peeler to shave long strips of firm apple flesh for Baby to grip. I think I also have an Annabele Karmel book you can borrow. I will have a look if you're interested. Happy weaning. xx

I recalled this thread from May, someone with similar symptoms in an adult. http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,885770,885941#msg-885941 This was very much like what I had. Mr Saff and Little Saff were worse affected but recovered more quickly than I did. So in that sense, maybe the D&V is not a bad thing. Not much of a silver lining, I know, but better than nothing I guess? xx