Saffron

My daughter also had a rash with this gastro bug. It was a very light rash on legs mostly, a few dots on her torso. At the time I wasn't even sure if the rash was viral or if it was contact dermatitis from running around our garden sans underpants and leggings. She also came out with a separate rash around her mouth, which looked like impetigo. It started clearing up immediately with savlon and metanium. The rash on Little Saff's legs and torso never blistered (rules out chicken pox), and it seemed to improve as the gastro bug improved. The one thing you must check is: DOES THE RASH BLANCH? A non-blanching rash can be a sign of a more serious infection such as menegitis. To check for blanching, pull gently outward away from the spot while pressing down on the skin. Or, place a clear glass firmly on the skin over the spot. If the spot remains red (ie, does not blanch), phone the NHS direct for more advice, see your GP or take your child to A&E. Little Saff's rash did blanch, and her fever was never high or prolonged. About 36 hours after the vomiting, she had an explosive bottom, then things all started to get better. So if you've reached the frothy nappy/exploding bum stage, you're probably on the upswing now.

Yes, the little black pointy snails are a differnt genus. They live near water and don't munch your flower beds or seedlings. We have these around our pond this summer, an improvement over last summer when the pond went septic. The large, round, brown snails are not at all aquatic, and I scoop dead ones out of the pond not infreqently. I think they fall off overhanging plants then drown. Ugh. Sometimes there is a dead bloated slug in the pond too. UGH.

Hi enprimm22 - Have you also spoken to your HV or GP about it? Nevemind what the books do/don't say, it is quite common for toddlers to go through a stage of witholding poos. How old is your LO? When you say she's "not eating anything", what do you mean? Diet is not nec the cause, but some types foods do help. They need to be consumed on a regular basis to help. Dietary changes will not help acute constipation. If it's been more than 5 days, our HV advised a GP appointment should be booked. Foods that we've found helpful are nuts, seeds, dried fruit, gound flax (sprinkle on yogurt, cereal, etc.), peaches/nectarines, apples, prunes/plums, beans/legumes. Our toddler likes her potty, so we do lots of nappy-free time at home (especially on days when we think a poo is due!). Other children prefer to have a nappy back on, and that's fine too. I think it's a matter of giving options and seeing what your LO likes. Good luck. xx

Has anyone been to see this nursery? What was it like?

I found this interesting: http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/which-native-animals-eat-slugs-and.html So, frogs and toads are good predators of slugs and snails. We have a very small pond, but in 2 years we've only seen one frog. We have trouble keeping the pond clean b/c it is so small. It doesn't seem to support a good nitrogen cycle. Any suggestions?

I have a sofa that just needs repair to the piping on one arm, which our 5 kittens have damaged. (Kittens have all been successfully homed now.) Can anyone do this service in our home? I'm not hauling a sofa around just to have one arm repaired!

We used to be with Forest Hill Road Group Practice, then we moved and joined Hilly Fields, which I found much,much better than FH. So, definitely don't join FH Road Practice if you didn't like HF.

We "downgraded" from Bugaboo Gecko (similar to Cameleon) to a Mamas&Papas Swirl pushchair a while back [http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9016765/c_1/1|category_root|Nursery|14417537.htm] . One of the big drawbacks is that we're right at the weight limit for the M&Ps. Most cheap(ish) folding pushchairs have a weightlimit around 15kg. I'm fully expecting the M&P to just collapse one day when we put not-so-little Little Saff into it! I think we got it on sale for around $45, so it wouldn't be a great loss anyway. I loved our Bugaboo. It was so sturdy with brilliant steering and suspension. Downgrading to the M&P was like going from driving a luxury SUV to driving a golf cart. That being said, I can fold the M&Ps in 6 sec, and it fits easily into the smallest spaces. Little Saff is already 2.5 yrs, so if/when the M&P breaks down we probably won't get another pushchair. If your child is much younger, then it might be worth investing in something a bit more sturdy.

Yes, it's definitely making the rounds, has been for a few weeks. We all had it a while back. Little Saff, then me, then Hubbie who was worst acutely affected. We all had slightly different symptoms but enough in common that it was certainly the same virus. I was the least acutely affected but took the longest to get over it, with abdominal pain for about a 10 days. :( Wish I could say what made it better, but I think it just needed time to run its course. Eating smaller meals and having some Yakult or live yogurt was helpful. Make the mattress up in layers: waterproof sheet, then regular sheet, then waterproof, then regular. That way when Baby (or anybody else) vomits at night, you whip the top 2 layers off the bed and there are clean sheets underneath without the need to remake a bed at 1 AM. xx

There is a nasty gastro bug making the rounds. Whole family has had it here recently. Advice from our GP in these situations was to offer liquids (anything they like) little and often. Even if they vomit soon after, some of the liquid had been absorbed. Hope it gets better. xx

Green-Buttons is a locally run website for baby/children's used clothing. They have very specific guidelines about what they do and don't accept. For the items they do accept, I thought the money offered was very good. I haven't used them in a while, but I thought they were excellent when I did use them. http://www.green-buttons.com/about.php?osCsid=5c2eb552e89976007383704a4761ab1c

Brilliant!

Sillywoman, that's very well written! Now ButtercupSE11, take eveything that Sillywoman posted above here about tape measures & MWs, and translate it to weight scales & HVs, when Baby is born and you start going to the baby clinic for weigh-ins. In my experience (and in a lot of other people's experiences too, if the Forum is anything to go by), HVs will worry if your baby is too big/small, doesn't gain weight quickly enough/too quickly. And you know what, babies (just like bumps) grow in all different sizes and rates, and 99% of the time, it's absolutely fine!!

Ever Earth Ramp Racer: wooden, colourful, ?24 from Jojomama: http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/sp+ever-earth-ramp-racer-toy+B9486?tyah=y .

Forgot to say that I use FB for a lot of stuff locally too, arranging parties, picnics, etc with friends. I don't like talking on the telephone, never have liked it. I used to use email for this (and occasionally still do) but have found FB an easier way to organise small events like birthday parties or a night out with the girls. Time waster? Hmm, depends on what else I could be doing... sock drawer wants orgnising? No thank you. Bring on the FB!!

Neither measuring the bump nor scans are very effective at predicting the size of the baby. What the scan can help drs to understand is if there are growth anomalies, like head:body ratios, or if there are problems with placental growth. From the size of my bump and my scans, MWs all thought I would have a small/average baby. What actually popped out was a nearly 9 lb whopper (and yes, dulwichgirl2, that IS still considered large, avg being around 7-7.5 lb)! MWs were surprised, but one older MW did say that sometimes young healthy mothers have small bumps though produce large babies b/c the mother's body is very efficient. My friend had IVF, so she know her conception date. When she had her first scan, they thought the baby was much younger b/c of small size. My friend had to show them her IVF cert, so they could give her an accurate due date. Her baby was completely normal when delivered at 9 months. Have an extra scan for peace of mind, but in the meantime try not to worry about it. xx

I use FB for keeping up with family and friends. I don't use my real name on FB (or the EDF), b/c many years ago I had a stalker. Long story, rather tedious. I hope that makes me a little harder to find, unless you know for whom you're looking! I've been to university in a few different countries (sounds more exciting than it was) and have friends who live and travel globally (lucky b*st*rds!). FB is great for keeping up with everyone. My in-laws in Norfolk have been on FB for years. My MIL regularly beats me at FB scrabble and the like, sigh. And sometimes we play FB scrabble together with my husband or other friends. It's fun b/c we don't see each other often, so it's a nice way to socialise from a distance, which is one of the great things about social media. My parents are retired and live in the States. They only recently joined FB and still aren't too savvy about how to use social media. They like email, and also Skype. Video calls are great. I opened a Twitter account but hardly ever use it. I don't work in marketing or branding, and I don't follow Personalities. I like to read news online but generally straight from the news websites themselves. I have a LinkedIn account too, but I haven't found it useful. The type of work that I do benefits from a lot of personal interaction, communicating directly with individuals rather than looking for networks. Maybe that will change, maybe not. I'm flexible. I think whether or not you find social media useful and/or enjoyable depends on how it does (or doesn't) fit into your life.

I agree with Fuschia, re getting a referral to a specialist as it's causing you so much concern. Also the fact that the GP thinks immuity may be low as a result of diet is not great, if it's true. Getting him to drink OJ is better than nothing (if you can get him to drink it!), but actually juice is not very nutritious. It's also linked to tooth decay and UTIs (hurrah, another thing we can all feel guitly about as parents!). A specialist (whether dietition, behaviourist, paeds consultant etc) will help you identify the source of the problem and work to correct it. OR, they'll re-assure you that there is no problem, and all will be well in time. Either way, you lose nothing by asking for a referral. xx

I remember Little Saff wanting a lot of holding around 15-16 months old. Maybe it's not that she's testing you, instead maybe it's a developmental phase? What type of activities do you do with her on the non-nursery days? We found that the Boppin Bunnies music classes were a good mix of structure and freedom for toddlers, and they gave my daughter a lot of confidence.

No change here. Getting by, just about. I'd like to start adding some toddler sleep aids to Little Saff's room, like nightlight/clock, torch/toy, radio or cd player. What works? what's rubbish? I'll be keen to hear how you go with the wake-to-sleep. How much do you need to wake him, when, for how many days? Is it expected to get worse before it gets better, or will you see improvement right away? Good luck! :)

Does your toddler ever help you prepare meals? What happens if you don't offer any food and wait for him to tell you he's hungry? If you leave nice things to eat within his reach, like nuts, cheese, or fruit, will he ever help himself if you don't offer food? I sympathise with the milk situation. My daughter is 2.5 yrs, and she's a milkaholic.

We shopped here in the past for our hard-to-fit toddler, and they've been brilliant every time. xx

I can totally relate to that. And yet, whenever we go for a playdate at someone's house who has lots of plastic-electronic toys, I have a pang of plastic toy envy!

Topical Anesthetics for Intravenous Insertion in Children: A Randomized Equivalency Study Charmaine Kleiber, RN, PhD*, Mark Sorenson, RPh?, Kathy Whiteside, CCLS?, B. Ann Gronstal, RN, MSN*, Raymond Tannous, MD‖ (2002) There is a new formulation that causes less vasocontriction: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/110/4/758.short "Children view needle sticks as the worst source of pain and fear in the hospital setting. In an effort to minimize the pain of needle sticks, the use of eutectic mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine (EMLA) has become standard practice in many children?s hospitals. Unfortunately, EMLA requires at least 60 minutes to be fully effective and reportedly may cause vasoconstriction, leading to difficult vein cannulation. A newly available local anesthetic (ELA-Max) may require less time and cause less vasoconstriction. The purpose of this randomized crossover study was to investigate the anesthetic equivalence of EMLA and ELA-Max." However, perceived vasoconstriction did not effect the ability to successfully cannulate: "Conclusion... There were no differences between hands that were treated with EMLA or with ELA-Max for success of IV insertion."

I've also heard anecdotally that EMLA causes vasoconstriction, but what I've witnessed using it is vasodilation. I think vasoconstriction occurs initially, followed by vasodilation. So if that's the case, you just need to leave it on the recommended time. The quote from the Oxford Paeds dept was specifically from the Paeds Rheumatology dept, where children need frequent blood tests... I will look for the link... I've just clicked away from it while searching for something for work. Can you find out what the possible sites are for the blood tests, eg inner elbow or wrist? You could put EMLA on one site, and leave the other uncovered. Then if the tech thinks that vein is difficult, you still have the other site. You lose nothing with this approach, and you can still use cold spray on either site. Make sure that you are getting someone who is really experienced at paediatric blood samples. This is not a case for a student or new phlebotomist. Also, just to say, that even a contracted vein is not impossible to hit for someone who is really good. I've seen people hit the tail vein on a mouse and make it look easy!