mima08

Thanks! I've also seen (now that I looked...) that they are shown on ITV player.... but I am the only one in my house interested, so a pub with other fans would be more fun...

hiya - do you know of any pubs that show re-plays of the games later in the day? I know, I know I should make the effort but mornings appear to the time when I finally can get some sleep....

I find this thread quite funny: I moved to ED exactly because I did (and still do) think that the people are "cool". I knew I wanted to have my baby in a place where people really care about their families and there is loads to do with kids. I did not want to be somewhere where children are never seen outside and mums get angry stares in a cafe/restaurant/pub if their baby cries or even worse, are not allowed in! As for my conversation topics? As people said before, you'd be surprised how your perspective changes, especially in the first few months. And it is very funny how you can have a in-depth intellectual discussion about any topic at the same time as comparing notes on babies poo/eating/sleeping/behaviour... And finally, as well as an icebreaker, I guess for me a lot of the baby chat is also about reassuring myself that what LO & I go through is normal - I guess it would need a very self-assured mother who did not have doubts and worries and therefore did not want to compare notes with others....

Thank you! I am loving this book - only on 3rd chapter so far but would love to hear from others who have read it to compare ? It will take me a little while till I finish though....

Hiya - I would love to make it on the 15th... just wanted to check age ranges? Does it matter? Mine is only 7 months and not crawling yet....

Hiya, I am on the edge between ED & Peckham, happy to travel. I'm also happy to host sometimes - currently house is not yet toddler proofed (although will have to be soon), but have a small garden which might work (if the weather ever allows...)

Hiya - thanks Yak for resurrecting. I am also very interested, would anyone consider a weekend course (even if there is a long waiting time) as Mr M would also be interested.... I recently heard from a friend who had a course (I guess the same idea or even the same one?) held at the Montpelier, they have a cinema room which might work or could be persuaded if sufficient people buy food & drinks. Jenny, could you let me know if there are still spaces on the course you organise (or if it has already taken place), otherwise, would anyone be interested if I tried for a weekend one?

HIya - I am the mum to an only child and given my age & personal circumstances mean it is quite likely to stay this way. I often worry about it as I come from a large family and love it, but, due to unusual circumstances I am by far the youngest. This means when growing up, I often felt a bit alone, especially on holidays etc as my sisters & brother are so much older. They love me very much but I was often jealous of the "group effect" they seem to have with each other (and our cousins - we are a large, close family). Because of the age difference, even their kids are a lot older than my LO (adults in fact) . DH is also from a large family, and has children from a previous marriage. His kids adore our LO but the age gap is even bigger than with me and my siblings. So even though he has siblings & cousins etc, I am worried history will repeat itself. So I guess it is up to me to enable as much friendship and social companionship as possible - hence, if there is an Only Child club, I'm in!

Hiya - seconding the one size up suggestions, it really helped. LO is approx 8kg but on 9kg + nappies. Also, found Pampers (and huggies etc) all not good enough - Sainsbury own brand do the trick!

I too find this threat really interesting. I am currently on maternity leave with no. 1 and am not relishing the idea of going back to my old job with its very long hours, boredom and frustrations. I do have to earn money, but I only want to work 3 days, which, although my company say they are supportive (which is great) I am very suspicious that these turn into 3days paid, plus long evenings etc unpaid to cope with the workload... tor - it might be a silly question, but where did you find a careers advisor? I seem to only find ones dealing with new uni graduates, and that is a long time ago for me....

Hiya - I've been using the Garnier infants suncream which is easy-ish to rub in & comes in factor 50. I am off on a very similar holiday as you just next week and have been told by others to take: - swimseat for splashing in the pool (acquired yesterday) - a UV blackout cover for the buggy to enable sleeping & sunprotection - a spare soft mattress for rental cot - bags for water sterilisation (if you sterilise anything) - not too many toys!(I have a tendency to overdo it....) I will keep an eye on this thread, too!

Hmmm - sounds scary! we will need a car for general running around even though we are not planning any long trips there, so taxi is not really an option. Looking at a Peugeot outside my house , that would be plenty for day trips, it's just the luggage and buggy question I am not sure about ...

We are off on holiday for the first time plus baby and will have to hire a rental car to get from the airport to our accommodation. I'm trying to keep costs down but am really unsure about car sizes, particularly boot space. We are 2 adults, 1 teenager & said baby. I am looking at possibly hiring a Peugeot 206, will I get my buggy (a bee) in and would there be any space left? Alternatives are a Fiesta, Panda or something much more expensive.... We are not planning on many trips, it is really just the transfer to / from the airport which is approx. 1.1/2 hrs drive. Any advise would be appreciated!

Snappy SNaps on Rye Lane are open on Sunday and very helpful.

Well, with 1week to go, I resigned myself to the fact that I am not going to shift the stone of extra weight that is clinging on 6 months post baby in time for my holidays. So the next option is cheating and I am looking for swimwear that will flatten the tummy, perk the top-half, slimline the legs and reduce the bum to some reasonable size - alternatively I will settle for something that makes me feel comfortable at the pool & beach ;-) Any tips? Thanks!

Ohhhh - thank you Yak for the suggestions. I have literally just posted on the family classified if any one wanted them but would appreciate if you had any details about the person looking for donations - will check myself too. If not, the toy ideas are great - I guess I was "shocked" by the amount of plastic I had accumulated and not thinking laterally. PS: my husband loves the suggestion for protecting from slugs: they have been a pest!

On a recent clear out to create precious cupboard space I came across the true horror of how gullible I am when it comes to marketing: vast arrays of different types of bottles, teats, supplementary nursing systems, "true to nature" teats etc. I was so desperate to keep trying to breastfeed that I bought anything that vaguely promised to "ensure an easy switch" between bottle & breast. Most of these were used just a couple of times, then relegated to the shelf as LO was very particular about which ones to accept milk from. My question is now: what is the done thing to do with all this plastic? DH has claimed some for plant seed storage, but after that we ran out of ideas for uses. Can they be recycled? Can they be donated? Any creative suggestions?

HI Jenny - just a quick one on propping up: We have been having LO's bed propped up pretty much since he moved into it. I didn't fancy the wedges (partially because I use a motion sensor monitor) and just propped the whole bed up by raising the legs on one end. Depending on the cot design, there are various ways - we have a very wide strip of wood fixed under them,now amount of bouncing is going to shift this, but I saw you can even get purpose made leg extender to fit under one side. I also second the Olbas oil on a tissue to help! mx

Hiya - am not quite yet a working mum, as planning to go back end Oct, but would definitely be interested in meeting other working mums!

Thank you all for your comments, it is very reassuring. I did not think I was spoiling him - but you get comments etc and then start to doubt yourself....He has so for not been a very sensitive one - generally really cheerful and loves exploring the world, which is why this is such a change. I am interested in the wonder week idea - I have read previously on the website and, now that I remember, it was really helpful about 6-7 weeks ago when he had some hysterics for no reason....(also, it helps seeing this kind of change as a precusor to development steps, makes it so positive!) I will see the GP if it continues after for the week, just to rule any underlying issues out. Srisky - you have my sympathy, maybe some of the comments on this thread help you as well - and let me know if you want to put Kevin with Perry ;-) To end on a high note: after his afternoon sleep, he tried to blow rasberries on my arm & shoulder as I always do on his arms & tummy, and then looked at me with the biggest smile - yep, definitely need to try to live more in the moment :)

I am looking for help from any child psychologists, professional childcarers and especially mums! My normally very good natured 6 months old has been turning into a major whinger. It has by been slowly creeping up on us but by now, he could win gold medals. Over the last 5 days or so, he would whinge almost non-stop when ever I don't pay 100% attention and carry him around (it has to be both!). I don't think it is separation anxiety - because he is happy as long as someone is doing the attention and carrying - me, his dad, siblings, friends he has never met before, healthvisitor, anyone as long they are focused on him. He will whinge when put down, sat in a bumbo chair or in his highchair. Tummy time has almost disappeared as whinging turns into screaming very quickly and previous attempts at rolling and crawling have just vanished. My questions is: am I feeding this behaviour by constantly picking him up? Should I leave him to whinge (hard on the sleep deprived nerves - he has also gone back to feeding at night, which is a whole other whinge, aaah, I mean story...) I am worried about "spoiling" him, but at the same time I thought 6 months is too young for that? Should I just keep carrying him, and hope this is just a phase? What are others doing? Or is mine the only baby to behave like this? And how much "stimulation" does a baby need? Because, although we do activities plus things such as reading, singing, playing, of course I constantly fear I am not doing good enough a job at this.... Helpfully, a piece on the radio stated that boys with his first name are among those most likely to be spoilt.... [Yes, I know this is silly, but did I mention the sleep deprived nerves?] Thanks for any tips!

HI Jenny - the ebay ad stated that it would fit (and I contacted the seller). It was no-brand, I had a look at my ebay and I bought it of an individual, rather than a shop.... I am sure if you search, there will be plenty on there! mx

Thank you Saffron, that is very helpful.I thought I had steeled myself for the gagging as all the literature says gagging is a "good" reflex i.e. not to worry too much, but first instance of it & I do panic... will have to train my nerves a bit. I guess it also freaked me that he was very quiet - but then he has been very quiet throughout the whole experiment. Will also make the strips thinner - I had made them wide-ish to make them easier to pick up. Any other real-life tips would be really appreciated! thanks xx

I took some deep breaths yesterday and decided it was time to let LO try solids. He is only a few days of 6months and constantly reaching for my foods and as I am doing Baby Lead Weaning I figured he wouldn't be actually eating any meaningful amounts for a few weeks yet, so lets go. All was going well with banana and apply - some great facial expressions and a tiny amount of apple potentially swallowed. This morning I decided to go for eggy bread strips (yes, I got the BLW cookbook from the library). As before, he went for it with gusto, shoving pieces into his mouth and sucking bits off. Some went down, some was thrown up, which did not bother me as I figure that as a coping mechanism. However, at some point I noticed a largish piece of bread fairly far back in his mouth and he seemed to be having trouble getting it forward in his mouth. He turned slightly red - at which point I picked him up & laid him on my leg & tapped back, as learned in first aid, which seemed to help immediately. I am now fairly spooked, however, and would like to hear from other who done BLW with any tips / words of encouragement etc please....

We recently moved out of the cocoon and just use a seat liner. I got a non-bugaboo branded one from Ebay for ?20 and it is reversable & a bit thicker than the bugaboo one. Will trawl ebay again for footmuff for the winter, I remember seeing lots on there...