shaunag

This is all very new to me- thought the thread was a wind up to begin with but am a bit shocked to discover its not! Would be far too queasy to contemplate participating and the main off putting factor is what the placenta is- it comes from half of the fertilised egg and is genetically identical to your baby to begin with. It just so happens that half becomes placenta and not baby. I'm totally weirded out at the thought of eating something that could have become my baby but chance dictated it to be placenta. I'm a bit of a funny fish that way though (won't do kidneys cos they are essentially filters and that grosses me out)! I imagine eating it raw (preferably while still at its freshest ie warm) can only be good for you (haven't read the literature) but I'm not sure id want/be comfortable with sending it off to be processed by an unregulated industry- human blood is too dodgy not to be 100% confident that what you get back is not 100% your own uncontaminated placenta. Hats off to any woman with the stomach to chow down but wouldn't be for me!

I love rigby and peller - the fit is always perfect. I got fitted for an Anita bra there and then ordered a few more off the internet for a lower price. Just another option (but as not particularly local). Will probably try bloomers out though as so handy if a good fit from there!

Good people to get in touch with are all the local postmen/women. My uncles (one of a kind) car was nicked and they found it as his postie who was a fan of the car spotted it parked in an estate on his rounds. Maybe speak to the guys in the local sorting offices and ask if they would put up a few posters to raise awareness? Hope you find it.

Another option would be to go with a icecream or sorbet cake from oddonos? Absolutely yummy but transport might be a bit tricky for you. My lo is dairy and soya free-birthdays and parties are the trickiest I find. Hope you get a yummy solution. X

Hi Astrid

It's tough going when lo struggles to feed-I found it incredibly stressful and exhausting-you aren't alone if you are finding it very tough. I found myself doing a lot of carrying- if you are too maybe try to get to the sling library to get a decent one that works and is comfortable so you don't destroy your back as well as being shattered. Maybe try yo find some mums going through the same thing to hang out with to help give you some support-I found it pretty depressing hearing sweetness and light from mums that were seemingly breezing through with angelic feeders/sleepers (now I'm not sure anyone really breezes it but people feel pressured not to admit finding it hard). There are definitely plenty of struggling reflux mums out there so it might help to get tips and just feel like you aren't alone battling through. The giving up dairy thing is a struggle initially. I ended up doing this for 18 months-like anything else you get used to it. My daughters allergy was so bad I had no choice. Some foods are easy to omit dairy from like making fajitas (leave out cheese), bolognese (leave out cheese), fresh pasta, stews, home made curries etc. however, if you do give up bfing then try neocate or nutramigen early on if advised to do so - after 6 months their taste buds realise how revolting these milks are and they might not accept them (this happened to me hence bfing for do long). It's true it takes about 2 weeks for all dairy to come out of your system but I noticed improvements pretty immediately when I went off dairy, so might be worth a go. Waitrose to the best range of dairy free foods and if having a go oat milk, pure sunflower or olive oil spreads and oatly cream may become staples in your diet. The consultant will no doubt advise you re whether or not to try dairy free so don't put yourself under too much pressure. It is a slog but the vast majority of babies grow out of reflux by 8 months (I think I recall being told it peaks at about 3-4 months). Try to rest up as much as you can and take any offers of help. Good luck and take care. X

This is happening really frequently at the moment. My sister used to work in the car industry and she explained to me that there are sophisticated thieves with devices that unlock your car so it seems as though you forgot to lock it. She mentioned something about their having to be nearby when you lock/ unlock your car in order to encode their device (although she has been out of the industry for about 8 years now so maybe it isn't the case anymore). I think the only way to prevent this is by not leaving any valuables in the car...as a matter of interest, as there was no forced entry presumably your car insurance won't pay out?

We are considering getting a p&t but are unsure if any model will fit in our car boot-does anyone have an old fiesta/know if a p&t would fit in the boot (and if so which model(s)? Any advice much appreciated.

My mum was robbed at traffic lights-they smashed her window and took her bag off the passenger seat before he knew what was happening. I don't put my bag on passenger seat now. How cheeky to have opened your door. Glad they got nothing of value to them and hope you're ok.

Wow I would love this dilemma-utility room not on cards for some time! I grew up in a house with a utility room with a sink (and lots of storage). My mum still uses the sink every day, several times a day. She always steeps clothes if stained and washes veg, dog bowls, particularly mucky saucepans etc there. I think if you had a sink for steeping you would use it-I've dumped quite a lot of baby/toddler outfits through stains and not wanting to tie the kitchen sink up for hours-probably laziness as a bucket in the bath would do, but I would steep and save outfits if I had a utility room (also didnt realise how effective vanish is overnight on clothes until recently!) kids have loads of stuff and you can never have enough storage but I would opt for a sink.

I have the same dilemma-no 2 due in 6 weeks, no 1 is 2.5. She still really needs her afternoon nap and tends to do this in the buggy. I thought I had it cracked (after much research) with the mountain buggy duet- 63cm wide (can fit through my narrow front door), side by side (sister with 3 and a p&t said much better option if possible so neither in a rubbish seat), great suspension (no 1 was a reflux baby and our stokke, though a dream to push has zero meaning I carried her and pushed an empty buggy around most of the time). So, was about to order the mountain buggy. However, was over at a friends yesterday that has one and sat no 1 in it. She is not tall ( in fact she is small for her age), but she has long legs; the footplate is fixed and for her to get her feet on it she has to hunch her legs up. In the five mins she sat in it she was already sticking one leg off the side and shuffling the other around trying to get comfy. Her legs aren't getting any shorter so I'm gutted as back to square 1. Like you have seen the negative comments re the navigator. Think I'm going to try the sling option; I know it won't work if no 2 is a big weight gaining baby, but can re-evaluate it once he/ she arrives. Will watch this thread with interest, but whatever you do, try no1 in any buggy for a bit first to make sure it works!

I went cold turkey with my lo at night at 21 months. Have posted about this before; there is another thread you can search for with loads of advice on it for night weaning. My lo wouldn't take a bottle or dummy and was dairy free so I felt she had a particularly raw deal, but they were our circumstances. A lot of crying on both sides night one, less on night two little waking night 3 and sleeping like a log all night (once finally asleep) after a week. She did still love going to sleep with her head on my tummy though; I firmly believe it is a comfort/closeness thing for them by that stage (and prob from about a year but don't remember). We still struggle to get her down at night though. She went into a big bed at two; you could try going to a toddler bed rather than a cot. I still sleep on a bed next to my lo; she sleeps well but if I sneak out she does notice and gets scared on her own. Will have to change soon as no 2 will be here soon, but we will figure if out when I go on mat leave (I'm going very early so will have time)! It is really hard, but once you get through the night wean you will all get much much more sleep. And your lo will stay as very close to you as before. Best of luck. Xx

Also told to steer clear of rice for under 5's by dietician. It's also sickeningly sweet, so probably not the best option. We have been on oat milk since my daughter was 9 months old (as she would not take dairy free alternatives). Try to get to see a paeds dietician via referral to the team at kings to make sure your lo is gettin enough calcium and other nutrients (ps I have checked all the labels and oat milk (oatly) has the highest calorie count and highest % of other nutrients); they are all unfortunately much lower fat than cows milk so you should look to upping fat intake also. You can also get oat cream from waitrose/ocado; no calcium but good source of extra calories eg on strawberries or alternative to yoghurt/dairy cream (mine likes it straight up from the fridge)!

Hi Mum2be. My daughter is 2 and a half but has had severe cows milk protein alergy since birth. She also had some reflux but symptoms improved a lot after i cut out dairy and she stopped her reflux meds at about 10 months. To me it sounds like your child has CMPA too. The alternative formulas all smell disgusting. They are basically partially pre-digested cows milk, to varying degrees. The least digested is aptamil pepti, followed by nutramigen and finally neocate. IMO the smell gets progressively worse too! Little ones have an underdeveloped digestive tract so switching formula often causes constipation initially as their body gets used to digesting it. Don't worry about not including dairy in your child's diet; there are a lot of kids out there with CMPA and most of them can't be told apart from other kids-it's just something you get used to and then get on with. If your little one is accepting the nutramigen that is brilliant- mine never accepted alternative formulas and I ended up breastfeeding on a dairy free diet until she was 21 months old (my love of cheese has not yet returned)! Hopefully within 2 weeks this will all have settled down and you will have a happier household all round. However, do go straight back to your gp and demand a referral to see the paeds gastro team at kings- this will involve seeing a paeds gastroenterologist and dietician. GPs are not experts on this and you need to be under specialist care (in fact they are supposed to have a prescription from a specialist to prescribe dairy free formula, but sometimes make an exception; don't mention this when you go back as you will be stuck with no formula until your appointment). The appointments with the gastro team take months so get this sorted as soon as you can. Best of luck.

I had a dust mite allergy as a child. It still rears its head occasionally if I'm somewhere very dusty, but for the most part has subsided. I had to use a nasal inhaler as a kid (really not pleasant). All good tips above, another is to keep any furry pets out of the bedroom (and if you don't have any, maybe go to a hairless variety if you plan on one)? All household hair becomes dust and it just helps minimise the breeding ground. My dad was really bad and he had a special anti allergy carpet in his bedroom, I recall my parents moaning about the cost, but it was really nice underfoot! Hope your little one starts feeling a bit better soon.

Sun 21 sounds good to me too- haven managed to make the other meet ups and work ft so won't be able to do midweek for a few months!

Just a quick point on the bath thing. If we are for whatever reason running late, and lo is exhausted, we skip the bath, even if she's filthy. She then has a shower in the morning with me instead and everything (sheets and pjs) gets washed. It's usually my fault if we're running late so I don't think it's fair to force her to have a bath- it's not what I would want to do if I was ready to drop! It avoids unnecessary tears and means an earlier start on a work day, but if you can bear a bit of dirt for an easier life then something else to think about...

Can't make it tonight as other half swamped with work so can make it back to babysit 2 year old. Have fun ladies and hope to make the next one! (Had my 22 week scan today-all good and resisted the temptation to find out sex so impressed with our willpower this time around!)

Oh dear. It could be any of us in your situation today and probably will be if have not already been there. My lo is just getting her tantrum groove at 26 months. There is usually still a reason for her like overtired, hungry, not feeling well. After a long day it's hard for a tired mum to be objective and calm. I snap back sometimes, but then apologise afterwards. Today I was too tired to deal with her " I want to go in the driver seat" so after 5 mins of her tantrum ing tears on the street I told her I was going into the house and she could stay outside on her own. Well that freaked her out and she chased me inside, roaring. Went out the back and started hanging out the laundry. She kept crying/shouting. After a few minutes I just said, come here and give me a cuddle you need to calm down. To my surprise she came over, I picked her up and we " looked for a pussy cat". End of tantrum. The cuddles seem to work about 50% of the time with her-she is a cuddly kid. Maybe something to add to your toolbox if yours likes cuddles too.

Hi. Hope all are keeping well. Sorry I missed last one. I can do 1 and 2 June. Will check with OH re 6 June.

Waitrose is best for specialist diet foods. Willies chocolate is soya and dairy free and yum (but 70% cocoa); my 2 year old loves it. Sorbet a good pudding. Birds original custard powder just cornflour or something so can be made with oat milk, as can rice pudding, semolina etc no meat is a toughie as we have a lot of spag Bol and beef stew; you could do a veg or fish stew? You can get an egg substitute for making cakes; never tried it but worth a shot. We introduced egg at 8 months and was fine. Home made wedges made with olive oil. You can get a yummy cheese free pizza in rocca in Dulwich village. Assume you know about oat milk, oat cream, pure olive and sunflower spreads, making your own bread with a bread maker, the orgran ranges of foods etc sorry not much help found it v hard when we were off eggs and gluten as well. Hope others have some ideas...

Poor little fella. Very glad he is getting treatment. Hopefully he will start turnin the corner soon. Hope you are getting some rest now too. X

We've been through pneumonia several times with an without temp and with and without cough. A key indicator is rapid breathing; tet don't necessarily have to be really struggling to breathe. It is really hard to diagnose in little ones and is usually only confirmed with X-ray. We managed to avoid a hospital stay each time by keeping her hydrated (I was still breastfeeding). She also refused to eat most of the time and drank v little. If u are concerned go straight back to a&e. you will have to wait longer if u don't have a referral from a doc (assuming u can't get seen ASAP); oxygen levels, heart rate and breathing rate and listening to los chest will determine whether they think an X-ray is necessary or not. If you are that worried u need to get seen as mums intuition is in my experience usually right-you know your child best. If it is pneumonia, it is scary but we have been through it 4 times (confirmed with X-ray 3 times), and our little 2 year old has been fine since November. Chin up. X ps top paeds respiratory guy in london is dr Ian Balfour-Lynn at the royal brompton.

I'm a terrible worrier too. I try consciously not to worry so much. However, I think it is a good thing too; I spot potential hazards and remove them; if you didn't do this it could be bad news for your kids. I think it's totally natural and a parents instinct. Of course you have to try to rein it in, but u will probably shield your kids from lots of heartache on their behalf too because you worry. My mum wasn't a worrier so I think it's part nature part nurture. Try to relax and do relaxing things to gain perspective. Parenting is a tough gig!

No mess, but you can try the plug in karvol or calpol which can help a little, or maybe a humidifier as well to keep the air in baby's bedroom nice and moist so less irritating on little lungs. Perhaps raise top of mattress where baby sleeps slightly (roll up a towel and place underneath mattress) to make it a bit easier to breathe? Maybe run the shower and let baby breathe in some steam? The above may not touch it but may offer a little relief, or make you feel like you can do something at least. Poor tot, mine had a cough from 2weeks-5weeks and I found it awful to listen to. Hope baby is better soon.

I spent a fortune on a birth to potty set when pregnant, then had a baby that threw up constantly, so never used them as I was constantly washing her clothes and mine! Small chance of same thing happening to you, but would recommend starting with a few and if it works for you then invest in more! (It's next to impossible to get any money back for them, even unused)