redjam

Totally agree with all your comments - I was shouting at the telly at that idiot husband (I hope he feels absolutely ASHAMED of himself when he watches it back), and in contrast I completely fell in love with that wonderful mother of baby Jack who just seemed so bright and positive even in the face of what would completely floor most of us. And yes, that midwife drove me nuts, even the way she introduced herself on the phone was irritating me beyond distraction by the end. There's no way I could have endured her at my birth. I realise I sound very mean saying this as clearly she was very 'nice' and I'm sure extremely capable at her job etc, but that overly jolly wacky-woo thing just leaves me cold...

This thread made me laugh, as my two-year-old is obsessed with pretending to be animals at the moment, and I have to join in using the correct voice, movements etc. It switches from one animal to another really quickly, so I might be walking down the street and she'll say 'Mummy penguin?' and I have to say 'Yes, baby penguin?' and start waddling (quite embarrassing in Somerfield's), otherwise she gets very cross with me. Then five minutes later she'll suddenly be a lion or whatever. If she's not an animal she's quite often Baby Jesus, which seems to involve her blanket being wrapped round her head (don't ask me). And the other day she startled me by saying 'I'm a banana!' and bending over to one side and speaking in a special deep banana voice. I'm going to be so sad when she grows out of this phase, it's hilarious.

A lot of mums (sorry to generalise, but it's usually the mums) go back to work part-time after they've had kids, and quite often in my experience Friday is the day they don't work. So I should think there are a lot of nannies who are free on Fridays, and might want a bit of extra cash every other week. Certainly no harm putting the word out, both informally amongst friends who are tapped into the childminder/nanny network, and formally on this forum and on simplychildcare.com or gumtree. Or have you thought about a nannyshare with another family on those days? If it's only one day a fortnight people might be more flexible about allowing another kid to help defray their costs on those days. I managed to find a wonderful childminder who was happy to work really odd limited hours for us - it just fitted in with her other voluntary work so it was perfect for both of us. So there's definitely hope... Good luck.

Update: my two-year-old had the jab first thing this morning and she's also been fine ever since. Glad I did it now - I was even wavering while in the actual surgery as the nurse was saying she'd had it and it had given her a very painful arm for four days. But I'm glad I went with it now as my daughter doesn't seem to be suffering at all - I even picked her up earlier by gripping the top of her arms (forgot that was where she'd had the jab) and she didn't object in the slightest. So sounds like some lucky kids can get away without any pain/discomfort. The nurse I spoke to wasn't convinced that swine flu is going round much at the moment (though I take your point, Smiler, that they might not necessarily know about it) but at least I feel I've got peace of mind now.

I have also agonised about this, not least because when I spoke to the doctor's receptionist and asked whether they'd seen lots of swine flu cases recently, she looked blank and said hardly any. So I did wonder whether putting my 2-year-old through a couple of days of feeling unwell was worth it for the seemingly low risk of her catching the virus. But in the end I thought how terrible I would feel if she did catch swine flu and I could have prevented her having it (as by all accounts it's a pretty hideous illness, even if it's not as much of a killer as was first made out). So I have an appointment with the nurse tomorrow and she'll be getting the jab. Mind you, I am holding out getting our 5-year-old vaccinated till I see how it affects my younger daughter. And judging from the posts above, the next 48 hours aren't going to be fun...

Thanks Netty100 - that makes it easier!

Netty100, this class sounds fun, and I'm sure my older daughter (age 5) would like to do this. But I've also got a younger child (2) so my question is, what do people do about younger siblings if the older one wants to go to an after-school class? Do the parents/childminders stay and watch, and if so, is there somewhere for the younger ones to play? Or do the carers go off for an hour (or however long it is) with the little ones in tow? I'm a bit new to after-school classes - it seemed simpler when all our local activities were just aimed at 'under-fives' and both kids could go along at the same time.

Wow, vomiting to order, that's hardcore. I thought my kids were pretty fussy eaters (and the gaps between the floorboards in our kitchen - filled with impossible-to-reach discarded food - bear testament to this), but that's impressive. Think the prize goes to baby legalbeagle, unless anyone can top that?!

Ha, yes we never bothered lowering the cot for our first daughter too - and had a similar rude awakening when our second, much more active child came along! And don't get me started on HVs - I also ended up having loads of (in retrospect, unnecessary) trips to hospital for my second child as she wasn't gaining weight well as a baby. Obviously I appreciate HVs have a job to do, and I'm sure they serve their purpose for many, but in both of our cases we wasted a lot of time, energy and worry stressing about issues that turned out to be nothing, simply because our kids didn't quite fit the 'normal' curve. I think if I ever had another kid (god help me, no), I'd give HVs a miss altogether and save myself the stress...

I'd second Pickle's post in that please try not to worry too much about it (easier said than done I know). My oldest daughter was referred to a specialist physiotherapist when she was about 14 months as she could barely do ANYTHING - she couldn't even get up to sitting from lying down. I had to go and see this physio every couple of weeks to 'monitor her progress' for a couple of months. I was relatively laid back about it as I knew my brother and I were slow physical developers as babies, but my husband worried himself sick, googling every ghastly developmental illness and convincing himself our daughter would never walk. Needless to say, fast forward a few months and we were discharged as my daughter was up and walking fine, and now she's a perfectly 'normal' healthy little girl. So please do try not to think the worst - health visitors have to cover their own backsides by mentioning anything they think is even vaguely not 'normal' but they are NOT physios/paediatricians and generally you are a better judge of your child than they are. Go private for peace of mind if you can afford it but either way PLEASE don't assume it will be bad news - health visitors have all sorts of boxes to tick and I've met many mums who have been sent down worrying medical paths because of HVs which turned out to be nothing.

Got through in the end. They are doing some emergency work on the mains at Ulverscroft Road, will be 'up to' six hours before it comes back on. Yikes - think my wine bottle is going to be empty quite soon too, in an effort to keep warm (does central heating work with no water? bit ignorant as to how this all works!).

Also on Fellbrigg with no water! Am hanging on the phone to Thames Water as I type at the moment to add my voice to the complaints (it still said there were no reported problems when I tapped in my postcode on the phone) - have been on hold for ten minutes and counting...

It would be interesting to know how many successful cases have been brought in the UK against helpful people clearing paths for elderly neighbours. I'd guess ... none. Surely even raising this issue here is slightly irresponsible, as it just distracts from common-sense friendliness and good 'citizenship'?

I had problems first thing this morning but it came back to life by about 9am just as I was leaving the area (I'm not in ED now though).

Heber School is open according to the council.

I've got two friends who live very near Balgowan School, both with kids there (though one only started today!). It's a very nice, safe, family-oriented area though it's quite a big school (three or four intakes, if I remember rightly which I always think seems a lot). Overall it seems a good place to live and my friends are certainly settled there though it's a bit lacking in funky bars/independent shops compared to ED. Good sausage shop though! By the way, despite size of Balgowan School, there was a bit of an uproar last school year as so many places were taken by siblings that they ended up with a tiny catchment area. So might be worth asking about that if you're thinking to buy.

I see what you're saying but by that argument I would never brush my kids' teeth or comb their hair, given the levels of hysteria it provokes. I totally agree that you should be able to be a stay-at-home mum if that is your decision, but equally if it is your decision to go back to work (or financially you need to) then you shouldn't feel guilty about separation anxiety - the point that I and others made is that it DOES fade, quite quickly in most cases, and new attachments will form with the new care providers. Incidentally I was raised by a stay-at-home mum and was painfully shy when I was little, I think partly because I didn't have much exposure to other adults/children. I see my kids being completely happy now being looked after by other people (despite the yelling of my youngest yesterday - that was an aberration!) and I feel that overall me being a working mum has done them good. But anyway, this is probably a discussion for another place and another time...

Poor you, sounds very stressful for both of you. Unfortunately 9 months is classic separation anxiety age - which is so often exactly when the mum happens to go back to work! I've been through this twice and the only 'advice' I can give is that it will pass, like all things baby-related. Soon enough she will attach to her nanny and although the crying when you leave her might persist for a while, you'll probably find that she will settle as soon as you've actually gone out of the door. (Incidentally I never used to believe my nanny when she said that, but if ever I did need to come back unexpectedly a few minutes after I'd left - if I'd forgotten something for example - it generally was all peace and quiet.) Mind you, saying all that, my two-and-a-half year old decided to scream for half an hour when I took her back to nursery today after her two-week break, despite normally being fine. Believe me, it's worse when they're old enough to cling to your leg and shout 'Mummy please don't leave me, please, please...'

I loathe this junction too and if there is anything the council can do to make it safer I'm happy to add my voice to the campaign! The combination of low sunlight blinding you if you're going up Underhill and extremely poor sightlines on Barry Road due to parked cars (agree with Rhinestone Cowboy's post that they are too close to the junction) means that I frequently have to take a deep breath and lurch across just hoping for the best. Not a great way to make a driving decision. I know traffic lights aren't always popular in residential areas but I'd have thought there'd be a case for them here?

Ha - I've done this too! Particularly galling as I was giving a smug 'tip' to hubbie about how you don't need to take the butter out of the fridge hours before to get it to room temperature, you can just pop it in the microwave for 10 sec... Oh. Cue lots of running around squealing with damp teatowels, with husband laughing at me. Ah well. And while we're on Christmas preparations, anyone else REALLY BORED of wrapping up Father Christmas presents? Where are the elves when you need them?

Yes, thanks for organising, and don't mean to be ungrateful but ... what happened to the road being closed off? And the carols and songsheets and nightlights in jars etc? We were up by Franklins and it was a bit 'blink and you'll miss it' when Santa came past. Maybe there was more going on at the other end.

These all sound great, thank you for the suggestions. Love the idea of a real donkey in the church! Unfortunately I have my totally irreligious parents coming to ours on the afternoon of Christmas Eve (well, not unfortunately, but you know what I mean), so was hoping to find something for this Sunday or on Christmas Eve morning. Hmm, oh well, I guess I could just leave them at home with a bottle of something and a few mince pies, and I'm sure they'll pass away the time happily enough till we get back.

Does anyone know of any local Christmas C of E church services featuring lots of lovely singalong carols that would be suitable for young kids? I'm not a regular churchgoer but I do like to make the effort once a year, in the hopes that my kids don't grow up completely heathen, so it would need to be somewhere that doesn't mind non-regulars pitching up on their turf. I've always gone to the family service at St Paul's Cathedral before, which is magical but quite solemn for very small children (my husband spent the whole time in the crypt last year with our youngest, as she was insistent on going walkabout). So we'd like to try somewhere local this year if possible. I've posted in the What's On section asking for more info about the Children's Nativity Pageant service at St John's on Sunday (are there carols? is it suitable for littl'uns?), but it occurred to me this might be a better place to ask. Thank you!

No one seems to be stating the obvious here in that there has to be a cut-off somewhere! While I have every sympathy with those who have kids with late August birthdays, deferring their entry into the school system effectively just pushes the cut-off date further back. So maybe it solves the problem for you, but just moves the goalposts for other children. I've got a daughter with a July birthday and I too feel she'll have a slight disadvantage when she starts school. But them's the breaks - and overall I think your relative age in your class is just one small factor in whether you have a happy and 'successful' life (however you define that). Reception is very play-based, as someone pointed out above, so your daughter will have plenty of time to adjust to school without being thrown into the world of times tables and long division from the off!

We were one of the lucky ones who made it in - and really enjoyed it, though it was a bit TOO busy (hardly the organisers' fault). Nice mix of free play and singing/dancing/rhymes, and Tina did a great job holding the kids' attention during the circle time despite the big turnout. My two-year-old was rather sweetly trying to teach her older sister the 'banana banana' rhyme when she got home from school (missing half the words, natch) so it obviously made an impression! Thank you to Kate and Tina for setting up this new session a stone's throw from my house as winter draws in and the parks get too cold; much appreciated! We'll be back...