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I'm in. Not particularly skilled, but do enjoy a bit of arts & crafts. :)

No advice, but wanted to let you know that we're in the same boat. Perhaps we could take shifts babysitting?

This recommendation might be a bit further afield, but I tried a carrot cake from Sugargrain.com the other day when I was shopping at Whole Foods in Clapham Junction. It was one of the best gluten-free & dairy-free cakes I've had in a long time. I think they have a stall at Brockley & Borough markets. Not sure if they do custom cakes, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. Good luck!

We're signed up for baby swimming in Herne Hill. Our session doesn't start until late November, so can't really comment on our experience. Here's the link though: http://www.babyswimming.co.uk/pools/hernehill.html

Silly question, but how does one know whether or not their pelvic floor is in good shape?

Hey there, I'm originally from Singapore, but spent the last 20 years in the US. My husband and I are both Chinese and we have a newborn who speaks the universal language of "waaaah" right now. No idea what language we're going to teach the little tyke as we mainly speak English (one with a British accent and the other with a California one) to each other at home, but speak in Cantonese when with our parents. I suspect whatever Chinese our kids end up learning will be the kind they learn at school, if they're interested. If your strength is Malay, why not teach them Malay?

Hey there, I'm an American expat mom-to-be with a baby who was due to be born on the 4th of July. No idea when he'll actually arrive now, since he seems to be overdue. I have a friend who lives in Dulwich Village who has two daughters ages 2 & 4 though. They sound like they'd be perfect companions for your daughter. Look forward to meeting you!

At the initial scan, they had detected three fibroids in my uterus. The sonographer that day said the fibroids were nothing to be concerned about, but she went ahead and booked us for additional scans at 28, 32, & 36 weeks. I would like to think that my midwife would've sent me in for a scan had I not already been booked for one at 36 weeks. No idea if you would have to pay for extra scans though. I'm from the US and this is my first time dealing with the NHS. I think you'll know when the baby has turned, because the movements feel quite different. Next time you see your midwife ask her to help you identify what some of the different lumps and bumps are. Hope that helps.

Hi there, No experience in moxibustion, but wanted to let you know that your baby has plenty of time to get into position. Don't worry. At our 32 week scan, our baby was breeched as well. And up until 35 weeks, the midwife confirmed that he was still breeched, which almost made my heart sink. But luckily when we went in for our 36 week scan yesterday, baby is now head down. So there's still time for them to do their thing. As long as you're feeling fine and your baby is developing well, try not to worry too much. I did consider seeing a chiropractor and an acupuncturist, but also wanted to give him the opportunity to turn on his own, so I just tried the recommended down-on-all-fours exercises first and spent a lot of time talking to him. Hope my experience eases some of your worries. Good luck!

Thank you for the update Erika! That's wonderful news. Congratulations!!

Any powdery substance such as cornstarch or flour will work too. Probably best to avoid talc, if you're concerned about its side effects.

Baby powder on grease stains usually works for me when washing normal laundry. It absorbs the grease from the fabric first. I suspect if you put baby powder on your carpet now, you'll get clumps of the stuff mixed with the sudocreme, which you can vacuum up before you wash it as suggested in the previous posts.

Hi there, A few of us are thinking about getting together on a Thursday afternoon next week. Time and place to be confirmed, but tentatively 1:30pm at Green & Blue? Anyone else interested in joining us?

Good luck at your appt. I'm planning on being at The Plough today at 1:30 and I think so are a few others. Hope to see you there too!

I'm free during the week too! Shall we try to organize something?

If it's only a temporary trial, just avoid the usual suspects: wheat, barley, rye, oats, & spelt, that's usually found in breads, pastries, biscuits, and pastas. Instead of having gluten-based starches, substitute with rice, quinoa, corn, beans, potatoes, etc. If you find you miss oatmeal or muesli for breakfast, you can buy gluten-free oats. Oats are inherently gluten-free anyway, it's just that they get harvested/processed/packaged along with wheat products and sometimes get contaminated. Here's a short list of our go-to breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas: 1. Oatmeal with gluten-free oats 2. Natural yogurt with fruit 3. Quinoa salad 4. Chickpea salad 5. Rice/corn pasta with bolognese sauce 6. Gluten free sausages with mashed potatoes (or sweet potatoes or mixed root vegetables) 7. Stir fry with rice (or rice noodles or bean thread noodles) Like the other poster said, gluten-free products can get pretty expensive, so only spring for them when you have a craving. If you're going to go gluten-free for the long haul and have a lot if time and patience, maybe try your hand at gluten-free baking. Good luck!

If you're looking for a quiet evening dinner, I thought Angel & Gypsies was pretty mellow. Maybe because we're old and eat very early nowadays! Because we went there last Saturday at 7pm and didn't even need a reservation. If you're looking for a satisfying meal though, the food at Crooked Well was much more impressive. I recall not being able to hear though, but I think that was cuz there was a Jazz band playing on a Sunday night. We like Number 67 for breakfast, will definitely have to try their dinners too.

I've used SquareSpace before and they have amazing customizable templates you can tweak to your hearts content. They offer a 14 day free trial.

Does anyone know of a couples' pregnancy yoga class that's held locally? I see several places offering pregnancy yoga classes which I can attend alone. But since my husband and I both practise yoga anyway, I thought it would be fun to attend a couples pregnancy yoga classes together. Any suggestions? Otherwise, we'll just sign up for one in Islington. Many thanks in advance!

I think there are some fake Ergos out there, here's the eBay guide on how to spot a counterfeit one: http://reviews.ebay.com/How-to-Spot-a-Counterfeit-Ergo-Baby-Carrier?ugid=10000000065082150

Ooh! Thanks for that. I'm an eBay-virgin...do I have to worry that it's a knock-off? Or is worrying just a mother-to-be side effect?

Thank you for all the replies. Now if I can just find an Ergo for sale around here. :) Might just have to spring for a new one.

Hi all, Seeing that the parents on this forum are quite knowledgable and helpful, I thought I would pose my question here. I'm in the market for an Ergo carrier. My friends in Hawaii swear by them, mostly because the company was started there. My question is, which model: the Original (100% cotton), Sport (35% cotton 65% polyester), or Performance (98% polyester), did you find was most suitable for the UK climate? I was told the cotton one made it too warm for both baby and parent...but this might be good for the winter weather here. So which model did you end up purchasing? And did you pick up the infant insert as well as the weather cover too? Many thanks in advance for your thoughts! PS And if you happen to have one for sale, please PM me as well.

I'm 34 and still in denial that I'm having a son. Go easy on the little guy! :) julia2009 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My son will be 3 in > May and is still in denial that he is having a > little brother!

Biddls, I was getting the lower back pains too. The squatting exercises that were recommended didn't really do anything for me. Unless I was doing them incorrectly? However, I did find that if I walked around in a low-heeled shoe, my back was happy. Also try avoid walking downhills.