midivydale

We had a terrible time with our reflux baby so routines were not an option at the tiny stage for us. Having said that I started with a bed time "routine" pretty much straight away. Just gentle things o help baby differentiate between night and day. So bath, massage, dim lights,story etc. I found it soothing and it helped me feel better in all the chaos!

Reassurance that you are an excellent mother I can give you endlessly! I understand the feelings of guilt all too well. Have you tried speaking to clare kedeves at kings? There is also a lactation consultant called kate fisher that we used last year. They were both excellent! I have also heard great things of the bf cafe at peckham library. I am sure that some of the more recent mOthers can give you more information as mine is out of date. There are many ladies on here (Fuschia and Pickle are two names from the top of my head) that have had great success with breast feeding so fingers crossed they see this post and can point you in the right direction.

The relief that followed after the epidurial - and asking the Anesthetist if he was married as he "was so lovely, handsome and gentle & would make a lovely husband" (cringe). Then after drama, forceps and everything else the words "congratulations, It is all over - you have a son". In that one moment alone- everything changed.

I am sorry, sorted now!

Maybe troll needs to go on summercamp?

Agree entirely with the others! Do whatever works and worry abouts habit later. At 10 weeks my son only slept in car seat, baby bjorn bouncer or on us as he couldnt lie flat due to reflux. I was stoped in the street once by one of these know it all types who gave me an earful about him being in the car seat. As if I wasnt stressed and exhausted already! The consultant at kings reassured me that it was all fine during the circumstances and reassured me with the "do whatever works" mentality. You are doing a great job, hang in there. It gets easier on all levels. X

Assessment at 2 yrs old? Seriously?!? I am reading up on these things fast as I am not from the UK and my son will start school in 2016. He is 16 months old and the thought of him being assessed in a few months time seems utterly bizarre? Excuse my naivity but is the above a joke or serious? Are children being assessed at 2 yrs old?

A book club?

Hi, Will also send a PM tonight.

Congratulations! Will PM you a recommendation (She is on the forum matnurse1983). X

4.32 this morning... Thank you all! Minder- I am so sorry if my post was abit grumpy (caused by all these early starts...). Thank you for your input. I just really wanted to make sure that I dont come across as critical of the childminder on this (very public) forum. As much as we for the most part are protected by cyberspace I was concerned that our CM if reading this thought I was posting negative feedback (which I wouldnt without raising concerns privately first). I know how much local businesses (including nannies and CM's) rely on this forum for their business and I would hate if something I wrote when sleepdeprived would have an impact on their efforts to make a living. Hope that makes sense and apologies again if I seemed grumpy (my middle name these days).

A group of us from spring babies 2012 used Kristin Haywood. She had very reasonable prices and was lovely.

Thank you everyone. I think we need to sort out proper black out blinds and when I am at home tomorrow I will start working on that morning nap over the next few days. Vansessa, I hear you - I also worry that ds doesnt get enough sleep but like yours he has always been like this too. In fact, our situation is a far far cry from newborn hell when he just wouldnt sleep for longer than 15-45 minutes. Ever.... Back then I would cut my arm off for a baby that slept until 4ish. Still it IS the middle of the night and he should not be awake at this time. 5.30-6.00 would be a dream! x

Minder, We are having separate discussions at the moment with our CM and so therefor I would rather not get sidetracked to discuss his routine with him/her here. I have no reason to believe that his morning nap is too long at the CM- as he/she would wake him so that they can get on with the rest of the day. My post was not about the childminder routine (he is only there 2 days per week), but more a general ask for help on sleep. Hope that clarifies the position. I just want to clarify that i am not being negative about the CM. X

Thank you all for your input and Saffron - Thank you as always for informative reading. C xx

Thank you all for your input and Saffron - Thank you as always for informative reading. C xx

Thank you all! Sorry I should have mentioned - my son is 16 months. It is hard (impossible in fact) to get a clear picture of how he sleeps when he is with the childminder (different story - different post...)but when he is with me it is def a case of making up for lost night time sleep at the morning nap. Moving the cot next to the bed is a good idea - will go home to measure to see if there is a way. Books in cot is a great idea and I made a half hearted attempt with this a few weeks back but he just throws them on the floor. He is so so happy when he wakes up and it melts your heart when he uses his chubby little fingers to try and bend my eyes open and he goes "Hello mammaaaaaa, HELLO". I just wished he would do it later than 4.20am :)

Ladies, We are back (again) for some more sleep advice. I know a very similar post was written a while ago but I didnt want to hijack it so here goes. Baby I has never been a great sleeper, as some of you may know I have posted several times on this. The main problem is his early waking, normally sometime between 3.30 and 5.00 (on a very good day). That is it- him done. No chance to get him back to sleep. He wants to sing, play, clap hands and chat. Whilst undeniably adorable in his efforts to get me out of bed- I am shattered. I mean 5.00am feels like a lie in.... I try to convince him that it is still sleepy time, its night and everybody is asleep etc. No lights, whisper and not engaging (although he pulls my hands to make me do the motions to twinkle twinkle little star). He goes to bed in his cot (in our bedroom) on his own (big big milestone for us) after bath, bottle, cuddles and story. I say night night and leave the room and he goes to sleep. The first time this happend I thought that the monitor had run out of battery and couldnt believe it when he was asleep. He wakes up at some point during the night with separation anxiety and I always go to him straight away and he comes into bed with us. It is clear that he is distressed at night when he wakes and he falls asleep as soon as he is in our bed. We then get a few more hours until he decides that enough is enough around 3.30 -5.00. I dont let him leave the bed until at earliest 5.45 as I am desperately trying to teach him that it is night time. We are happy with co-sleeping for now. I dont care where he sleeps as long as he sleeps for longer than 5.00am. Of course by the time he gets to his childminder at 8, he is exhausted. I have tried putting him to bed later and even earlier but it makes NO difference what so ever. Is it time to cut out the morning nap? Of course if he is up at 5, he is shattered by 9 and wants to sleep for hours, resulting in a poor pm nap. Which means that I struggle to keep him awake past Childminder pickup. Any advice? I will not consider controlled crying or cry it out methods. It is not for us (no disrespect to anyone out there who uses it, I know it can be done kindly and with great success.) Our decisions against it are based on a gut feeling, since my son has very strong separation anxiety. He is a confident but very sensitive little soul and controlled crying - I feel very strongly - does not suit him (or me). Anything else I can try? Any advice would be much appreciated. Sorry for long post....

http://www.metromedical.co.uk/baby-vaccines/

2) "Spend 2 years with someone on 4 hours a night a sleep without ever going out on a date or having sex whilst fluctuating between open criticism and silent resentfulness " LMHO

We pay ?65/day for our childminder, which personally I find very expensive.

Love this forum! A friendly soul sent me a PM (thank you) and hat was recovered. So pleased i dont have to run around looking for a replacement! X

From h&m, used once (aaargh) Lost somewhere around between goose green playground area or the roads towards bellen rd.

Ivydale children centre has a great group for babies on wednesdays at 1.30. Can highly recommend it.

The IVYDALE childrens centre run lovely grops. There is a baby one on a Wednesday afternono which is normally very busy and may not be much fun for a toddler but there is a Friday pm group which is great fun for the toddlers and not so busy. There is a lovely baby corner, with bouncers and soft toys etc and plenty of room to bf whilst still keeping an eye on toddler. The staff are wonderful too and happy to lend a hand. I may go with I on Friday actually, so would be lovely to see you there. X