midivydale

I agree with Fushia, i too turn up ready to battle when my son needs an appointment. I know which gp's are worth seeing and which i may as well not bother with.

This is a serious problem with DMC which could have cost me dearly. I had repeated UTI's during my pregnancy and as it was so hard to get through ended up with acute pyelonephritis and had to spend 5 nights at Kings at 19 weeks. Had I had an appointment when I needed and asked for one it would not have gone that far. It was a terrifying (and painful) experience. After I complained following this incident (backed by my midwife and Leonie Penna at Kings) I have never had a problem getting an appointment again. I was seen throughout the rest of the pregnancy by dr Prahbakaran exclusivly and she saw me on the day every time I needed to see her (which was frequently unfortunately). She was and is a brilliant GP and she followed up with superb diligence for the rest of my pregnancy. A horrid experience through and through and had I not been with the Lanes I would have moved surgery straight away. At the moment I have resorted to take my 7mnth olf and que up at 7.45 rather than try the phones. Only works as I am on maternity leave,no idea how to solve this once back at work. I wonder how long DMC can continue with this. And why oh why are they still accepting new patients?

Most def!

Ecalyptys I think it was dr Amali Subersinghe that you had, i agree she is lovely! I saw her post birth with some sensitive issues and she was superb. So reassuring and professional. She even phones me at home twice to follow up after hours. I wrote a thank you letter to the clinical lead at the surgery. She would be a very good person for any woman to seek help from.

Hey, same thing happened to me, just as i received my acu letter i found out i was pregnant, our son is 7mnths today. Also to reassure you that my gp was great. I too was worried about being fobbed off but she was superb. She was at dmc, who i know i have been v critical of but not in this case. I couldnt bave asked for better help and the acu appointment came after a few weeks. We had some tests done privately as well due to other medical circumstances.let me know if you want details. And i know this is hard but hang in there. Xx

Yes I hear you. My 7mnth old son and I have had numerous health issues sine his birth and getting an appointment is turning into a farse. I keep turning up with him before 8 in order to be seen, have since long given up on phoning. There are some truly great GPs there but some rubbish ones too. I always make sure that I get one of the ones I know and like if I dont I just go back the following morning to try again. Even if urgent I wouldnt go with the bad GP's but get back in my car and drive my son to Kings. This has happened on several occasions. In addition, the repeat prescription service for me and my son has not worked as it should once! Not once I was with the Lanes and got good care with them pre and postnatally. However, I would not change practice to DMC just to be with the Lanes. May I add to the rant, Lloyds pharmacy on North Cross Road? Useless service and I have now made several formal complaints and have promised myself and DH never to use them again- EVER. If I do, shame on me.

Love love love this thread!

Any activities that Focus and encourage self awareness, strength and confidence are useful in ensuring young girls focus on ability rather than "pretty". I have a gymnastic and ballet background where way too much focus was put on being slight, being like a feather and all that nonsense. I am also a qualified ballet and gymnastic teacher and i mase sure that i NEVER referred to light, heavy etc but instead referred to strong legs, power, good muscletone etc. i also made sure that i chatted to all the girls about how important good food is, refuel to keep energy levels up etc. again never ever talked about food and slimming in the same context. I envied girls who did teamsports like hocky and football as i n ever heard any of them ever talking about weight. I personally would be careful with ballet and gymnastic as that did trigger some food problems for me. I think its great that you all are so aware with young girls. In short i would encourage activities such as teamsports or self defence classes etc which help build self esteem.

Just dont see the need for the tone used towards emc. Uncalled for in my opinion. She most def did not "bring it on herself". Cyberspace or not, some manners- please.

At dmc on crystal palace road dr satya prabhakaran is the best gp i have ever had. A nightmare to get hold of as she is so popular but so worth it. She is superb and so lovely! At the same pratice dr alison davidson and dr alison davidson is also great as well as dr thomson. All female

This thread is brilliant and has made me determined to only speak Swedish, it is hard as I constantly slip up but I am trying:)

I use this method as well especially at night (the lactation consultant we saw in the early days recommended it).

I have done alot of research on this when i was pregnant and the general advice seems to be consistency and "one person -one language" ie just what has been suggested to you above. It is sooo hard though. I was adament to speak swedish only to baby ivydale but constantly switch between the two (a big no no according to experts on the topic). I feel silly almost rude speaking swedish to him when english people are around. Also my other half always asks what i say to the baby, which means i have to say everything twice...not great when you are soo tired saying things once is bad enough. We read and sing lots in swedish and when he is older he can watch swedish childrens programmes. Are there other french speaking parents/children you could meet? What about skyping with family/friends back home?

Hi not at all sure about where you are based but i was in dish and spoon in nunhead today and saw that they are available for hire. Shona who owns it is lovely and i am sure very accomodating. Just an idea:)

I have been once with my friends toddler, ha ha not sure our friendship was worth it:) My son is 6 1/2 months now, at what age do you think is a good time to take them?

My 6mnth old is also allergic to dairy. Does anyone have any breakfast ideas for him as he gets older?

Imrgn kan vi inte tyvarr forsoker fa till det nasta gang:)

Lochie, your post was certainly not offensive I was just trying to pre empt the comments i thought i would receive after my admission:).

I agree 100% about the risk factors. After I had my son i just do not feel comfortable with injections as i have yet to read research findings about effects of long term botox use. Besides, havent got much time these days to be concerned about wrinkles:). I feel the same about "going under the knife", too scared of complications, although i realise these are rare. As much as i am all for natural beauty, in my case i can do with a little help :) hence the dabbing with injections in the past. If carried out by a qualified dermatologist it can look very very subtle and not at all sharon osborne like. Oh may i just add, another forumite eco79 told me about using olive oil with a hot cloth as a cleanser! Whilst not as effective as botox, it has helped my sensitive, hormonal skin enormously.

Not looking to get drawn into a debate on what is morally right or wrong but here goes. I have used botox and these are my views/reflections. The advantages for me was that as i have very sensitive skin i am unable to treat my very prominent frown lines with creams (they also cost a fortune). Botox enabled me to treat my "worry lines" and then i was able to use creams to calm the sensitivity on my skin rather than anti ageing if that makes sense. For me, that helped hugely. Secondly, botox dramatically changed the character of my face. My very deep lines on my forehead made me look permanently angry, worried and unhappy. Post botox my laughter lines (crows feet) around my eyes were much more prominent which meant that the only lines visable on my face were laughing ones. It just changed the characters of my face and people commented on how happy and relaxed and i look (note, not how smooth my forehead was). For me, it was at the time a good financial option as i had wasted so much money on anti wrinkle creams that didnt work and also couldnt be tolerated by my hypersensitive skin. On the downside - since having my son i am getting increasingly concerned about any potential health issues (ie want to stay as strong and fit for him as i can) and as a result i prefer a more holistic life style approach. I find this discussion interesting, if we can all stay on topic. I have no intention of "defending my position re botox" so let us take the topic for what it is:)

Aden Anais muslins. They are truly fantastic. Gorgeous.

Oh no! Mothercare and debenhams in bromley? Maybe abit far though?

Hi sebsc, thank you for your post. We have been to see lizzie several times who was lovely and i know she is very highly regarded and has helped many of our friends. Unfortunately in our case cranial oseopathy didnt help but then baby ivydales case is severe. I just thought we were past the reflux days and i was so happy to embark on the weaning journey and finally being able to give him nice tasting food. He is on Neocate which is vile so i was so excited to be able to give him nice food. Maybe i got too carried away and trying to many things in too large quantities? I have tried to stay on safe foods but he is so far reacting to everything pretty much. I am researching and trying to read up - i will crack this. X

Thank you everyone! I have had some recommendations via PM's so will try and get my insurance to cover it to speed things up. Thank you so much for the PM's i received. Very reassuring and great advice. I have spoken to gp but he was locum and not very keen to refer. Have now stalked dmc until they gave me an appointment with my favourite gp which feels like winning the lottery. I have a shortlist of very helpful gp's at dmc and this one is at the top of my list. I love her and know she will listen and help with referal, she always does. Again thank you for your recommendations of dieticians - i am on it! In the meantime please keep any tips or advice you may have comming.

Yay lets do it! Tues or thurs would be best for moi! I am terribly unfit but determined to get there. X