Vickster

We used the soft leather shoes until our son was properly walking by himself (these ones actually shoes) and then had him fitted with clarks leather shoes at John Barnett on Lordship Lane. (Edited as link not working - but they are called Shoo shoes)

Not forgetting Salma Hayek.... Salma Hayek breast feeds sick African baby

Kattykit, I second Molly's suggestions. Signing up for the NCT antenatal classes with sillywoman will not only stand you in good stead information wise, but also put you in touch with lots of local ladies having babies at the same time as you which will be invaluable if you are new to the area. Having said that, this forum has lots of opportunities for meet ups, and I am sure there will soon be a thread in the Family Room for Winter Babies to organise meet ups for those due in December/January/February. With regards to pregnancy yoga, I know of classes at ESPH, Push Studios and Dulwich Therapy Rooms in East Dulwich and also at Brockwell Lido in Herne Hill (you can google all of them I believe), but do not have personal experience of any.

I did it gradually by dropping a feed a day for about a week, and that seemed to work. As you want to go cold turkey, have you thought about maybe expressing instead to relieve the pressure and gradually phasing that out?

The Lin and Leo one I have has a changing mat, and the website suggests it should have, so maybe the JL one was just missing. The pockets have velcro fasteners which I have always found adequate, but each to their own. I have used mine for 2 years and it is fantastic and still going strong.

I tend to agree with it being a lod of old bo!locks, as even if correct, there is a 50/50 chance of it being right in any event!

Folowing on from the "Why do people think they can say anything when you are pregnant' thread, I was discussing pregnancy and old wives tales with a friend recently, and all the nonsense people tell you as to whether they think you are having a girl or a boy. From my own experience, I carried my son low and out front, and did not have morning sickness - both classic 'having a boy' old wives tales. Here is a link to some classic old wives tales: link What have others experiences been? Did any of this ring true, or were all your experiences the opposite of the old wives tales? Additionally, any ladies with one of each - were your pregnancies the same or different, and likewise those with two of the same?

Onlnie also try Crave Maternity

Sorry crossed posts with everyone else

rydalema, we just went through this with our 2 year old. I actually think older is easier, as you are able to reason with them, and they understand the concept of the dummy fairy, or whatever method you choose. We went outside and tied the dummy to a tree with a ribbon and said goodbye to it. We told him that the dummy fairy would come in the night and take his dummy away and leave in its place a present. He went to bed that night no issues, and didn't ask for it once! It did take him AGES to get to sleep though, as he was clearly used to the dummy as a sleep aid, but this got better and better as the week went on. The present we gave him was a big Chuggington train carry case, that fits all the little ones inside it. So for about a week, provided he had been good and gone to sleep the dummy fairy put a little train in his carry case. He was so excited to see what would be there when he woke up, he completely forgot about the dummy! After a week, he was completely weaned off it. He mentions it occasionally, but we just have a chat about it and remind him that he gave his dummy to the dummy fairy in exchange for his lovely toys. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice. We introduced the potty a couple of months ago, so he knows what it is and what it is for and is very comfortable around it. He always sits on it at bathtime, although nothing has actually gone in it yet! He comes to the loo with us and we talk about the fact that mummys and daddys don't wear nappies and big boys do their poos and wees in the potty/toilet etc and I think he gets it. I hsve also shown him the contents of his nappy a few times so he doesn't get a shock when he sees what is in the potty! Every child is different, and I think with him the security of being able to do it in the nappy is holding him back. I would like to go for it and see what happens. The other issue though is he is at nursery 4 days per week, so more difficult to have a consistent approach, although I know they will work with us. I might wait until we go on holiday in September and do it then....

We are going to commence potty training with our little boy in a couple of weeks, when he will be 2 years and 2 months. I have read a lot around the topic, so know all the basic stuff regarding what signs to look out for, but wondered if anyone had any top tips for methods that worked for them, particularly in respect of boys. Thanks in advance, and apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere - I did do a search and nothing came up.

Thanks both, good to know these things!

If there is one intake, at what age do they go? In the current system, my son would have, I think, have started the January before he was 5 (April birthday). Does that mean he will now start in the September instead, when he will be 5? Edited to apologise for being slightly off topic

SCSB79 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How do you know it has a cheque enclosed? did you > open it?? If so..... naughty naughty!!!! Not really, it was probably opened to find an address to return to sender....

We also had no problems, in particular with a rescue cat that was given away when a previous family had a baby. In the first few months when our son was in our room, the cat was shut out as I didn't want to have to worry about him getting in the moses basket when I was asleep. Likewise, when our son moved into his own room and into a cot, I just kept the door shut. The arrival of the new baby actually had the oposite effect on our cat to what we feared. He became more loving and friendly, and would often wind around my legs when my son was screaming his head off with colic, almost like he was comforting me (does that sound ridiculous?). He also often used to stand protectively beside the baby if I left him in the garden to go and get something from the house (obviously in sight line but the cat didn't know this). They are now best mates, pulling tail aside!

Arnica tablets, really good for reducing swelling and brusing. NCT teacher recommended them and I really think they helped with recovery. I think you are supposed to start taking them when you go into labour but can't really remember.

Slightly off topic, sorry, but while I fully understand that as an employer it is your responsibility to pay your nanny's tax and NI, it has always been something that has really frustrated me. As a 40% tax payer (not that unusal around ED I would have thought), to then have to use my taxed income to pay tax and NI for my nanny goes against the grain a bit. This is especially irritating if (not in my case luckily) your employer does not offer childcare vouchers so you are unable to claim the tax breaks available. This is absolutely not a gripe against nannies, as they are entitled as employees to have this paid for them, and I have happily done this for my nanny for the time she was with us. I just wish the government would recognise that it is not just the fantastically rich who need nannies. If you have a job that requires you to work long/odd hours, for some it is the only workable form of childcare, and the tax element can rule it out for some. I wish there was some way that the costs could be offset against the tax you have already paid but that is clearly wishful thinking.

Mine is Lin and Leo, a bit pricey, but leather and has lasted amazingly well considering the knocking about it gets! Lin and Leo bag Like loraineliyange, I like it because it doesn't look like a changing bag!

Two children and yes before tax.

We paid ?6.50ph per family, so ?13ph in total.

Apologies if this question has been asked previously, but is the measurement used 'as the crow flies' or via the road network?

Hi Corrie This table Tax table on the Taxing Nannies website may be of use. you can work it out based on a weekly amount. Victoria

Cake update: The green tractor turned out ok (well my son seemed to like it which was the main thing!. I used green and black gel colours from lakeland in buttercream icing and they worked really well. Thanks for all the tips. Will get more organised and order stuff for next time!

That is really kind Helen, thank you. My son however has other ideas, and has specifically requested a green tractor! I will try to get to Putney tomorrow, failing which I will dye som ebuttercream icing instead.