Moos

Er, oh. Had never heard of that. Should I have done?

Really? Again?

Many thanks both - Eurax it is. And yes, expecting to be in quarantine for quite some time. Erk.

Moosling has chickenpox - so far symptomless other than a few spots and a reduced appetite. He was a bit feverish and upset last night, and responded well to calprofen and extra cuddling. Perfectly happy today, though less buzz than usual. Can I ask the forum to share its wisdom on treatment, or any tips for helping sprogs through chickenpox with as little pain for them as possible? So far we've been given Piriton and acqueous calamine cream by the chemist. Gave 1st dose of Piriton tonight but not cream yet as he's not yet itchy. We're watching out, but no spots yet on Twosling. Moosling nearly 4, Twosling 6 mo. Many thanks! Your experience gratefully received.

My 1st was in a bag till 3 and a half and then switched to a duvet with his big boy bed (& associated fanfare). Very easy transition. In summer he had .5 tog 'sheet' sleeping bags... really good, if annoyingly expensive for two bits of cotton and a zip.

Edited.

Quids darling, he ain't worth it. Do you really think anyone will get beyond the first convoluted sentence?

Ah.. co-sleeping. I really liked it, little head under my arm, little feet on my tummy.. I don't think it would ever have been a long-term strategy for us, but it was a pity it led so quickly to sleep difficulties for me and Twosling.

Ruth_Baldock Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I also believe it took my husband well over 10 > minutes to wrestle the child into his > babygro/gro-bag. Octopus / string bag. So true.

bluesuperted Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > And mine fulfils the middle criteria too (no > crying when waking ... Actually, Twosling does too! So nice. Moosling until he was about 2 or something always woke and immediately howled the place down, cue (once he was weaned) comedy scrambling/tumbling down stairs to get his bottle of milk, warm it up, sprint back up and stick bottle in baby to STOP THAT NOISE! Twosling quite often wakes and sings to himself. So sweet.

Speaking as 'the Internet', I have just let out a very attractive snorty laugh reading this:- Ruth_Baldock Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 2) Making him try to calm Seb down and get him to > go to bed/sit nicely without my assistance. He > then agreed that Seb should be kept in a cot until > sixth form.

Applespider Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Get something high-vis - even if it's only a > rucksack cover. It does make you much more > visible to drivers I haven't got up the courage to cycle yet, but as a bus traveller and occasional driver, please please do as Applespider suggests. I see lots of cyclists riding in the twilight or dark wearing dark clothing with only a single bike light, and they are almost totally invisible from the back, and not much better from the front. It's really scary.

Sunlover00 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Oh dear, I was kinda hoping there would be a raft > of posts reassuring me it's not that bad. :-S It's not that bad! But it is true.

My GP said recently that in medical school they were taught that teething doesn't cause fever but after years of experience he begs to differ. I thought that was quite interesting!

Oh sorry - called the Millpond sleep clinic after it was so well reviewed on here, and a counsellor has been talking us through our son's pattern: eating, sleeping and playing, when and how to wean, what the rest of the family is like etc. and helped us find methods to help him sleep better. Sleep training by any other name, but what I meant was, we weren't able to do it without expert help.

The article (or perhaps the timing of Fuschia's post) resonated with me. About a month ago, Twosling was waking every hour or two to feed which was no joke and the resulting tiredness was putting a lot of pressure on the rest of the family. Now thanks to sleep counselling - not controlled crying** - he's waking to feed once or sometimes twice between 11 and 6/6.30. Previously his night feeds were very short as he was too tired to feed properly, so they were mostly upsetting and frustrating for me. Now his 3am-ish feed is a genuine pleasure: unlike the easily distracted day feeds of a busy 6 mo, he is relaxed and cuddly but feeds vigorously and conks out afterwards. It feels peaceful, nurturing and lovely and for the time being I feel we've reached equilibrium. Oh, and with the help of a bit of coffee, I'm rested enough properly to nurture my 4 yo. So that says to me that it's all about balance and finding what's right for the whole family, not excluding the poor mother's right to feel human. Personally I've never experienced pressure to "make" my children sleep through, only sympathy that they were both such dodgy sleepers... not sure that sleeping through is necessarily the norm, or the convention, before a year or so? However, I don't know how helpful it is to compare how we live with non-Western or earlier societies.. we are Western, and 21st C and there are so many, many ways in which how we live is different. Picking out baby sleep seems a bit arbitrary. That's my instinctive response, at least. ** P.S. Not anti-CC as such - agree with Sg88 that it's a last resort... just glad we haven't had to go there.

Battersea Park Zoo? Tho easiest by train IMO

My smalls are too small to remember it, otherwise I'd want to be in the Mall to experience it in person. I haven't got strong feelings about the monarchy either way but I love the way the wedding seems to be giving so much happiness to lots of people.

Finding the differig tone of the weddig threads in the forum really interesting! This one is certainly the kindest.

What are Saxon values? Your cagey message makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

What everyone else said! Whatever disrupts all of your lives as little as possible - including Seb's, since he's going through a major change too - is a Good Thing. x

Moosling loves it when I do drawings for him - and bless his little heart, he is very forgiving of my total lack of talent. It's a great way to amuse him when we're out and about, as I can always carry a little notepad and a biro. Anyway, I've just found this site: http://www.how-to-draw-cartoons-online.com which should help! Also may be good for children learning to have fun with drawing. Happy cartooning!

Agree with Saff. We moved Twosling from a bedside crib/co-sleeping situation, for similar reasons and it did take a few weeks of adjustment. I started by putting him in his bed to play (staying with him) so that he liked the crib and thought it a friendly place to be. I also intended to put him in it for naps before trying for all night, but he hated napping in a bed, so abandoned that! (We're working on this now....) He already had a bedtime routine so that helped. I sat with him for a few evenings to help him settle. Also, at first he went in the bed only until the first night feed, typically 1am, and then came back into bed. I think this helped the transition and also meant we could resume going to bed "normally" without having to sneak around. However, he did then start to wake earlier and earlier for the first feed, so it backfired somewhat. Good luck!

Maybe a bit left-field, but the German kindergarten on Red Post Hill has a beautiful, huge garden and they play outdoors every day. It's a wonderful, gentle, caring environment - oh, and the primary language spoken is English..

Forgot to say today, I like the girl's one too - would look very sweet over blouse and girly cords. But I have boys, so what do I know... Good luck!