Moos

*reproachfully* No, Sean, not Neighbours, Dallas!

Cut to Bobby Ewing in the shower: "Hey Pam, I had the weirdest dream.."

...which takes us back to the thread on representative representation.

Yes, it changed on Monday, or perhaps Sunday. The 8.27 also saved my bacon this morning.

Ooh, yes - like a walk-in spray tan clinic for kids! Would be brilliant.

Charles I too. As far as I recall, they shared the same fate, albeit not by the same method.

I have 2 of the Jojo sheet ones and wouldn't be without them, though have a sneaky feeling that if I weren't blessed with 10 thumbs, they'd be really cheap to run up on a sewing matchine. Moosling asleep in Tshirt, nappy and sheet sleeping bag upstairs now. I expect he'll be slightly sticky when I go up to check on him in a minute but will have cooled down by morning, so it's a tradeoff. BTW, had to tie his hat on in first and second summers (aged 0 and just 1) but now he likes wearing hats as long as they are branded as 'cowboy hats', 'pilot hats', 'scarecrow hats', 'pirate hats' etc. etc. The Lies We Tell Small Children.. I do remember on the hottest days of his babyhood opening his window or else his bedroom door so that there was good circulation within the house at least. Electric fan very useful too. Why am I even awake? zzz

Thank you so much, slidingdoors - incredibly useful.

It gives me great pleasure to say What Keef Said. (except about the tickets)

I agree with HAL, best kept unknown.. Thanks very much for this new feature, Admin, I think it's great.

Morning Barry! A couple of weeks ago the maintenance team cut down the wildflowers (well, weeds) growing next to the fences on either side of the ramps going up to the tracks at ED. I guess it had to be done, although it was a shame to see the lovely lush grass, speedwells, buttercups and cowslips go to be replaced by unsightly stubble. Even more unsightly, however, is the months-old litter of cans, bags and bottles that the cull revealed, which the good citizens of ED have lost no time in adding to. Could you please ask your team to clear the rubbish away? Many thanks Moos

I'm just extrapolating from my own experience here, but I think a lot of people do the stay mobile / pool / gas and air approach and in a long labour then just crack when they aren't seeing progression and go for the epidural. Fuschia is absolutely right - I would never have wanted to choose an epidural (and with it the increased likelihood of c-section which did in fact follow, although I'm told that it probably would have happened anyway). But at some point, you reach the end of your endurance and if that's before the baby arrives, pain relief it is.

Ha, brilliant. As though your quality as a mother (and indeed the work you do as a mother) is defined by the few hours of birth, and not the years of upbringing. I have to say my experience of NCT did rather lead me to think that 'interventions' were failure, and as for being in labour for ages without being able to sleep or eat, then having an epidural and ending up with an emergency C-Section... what a loser, classic case of someone who Just Didn't Try Hard Enough, and See Where You Ended Up. I didn't do NCT in East Dulwich, though - don't want to inadvertently smear the lady on this forum who teaches NCT.

Sorry to be flippant, but is anyone else reading the title of this thread having visions of babies driving around joy-riding in minicabs?

Cool - so I think we agree :)-D. I guess it comes down to the hazy ground between thinking 'we' should all be more fun and knowing that it's impossible to be more fun on your own.. somehow the collective spark needs to be generated and we can all respond - but that's ducking out of personal responsibility, isn't it? As for criticizing others' posts, you and I have disagreed on that point before, and I guess we'll have to agree to disagree, hopefully amicably.. I think if someone is spoiling the whole forum or a whole section for you, then you should be able to say so. 'Just don't read it' doesn't really work - is self-imposed exile really a better option?

brum Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Funny how the problems are down to other forumites > and not those complaining on this thread. We all > have a share Of responsibility in this little > communal venture of ours.... If you want to change > it then do something about it and stop yer > whining. > > *goes for a lie down after uncharacteristic angry > outburst* brum, you're absolutely right but that's kind of what I was trying to say. I'm not sure anyone is blaming other forumites, the Lounge is collectively 'us', generally regular contributors. It's definitely our own fault - but I don't really understand what's changed or how to make it more fun.

Quids I do indeed - and the rational part of me thinks that the laws against smoking have gone quite far enough. But sometimes the irrational, specifically the selfish, part of me rises up and thinks Gah! why can't my environment be perfect and entirely to my liking?!

Gee, Huguenot, a whinge about my whinging on a 'tiny little things that cause you irrational rage' thread. You really do love me, don't you? And for the record, no I won't just start whinging about something else. I just don't like breathing in cigarette smoke. I don't push for it to be banned, I don't think the law should be changed (again), and I genuinely feel sorry for smokers, given the laws against smoking in a lot of places. But I don't like walking behind someone in a garden, near a fountain and breathing in cigarette smoke. Is that so unreasonable?

Sounds like I'm in the minority on this one, but I think the DR has really taken off, with quite a wide section of posters contributing to it these days after a very slow and worthy start. The Lounge is a pile of crap, but I don't think it's because of the DR. Why haven't any of us started, joined in on, lost tempers in, made friends on, giggled about, any really good new threads in there? I don't know the answer, but I do think that's the right question.

Interesting - cross-post with Belle - perhaps what you need is a bit of both, peer support for the every day and one-to-one support with someone to offer advice for specific issues?

How about starting a May Club.. then a June Club.. and so on - just a thread for people due in each month to organise get-togethers at caf?s, parks or each other's houses, and perhaps every now and then invite a 'seasoned' mother (or even better, a breastfeeding counsellor... feeding expert... trained carer) to come along too. The mutual and local support of other people going through the same thing at the same time, whether because you just want some company and a giggle or when you're having a rotten day and need real help, is what got me through my son's babyhood.

I tried the long banana-shaped one (similar to this one) but wasn't really able to make friends with it, couldn't work out a way to sleep around it that was more comfortable than not having it. But have heard other people say it worked for them, so was probably just being thick.

Walking in a clear bright morning with delicious fresh air... and getting stuck behind a smoker.

Many congratulations, Fuschia - when are you due? I really don't think I'm a baby person, though I was fortunate to love my son hugely as soon as he was born, and increasingly as time goes on - I know not everyone feels that immediate bond. But there were so many days when I didn't have a clue what to do with him, or with myself, and my perception was that small babies are not very responsive so it was hard to tell whether he was happy or not. It was terribly hard dealing with someone with whom there was absolutely no possibility of negotiation or compromise, and accepting that I was not the one in control. I remember those first 6-8 months as very lonely, exhausting and anxiety-making, and at the worst times didn't recognise or at all like the weepy, helpless, slightly nuts person I had become. What I didn't know then is that things do level out and you recover your sense of self - hurray! My happiest times were the last 2-3 months of my maternity leave as Moosling got bigger and more interesting and I had adjusted to full-time-Mummy life, and the first year back at work when I was working part-time and with a good amount of time morning and evening with him. I loved the balance. Since then, work has taken over and that's Not Good, but hopefully it won't be for ever. Also, he's now almost 3 and for the first time I would be tempted if I had the option to 'freeze' him where he is now - so funny, and affectionate, and sweet. Previously, I always watched each new development with pride and was happy to accept the loss of the sweet babyishness as the price for the little spurt of growing up. Sorry, have gone completely off topic again.

Getting away from the offering of opinion as fact, I'll add that in my experience, in the experience of 8-10 mothers that I know personally and in the experience of many mothers I've read on this forum, mainly-breastfed babies do accept formula. I wanted to add that not to prolong argument but to reassure any breastfeeding mothers who are considering supplementary bottle feeding that it's perfectly possible. On a related note, however, I was told many times by breastfeeding counsellors and other experts when I supplement fed that it can lead to breastfeeding diminishing and even stopping. It wasn't my experience (though my son was on one bottle/day) but it's documented as happening so I believe it's worth bearing in mind. Perhaps sticking to the same time of day for the bottle is a good idea so supply stays strong the rest of the time?