nunheadmum

Nothing like that much - about 100-120 quid a night I think it was. We were put in contact with one nanny, she phoned us first (for free) to talk and assess if she could help and then came out for one night and saw how things went, helped us to start to address things and gave us advice generally. She left us in the morning with a plan to address it and her phone number to keep in touch on a daily basis for a few days, after which she came back for another night. In our case the second night was a bit of a waste as the baby slept through and she wasn't needed! But I didn't grudge it as she'd helped us so much and continued to keep in touch (for free) over the next few weeks on and off. In the end we paid for 2 nights but it was the best money we spent on the baby. It may take longer in some cases (it was our second baby so we were slightly hardened to the need to do something). But I can't underplay the difference it made to us, knowing that a professional had agreed that there was nothing special about our baby and she was just playing all the normal baby tricks on us. Once the sleep was sorted, our LO was so much happier and we were actually able to enjoy our time with her and feel confident in knowing where to draw the line with her. It's not a 'once and it's sorted forever' remedy - the sleep issues will probably reoccur in different guises as your child develops. But I found I felt much more ready to deal with it, after having had professional help.

We used Night Nannies - a private service. Not that cheap but we only needed a couple of nights and follow up support so wasn't as expensive as we'd thought it might be. And definitely worth every penny!!

Can anyone recommend any good Android apps for kids - age 5 or below. I'm thinking of ones aimed at phonics/reading or numbers. Or drawing or memory games. I guess I'm meaning educational rather than just addictive! Just got a new phone and can see the benefit of having something like this on standby for awkward moments.

I had a similar experience at Camberwell some time ago after having tried Peckham (had to give up after 3 hour wait) and Townley Road (doctor there couldn't see properly to fit it so had to go to Camberwell). Additionally, when they do see you, they seem more interested in checking you for sexual diseases than doing any routine stuff like IUD's. It was a totally horrible experience - and not for any medical reasons. I didn't realise that they prioritised who came in. That would explain a lot! I have to say that I find the Camberwell Clinic really offputting and don't see why they can't find some other way to offer these services. Surely if GP's can't offer the services themselves, they could run special clinics or something or at least run pre-booked appointments at Camberwell. It feels like those being responsible are being disregarded in order to provide for those who are not so responsible. Surely we all deserve to be treated decently.

Done too. I work at senior level in a charity so may have some skills that can help. I have offered assistance before and got no response - lets hope this time they manage to get something going.

I don't know if it's teeth or simple developmental stages but both of mine have see-sawed between good and bad periods of sleep. It's great when it's good and so hard when it's bad. We've never had any major signs of teeth trouble so always assumed it to be developmental e.g. becoming more active or a step change in understanding things etc. It seems at times like they just have trouble switching off until they learn how to process and deal with the new 'thing'. Unfortuately it always seems to come back to some level of controlled crying (or simply not responding) for them to learn their own way of dealing with it. Good luck with it - or maybe someone will come up with a more optimistic explanation. Would be nice if there was a simple solution!

My daughter loved 'Big Girls Use the Potty' (may have been called something different before but this is it on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Big-Girls-Use-Potty-Publishing/dp/075663928X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297624799&sr=1-4#_ ) She seemed to relate to the real photos I think. That said though, she seemed to get into it most AFTER she'd cracked the potty training - we used to read it for months on end and she loved memorising all the choices.

Tumble Tots DVD's are good if he's into singing along with actions. My daughters have loved them - afraid I can't speak for boys.

I've used Travella homeopathic travel pills - we got them at Health Matters. My daughter gets travel sick between here and Old Kent Road and they got us all the way to Devon and back. They can simply be crunched up in their mouths so not too hard to take. Can't say how they work but they do for us!

I'd the same problem with my second - refused to take a bottle, point blank. Tried everything - even the playtex drop-ins - to no avail.....certainly no quick magic solution. In the end went back to Avent and just tried it dogedly at every feed (with formula, couldn't keep up expresssing just to throw it away). In the end after weeks of trying, she took almost a full bottle one day when we were in the park as she sat in her buggy - totally out of the blue. Don't know if her attention was somewhere else and she just forgot to protest. But after that she started taking more in the daytime and gradually was able to to fully weaned over a few weeks. Sorry, don't know if there's any moral there other than just keep trying. Most, I think, find that when push comes to shove (e.g. mum going back to work) somehow the babies tend to sense it and stop fighting it. In the end of the day, they're pre-programmed to survive - they just like to survive their own way while they can!

Ikea also do some that extend from toddler to single bed. Our eldest has one and still likes it to be toddler size (and fits the shared room better) but when we had 2 sick kids, it was really handy that we could extend it and one of us could then sleep in their room with the sickest one and get some sleep while being available to comfort / hold the sick bowl etc. Made it easier than dashing from our room.

It's being re-done according to: http://www.peckhamryelabour.blogspot.com/ Sorry for political link - maybe someone has a better one. Sounds better than closing for good - though I understand the building itself may not be getting done up, as had been initially intended.

Isn't it just closing for a short time to have work done on it???

Just another view - sorry seem to be saying a lot on this one. Don't feel that the C-section the first time was somehow a poorer option and a VBAC will be the perfect option. I fought hard to be allowed to do VBAC and be unmonitored. In the end I had a bad experience (just poor level of service, baby was fine) and in retrospect, wish I'd had another c-section as that experience was far more positive. Not trying to say not to go for VBAC - but be realistic and prepare yourself for the fact that a natural birth doesn't guarantee a good birth. Were I to do it again, I'd definitely get a private midwife/doula if I could afford it as I'm sure that would have helped so much.

I think I've heard of this a while back -but may just have been a mobile device to listen for the heartbeat, not full monitoring with readouts etc. But techology may have progressed as it was 2+ years ago. I'd definitely make sure you ask as it's possible that they will simply presume that you'll be constantly monitored on a bed and not offer options unless you ask. I was the same, c-section for breech with no1 and it was agreed that with no other indications of problems (e.g. not c-section due to failure to progress or problems during the actual birth process) there was no reason to presume that there would be problems second time. Hence being aware of what to look out for regarding problems with the scar itself and intermittent monitoring was deemed to be sufficient. I remember the NCT site had quite a lot of info on VBAC which I found useful - I have copies but may be out of date. But if you're at Kings and come across problems, do speak to Cathy Walton - I found her to be really helpful.

My experience was that once I'd got it written in my notes by the consultant or senior midwife (can't remember which), that it had been discussed with me and I understood the issues and risks etc, it was MUCH less of an issue. Essentialy everyone is just worried about being blamed, if things go wrong - if they follow procedure, it's harder to blame them. But if you show you're taking the blame for not following procedure, they're much more cooperative. In the end, despite my waters breaking 3 weeks early, I was left on the antenatal ward and pretty much ignored unless I asked for attention. No one really questioned the monitoring issue. And when I was monitored, more to check on progress than due to VBAC, I was allowed to do it standing up (although it is harder to get a good reading as the belt moves more). Hope it works out for you.

I had a real fight with No 2 as I was VBAC but determined NOT to be tethered to a monitor and stuck on a bed. In the end I got my way and managed to only have intermittent monitoring. (Noteably, every time I was monitored, things stopped - so I'm even more anti monitoring now!) At Kings I spoke with Cathy Walton - can't remember her official title but she's fairly senior in the midwifery department - who was really good and gave me a lot of support. She explained why the monitoring is recommended but also pointed out the reasons why in my own case (and many others) there was limited reasons why it was actually necessary unless I wanted it. I'd recommend you try and speak to someone more senior within the Lewisham set up who understands the reasoning and isn't just quoting recommended procedure and then be willing to quote them to others lower down the chain - it has good effect. I think the problem is that you will be going against NICE guidelines if you're not constantly monitored - but if you can explain that you understand that and would accept it if clinical reasons indicated that it was necessary, then you may find it's accepted more easily. Good luck - I hope you get listened to.

If your son has a cold, it could be related to that rather than bacterial conjunctivitis - which is what the drops are for. According to our GP, with little ones, the nose, ears, eyes are all so close and connected that if one gets congested, it can quickly spread and come out via another option. Hence a cold often results in weepy eyes, ear infections etc. Therefore if the drops aren't working and your son still has a cold, it may last as long as the cold does.

Edited as intended as PM.

'My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes' by Eve Sutton - great rhyming and introduces countries and Goodnight Harry by Kim Lewis - a sweet story which came with a short DVD in our version and Hop Into Bedtime by Clare Vulliamy - lovely book with great illustrations and things to talk about and the all essential light out at the end and Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees And second just about all the ones mentioned above

Since doing the night-nanny thing to sort sleeping problems, I really think that it would be such a good idea to get a nanny or similar in for the first few days or odd days over the first couple of weeks when everything seems new and scary. When you think of what folk spend on presents, it would be great if folk could somehow club together and pay for a few nights of help, especially with the first. Getting input from someone who knows what they're talking about would have been priceless for us, helped us to have more confidence in what we were doing and no doubt would have saved us developing a lot of the problems we did.

Haven't quite gone as far as fly-lady but this thread has been spurring me on (shaming me, even?) to do a bit more around the house. And it is strangely addictive....I'm worried!! Bit in need of a tip - is there a simple way to descale a kettle? I've got a see-through one which scales up in no time at all. Would spend the kids inheritance if I keep buying the descaling stuff from Sainsbury's so it tends to be an occasional clean and put up with the scale but I'd love to keep it shiny. I'm sure I've read something household-ey that you can use - was it vinegar?

If you think you'd find it hard to do CC, maybe getting some professional help would make it easier. We did it with our youngest (we used night-nannies) and it was the best money we spent. Having someone who knows what they're doing hold your hand in the night, really, really helps. And having seen it all before, they'll help to pin down what the problem might be - if it isn't just that your LO is leading you a merry dance. They may even suggest a different approach if CC isn't something you can do. I'd definitely recommend at least calling them for a chat to see if they could help.

If she's got a cold, could it be just that it's coming out through her eyes (it's all so close together in little ones) - that's been the explanation I've got from the doctor. In that case, when the cold goes, the 'infection' goes and drops don't make any difference. Unfortunately if drops are needed, I don't have any good suggestions.

We've got a Scenic 5/7 seater (chosen over the Zafira so in same league) and we get a toddler seat, a booster seat (with full back) and then a booster cushion - the latter used more for occasional use, when friends are in the car. Is the child in the booster chair able to use just a cushion rather than the full back? I can imagine though that 3 seats with full backs (or combo with baby chair too) might be a bit tight but would have thought it'd be possible. Other option I guess is one in the front and second adult, if there is one, sits in the middle of the back seat. Not the comfiest option though for the adult.