Smiler

Pickle, are you having a third? Congratulations!

I just feed in the night (and co-sleep), little one is about to turn one. Her sleep isn't ideal, but she rarely cries (just feeds) except when teething. But her 3 1/2 year old sister would sleep through anything, after almost 2 years of being a dreadful sleeper! So we are assuming that it could be another year before the little one sleeps, after which it'll be lovely. Quite like Elizabeth Pantley, also this article (not tried yet though): http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html

I think the cm sounds lovely and would give it another year. My daughter attended nursery from 1-2.5 and again for a few months at 3 and it wasn't right for her. The minimum ratio for over twos at nursery is much higher, eg 1:8? 1:3 is the ratio for under twos. So cm much better there.

Can relate to a lot of this, going through it at the moment. Sleep deprivation and full-time child-caring makes me horrible:'( Our one-year-old hates the car and will scream and screech for hours on end on long journeys, it is awful. Nothing works. But last night on a hideous journey decided to shove on music and Alice Deejay's "Better off Alone" shut her up completely and she then fell asleep! :))

The clinic we had it done at in surrey advise that for one-year-olds it's best to wait until a month or so after the MMR before having the chickenpox one.

That's great sillywoman, hope you get onto the course! I have kind of had the opposite, was v fed up with work before having kids, but now appreciate the part-time opportunities and good pay, for me it's all about maximum money for minimum hours!

Actually, vbac isn't necessarily safer for the baby than elective c-section. It is, however, less risky for the mother. Kings midwives have some lists of risks/benefits of both in printed sheets, with stats, I didn't get this til about 30+ weeks, but am sure they'd give it to you earlier if you ask. They can also explain circumstances in which VBAC is more likely to be successful. There are also some NICE guidelines On C sections which- updated version out for consultation on their website. I found this helpful. I tried for a vbac, it didn't work out, but gave it a go and don't regret that. I

A friend uses soapnuts and the kids smell really nice!

There are no rules or "entitlements" on this, is just whatever is agreed in the contract. My CM (not In ED) doesn't charge for her holidays but we have to pay full fee for our holidays. We don't pay if she / her kids are ill but do if we are. Other potentially tricky areas are retainers to secure services before the contract starts; whether statutory bank holidays are charged-for (our contract says not offered unless otherwise agreed and not charged) and when the CM's holidays can be taken (eg not in term-time).

We dropped the nap at 2 1/2 as the grumpiness in going down for the nap and late nights to bed was too stressful. Worked as curlykaren described, though no longer does (too much energy now she's 3!)

Hiya, don't know about any "going rate", but this tool is quite helpful in calculating the overall cost, what the nanny will take home etc. http://www.mranchovy.com/calc/

This is v sweet!

I thought 2nd anniversary was paper / cotton? I got Mr Smiler a print on canvas. Maybe am totally wrong. He got me a bracelet which is basically cotton wrapped around pieces of silver, sounds weird but is v nice and still wear it a lot.

We've also done it in one go, with long-ish stops for lunch/play. We also try to drive at night. Clumber park near Nottingham is v nice, great playground, facilities, various eating options and accommodation.

Yes, the one whirly mentions is very nice, has sand pit and lots to do, also nearby row of shops for food, drink etc. No loos though I think.

One can go to the toilet alone without making anyone cry.

There can also be "silent" reflux where they have the pain, but no sickness. My nephew was/is very, very sicky, but the main thing was the pain cries during, after feeds, it was so sad to see the look on his face, poor mite.

Sounds exhausting, oh dear. My nephew has reflux (still on treatment at 10 months) and could only sleep tipped up for months - they tilted the cot and bought a strap-type thingy that basically keeps the baby tipped up. It worked for them.

Hope the agenda isn't to get rid of librarians and invite volunteers to run libraries instead (as is happening in some councils).

I doubt it's the same people, as they fell out with the church.

Oooh, all sounds good, thanks!

CO is middle of nowhere. Think "Southpark". Was there when Princess Di died and was frequently approached by consoling strangers expressing their sorrow about my loss! Not going to watch the American obem, will stick to trashy un-real-life like Grey's Anatomy.

I think it is harsh on Ruth and unhelpful to tell her to "remember how lucky you really are". Many, many threads on this forum concern issues that are, in comparison with others' problems, not major, but obviously if someone has posted about an issue then it is a problem for them, and such posts deserve some constructive help rather than a "shut up and be grateful" line. Also think it is harsh to give Helena a hard time. Ruth, I find it helpful to remind myself that no-one else has "rights" to take care of our kids. I don't feel we have to justify ourselves, if we don't want them having them for whatever reason, we just say "no thank you". People may get jealous of other GPs, family members etc, but that's their problem and we just don't get drawn in. If the GP or whoever wants to discuss it properly and raises it, that's fine, we'd explain our reasons carefully, but would ignore snide comments/hints! wrt unwanted advice re breastfeeding etc. - I get lots of this, and have started being much more assertive about simply stating that we do X, Y and Z (again with no explanations, justification) and, if they press, being a bit rude (e.g. "why do you keep going on about this", "can we change the subject please", "we will decide, thanks!", and even "did you really say that out loud? Again?", laughing and shaking head etc etc). Perhaps not mature, but it has worked quite well! Also, grandparents' relationship with grandchildren naturally flows from the primary relationship with the parents, so if that isn't ideal, then the GPs shouldn't expect everything to be perfect all of a sudden and need to focus on addressing issues with their son/daughter/in-laws. Sadly, if there is a long history and the parent hasn't been that great as a parent, some won't be able to do that (have been there), but they may at least back of wrt the grandkids.

When we got one, you had to pay ?10 more for a non-gender-specific colour - shocking!

Packing up to move house, trekking around London with a toddler, manic cleaning and lugging a hoover along Lordship Lane on moving day did it for me (a few weeks early!)