Convex

i agree, get on the lists now. if 'my favourite nursery' is practical for you in terms of location then i would def recommend getting on their list. i think they are a great nursery and have 2 kids there.

in terms of meeting people... i also recommend doing the seasonal 'bumps clubs' on here - a thread usually starts at about 6 months before due date. i met lots of really nice people through that - we used to meet weekly for pizza in the lead up so by the time we had our babies i knew a few people pretty well.

no debate here, the bugaboo prams are great, but there are lots of others. suggest you take a look at best buggy.co.uk as they suggest lots of others. there are other cheaper options that get a high rating e.g. mutsy, uppababy, baby jogger etc and it really does depend on your needs. e.g. if you use public transport a lot, then the cameleon and buffalo are maybe too big - the bee is great and also the baby jogger city mini is supposed to be excellent. or if you look ahead and think you might need a double down the road, you can look at something that converts e.g. baby jogger city select, phil and teds, bugaboo donkey etc. in my opinion no one pram does everything so you need to figure out what is most important and go from there. i also think its completely fine to have a main pram and a smaller one for the car/bus provided you have space of course. i am also a big believer in second hand for prams - then if you don't get on with it you can sell it and try something else! most prams can be stripped down and washed. e.g. i started with a bugaboo bee but ended up switching to a micralite.

i agree, of course, but you know i do have the odd twinge when my son asks for something super girly and although i am very pro gender neutral etc i guess we are all socially conditioned etc so although he is of course being unreasonable i do understand where he is coming from! what was the outcome? as an aside, my son wants some makeup. to be like me (extremely unusual as he is a daddys boy) i am thinking of getting him some facepaint. any ideas? am worried about his skin. other idea is to buy him a makeup brush so he can pretend.

Yes I did mine with Hollie I thought she was really good. I have met people who have managed to learn the hypnobirthing techniques from book and cd, but the classes are excellent. you can ask questions and also I found it good for getting my husband on board with it. I wouldn't say I had a hypnobirth as labour was so fast I couldn't get in the zone, but the techniques helped anyway, so it's win win. (Also use the breathing for all sorts of situations from eye exams to toddler tantrums)

hello, i found NCT better for meeting people, i would recommend you do both if thats an option for you. obviously its dependent on your group and whether you hit it off with them, and people have varying degress of succcess on that front, but i had a great group. for my 2nd pregnancy i did hypnobirthing instead and didnt manage to meet people, i wish i had done NCT again. there is also an independent midwife on here who runs antenatal classes if you want to look into alternatives to NCT. i cant remember her name though!

can i please resurrect this thread - i need a large rucksack with compartments. I'm thinking 30L plus... any recommendations? ideally i would have 2 main compartments and I'm not too fussed about the rest! except... a bit stylish... possible?

i don't think its a gaping hole as much as a risk that you have to start much lower to get back in - there is evidence that women don't recover financially after having kids due to discrimination and are still paid less even years down the track. clearly this is 'on average' and it depends on what type of work you do etc etc. i would not be willing to take the risk but then i am not planning to retrain or switch careers and so i am not sure its so relevant for you. so i would echo previous posters that its a personal thing and you just need to do whats right for you and your family. there is no right or wrong answer and no decision is permanent, you can always change things later on. e.g. my mum took a year off to be a sahp when i was 13. re the national insurance questions might it be worth seeing a financial advisor to look at options e.g. for impact on your pension?

i keep seeing ads for coding toys - teaches kids coding. mine are too young but 8 would be ideal!

also the babyzen yoyo is good, you can get them secondhand on the Facebook groups.

thanks everyone, ive decided to have a go at making a teepee.... we shall see!

@MP, i have no idea, it was really strange, we had to give up being polite at times. but it really was just tour groups. because he is blond and blue eyed lots of people wanted to pinch his cheek (is considered good luck) but most people were respectful and didnt push it if he didnt respond to them. and he loved the attention he got overall, he definitely noticed when we were back in a western company that he didnt have the same attention.

hm yes maybe an addition to his train track...

youngest child always plays with the toys we got his brother and really we've used up our ideas. its fine obviously as he has lots to play with but id like to have suggestions ready for family who are asking so they can buy something he will like. so... what are you getting for your 2-3 year old this christmas? thanks in advance...

yes i went to a party with an elsa from lucy sparkles and she was great.

that connects looks great! but its sold out everywhere...

no advice, but sympathy. and if you would feel comfortable doing so, ask advice from nursery and meet with his keyworker to agree a consistent plan for you both to use?

ergobaby do a light version of their sling... maybe its the sport one? not sure! you could get a back carrier like a hiking one but we found at that age it was easier to control curious people touching our son, and he could hide away a bit easier, if he was on the front. got so sweaty anyway it didn't seem to make a difference! i would def consider a pram for naps though, so you can sit while she naps (assuming she will nap in a pram) also recommend take an umbrella for shade so you don't have to faff about with hats. edited to add that we had no problems with Thai people who were lovely with our son and always sought his permission before touching him. it was tour groups we had the issue with, had to literally jump in front of them to stop them picking him up or grabbing / touching him.

hey sb, thanks for your reply, tbh enough of the reviews say the same for me to have been reluctant to buy one. appreciate it!

i have a phil and teds navigator which is great but my elder son is getting too big for the second seat and i wwant to encourage walking / hop on hop off options. im thinking of the mountain buggy freerider but id appreciate any thoughts / advice if anyone has one? thanks

congratulations!

we sold it in as the 'hidey hole' which worked for a while and now they take it in turns.

not stupid at all! they convert, so to start you have toddler in a sort of sling and then when the baby is old enough you convert it into 2 toddler seats.

looks like they are bringing out a new model of phil and teds, the phil & teds voyager which looks really interesting!

dont put pressure on yourself - its just too easy to fall into the cycle of looking at all the things you colud do better if only you were better, more prepared, more organised, more inventive.... when really life is pretty busy and complicated and you just need to find the right balance for you guys. and in all likelihood you are doing great. btw i made that quick bread posted upthread and it is great! mine came out VERY rustic (ie i basically burnt it and it looks like a dead hedgehog) but the kids really like it, result! and finally - if kids are really tired we let them watch the ipad during dinner or eat in front of the telly, we dont do it every night and we all eat together on the weekends. thats nt for everyone but it works really well for us. have a great weekend!