samstopit

Thanks for that, I have now finally managed to get through and arrange a look around the new venue. Does anybody have any feedback on how it's going since they moved? My two are due to start in January. Many thanks S

count us in, we got a rubber cheque too.

you are welcome and you have my utmost respect for managing it all on your own!

Hello Yorkie, your post brought it all back to me, as our son (now three) had reflux quite badly as a baby and didn't get over it until 16 months. I wouldn't wind her over your knee because she really needs to be upright as much as possible. Put her up on your shoulder and rub her back, and walk up and down the stairs if you have any to bring the wind up. Don't do her nappy up too tight. Feed little and often. We also put the moses basket and then the cot on a tilt and had to ditch the carry cot and put him straight into the buggy propped upright. We were referred to a paediatrician who prescribed an antacid called Zantac which made the world of difference. Apparently all the vomit (of which there was a lot!) had burned the lining of his throat and was causing him a lot of pain, so the Zantac soothed and eventually healed it. He was on the Zantac until he was about 14 months I think. We didn't have much luck with Gaviscon I guess because the real issue was the pain he was in which was making him scared of feeding. For us solids made him worse, the new foods upset his stomach and it was just more for him to throw up. Banana in particular did not agree with him for a long time which apparently is because it's slimy so babies have to relax their oesophogus (sp?)to swallow it, which in a reflux baby means it all comes up! I agree with Knackered that breast isn't necessarily best for reflux babies. The angle you feed them at is difficult for them and I could never get the hang of the rugby ball position! Also breast milk is thinner then formula. I used to express and thicken it with something called Carobel made by Cow and Gate which did seem to help, and I found feeding with a bottle much easier because although he still screamed and squirmed and pushed it away, it wasn't quite so personal as having him scream at my boobs! One final - and controversial - suggestion is to let your baby sleep on her tummy. Some reflux sites (I think Wikipedia was one) recommend this because there is a chance that your baby can choke on her vomit if she is on her back. However I was to scared as a first time mum to do this, I put him on his back and propped the bed up and slept in his room so I could check on him. A dummy also helps them to soothe themselves. Hope it all gets better soon. I do recommend getting a referral to a paediatrician if you can, ours was very helpful and kind. Good luck. S x

Sophie, we had a similar situation where my son (about to turn three) was toilet-trained in the day and decided he wanted to wear big boy pants in bed. He had woken a few times with a dry nappy in the mornings so we decided to go with it. There followed a couple of weeks of mostly wet nights and he was waking at 5am very upset because he was wet and cold. He then caught a cold so we decided to try to get him back in nappies at night for the sake of all of us getting some decent sleep. He refused to put the old style nappies on so I bought some nappies in Sainsbury's that are thin pull-ups and similar to pants. We call them his 'night time pants' and he is happy enough to put them on. It's 50 / 50 whether the nappy is dry in the morning or not. He still has a wee before bed and as soon as he wakes up, so I don't think it confuses him. He doesn't have accidents in the day at all. Hope this is helpful - good luck whatever you decide. S

Hello My experience was that my daughter took a few months to take a bottle. She had been breast fed exclusively for 6 months and was quite happy to chew on the teat of a bottle but was not interested in feeding from it at all! I did manage to get her to drink formula from a sippy cup however and because she was also on solids by this point it meant that I was only breast feeding in the mornings and the evenings before she went to bed. I started to introduce some dairy products into her diet at the same time to make sure she was getting enough calcium, as she didn't take more than 80ml from the sippy cup most days. I used to try to give her a bottle every night before bed when she was sleepy and relaxed and calm. At first she would have none or only very little so I would breastfeed and then put her to bed. But gradually she took more each night until one night she downed the lot! That was the last time I breast fed her, by which time she was nine months old. I think my advice would be to keep trying with the bottle every day and try it when the baby is hungry as they are more likely to give it a go. Good luck! S

Steph, it will happen eventually, although you will have some accidents first. When he has accidents don't get upset with him and when the day comes that he manages to get to the loo (even if you quickly put him on the loo just in time) make a big fuss of how clever he is, give him a chocolate button, tell him he can spend all his money in his piggy bank on a special toy, take him to choose the toy and keep reminding him this is because he did a poo in the loo! Worked for us. We had to empty the piggy bank twice and since then have never looked back.

Try going to thedaythat.co.uk - expensive but beautiful and an original idea.

Finding a nanny was easier in my experience than finding a good nursery. There are lots of good nannies out there once you know where to look. There are good nurseries too but they have very long waiting lists. If you want your little one to go to nursery when he's older I would recommend you get him on a few waiting lists asap.

If you are going back to work then I would advise a nanny over a nursery until they are at least two. They get sick at nursery and you will end up having to take time off work to look after your child. Whereas a nanny will always come to you regardless of how poorly your child is. Also she can work late if you get stuck at work. Getting your child to nursery and picking him up again and still having enough hours in the day to get your job done is tough. A nanny can get to you in time for you to say your goodbyes calmly and walk out the door straight to work. Most importantly a nanny can give your child one on one attention and if he wants to socialise she can set up play dates and take him to play groups. The only down side of a nanny in my view is it's pricier if you only have one child. But then there's always the nanny share option. Good luck!

He told me tonight that he didn't want to wear a nappy so I said ok. We didn't have time to put a waterproof undersheet on as he caught us by surprise! But we've told him if he wakes up and needs to go he can go to the big toilet (he doesn't like the potty much) and we've left his bedroom door open and the landing light on. How did this happen so quickly?!

Thanks everyone for such great advice. I think I'll wait a week or so to see if he keeps having dry nappies in the mornings. We thought we might reward him with a nice chair for his room to go in the space where we currently have his horrid changing table.

Our nearly three year old has been out of nappies in the day time for the past few weeks. At bed time he asks me why he needs a nappy and seems confused to have to wear it. I have noticed a few times that his nappy is dry in the morning and when I take it off him he runs to the loo straight away. How soon can I drop the night time nappies? At his age will he bed able to make it through the night or does he need longer? We have waited a long time for both our children to sleep through so I am nervous about the idea of broken nights again. Thanks!

We had a look round last week and liked what we saw. My only concern is that the current Manager (who seems great) is moving on in October so there could be a period of flux while the new Manager settles in - they haven't recruited the new Manager yet so we don't know whether they will be any good or not.

Oh Millie thank you it's nice to hear that ... However Mellors has reminded me that when I did move back into the marital bed I found that the snoring was far louder than either of the children! I now sleep with earplugs and if the children wake up my husband deals with it! I consider it to be his turn for a few years at least.

Hello We did a fourth option - Baby slept in own cot in her nursery and mummy slept on fold out bed in nursery for 6 months. It meant I could feed / settle baby when she woke and put her back in her own bed afterwards with minimal noise or fuss, and without me having to wake up very much through the whole thing. And of course it meant she was used to her own bed and her own room. I don't think she really noticed the difference when I moved out of her room. It may sound like this is not the best option for 'marital relations' but quite frankly I was too exhausted to care. Good luck! S

I just got a call saying we have reached the top of the waiting list for Dulwich Nursery - I put my children's names down over a year ago and had actually given up and planned to send them to Puddleducks when it moves to Nunhead. I have heard great things about Puddleducks but have been concerned about it being quite an inconvenient location for me to get to work. Dulwich nursery is great location-wise and I've heard it is good but have also heard more recently that they are having some issues with staff turnover. I'm completely thrown by this new childcare option! Please give me your honest views on Dulwich Nursery if your child or a child known to you has gone there. Many thanks S

I think the Clockhouse is open on Xmas day ... I will be there for a bit if it is!

I should have pushed harder for more compensation! HB you can so gladly have my voucher!

Just had a sainsbury's delivery. They omitted to tell us on the delivery note that they did not deliver 15 items. When I phoned customer services they said 'you were not charged for the items so I don't know what you want me to do'. They begrudgingly gave me an e-voucher after I got rather annoyed. What am I supposed to do with an e-voucher for a service I never intend to use again? GRRR!

Jeremy that is reassuring, I have renewed faith in being a good citizen! (PS I am a lady!)

Why on earth would I make it up? These kind of calls are recorded so I don't think they would have fobbed me off. I hope policy has changed drastically as you suggest. I was thoroughly freaked out by the whole thing and it didn't occur to me to complain.

I witnessed a man being mugged (hit over the head with a glass bottle and his wallet taken by a group of lads) at rush hour (6.30pm) at Peckham Rye station 8 years ago. He was screaming 'help me' with blood running down his face as dozens of commuters walked past averting their eyes. I dialled 999 from my mobile phone and told the Police what I had seen and also the road that the boys with the guy's wallet had run down; and that some of the boys were still waiting at the station for the next train to come in (I heard them talking quite openly about waiting for the next train). The Police told me that there was nothing they could do because it happened at the train station which made it the responsibility of London Transport Police. They were very concerned about my safety and stayed on the line until I got home but had no interest in taking any of the details that I offered them. Sad to say it but there is no point phoning the Police if you see a group of girls fighting outside the station. They would not be in the slightest bit interested. No doubt if I had dialled the London Transport Police instead (anyone have their number to hand?) they would have sprung into action ...

I am disappointed to hear about the lack of outside space. I believe it is important to encourage children to take regular exercise and to direct their energies into sport rather than having them cooped up indoors. We have a growing obesity problem in this country for one thing. But there is also the problem of boys who are not successful academically losing their way if they don't have sport to keep them enthusiastic about something that the school has to offer. We are parents of a young boy and I would be reluctant to send him to a school that doesn't recognise the importance of regular physical exercise. Kicking a ball around at break time is healthy and natural. Even if they do prefer to be inside at break time, they should be encouraged out of doors as much as possible.

Is the nurse the woman who gives you the once over when you join the practice? If so I thought she was ok, quite chatty and friendly. Masybe not the same one as crispy saw. We phoned the surgery at 6pm one Monday night (they open until 8pm on a Monday) and they saw our little boy within an hour even though it wasn't clear if there was anything serious wrong with him. The doctor we saw was one of the partners and we were impressed with the way she dealt with it, she took us seriously but reassured us and sent us on our way with some good advice.