buggie

:-0 gobsmacked at the advice you've been given, am curious as to your LO's birth weight as by 12wks would typically expect them to have doubled their birthweight so his weight could well be spot on. Advice I would give regarding weaning (staff nurse on HV team but not in Southwark) would be to look for the baby to be: *Sitting upright independently/with minimal propping *showing interest in/ability to pick things up & put them in his mouth *ehen putting things in his mouth/if you were to attempt to spoon feed him seeing that his tongue doesn't stick out ("milk tongue" occurs because of them expecting milk) it's a sign that he wouldn't be able to move food to the back of his mouth to swallow properly. These things all happen around about 6mths, no weight limit! Agree with the nod & smile, am well aware when I give advicetgst it is just that - she won't suddenly pop out of the shadows when you're at home & tell you off if you're not doing it correctly. Maybe if you encounter this HV again you should ask if she's done the UNICEF breast feeding course (as everything she says is contradicted by this!!)

Hi there, We go over to Bellingham (easy drive or < 5mins by train from Nunhead/Crofton Park Stations to attend Ladywell Gymnastics club - my 3yo has been going since Easter & loves it. Well worth looking up their website which has all the info on it.

Mybaby178 - On the FB page it says the pressie should be wrapped but with a description of what it is/age & sex it's appropriate for (I recall giving a teenage boy an Emma Bunton cd one yr in A&E). Prob best to call the ward & speak to the ward manager before dropping off. Mens - fair enough & didn't mean to hijack x

Prob not quite what you're looking for, but there's live music on Sunday afternoons at the ivy house pub which my 3 yo loves (do need to get there early for space though the do do a good roast!) x

Toni & Guy Ward (the KCH children's ward that most children acutely unwell get admitted to) is having a Christmas gift drive if anyone wanted to donate to a more local hospital. There's a page about it on FB (search for "Toni & Guy Ward" & it'll then be the first result.

Have booked Horniman this year & now feel bit wobbly about it having seen feint praise on here! Went last year to the Whippersnapper's grotto in Dulwich Park - it is a lot more, but you get a full hour experience which included drinks, making/decorating gingerbread, meeting a reindeer, face painting & meeting Santa/getting a pressie & picture. Hadn't realised it was on again this year & having seen lots on here last year about the Horniman/the messages to book quickly before they all go, got tickets thinking they'd be well worth it... Can anyone reassure that the Horniman is worth while/better than it has been made to sound on here?!

There's lots of really good party bag toys on the Baker Ross website - v reasonable multi packs of various pocket money toys.

What a difficult time you're having - sounds like as soon as you're on top of one thing there's something else off kilter (having a 3y/o & 3w/o myself I recognise it in myself!). The constant br/feeding may be babies way of helping you increase your supply after you'd reduced the feeds you gave - May well get easier if you persevere but really tricky to deal with at the moment/with other stresses. If you feel strongly about using an organic product, then give the Hipp a try, but there isn't much evidence surrounding the usefulness of probiotics in milk, and their typically added before the powder is heat treated so there is some talk that they'd be de-natured before getting anywhere near babies. Formula milks on the whole are much more similar than you think - if you look up the nutritional values for a couple of different brands you'll see how they are identical in calories (63 per 100ml), protein and other nutrients - even the hungrier baby formulas (it's the ratio of curds to whey that changes in them not calories). If you think about it, the majority of what the formula companies are shouting from adverts/packaging are because they think it will help them sell the product as much if not more than any benefit they feel there'll be to the infant drinking it. (Don't get me started on follow-on or toddler milks!!).

Haven't seen it in the flesh yet, but my MIL has bought our 3yr old one of these: http://www.oobicoo.com/say-hi.html For Christmas after it was nominated in the slow toy movement toy of the year awards. Like the fact you can dress it in hand-me-downs rather than needing specific dolly clothes.

reren Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thought i'd do a quick update as i now have an 11 > day old baby asleep on my lap. I can report that > my second was a world of difference from the first > and was an amazing experience. As with my first > my waters broke before labour started - and i was > briefly worried the rest would follow like the > first (which was really slow, long and painful > with lots of postnatal discomfort and anaemia). > But couldnt have been more different. I had a > lovely day with fire on watching films with my > husband - getting some twinges but nothing > painful. A In the evening after i lay down in t > the dark for an hour listening to hypnobirthing > mp3 they started to come regularly (but still only > uncomfortable rather than painful) - we rang the > midwife and then everything seemed to happen > really fast and about 3 hours later my baby was > born. Last 40 mins or so did hurt but once he was > out it was over and didnt seem like it had been > that bad. Didnt have any pain relief in the end. > What i cant get over is how well i feel post > birth. Really is amazing how different you feel > without epidural / ventouse etc. in my case it > was worth it to suffer thru 40 mins of pretty > intense pushing to feel perfectly well and not > sore 24 hours later! I am a convert! Congrats :-D I had a good 2nd birth 6 days ago, unsure if gas & air count as drugs, but that was all I had (although I did loudly contemplate an epidural during the transition!). Had a slightly slower established labour (well was 7cm at first examination!) of about 2.5hrs as opposed to about an hour with my first! Ended up in for 2 days, which was helpful to me for establishing feeding (had had big probs with my first and this one was slow to latch too). Had amazing support on William Gilliat from the healthcare support workers who were v well trained in breast feeding support & were v caring, reassuring & gave me the confidence I needed. Now just the strength for early hrs clustered feeding!!

We're going to be eligible for the free hrs after Christmas & are sticking with our current private nursery. Seems we don't need to apply/complete anything beforehand, but do need to sign off a form for the nursery to be claiming the money back from Southwark. It's worth noting that the 15hrs a week is only based on a school year (?38wks), so it does work out as less than 15hrs a week if your child is there 50wks a year - still not to be sniffed at & having just had No2 the reduction in outgoings is very welcome!!

Has he seen "Poo goes to Pooland"? ( http://www.scribd.com/mobile/doc/28743654 ) Might just help reassure him - is a v silly story (& not going to be winning any literature prizes), but was designed to help kids who withhold/have issues with pooing.

Would be interested but not due till tomorrow (so at least 6 wks away from exercising!)

Vitamin D supplements well worth looking into - growing body of evidence showing that vitamin D levels are lower than typical in people with depression. Their unsure which causes which (chicken/egg style conundrum), but well worth considering as even if you're outside a lot, you need to be outside much nearer the equator at this time of year to naturally get your full complement via exposure.

:-0 At least once she was moving the camel toe was less distracting!!

TE44 Wrote------------------------------------------------------- > It seems like a lot of confusion over ordering and > dosage, this vaccine has a shelf life of 16wks. > Any child having the nasal spray who has not > already been vaccinated for flu, should have 2nd > dose in 4wks. > There is also confusion overgp ordering in > january. > This fluenz (nasal spray) is also known and been > administered in US as flumist, nurses have found > the green book > overriding manufacturers advice, this may have > bbeen brought up to date recently but has not > helped with confusion. ...only if have medical conditions putting them at high risk (see green book link).

Is it bad I'm disappointed the John Lewis ad didn't make me cry?! Have come to expect it in recent years & instead I've been left feeling sorry for the bear being woken up several months early!

...hat's wrong with the bigjigs stuff snowboarder?? Have got a small bigjigs railway which we've not had problems with & was considering getting more (but wondering now!)

No, immunocompromised relates to those with HIV/having treatment for cancer or have other specific medical problems/are on particular forms of treatment. Babies aren't immunocompromised & if you're br/feeding set getting a v v good dose of anti-bodies from your immune system daily. In day to day life everyone comes into contact with hundreds of thousands of bugs (albeit in v v tiny amounts) which even babies bodies are able to despatch with :-)

I've seen a few good ideas via The Slow Toy Awards - http://slowtoymovement.com Really like the ethos behind the awards, annoyingly my PIL are getting bugglet the doll from last years top 10 & am still bit stuck xmyself what to get her this year!

Bugglet was 3 in Sept too - we're at Forest Hill Rd & were invited by letter with info leaflet explaining it all. Having read up in the green book, the injection is ok to give, but unsure why the surgery would do this when all the publicity & info relates to the spray for 2-3yr olds http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/child-flu-vaccine.aspx Would've been a nasty surprise to me if they'd sprung that on me. I would check the complaints procedure at the surgery & get a complaint into them as it is v unfair to suddenly move the goalposts like that.

I'm due a baby boy in the next week or so if you need a baby Jesus (obv if anyone due nearer to Xmas wants the job am bound to be too distracted to remember offering to do this!). Could bring live updates on feeds/nappy changes!

Sorry Saffron but don't think any of those analogies quite match up to something which is for 9mths an internal organ! I wouldn't be tempted to suck on any sanitary protection I used & similarly, while curious to have a peek at the placenta (can I call you for placental photography jollybaby? ;-) ). I'll be happy for that to be the last I see of it. Saffron Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Otta Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I'm male, but I'm pretty sure if I was a woman > I'd > > still need to see some pretty solid proof of > MAJOR > > benefits before I'd eat something that came > from > > inside me. > > > You've never eaten a bogey? Not even when you > were a kid??? > > Hmmm. You don't have to answer that of course. > ;-) > > Point being that almost everyone has at some point > eaten something that once came from inside them, > whether or not they admit it... And yes, some > people think eating bogies is 'healthy'! > > A few more examples? > > Ever chewed a bit of earwax to find what it tasted > like? Ever licked a teardrop, or nibbled that bit > of crust from your eye in the morning? Ever > chewed a fingernail, or that bit of dried skin > your lips? I think children do these things > fairly naturally, instinctively. Until we tell > them that 'society' thinks it's 'gross'. > > We even spread our bodily fluids all around us. > Ever burnt your finger or scraped a knuckle, and > put it in your mouth to soothe it? Ever lick your > finger to rub something out of your eye? Ever > lick your finger and use it to rub something out > of your child's eye? Or the near ubiquitous 'spit > on a hankie' and rub it on your kid's face? > > Probably not everyone does all of these. But I'm > willing to bet that at some point in their lives, > everyone will have done at least one of these!

Interestingly, ere is very clear advice in the "Green Book" (actually a website https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239268/Green_Book_Chapter_19_v5_2_final.pdf ) which is the immunisations bible. Any concerns practice nurses/HV's/community staff nurses have locally can be answered via a helpline to immunisation experts based in the local public health depts. Since incorrectly giving an immunisation is something which could threaten a nurses registration, it is something that is taken very seriously, the issue mentioned regarding the MMR isn't a worry in the local area as the 2nd MMR is typically given at 15mths & not with the pre-school booster so nil other live vaccine is due ya the same time (& if it was it could be given at the same time, it's just if not given together they need to be given 4wks apart due to the way the bodies immune defences kick in). Regarding the issue of immunocompromised, similar could be said for any live vaccine (inc the rotavirus - it's predicted a high percentage of parents are getting rotavirus transmission via their babies nappies in the weeks following the immunisation!). With the MMR (info on the same website TE44 links to), research has shown the risk of transmission is so low that it is no longer seen as an issue, would be interesting to know if the warning regarding flunez is due to it being a newer immunisation & thus not as much data being available. Would guess you would need to be living with an immunocompromised person to be a genuine risk & that if that was the case, you would be well drilled to ask about this when thinking about having it/You'd be attending your regular GP surgery would be aware of family health & be advising appropriately.

Bigjigs do a nativity set too - can order their things direct from their website.