veryseriousgirl

Ha - I had some really terrifying Braxton Hicks contractions while making Christmas dinner. I spent about 2 hours convinced that our boy was on his way, but fortunately things calmed down. I did insist that we get the moses basked down from the loft that night, though! Second scariest was not having a real plan about what to do with our daughter if I had actually been in labour. We have some vague plans - what have others (who have no family in the area) done with older siblings? Ruth, I've PMd you re: TENS machine - would love to take it off you if you still have it. Vx

Congrats Bee! Welcome to your little girl!

Hi Strawbs, we did pre-made up bottles and I think the key thing is that the water should be really hot when coming in to contact with the milk powder as that's where the nasty bugs can live. I used to do 24 hours worth of bottles at a time with hot water, then cooled rapidly by standing bottles in a bowl of ice-water then into the fridge once room temp. Hope this helps!

Congrats Mothercourage and Alix!

Bee - would love to come along for hypnobirthing session. Pretty flexible about days!

I've got a couple of years before this is a direct issue for me, but how does this work if your nearest primary is 400m away (which is the case for me with Heber)? Do I not stand a chance of getting in to any East Dulwich state schools?

I tend to do sheets and towels at 60 and everything else at 30 - it seemed like common sense to me that the things that were most likely to be in prolonged and reasonably intimate contact with us would need a bit of sanitisation. Good to know that it was a logical decision! :)

We got a Scuttlebug for our daughter's first and she still absolutely adores it. Best gift of the year!

Sillywoman, I'm almost tempted to have a 3rd baby if I could have you as a midwife! :) I keep fantasizing about changing career, but have no idea what I'd do. It sounds really stupid, but I can't think of anything I could do that's as well paid as my current work and keep feeling torn between the fact that I can provide really well for my family in the current job, but could likely spend more time with daughter and child-to-be doing something else. Great to see so many inspirational stories here, though!

Hi everyone - I'm gutted to have missed the night out this week. 27 Sep works for me - looking forward to meeting everyone. For Miss Mack and your fabulous list, my due date is now 24 Jan - Kings moved it (originally 21 Jan) to my midwife's dismay, but I'm pleased as I was induced last time around so even three days feels like more breathing space! Has anyone done the yoga at Kings and would you recommend it? I know they also do birth rehearsals / hypno birthing, etc? Vx

Hi everyone, I'm also expecting #2 in late Jan - my daughter will be just over 2 at that point. It feels like we are happily settling into life with a toddler so feel like we must be a bit mad to go through it all over again! Congrats everyone! Victoria

Green tomatoes have them - we get them to and from the airport when travelling with Veryseriousbaby. They're on 020 3432 0675

We have also gone down the oil-filled radiator route - we have a model with a built in thermostat and timer, so at night when the central heating is off and the temperature in her room drops, the radiator kicks in to keep it higher.

Thanks for posting this - worryingly notsoserious baby was taller than all of the 12 month sizes when she had her 8 month check up (3 months ago). No wonder it looks like I am obsessed with dressing her in micro-minis and capri pants.

I had a shocking experience with Tesco delivery several years back now - I was hosting a Thanksgiving dinner at my place and was expecting the order (frozen turkey and all) with enough time to defrost it. The order didn't turn up on the day and when I phoned customer services they told me that they had scheduled too many deliveries in that slot and hadn't got around to me. The best I could hope for, they told me, was a replacement the day after Thanksgiving (three days after the original order). When I tried to explain the situation they were unmoved and I ended up having to take a day off work to get all the food I had ordered for my 16 guests. After that, I switched to Ocado and have never looked back - they turn up on time and rarely substitute.

My sympathies! We're in the same boat - every time I put a load of stuff in the attic, Notsoseriousbaby seems to outgrow another bunch of clothes. And, of course, if you're looking to sell anything that baby C has outgrown, let me know! Vx

Sometimes I am awfully proud to have been born in Texas. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/7973944/Deep-fried-beer-invented-in-Texas.html

Both my daughter and my friend's daughter have been waking around 5 - 5:30 this week. It's abnormal for both of them and we do think the planes have been louder in the past few days.

Hah - glad to hear my daughter's not the only one. I know I should teach her to kiss properly, but it really makes me laugh when I am giving her kisses and she sticks her tongue out.

That is lovely. Though I wonder what "normal" and "extravagant" levels are! My eight-month old daughter has recently progressed to kissing with tongues, and I have had to draw the line.

So, so often. Like when my daughter woke up for the third time last night wanting a cuddle and instead of thinking "how lovely", I thought "Oh FFS..." then an almost immediate wave of guilt and certainty that it was my fault for allowing her a dummy in bed.

We had blackout curtains put up but found the only way to block out light completely was to get something that stuck to the window or the frame. We bought the ones where the material attaches using velcro that you stick to the frame that have worked really well. http://www.easyblindsonline.co.uk/

I had 2 (!) and neither did much for me - my daughter was just happy where she was. They're not comfortable, but I agree wtih supergolden88 - nothing compared to labour.

We got ours from the Cake Store in Sydenham (www.thecakestore.co.uk) - it was gorgeous and tasty too.

We had the techno xlr and LOVED it. You can buy a maclaren carrycot that straps in to the pram and makes it parent-facing. And it really is much lighter and more nimble than some of the bigger prams, which made a big difference to me in the first few weeks after my daughter was born. The carrycots go for next to nothing on ebay.